Purses for a PURPOSE!

Just wanted to let everyone know about a great fundraiser that is coming up that you can contribute your own handiwork to! Anna Marie's Alliance is hosting an online purse auction October 15 - 29th but they need great quality, handmade purses from crafters starting today! They can be beaded, felted, knitted, embroidered, fabric, leather, quilted or wherever your talent lies. There is also the possibility of winning a prize for your skills (Most favored, most unusual/fun, and most number of bids received). The proceeds from the auction will benefit Anna Marie's Alliance shelter, support and community programs. It is a great way to help out other local women and children experiencing domestic abuse. If you would like to make a purse for the cause you can bring it finished to Customer Service at our store. We can't wait to see all the fun purses!! Oh! I almost forgot, tomorrow is the last day to turn in your scavenger hunts!

And Still Counting

Hello all! I am excited to share some fun news with you about a fellow crafter in St. Cloud! Caron Lage is doing her part as an artist to create awareness about the horrific number of lives that have been lost because of the war in Iraq. She is creating a small quilt for each American who has died and on that quilt small french knots to represent each Iraqi. Using the numbers from a previous display in Oregon, that's 3055 little quilts with 212 french knots on each one. The quilts will be made and bound with solid color fabrics. Any color, they represent the soldiers who represent us and we are of every color and ethnicity. People have started to contribute to her cause sending her squares they have made as well as donating materials so that she can continue with her cause! Check out her blog to learn more or to contribute!

New sewing community website

We found this really cool new website for sewing enthusiasts, Burdastyle.com. Its a online community that is sharing "how tos", free patterns, and basic sewing knowledge so its great for the seasoned sewer looking to share their know how and creations or the new comers looking to find inspiration for there next project. Check them out.

More from CHA!!

Shannon and I are having so much fun seeing all the cool new merchandise!! We were impressed with the papers @ A2Z. The lines that we ordered are Floral Zest, Daydreams and Silly Seasons. We have fresh new designs coming from Quick Quotes. Karen Foster we went a bit wild!! Our fav lines from Karen Foster were the Tooth Fairy, Dinosaurs & their Keepsake Brads. We also picked up all the Hunting which we know Kristine will Love!! And Sarah we didn't forget about the Daisy D papers, the Halloween was the cutest!!

We love CHA!

Obviously we can't tell you everything that we saw today, but we narrowed it down to the top 5 for the day. In no particular order: Provo, Doodle Bug, Ek Success, My Minds Eye & Die Cuts With a View.. Provo came out with Cuttlekids diecuts that work in the Cuttlebug that are too Cute!! They also came out with 2 new Disney Cricut Cartridges. The detail was amazing on the samples of the princess cut outs!!!Doodle Bug came out with Sugar coated Brads and a Teen Girl line. Ek Success you can expect to see a lot more Disney coming our way!! Not the typical papers you would expect for the Disney... Also The Wild Jolee's is a line of dimensional animal stickers that are adorable!! My Minds Eye we will be getting the new lines Bohemia 2 and Confetti ( aKaleidoscope collection).. Last but not least Die Cuts With a View we ordered all the new 12x12 Paper Stacks. The two that had the most buzz were Rock Star and All Dressed Up.. We are so excited about the new product we saw today and can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!!!

New Items at CHA

Today was our final day at the CHA show. We definitely could have used one (or two) more days. It was unbelievable how many vendors there were!

Some of the most exciting things that we saw there (and purchased for you) include:

- Beads, Beads and more Beads (and yet again still more beads) - just don't tell our boss!
- Beadalon came out with a ton of new items ( New tools, Crinkle wire, Velour cording, Wire twister ) Just to name a few.

- Blue Moon came out with a ton, I repeat, a TON of new lines (not all are available at the moment- but as soon as they are, believe me we will be ordering them!) We did however pick up their new Natural Elegance Line (which includes tons of cool chains, findings and charms!)

- Walnut Hollow: They have a new line of unfinished wood boxes made our of bamboo. (which we bought - for all the people who have trouble finding a surface to paint on.)

-One company we saw that we are excited about is Alter Ego. They have "everything from soup to nuts" : Trays, boxes, fruit bowls, office organizers... all made of a MDF board.

- Make sure to look for new Craft Books in all the departments from Design Originals

We are still reeling from the show and will post more later- once we've gotten over the shock of all the new stuff we've seen.

Beading Classes!

This year there were SEVEN different beading classes offered. Between Dona and I we were able to take all of them and are very excited to share them with our customers and co-workers. Whenever I take a beading class I come away so inspired and ready to bead for days.

We will be sharing some of the techniques we learned during our Anniversary Sale. We are having Lunch Hour Seminars and Happy Hour Seminars during August.

Some of the new techniques we learned include:
- Making your own Jewelry Findings
- Woven 3-D Crystal Bracelet Project
- Beginning Chainmail
- Chainmail Earings
- Wire Wrapped Pendants
- Crystal Stackable Bracelets
- Chainlink Necklace

The classes were all very inspiring and we can't wait to share them all with you.

Scavenger Hunt contest

Just wanted to drop a little reminder to fill out the scavenger hunt for our new website if you haven't already. You only have a little over a week left for a chance to win a $100.00 gift card or 1 of 30 $5.00 gift cards! You can download the form on our home page. Have fun!!
p.s. Twins Stitch n' Pitch is this Sunday!

CHA Class

Well we're in Chicago!! Shannon & I took an Ek Success tool Class that taught the different techniques of the 3D Paper Crafting System. We've carried the tool kit for a while but I have never taken the time to really see what it could all do. I was very impressed!! Making cute boxes is so much easier than I expected!!!

Knitting needle jewelry

I stumbled across this project idea and had to share it. It gives you step by step instruction on how to turn those old knitting needles into fun wearable jewelry. Check it out.

CHA- The countdown begins

In just a few days four of us (Kimberlie, Shannon, Dona and I) will be taking our second trip to Chicago for CHA (Craft and Hobby Association.) CHA is a gathering of craft retailers and vendors from accross the US. When there we will get to visit many different vendors and view all of their newest products. We will also be taking different classes while there-including several beading classes!
If anyone has any new products they think we should look for when we're there - post a comment and let one of us know. We will be checking the Blog and posting when we're at CHA.

Hope to hear from you soon!