Super Sketch Club kits are on the way!

For a while I didn't think we were going to make it, but Karin and Stacey and Allison and I managed to get the hundreds and hundreds of Super Sketch Club kits off to the post office just now. One of the papers didn't arrive until 1 pm today, so it was literally a whirwind around here.

As far as the February club kits, there was just no way to get them shipped before our "significant" winter event tonight and Tuesday. Since they normally don't ship until the 3rd or 4th of the month anyway, nothing will change about their usual delivery time. We just were hoping to get them sent on their way before the winter weather.

If we do have some ice-snow-sleet later, be sure to check this blog and on Facebook to see if we are open or not before you head out to shop!

We're scrambling...

to get all the January Super Sketch Club kits and the five February page and card club kits ready to ship before the snow-sleet-ice-who-knows storm hits on Tuesday. We've been slowed down on the Super Sketch Club waiting on a paper shipment, but we came in Sunday afternoon to get it packed so that we can ship on Monday. Since it sounds like everyone may be in for a driving mess for a couple of days mid-week, we're also trying hard to ship out the February kits on Monday if at all possible. I'm not promising, just letting you know that we are setting that as a goal! 

Huge mistake...

My family let me know this morning that I made a mega-sized mistake in the February/March print newsletter that we just mailed out! On the calendar, I have two spots labeled as March 29, which as you all should know, is impossible. That means that our grand re-opening will not take place on Saturday, April 1, but Saturday, April 2!

Please make that adjustment on your calendar. We're ready to start signing people up for the special Super-Saver Scrapbooking sessions we'll be having that day!

Allison's layout for Saturday's free sketch sessions is so cute!

We'll be making the layout above, which is just perfect for photos of home and family. Your cost to make this layout? Only about $4! Just call us at 417-886-0440 to register for a session at 10 am or 2:30 pm. Bring basic tools, and we'll provide you with a free computer sketch that you can use over and over!

And don't forget, we'll punch your Studio G Reward Card. Don't have one yet? No problem, we'll be happy to get you started on the way to earning some great rewards like free page kits, $20 gift cards, and other goodies!

Can't attend but would like a kit? The fee is $5, and is due at the time the request is made.

Super Sketch Club members:
Yes, this layout and sketch will be included in your January kit!

As I said, I got carried away...

with acrylic stamps! We now have a huge selection, well over 200 styles, of clear stamp sets. In addition, we also have red rubber cling stamp sets by Stampers Anonymous (Tim Holtz) and by Unity Stamp Company. These rubber stamp sets work on clear blocks, just like acrylic sets do.

Below, BasicGrey's new Hopscotch collection.

Our seasonal wall includes winter collections by Fancy Pants and Echo Park, and Valentine/love collections by American Crafts, Bo Bunny, Pink Paislee, and Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker, below.

TaDa Studios, below, is a new company for us. Nine collections are shown below, with themes ranging from holidays to masculine to circus.

Below, a selection of items I can't wait to get my hands on! Melody Ross (formerly of Chatterbox) has teamed up with GCD Studios for a line called Chip Art. There are albums, alphabets, and shapes, but the innovative part is metal "stamps" that are used to emboss/deboss chipboard. In addition to the metal stamps, Chip Art features mallets and a "pounding" board. Once you have added shapes to the chipboard, it's just a matter of coloring with Glimmer Mist or similar products to get chipboard that looks like metal or leather or pretty much whatever texture or finish you would like.

Here is a link to a YouTube demo by Melody Ross that shows you how to use the Chip Art line.

New teacher, new classes, and new products!

We're delighted to add the talented Kristi Van Doren to our list of outstanding teachers at Scrapbook Generation.

Kristi, a long-time paper crafter, has been working within the paper-crafting industry for the past 11 years, starting in retail in both Springfield and Branson. She writes a semi-regular column in "Scrap & Stamp" magazine called "Ask Kristi." She has also designed for Spellbinders Paper Crafts, Coronado Island, Prickley Pear Stamps and other companies. She is currently a Design Team member for Dreamweaver Stencils. Kristi has had artwork and articles published in "Expressions" magazine and "Scrap & Stamp" and has two upcoming articles in "CardMaker."

Kristi will be sharing her card expertise with stencils, embossing, and more, and her classes will be technique-driven. Her first class features three gorgeous cards, pictured below. All three cards use the same metal stencils, but showcase different stenciling techniques. Kristi is calling the class "Stencils 101." The pink card features black embossing paste, the white card features dry embossing, and the teal card, which is just stunning, features a technique involving glitter and other products that Kristi says it is actually very simple! You can find out the times and prices in the sidebar at left.

Now that we have more room, we're also able to add Dreamweaver embossing stencils to our selection of products! In a week or so, we'll have stencils in several sizes, plus embossing pastes and other products that are used for embossing. (We'll also have an extra amount of the two stencils used for the cards below, so if you take the class and love these stencils, there will be plenty to purchase.)

February classes announced...

If you'll check out the left sidebar, you'll find the February classes and activities listed under the heading "join us in February." The February/March print newsletter is being mailed out later this week, but I thought I would give you a heads-up on what to expect next month. We have some great classes planned!

Scrap-a-Palooza #7 rocked!
We had a sell-out crowd of 284 scrapbookers for our seventh Scrap-a-Palooza. The snowy weather treated us right, and everyone was able to enjoy a full day of scrapbooking and shopping delight.

One of the most interesting parts of the day...I had ordered over 20 of the new Sew Easy tools by We R Memory Keepers, thinking that would be enough to sell at Palooza and then have some to take back to SG and sell. The doors opened at 8:30, and the Sew Easy tools were sold out before 9 am! I'm ordering more today! I also want to give a shout-out to American Crafts for generously donating the cardstock for the free layout class that Allison taught. Awesome!

Check out scenes from this fun event below...

Heather Schroeder and Katrina Hunt teach one of the three free mini-classes designed, prepared, and taught by the Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker Design Team. Nikki also generously donated $15 worth of product for each person's goodie bag!

Allison Davis presents one of her three big-screen demonstrations during the day.

Allison's three paid classes were hugely popular. Two of them will be offered in February and March at Scrapbook Generation.

When I had a chance to sit down, I had some fun with scrapbooking friends Hazel Stuart, Debbie Seitzer, and Diana Boggs. Karon Rapp and her friend Karen were also part of our group.

Stacey and husband Jeremy were at the registers from 8:30 in the morning until 10 at night. They rarely sat down!

Scrap-a-Palooza is a hectic day for Karin...she also gets to run Scrapbook Generation herself that day while the rest of us are at Palooza.

The free mini-classes taught by Katrina and Heather were popular places to be!

Allison Davis, Karin Rush, Chris Louzader, myself, and Stacey Atchley, our Palooza team! Chris and Midwest Family Broadcast group do a super job of promoting the event, and of taking care of the set-up and food. We can't thank her enough!

And if you're ready for more Scrap-a-Palooza, the next one is June 25. Same place, same great time!

Did you know...

That Scrapbook Generation is expanding its selection of Bazzill cardstock to 300 colors? For years, we've offered 240 shades, but with the move to the new store, we have room for more. We've reviewed all the Bazzill colors, and are happy to report that we'll now be able to carry almost every textured shade offered, including dotted swiss, beloved by cardmakers!

The 300 new colors are arriving Wednesday, and we need to make room for them! Here's where you can help us! Monday and Tuesday, all our current stock of 55 cents per sheet Bazzill cardstock will be drastically reduced to three sheets for $1. Stop by SG and stock up on your favorite colors!

Postponing Designers Challenge Club meeting...

Because of the wintery weather forecast for Thursday, we're going to postpone the Thursday evening meeting of the Designers Challenge Club. The meeting is being rescheduled for the following Thursday, January 27, at the same time. If you have any questions, just give us a call at 417-886-0440.

Gearing up for our seventh Scrap-a-Palooza!

The week before Scrap-a-Palooza is always a hectic time at SG, and this one is especially so, with 280 scrapbookers ready to roll their tote bags in for a day of cropping and shopping heaven at Remington's this Saturday! There are kits to make, goodie bags to fill, classes to prepare, and most of all, a mountain of new products to process and prepare for sale. Actually, this last activity has been going on since November! In order to treat the Palooza shoppers to a sea of new paper collections, we've been ordering like crazy for months.

I've told you in an earlier post the names of the 60-plus new papers collections we'll be debuting, but I haven't mentioned some of the other goodies you'll find first at Palooza, then the following week at SG.

• All the Sew Easy tools and gadgets from We R Memory Keepers. We had all these stitching tools for about five minutes one Saturday, then whoosh, it was all gone. To meet the demand, we'll have a huge supply on hand at Palooza, and one of Ali's big-screen demos will be on how to use this cool new tool.
• A huge amount of new clear stamp sets, over 150 sets (I got carried away!) from Inkadinkado, Fiskars, EK Success, American Crafts, Crafty Secrets, My Sentiments Exactly, Hot Off the Press, The Paper Company, Hero Arts, and more.
• Rubber cling stamp sets from Unity.
• The new Chip Art products by GCD Studios and Melody Ross (formerly of Chatterbox). There are shaped chipboard albums, chipboard shapes, mallets, mats, and "stamps" that are used to deboss patterns and designs onto the chipboard. Looks like totally awesome fun to me, and I think you'll like it, too!
• Ranger's new Perfect Pearls mist in every color available.
• Tons of new 12x12 and smaller templates by Crafters' Workshop and Hot Off the Press.
• Pearl and rhinestone flourishes by KaiserCraft.
• Regular and glitter embossing powders.
• Vintage "book covers" by 7Gypsies.
• More edger punches by EK Success and Martha Stewart.
• The "everywhere" punch system by Fiskars.
• Tiny jars of Beadazzles, a fun and glitzy product.
• Stickers by every company imaginable in every topic and theme imaginable...
• And so much more!

Distress Inks 101...fun and free!

Wednesday, January 19, we have something really special planned for you, and it's totally free. Candy Colwell, vintage artist and new SG teacher, will be demonstrating several techniques using Tim Holtz/Ranger distress inks. After Candy's demo, you'll get the chance to try the inks and techniques out yourself. As Candy says, "experiment, play and learn!"

The projects shown above on a variety of tags are just some of the creative things you can do with distress inks. While you won't be making a project to take with you, you'll be learning the skills you need to make something similar on your own.

This fun new activity starts at 10 am Wednesday, and you'll have a couple of hours to learn from an expert in all things vintage. We hope you can join us...you'll be amazed at what you can do!

Note from Candy:
"I hope you will join me Wednesday morning for some fun, free creative play time! I will be giving handouts to everyone who comes with all of the techniques I will be showing you. There is lots to absorb. So, the instuctions will be a great reference for you to refer to anytime! You will love all of the possibilities at your fingertips with distress inks. Hope to see you there!" 

Join us for the Debbie Sanders free sketch sessions this Saturday!

We'll be making the layout above, which should be perfect for photos of wintery fun. Your cost to make this layout? Only about $4! Just call us at 417-886-0440 to register for a session at 10, 12:30, or 2:30. Bring basic tools, and we'll provide you with a free computer sketch that you can use over and over!

And don't forget, we'll punch your Studio G Reward Card. Don't have one yet? No problem, we'll be happy to get you started on the way to earning some great rewards like free page kits, $20 gift cards, and other goodies!

Can't attend but would like a kit? The fee is $5, and is due at the time the request is made.

Candy Colwell joins the SG teaching staff...

The ladies in Candy Colwell's first class at SG are still working away while I'm writing this blog entry! They seem to be having a wonderful time...I've been at my spot in the lobby this morning, and I can hear some of what goes on in the classroom. Just as we knew, Candy (shown above in the pink shirt) is teaching a class loaded with techniques and tips for using these skills in other projects. In addition, her teaching skills are well-polished -- she has an easy-to-understand and informative style, which is what you always hope for in an instructor. We're looking forward to a long association with her.

Next week, Candy is teaching a free "distressing" demo here at SG. I'll post some examples of what you'll learn soon, plus more details about this special chance to learn some great techniques...free!

It somehow seems fitting...

...that we'll be using the Hot Chocolate collection from Fancy Pants for the Debbie Sanders free sketch sessions this Saturday! Amidst all this cold and snowy weather, why don't you join us Saturday and make a two-page layout just waiting for photos of some of your winter activities.

I'll post the photo of the actual layout on Thursday. Right now, we're waiting on the papers to arrive, but I did want to show you what two of the three papers will be. The front side of the paper is the smaller square, and the back side is what you see on the larger square. Your cost for making the layout will be about $4. Spots are available at 10, 12:30, and 2:30. Please call 417-886-0440 to pre-register, or to request a kit, priced at $5.

And don't forget...by attending and participating in the class, you'll get a punch on your Studio G Reward Card! And if you weren't with us last week when the first reward cards were given out, don't worry! We'll have one ready for you on Saturday, ready for you to start earning some great rewards.

'Sketch Support' website shines!

We're so proud of Scrapbook Generation Publishing's new website, Sketch Support with Allison Davis. Already popular with scrapbookers and cardmakers everywhere, the site is well on its way to being the go-to spot for papercrafting enthusiasts looking for inspiration and guidance.

Last year, Allison hosted "Sketch Week" on her blog, featuring a two-page sketch each month, with five days of layouts based on the sketch. She started off doing all the layouts herself, then added guest designers to show other styles besides her own. Sketch Week became so popular that many people commented how much they would like for it to be Sketch Month...and that's what has happened! Beyond that, Allison has been the creative force behind the site, coming up with the overall concept, designing the format, writing and editing the posts, and overseeing the Creative Team whose members provide daily inspiration.

The new blog, which went live on January 1, features not only downloadable two-page sketches, but one-page sketches, card sketches, and "add-on" sketches, all with examples of layouts, cards, and page accents made using the sketches. Allison creates some of the examples, and others come from the talented members of the Scrapbook Generation Publishing Creative Team: Amy Roller, Carolyn Wolff, Christina Hoffman, Christy Arthur, Jennifer Larson, Jill Sarginson, Katrina Hunt, Melissa Elsner, Mireille Divjak, Noey Hunt, Shari Thurman, Suzanne Lee, and Tammy Tutterow. From time to time, there are also guest designers.

So far, Sketch Support has shown three examples every day! I've really enjoyed seeing the vastly different creations that can be made from a single sketch, and reading the descriptions and explanations by the designers.

Another great aspect of the site? Awesome prize packages by leading manufacturers! Sponsors already  providing goodies include BasicGrey, American Crafts, My Mind's Eye, and BoBunny.

If you haven't visited Sketch Support, now's the time! I suspect that once you see it, you'll want to bookmark it and check it out daily. It's now an important part of my morning online "rotation!" Click here to see for yourself why Sketch Support is such an awesome place to go for inspiration.

Scrapbook Generation Publishing's two newest sketch books are in the house!

I'm not sure we would know how to function if we actually allowed ourselves enough time to do anything. Amidst all the hoopla of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and moving our entire store to a new location, we somehow managed to get our two latest sketch books to the printer on time!

Now available for purchase, Sketches for Scrapbooking volume 7 and Sketches for Cardmaking volume 2 continue our popular line of idea books published right here in Springfield, MO. We think you'll love the 30 two-page layouts in the scrapbooking edition and the 40 multi-sized cards in the cardmaking edition.

To order online, just click here. If that doesn't work for you, just call us at 417-886-0440. You can also find our Sketches series of books at local scrapbook stores and online stores around the globe. Thanks for making this series a huge hit with scrapbookers and cardmakers everywhere!

So many great activities this week at SG...

• Tuesday, a gorgeous vintage layout with bonus card class, taught by Tammy Roberts (see the project in the right sidebar labeled "January 2011 class photos")
• Wednesday, creative card class (three cards with a sympathy theme), taught by Stacey Atchley
• Thursday, a whimsical vintage valentine trinket box class, taught by Candy Colwell (see the project in the right sidebar)
• Friday, BasicGrey card class (eight cards), "play date" class in which you set your own starting time
• Saturday, Debbie Sanders free sketch sessions using the new Fancy Pants' Hot Chocolate collection, with choice of three time periods

To sign up for any of these classes, just give us a call at 417-886-0440.

New products at SG...

We R Memory Keepers: Merry January and Be My Valentine

KI Memories: folders in several sizes, stitched calendar paper at a super price, cute word stickers, 

and glitter month stickers

We R Memory Keepers: Family Keepsakes

BoBunny: Winter Frost

Graphic 45: Once Upon a Springtime

Out with the old...

and in with the new!

Scrapbook Generation is officially in the new building, although we still have lots of products to put out, and lots of finishing touches. We love the new space, and think you will, too. The first activity in the new building was the world premiere of two of the new collections by Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker.

The old logo on the wall (shown below) is about all that's left in the old building! Check out our new store, and some of the activities from Saturday's festivities...

Everyone loves the wall of American Crafts Thickers...125 different kinds, to be exact!

Nikki Sivils teaches one of the four free classes. Our new lobby has plenty of room for both a snack buffet and the free class area.

Katrina Hunt teaches a free class in the area that will eventually be our second office. The SG Publishing office is across the hall!

Heather Schroeder teaches a free class in the main retail area.

Karen Taylor's free class is located where our third and fourth checkout areas will be located.

Everyone seemed to love our new classroom which seats 32 people. We filled it to capacity three times Saturday. It's so nice to be able to host 96 people for classes without having to crowd or hurry anyone!

Karin and I are so very proud of the new space we've created for Scrapbook Generation.

The Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker gang: Katrina Hunt, Heather Schroeder, Nikki Sivils, and Karen Taylor.

My daughters Stacey and Allison...never a dull moment when they're around!