STAMPLICITY'S NEWSFLASH
ESSTAMPLICITY’S NEWSFLASH FOR FEBRUARY
ON THE PERSONAL SIDE
I’m sure most of you have heard from friends that my mother passed away very suddenly on January 25th. This has rocked my world as we had just moved her in, got her settled and other than arthritis that slowed her down and bothered her, she was very strong and healthy. I am telling you the story as they say that a women’s heart attack can be very different and disguised.
On the 22nd mom complained that her shoulder ached and that it was probably the arthritis that had moved to the shoulder. By nighttime other symptoms started and at 9:30 I was worried enough to call 911. To make a long 3 days short by 5 am they had her transferred to St Catharines in the care of a specialist. Her vitals steadied but on Friday morning the nurse called that she wasn’t doing well and Darlene and I should get there right away. We never made it in time, the nurse had given her a sip of tea, she laid back and passed away. She was 87, never really sick so I know we are fortunate compared to many other people who are suffering in homes or hospitals. She had a good life and we really think she was ready to be with dad.
The irony of this story that really makes you wonder about things is, she had the heart attack on the day my dad died 2 years ago on Jan 22nd. She died on the day we buried dad, the 25th, it was their wedding anniversary!
Darlene and I are doing OK, although now it’s deciding what to do with the contents of the house and it is still up for sale. It is in the hands of Remax now (Keith was trying to sell it privately) should anyone be looking for a beautiful older home with a large lot and a huge double garage.
There is a lot of furniture that we will want to sell, so we are thinking once we have a firm offer that we will pick a Sat. and have a house sale so people can go through and buy things as they go through the house. I will announce this in a newsflash as soon as things get settled. Then it will be a lawn sale in the spring for all the smaller contents.
Of course with this upset I have been distracted in regards to the store. I had planned a Super Bowl party for our 3 "S" members that I couldn’t go through with and am also behind in getting organized for our yearly Autumn Retreat. I have had many ladies asking about the details so I will be making the effort to get dates, cost etc, settled on that, organizing another special party for the 3 "S’ members and will also have a store wide sale beginning on February 18th. An exception on this sale is the Cuttlebug and Cricut products. As my prices are already the best around I cannot discount them further. This week is the advance sale that allows our 3 "S" members to shop first for the sales.
Due to mom’s passing I did not go to California for the Hobby show this year. Sandy and Bryan went in my place and are going to search out the new exciting products the companies are introducing. Be assured that I will be on top of the latest greatest things out on the market.
Keith and I are going to take a long weekend in early March and drive to New York to visit the Hanns and collect all the new catalogs etc that they picked up at the show.
NEW IN THE STORE
I hope by the time you read this I will have Tim Holtz’s Grungeboard in the store. This product has been hard to get a hold of. The Hanns gave the staff a package each for Christmas and we are working on it. Pretty neat stuff. Also all the new Cuttlebug embossing folders and die cuts are on their way to my store as we speak. They will be in the store by Friday. We have been waiting for them for months now, and I should be one of the first stores in the Peninsula to have these in stock. Having said that, I have been taking orders for the last 2 months and although I will still have many to put on the shelf I expect them to go very fast. I have to remember to take them into our workshop before we put them on the shelf so we will have them to demo to everyone. The designs coming are great and if you haven’t yet, check them out on www.provocraft.com.
Haven’t had any advance notice of anything exciting being introduced at the Hobby show other than, of course, new paper lines. I can’t imagine what new inventive things they have come out with.
The Cricut Design Studio has blown us away at the store and the more we play with it the more exciting it becomes. It is our Demo deal this month and it is just endless on what you can do. Sandy and Bryan came down for mom’s funeral and although Bryan does not have a Cricut as of yet, I asked him to design a bus for me for a page I did of a bus tour that came to our store and in no time he had the cutest design cut for me. It’s easy to work with!
We would have had some new classes prepared by now but again things just didn’t work out as planned. Valentine’s is this week and it got here before I could blink and think about it.
We will be searching out new clear stamps and wood mounts in the next few weeks. There is much to get caught up on. Our silly weather has thrown us for a loop and we have closed the store or at least cancelled Mon or Wed. Night to Unwind a couple times. It seems a lot of people have decided that their cozy home is a better alternative than braving the cold days and nights.
There is a light on the horizon, only 40 more days of winter!! Port Colborne has been quite lucky on missing the huge amounts of snow that the more northern cities have gotten. Down at this end we have had our share of wind and icy storms.
Brenda, Sue and I have spent a lot of time doing scrapbook pages and there are many on display at the store. I’ve decided they are up too high on the walls so we are figuring a way to bring them down to eye level so you can see and ask about all the different techniques we are using.
With mom's passing I received many lovely sympathy cards. They are on display in the store and on the site as well. You can see that just by changing the words on the front of some of the cards, the cards could be used for any occasion. The techniques used are so versatile. That's the beauty of the products available now. A sincere thank you to all of you for your condolences in whatever form you sent them. It has really touched us how many people are thinking about us.
As well as getting details finalized for the Autumn Retreat there are a couple conventions coming up in the spring. I have decided not to attend the Scrapfest event in Kitchener this year for a couple reasons. I will though, be a part of the Ajax Scrapbookers festival on May24th and the Bancroft show will be in July this year.
Shawna is doing well with her pregnancy and the baby’s due date (no we don’t know what it is) is May 1st so I want to be around for that. She hopes to have a natural childbirth this time (praying for it actually) and hopefully I will get to see my second grandchild born this time.
So although this newsletter is not packed with store information at least you know what has been happening in my life and distracted me from the business. Bear with me as I get my life back in line. That’s all for now but don’t be surprised if another flash comes out soon once I get my head back around the store. Thanks to all for patience and understanding
Don’t forget about your hobby this winter..... Happy Stamping and Scrapping
The Stamplicity gang!!!!!!!!!!!!
A MUST READ STAMPLICITY NEWSFLASH www.stamplicity.com
IT HAS JUST COME TO MY ATTENTION THAT THE EMAIL ADDRESS REGARDING ANY QUESTION YOU MIGHT HAVE WHEN CLICKING ON THE "for questions and comments please email" AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FIRST PAGE OF MY WEBSITE HAS BEEN WRONG FOR QUITE AWHILE. I APOLOGIZE FOR ANY EMAIL I HAVE NOT ANSWERED AND IT IS NOW OF COURSE CORRECT SO EMAIL ME ANYTIME...IT WILL COME TO ME AT HOME.!!!
The Whitby Scrapbook Festival was a great success and our door prize donation went to Kathy Bisson, Congratulations Kathy.
It's been a busy year with shows for us and we are breathing a sigh of relief that we now have a reprieve until 2008. It looks like there might be a couple spring shows that we will attend. Those of you interested in our 2008 Autumn Retreat can highlite Sept 12, 13 & 14 on your calendar. Any other details won’t be decided for a bit yet. Of course we will keep you informed.
I’m composing this on the way to London on a snowy Sunday to have our Bain Christmas at my stepdaughter (Carleen’s) home. I sit in the back of the van and watch Shawna amuse Grace. Or is it Grace amusing all of us??? She slept at our house last night as the Luey’s went to Mark’s Canadian Tire party. Grace gets to sleep with me and as long as I put a pillow in the middle of the bed she isn’t all over me! This little girl is a real talker and you just don’t know what she’ll say next....usually something to surprise us. Mom’s adjusting OK to living with us. She enjoys just sitting watching all the activities that are happening at our house, especially when Grace comes over. and thank goodness for a husband like Keith. Everything just rolls over his back and he keeps me laughing over things that might stress me out.
Shawna is doing well with her pregnancy and is about 18 weeks. One week Grace wants a brother and the next it’s got to be a sister.
Well, enough about the personal stuff as I have many things to inform you about.
Grab your favourite refreshment, take a deep breath and find your cozy spot to take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to update yourself on what’s new and exciting at STAMPLICITY!!
The Canadian Scrapper magazine is in & at our good price of $10.95 the inventory is going fast.
I guess one of the most interesting pieces of news is how the rise in the Canadian dollar is allowing us to lower our prices on many products. You’ll see a big difference on the price of many stamps including Rubber Stamp Tapestry, Penny Black and Stampscapes. Our inks, tools, glues and embellishment prices have decreased as well. Our patterned paper prices will remain the same as we have done an average price on the 2 sided for 1 price and another average price on the single sided papers. Due to the many companies we carry and their difference price ranges it’s a lot easier to just have the 2 tiered prices. What you will be happy to hear is a decrease on our solid 12 x 12 papers, mirrored cardstock and metallic papers. It’s really a hard decision for us regarding price changes due to the dollar flucuations. One week we see it almost ten cents above the US dollar and then the next week it’s almost at par. We’ll keep doing our best to pass on savings to you.
We want your business and through customer comments are always assured that our customer service is the best. It’s hard to compete with the chain stores and their coupons, but on some big priced items such as the Cricut and it’s cartridges and also the Cuttlebug and it’s accessories we are prepared to offer a competitive price. Our Cricut cartridges will now sell for $69.00, the Cuttlebug Machine is $69.00 and the embossing folders are $6.25. We might not have them all in stock but unlike the chain stores we can order them for you. We will be asking for a deposit on any pre-orders of course.
There is a tool made by Xryon called the Design Runner, that has been out for over a year now and although I have had it in the store in the past there hasn’t been much talk about it. I am sure that is due to the fact that the accessory kit that recently came out for it should have been introduced at the same time as the Runner!! I now have the accessory tool and the Disc maker (which allows you to make up your own sentences) and I am having a ball using it on scrapbook pages. Just ask for a demo or try it yourself when you next visit the store and you’ll see why I’m so excited about this tool!! My price on the Design Runner is very competitive and at least in my store you can try these products. We have an amazing selection of gift ideas for Christmas as well as Gift Certificates in any amounts. Many ladies are filling out their wish lists at our store and as an incentive to do your Christmas shopping at Stamplicity we will offer a 10% discount on your purchase if you buy something from the wish list. The only exception to this is the items mentioned above as they are discounted so much already. So come in, get your list done, then let family and friends know where they can shop and get a great deal. All the girls know the products and how to demo them and can make your shopping experience pleasant and affordable. I am focusing this week on getting many things on the site so you can check out the new gift items available and also what we have done with them. New embellishments are also in and are great stocking stuffers. We are always ordering the class and peel stickers to keep a great selection available and have a good quantity of the Stardust gel pens. Another great stocking idea!!!
Due to feedback from our customers (those who did so, Thank You very much) we will continue our special every month in 2008 but will offer rubber stamp sets and new products as well as the popular clear stamps. Customers really enjoyed this opportunity to save even more money. Check out the site for the Product of the Month for January. It’s called "Pages in Progress" by Cropperware and Brenda and I are already using it to the max. The Regular price is $26.50 and will be offered to you for $16.50. It’s a handy tool that when you have to pack up your ongoing project it will keep it in it’s place in a box when you’re not working on it. I have seen some other great new products, such as organizers and will introduce them in the new year as monthly specials.
I am currently doing albums for each of the grandkids and have gotten alittle behind. Knowing we would be seeing everyone at Christmas I promised my step-daughters I would get their albums up to date and in the last month have done over 50 pages. These pages are done with most of the new and old favourite products and embellishments I carry in my store. You can look forward to seeing many pages to get new ideas for your winter scrap booking projects. It’s that time of year where people bring out their albums and enjoy working inside on those cold winter nights. Even though most of the pages done are of children you’ll still see how to work with products and we’ll give you ideas on how to apply them to other subject pages. I will be focusing on other pages such as heritage and family in ‘08.
By the way, Sue is going to be a Grandma again sometime around late June or early July!!!!! It’s all boys so far so you can bet she’s hoping to shop for the pretty pinks and dresses.
Well this is truly the last newsflash before 2008 unless something urgent happens so all of us want to
WISH YOU A SAFE AND JOYOUS CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR!!!
THE STAMPLICITY GANG
STAMPLICITY NEWSFLASH FOR NOVEMBER 2007
