From Turkeys to Eagles

OK all you Horizon (HCLC) folks: new page kits and goodies in the door for you. Hurry in before Regina buys them all, though. She stalks us almost as much as, well, one can be stalked.

Desert Vista and Mountain Pointe vintage page kits are also here just in time for holiday project-making. Because when you're thinking of winter break, surely you're thinking about making something lovely for your teachers just prior. Right?

And in honor of middle schools in the area, we've selected some lovely custom paper with mascot name and appropriate school colors: Centennial, Akimel A-al, and Altadena specifically. If the hurrahs are long and loud enough, we might even start in on the elementary schools. Do you feel lucky?

Plus for this very brief moment, we have every 9" letter in stock and just waiting to be altered. You can spell virtually anything. (Not sure how that would look on a wall, and it would take some time to alter all 17 letters, but you can if you'd like.)

Make Me a Card. *Poof* You're a Card Crop

Friday night crop from 6-11:30pm will feature holiday card-making demonstrations. Bring your own bone folder and prepare to pick up some tips and tricks for your own line of cards. Natalie hosts, so fasten your seatbelts. $15 gets you a spot, but if you can spend $30, we'll spot you the fee.

So Thankful

As today draws to a close, it seems like an appropriate time to be thankful.

I am so thankful for

• A sister who brings out the very best in me and whom I adore. As should everyone. She just rocks.
• The colors pink and green. Alone or together, just thanks.
• Four sisters who I was lucky enough to gain when my dad remarried 27 years ago; also a brother who tells the greatest stories.
• A good job with a good boss and flexible hours. Even if you make me get on a plane every two minutes. And schedule a 2-day meeting right smack in the middle of CHA-Winter.
• A brother who has a girlfriend who is a perfect match for him, and between the two, managed to arrange a weekend event that was just what our family needed. If you're in NH and need a plumber, I can help. Um, he can help.
• A cute boy who is now a very sexy man. Everybody wants to rule the world.
• A mom who dropped everything to take care of my sister; a second mom who would do the same and does.
• Ryan Star, Everclear, ancient Del Fuegos, Jason Mraz, and that Snow Patrol song. Yeah, I'll lie with you and forget the world. There are days we could all use a bit of that.
• The perfect child. Please don't tell her I said that. She'll use it against me. But she is perfect.
• Shopping at the candy store. Wicked fun stuff.
• Staff that has helped me through some rough spots and tragic times, and has remained to see me resurface. You guys.
• Drop-dead gorgeous paper that smells delicious and feels ever so yummy.
• Lots of extended family. You know who you are. And if you don't, pretend.
• Long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. Oh wait, that was Crash David in Bull Durham. Although it sure sounds like something to be thankful for.
• Good health, good wishes, good friends, and a really good workout routine. Not necessarily in that order, but likely.
• Diplomas. I like to graduate. I may even plan to do it again someday.
• Home. Sleep. Chocolate chip cookies. Diet Coke. Bananas. Cool sunglasses. No lines at the movies. Pillowtop mattresses. Room service. The Amazing Race. Cute shoes. Amy Tan books. iPods. Direct flights, especially with upgrades. Pearls.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Take a Nap, Then Shop

It's last-minute entertainment at the Scraptique when we roll all over Black Friday with special savings.

You don't have to pick and choose your goodies either. Just take 10% off anything you like in the store. Make a purchase of $50 or more and we'll increase the discount to 15%. Drop a $100 or more bundle and we increase the discount to 20%. The kicker? This is in addition to your Frequent Shopper discount. Yes, it's cool, but we're still working on righteous.

Coming up: Holiday Wish Lists, Teacher Play Dates, and 1-Hour Workshops for Quick Holiday Giving. Honestly, where else would you want to be? I mean, besides there.

Hold It: This Just In

In a cornucopia of colors. In supply totes and shoulder totes. Point. Game. Match. (Say it with me, please.) Righteous.

Righteous Bling

Yes, it is in fact my new most favorite word and I plan to use it incessantly. Plus, I'm also going to pretend I'm Spicoli every time I say it. Every. Time.

As for the Bling, it is Bazzill, it is in the store, and it is quite shimmery and still has that canvas texture that we adore. We selected many colors, mostly because it was too hard to decide on our favorites. We also brought in more scallops, including circles and hearts, so you don't have to cut your own paper or use acidic doilies to get neato pages.

So what all do I need? All I need are some tasty waves, a cool buzz, and I'm fine. Righteous.

Back in Black

Crate Paper shipped their lovely cream and black collection. It looks like this: Trust me, you need it. Or don't trust me. But you still need it.

Are You Ready for 2007?

Designing With 2007: much anticipated, heavily requested, and finally arrived. Cheers all around. Hoo-rah.

Back Up the Truck, Kids

Is it better to give or receive? I know I've enjoyed both tremendously, and I haven't yet decided on a preference. And it seems perfectly OK to continue to do both.

Thusly, I will share with you the amazing loads of interesting and potential gifting solutions that abound in the store:

• Cosmo Cricket: Wonderland is here. Rich, luxurious texture and elegant designs. Maybe John Mayer can write a sequel about paper. Definitely desirable.
• Basic Grey: Dasher, Fruitcake, Blush, chipboard elements, alphas, tags, and everything else you could ever covet from our friends who are anything but Basic and everything except Grey. Eminently enviable.
• Creative Imaginations: Massive themed categories and new stock in everything from Disney to volleyball to rodeo to more holiday fun. Also BE: the alterable line, including blocks, clocks, and other stuff that rocks. Heh.
• Prima: Flowers in some refreshing colors and newly mixed collections. We've arranged them hither and yon around the store, mostly because we like saying hither. And yon. Say it with us next time, OK?

There may be more hidden surprises, but you'll just have to come in yourself and look around. There are new class samples and a class calendar just waiting to be picked up.

And as always, it's OK to touch. We do. We're just very tactile people.

happy happy JOY JOY

Find your JOY all over the store. These fabulous 4" paper mache letters are in, they're nearly free, and you can use them to make easy-peasy altered gifts for all those hard-to-please people. Spread some joy this week. I know I did my part. Yowza.

Gypsies Fortune

PSYCH! We are still waiting on our Memory Trends order from our beloved Gypsy friends, but we were able to bring back the immensely popular 97% certifiable seal stamps in the Observations, This Belongs To, and Viewer Discretion models. Apparently there was a knock-down drag out fight over the last batch, and we'd like a rematch. Or just to watch. We've also restocked a bejumble of naked books, gaffer tape in black and red, oversized photo corners, kits, and other assorted goodies. Be sure to ask Sara to show you how she altered one of the seal stamps to make the stamp itself just even more versatile. It's like (gypsy) magic!

Like, Beauty

New CK stash for your idea-starved brain (not likely for most of you, I know) with Beautiful Basics plus the new CK annual Idea Book. I'd like to think I have at least one annual idea, but perhaps that's just my imagination.

Rusty Pickle sent on down the rest of our summer order, so if you've been waiting for a little something rusty to finish out a family layout, well, holey soley, it can be done.

We've also stocked up on lotsa tins so you can start working on more holiday gifts. It's pretty dang amazing what can be done with a little metal and some stuff. And by "stuff" I mean, paper, embellishments, ribbons, chipboard, paint, diamond glaze, rubber galoshes. Well, mostly that.

I was in Vermont during Memory Trends, so I did not see nearly as many of the fall releases as I would have liked. Too much of a commute. Yet, I still think that I have a good overview of everything that I missed. Watch this space (OK not this exact space but at least this general area) for my MT review, from the perspective of Hey, I Wasn't Even There! Someone's gotta have an opinion, and I say it's me.