Tinkering Ink BLOG

Back from Sacramento! Lovin' Green Tangerines!

Well we are home from Sacramento... needless to say it was a trip that you could categorize as fast and furious!  We flew in Sunday evening just in time to teach Provincial Fare make and takes all evening.  Monday morning at 8:00 AM we taught a Peek-A-Boo class with Alfresco.  Then we jumped in the car and drove to Green Tangerines.  It is a scrapbook store in the greater Sacramento area and is beautiful!  Can you see in the picture how fun the bright colors are?  They have classrooms, a digital/hybrid center and a lime green kitchen to boot!  Not to mention that if you had your heart set on buying a certain scrapbook, card making or paper-crafting supply, chances are they have it!  Kelly the big kahuna at the store was very obliging to our Tinkering Ink crew and showed us all around her fabulous 10,000 square foot space.  Her creative crew was knowledgeable, cheerful and fun! 

P.S. They just won the award for best scrapbook store in Sacramento!

Back to the show to present Joan Mills with Top Sales award for 2007... then a vendor fair supplying all of our stores in Washington, Oregon, and California with our fabulous new products including our new Peek-A-Boo albums.  The flower and graduated 6x12 as well as the new 8x8 are super funalicious!  Look for them in you LSS soon and if you don't have them ask your LSS for them!

We had a great time and loved getting to know so many new people!

P.P.S. We have all ready started getting submissions for the "Vintage" contest and this one is not being judged by a 5 year old! So come on ladies and gentlemen... get your game on!  There's $50.00 at stake!

 

Hate Hot Cereal... Love Vintage Anything!

When I was a child my Mother made hot cereal.  Often.  It didn't matter how much butter, cream or sugar was piled on top of that cereal... I NEVER liked it.  Now there are many other foods that I disliked as a child that I LOVE now... broccoli, brussel sprouts, tomatoes, squash just to name a few. But, I have never warmed up to the hot cereal category.  I dislike Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Red River and any other HOT CEREAL.

This morning Preston (my little 5 yr. old) asked me to make him Cream of Wheat.  Dad usually does breakfast with the kids and he is the KING of hot cereal. Since I do not eat it... I have never made it!  How hard can it be?  Just follow the directions on the box then pile it high with butter, sugar and the like.  Well I learned a few things...

First: Even though there are microwave directions on the box of anything you are making... it is NOT going to taste the same as if you had cooked it the traditional way on the stove top.

Second: No matter how much butter or sugar you put on top, it can't mask the lumpy, grainy and rubbery mess that Cream of Wheat is. (when made in the microwave)

Third: The microwave is not good for "cooking" anything... It simply dominates at heating up a plate of leftover food and that is the full extent of its talent.

So in honor of the Cream of Wheat morning I found this old school advertisement and it inspired a challenge/contest!  Since the ad is so vintage and cute...I challenge you to create a Layout, Card or Altered Item that mixes Tinkering Ink Paper and something truly vintage.  IT CANNOT BE SOMETHING THAT IS REPRODUCED THAT "LOOKS" VINTAGE... IT MUST BE A REAL VINTAGE ITEM.  An old button, piece of a book, lace trim... you get the picture.  You have one month to finish this project...and yes there will be FABULOUS PRIZES LIKE $50.00 TO SPEND AT OUR TINKERING INK STORE AT tinkeringink.com!

SEND E-MAIL ENTRIES TO info@tinkeringink.com MAKE THE SUBJECT OF THE E-MAIL "VINTAGE CONTEST" AND SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY BY MIDNIGHT (MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME) MAY 25TH.

Note of thanks to my younger sister "Lois"... I will be forever grateful to her for eating my bowl of hot cereal when Mom wasn't looking... saving me from a punishment worse than death itself... Mom making me eat the same bowl of hot cereal for lunch because I wouldn't eat it at breakfast.

Wahoo...Ranger "U"

I am ready to be Rangerized! I just got my acceptance letter from Ranger University! Boy am I excited! It is held at the Ranger Headquarters in New Jersey and they teach you how to use every single one of their fab products! You also get to attend classes taught by the awesome Suze Weinberg, fabulous Robin Beam, incredible Claudine Helmuth and the super duper Tim Holtz. Vicki Boutin and I are gonna meet there and room together... what an added extra bonus! Days filled with creative bliss and nights filled with laughing my face off with Vicki! This should be something to remember... leave it to two Canadian girls to know how to party it up eh?

TEARS, LAUGHING and a SORE THROAT

We had tons of fabulous entries for the "Tonsils Out" Contest. Preston really loved looking at all of the Lay-Outs and he has selected the three BIG winners! First Prize goes to Maria Teresa Tirol! Preston thought it was great that the kids were having so much fun and were not afraid of the hospital!

Second prize goes to Nancy Doren because she also has a blankee like him except he wants Nancy to know that his is called a "BEE BEE" not a "BLANKEE"

Third place goes to JulieScraps because he couldn't stop laughing at that cute little baby's face...(even if it made his throat hurt!)

Honorable mention to Andrea Cloutier and Hera Frei! Andrea because she had a hospital bracelet just like his and Hera because her LO was of her little boy learning to ski... "a frozen treat" and skiing is way better than a Popsicle!

So ladies... if you are Maria, Nancy or Julie please send your mailing address to info@tinkeringink.com and get ready for your fabulous prize pack! ALSO THANKS TO ALL THOSE WHO ENTERED AND CHEERED UP LITTLE PRESTON, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF YOU WHO DUG OUT LAYOUTS FROM 10 YEARS AGO AND PROPS TO THE GALS WHO USED TINKERING INK!

Monday morning this little guy is getting his tonsils and adenoids removed. Today we bought new pajamas for the hospital, washed his Bee Bee (security blanket) and got his favorite bear from his birth mom all packed up and ready for the trip to the hospital. We then headed to the grocery store and he picked out numerous selections of frozen treats! After all of the fun preparation... he is still feeling apprehensive. So I thought to cheer him up a bit we would have a little contest! AND YES A CONTEST INCLUDES PRIZES!

If you don't have time to make a new layout then send in one you have already done even if it is 10 years old! That is why we scrapbook... to remember these life events! I will let little Preston look at all of the entries on Wednesday morning and pick his three favorites! We will post his top three winners around NOON.

PLEASE SUBMIT VIA E-MAIL TO info@tinkering ink.com ONE PICTURE OF A LAYOUT ABOUT BEING SICK, BEING IN THE HOSPITAL OR EATING FROZEN TREATS! SUBMISSIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY TUESDAY APRIL 22nd, 12:00 MIDNIGHT MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME. Although we love it when you use TI products and Preston will recognize them... they are not required for this contest!

Now for the best part of this (aside from cheering up a sick kid)... The winners will receive our new mini Peek-A-Boo album that is chipboard and acrylic mixed. It is shaped like a BUTTERFLY and is oh so cute! These new albums have not even left the warehouse yet! NO stores have them! Winners will also get a bottle of Ribbon Stiff (stiffener and adhesive for fabric ribbon crafting) made by Strano Designs...AND THEN We are going to let Preston go through the warehouse and pick his favorite things to put in the prize packs like a fun variety of TI products such as glitter stickers, finery, etc.

Alright everyone... get your game on! And start sending in those layouts! I just love giving away Tinkering Ink stuff!

WINNER! WINNER! CHICKEN DINNER!

No but seriously... we have a winner already! So folks Me, Kramer, J-Lo and Lynda Carter were all born on July 24th!  J-Lo even shares the same year!  Congrats to KAREN O  who does NOT get a CHICKEN DINNER but wins a fabulous TINKERING INK BLING T-SHIRT! So Karen e-mail info@tinkeringink.com and put "Lynda Carter Blog Winner" in the subject line... then give us your address and T-Shirt size in the e-mail and we will ship you your exciting "T" on Monday!

STAY TUNED TOMORROW LADIES AND GENTS FOR ANOTHER PRIZE WINNING OPPORTUNITY!

-haute scrap!

By the way... I would like to think I have more in common with Wonder Woman and J-Lo than Kramer but I don't think I'll do anymore comparing thanks!

FAR FROM WONDER WOMAN

When I was a kid I watched Wonder Woman incessantly.  I really wanted to be Lynda Carter... When she was Wonder Woman flying the glass airplane, I just wanted to be her.  I even had Wonder Woman Underoos!  Well today I had a shocking revelation... I will never be Wonder Woman.  Let me explain.

Our Communications Director Emilie has been running the blog since TI's inception.  She is quite savvy when it comes to blogging and clever at her posts (wouldn't you agree?)  Emilie is moving to the east coast with her little family and has taken on a lot of new responsibilities and so she resigned from her post a few weeks ago.  We were sad to see her go but know she is moving on to fun adventures. 

So... We sat down in a TI meeting and revamped.  During the meeting I willingly volunteered to take over the blog!  I have posted a few times before and I really enjoy keeping a connection with our customers and fellow crafters...therefore I should be able to run the blog...  "WONDER WOMAN" right?!

Well dish me up a big ole helping of humble pie will ya?  After spending hours surfing the typepad website today and erasing some vital information (don't worry I am sure Em will help me get it back) I decided that the blog might take a little more effort than I anticipated!  (this really translates into learning HTML so I can post visually pleasing things for our readers)  And so...

Tomorrow I embark on the HTML tutorial experience!  AND just so I know that it isn't all for naught I will be checking to see who is leaving comments after my attempts at posting.  If you are cheering me on and reading regularly then get ready for some SUPER PRIZES!  (My goal is to post each day I am in the office and at least once or twice if I am traveling to teach) 

So here is the first prize offering...THE FIRST READER TO GUESS WHAT LYNDA CARTER AND I HAVE IN COMMON WINS A TINKERING INK BLING T-SHIRT!

BEST OF LUCK!

-KEZIA

Tinkering Tip: Paper Blocking

Check out this amazing layout by one of our DT members, Michelle StClair.  She uses blocks of patterned paper from our BELOVED line to create a very anchored layout, but adds a touch of whimsy with the sideways title and her use of a rounded tag.

I just love this layout and it would be a fabulous way to use up your scraps since the largest whole piece is around 5 inches square.  Try out this fun technique today!