It's Time To Fly The Friendly Skies

Our next show is in York, PA.  We will fly with South West so it's quarenteed to have moments of humor from the flight attendents and the BIG plus is our bags fly for FREE.  Yea!  We love that.  The only thing about South West that adds the crazy factor is the need to check in exactly 24 hours ahead to get in the "A" seating group.  Being in the "A" group gets better seats, as well as storage overhead.  And we travel with a boat load of stuff!

Nikki found this great burger joint we love to go to.  Five Guys!  Major yum and WOW, are the portions BIG!  A small fry order (made from fresh spuds) will serve a family of 4.  We'll work super hard on Friday setting up the show, so we figure we can splurg a bit.  

We have a great line-up of exhibitors and look forward to seeing our Pennsylvania friends.  Don't forget to sign-up for the Friday night Design & Treasure Class from 6-8 pm.  It's only $20.00 and includes the show admission.  Four great teachers and projects.   Check the website http://www.heirloompro.com/ for more information.  Nikki and I will be teaching one of the Design & Treasure projects and it's a vibrant and fun fold-out Christmas card using the DeNami Design stamps, Fun Flock, 3-D Crystal Lacquer, Quickie Glue Pen and the glitter.  Please join us.

Heirloom Productions ATC Contests for 2010

Nikki and I have been working on contracts for the 2010 shows.  In the midst of all the administrative functions it's fun to take a breather and plan the themes for the ATC Contests next year.  So for all the ATC fans here's the list of themes.

January 9 & 10 Grapevine, TX ~ Architectural Features

January 16 & 17 Riverside, CA ~ Chocolate Makes the World Go Round

February 6 & 7 Lawrenceville, GA ~ Gone Fishin'

February 20 & 21 Vallejo, CA ~ Fashionable Flip-Flops

March 6 & 7 Indianapolis, IN ~ Once Upon A Time

March 13 & 14 St. Charles, IL ~ Man's Best Friend

March 20 & 21 Portland, OR ~ Let Them Eat Cake

April 10 & 11 Allentown, PA ~ There's No Place Like Home

May 15 & 16 Puyallup, WA ~ Bundle of Joy

June 5 & 6 West Springfield, MA ~ Strawberry Fields Forever

July 17 & 18 Grapevine, TX ~ Kitchen Queen

August 7 & 8 Novi, MI ~ The Cat's Pajamas

September 11 & 12 Costa Mesa, CA ~ Brilliant Sunset

September 25 & 26 Anderson, SC ~ Campfire Fun

October 2 & 3 Fort Wayne, IN ~ Think Pink

October 9 & 10 York, PA ~ Christmas Tree

This will give you time to prepare two entries for each day of the show.  The themes help the vendors choose the winning ATC.

We also have folks that like to trade the ATC's at the show, so make some extra cards to share with others.  It's a fun way to enjoy these small pieces of art.  The cards used for trading do not have to fit the theme of the contest.  Be sure to include your information on the back of each ATC; name, contact information, theme, and limited edition.

Just Back From Greenville

We’re back from Greenville, SC. We had a great time with all the folks from the area. So here are some moments we want to share about our trip. Nikki and I started setting up the floor at 7:30 a.m. Friday. The temperature was perfect. By 8:30 a.m. Events Rental had delivered the tables and chairs and the electricity was dropped for the booths. At 9:15 a.m. our first exhibitor rolled in the parking lot ready to empty their trailer. Knowing it was going to get warmer we called several exhibitors to come early to keep the loading dock from becoming a bottle-neck in the heat of the day. Our scheduled time for exhibitors to start set-up is 11:00 a.m. You can see by the picture it’s one vehicle at a time and the steep ramp makes for a real work-out for those that used hand trucks to move their product. Our exhibitors work hard to make the show happen.


We also had classes Friday. The students had a difficult time fighting the desire to shop between classes. They really enjoyed the teachers and created some beautiful projects. Linda Beyer taught two classes, the Thomas Kincaid card class and the Snow Globe shaker card. Darlene of Stampland wowed her class with color dusters and her new templates for shadowing.

We enjoyed our Design & Treasure (make & take) Friday night. Amy McGrew with Close To My Heart, JoLayne of Stamps On Fire, Margaret of Sparkle N Sprinkle and Beth of Endless Creations were our teachers for the evening. Each project was very different and the students received some fun tips.

Nikki and I had a very full day, it was 8:30 p.m. and we were pretty hungry. We made a quick trip to Jack In The Box. Wow! Then we headed back to the hotel to catch a few winks before the big show day.

We had a good crowd to open the show with on Saturday morning. We were truly blessed with a surprise visit by Bonnie and Eddie. They used to be in our shows as KT Designs and retired last year. Some of the sweetest people we know.

Fun and interesting comments always occur at the shows. This statement was our favorite for Greenville. “My electric bill is down as a result of the insulation factor from my craft supplies.” Now that’s a new perspective.

Here's a fun picture of a group of gals resting during the show. They were pulling their new purchases out for a moment of show and tell. We just love to see folks having a good time. After letting me take their picture, they pulled out their cameras so I could get pictures for them. 

 
Our Saturday ATC winner was Kim Sottung. The theme was Ice Cream Sundae. We had several 3-D cards and the colors were tasty. 

Sunday our winner was Maryella Wilson.

 
Stampendous donated mouse pads to give away. We kept filling the table and the stacks of pink mouse pads quickly disappeared. Lots of prizes and winners were matched up during the show. Here is a list of winners: Amanda Ramsey, Sue Doehne, Denise Neely, Bettie Shother, Judy Bliss, Teresa Wagner, Jan Hay, Kim Rowe, Kayla Whitmire, Mary Rozell, Tracy Wood, Pam Holcombe, Sandra Albright, Kathy Riley, J Davenport, Brenda Ivester, Beverly Jennings, Sue Winter, Tricia Hulehan, Jane Jackson, and Darlene Clark. 

  Most of the booths featured demos or make & takes. Great opportunities to learn from talented people. Workshops were also happening during the festival. Rave reviews came for our teachers, Sondra and Kim with Two Girls and Beverly Terry with Terryfic Times. The shows are such a great time for shopping and learning.  

We want to thank these companies for donating prizes to be given away during the show: JudiKins, ClearSnap, Stampendous, Another Stamp Company, Close To My Heart, Crafty Secrets, DeNami Design, DRS Designs, Endless Creations, Gary M Burlin & Co., Marco’s Paper, Scrapbook Creations, SAR (some assembly required), Sparkle N Sprinkle, Stamping Fools, Stamps On Fire, The Paper Cut, and The Stamping Studio.
 
Thank you Greenville patrons for joining us this weekend. As always, you were most hospitable.

Nikki and Sheila

It's Labor Day Weekend, the time most of us get our last fun trip in before school. So I would like to share a fond memory of a Labor Day event. It was 21 years ago, just 10 days before my scheduled C-Section. It had been an unusually hot summer in Eugene, OR and Dave and I thought an ice cream treat was in order. We headed over to our favorite downtown, Italian restaurant for some of their delicious, freshly made Spumoni. Dave went inside to order ice cream and I waddled over to a table for two on the sidewalk. As he returned with our treats the man and woman at the next table began to sing a little song. Dave was so enthralled with the song he asked the man to sing it again and again, until he had it down. It was two or three rounds, which was a delight to the small crowd. No one gave money however. But no one threw tomatoes either.

So...every Labor Day we sing the song and it takes us back to the time we enjoyed as a couple, the anticipation of our new baby and the tasty goodness of freshly made Spumoni. Here are the words to the song that is sung to the tune of Auld Lang Syne.

Oh, Labor Day, you day of days,

how dear you are to me.

We'll load the family in the car

and camp out by the sea.

In gray and stormy weather,

or sunny, bright and gay,

I know that you will always be

my favorite holiday.

Whatever you do this Labor Day, take time to make a memory. Sing this little song, you never know who will hear and you may make a new friend.