Crop Room Spaces Available for this Saturday, March 21st!

HEAR YE....HEAR YE.....The Crop Room still has a few spots available for this Saturday's crop. Track down some friends and call or email me at kim.duchene@wowway.com. - let me know how many spots you want me to reserve for you! To see what all of the hoopala is about, scroll down through the older posts until you see the crop room schedule for the month of March!

Spaces go fast so act now!!! :) Also, I have dates available for parties,groups and clubs. Drop me a note to let me know what you are interested in. I do offer children's craft parties too!

Later, Folks!

Kim

THE NEW CRICUT VINYL IS IN THE HOUSE!

Good Evening, Fellow Crafters!

I've been so busy this week that I've had little time to finish this blog post that I started several days ago! I'll finish it quickly so we can move on before the information is obsolete!

It's Thursday (already!) and I have so much work to get done still this week....yeah, yeah, I know you want to know what I am working on just as badly as I want to tell you but I can't tell you about the person we just hired who is going to... WHAT?! Why are you all looking at me so strangely? (It's just too easy to tell too much information on this blog....)

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So I took a cruise back through the warehouse this afternoon before skipping out for the day and I about died! The floors were clean, the shelves were organized AND all of the new product was put up on the shelves! I'm in shock and awe because the day before I literally had to play Spiderman leaping through the obstacle course of boxes and bodies....(you're all saying to yourselves...did she say BODIES?!) Well, yeahhhh.....There were people all over filling orders this past week and all I can say was IT WAS SCARY...Our computers were down yesterday so the guys used the time get things back in order...now if they would only do that same thing to my office, the crop room here at Custom Crops and my craft room at home..................

By the way, has anyone found a size 10 medium white Converse shoe in one of your packages? Wayne lost his and thinks it might have gone out in a box to Flagstaff, AZ....(anyone reading this from there place an order with customcrops.com and end up with a shoe in your order that you don't remember ordering?). Personally, I DON'T really want to know why his shoe was off of his foot.... I guess we're missing an almost empty pizza box too....it only had pizza bone remains in it so if you smell funk coming from your package it could be a moldy pepperoni bone. Hang on a sec....Ian said he thinks the pizza box headed to Albany, NY. (anyone in Albany who placed an order with customcrops.com recently receive an order full of pizza bones? So sorry about that. I would definitely be bothered by that..........


Have you ordered any of the new Cricut Vinyls yet?! Wowzers! I am LOVING the selection of colors and textures they are coming out with! Way to go, Provo Craft! Check them out on our website at customcrops.com....I'm just dying to tackle someone's office with vinyl here at Custom Crops real soon. I'm not sure who the lucky "victim" will be....Hmmmm....maybe I should have all of you who have ordered from Custom Crops decide for me....who do YOU think should receive the royal vinyl treatment???? I think it's Pat's turn this time. I took over his jalepeno green office so I think he should be crowned the vinyl king. I'll post pictures when his "space" is "vinyl-ized"- LOL!

The new Cricut vinyl colors include:

lilac
lime green (looks just like Cricut green)
light brown
ice blue
burnt umber (reminds me of suede or leather)
dark blue
gray
galaxy metal flake - love it! Fun, fun, fun!
orange metal flake - this is very psychedelic but super fun!

It's awesome having so much variety in the vinyl shades from PC now! Oh! Did you know that customcrops.com also carries the Quikutz vinyls too?! The nice thing is that it gives all of you vinyl lovers a whole slew of additional colors that works great in your Cricut too! Quikutz vinyl comes on a 10 foot roll but is only 8.9 inches in width. It's actually a fantastic buy and is super easy to use. And please excuse me for saying this Provo Craft, but I prefer the Quikutz transfer tape because: 1. You get TONS more for less $., 2. It's clear and not frosted which makes it easier to see., and 3. You can do one 10 foot section at a time, if you desired to do so!

Have you tried out the Shrink Film on the customcrops.com website too? It's from Grafix and works great in your Cricut! It's the same as shrinky dinks and is a snazzy way to add some pizazz to your paper crafting projects! Try cutting a flower or other shape or word. Slightly sand the plastic film and color it in with a permanent marker or colored pencil. Place it in the oven and Ta-Da! Within minutes you have an adorable and one-of-a-kind customized embellishment! (If you want to use it as a keychain, string it from a ribbon or whatever else, remember to poke a hole in the top using a sharp pointed tip OR better yet, pull 0ut that Cropadile that's collecting dust and actually use it!!)

This is it for tonight folks! Tune in another date and time for the next episode on Theeee Designer's Diary!!! (that was oh so corny but it made me snicker)

Tootles!

Kim

BIG NEWS!!!

WOW! What a way to wake up....the sun is shining....the birds are singing...the kids are happy.....the paper cuts on my knuckles are healing....it's National Craft Month and I'm giddy with excitement but.... The biggest WOW for the morning is that I popped online for a moment to do something on my blog when what to my amazing eyes should appear... (not a jolly ol' elf)...BUT......(I'm squealing and typing super fast)....I have my.....(swiping tear off cheek)....my FIRST GROUPIE FOLLOWER!!! WoHoooo! This is a big moment, especially since this blog isn't even linked to the customcrops.com website yet! Thanks so much Serina with an "e" and not an "a"!!! You're awesome and your work is fab! Serina and I met at one of my crops at Custom Crops...say that 10x fast..."crops at Custom Crops...crops at Custom Croops....Crops at Costume Crop....okay, okay you get the picture...I write like I just drank a gallon of espresso!

I have some great stuff to post on here today but it's all sitting on my desk at work so I will be adding more to the blog later this morning - make sure to check back because it's pretty darn cool!

I've been running around like a mad crafter the past few days - so much to do in so little time...everyone around here keeps "assuming" my crazed behavior is because someone stole my Stickles stash. (Not the case -I count every single bottle of my Stickles periodically throughout the day and they are all still accounted for.)

Just to put a little question in your head about why I am acting like such a mad crafter the past few days I'm going to give you a clue....(by the way, don't tell Kelly, she's the owner of this joint.) ....Really, scrappy friends....this is a secret so if you want to hear I'm only saying it once so anyone who considers themselves to be nosy and wants to know the lo-down going on behind closed doors at Custom Crops needs to huddle as close as possible to your monitor....shhhh....remember, this is confidential....we need to be really close because I'm going to have to type this really small and quietly....we just got the 7 Gypsies line in by Chatterbox and it is just amazing! Make sure to check the website ASAP for when the new product is uploaded. I get to play with it all day -aren't you jealous?!! I'll post some stuff on here soon to show you what it looks like... OKAY! Back to normal....away from the monitors and back to the keyboards. In Kim terms that means "DE-HUDDLE and back to crafting, folks!"

It's a BEEutiful day today! Get outside and enjoy it while you can (then hurry back inside and get busy crafting!)

Hope you're enjoying your morning tank of coffee and getting the caffeine jolt you need!!!

Signing off for now,

Kim, a.k.a craft-a-holic

It's March 1st Today - HAPPY NATIONAL CRAFT MONTH!!!

IT'S SATURDAY, ARE YOU FEELIN' AS SCRAPPY AS ME?!

Hey there Fellow Scrappers!

Are you all feelin' scrappy today? I'm feelin' it but not doin' it! I'm actually running a Crop today in the Custom Crops Crop Room, which I pretty much do every weekend anymore! Today was supposed to be a full house but I had two people not show. :( PLEASE, Ladies (and gentleman) if you call to reserve a space and you find out that you are unable to attend PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE call or email me to let me know you are forfeiting your reservations. I can only seat 16 people at any given time in the room. Now that people know the crop room is open I typically have a waiting list for most dates. So if you know that you can't make it and you reserved a spot to crop PLEASE let me know so I can give the spot to someone else that can come. Thank you so much for understanding! :)

Anyway, what a great group of women today! We had a fabulous day and everyone seemed to get a lot done - except for me! That's okay though, I was busy pampering the gals and had a great time doing just that! I hope to see you all back for another crop sometime soon! Thanks for coming!!!

Get Scrappy!

Kim
630-303-8047
kim@customcrops.com

P.S. March Crop dates are filling up quickly! If you are in the croppin' mood call/email me soon to reserve a spot!!! I have openings available on most days, but only a few are left! (See the schedule in a previous posting below) I will be posting the schedule for April crops later this week!

Shhhh! Don't Tell Anyone.....

"Psst......I'm over here!" Yes, that's me hanging off of the shelving units in the warehouse at Custom Crops and you ARE NOT going to believe what Kelly has done! I had to go investigate to see if it was true! She has absolutely gone crazy with marking things down to make room for all of the new items purchased at CHA last month! If you could only see all the stuff on these shelves... This has got to be a mistake! Hang on a second and I'll check into this before getting everyone excited....

(The warehouse crew will know what's up - they're the ones who fill all the orders...)
Me: "Mike, this has to be a mistake, RIGHT?"

Mike the Warehouse Manager says, "Nope, not a mistake - it's a sure thing. This stuff has got to go so we marked it down to the lowest price possible so we have room for our new inventory coming in soon!"

(I still don't believe it...let me ask someone else.)

Me: "Pat, you must have made a mistake when working on the website. These things are priced wrong."

Pat, our website guy says: "Nope, it's REALLY priced this low for a reason. We HAVE to get rid of this stuff ASAP so give people some ideas on what to do with it so we can get this stuff out of here."

(Let's check with the Customer Service Crew...)

Me: "Amber, girl, say it isn't so....we aren't really marking down these items this low, right?"

Amber in Customer Service, "Yeahhhh, it's really on clearance and it's selling fast."

(I know who will know the real story...the Inventory Manager!)

Me: "Miranda? What's the scoop?"

Miranda the Inventory Manager," Yes, Kim, this stuff is taking up way too much space and we need to make room for the hundreds of new items coming in soon."

(Okay....that's it...we need to talk with the Big Kahuna...the owner of Custom Crops...)

Me: "Mistake, right?"

Kelly: "Heck no, it's not a mistake at all! In with new and out with the old! Toss it in your cart while the gettin' is good!"

Well folks, you heard it hear first on the Designer's Diary. You better take a close look at what is marked down on our website because it's unbelievable! Check it out for yourself at http://www.customcrops.com/index.php?cPath=95

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REMEMBER, Easter is coming soon! How about picking up some inexpensive Cuttlekids dies for your crafty child's Easter basket or even for yourself?! (In case you were wondering, these dies can be used with the Cuttlebug too!)

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Confession time!
How many of you left me hanging for the past several minutes to check out the clearance items on the http://www.customcrops.com website? Uh-huh....just what I thought - ALL OF YOU! (That's actually okay, you're "supposed" to do that. That shows that I got you so excited that you just had to go check it out for yourself.)

These prices are a steal so you need to grab some of these deals!!! If you need some creative prodding, below are a few ideas I came up with in just a few short minutes on ways to use these bargain items in your crafting projects... (If I wasn't sitting here drinking this shecond margureeta I'd bet you an ice cream bucket foll of rhinestonesh that I could probublEE come up with eevin better ideas than whas beelow....)

St. Patrick's Day -use the 4-pack heart dies to make shamrocks!
Easter -Make miniature Easter egg trees using the 4-pack tree dies on your layouts, cards and altered art projects. Use Sofia the 2-step lamb and Quinton the 2-step duck on your spring themed cards!
Mother's Day - Create cards using the 4-pack of hearts, Rusty Pickle rub-ons and paper sets, a scrapbook, framed layout, etc.

Or save money and purchase closed-out items for your:
School/Church/Day Care and Scout Projects: Children will love using many of the 2-step dies in their crafting and school projects - Cuttlekid dies are totally safe, totally fun and totally easy to use! Check out Quinton the 2-step duck, Sofia the 2-step lamb, Walter the 2-step elephant, 4-pack hearts, the 4-pack trees and more - they're only $2.00 - $3.75 each! There's even a Cuttlekids alpha set for only $18.00!

Hope you're all having a Scrap-a-lish-ish day!!!

Kim

Working From Home Today..

Greetings from my laptop teetering on the paper pile, a mountain high, on my desk, in my home office! (WHEW! That was a wordy salutation!)!!!

You're all probably wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?!?! If you're totally confused by that sentence that's TOTALLY okay! People who know me say that I write just like I am talking, isn't that a scary thought?! LOL! Actually, I find this to be a super flattering compliment! Personally, I can get totally engrossed in reading something that reflects the author's personality. It makes me feel like I REALLY know the author even if I've never met the person and have no clue what the person looks like! I guess that's why I'm suddenly really digging the journaling aspect of scrapbooking. Okay, go ahead, call me s - l - o- w- w- w or say that I missed the boat a long time ago! Honestly though, I used to be terrified at the thought of someone reading my private thoughts. I'm not sure what has made me change my mind other than I think it's so important to capture the emotions of a photo by telling the story however short or long it may be. Anymore, I find it so fascinating to express my thoughts for others to read and find that when I reread my own journaling I tend to get completely pulled into the moment the photo was taken, once again.

How about you? Are you an avid journaler or do you fear the idea of someone reading your private thoughts?

If you cringe at the thought of having to take a moment to write a few sentences don't panic! Instead, try what worked for me. Start by writing just a few descriptive words that describe the photo(s). Each time you do a new layout, expand a little more. Push yourself to actually write a sentence the next time and then go from there. You know the old adage, "take baby steps." If you still choose not to journal that is absolutely fine too! Just because some person in a magazine tells you you're "supposed to" journal doesn't mean you "have to" journal. Heaven knows, I will do my darnedest to prove there is more than one way to do a layout or to make mashed potatoes - just like there is more than one way to do pretty much anything! Remember, this is YOUR creative outlet which needs to express YOUR personal style. Do what makes YOU happy, create in a way that makes YOU satisfied. Your loved ones are going to love whatever you do and will treasure the legacy you someday leave behind no matter what style you choose. By the way, as the empress of this blog, I challenge you to explore beyond your comfort zone! (Wink)

So as you can see, just like in person, I usually have way too much to say and try to cram it all in to a single sentence (of course with one single breath too)! I'm known to talk at lightning speeds where I leave everyone shaking their heads wondering what just happened! I'm sure all of you reading this are muttering, "Say it isn't so!....what has Custom Crops done by hiring this gal?!" In all honesty folks, it's all good! (Wink) Look at it this way, not much is free in life anymore so if I can provide a few giggles and smirks I consider the day a success! (Smile) Plus, I figure it'll keep ya'll comin' back for more! (Smile, again)

Oh yeah! Before I forget, as I stated in the title of this post,"Working From Home Today." I am absolutely doing just that. I had to turn around after dropping my kids off at school to pick up my third grader who decided to get sick minutes later. I'm now at home working while my 8 year old is busy being a puking machine. Eeeeewww! (He's sleeping right now) Poor little guy, he's burning up and feeling pretty rotten. It's moments like these that most of us want to forget but it's also a Kodak or Fuji moment that I feel needs to be ocassionally captured on camera!
Am I the only oddball that does this??! Do any of you do this too?! !

***A special salute goes out to Jennifer T. and her husband in Texas! They recently relocated to a military base in TX and have very few friends (sniff) so I wish you both the best of luck! If you're ever in the area stop in and say howdy doody! P.S. I hope you can get your Bug's chirping with CDS soon!

Hope you all have a red pop mustache and rootbeer float kind of day!

Tootles -

Kim