We love our UPS and FedEx men!

Okay ladies (and any gents who are reading)...we have received over 40 boxes of NEW product this week! On Monday, UPS delivered 21 boxes - it was so much that our man in brown pulled the UPS truck right up to our back door! I'm talking within inches...I really thought he was going to hit the building, or even worse, Susan! "Please don't hit Susan," I yelled as I leapt in front of her. "I need her programming skills to update the website!!" (okay, a bit of an inside joke, but Susan admits that she is the most computer illiterate person in the world.) Anyway, I digress...

Then, within minutes of the UPS guy leaving, the FedEx man cometh. See the picture of my daughter here? Yes, those are boxes stacked way taller than she stands! And, this picture was taken before the FedEx man came.

So, basically, I am writing this blog from the store as I cannot climb out of the wall of boxes that have been built around me. The chair reclines ever so slightly, so I was able to catch a few minutes of sleep last night.

I'm getting a little hungry for breakfast now though. If anyone would like to bring me some Special K with strawberries and some milk, I would love you forever.

Help!

3 pounds in 1 day

Really, there should be a limit as to how many thin mints one person can eat in a day. All day yesterday, Janice and I entered new product in our computer system. There were over 40 boxes delivered! Yes...ALL new stuff from CHA!!! So, all day. We entered. We snacked. We entered. We snacked. I guess I ate a LOT of girl scouts cookes b/c I was 3 pounds heavier this morning. Arg...

Today, I am going back to the store to finish entering all the AWESOME new product. This time, I will NOT eat one cookie. If you come in and see me eating a cookie, yell. Really loud. STEP AWAY FROM THE COOKIE. Seriously. :)

QuicKutz are in!

The new releases from QuicKutz are in! I am loving that Rockstar alphabet :) And, OH MY GOSH - that magnetic wand is to d-i-e for. You MUST use it - come by the store, we have one on the counter to demo. You will fall in love. Seriously. (And, you will no longer have chipped finger nails trying to scrape the cookie cutters off the magnetic binders!!!)

Make sure you come to our Hump Day Happy Hour tomorrow b/w 4:30 and 6:30 -we'll be using some new dies and a new alphabet to make a layout. As the saying goes..."it just don't get any better..."

Lovin' Zach's Life

I am LOVIN' the new collection by Little Yellow Bicycle! It's called Zach's Life and it's ALL boy :) For those of us who scrap boy pictures, we know how hard it is to come across some good ole boy stuff. Plus, there's tons of embellishments with this line. Fabric borders and tags, rub-ons, brads, stickers, chipboard books and lots more. Trust me...you'll love it too :)

Out with the old, in with the new!

As I was roaming through the store yesterday looking for cloud paper, I just kept thinking...where are we going to put all the new stuff that we ordered at CHA?? Then I began to panic...slightly. We simply can't accommodate all the new stuff!

So, out with the old!

We put a bunch of paper on clearance yesterday and will continue to do so in order to free up some paper racks. Check the clearance racks daily because you never know what will be added next :)

Win a Free Revolution!

Well, we're back and trying to adjust to the time zone difference! Once we got used to being on California time, it's back to Virginia. Last night, I just laid in bed with my eyes wide open :)

We are working on a presentation for you that will highlight some of our orders from CHA. We will put it on the calendar for sometime in the very beginning of March, so watch the calendar when it comes out. We are VERY excited to share all this new product with you!!

On the last day of CHA, we won a FREE Revolution from QuicKutz! This is for all of you who don't yet have a Revolution...WE ARE GIVING IT AWAY! That's right...you could win a FREE REVOLUTION...how cool is that?!? All you need to do is stop by the store and fill out an entry card. There is no purchase necessary. The lucky winner will be announced on March 1st! Good luck to all who enter :)

Article in the Daily Break

Did you see the article about us in the Daily Break section of The Virginian-Pilot??!! Cherise Williams came in a few Fridays ago and had a great time working on her first layout. You'll laugh when you read that she actually brought in magazines to cut out pictures to use on her page :) (Friends don't let friends use magazine cut-outs!)

Thanks to Carmella and all the friendly scrappers that were in the crop room that night - you all helped make her experience a great one!

Ready to come home

Well, it's 8:30 California time and I can barely keep my eyes open. It's been one looong week! I miss my family, my bed and my car :) We arrive in Virginia around 11 p.m. tomorrow, and I can't wait!

Even though it's been a long week, it's been a very successful (and fun!) week. We have really branched out and tried some new companies that we think you will love. If you look at the list to the right, you will probably see some companies on there that you've never heard of before. Plus, we're ready to try some techniques that are a little outside of our comfort zone. Tim Holtz showed us how to use crackle paint, grungeboard, and distress ink in ways we never knew. We'll show you what we've learned, in addition to showing you new uses for paint daubers, glitter and flocking. It's good to step outside of the box sometimes and learn new, exciting techniques. Some of them are so easy that you sort of have an 'a-ha' moment. Like, hey...I should have thought of that!

Some highlights today...lots of bling at Prima! See the flourishes on the 'you're beautiful' layout above? All bling..one giant piece of flourish bling. Very, very cool. There were LOTS of new items at Prima - it was hard to have any self control!

The 'always' layout above displays Doodlebug's new crushed velvet paper. It comes in all different colors and is awesome. I can't wait to use some of the new 12" QuicKutz border dies on this paper!!

Well, I'd love to write more but I seem to keep zoning out b/c I'm exhausted :)

Oh...one more thing...Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow! The code word for the day is Cupid. Buy any of the Valentine collections (paper and/or embellishments) and take 25% off each item.

We'll see you soon and can't wait to share our experiences!

We met Heidi Swapp!

So, we go to the Heidi Swapp booth today and guess who greets us?!? Yep, Heidi herself! She was so cute in her black and white houndstooth skirt :) This is the first time ever that she has introduced paper in her collections. And, what beautiful paper it is!

In addition to the bigger vendors like Making Memories, KI Memories and Sandylion, we also found lots of smaller vendors with very interesting design lines like Glitz Design and Rouge de Garance Inspiration.

And, if you don't like any of the paper we picked (which I will find extremely hard to believe!), you can create your own colors with the new Rusty Pickle line. It comes in black and white and you actually color it in yourself. I'm thinking of all the neat techniques you could use with it...markers, flock, glitter, inks, bling. Very cool. Very hip. Very chic.

I really do want to write more because I have sooo much to share, but I am just dog tired. We ran around today like crazy people! The show ends tomorrow at 2, which means we have to be even faster and more efficient. I am going to need a serious foot massage when this is all said and done!

Let's see...the secret code for Wednesday is EK is OK! We met with EK today and picked out a million and one new Jolee stickers that will be making their debut over the next 3 months. Lots of cute, new stuff :) So, go to the store on Wednesday, say "EK is OK" and get 30% off any Jolee sticker! You can use this discount on as many EK Jolee stickers as you wish! (Here's the small print...no other discounts may apply.)

Oh...one more thing. We're preselling the QuicKutz 12" platform now! If you prepay, you will get one 12" border die for absolutely free! This will only be while supplies last, so hurry...go buy one! (Plus, QuicKutz club members get 20% off!)

Goodnight my friends :)

We met Tim Holtz today!

Wow! What a BIG day! We hit a record number of vendors today scooping up all the latest and greatest in the scrapbooking world. I'm far too tired to write much about our day, but I'll give you some highlights :)

First, let me tell you about some trends that we are seeing in the industry. Lots of glitter. (Glitter paper, glitter stickers, glitter rub-ons.) Buttons. Turquoise and brown. (I know that color combo was big a few years ago, but it seems to have resurfaced!) Acrylic stamps. Felt. Chipboard books. Acrylic books. Ok...enough about trends.

More importantly, quess who met Tim Holtz today!?!? Hooray us! I've posted a picture above for those who have a crush on him - yes, Dawn, this one's for you! Very nice and very straight teeth. Not sure why I noticed that, but I digress...

Lots of new paper (including guitar patterns for Sharon and Debbie!)...silver, white, brown, blue, pink, and red binder wires for the Zutter...acrylic stamps...new flock colors...albums...new Bazzill In Stitch'z, Bling and paper flowers...the Big Bite...overlays...chipboard...brads...and more and more and more! Today was a big buying day and my mind is swirling with all the new items. My brain is starting to hurt :)

Thank goodness we were able to get out tonight and have a little fun. We were invited by QuicKutz to a dinner in Downtown Disney! Each sales rep invited their top two accounts. Thanks to our loyal customers, Beach Scrapbooks is a top account!! And, have we got stories to tell!! The guys from QuicKutz are incredibly nice and offered up some insight as to what's coming over the next few months. Let's just say it's VERY EXCITING! Two words of advice...QuicKutz Club and 12" plate for the Revolution. Okay, that was more than two words, but you catch my drift. The picture above is of Janice, Eric Adams (president of QuicKutz), me and Kris (our incredible and strikingly handsome sales rep)!

On to the secret code word of the day. Let's see...since we just came back from a great dinner, the code word is YUMMY. Tell whoever is working on Tuesday YUMMY and receive 30% off any COOKBOOKIN' products. This would include most of the food themed papers, stickers album kits and recipe cards. You know the fine print...this cannot be used with any other discounts and is for Tuesday only. Blah, blah, blah...

From the opposite side of the states...Good Night!

First day of CHA

Whew! What a day! Where do I begin? Let's start at 4:45 this morning. I woke up with a killer sinus pain shooting across my face...arg...I think I'm getting a sinus infection. But, you don't want to hear about that! On to the good stuff.

Let me tell you about Basic Grey. You have to get to their booth early in order to get a number. This number guarantees your shipping order. You can go back to the booth anytime during the show to place your order, but the lower the number, the better your shipping order. We'll keep ours a secret for now, but let's just say we got a good number :) A store owner from Oregon and I ran the 600 yard dash in about 35 seconds. (This means we'll be one of the first to receive ALL their new lines!! It also means I nearly died.) They had some very cool papers, rub-ons, buttons, stickers, stamps, fibers and brads. And, not to worry, we stocked up on the new Rub-On Roller Tool. These are amazing...

Next, it was off to QuicKutz to check out their new release. The 12" plate for the Revolution is INCREDIBLE! The borders that it makes are really great - this will be a must have! We are going to start taking orders for it in the next few days, so watch our website. The plates are expected to arrive at the end of March/beginning of April. I have a feeling these are going to sell like hotcakes, so get your order in soon before they get backordered! Oh, and the March release - PIRATES! REVOLUTION PIRATES! Love them!!!

While at QuicKutz, we met the owners of the exclusive Lighthouse and Elephant. Also, we met up with the buyers from Scrapdoodles in Fredericksburg. It was like Cheers...where everybody knows your name! Our mermaid was receiving all kinds of praise today - they all love it :)

Creative Imaginations has an incredible lineup for the spring. Birthday, Disney, pregnancy, travel, pirate, girl, boy, beach, wedding, Coast Guard, Americana, etc...etc...etc...

We spent all afternoon buying all kinds of amazing new papers, embellishments, chipboard books and assorted other fun things :)

Now it is time to get some dinner. We haven't eaten since breakfast - there was just no time to stop.

On to the code of the day. Since we visited QuicKutz today, let's put all Grand Revolution alphabets on sale if you mention the secret code word: ARRG! (Get it, pirates...new release?!?) I didn't see the pirate release on the QuicKutz website, but it will be soon. Mention it to whoever is working on Monday and get 25% off. Wear an eye patch or a hook and take 30% off. Bring a parrot on your shoulder and you get 40% off. Arrrren't we clever?!? Again, this only applies to Monday and cannot be used with other discounts.

G'night!

We have arrived!

After a very loooong plane ride (actually it was 2 plane rides with a layover in Vegas), we have arrived in sunny Anaheim, California! The cool thing about this place is that the sun is shining and the weather is warm...however, when you look in the distance, you see snow covered mountains. Very beautiful and very different from flat, mountain-less Virginia Beach :)

Today was a great start to our week. We started off by having brunch with the owners of a local scrapbook store in Richmond - Memories Galore. It was great to swap stories and share ideas with one another. We spent 2 hours with them but could have easily spent another 2!

Then, it was off to the Fiskars Finest Event. This show is reserved for Fiskars top customers and provides an opportunity to preview all the new releases before CHA officially starts. Fiskars actually owns several companies, including Heidi Grace, Cloud 9 and Li'l Davis. We bought every single one of their lines! Lots of cool new papers and embellishments...babies, bugs, travel, flowers, home, friends, beach and lots more.

Is anyone reading our blog?!?! We hope so :) If you are, go to the store today and tell Susan that you read our blog. Mention the secret code: Max's Backyard. This is one of the coolest new lines by Cloud 9 - PERFECT for boys and anyone who loves bugs! Anyway, mention Max's Backyard and get 25% off any one item of your choice. This is good for Sunday only and cannot be combined with any other discount. And, keep checking our blog for other announcements from the west coast. We'll be updating it daily :)

CHA starts bright and early tomorrow, so it's time to go to bed! Remember, Max's Backyard! Sunday only...

Basic Grey Sneak Peek

Has anyone seen the Basic Grey ad in the front of Simple Scrapbooks magazine?? Dinosaurs and palm trees...LOVE IT!!! Can't wait to see it at CHA!