Nikki Stays In The Office and Dave Travels To Fort Wayne

Dave, my husband got to work the Fort Wayne show.  Nikki stayed in the office to get the show contracts out to the exhibitors for 2010.  Dave loves to travel and thoroughly enjoys visiting with the exhibitors and patrons.   

We anticipated rain for the Fort Wayne show, yet not a drop fell.  It was cold however, low 40’s.  We enjoyed sunny days with some wind and cloudy skies.  The changing colors of the leaves danced on the tree limbs in the parking lot.  Many of the exhibitors wore their heavy coats and hoods to set-up.

Greg from Marco’s Paper rolled into the Coliseum first to set-up.  Trucks, trailers, vans and compact cars loaded with treasures were emptied Friday to create a shopping paradise for all our customers.  It never ceases to amaze me the number of hours it takes to set-up a show. Then, after the show, in just two hours, how empty the hall will be again. 

Friday we offered classes to students covering all sorts of coloring techniques and card making.  Darlene of Stampland, Zana of Stamp Zia, Beth of Endless Creations and Sandy Hulsart, a Copic certified instructor.  Dave let me leave the show floor so I could take the Copic Class.  I learned a great deal from Sandy and now I need to practice and fine tune my skills.  Nikki and I will learn together during our lunch break as I show her what Sandy taught in the class. 

Dave was very impressed with Zana’s Design & Treasure project for the Friday night class.  We used crayons, ink and a scraping technique to create a beautiful piece of art.  Here is a picture of some of the completed projects.  Unfortunately the picture doesn’t give you the texture detail.  The tiles have a mosaic feel.  Dave wants to make a large piece of art for our home using this technique and I’m looking forward to working on it with him.
  

Saturday morning we had a good crowd come out for the show and enjoyed a steady stream through most of the afternoon.  Due to the chilly weather folks were dressed in warm seasonal clothing.  Here is a picture of three gals wearing festive fall tops.  Even though we were inside all day we got to enjoy the autumn colors displayed on the outfits of our patrons.  Thanks for the donning the festive harvest attire.

Congratulations to our winners!
We had lots of winners during the Festival.  Here is the list of names drawn from the tub of postcards.  Deb Long, Fran Dutton  Louise Truex, Karen Gumbert, V. Halac, Lyn Morningstar, Donnoa Jones, Molly Mekus, Erin Weebel, Kathy Merrett, Kelsey Mullen, Vicki Luebke, Susan Yee, Penny Snyder, Jodi Mook, Sheryl Penland, Chandra Carpenter, Janet Leslie, Melinda Miller, Mildred Wagner, Joan Lewis, Renee Vsetula, Lexi Rabel, Marlene Volkert, Kathy Newton, Barb Marlen, Elaine McClure, Loretta Ritchie and Deanna Stuckey.

We want to thank all the companies that donated prizes.  We appreciate their generous support of our Festival events.

Another Stamp Co., DeNami Design, Endless Creations, Gary M. Burlin & Co., Lost Coast Designs, PK Glitz, Polly’s Pals, Scrap-Mart, Scrap-A-Holic, Stamp On It, Stampland, The Happy Scrapper, TooMuchFun RubberStamps, Stampendous, JudiKins, RubberStampMadness, Clearsnap, and Stampington & Co.

The ATC Contest theme for Fort Wayne was: “Queen for a day!”

Our Saturday Winner is Kathie Williams.  Each of our daily winners were inspired by Halloween.  On Sunday, Debbie Herrick won with her Scream Queen ATC.  Congratulations girls!  Each of them won Rubber Bucks donated by Heirloom Productions to spend at the show with the exhibitors.  It’s always fun to pick your prize.

 

 

On Saturday, the local CBS station interviewed Dave and featured our Festival on the 7 p.m. news. 

We’re looking forward to returning to Fort Wayne October 2 & 3, 2010.  We will be at a new location, the Allen County Fairgrounds, 2726 Carroll Road, Fort Wayne, IN  46818. 

Dave and I took a peek at the facilities, there, before flying home, and found the folks to be very helpful and the location easy to get to.  It’s only 5-10 minutes from the Coliseum.  FREE parking!!!  We’ll keep you posted as the show approaches.

 We appreciate you all coming out and making the Festival a wonderful time for everyone.  Please mark your calendars for next year.

Happy Howl-O-Ween

Here’s a fun, moving card, sent to us by Auntie Amy for the season. 

Thought y'all would enjoy it, as well.

 

  We don’t dress up in the office…the costumes get caught up in the chair wheels and the masks are cumbersome when talking on the phone, but we have festive spirits.

We have giant bags of candy to give to the trick or treaters.  

 

Our weather in Newport is looking like rain, so we may have fewer kids coming to the door and then, well…we may need to eat the extra candy ourselves.  

 

It’s a spooky situation.

Happy Punkin’ Carving!  

  

The Girls travel to Heirloom's York, PA Show.

We got A-44 and A-45 boarding passes for our South West 737. So we weren’t at the back of the bus, yea! We waited patiently for the pilot to announce we had reached our cruising altitude so we could begin crafting. And we crafted in a really BIG way.


As we set our trays in the work mode, Nikki pulled out the Christmas cards she had prepped in our hotel room the night before we flew out. She used Heat-N- Bond on the backside of the fabric which makes the fabric like paper to cut. Then she cut out the cute mittens and hats from the fabric. By peeling off the paper backing she was able to iron the cut-outs onto the paper cut for her card front. It’s a pretty cool system if you want to use fabric scraps, match a scrapbook page to a child’s outfit, or whatever you can dream up. As you can see from the picture, the card is a pretty blue with an embossed snowflake white paper on top. Nikki used her embossing pad to make a random swipe on the edges of the white card and then embossed with silver powder. It looks like a frosty winter window pane. She used blue floss to string the mittens and hats and a pewter finish snowflake brad to attach the wintry embellishments to the cardstock.

Nikki kept me busy by passing the white snowflake embossed cardstock so I could add a flash of glitter to some of the snowflakes. I used the Quickie Glue Pen and some iridescent glitter. Now here’s what you need to factor in when working with glitter on a plane. There are some small, yet powerful air vents overhead…yea, you got the picture. Even though I had carefully placed a piece of paper on the tray to collect the glitter and replace it in the jar, some of it blew around. I ended up wearing some major sparkle. I could hear Stacy and Clinton from What Not To Wear saying, “Glitter is not age appropriate for me.” I’m so glad we had already passed through airport security.

Sometimes we get folks peaking over our seats and then the discussions begin. What are you doing? Did they let you on the plane with those scissors? Do you knit, also? Is this your job? Sometimes we hear about their hobbies. But this time…folks stayed away! Not a word from flight attendants or fellow passengers. Humm! Maybe it was the GLITTER!

Well, it’s a great way to entertain ourselves for four hour flights when no movies are offered.


Oh, now here’s the funny part of the glitter for me. I did not realize the volume of glitter I was wearing. I got up to use the lavatory and there was a gentleman ahead of me. We started talking about the need to stretch as we were both twisting in the small waiting area. I looked down at my shoes and glitter was actually falling all around me. I took hold of the hem of my shirt and shook it…a sprinkling of glitter covered the floor. When I got into the lavatory and looked in the mirror it looked like Tinker Bell had just prepared me for a trip to Neverland. I found myself wondering what the gentleman ahead of me was thinking about my appearance. Probably the same thing Stacy and Clinton would think, glitter is not age appropriate. Or maybe he wondered what I did for a living. Either way, we had fun and we stayed in our seats most of the time.


Food that satisfies!


Nikki and her family found Five Guys while on vacation. So last year she took me to the Five Guys in York. What a treat! Lively servers, newspaper and magazine articles on the walls proclaiming their goodness, as well as letters from satisfied customers, peanuts in the shell, yummy burgers, and the best part…freshly made French fries where small orders are actually super-sized.


Friday night after set-up and the Design & Treasure Class we met Greg from Marco’s to please our taste buds and fill our tummies. Isn’t this great looking food? We loved it.

Our Friend Janie


Janie, the founder of Stamp-ede, in York, passed away this year. We miss her, as do so many. Deb and her crew put together a picture board to remember her at the show this year. Many people still were not aware of her death and took time to share their memories of her.

Nikki and I loved to visit with Janie on Saturday night after the show. She would keep the store open and have guests do make & takes or teach classes. Janie would keep us in stitches as she shared stories from her life. She knew how to keep the humor in tough situations. A survivor of breast cancer, battled many other health issues, and with limited sight Janie still lived life with joy. One day she

told of getting her eyes tattooed so she did not need to think about putting make-up on. Too difficult to see if the eye liner is straight. It’s all about a girls priorities.


We would tease Janie and tell her that you had to do aerobic shopping in her store because the aisles were small and the product went from the floor to nearly the ceiling. If the customer made a request she would do her best to get the merchandise.


Janie did a great job in supporting the exhibitors, shows and customers. She had a good grasp of the big picture and often made others the most important perspective. We miss her but know she has blessed us all with good memories because she invested in the lives of all she knew.


Stamp-ede is still going strong due to the great crew Janie hired. They would love to see you and hear your stories of the Queen of Stamps.


Nikki Takes A Class


Nikki signed up for Beth from Endless Creations class. She had fun visiting with Beth and making 5 cards with unusual folds. They used the Cuttlebug folders and many punches, as well as stamps from Beth’s line.


Fun At The Show


We had a good time at the show. So many first time attendees. They needed all the stuff and the exhibitors were glad to help them make selections. The demos and make & takes were heavily attended. Many came back on Sunday to get a closer view of the demos because of the crowds on Saturday.


As the fall season is beginning we couldn’t help but notice all the customers wearing beautiful embroidered shirts with autumn designs. We don’t have so many pretty deciduous trees on the coast of Oregon, mostly firs. It’s a delight to see the fall colors of the eastern states.


Here’s a shot from the middle seat in our row as we flew over Mount Hood. We know we’re almost ready to land when the snow capped mountains appear. Isn’t it beautiful? We live in a wonderful country.

Here’s a picture of the Pacific Ocean from our town of Newport, OR.

These are highlights from our trip to York, PA. We’ll see you next year October 9 & 10.


It won’t be long before we begin our Stamping Shenanigans in Fort Wayne, IN.

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.