Merry Christmas!

Hi everyone...and Merry Christmas! Peachy and I are enjoying everyone stopping by (especially those last minute guys buying Gift Certificates)! Mom has been really busy. She had to rush to get her Christmas Cards mailed because Dad was in the hospital. Mom said he had something like the colic horses get. I guess she thought we might understand those terms better. Any way you look at it, it doesn't sound good. But he is better now, and didn't have surgery. After Christmas, Mom promised to bring a surprise photo for me to post......it's a secret! So for now, I'll share a photo of a few of our friends. Merry Christmas, and Happy 2009!

Merry Christmas!

We thought you could use a little spice in your life, just in case your holiday spirit is lagging. Now we don't get to watch TV around here because Mom is too cheap for cable. The only thing we get to watch is craft videos......and more craft videos. Peachy does a great imitation of Tim Holtz! But rumor has it that one of our favorite products was a hit on TV. Art Institute Glitter was Center Stage on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show 2008! Art Glitter put on a BRILLIANT performance at Victoria's Secret Fashion Show December 3rd. The runway was covered with Art Glitter's Shards Vintage Glass. We are just glad those models wore shoes...our paws would certainly hurt! Check out the glitter in the photo.....don't get distracted by the babe!

Remember that dotted swiss dress you had when you were a little girl? Now you can make your cards out of this beautiful Dotted Swiss cardstock! The quality and colors from Bazzill Basics are always the best. The paper is $.39 a sheet of 8.5"X11". You will need all colors, we are sure. By the way, there are more colors on the way, but here are the ones we have right now. Yummy, huh?



Holiday Hugs....
Mittens and Peachy

We love birds!

We would love to catch birds....especially these pretty ones. We thought you might like to see what you can do with the new bird Nestabilities that just came in. There are pretty butterflies and a nice flower too. (But we really like the birds) Happy Thanksgiving......Furry hugs, Mittens and Peachy

Yummy new stuff!

Hi friends.....

People are telling us stamp stores in their area are few and far between, but here we are! Busy as usual and getting new stuff all the time. Mom just ordered all of these cool ribbons, papers and embellishments.....here is what the UPS boyfriend brought the other day. These two collections from Making Memories are really pretty. We really like the jars of matching flowers and buttons. Mom had trouble with Peachy always knocking them off the counter when she was pricing them...what a bugger he is! The papers are really nice....double sided, and even some spot-varnished, or die cut, or flocked. Really special!

Then there are the RIBBONS! About 3000 yards of ribbons came in. Two of them are 1" wide. If you follow other blogs, you will see that many of the artists are now using this wider ribbon. Melissa will be using the satin on her Christmas card. The other one is grosgrain with stitching.

Mom said her fave is the 1/2" iridescent sheer with a heavy thread that creates a pinstripe. Boy, does it come in great colors! You need them all!!!!!

So now you can see what we have been up to..... We have LOTS of new Christmas paper and embellishments, too. Mom may have even talked Auntie M into teaching a calendar class again...

Stay tuned...Mittens

Excuses, excuses!

I am just overwhelmed! Mom has this ink cartridge recycling program for the Eastern Madera County SPCA, and they just keep piling box after box of the darned things on the table. I doubt you can even find my beautiful face in this photo! Now I know the money goes for a good cause...the Angel Fund...to help sick or injured animals get medical care, but this is getting a bit out of hand if you ask me! Well, since nobody bothered to ask me, I guess I'll just have to put on my 'big girl panties' and deal with it. I have tried to convince Peachy to help, and as you can see, he is checking the cartridge numbers to see if they are ones that can be recycled for MONEY! With this job, we will be busy for a long time.

I had better fill you in on everything else that is going on. First, the 10th Annual Animal Faire (more SPCA) was a huge success. Mom said they raised almost $8,000. I guess they sold a lot of 'hot dogs'!

And on the store front, it is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. Christmas paper, Christmas Cuttlebug stuff, Christmas stamps, Christmas stencils, even red and green embossing paste. Speaking of embossing, it sure was fun to have Lynell Harlow and Diane Maurer her to teach classes. Diane is a real animal person and she is currently without a kitty. Boy, did we get loved! I hope Diane would consider coming back.....while she had some time off from teaching classes, she went on a horseback ride up by Tenaya, and almost had the you-know-what scared out of her. That equine was skidding all over rocks, going through creeks, and generally freaking her out. I think she really had a California adventure!

Be sure to stop by to check out the new stuff. We should get rid of the mountain of cartridges by Friday.....hmmmm.....I wonder if there are any mice in there! I'll go check...catch you later!

Mittens

Yummy new stuff!

Our favorite UPS boyfriend is busy delivering to us again..... Mom has been busy buying lots of new stuff and we are happy to report some of that stuff is Peachy's favorite, RIBBON! Don't tell Mom, but he likes to chew it! What a crazy cat....... Mom bought all the colors of this cool new ribbon from A Muse, and also the new 8 1/2 X 11 printed cardstock. There is another style of cardstock yet to come. Auntie Melissa was drooling over it all....she took these photos for us,but she didn't take pictures of the polka dot. You'll just love it, too. Mom ordered so much new paper, we can't imagine where she thinks she will put is....and tons of new stamps, too. Check it all out....we'll greet you at the door.

Furry hugs,

Mittens and Peachy

Our furry friend....Aiko!

Ok......so I, Mittens, have lots of toes and can type.... Here is a photo of our buddy Aiko who is a massuese! As you can see, she is peeking out of the place where you would normally put your face on the massage table.....cat hair up your nose, anyone? Aiko's human is Joan Mills, one of Mom's reps. We love Joan because everytime she comes to visit, we can sit in her lap and on her laptop and get kitty fur all over everything and she doesn't even care. Isn't Aiko cute?

Cool Tool!

Hi there.....

Now you know our favorite tools are related to scratching posts, but you have got to see this one exception. Actually, there is another version due in soon with only a different corner radius, but we wanted to let you know we now have the Zutter Heavy Duty Corner Rounder (1/2") in stock. This tool is really heavy duty. It will round up to 1/8" thickness of chipboard, tin, clipboard, leather, and acrylic...as well as about 8 pieces of cardstock at a time. And this size comes in PINK! It sells for $19.99, and we got in a dozen, so you'd better call right away if you want one. I think the other size is a broader curve, but I can't really remember....we will see when it comes! And it doesn't even take extra toes to make it work.....even a person with hands can do it. This thing is really cool and easy to use. Stop by to check it out!

Mittens......the cool tool authority!

Inchie, Inchie, Inchie!!!!

Hi, we're baaaack!

It has been a long time since our last post. We thought after the Stamp Escape we would have time to blog.....guess again! Orders have been placed, and now they are coming in fast and furious. Mom said it gives the UPS man job security! The Stamp Escape students ordered lots of stamps from Lockhart Stamp Company, Dreamweaver, Artlenz, and Michael Strong. So far, we have everything but Michael Strong's stamps. Mom has everything in little bags with names on them...it took her all day last Friday. She said we were not much help. Now she is waiting for this Inchie stuff. That's all we have heard.....Inchie, Inchie, Inchie! So, here's the deal. You take these little images and stamp them on these 1" square pieces of special mat board. Then you use them as a focal point on a card, make embellishments out of them, make jewelry, or best of all, swap them. This whole thing is taking on a life of its' own. You need an index book (we'll have them) to log what you have made and received in swaps, a binder (we'll have them) with pockets in the pages to store them, frames (you can make them) to display them....and so on. Mom said we should have a club! Now we need a club name....I vote for Inchie Paws! Check out the picture of a frame with metal inserted as a way to display Inchies with magnets on the back. Watch the class schedule for classes making Inchies. If you can think of a name better than Inchie Paws (I doubt it), email us or post it on the blog. Mom said she will be letting everyone know when the special orders are all complete and ready to pick up...should be in a day or two. Stop by to check out the Inchies in person.

Your friends in fur...

Peachy and Mittens

Almost Stamp Escape!

Hi everyone......we wanted to check in with you before Mom goes to The Pines for The Great Yosemite Stamp Escape. We have been so busy here....Peachy said he has bee the biggest help! Usually we like to lay on the tables and rest, but just take a look at this photo and you will see what our problem is. We will be so glad to see all of this stuff go.....and we will actually get TWO days off this week. The store will be closed Saturday and Sunday while our friends have a great time at the lake. We'll let you know more of what is going on once we finish our work on the Stamp Escape.

See you soon....

Hugs and Purrs,

Mittens and Peachy

Yum-O!

We just want to EAT these new

ribbons......Mom and the Aunties have been really busy the last few days. They said to tell you we got 24 new papers ftom My Mind's Eye, 5 new papers from Crate Paper, lots of new rhinestones, stamps from Penny Black, Hero Arts, and Stampendous, punches from Punch Bunch, lots of door prizes for The Great Yosemite Stamp Escape, and this YUMMY ribbon! You will have to see them in purrson to appreciate them......these are only part of the 24 gorgeous colors that came in.

You still have time to sign up for the Stamp Escape......hurry so you can get some of the cool free stuff! Peachy and I are packing the goody bags for you and we are doing a fabulous job!

Stop by to pet us soon!

Mittens and Peachy

Lazy Guy!

I have been so busy opening all of the boxes of goodies Mom ordered. Every day, it's another box! Wow, she really went crazy at that show! Now, I am so busy my paws are sore from all the work. And you can see how much Peachy helps me......what you see is pretty much what he does all day!

Mom is working on details for the Stamp Escape, and still writing lots of orders.....stop by to see us and check out what's new!

Purrs......

Mittens

Photos from CHA!

Finally, even though Auntie M had MAJOR computer problems, she and Auntie R sent us some photos they took at CHA. Mom has ordered the board and all of the supporting stamps from Northwoods Stamps. One of the things they were looking for was masculine themed stamps and they thought this group was perfect. It should ship at the end of March so we will have it in plenty of time for Father's Day.

Here is a card done with stamps from the Thomas Kincaide line. He is the famous artist whose paintings feature light. Cornish Farms Stamps have lots of his paintings translated into stamps. This one was colored with chalk. They also look beautiful just stamped in colored ink. As soon as we get all of the catalogs from this company, Mom will place an order.

Check back soon to see more photos from CHA. Mom and the Aunties are recuperating. Maybe after this weekend they will be almost normal! Almost!

Hugs and Pets! ......Mittens

Wow, do they look tired!

Mom and Aunties Robin and Melissa got back to the store yesterday and brought in TONS of catalogs and other goodies. They stashed the goodies right away saying they are being saved for Stamp Escape. The catalogs are stacked on the tables in ...order now....order soon...and...maybe not...piles! They all just kind of sat and gazed off into space and said they were really tired. Lots of people came in asking if it the trade show was fun.....Mom just looked at them. Evidently it must be a lot of hard work. Today Mom is already working on more orders out of catalogs in the first pile. She said we will have photos to put on our blog as soon as Auntie M gets her laptop fixed. Maybe they took photos of lots of cards and fun stuff they saw! We'll post again as soon as we get the photos!

Hugs and Purrs, Mittens and Peachy

News from CHA

Hi everyone.......we had the perfect picture to post for you today, but none of us were quick enough with a camera! At some booth they were hosting a make and take project of a black headband with two fluffy pony tails (for lack of a better description) sticking up on top. They were pink, purple, green or blue.......Women were wandering around with these ridiculous looking things on their heads. Fortunately we never found the booth where they were being made! But, the photo we missed was of this middle aged, short, balding man walking toward us with his purple, perky pony tails on his head! I would have loved the caption "What we saw at CHA!"

OK, now for the news......of course we ordered lots of paper. We got quite a variety which will arrive all the way to June. As usual, we drooled and carried on when we found paper we liked. Some of the companies we ordered from were Heidi Grace, Cloud 9, SEI, My Minds Eye, Hanko. We also have lots of orders in progress that we will send this week. The coolest thing we found was the Zutter Round It All! This is a must-have tool. If we could have brought them with us we would. This corner rounder will work on chip board, 8 sheets of cardstock, and even pretty heavy acrylic. It is $20 and will be out in April.....hopefully. It is so cool!

We saw LOTS of beautiful ribbon that we will order. There were so many great stamp companies that I will order from when we get back. Melissa is whining and acting like a spoiled child and will be badgering to order, order, order! Now, she and Robin wish I had stayed home so they could have SHOPPED! Like I would have given them signed checks!

Our last chance to see anything is tomorrow morning. We are so tired that Melissa and Robin have the giggles, so we need to go through the catalogs and get to bed. We will be back in the store Wednesday, so stop by and check things out!

Thanks to Peachy and Mittens for letting me Blog....Hugs, Sharon

Where have we been?

We bet you are wondering where in the world we have been! Well......we have been sitting in the window watching this white stuff fall from the sky. It looks really cold outside and everyone is complaining. Mom has been soooooo busy, she barely has time to clean our litter box. We might have to hire a maid. Here is what has been going on......Mom has been really busy helping her Dad because he got sick with pneumonia. She has been taking care of his animals in the morning, on the way home from work and at night. We know she was really worried about him, but he is better now. She even thought she might not go to that big deal in Anaheim that they all have talked so much about. But Auntie R and Auntie M are there now and are having a great time........and the show hasn't even started yet! They are taking classes today so they can come back and show everyone what they learned. Mom is leaving early tomorrow and will be back Wednesday. From the sound of things, she spends a lot of money at this place. We'll tell her if she has time, she can post on our blog while she is gone. Maybe she will even take some pictures.

Just a note.....we got in lots of stuff for the Cuttlebug, some Coluzzle stuff, and some really neat GIANT brad/eyelets the other day......lots of ooohs and aaaaahs again!

See you soon,
Peachy and Mittens

Beautiful Card!

Our Auntie Ginger brought in a card she made out of the die cut paper we showed you in our last post. We hear a lot of people say that they wouldn't know what to do with 12 x 12 die cut paper except use it on a scrapbook page, but you can't say that any more! Mom is ordering more of that pretty paper, especially now that you can see how nice it is for a card. Maybe you can't tell that it has lots of pretty glitter on it, too. We just LOVE Bling!

Thanks, Auntie G.