Yard Sale Update

We had a huge and overwhelming response to our first yard sale, both from participants and also from you, the shoppers. There was a lot of really great product that was sold over the weekend, quality merchandise, not just old stuff people want to get rid of. The variety of products in the sale met alot of needs from those who came to look for the bargains - both beginners and experienced folks. Also, because there was so much product donated, there was plenty to sell Saturday as well, so those who couldn't make it for the first day still had plenty to choose from.

Thank you so much for everyone who participated in the yard sale - it was successful because of you, and I know everyone was very happy with the amount of money they made. A special thanks to each of you who came to shop, especially all the new people to the store. Hopefully, we will see you again soon. I appreciate everyone getting the word out as well, that helped bring in the crowd.

Many of you have asked and yes, we will be doing another yard sale. It will not be until spring just because of the craziness with the holiday season, but begin thinking about stuff you'd like to bring in and contribute to sell. There will a limited number of spaces available again because of size, but the more product we can get in, the better for all of us at the sale.

In addition to the great sales everyone had, we were able to contribute $40.00 to the local chapter of "Survivors of Suicide - Lancaster Chapter" which I am a part of. In addition, after the sales, many of the participants donated their unsold items to two worthwhile charities: Make A Wish Foundation and also COAR (Comunidad Oscar Arnulfo Romero) orphanage in Zaragosa, El Salvador in memory of Katelyn John, the daughter of one of our customers. The craft items for both locations will be used to work with the children in expressing themselves creatively and in many cases, getting them acclimated to crafting and stamping.

Thanks again for making last weekend a HUGE success!

Convention Highlights

Just getting back from the Creating Keepsakes convention today in Valley Forge. I had so much fun shopping and taking classes and cropping in the evenings. I found many samples and ideas for classes, several new vendors, new product and new paper lines from our old time favorites like Basic Grey, SEI and some others. It's interesting to see the trends changing in the industry and what people are buying and making. I'm anxious to start ordering and getting in the new products and begin making layouts, mini albums and gifts from many of the things that I saw. My thanks goes out to Kelly for helping with some of the decision making this weekend, carrying the inventory from the show room to the hotel and just keeping me on track while I was going in every direction. There were ALOT of people at the convention. Hope you made it out for at least a day.

Chipboard Albums - All the rage

Every day there are more and more people seeing the value of mini albums, making gifts for others and also seeing their own gratification from getting a project done. We love doing them and the ideas just keep coming. There are several in the works as we begin already to think about the holidays and some great gift ideas for those we love or who are friends, coaches, teachers, etc.

We continue to have crops and classes getting filled which a great blessing to us. Today we have a private crop that was organized by one of our customers and 8 friends got together to spend the day together at the store, cropping and catching up.

We hope you'll join us for a class or crop if you haven't already. Keep your eyes out for more mini albums, come chipboard, some other types, but ALL are alot of fun. have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Stacey

Summer is here

Well, we've made it to the longest day of the year and we are now on the down trend with the days already becoming shorter. Where does the time go? I hope that everyone had a nice weekend and Father's Day. It's hard, I know, for those of us without our own dad's, but there are always "spiritual dads" in our lives and in-laws, uncles, and friends that can mean as much to us and fill the gap. Scott & I spent the afternoon with my in-laws just resting on their porch and drinking iced tea - very relaxing on such a bright and sunny afternoon.

It made me anxious for us to get our new Basic Grey line in. Lemonade has shipped and will be here later this week. We are also in the process of ordering the summer travel paper and some additional chipboard books and other items. We have received some of the new Quickutz release dies as well.

We have loaded the photos of our squash book to our calendar and also the beach tin. A photo is also shown here. It's crazy at the shop this week with classes filling quickly and next week's sign-ups continuing to come in as well. There is still space in the upcoming classes shown below. If you are interested, just give us a call or stop into register.

Hope to see you soon!

Stacey

Wed., July 1 - Love Your Home Chipboard Word Album - 6:30pm-8:30pm

Tues., July 7 - Beachin' It Tin - 6:30pm-8:30pm

Wed., July 15 - Children's Prayer Book - 6:30pm-8:30pm

Check our website for more detailed information on classes coming up!

New Products Have Arrived

Well, the new stuff continues to pour in and we are having a ball making samples and finding new things to do with it. Last week we were set up as a vendor for the Central Penn Crop and it was a huge success for us. Thanks to everyone who supported us at the event either during the crop, or who just stopped in to shop.

This past week we received our Maya Road products, Basic Grey Wisteria and Lime Rickey lines. We've made a prayer book using one of the Maya Road books and the Archaic Basic Grey line of paper, our All Occasion Card class has a card made from Lime Rickey and the Faith Scrapbooking class has a sample of the Wisteria line (shown above). The layout was a perfect fit for the Beatitudes we've been studying. One of the layouts for this month's class was for Matthew 5:6 - Blessed are those that hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. I used these photos of my mom when she joined her church on Easter Sunday out near Fort Indiantown Gap several years ago.

Keep stopping in to see all the new samples and products. We'd love to see you this week! Have a blessed and restful week.

Stacey

Mosaic Play Time & Update on New Products

Today has been a steady day, but not too busy that I haven't been able to have some play time. We received new product in from Maya Rd. and also a replenishing of some paper and tools. We have Quickutz on the way for those who took advantage of their sale last week and yesterday we also placed an order for some more Basic Grey - Lime Rickey and Wisteria Lines. We have ordered Flowers from Petaloo and are also waiting on a replenish of our Cooking/Baking Line. This will include new embellishments and paper as well.Today's layout I was working on was a gift for a dear friend who retired recently. Her previous employees threw her a surprise retirement party at Olive Garden a few weeks and I offered to do a Mosaic for her of the photos. If you don't know by know - I am addicted to Mosaics. Thank you Tami Potter for your wonderful product! It's all the rage at our shop. If you are interested in taking a future class, just give us a call to get your name on a waiting list.Hope everyone has a great weekend!

We're Open

Just a note to our new subscriber's and old friends - we have officially opened the store - Joys of Life Scrapbooking in Mechanicsburg, PA. The store has been busy and active with sales and classes and continues to be a place of great ministry to many. The Lord is leading me down a path I wasn't sure I was ready for, be He is guiding me each day and each step, so I know, whatever it ends up being, no matter how successful, or for how long he allows me to live this part of my dream life, I will continue to offer it all to Him. It has been an enormous blessing since we opened April 1, 2009. He inspires me, He directs me and provides for me, even when it doesn't look like it will make sense. My hope for this blog is to inspire others, share my life, share my ministry, and leave the legacy behind for my family. Anyone can do anything! Just let the Lord direct your step and He will give you the desires of your heart (desires you don't even know you have).