We've Moved!!

The day is finally here!! After many weeks and months of planning and much hard work by our designer Sara Williams, our new "home" on the web is ready to move in to! Please visit us now at StampingAround.com. Don't forget to change your bookmarks, add yourself as a follower and subscribe to the new site (you'll find all those widgets on the sidebars).

This blog will still be available but all new postings and information will now be on StampingAround.com. See you there!! :)

Day One in Connecticut

Julie and I are safe and sound in Connecticut and are just back from our very first "Stamping in your PJs" class! It was a blast and wonderful to meet our attendees and catch up with old friends! Check out the cute welcome sign the hotel put out for us! Here's my best Vanna impersonation...while sporting my "in public" PJs!

Julia Aston taught our first class and she created these simply adorable birdhouses...aren't they just fabulous! The pattern is from Papertrey Ink (it's one of Nichole's free downloads!) as well as the paper and ribbon. Can you see how Julia created a clapboard front on the larger birdhouse? Darling!

Oh, and here's what I was sporting on my feet...of course ladies, had to work the bunny slippers... :-)

Stay tuned for more pictures from our classes tomorrow...WooHoo, we are having a blast, which you were here!

SUPPLY UPDATE

Sorry to scream at you - lol!! But in preparing my class I realized that I forgot 3 ink colors for you to bring along! Here they are:

Brocade Blue, Ballet Blue, Night of Navy

Can't wait to see you all tomorrow!!

Friday Evening Festivities!

EDITED: If you are not staying at the hotel, please check your email in boxes for a message that was sent today regarding the Friday evening schedule. Contact us ASAP if you did not receive the email! Thank you!

Are you ladies ready to stamp!! We're are busy prepping for classes, packing up all of our fantastic door prizes, and our luggage!

We wanted to let everyone know that we made a slight alteration to Friday evening's schedule because we're thowing a pajama party! WooHoo!

Please plan to arrive at the hotel by 4:00 pm to check in and then you are free to grab dinner at the restaurant of your choice. (We're working on putting together a list of area restaurants) After dinner, dash back to your room, and change into those PJ's and fuzzy slippers and meet us in the stamping room at 7:30 pm for our first class! We'll have munchies and drinks for everyone to enjoy along with Julia Aston's AMAZING class!!

Please leave us a comment or shot us an email with any other questions!

CT: Supply List

This is the week - so exciting!! Here is your supply list. Where inks were needed we tried to stay with Stampin' Up! colors since we figured that's what most people have, but if you have another brand we'd be happy to try to find similar colors for you!

Please make sure that all supplies you bring are labeled with your name or initials. The list is long . . .

Camera
Acrylic Blocks
Paper Trimmer &/or Scor-Pal (if you have one)
Adhesive - LOTS of it!
Glue Dots
Foam adhesive (Dimensionals or similar)
Quickie Glue Pen
Orange line tape or Scor-Tape
Scissors - paper snips
3/4" and 1.25" hole punches
Crop-a-dile Big Bite - (if you have it) if not we can share! :)
Black Ink (Memento Tuxedo Black is best)
Brown Ink (Memento Rich Cocoa)
White Ink (chalk ink or Papertrey Fresh Snow)
White Gel Pen
Scallop punch
Paper piercer & mat

Exacto knife

Self-healing cutting mat

Metal Ruler

clear glitter pen

For two of the projects, the instructors will utilize Copic markers for their samples. Now, please feel free to bring along your preferred coloring medium as a substitute. Copic markers are NOT a required item. However, if you are looking to start a collection or add to yours and your LSS doesn't happen to carry Copic Markers, our friends over at Eclectic Paperie have a great selection and great prices!

Copics: G99, YG95, YG99, YR02, YR04, YR07, YR09, YR23, RV09, R08, R22, R27, R37, E29, E31, E33, E37, BG10, BG15 (or some SU! colors: SU! Marker Colors - Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard, Sky Blue, Chocolate Chip, Rosey Red, Pink Passion)

Ink Pads (we will have several but if you have them, bring them along!)
SU Colors: Riding Hood Red, Real Red, Cranberry Crisp (or Bravo Burgandy), Kiwi Kiss, Old Olive, Elegant Eggplant, Perfect Plum

If you have these:
Chai dye ink (Papertrey)
Papertrey Background Basics Retro stamp set
Ranger Adirondack Brights Inks: Watermelon or Sunset Orange

PHEW!!! I'll post some details later today about a Name Tag Contest (which is totally optional!). As always, leave a comment or email us with any questions!! Are you excited? :)

Step Right Up and Get Your Hotel Room...

in Vermont, that is! Rooms are selling like hotcakes so if you want to head to beautiful Vermont in September for a rip-roaring stamping weekend then book your spot now because we are SOLD OUT of single rooms, triple rooms, and quad rooms! Doubles are all that are left!!

Contact us asap (email addresses are on the right) if you would like to book a double room for more than two people. The doubles can be used for more than two, as the remaining rooms all have two beds. However, that means that you'll need to be on very good terms with whoever you're sharing a sleeping spot with....there is always the sleeping bag option! :-)

Mark your calendars for September 11-12, pack those PJs and stamp supplies and come join us in Vermont!!

Attention CT Attendees

Can you believe it's less than 2 weeks away!! We're so excited to get to meet all of you and stamp the weekend away! We'll be posting a supply list for you by early next week but I wanted to see if there were any people interested in a swap?!

We had a great group of swappers at the NH event in March and we'll follow almost the same pattern. Here are details:

1) No Vendor Requirement - although we'd certainly encourage you to support any one of our numerous amazing sponsors!!

2) All swaps should be full cards, not card fronts

3) There should be a minimum of three layers, plus embellishments.

4) Please be sure to sign or handstamp the back of your cards!

5) Please do your best work!

If you are interested please leave a comment on this post. We'll count up how many are interested and I'll send you a final number in one week!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Stamping Around Vermont: The Briefing

Ok, it's time to change gears here and talk about Stamping Around Vermont!! Remember, the dates are September 11-12 at the Inn at Willow Pond in Manchester, Vermont. I am so excited we will be in Vermont in early Fall!! Growing up in upstate NY I used to love a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive to Bennington for some antiquing and ice cream - yum! :)

I thought I'd share a bit more information about what to expect. You can view the brochure by clicking over on the right sidebar and downloading the pdf. That will give you the tentative schedule and the prices of the different size rooms. Of course, we will be spotlighting each instructor and sponsor individually as we lead up to the event, but here's a brief overview.

Instructors:

Joanne Basile - Joanne taught a class in NH and everyone loved it! She's sure to bring her signature cheery style and will be doing a bit with Copic markers - which we get a lot of requests for!!

Cindy Lawrence - Cindy also taught a class in NH. We made the most beautiful card set - view Cindy's photos of the weekend and her project here.

Erika Martin - Erika is a new teacher for us by I'm sure no stranger to most out there! Erika, aka the Stampin' Mama is so talented in a variety of different mediums and is on several design teams. Her project, I think will be something new for most of us to try - something fun! I can't wait!

Julie Masse - that's me! :) My class will focus on multi-step stamps and the depth of color and highlighting that can be achieved with these beautiful stamps (that seem to be daunting for a lot of people but I assure you are tons of fun!)

Jenn Shurkus - We are thrilled to have Jenn join us for the weekend! Anyone who knows the name A Muse knows Jenn's name- she is so *creative* and ultra talented!! She teaches full-time for A Muse and manages a papercrafting store on Cape Cod and will be using brand new A Muse products for her class!

We've had some questions about the "level" of these classes and while I definitely would not want to discourage any skill level from attending, I'd say that the classes are geared for the "seasoned" stamper. We figure that most of you out there looking to get away at a stamping weekend have a bit of experience and ask our instructors to design their classes with that in mind. Now that certainly doesn't mean you won't learn anything or that you'd be in over your head! We think the classes are balanced perfectly!! And if you ever have suggestions on what you'd like to see taught at a Stamping Around event please email me (julie@stampingaround.com) or Kim (kim@stampingaround.com) - we love suggestions!!

So there you have it - a brief overview of Stamping Around Vermont! It may seem like September is a long way off but I assure you it's not! I'm sure you all know also that Vermont Inns in the Fall books quickly (I remember my parents taking off on a spontaneous road trip to VT one Fall weekend - they ended up sleeping in their car!!). Therefore, in order to hold rooms at the Inn we need to have you register or indicate your participation ASAP! I'd hate for you to have to sleep in your car or on the couch in the lodge - lol! :)

Thank you to all those who have registered already - your rooms are safe! And to everyone else, don't delay!!

Last Call!

Calling all CT area stampers!! :) We've seen lots of traffic from the surrounding area and some great ladies signed up for a fun weekend but it's time for that FINAL CALL!!! We need to know ASAP if you'll be joining us - what's stopping you? Come join the fun!!

Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions regarding classes, class format, etc.! The sun was out today New England - how FABULOUS!!!

Instructor Spotlight: Jodi Collins

Good morning all!! Today I'm so excited to bring you another instructor spotlight for Stamping Around Connecticut - Jodi Collins (aka Kharmagirl)!! Everybody knows Jodi right?!! She's one of the nicest, most energetic and talented stampers out there! I've had the great pleasure of working with Jodi on the Paper Pretties Design Team but she is also on the Baker's Dozen, the design team for Taylored Expressions Stamps, the Trendsetters - dt for There She Goes stamps and she is also a Dirty Dozen alumni!! Phew - amazing!! Here's a bit more about Jodi:

"Hi everyone!! I am SUPER excited to be attending Stamping Around CT! I have been stamping for quite some time now. I started in high school but then stopped when I discovered tole painting. After attending a Stampin' Up! workshop in 2005 I caught the stamping bug all over again. I love to make cards (I am not much of a scrapbooker) and I do not discriminate! I love tons of different stamp companies, and I love to find (and hoard!) fun and funky embellishments!

My recent addiction are Copic Markers and I find myself wanting to color everything in sight! Stamping gives me a relaxing outlet from my crazy life as a mom, wife and full time paralegal!!"

We are so excited to have Jodi joining us as a teacher at Stamping Around CT!! She was one of the first people to sign up when we had Stamp New England in March - we had such a blast!! I can't wait to see her again! Jodi's class will be sponsored by Taylored Expression stamps so you won't want to miss it - who can resist a cupcake??!!! :) Here's a recent card Jodi made just to give you a "taste" of her talent!

We've seen lots of activity around here lately - lots of you have been checking out the site!! Today is the day to register for Stamping Around Connecticut!! We can't wait to meet you! And stay tuned . . . we'll start spotlight teachers for Stamping Around Vermont soon!! :)

Instructor Spotlight: Debbie Corbari

First, I wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to Daisy and Joy at Eclectic Paperie for including us in their newsletter as the eP Friend this week! Throughout all of my personal and "professional" contacts with these two amazing ladies they have been nothing short of fabulous! Both are incredibly wonderful to work with and generous with their time and resources. We are so thankful for their generous support and hope that you will help us out and return the favor by supporting Eclectic Paperie!

Now, on to the spotlight! I'm thrilled to share our next teacher with you, Debbie Corbari - and she's perfect for this post since her class will be sponsored by Eclectic Paperie and she will be using stamps from Our Craft Lounge's exclusive line of stamps - that she drew! Yup, Debbie is one of the talented illustrators for Our Craft Lounge!! Here's a bit about Debbie straight from her:

"I grew up with an artistic mom (specializing in pen and ink drawings) and was surrounded by arts and crafts at a young age. Although it’s nothing I ever studied, it’s always been a major part of my life. In college I illustrated a children’s book for a fellow student. I have no idea what ever happened with the book. I think she paid me $20 for my illustrations, which feels like $100 to a freshman in college so, I was happy! LOL!

When I was first introduced to stamping, about 9 years ago, I was hesitant to buy stamps because I felt I could draw the images instead. Some time had passed before the instant gratification of stamping won me over and shortly after that, as with most stampers, it became an addiction! Since I started designing my own stamp sets my “crafty” time to stamp has taken a bit of a hit. But I still need to get my “fix” every few days and get inky! LOL!"

Debbie is a newly Copic Certified Instructor and will be sharing some great Copic tips with us during her class! I can't wait to meet her - she lives in the Albany area of upstate NY which is my hometown!! Small world isn't it?!

So how about it folks . . . ready to sign-up for Stamping Around Connecticut? We are so excited about our wonderful teachers and fabulous location and cannot wait to meet you!! Remember the deadline for registration is coming right up - June 23 - we'd hate for you to miss out!! :)

Instructor Spotlight: Julia Aston

Are you all ready for a great time?!! I sure am and I am so excited to present another Instructor Spotlight today for Stamping Around Connecticut! If you ever on Splitcoaststampers (SCS) I'm sure you are familiar with Julia Aston (artystamper) - she's such a sweet presence there! And talent . . . just take a look at her gallery to see how amazingly talented she is! Here's a bit about Julia "in her own words:"

Like most people I got hooked on card stamping after attending a Close to My Heart home party followed closely by a Stampin Up Party! Shortly after that I found Split Coast Stampers (I'm artystamper) and started participating in the daily challenges. I work full time as an Admin. Assistant at a Boston Hospital, have a grown son who lives nearby and a wonderful husband who always makes nice comments about all the cards I show him! I have a blog (www.createwithjulia.blogspot.com) that I post to at least 4 times a week and I teach a stamping class once a month at the Papertree in Manchester, NH. I stamp mostly late into the night after work. I love, love, love, card and craft stamping and I look forward to meeting you all at the weekend workshop!

Just wait until you see the adorable projects Julia has put together for Stamping Around Connecticut - it will make your heart soar! *wink* *wink*

See the post below for some important information about the registration deadline - can't wait to see you in CT!! :) Oh, and if you haven't already - check out the Stamping Around VT Brochure - our teacher line-up is AMazing! :)

Connecticut Registration Deadline

In order to finalize our plans for Connecticut, we need to set a deadline for registration. To hold a place at our CT event, please submit registration forms by Tuesday, June 23, 2009. Feel free to contact Kim or Julie with any questions!

Thank you!

Vermont Registration is Open!!

Welcome to Stamping Around Vermont! Our Vermont event will take place on September 11-12, 2009 at the amazing Inn at Willow Pond, located in historic Manchester, Vermont!

The Inn at Willow Pond offers idyllic scenery, charming accommodations, fun activities and a chance to get away from it all. The Inn offers wonderfully furnished, spacious inn suites, a grand wood-burning fireplace, and 20 scenic acres with panoramic views of the Green Mountains. The restored 1770’s farmhouse and main lodge are an inspiring setting for conferences, executive retreats and special events.

Space is very limited at the Inn so it's imperative that we receive registrations asap! September is a busy month for Vermont as it's a popular vacation spot, therefore our costs are slightly higher and overnight accommodations sell out quickly. However, we know that you'll be thrilled with not only the beautiful location but also with the classes we have planned and the well-known instructors that will be teaching!

Registration, via PayPal or downloadable form, can be found on the right side of our site. Feel free to leave us a comment if you plan to attend and want us to hold a spot or email either Kim (kim@stampingaround.com) or Julie (julie@stampingaround.com) with questions!

Prices and registration deadlines listed below (costs include overnight accommodations, breakfast and lunch, and participation in five fantastic stamping classes)! *Note* 1) the rooms at the Inn are suites so all are roomy and comfortable. 2) The amount of single rooms at the Inn was minimal and cost would have been $315, therefore, we're offering all doubles. Please contact us asap if you have a need for a single room.

DEADLINES - Hotel room registration/confirmation - June 30, 2009 (We can receive payment after June 30 but we must know if you need a room by this date).

Stamping Only - August 10, 2009. After August 10, 2009 - space will be reserved based on availability.

**Please note** - Registration fees are non-refundable after August 10, 2009. However, if we are able to resell your spot, then we will be happy to offer a full refund!

Double - $240 - Two to a room (14 rooms available)

Triple - $230 - Three to a room (8 rooms available)

Quad - $213 - Four to a room (2 rooms available)

Stamping Only - $140 - No overnight accommodations

We are sooo looking forward to seeing you in Vermont and are looking forward to another amazing stamping weekend getaway! And please feel free to pass the word on to friends and family about our events, your support is truly appreciated! Thank you!

Instructor Spotlight: Donna-Marie Cecere

I thought we'd start giving you a little sneak peek at the teachers lined up for Stamping Around CT - have you registered yet??? Remember space is limited so don't wait too long - we'd hate for you to miss this fun weekend! Gather up a few girlfriends and make a girls weekend out of it - or, bring along the hubby and enjoy Inn's beautiful setting and great location!

Today's spotlight is on Donna-Marie Cecere. You will be amazed when you see the depth and beautiful layers of Donna-Marie's cards! She has a unique knack for combining elements that just "work" together!! Here's a little background info from Donna-Maria:

I have spent my entire life being "crafty!" My first scrapbook was when I was a Girl Scout and took a trip to Washington, DC (sometime during the Ice Age! LOL!). With all of this creative energy, I decided to choose a career in design. I chose Fashion Design and graduated from Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA. I woned and operated Donna-Marie's Bridal Designs in Boston for several years. The decision to close i and pursue teaching was a much needed change. I wanted to be a part of my daughter's life on a more full-time basis. I have since then been teaching art and design for over 10 years (both high school and college) and could not be happier! I have also been working, teaching, and designing at Wholly Scrap! in North Hampton, NH for four years. I have taughte at CKU in Manchester and recently started my own blog, Donna-Marie.

We're thrilled to have Donna-Marie joining us, please stop by her blog and welcome her to our event, and can't wait to see what she has in store for us!!

Connecticut Registration is Open!!!

ETA: The links to the Registration Form and the informational brochure have been added to the sidebar. We will add the remainder of the teacher's names once the plans are finalized!

Good morning all my stamping friends! We're finally ready to open registration for Connecticut! Yippee!! Edited - Oh yeah, the dates of the event!! It's on July 10-11 (first class will be held Friday evening and all other classes on Saturday)

Our hotel location is The Centennial Inn & Suites in Farmington, CT. The lovely Inn is nestled on 12 beautiful wooded acres in the Farmington River Valley of Connecticut. The perfect New England hotel offering charm, history, spacious rooms, warm, friendly service, outdoor pool, fitness center, meeting space, and so much more. See more about the Inn here. It's a beautiful hotel and I can't wait to spend two days there stamping!!

For payment, you'll see the Paypal button over on the right hand side with a few options, which I'll explain below: (These rates include all costs and cover room, food, classes, etc.!)

1) Single room - $230 - This is a one bedroom suite that you'll have all to yourself (unless you'll be bringing your hubby!)

2) Double room - $180 - This is a one bedroom suite with separate living room area that is large enough for two people (either two queens or one king/queen and a queen full out sofa)

3) Triple room - $170 - This is a two-bedroom loft that can fit up to four people. For this cost, there would be three to a room. (Two bedrooms and a full out sofa)

4) Quad room - $155 - This is the same two-bedroom loft, with four people in the room vs. three

5) Classes only - $105 - This is the cost to only attend the classes, no overnight stay at the hotel

Since we're a little short on time, we'll need to get our final reservations over to the hotel soon so sign up asap....space is limited!!

We'll be sharing our instructor bios and details on our sponsors shortly so be sure to keep checking back for those exciting details!

And...we'll have registration open for Vermont soon too! Details on Philadelphia on the horizon...

Who is ready for an amazing stamping weekend!?

PS - Oh, and feel free to grab our badge for the right hand side of the blog to use on your blog to help us promote the event!

Connecticut Hotel Location Change

Morning ladies! I have good news and hopefully more good news! :-) The good news is that we have found a wonderful, quaint location that will less expensive than the chain hotel we were looking at in Trumbull. However, we have had to move a little further away from Trumbull than we had hoped. The new hotel (I'll hold off on the name until I've actually signed the contract!) is in Farmington, CT. About 30 minutes from Hartford, right off of Route 84. For those of you who are already holding a spot, does this still work for you? I hope, hope, hope so! This new location is so much nicer than our original spot and I am so excited!

Ohhh....and....We've got a wonderful inn reserved for Vermont as well!! We'll have registration open for both locations shortly...Details on Philadelphia coming soon!

Please contact asap if there are any issues with the new CT location and stay tuned for news of the hotel!

Have You Missed Us?

Do you all think we've fallen off the face of the earth? :-) We promise, we haven't and we've been hard at work thinking, planning, and prepping for our future events! (Oh, and I've been in the middle of a major house move, which was just completed last week!)

The good news is that we've picked at date for our Connecticut event...drum roll please....It's July 10-11!!! We're waiting on the final venue confirmation, which we're hoping will be in Trumbull, CT. If that hotel doesn't work out then our plan to find another location in the same general area.

Drop us a line if you want us to hold a space for you at the CT event and we'll share specific details asap!!

Oh, and check out our company logo...what do you think? :-) Our new web site should be up and running soon!

Checking In...

Hi all! We wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that we have received your emails and have penciled in everyone's names for the appropriate Stamping Around locations!! Thank you so much for your interest...we are so excited for our upcoming event in Connecticut!

The date we're considering is June 19-20 so block off that weekend in your calendar! Location TBD but we should have more details on that next week!

Stay tuned...

Who's Ready for More??

Is there anyone out there?? I hope you all subscribed or are watching this blog because we are working on future events and need your input!!

During the Stamp NE event in March, we mentioned that we would host more events throughout the year and we've got four more weekends in the works!! Listed below are the next cities and dates. (We're still working on exact dates but these are the general timeframes)

-Connecticut (New Haven/Danbury area) – Late June/early July
-Mid-West (St. Louis) - Mid-August
-Vermont (Manchester) - Mid-September
-Philadelphia – Early November

Specific locations, e.g. which hotel, have not been finalized but this is where we need your help! Each event format will be similar to Portsmouth, although we are considering including a full day of exhibits on Friday, if we have an interest from vendors, and we anticipate that the cost would be in the $200-250 price range for double-occupancy. ETA: Just to clarify the total cost for the weekend would be in this price range - not just the room cost. For an example of hotels we're considering, we would like to secure the Equinox Resort in Manchester, VT for our September event. If you are unfamiliar with the area or the Resort, please take a look at their website. This is a superb location and there are many wonderful amenities offered at the resort - what a fabulous girls getaway weekend or a nice time to spend away with your spouse!!

After selling out our Portsmouth event in four days we know the interest is high and many of you told us you would definitely attend future events! With each of these events, we must guarantee a minimum number of rooms and would like to open each event to 50-100 attendees. Therefore, we are looking for a response to gauge interest in each city. Please leave a comment here or email us (julie@stampingaround.com) and indicate if you are interested in more information only or if you would definitely like to attend. We're be more than happy to hold a spot for you!! More information regarding classes, teachers and specific cost and dates will be coming soon so please do check back often!

Thanks so much for your interest!

Sponsor Spotlight: Our Craft Lounge

I'm taking a quick break from packing to thank one more sponsor for this weekend's stamping retreat its Our Craft Lounge!!

Joy, Cami and Kimberly launched Our Craft Lounge in November and since then, it has taken off in a simply huge way!  Did you see that they recently released twenty eight stamp sets!  Just take a peek over at Cami's blog at the adorable photos of their booth, I'm so sad I missed it.

I just happen to have a *thing* for tree stamps, so this one set "Tree Mendous Love" was a must have for me!

In addition to having adorable and fun stamp sets, the owners of OCL are just great people!  They were only way too happy to sponsor Stamp New England.  They sent Cindy a very sweet, sweet prize package and one of you is going to be going home with some Our Craft Lounge all for yourself!

Now, everyone.... back to packing!  giggle!

Its Almost time to STAMP New England!!

Hope you're all getting excited for Stamp New England as we're all in our final preparation modes! I went over to Karen's house the other night and we literally cut HUNDREDS of Nesties. We do have one last sponsor spotlight to write, which I should hopefully have done for you for tomorrow in the meantime, a few final details

1) Friday night’s project is a make and take station. It will be available from 5:30 to 7:30 pm. We’ll have light snacks available and would love to catch up with you. However, the event will be B.Y.O.B., so if you’d like to bring along a little adult beverage feel free! After 7:30pm, we’ll be packing up the Make and Take and heading into Downtown Portsmouth for a bite to eat. There are several restaurants in the area. Kim is working with the Inn on a list of recommended restaurants and we can designate a post dinner meeting place for anyone interested in meeting up afterwards for cocktails!

2) ETA: The Inn does have enough parking spaces for people registered and staying overnight. Those of you coming for Saturday only, however, will need to use the public lots which are within walking distance (there is on-street, metered parking but it is strictly enforced so use this at your own risk!) . Please be sure to check the Sise Inn Website for directions

3) We've been working on updating the Supplies list. Please be sure to check that post as it has been updated over the last few days. Don't forget your nametag **hint**, I'm off to print out some swaps for Karen's Sketch Swap and buy some chocolate for Lauren's chocolate swap. (yum, note to self, don't eat the candy before the chocolate swap.)

4) Swaps! I just noticed that 10 people did sign up for swaps. If you signed up to do the card swap, please don't space on your creations, there are still a few days if you've signed up and forgotten! ;-)

5) Most importantly, get ready to have fun and don't forget your camera! Can't wait to see you all! HUGS!!

Sponsor Spotlight: Beacon Adhesives

What a special treat we have for you ladies!! When I attended CHA Winter 2008 I was able to take a few classes. In one of those classes we were given a bottle of Zip Dry paper glue. Oh my goodness is this stuff amazing!!!! I hope I'm not the only one out there . . . but I am not a patient crafter, I do not like to wait for things to dry!

Zip Dry is the best - it works great for paper crafts because it doesn't make the paper pucker and buckle, it dries super fast and clear, it's acid & lignin free and if you get it on your fingers it rolls right off! I love this stuff and I'm super excited to be able to share some of these great benefits with you!

The folks at Beacon Adhesives responded so quickly when we requested a donation, and they were amazingly generous! 3 more sleeps!! :)

Sponsor Spotlight: Beth Silaika

I have just a few more sponsors to share with you . . . phew it was close to get them all in!! :)

Who doesn't know Beth Silaika of Freckled and Fun??! She's everywhere! An amazing designer of web & blog banners and custom watermarks, a brand new stamp designer for Papertrey Ink, the host of a weekly challenge on SCS and a design team member of Hanna Stamps and Scor-Pal! Plus, she is the mother of 6 children, how's that for busy!!

Beth lives in beautiful upstate NY (in my old "neck of the woods") and we're hoping will be able to attend our next event! She was so sweet to send us a door prize for this event!! Go check out her blog and see the beautiful designs she offers, like these watermarks, and blog banners! Thank you so much Beth!!

Sponsor Spotlight: Scor-Pal!

Yup, you saw that right, the one and only Scor-Pal is a sponsor for our event!!! Isn't that cool?! I'm telling you I just love this company! Even though I do not know Diana personally, I think she must be one of the nicest, most generous people out there!! I have heard those who know her say this about her and noticed that Scor-Pal is always willing to donate to a good cause (did you all know that on the Stamping cruise last October Scor-Pal donated a Scor-Pal for EACH person?! Amazing!!!). Diana was one of the first people to respond willing to donate to our event!

Ok, so we know they are generous, but they also have a fabulous product!! I have mine sitting right on my desk and use it every day! Having perfectly straight cut and scored cardstock is important to me! Scor-Pal makes it so easy to add scored embellishments to any project, it makes whipping up one of Lauren's My Timeless Templates a breeze and have you seen all the wonderful projects they have on their website, complete with instructions? There are so many things that you can do with a Scor-Pal!! Plus, they have Scor-Tape - the best strong adhesive out there!

Thank you so much to Scor-Pal for your generous donation to our event!! :)

Introducing Kim Schofield!

This is our final week of posts before the event - how exciting!! We are finishing up final details, gathering final supplies and packing our bags, are you?! :)

Today we wanted to introduce the third member of our coordinator team - Kim Schofield! Kim and I met almost 2 years ago when I came across her blog and realized she was from NH and possibly in the same downline as I was for Stampin' Up! I contacted her to see if she would be interested in working a vendor fair with me. During that day it was amazing to see how much we had in common and how our friendship began, and it has been growing ever since!

Kim's background is in the marketing communication and event management field and she now manages her own consulting business for the past seven years. When we started planning this event Kim was so willing to jump in and lend her expertise - finding our venue and helping organize so many aspects of this weekend! She even drove up to Maine this week to help me organize supplies and prepare for Friday! We could not have done it without her!!

That's not the end though! Kim is also a wonderful stamper - having a thriving Stampin' Up! business and being on two design teams! You can see all of Kim's beautiful work on her blog, Paperie Petals and you might catch a glimpse of the 2 adorable boys that she and her husband have been blessed with!

Thank you Kim for all your hard work and dedication to help make Stamp New England as success!!

Supplies to Bring - Updated with Additions

REPOSTED WITH ADDITIONS

Hope you're packing your bags and getting ready for our upcoming getaway!! Here's a quick list of things you'll need during the class!

Remember if you're travelling with a friend, you can share supplies. Most importantly, PLEASE BE SURE TO LABEL ALL YOUR ITEMS!

Your Camera!!

Paper Trimmer
Paper Snips
Bone Folder
Adhesive - LOTS of it!!
Redline tape
Dimensionals
Glue Dots
Acrylic Blocks - various sizes
Sketch Swaps if you're participating
Completed Name Tag

Chocolate/candy of choice for Lauren's Chocolate Swap - 36 pieces

Paper cutter with score blade, or Scor-Pal/Score tool
Hobby blade/Xacto knife
Ruler
Crop a dile (or 1/8 hole punch)
Corner rounder (if you have one)
Sanding block - tools (if you have a Basic Grey file set - bring that!) :)
Self-healing cutting mat (if you have one)
Cutting Mat (self-healing kind if you have one)

Soft Sky Ink Pad

Sponge Dauber

White Gel Pen

Water Brush

IF you have them:
Cantelope & Tangelo Memento Ink Pads
Ocean Breezes Papertrey Ink Pad

We'll be updating this list as additional things come to mind, and as we get supply lists finalized from instructors, so check back!

For two of the projects, the instructors will utilize Copic markers for their samples. Now, please feel free to bring along your preferred coloring medium as a substitute. Copic markers are NOT a required item.

For any of you that either already own, or have been looking for an **excuse** to buy some (wink) here are a few that the instructors will be using in their samples:

Cindy Lawrence will be demonstrating some dying techniques with Copic Markers.  If you happen to have either YR09 &/or RV00 Copic Markers please tote one along! Either color will work nicely for this project.

Friday Night Make and Take:

YR21, YR23

BG72, YG67,

R24, R29, R32

E00, R00

Saturday My Favorite Things Class:

E00*, R00 (skin tones)

E31, E33* (wood floor, Flopsey)

RV13*, RV04 (cupcake)

Y21*, Y23 (wallpaper)

If you're interested in buying some, but not all of these, I've marked with a ** the ones that would be my preference for my project if I had to choose! Or, you could pair off with a friend and each buy a few.

If your LSS doesn't happen to carry Copic Markers, I've always found really amazing prices at Carpe Diem you can also purchase Copics from my friends over at Eclectic Paperie. For anyone local to SouthEast New england, my local scrapbooking store Right at Home Scrapbooking does also offer a wide variety of Copic markers. Feel free to leave a comment on the thread if you have additional sources for Copics that you'd like to add here!

I'm so serious though when I say that Copics are not a requirement for either class. Feel free to bring along you preferred medium of choice, either pencils, markers even inks and blender pens, whatever you have and enjoy from your existing collection, etc.

Feel free to leave a question here on the thread if you have anything we can help with.

Introducing Julie Masse!

Today I have the very distinct pleasure of introducing my friend Julie Masse. Let me just say that this entire stamping weekend is her brainchild, so many thanks for Julie for deciding to get us all together!

Julie, was one of my very first blog visitors when I started writing two years ago, and for sure, she was my very first Blogging Friend! Although we only live a few hours apart, would you believe we met for real for the first time in Los Angeles, California?

However, we'd been chatting via email and on the phone for so long that it was so natural to meet up in person for the first time. Let me say, Julie is one of the most thoughtful, considerate and hardworking people you could ever hope to meet!

In addition to being a simply wonderful person, Julie is an equally wonderful designer! She's a member of several Design Teams, a Stampin Up Demonstrator and she's served as a guest designer for several amazing companies, been published, and I've also spied Julie's name many times on the Paper Trey Ink Honorable Mentions list and she was the Guest Star Stamper in July 2008. Yeah Julie!!

Here's a few quick words from Julie and a snippet of her adorable project! Thank you Julie for EVERYTHING you've done for Stamp New England, you're amazing and I'm simply honored to call you my friend! See you next FRIDAY!!

I am a SAHM of 4 children. I started stamping when my first daughter was born as just a little something fun for me!! My Stampin' Up! demo always used to say, "You should become a demo" but I it took me 2 years to finally take the plunge . . . that was the end! :) Like most of you out there reading I'm sure, stamping has become a bit more than "just a hobby"! I stamp to relax, I stamp to have fun, I stamp with my children, I stamp (best) without them (ha ha!), it's become an obsession, a passion! I've made so many friends through stamping and feel like I can go anywhere in the country and "know"someone - stampers are just the best people! I'm so honored to be a part of some wonderful design teams, Paper Pretties, Kitchen Sink Stamps, Say It With Letters and I do a bit of work for Rubber Soul too! I've had the pleasure of seeing my work published in several Paper Craft publications (including some not yet released) as well as Cards

magazine.

For my project I thought everyone might enjoy giving 2 things a try - working with multi-step stamps, and altering a shape! I designed a new shape just for our class and I hope you all will love it! Let's all get into a Spring-y state of mind!! :)

The supplies you need for my class are already listed in the preliminary supply list we have previously posted but there are also 3 ink colors we will use. If you have them, bring them, if not we will have several floating around for you to use - so don't stress!! The colors are Ocean Tides from Papertrey Ink, and Tangelo & Cantelope from Memento. Your craft knife/Xacto will be important in this class, as well as a file (if you have the Basic Grey file set that's great but a sanding block and/or emery board will work too!). I'm looking forward to meeting you all!!

Sponsor Spotlights Continue!!

I've said it before, and I'll probably say it again. You girls are going to be so seriously SPOILED! Are you ready for another one?

I continue to be amazed by the generosity of stampers and I've been simply overwhelmed by the generosity of the companies that immediately said "YES! We'd love to provide a door prize!"

Please welcome UNITY to the party ladies! Have you joined in on the Hip Hop Madness (here in their forum on SCS) on Thursdays? Have you seen the wide range of images they carry, and of course, the Hip Hop Girls! What an amazingly talented team. And all I can say is that a FEW OF YOU will be receiving door prizes at the event courtesy of UNITY STAMP CO!

Sponsor Spotlight: Paper Trey Ink

Happy Friday everyone.  Just think, this time next week, we'll be checking our lists, and getting on the road! hooray!

Today, I'm thrilled to chat about one of my favorite vendors, one that really, lets be honest, needs no introduction - Paper Trey Ink!  

Every month I continue to be completely amazed by Paper Trey's releases.  Nichole has an eye for identifying trends and keeping her customers on the cutting edge of paper crafting.  Her designs are clean, and perfectly executed in every way.  I love Paper Trey's Perfect Match product line, simply beautifully coordinated paper, ink and embellishments.  Perfectly designed stamp sets, and of course, an amazing Design Team.  

Lets not forget, Lauren Meader will be teaching for us at Stamp New England, and we'll be using stamps from Paper Trey Ink as well as one of her My Timeless Templates!  

I'm sure by now that you've already seen that the previews for Paper Trey Ink's March release have already begun on Nichole's blog Capture the Moment - and as always, I'm so impressed, and of course, madly enabled.  

This month, my friend Lisa Johnson has a stamp set being released. From what I've seen of the previews so far, I'm pretty sure it is going to be a must have for me!  Ever since I picked up her set "Remember" this past summer, I have not been able to put it away, it is a go to favorite of mine. 

We'd like to thank Nichole Heady from Paper Trey Ink for the truly enormous level of support they she has extended to Stamp New England.  Suffice it to say that you girls are going to be thrilled.  

Sponsor Spotlight: Flourishes

Hello everyone!!!

Can you even believe how close we're getting? Hope you're busy working on your name tags and gathering your supplies! I won't say too much except, you won't want to forget your name tag. Is that a hint enough??

Today, we'd like to thank Flourishes for sending us a door prize for one of you lucky stampers!

Flourishes has such a recognizable style, elegant, highly detailed and just gorgeous! My friend Cindy Lawrence let me pluck this gem off of her blog to share with you today, I tell you, she does such beautiful things with their stamps.

Flourishes is in their preview week for their upcoming launch of three new stamp sets this coming Friday. You'll find links to all their designers and follow along with all their previews on Flourishes Blog.

Thank you thank you to the owners of Flourishes for sharing a little something special for one of YOU to enjoy!

See you next Friday! (I know, can you believe it? Next FRIDAY!!)

Sponsor Spotlight: Say It With Letters

Good morning!! Here's another company near and dear to my heart . . . Say It With Letters! And I'm not just saying that because I'm their design team either!! I spent plenty of my own $$$ there before answering a dt call (sssshhh, don't tell my dh!). I love making cards - we all do right?! But sometimes I like to do something just a little bit different, break out of a rut, you know??

Say It With Letters is a great little company right here in New England, Manchester, NH to be exact! Owned and run by Deb Damboise and her husband (with their adorable twin babies help I'm sure!) they make and sell custom cut letters and shapes available in hundreds of lettering styles and several adorable designs! The shapes are custom cut, hand sanded and unfinished and made from sturdy 1/2 inch thick MDF (super smooth surface for painting, decoupaging or embellishing.) Each shape can be made anywhere from 6" up to 48"!!! Now that would be a big piece! :)

There are so many possibilities with these shapes - paint, decoupage, patterned paper, fabric, etc., etc. Check out Deb's blog to see all the beautiful work of the design team as well as gorgeous work from customers! It's amazing how different each piece can look and how creative people are! I altered this adorable house last year as a housewarming gift for a friend. It was so much fun making it with someone in mind (after I photographed it, I wrote in the actual date they closed on their house so they always have that reminder!).

Deb has been so generous to Stamp New England - giving us a fabulous discount on supplies for a class and also offering a door prize for some lucky attendee . . . it could be you!! Go browse around the store, I know you'll find something to love! :)

Sponsor Spotlight: Right at Home Scrapbooking

I'm back with another quick sponsor spotlight! Today, we're featuring Right at Home Scrapbooking. It is the Local Scrapbooking/Stamping Store for several of us that are attending Stamp New England!

Located in North Attleboro Massachusetts, Right at Home has a wonderful selection of papers, stamps, ribbons and embellishments. I'm always looking for ways to incorporate a quick peek at the latest arrivals into my weekly schedule.

Right at Home also carries Copic markers, and recently received a nice new shipment of goodies! I couldn't HELP but squeeze a little trip in there to pick up a few more!

You can find the class schedule, the Team Gallery, and lots of inspiration on the Right At Home Forum and Gallery! I'd like to take a quick moment to thank Right At Home for sponsoring us, they've given us a sweet discount on the adorable paper Karen has selected for our Friday night Make and Take!

--Joanne