Celebrate National Craft Month with Margot Potter & Donna Dewberry, and "MOORE"!

Hello, all of those in the Blogosphere!


Well, I can't believe it's March 2 and there's over a foot of *$&%^# snow (and it's still falling!) out my front door. Thus, I'm working from home. The usual 1 hour, 20 minute commute would have been of epic proportions if I tried it...thank goodness for the Internet!


Anyway, I wanted to pass on some awesome stuff going on at A.C. Moore in celebration of National Craft Month! There's Demonstrations or Make & Takes every Saturday!

• Saturday, March 7, 2009: Beadalon(r) Springy Swingy Earrings-these are fun Quick Link earrings designed by the mahvelous Ms. Margot Potter! They are fun and easy to make.


• Saturday, March 14, 2009: Thomas the Tank "Magical" Make & Take-I knew Thomas was popular, but I never knew HOW popular! The manufacturer of this licensed line, Learning Curve, donates plain wooden Thomas cars for the kids to decorate. They are going to do a resist with Crayola white crayons and ink...should be fun! See, even kids get to do neat inky techniques!


• Saturday, March 21, 2009: Crayola(r) Beginnings "Hands On" Demonstration: kids get to play with the neat and fun inky, stampy and painty things they have for toddlers, although any age would have fun with them. I can attest to that because they're in my office and everyone picks them up to try them out!


• Sunday, March 28, 2009: Plaid(r) FolkArt Chalkboard Paint Demonstration: Okay, demo came about due to my being nosy...I wanted to know if this paint really creates a chalkboard...well, it does! It also comes in bunches of fun colors. Stop by and check this out

Even more wonderful news, is the Grand Re-opening of the Moorestown store. It's really over the border in Mt. Laurel, NJ, but the first A.C. Moore was at the Moorestown store until the early 90's when there was a fire in that part of the mall. The store relocated to East Gate Shopping Plaza; the new store is now two doors down at 1190 Nixon Drive; it's now open(although in a freaking snow storm!)...but what is so great is that there will be so many people coming to demo and teach classes.

• Saturday, March 7, 2009: THE Margot Potter will actually be doing the Make & Take that she designed at the store! After the 1-3PM Make & Take, Margot will be teaching an awesome class from 3:30-5-Pop Art Poppy Necklace! It's only $25 and includes all but one supply that will be available at the store.


• Saturday, March 14, 2009: In addition to the Thomas the Tank Make & Take, there will be the beginning of our "Register to Win" prizes; many of the prizes will be at a total of 20 neighboring stores in the South Jersey/Phila. area, but many are unique to this store. Win a chance for 4-pack tickets to the Crayola Factory, Dutch Wonderland, featuring Thomas & Friends(r) live show and Day Out with Thomas at the Strasburg Railroad! There's also some great prizes from Crayola, Badger Airbrush, a Yudu Machine from Provo(!) and tons more! There will also be demos from Ranger, Sizzix and more that I probably can't remember.


• Sunday, March 15, 2009: this is the day of days...there will be demos from Provo with the Yudu machine as well as Generation T author Megan Nicolay and other demos through the store. This store will have a new Hobby Shop (Trains, models, etc.) and there's also a Digital Crafting Section where you can get stuff personalized with photos...I can't believe all you can get done! There will probably be 8-10 demos going on, mostly between 12-3, as well as all-day hourly Gift Card giveaways. My Lead Fiskateers buddy Rebecca Peck will also be in attendance! YAY!


• Saturday, March 21, 2009: More Demos!


• Sunday, March 22, 2009: Hello, Cupcake authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson will be here as well as demos from Fun Fusion (Perler Beads), Dimensions Punch Needle, and again, more that I can't recall!

Last but not least, Donna Dewberry will be at the store for TWO DAYS! She is a doll and very funny. You've got to try and stop by and be sure to sign up for her classes. They're only $20 plus the cost of supplies....

• Friday, March 27, 2009 12-2pm She'll demo Studio(tm) by Sculpey(r) and from 2-4pm she's teaching a class!


• Saturday, March 28, 2009 12-2pm One Stroke Demo and 2-4pm a One Stroke Class.

I'm really excited about everyone that'll be at the store this coming month. It's worth the drive as so many manufacturers can answer questions and be there. I'll make sure to pull my most recent list of events and will try and post it this week.

I'm even going to demo, Friday, March 19, 2009 from 6-8...watch out!

Happy Snow Day, everyone!

Robin

I KNOW! I KNOW! Tsk, Tsk, Tsk!

Happy February Everyone! It's been such a whirlwind of work and commuting it's all I've been able to do to just sleep! I even passed on CHA this year for the first time in like 10 years...yikes! All is well, just busy, busy, busy! But I'm loving it at A.C. Moore!

For those that live near an A.C. Moore, make sure to stop by this coming Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 1:00pm-4:00pm. It's Scrapbook Saturday! It's a chance to "play" and try out some of the newer Scrapbooking and Papercrafting products in the stores, such as:

• -Hampton Art Studio G Valentine's Stamps (and a fun idea on how to store them!)
• -Fiskars Fingertip Craft Knife
• -Die Cuts with a View New Paper Packs
• -Nicolecrafts Acrylic Word Albums
• -Provo Craft's Cricut Vinyl Home Decor (I've got some that I did in my office...it's awesome!)
• -Making Memories Slice Machine

When you're all done getting to try out these products, you'll either have samples along with Features & Benefits/Project Pages from each manufacturer that you'll get to bind into a YourStory Book Binder and Laminator.

In all honesty, the pre-made albums don't do much for me, but the plain albums are great. I've already binded many, many, many albums (a long story in itself) and as long as you allow the album to cool in the cooling rack (it allows for the pages to cool and for gravity to do its thing so the pages sink into the spine's adhesive) you're good to go!

In cleaning out the house, I found a bunch of my mom's scrapbooks from middle school through high school and my plan is to pull out what I can and to laminate and bind pages into some books for my nieces and nephew. That will be added onto my "to do" list.

I'm still in Neptune and commuting, but I'm getting there. I vow to keep up with everyone more often! I've got lots of things to show, as I'm trying to become "a crafter of all trades" so that I understand the other craft categories that I haven't worked with in the past.

Enjoy your February...I will be back more often!

Crafty Hugs,

Robin

Thankfulness Abounding!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone! It's getting harder and harder to get bloggin'...time just goes by. I can't believe it will be 3 months next week since I started with A.C. Moore! I'm absolutely loving it. I'm also through the first step of getting closer to selling my house. I've got the 50+ years of my grandparent's and my stuff emptied out! If you ever need to have stuff moved out...I would highly recommend the company I used-Hitmen Cleanouts! Ginger and her son were unbelievable. It now looks like the aftermath of the Grinch after he cleaned out the houses! At least in the garage, basement, attic, patio, back bedroom and living room! It's quite amazing...now onto some repairs and listing the house.

I just wanted to wish everyone the best Holiday Season. It has been quite the year and "thankful" is truly my word of the year. I'm thankful for my friends, my family, everyone who has been supportive of me...it means so much! I'm most thankful for Brian who's put up with all of this craziness over the past six months! Inky and Beady have been awesome. I lurve you all!

Happy Turkey Day...and come on over to A.C. Moore tomorrow...I'll be helping out bright and early at the Shrewsbury store!

Robin

Knit and Crochet for a Cause! And Margot's "in the House" (okay, in NJ!)

Hello, Bloggers! No more excuses, the bottom line is that time is not my friend anymore. I'm just too busy. I am working from home today due to a flat tire at 7am (thank goodness I was not far from home and that I'm a member of AAA!). I'm busy typing away and getting the word out on some great appearances by artists and a wonderful contest.

NaturallyCaron.com is sponsoring a contest with A.C. Moore-just click on the icon next to me and you'll see what it's all about! Knit or Crochet a baby blanket with Naturally Caron Spa or Country Yarn and send a picture of it to Caron with the usual, obligatory information, and you get a chance to win an A.C. Moore Gift Card. Two Grand Prize Winners, one for Knit, the other Crochet, will win a card valued at $300, two First Runners up, $100 and 12 Runner's up, $25. The "cuddly" part of the contest is that for every entry submitted, Caron will donate $1 to Project Linus. Volunteer "blanketeers" make blankets that go all over the place to hospitals, shelters, etc. to give traumatized, ill children a "hug" by way of a blanket.

I honestly had never heard of this organization until it was discussed with Caron. It turns out my mom is a blanketeer! Now that my mom's retired, she's been crocheting and knitting up a storm when she goes to the beach and at home. She said they were being donated. I didn't know to whom until I mentioned Project Linus and she confirmed-"that's where they are going!"

I've actually purchased some of the yarn and when I was visiting the Holbrook, NY store, that I took a class from Theresa, who showed me the right way to do a fun shell stitch...and every night before I go to bed I get a few rows done. My goal is to get it done and donated with my mom's blankets to Project Linus!

So for anyone who was interested in knitting or crochet or don't think they can do it, believe me, if I can do it, so can you! Take a shot and get some yarn and who knows? You may win and be able to get MORE stuff!

I also wanted to let you know that my bestest of crafty friends, Margot Potter, will be at the Middletown, NJ A.C. Moore store tomorrow, Noon to 2! Stop by, buy one (or all-what the heck!) of Margot's books and let her show you how to do some basic jewelry making. While I may say that I know how to make jewelry, I must confess that last year when I met up with Margot at another book signing, I learned some very good info on how to PROPERLY open and close a jump ring...I actually said out loud, "I didn't know that!", embarrassing myself as usual. So stop by and see what she's up to. Also check out her new blog...click on her name, or check it out on the top of my fave blog list...she is truly the Impatient Crafter, but I must say she just says out loud what all of us are thinking to ourselves, right!?

Okay, everybody...get knitting, crocheting and visiting (Margot!-hey, I'll be there, too!).

Crafty Hugs,

Robin

What a Roller Coaster!

Hello, all of you in Blogger Land! Can you believe it's been three weeks already that I've been at ACMoore? (Roller Coaster Credit) Little by little, I'm finding some normalcy in my schedule. A lot different than being 7 miles from my job...! Up at 6am, on the road by 7am, at the office by 8:30am, then in a snap, it's between 5pm and 7pm when I leave, getting home between 6:30pm and 9pm. The first weekend, I think I just slept...by this weekend, I'm finally getting some things accomplished, but still not enough.

It made me think of a roller coaster, with the ups and downs, but not in a bad way. Just when you feel that drop, you know there's going to be another "up" again!

On the Down Side: Driving 1-1/2 hours until I get my house sold and move.
On the Up Side: I'm so catching up with people on the cell phone! Thank goodness for Rollover minutes and Bluetooth!

On the Down Side: So much to learn!
On the Up Side: So much to learn! (See, it evens out!)

On the Down Side: I'm still catching up on my sleep!
On the Up Side: But, boy, do I sleep!

On the Down Side: I still have so much stuff to get rid of!
On the Up Side: That may mean one more last "Stamp and other Stuff" Sale!?

On the Down Side: Wait....there is NO Down Side! I'm so enjoying the challenge of "what can be". I'm lucky to have some wonderful people to work with that are as excited as I am to make ACMoore the best it can be with education. I'm getting to work with so many people in the Crafts Industry more closely that I've only been able to peripherally deal with in the past, which is such a rush! I'm also learning about more than just papercrafts and jewelry...kids' crafts, floral, needlecrafts-sometimes I think my head is going to explode!

If you get a chance, check out ACMoore's Forum-it's only in its infancy, but you may be surprised at what you can learn. I'm also working with the Forum Guru in getting more information on there by way of tips and trips from various manufacturers and I've even designed some projects on there...check 'em out! They're all in the usual format that you've seen when I create project instructions. And they're all not papercrafts!

For those that are near ACMoore next Saturday is a Crochet Demo for the October- Breast Cancer Awareness Month! I'm sure everyone has dealt with or been touched by someone they love that has had breast cancer. Take care of yourselves and get checked! Lion Brand(r) Yarns was kind enough to donate fun "Crochet for a Cause" scarf kits Two people per store will get the chance to win one and there will be someone there to help you get started. If you've ever wanted to try to crochet, this is a great way to learn. I actually made the scarf; if I can do it, so can anyone!

I can actually say I know two different stitches now, which is quite the feat!

Finally, I also wanted to say thank you, thank you, thank you to all those that have posted the lovely comments, emailed and even "snail mailed" me! It makes me even more energized to push harder and make things happen!

As my new employer says: Dream it. Create it. Share it. That's what I want to do!

Enjoy your weekend!

Robin

The Next Chapter...This is really becoming quite the treatise!

Hello, Everyone! Here's the scoop. As you know, it's been quite the summer. Many changes, new adventures. I've been so thrilled this spring and summer to have been given the opportunity to work with companies such as Clearsnap, Amate Studios, Hampton Art, Teresa Collins Designs as well as Streuter. It was fun to teach and demo CHA Summer in July. Next chapter...

I've been offered a wonderful position with A.C. Moore as their new Director of Education. Day One is now under my belt with Day Two starting with my new schedule of waking up at 6:00 a.m., driving 1-1/2 hours to Berlin, NJ with the reverse trip at the end of the day. This'll be going on until I get my house emptied out and sold. If anyone wants to check out my stamp stash, let me know. I've already shared it with the local stamp club and I'd be willing to offer up my garage for picking at reasonable prices again!

You have to realize that this was my grandparents' house; they purchased and moved into this house in or around 1951, so, in addition to all of my "stuff", there's 50+ years of more "stuff" still in this house...yikes!

Next chapter...this blog will be evolving as my life is...I will be making this more "A.C. Moore-centric" as that's what my focus is going to be. I will not be teaching anymore---too much to do (!!!) but will be looking for teachers in all areas of crafts to consider teaching at one of the 130+ stores up and down the Eastern Seaboard. I truly believe that if new crafters are invited to try out new crafts with a good curriculum and great teachers, they will want to learn more, which will also lead them to the independents. Each will help support the other, all keeping us busy!

I can't thank everyone that has been by my side through the last few months. You know who you are and where you stand in my book! Big Hugs to you!

I welcome you to follow me on the next leg of my excursion!

Inky Hugs,

Robin

"When Creativity Knocks" and the Bandanna Technique!

Hello, Everyone! Sorry I've been remiss in posting. A lot is going on in my life that I will be able to talk about shortly. I've been busy, busy, busy!

At the Winter CHA Show, when I was still with Ranger, I taped a segment of "When Creativity Knocks", an online craft show hosted by my dear friend, Ana Araujo and her daughter, Megan. Check out the link! There's a bunch of techniques, including using the Ink Blending Tool and Adirondack(r) Pigment Inks and Inkssentials(tm) White Opaque Pen to create Bandanna Memory Glass(tm) Jewelry.

Make sure to sign up on the site and check out the other tapings. When you sign up, they'll update you when there's another, new video up. I really think that Ana and Megan have such a great idea for their show, so be sure to show your support!

I honestly cannot believe that it is the Labor Day Weekend? Where did the summer go? I'm really looking forward to my next "chapter" and I promise I'll update you soon!

Bandanna Hugs,

Robin