Glenda's Creative Place - Fun with Paper, Cricuts & More!

CHA Winter 2012 - Day 1

2012-01-28T23:58:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm off to try to catch some much needed rest after Day 1 at CHA. I had some great classes today. I took the class from Crafter's Companion to learn all about their new Spectrum Noir alcohol based markers and it was a HUGE surprise. I am sooooo in love with these markers!! I've never had this kind of control using my other alcohol markers. The ease of blending was absolutely unbelievable and shocking--you could constantly see the surprise and delight on the faces of all the students as we progressed along so quickly. I can't wait to work with them further!! They are now going to be my "go-to" alcohol based markers and I am placing orders for them as soon as the convention floor opens in the morning!!

My afternoon class was with the fabulously talented and always darling Teresa Collins for her Teresa Collins StampMaker. Needless to say, as always, Teresa was spot-on with giving us the information we needed along with several tips to help us design and create our own stamps. Great job Teresa!!!!!

OK, off I go to get myself as ready as possible for the morning, when the show officially opens and the Convention Floor opens up and allows us to see all the great new things that are waiting for us in the manufacturer's booths!!

Then when the day draws to a close, several of us (many from the Cricut message board) are meeting up for dinner. It should be great fun and I always love putting the faces to the names!!

Alright, off I go!! If you want me to check out something out for you, or if you want to place an order, just email me at gcporders@yahoo.com and I'll be happy to help you!!

Until later on tomorrow ....

Finally can share my big news-I'm in a TV Infomercial for Cricut / Provo Craft!

2012-01-24T18:50:00.000-08:00

Here's the BIG NEWS: The very busy "Cricut Event/Special Project" I've been involved with over the past couple months is that I filmed a TV INFOMERCIAL for Cricut / Provo Craft that will be airing on all the major network stations. Please watch for it!!

It was the experience of a lifetime and I will be forever grateful to have had the privilege of being involved with it! I just saw that Teresa Collins had posted on Facebook about it, so I doubled checked with the production company and they said it's OK to post this info now, so now you know!!!

The production company that Provo Craft very wisely hired to shoot this infomercial was Raymond Enterprises and let me just say they were an absolute dream to work with from start to finish. Every single person I came into contact with from Raymond Enterprises was unbelievably professional, amazingly grounded and every one of them made me feel like a million bucks!

On Day 1 they actually did my shoot at my family business, Main Street Eyewear in downtown Huntington Beach. They came to our location because we were utilizing ideas for businesses to be able to use the Cricut Mini and Cricut Craft Room. It was wild to walk in from Main Street in the wee morning hours and see the HUGE amount of equipment that they brought to this locale shoot. The entire breezeway out on front of our business was jam-packed full of equipment!! It honestly looked like a real TV shoot, which of course it was, from the swiveling cameras to the big lights and even a little craft services table outside full of big pots of Starbucks coffee to keep us all going! And every single person from Raymond Enterprises knew exactly what they needed to do to get the job done, from putting a special type of film onto all our lights inside our store and all the display cases to make them look better on TV, to covering up every single designer's logo in our eyewear/optical store (and since all we sell is high-end designer eyewear, that was quite a serious job, LOL!!) and much, much more!! The Art Director was fabulous and certainly had an amazing eye for detail, the camera man managed to get his shots even in the tightest spots within our business, and the gal who kept track of each and every second of what had been filmed had a memory like I've never seen--it was unbelievable!! And of course, a fabulous team like this gets its direction from the top down and I have to give a huge thank you to Beau, who was in charge of the shoot, and to his fabulous and oh-so-helpful assistant, Alon. From the first contact I had with Beau while going through the interview process with him and then preparing for the shoot, and all the way through to the finish of my part of this project, he was simply amazing and soooo easy to work with/for. He made it an absolute joy!

They were there at our location from very early morning until very late afternoon and to continue about the production company's awesomeness, when they left, every single thing they had altered for the commercial, from the lights to covering up the logos, to removing the backs of some display cases was put back exactly the way it was before they showed up that morning---you would never have known they were there, except for the fact that for days afterwards, people were inquiring about what we'd been shooting in there (news travels fast where we're located here on Main Street, which is just up from the ocean and in many ways, is very much like its own small town, and the TV shoots around here are generally about surfing or our amazing Lifeguards, LOL!!)

Then on Day 2 we finished up the interview portion, aka my "green screen" interviews at their beautiful production facility in L.A. It was top notch all the way, from the Stylist who had picked out the perfect color shirt and matching scarf for me for my wardrobe for the shoot, to the Makeup and Hair Stylist who transformed me for my "close-up", LOL (and I kept her very pretty hair-do for a big fancy party that my husband and I were going to that evening and got lots of compliments about it!!), to the director, to the interviewer and all the other support people in that room, and every other single solitary person I came in touch with that day. I say again that the way they treated me made me feel like a million bucks!! I also want to thank Jon Lee, the Creative Director at Provo Craft for all his help and guidance as well!

As I said before, it was the experience of a lifetime; the chance to hopefully help sell these new products that are part of the Cricut product family that I have been a part of as a consumer since they were first released over 5 years ago. Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE my Cricut machines and feel they have literally changed my life. Any time spent "Cricuting" always makes me extremely happy and joyful!! I couldn't begin to add up all the people I've educated about the Cricut over the last 5 years and getting the chance to now do so on such a grander scale was a dream come true!!

So keep your eyes peeled for this to air and if you see it, please shoot me an email at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and let me know where and when you saw it. I would greatly appreciate the heads-up!

Here's a copy, you can find me at approximately 1:27 (1 minute and 27 seconds), 5:56, and 14:17. (There might be more, but that's what I found when fast forwarding through the finished video this first time around!) (FYI--It might be easiest on your eyes to click on the YouTube symbol at the bottom right of the video, which will open the video in YouTube itself and thus should be shown on a larger screen. But if you leave, please come back and leave a comment and let me know what you think!!)

That goes for everybody—please leave a comment and let me know what you think!! I hope you all enjoy it!!!!

Ten New Cricut Cartridges Just Released from Provo Craft–WooHoo!

2012-01-20T03:30:00.000-08:00

OMG!! I was soooo happy when I saw all the new Cricut cartridges that were released this week!!! Because I’m a proud member of the Cricut Circle, I got to see them a day early on “Hello Wednesday”, when Provo Craft posts them to the members-only Cricut Circle Blog. But now that it’s Thursday, they are all listed for public view on the “Hello Thursday” section on the Cricut.com site on the Shopping tab.

Of course I was THRILLED to see another new Imagine cartridge (I just wished there would have been more of them for the Imagine in this release!!)!! It’s the Cricut Imagine^®Art Cartridge, “Greeting Cards Inside and Out” and it’s filled with birthday invitations, thank you cards, birth announcements, engagement and wedding announcements, and cards for all sorts of occasions. Not only is it going to make it quick and super easy-peasy to make all sorts of cards, but I also absolutely LOVE all the new Imagine papers on this cartridge!! Take a look:

(FYI, the little Cricut Circle emblem you see on the following Imagine papers is just their watermark to help protect these images on the internet!! They are not an actual part of the papers.)


Aren’t those papers GORGEOUS and FUN??!!

Next up is the Cricut® “Ole’ Cartridge” , which is packed full of striking images, Spanish phrases, and a bold layered font. Wowee, is this cartridge ever overdue??!! So cute, I can’t wait to make some fun invites for Tacos and Margaritas Night, LOL!! Here it is:

Do you also see those gorgeous scalloped designs—they make this cartridge even more fun!!!

Next is the Cricut® “Type Candy” cartridge. This sweet Font cartridge features three darling fonts with shadows. Each font includes uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and special characters. I am soooo thankful to see a full font cartridge again!!! Take a peek:

LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!

Onto the next cartridge, and I fully admit that I can’t wait to get my hands on it!! Just wait until you see this one, which is the Cricut® “Giant Flowers” Project cartridge !!! All I can say is YIPPPPPEEEEE---more beautiful flowers—WooHoo!!! You can use this cartridge to create larger-than-life flowers for a wedding, event, party, birthday, or home décor. GORGEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!

Aren’t they sooooo pretty?? With the larger size of these flowers I’m soooo glad that I ordered the new Petal Roller Tool -Fabric from Imaginisce because it has a much larger slot (wider and longer) where you insert the end of your flower in order to begin rolling it, than all my other rolling and quilling tools!!! I think that’s going to come in really handy with these!! I need this cartridge right now!!

Next up is the Cricut® “Bridal Shower” Event cartridge which includes a variety of images such as rings, clothing, phrases, 3D objects, and more. This will certainly be a welcome cartridge with the wedding season coming upon us. Our own family is having its very first wedding this summer when our oldest son, Matthew and his fiancée, Nancy, get married, so I’m sure I will be getting some great use out of this cartridge! Let’s take a look while I ponder all the different ways I can use this cartridge:

OK, my mind is already spinning with ideas!!

So, what’s next you ask?? What’s the old saying? First comes LOVE, then comes MARRIAGE, then comes “somebody” in a BABY CARRIAGE…?? Which means that the next logical life event on our cartridge reveal is the Cricut® “Baby Shower” Event cartridge which you can use to create unforgettable invitations, decorations, party favors, table décor, and more.

How cute!!

As we continue to stroll through these new releases, the next one is the Cricut® “Elmo and Friends Holiday” cartridge which features Elmo and his friends having fun on Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas, and other holidays. Get ready for super-cuteness:

How about that image with Oscar the Grouch holding the Valentine’s candy heart??!! I warned you about the cuteness factor, didn’t I??

Now let’s look at Cricut® “My Quiet Book” Project cartridge which can be used to teach your children, nieces and nephews, or grandchildren their colors, shapes, numbers, and more with this cartridge content.

Sweet images, right??

Next let’s look at a new Lite cartridge, which are found at Wal-Mart and/or at Cricut.com in the shopping section Here is the Cricut® Lite “Fun in the Sun” cartridge which features people waterskiing, boating, swimming, playing volleyball, or otherwise enjoying a day at a beach or lake. (You all must know that this southern CA beach gal is loving this one, LOL!!!)

It’s a good thing I’m writing this article at night or I’d be tempted to grab a beach towel and run on over to the beach after looking at this cartridge, LOL!!

Last, but certainly not least is the latest and greatest Cricut^®Circle Exclusive cartridge, the gorgeous“Letter Envy” cartridge which features an eclectic main font, bold crests, and an eye-catching second font with shadows. Once again, please allow me take my hat off to the Circle folks up at Provo Craft who have really been doing a great job lately with proving us with fabulous content on the Circle Exclusive cartridges. The Circle Exclusive cartridges are only available to members of the Cricut® Circle, and are automatically sent out to us each quarter (4 times a year!). I wonder just how many of you who aren’t already part of this crafty club might be considering joining us when you see this gorgeous cartridge??!!

OMG—can you believe how gorgeous and detailed these fonts are?? Will someone at Provo Craft PLEASE put me out of my misery and hurry up and send me my Circle package with this cartridge in it, LOL??!!! I am absolutely just going crazy over here wanting to get my hands on this cartridge---please have mercy on me and all my other Circlets and rush this quarter’s Circle Exclusive cartridge out to us!!
Maybe when I see the Provo Craft folks at CHA I can get a hint as to how soon the new Circle cartridge will land on my doorstep!
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing all 10 of these new Cricut cartridges as much as I did!! I wonder which ones are at the top of your list??

Wow!! Loving all the new Donna Salazar Winter CHA 2012 Releases!

2012-01-19T04:00:00.000-08:00

Please go to Donna Salazar's blog here http://donnasalazar.typepad.com and check out all her new Winter CHA 2012 Releases, including several new die sets from Spellbinders, new compatible stamps from Art Gone Wild Stamps, three new paper lines from GCD Studios, and new matching chipboard shapes from Want2Scrap (to match her new Spellbinders dies!!)---wow, has she ever been busy!!

She has some great new die sets from Spellbinders that you can see on the Spellbinders Abilities and Beyond Blog Frenzy on Day 6, plus there are several great videos within this post full of fun techniques and hints!! See them all here: http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/01/spellbinders-abilities-and-beyond-blog-frenzy-day-six.html.

Next, Donna has three new paper collections from GCD Studios:

The first is the Botanique paper line that you can view here: http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/01/first-paper-line-reveal-botanique.html --drop dead gorgeous!!
The second paper line is her Mix'd Media Stack from GCD Studios that actually contains 4 different mediums, including Kraft Labels, thin Kraft paper, Manilla paper & Watercolor paper. This is a palette of non-stop artistic fun papers that you can see here: http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/01/donnas-reveal-of-art-gone-wild-stamps.html
The third paper release is her Storybook paper line---OMG, this is too cute! Check it out on the GCD Studio blog here (it hasn't been posted on Donna's blog yet, but I'd guess it should be there fairly soon!): http://gcdstudios.blogspot.com/2012/01/story-book-collection.html
In addition to the three new paper lines, Donna is also releasing Volume 3 of her fabulous Crafty Chronicles Newspaper. I think parts from the previous 2 versions make it onto about 80% of my projects and no doubt this new version will prove just as useful!

In addition to all of the above, Donna also has a new line of stamps from Art Gone Wild, including Spellbinders Compatibles stamps that match many of her new Spellbinders dies. Check them out here, along with another very detailed video: http://donnasalazar.typepad.com/my_weblog/2012/01/donnas-reveal-of-art-gone-wild-stamps.html.

Oh, and almost forgot that she also has several new matching chipboard releases from Want2Scrap that match up to her new Spellbinders dies! WooHoo!!!!!!

Whew, I have to tell you I'm exhausted just from recapping the list of all Donna's new products for you!!! I can't imagine how worn out Donna must be right now, LOL!!! Because Donna is a local gal from right here in Orange County, I take special pride in always seeing what new and wonderful things she creates. I absolutely love her style!! To me, she's the "girlie" version of Tim Holtz, with her "Girlie Grunge" style that always manages to look very soft and feminine, while still allowing for all her inky, painty, glitzy, grungy fun techniques!!

Congratulations Donna on a great start to 2012!!

I have been and continue to order all the new Spellbinders dies, including all of Donna's, and will be ordering her papers as soon as I'm able to do so. I will also be checking out ordering her stamps from Art Gone Wild--I've never dealt with this company before, so hoping I can get that all set up when I'm at CHA!!

If you want to order any of Donna's products, or anything else being released for CHA Winter 2012, please email me at gcporders@yahoo.com with the list of products that you want and please put the word "ORDER" in your email subject line. Please include your shipping zip code (or for international customers, please include your full shipping address), along with your PayPal email address.

Yikes, this is shaping up to be a seriously great Winter CHA and the show hasn't even started yet, LOL!!!

I'm Pre-Ordering all the new Spellbinders Releases – please get your orders into me ASAP please!

2012-01-17T13:00:00.000-08:00

Hi to all!!! Thanks for visiting my blog! Happy 2012!! I'm officially back to work full-time, after spending the majority of the past month spending time with and enjoying my 82 year old Dad's month-long visit. He went home to the Midwest yesterday, after being spoiled to our 80+ degree beach days that we had for the majority of his visit here!!

So now I am catching up on a LOT, including blogging about the latest & greatest new releases as we wind our way down to the opening of Winter CHA 2012 in Anaheim.

I have been and continue to pre-order all the newest Spellbinders releases as they're being posted on their blog. Please go to their blog by clicking here: http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/Community/Blog.aspx . As of this moment, they have so far debuted Days 1 through 6, so when you go to the Spellbinders site, be sure to look at each of those 6 separate days of posts, plus continue to follow and watch for the remaining days of releases in order to see ALL of the new releases!!!

Once again, Spellbinders has outdone themselves with these amazing new releases, so I expect the demand to be HUGE!! Because of that, it is important to get your orders emailed to me ASAP, so I can make sure I have pre-ordered enough quantities of each new set within the new releases. Otherwise, I expect orders that aren't put in ASAP, will be waiting for the second or third round of manufacturing to be done overseas and then shipped to the USA. As always, my prices will be an average of 20% to 35% off of the MSRP (aka: the "Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price"). FYI--these are my every day low prices--you do not need a coupon or to wait for a sale--this is how I price my products all the time, to make it easy and cost-effective for my customers to get what they want!!

To place your orders with me, please email me at gcporders@yahoo.com - please put the word "ORDER" in your email's subject line, and include the Product name & the Product code of everything that you want, along with your your PayPal email address, and your shipping zip code (or if you're an International customer, please include your full shipping address within your country). Please try to get your orders into me ASAP so that I make sure I have pre-ordered enough quantities for all of you. This is an amazing set of new products and I expect the demand to be huge. Anything that doesn't get ordered early enough will most likely have to wait until a second/third shipment gets re-manufactured & sent here to USA, so please don't wait if you want to get yours early!

If you have any questions, please either email me or call me during my home office hours of between 10AM to 6PM PACIFIC time. My home office # is (714) 964-0656. Thanks!

I’m Ordering all new JustRite Stamps–Get Your Orders Into Me ASAP!!!!!

2012-01-07T15:30:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to all!! I’m getting ready to send in more orders for all the newest JustRite Stamps and WOWEE, do they EVER have some GORGEOUS and fun new stamps!! They are really expanding their repertoire in soooo many beautiful and practical ways!

To see all their new stamps, please follow the links below to their website, then make a list of which sets you want (the name of the stamp set and its’ product code if possible) and email your list to me at gcporders@yahoo.com . Please put the word “ORDER” in your email’s subject line, which will pull it up to the top priority!! Be SURE to come back and email me to place your orders, because as always, my prices are anywhere between 20% to 35% LESS than the manufacturer’s retail prices (aka: MSRP).

To see all the new JustRite CLING stamps, please click here: http://www.justritestampers.com/category.aspx?categoryID=228

To see all the new JustRite CLEAR stamps, please click here: http://www.justritestampers.com/category.aspx?categoryID=250

To see JustRite’s brand new DIE Releases (their dies are manufactured for them by Spellbinders and are designed to match specific JustRite Stamp Sets), please click here: http://www.justritestampers.com/category.aspx?categoryID=238

OK, now that you’ve seen them, email your list to me to get your order placed!

FYI: All of the JustRite CLING and CLEAR stamps only need a “regular” acrylic block to mount them on for stamping, which many of you already own (the same acrylic blocks that we all use for clear stamps). Unlike the ORIGINAL versions of the JustRite Stamps, which do need the specific size stampers for mounting, instead, all of the JustRite CLING and CLEAR stamps don’t require you to purchase anything extra!! So as long as you already own an acrylic block that will fit the Cling or Clear stamps that you’re ordering, you are all set!! However if you DO need to add some acrylic blocks to your order, please feel free to do so. You will find JustRite’s collection of acrylic blocks at the bottom of the same web pages listed above, where their new Cling and Clear stamps are shown.

So now that you’ve seen these gorgeous new JustRite releases, get your list together and email it to me ASAP at gcporders@yahoo.com (or if you already have me in your email’s address book as glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com , that is still my MAIN email address, but I’ve now also added an additional email address for my business's orders, which is just a shorter and more abbreviated version of the original in an attempt to make it easier for some of you!! Both of those email addresses will land in the same spot for me!!)

And remember, I can also help you with many, many other products from all sorts of manufacturers. To see a partial list of the manufacturer’s products that I can help you with, please scroll down this web page and you will see a list on the right side of the page, just a little bit further down.

Well believe it or not, here we go again, beginning the countdown to CHA Winter and all the new products that are already beginning to roll in, with many more to come!! This is going to be FUN!!!!

P.S. I want to send a shout out to Megan and her husband Sean from Above Rubies Studio. Sean was in a car accident earlier this week and thank goodness it wasn’t serious, but he did get pretty bruised up and is very sore from the air bags. If you could, please send some good thoughts and prayers their way, because whenever any of our loved ones gets hurt or injured, it is very scary and stressful for the entire family. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery for Sean and some peace of mind for Megan!

It’s a Cricut Extravaganza here right now & I’m loving it!!!

2011-11-29T16:52:00.001-08:00

Hi All!!

Oh, I wish all of you could all see what is going on here. I am on “vacation” again this week, finishing up a very special project. In order to get everything done in time (because there was an “industrial accident” here last week that destroyed weeks worth of work I’d already done—can’t talk about that right now or I might seriously start weeping, LOL!!), I literally have every Cricut machine that I own working away for me, all at the same time.

I have my Expression 2 (which I am now soooo LOVING—thank you soooo much for this machine Provo Craft!!!!), next to my regular Expression, along with my original Cricut (aka Baby Bug) all three working in my craft room. Then in the family room, I have my Cricut Imagine machine cutting away as well.

I have my laptop permanently logged into the Cricut Craft Room design program and I am just moving the USB cord from one machine to the other in my craft room—when one machine finishes, I start up the other one (so as to not overwork them!). I have gone through 6 new cutting blades between all the machines in the past few days (thank goodness I am always stocked up on these!!), as well as a gaggle of cutting mats. (FYI for all Cricut Users—this is why I ALWAYS preach that you MUST keep extra cutting blades and cutting mats on hand at all times!!) I’m also using my Gypsy on some things that I don’t need to create files for, but am using it to just to help me out with paper placement so I can just whip out those cuts!! It is truly a Cricut / Provo Craft extravaganza going on here right now!!! Talk about a party, WooHoo!!!! I wish I had a spare minute just to make a video to show you the craziness going on here. There are literally stacks of die cuts (all the things I’ve already cut out), and who know how many packs and containers of papers that have been pulled out and are lining the family room floor, as well as all corners of my desk. It is QUITE a site, LOL!!!

It’s at times like this that reminds me why I love my Cricut machines so much. We are sooooo spoiled by these machines that literally take so much of the laborious work out of our hands and do it all for us. Right now all I can say is “THANK YOU PROVO CRAFT”. These machines have transformed the entire way in which I craft and I for one, am NEVER going back—only forward!! I can’t wait to see what Provo Craft has in store for us in the coming year. I was so happy to see all the digital images that have been added to Cricut Craft Room (and BTW, I found the exact image that I needed and didn’t yet own for a big piece of my project—how handy and wonderful was that!!??) and I can’t wait too see what they’ll give us next. As you can deduce from the tone of this post, I am on a serious “Cricut high” right now!!! And when I finish up this project, next I’ll be starting on my Christmas cards and I know that once again, using my Cricut machines, I will whip those out of here in no time, especially with all the great cartridges that have beautiful Christmas designs on them!!! Isn’t technology a wonderful thing??!!! I guess that’s why I will forever be the original “Gadget Girl”!!!

Well, got to get back to it!!! Wish me luck!!

FYI-On Vacation for “Top Secret Special Assignment” all this week!!

2011-11-07T03:00:00.000-08:00

Hi Everybody!!! Hope everyone is starting to get in the holiday spirit!!! Wow, the Christmas decorations are already up everywhere it seems!!! Matches well with the chilly and wet southern CA weekend we’re having here!!!

This is just an informational post to let all of you know that I am going to be taking VACATION time all this week, starting Sunday, November 6th, and I will be returning on Monday, November 14th. I am going to be on a “special assignment/special project” that I can’t chat about yet (Top Secret—shhhhhh!!!), but I will tell you just as soon as I’m allowed to do so. But I will say it’s VERY EXCITING and quite an honor!!! I decided to take vacation time because in order to do the very best job possible on this special assignment, I really need to concentrate ONLY on this one project exclusively, up until the time that I hear the words, “It’s a wrap!!”.

However, as always, if you happen to have a very serious crafting emergency (LOL!!!), and you absolutely must speak to me immediately, you can always call me on my Home Office telephone number.

In the meantime, if you want to place an order, please go ahead and send an email to me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com –and PLEASE put the word “ORDER” in your email subject line!!! Please include the information for the items that you want to order (product and manufacturer name, and product # if you have it!), along with your shipping address and telephone #, and the PayPal email address you want your invoice sent to. That way I can get a head start on your orders while I’m on vacation!!

Have a fabulous week and wish me luck!!!! WooHoo!!!!!!!

Updates on cancer scares and more

2011-11-02T03:30:00.000-07:00

I know I’m really late getting this information updated (based on all the emails and phone calls I’ve received from so many of you!!), and for that, I apologize. Frankly, I have no excuse except that I have just been worn out thinking and talking about it and frankly, couldn’t bear to talk about it for a short time while just trying to absorb it all and what it might all mean. It seemed to overshadow my life for the last couple months. But I know I owe it to all my friends, customers and followers to get this information to you, so here we go. I will try to make this as short as possible (LOL!!!).

Regarding the Multiple Myeloma cancer:
The news is the results are "inconclusive at this time". One of the main things they look for is an elevated protein in the urine, and mine is elevated, but not much--so this is good news. The not so good news is in reading all the bone scans, skeletal bone survey, etc., they found more black spots, this time on my femoral shaft (which is your thigh bone), so this isn't so good, because now they can see these black spots (which I think are actually little holes in the bone, IF I understand this correctly) on my spine and on the femur.

Some of the main and typical symptoms of Multiple Myeloma (aka MM) are severe fatigue, and problems with the kidney functions, but in my case, I am already always fatigued because I don't sleep well--ever--due to ongoing severe back pain. And as for the kidney issue, because that protein in my urine wasn't elevated very much, right now this isn't a serious concern either—the kidneys look okay for now. Because the main symptoms of MM aren't severe enough at this point in time to cause me too many problems, the decision by the Oncologist was to not do anything invasive, meaning no chemotherapy (thank goodness—WooHoo!!), no blood marrow transfusion, etc. and to re-check everything in 6 months from now. At that time, if things have progressed, then we will have to re-visit those invasive treatment options, BUT there's also a chance that things could stay the same for an indefinite amount of time.

This Multiple Myeloma is a very strange & different animal from many other cancers, which we typically expect to progress fairly quickly. Apparently people can not only live for a long time with MM, even when the disease is more advanced (based of course on when and what stage of the disease they're diagnosed with), but in cases like mine, there are a lot of people who have it and who live with the more minimal amount of symptoms for years with no change--almost as if it's stagnant!!!

So for right now, I don't have to do anything regarding the MM but wait and do the follow up again in 6 months. And although I am sincerely grateful that I don't have to undergo any treatment, especially chemo, (because the #1 thing I despise and that believe it or not, is the thing I've been most afraid of is the throwing up—(yes, I know--I sound like a big baby, right??) --but I am so seriously afraid of being sick to my stomach for any length of time because it hurts my back soooo badly to throw up--it's the "heaving" that hurts!!), but because I am a person who prefers to have real answers and then, even if the answers aren't good, at least I know what the answers are and can make a plan for what needs to be done, this is going to be tough for me to remain patient. Because for now it's a "wait and see" thing, mentally it's very difficult for me to have absolutely NO control over anything (yes, I am a control freak--no surprise there, LOL!!)--no treatment plan, no preventative measures I can work on (because there's nothing I can do to "get rid of it" since there's no real cure at this time!) --nothing--I just have to wait to see if it progresses or stays the same. I don't know if that makes any sense to anyone else because I'm certainly grateful that things aren't nearly as bad as I'd dreaded they might be, but I feel like now I'm sitting on a ticking time bomb, with no way to diffuse it. And anyone who knows me well, knows that I am not a very patient person, to say the least!! "Sit and wait" is not exactly my style, LOL!!
But all in all, so far the news, regarding the Multiple Myeloma at least, is that it appears that all of you are STUCK WITH ME for the time being!!!! For that I am extremely grateful.

Regarding the red spots that appeared on my legs this summer, I went back to the dermatologist for a follow up and they’d actually gotten worse, so she did a total of 3 biopsies,--2 were very deep and afterwards, it looked like either a crime scene or a Halloween prank gone very wrong in the procedure room—enough said, because if I shared the details, I’m worried some of you might faint, since the doctor almost did!! These will take about 2 weeks for the results, but the doctor said they way the spots look now (because she says their appearance has changed somewhat since I saw her last), she’s thinking it’s likely not skin cancer (Melanoma), however she’s concerned I might have Lupus or something similar. Well, it’s not perfect news, but if it’s a toss-up between skin cancer/Melanoma or Lupus, I’ll take the Lupus. However, this is all speculation until the results from the biopsies come back, so again, I’m in a waiting game.

Next, regarding the iffy Mammogram & the repeat scans where they found an enlarged lymph node in my armpit, I am just waiting for my follow-up appointment for another Mammogram and another scan and those appointments are coming up this month. So, nothing new to report there—just more waiting.

Last, but not least, I have to see a neurologist because I keep getting severe pain, then numbness, tingling and weakness that begins in the shoulder area of both arms, proceeds down both arms and into both hands and all fingers. It often feels like my hands and all my fingers are asleep and I’ve been occasionally dropping heavier things The doctors weren’t sure if they should send me to the neurologist first or to a rheumatologist, but they decided I need to have a Nerve Conduction Study done by the neurologist first, then get those results read and depending on what they show, decide where to go from there. All I can say about this is they had better figure this problem out quickly before it effects my crafting!!! I think I am more ticked off about this than anything else (which might ONLY make sense to other crafters, LOL!!!). I absolutely refuse to allow anything to take away my ability to craft, because it is the time I feel so joyous and fulfilled, and no matter what else might be going on with me or around me, my crafting and creating time is when I can “go somewhere else” and not worry about anything while I’m in the midst of it. It is how I relieve stress, it makes me sooooo happy and I will be darned if I’m going to allow anything to mess with that!!! In the meantime, all I can say is thank goodness I have all my Cricut machines, cartridges and accessories, because my fabulous machines can do all the heavy lifting for me when this flares up, LOL!!!

Well, I think I’ve about covered everything. In a nutshell, some things are still in a wait and see mode short-term, and others (the Multiple Myeloma) are more of a long-term waiting game. But for now, I am thankful that the news has been as good as it’s been thus far and I am focusing on being happy and thankful for every single day. I love my husband, my three sons, my family, my friends and I love helping all of you. I am a person who absolutely loves to help people and I wish all of you knew the amount of joy and satisfaction I receive from doing all the little extras that I try to do for so many of you. And this is why I hope all of you know that you can always ask me when you need a little extra help, whether it’s in locating a certain product, or if you just want to know the answers to everyday crafty questions, such as which adhesive to use when, or how to use certain features on your Cricut or other die cutting machines, or how to best start collecting Spellbinders dies, or JustRite Stamps, etc.

I am available by email, by phone and by video-chat using ooVoo (free at www.ooVoo.com --IMHO it’s better than Skype!!!). These are the things that make me want to get up in the morning and I thank all of you for allowing me to do them for you.

So for now, you are still stuck with me!!! I am here for you, so send me your orders, your requests or your questions because I’ve found that keeping busy is the very best medicine there is!!

Thanks again for all of your messages, inquiries, emails, PMs, phone calls and for some gorgeous and encouraging hand crafted cards!!! You are truly an amazing group of people!!!

Now I’m off to go pack some orders!!!!! TTFN (ta ta for now!!!).

P.S. I think I am finally ready to get another little doggie—I’m thinking this will also be very good for my heart and soul—more about this later!

Cancer Scares and testing--Please put out good thoughts for me

2011-09-23T04:14:00.000-07:00

Please excuse me, but this is not a craft post today, it is instead a very personal post. I hope all of you don't mind.

For anyone wondering why I've been mostly absent from my sites (blog, Facebook. Cricut Message Board...), it's because for the last month or so, I've been undergoing a ton of testing to see if I have Multiple Myeloma, a blood plasma cancer. After having what I thought was a routine MRI, I was told they found several things on the MRI, listed here in order of least to most serious:

First, they found a Synovial Cyst on my L2-3 disc, which is the disc above the L4-5, (which is the disc where I've had all the failed back surgery), and this does help explain why I've been having serious and ever-growing pain radiating up above the normal pain zone where all the surgery has been. Apparently, this type of cyst is fluid-filled and simply will continue to contribute to my ever-growing pain level, and no one will operate on it so it can't be removed (especially with my spinal track record!!), but it's not cancerous--just another way to cause additional and progressive pain.
Second, I have Facet Arthropathy in my spine, which is a fancy way of saying my spine is arthritic (which we already knew!!) and getting worse. Yippee--more pain & I really feel like I'm way too young to have arthritis and a deteriorating spine, but there you have it!
Last, but certainly not least, on the spinal MRI, they found that my spine has a "salt and pepper" appearance, which means there are black spots all over it, and this salt and pepper appearance of the spine is indicative of Multiple Myeloma, a blood plasma cancer.

Once getting all this wonderful news, I was sent on a path over the last month or so of first being referred to the Oncologist and being told it would be 3 weeks to even have the first appointment with her. Well, I was soooo stressed out and knew I would seriously lose my mind if I had to wait 3 more weeks to even get to speak to someone about this, so I pushed back a little (maybe more than a little) and did get an earlier appointment with the Oncologist. However, once I was at the Oncologist, she breezed in for a few minutes, and very matter of factly told me she couldn't tell me anything yet because I still needed to have a bunch of tests. (I would venture to say she needs some work on her bedside manner, but I suppose with all the very sick people they deal with in an oncology practice, they have to keep their own emotions in check at all time!!)

So over the last weeks, I have been back and forth to the hospital, to the Lab, and especially to Radiology, where I've had several CAT Scans, Skeletal Bone Surveys and many more X-Rays and studies. I have given away so many bodily fluids I worry that I will never replenish them and I've been "nuked" so many times, over and over again in Radiology that I'm pretty sure I will be glowing in the dark soon (that would be a good party trick for Halloween, right??).

In the midst of all this, I also needed to have a Bone Density test, and since I was also due for my annual Mammogram and they like to do those 2 tests at the same time, I went ahead and scheduled them both together at their suggestion, but really never gave the Mammogram a second thought (well, except for when they were performing an actual "titty twister" maneuver while I was in the Mammogram machine--yikes!!). My mind was totally focused on getting results so I could get answers about whether or not I had Multiple Myeloma. So imagine my surprise when a couple days after the Mammogram, my phone rang, the Caller ID showed the hospital, and I picked it up expecting someone was going to tell me I had to have yet ANOTHER test for the Multiple Myeloma, but instead it turned out to be the Breast Center at the hospital. They called to inform me there was something the Radiologist didn't like on my right breast when he read the Mammogram and wanted me to come back in either that afternoon or the next morning for some follow up tests. I went back in the next day and after further testing, I was told there could be a problem with the lymph node under the armpit on the right breast. They said looking at my baseline films and my subsequent Mammograms from years past (which luckily had all been done in this same hospital, so they could take a good look at the entire history) this had never shown up before. But, because of all the testing for Multiple Myeloma that had been going on, they weren't sure it might not be tied into that somehow, so the decision was made to wait until after I got those results before following up again about the lymph node!!! So I already have a follow up appointment for that. Until then, I just wait and worry.

Also in the midst of all this, I was referred to a dermatologist because I've developed some red spots on both my legs that keep getting worse. I thought I was probably broken out with some sort of common skin condition or something, but after examining me, she didn't seem to think so. She gave me some very serious prescription cream and set a follow-up appointment for me in about a month or so, and if these spots haven't cleared up by then, she said she will need to do a biopsy, because it could be the beginning of a different type of cancer, melanoma. (That's what happens to naughty sun-loving, white-as-paste blond haired/blue eyed girls who live by the beach I suppose!!)

Then earlier today (Thursday), I got another call and this time it was about the Bone Density Test. I was informed that they found that there was thinning of my bones and I am in pre-osteoporosis (there's another term for it, but I didn't write it down & now can't remember it!!). This also didn't really surprise me because my Mom has Osteoporosis and has had it for quite a while, but again, this wasn't something I was really even thinking about, because I was concentrating on the tests and upcoming results for the Multiple Myeloma. But I have thought for a while that this could be a factor and could be contributing to some of the spinal problems I have.

So to say it's been a rough couple of months for me would be a bit of an understatement. First, I had the unexpected, sudden and horribly sad loss of my darling little dog, Gucci and that about knocked me out with grief, let me tell you, and the timing of it couldn't have been worse because with everything I've been dealing with right now, I need her with me more than ever!! There's nothing better for what ails me than some seriously unconditional puppy love! Then I had no sooner had started to get back on my feet after Gucci's death, then along comes all this bad news from the MRI, first with the Synovial Cyst, then with the Facet Arthropathy (arthritis), but especially the potential of having this Multiple Myeloma cancer. And then, after reeling from the possibility of having cancer and all that would entail if it turned out to be so, then I was completely shocked to find out about the lymph node results and breast cancer scare from the Mammogram, And to add insult to injury, apparently my bones are thinning, so I'm on the road to Osteoporosis (which REALLY irritates me because I drink at least 3 huge glasses of milk every day and have done so since I was a tiny child!!), which should REALLY work well with the arthritis in my spine, don't you think?? And of course, let me not forget about the possible melanoma on my legs, woo-hoo!!

If I weren't so exhausted from all the worrying, I would laugh about all this because it has almost been comical, with one thing after another, after another. I tell you what, if it turns out that (hopefully!!!) I am cancer-free, I'm still not sure that all the stress and worrying won't have killed me when this is all over, LOL!!

I'm asking all my crafty peeps, friends and family out there to please put out lots of positive thoughts for me to get great results when I follow up with the Oncologist tomorrow morning/Friday. I'm hoping that I get a completely cancer-free result. Once I do, then I can try to focus my attention on dealing with what the Synovial Cyst and the Facet Arthropathy will bring, as well as watching out for further developments with the lymph node, the pending Osteoporosis as well as the possible Melanoma on my legs!!! (I’m just a regular party right now, aren’t I??)

But through all of this, I intend to continue helping my customers, just as I have been doing-- in fact, the more I can do that, the better off I'll be because I will have less time to focus or dwell on any problems or concerns I might have!! So please--keep me BUSY!!!

And most of all, please put those positive thoughts and vibes out there for me, so I can happily report back here after seeing the Oncologist later today (Friday) that the results for the Multiple Myeloma are 100% negative!!

Now I am going to head upstairs to try to catch a couple hours of sleep if possible, because I want to be as sharp and alert as possible when I meet with the Oncologist later!!! Wish me luck and send up some prayers for me if you can spare them!!! I could really use them right now!

More About the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge Bundle - and video!

2011-08-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all!! Today I am once again turning my site over to my good friend and CTMH Consultant, Lena, to talk to all of you a bit more about the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Bundle. She has some photos from samples she's been making and she even made her very first video so she could share even more with all of you about this fabulous cartridge. So here's Lena:

Hi, this is Lena again! Today I’d like to share a couple of pictures of an altered box I made using the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge and a stamp set that contains some images that also coordinate with some of the die cuts on the Cricut cartridge. The tickets, the star, and the No.1 pieces were all stamped on a coordinating die cut from the Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.

Below, here are two more close-ups of the altered box.

I’ve (Lena) also made a video (my first one!!) showing how the 3D flowers are made, as well as how the stamps coordinate with the images you can cut from the Art Philosophy cartridge. Here's the video below:

Also, as mentioned in the video, since Glenda (as always!!) has been very generous by giving me the opportunity to guest blog on her site, I'm offering a $10.00 discount for the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy Bundle for all of Glenda's customers and her blog readers, which will bring your price for the CTMH Cricut Bundle down to just $89.00 (plus taxes and shipping)!!! You can also read about all the current fabulous CTMH specials for August and September in the previous post HERE. To place any orders, or if I can answer any questions for you about the CTMH Cricut Art Philosophy Bundle or anything else regarding CTMH, please email me at bradshawmath@yahoo.com .

Glenda, thanks again for letting me reach out to your Customers and Followers!!

New CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Bundle!!

2011-08-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

Today I am turning my blog over to my good friend, fabulous customer and CTMH (Close To My Heart) consultant, Lena Bradshaw. I wanted to give her a chance to explain all the very detailed information about the new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge bundle, along with all the other available special offers that can be included with the purchase of this bundle, in the same way she had explained it all to me after she returned from her CTMH Convention where this new CTMH Cricut product was introduced. I had already read a few things about it here and there on some of the message boards, but I hadn’t seen anywhere near all the details that Lena had provided me with, not only about the CTMH Cricut bundle itself, but also about all the OTHER extra freebies and special offers that could be had with the purchase of the bundle!! As soon as I understood how, as a buyer of the bundle, I could get all the extras and freebies as well, I wanted all my Subscribers and customers to be able to get the best “bang for your buck” when purchasing this new CTMH Cricut bundle also (you KNOW I’m always watching out for all of you!!!)!!! So, without further ado, let me now turn this over to Lena:

Hi! My name is Lena Bradshaw and as a Close to My Heart (CTMH) consultant, I would like to tell you about our new exclusive CTMH Cricut cartridge available beginning August 1, 2011. The cartridge is called Art Philosophy and is packed with 700 images!! The 700 images include a font, elegant rosettes, lacey patterns, gift boxes and more! The best part is that this CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge is being sold in a bundle which includes: 3 coordinating My Acrylix D-Size stamp sets (MSRP: $17.95 each), along with 3 coordinating 9” x 12” dimensional elements sheets (MSRP: $4.95 each).
In fact, the stamps sets include the measurements right on the packaging (on the stamp’s carrier sheet!!) so you will always know exactly what size to die cut your image with your Cricut so that you can then stamp your image perfectly onto your die cut. Even the dimensional elements (white coated chipboard elements) can be inked directly with your stamp pads, stamped, or even covered with other assorted papers using your Cricut to again cut out the perfect size, so that you can directly apply your paper to the chipboard elements.

You may also be wondering whether any of our other stamp sets will coordinate with the Art Philosophy cartridge and the answer is YES! Our other stamp sets which include stamps that also match up with images on the Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge are indicated in the CTMH catalog in the same manner as the stamp sets that are included as part of the Cricut bundle. Just like the sets in the bundle, if you buy a stamp set that has a stamp (or stamps!) which coordinate with an Art Philosophy cartridge image, the size that you should cut out your image with your Cricut is indicated right on the packaging. There is no guesswork involved! And since our CTMH stamps are made from photo polymer materials (clear stamps), that means it is super simple to see exactly where you are stamping your images onto your Cricut die-cut. Imagine making invitations where you could just have your Cricut machine cut exactly what you need in the perfect size (which is indicated for you!) and all you have to do is to then stamp the matching images---and all the sizes are perfectly matched up for you!!!!!!! Even if you just want to make one card or scrapbook layout, or you could make 3D flowers in the colors and patterns that you want (how about making your own bouquet of flowers?) and again, because your paper is already cut out to the perfect size for the matching stamp, it just makes things all those things so much easier for you to accomplish in much less time. You’ll also be able to create custom boxes for gifts, other home décor items and much, much more with this beautiful cartridge.
This bundle (which includes the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge, along with 3 coordinating My Acrylix D-size stamps and 3 coordinating 9” x 12” dimensional elements sheets) is just $99.00!!!!! (Taxes and shipping/handling charges apply.) If you don’t already have a CTMH consultant and would like to order this bundle, or if you have more questions regarding CTMH products, please feel free to contact me at: bradshawmath@yahoo.com and please include “CTMH” in the email subject line.
Also, I want to also give you an overview of some of the other specials for the month of August……..
Special Offer #1: From August 1 through 31, 2011, if you spend $50.00 or more in CTMH products (Studio J is not eligible) you can purchase the Stamp of the Month, which is named “Wicked” (My Acrylix D-Size), for just $5.00 and as a bonus, you will also receive a FREE bonus stamp set (My Acrylix A “Typeface”). See the photos below.

Special Offer #2: From August 15 through September 30, 2011, CTMH is celebrating National Stamp Month by offering a free exclusive My Acrylix “Pair-a-Phrase” double stamp set when you place an order of $75.00 or more during this time period. The retail value of this stamp set is $35.90, but it is yours free during this time period with a $75.00 or more purchase.

And YES, ordering the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge Bundle would make you eligible for both of these special offers for orders from August 15 through September 30, 2011. When you place your orders with me, if you want BOTH of the Special offers (and who wouldn’t??), just tell me that you want your order placed after August 15 (and before September 30), 2011 and I will take care of the rest. *(Tax and shipping/handling charges apply.)
When this new CTMH Cricut bundle was first unveiled at our recent CTMH Convention, as a fellow Cricut user and enthusiast myself, as well as a long-time member of the Cricut Message Board and a Charter member of the Cricut Circle, I was absolutely thrilled with the cartridge images. When I first saw all the beautiful and extremely useful images on the CTMH Art Philosophy cartridge, I was already sold!!! Then when I saw the coordinating stamps which take the guesswork out of trying to figure out what size to cut-out your matching image on your Cricut, I was amazed (how SMART is this??!!). But then, when I saw that in addition to all of that, there were also 3 large coordinating dimensional elements sheets (which are also already sized for you!!) included in this bundle as well, I was absolutely over the top with happiness and with pride for what my company, CTMH and Provo Craft had managed to create together. It is simply the most well-thought-out Cricut cartridge and coordinating products that I think I’ve ever seen!! It is a perfect bundle of products for any Cricut user, from the beginner to the advanced user. I absolutely can’t wait to see all the amazing projects that the creative Cricut community is going to create with this new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge bundle!!
To recap, in order to receive your CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge bundle (which includes the 3 coordinating sets of stamps, along with 3 coordinating sets of dimensional elements sheets), as well as the special offers outlined above, please contact me, Lena Bradshaw, at bradshawmath@yahoo.com . Please put “CTMH” in your email’s subject line and please be sure to tell me which Special Offer you want (#1 or #2). If you have any other questions about the CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut bundle, please feel free to contact me by email.
Last, I want to thank my good friend (and my favorite scrapbook and paper-crafting supplier!!) Glenda, from Glenda’s Creative Place, for offering this space on her site so that I could get the details out to all her Followers, Subscribers and (fellow) customers about this amazing new CTMH Cricut bundle!! Because she really does care about all of us, Glenda wanted to make sure that all of you knew how to best optimize your purchase of this new CTMH Art Philosophy Cricut cartridge bundle in order to get the most amount of products possible!! Thanks so much Glenda for letting me share this information!!!
More images and information:

let me show you how^®

I'm Here and I'm Taking ALL CHA Orders!!

2011-07-18T16:52:00.000-07:00

Please allow me to begin by saying a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who has contacted me in any way since I posted about the loss of my darling little dog, Gucci. I've had comments from you on the blog, countless emails (almost 4,000 emails!!), Facebook posts, Cricut Message Board messages, many telephone calls (from all over the world!!) and some of you even sent gorgeous Sympathy cards to me. Please just know that in whatever manner all of you chose to reach out to me, every single one of your very kind words have touched my heart and have offered me a great deal of comfort. Thank you so much for your amazing thoughtfulness. I have not been able to respond to all of you directly because in the past week and a half since Gucci's death, I have received almost 4,000 new emails, which you might imagine has literally overwhelmed me. Please allow this post to serve as my heart-felt thank you to each and every one of you.

The next order of business is that it turned out that I needed a bit more time to grieve than I'd initially thought, so I am just now really returning to work. However, last week I did already begin the process of placing various CHA orders with several manufacturers and vendors and I am continuing to do so this week, so please, get your pre-orders emailed to me ASAP so that I know I'm getting the correct quantities of everything ordered for you. If there are any products you're interested in besides the big, obvious ones that I always order, please don't hesitate to ask me about ordering them for you. You can either email me, or you are ALWAYS welcome to call me on my home office # (after 10AM Pacific Time!!) at (714) 964-0656.

As always, my prices on all the new CHA Releases are far below the Retail/MSRP prices, typically averaging at least 25% (or more) below the MSRP. There will always be some exceptions, based on certain manufacturer's restrictions that they place on retailers, but they are very far and few between.

To email your orders to me, please send them to glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and PLEASE put the word: "ORDER" in your email subject line, so that I can easily separate your orders from the very thoughtful condolence messages that continue to pour in. Please include the names of the manufacturer and the actual item(s) you want, and if you happen to have the product code for your item(s), that most certainly helps speed things up and is deeply appreciated by me!!

I so appreciate your business (which is right now turning out to be extremely good medicine for me by giving me something else to focus on that's very important to me!!), and more than anything, I deeply appreciate the kindness and friendship that all of you continue to send my way. You have no idea just how very much all of you are helping to heal my heart right now. Thank you so much!!!

More about Gucci's death & knowing what heartbreak actually feels like--also photos

2011-07-07T15:48:00.000-07:00

Late last night I stumbled back home after one of the most awful and grueling days and nights of my life. The absolute love of my life, my little Brussels Griffon doggie, Gucci, got sick and was throwing up all night July 5th and throughout the morning of July 6th. I stayed up with her all night, on the kitchen floor (because it stays nice and cool and that’s where she was comfortable).. Then yesterday morning I called the vet and they told me to come there in the mid-afternoon. In the meantime, she had completely stopped eating and then stopped even drinking water, I guess because she would throw up every time she even took a sip. She wasn't looking good, but frankly, since she developed Cushing's Disease about a year and a half ago, she's never been quite the same dog as far as energy levels, etc. Also, because of the Cushings, she has spent a LOT of time at the vet over the past year and a half, having to frequently do these very expensive tests to check her cortisol levels, etc, which are designed to make sure that her $125.00 worth of medicine that she takes for the Cushings each month are working properly. In fact, about a month and a half ago, I asked for this same test to be performed again, because although I couldn't put my finger on it, I just had a feeling things weren't "OK" with her. But, the tests came back saying her levels were within the ranges they should be. However, she still seemed "off" to me, but the vet kept saying no, she was all OK.

Anyway, yesterday I took her over to the vet around 2:30PM, which was the first available appt time they had, and she seemed weak and lethargic. When she saw the vet and the first set of blood work came back, the vet said the numbers for her kidney functions didn't look very good, so she wanted to do a couple more tests. I told the vet EVERYTHING I could think to tell her about Gucci's behavior and manner being "off" for a while now, so she'd have all the facts needed to treat her. She said Gucci would need to be in the back room (in the treatment area) so they could keep a close eye on her, and they hooked her up to IV solution, so she wouldn't be dehydrated and they sent me home for 2 hours. I came back at closing time (for this regular vet), thinking I was going to pick my baby up and take her home with me, but the vet felt she should stay on IV Fluids all night and have the intake/output monitored and the only way to make that happen was to have her transferred to the closest All Night Animal E.R. Hospital. So, they had me drive her there, (about a 15 minute drive) and I no sooner handed her over to them when all hell broke loose. I guess because the veterinarians in this Vet Hospital typically ONLY deal with emergencies, they are probably much better prepared and know certain signs to look for, and they immediately saw that her tongue and gums were blue, which means she wasn't getting enough oxygen. She went into cardiac arrest and to their credit, the folks in this E.R Vet Hospital valiantly did everything humanly possible--I mean they had a crew of 6 to 7 people working on her at all times, (which included 2 vets and the rest were vet techs) and they worked on her for about 4 hours, pushing all kinds of different meds, keeping her on oxygen, intubating and breathing for her and doing CPR for so long that they had to keep changing the people who were performing it, since they kept getting worn out and covered with sweat. They tried and tried everything to get her back and her sweet little heart kept trying to come back, but then it would go again and these people never stopped until I finally told them they could stop after the last time her little heart hadn't come back for almost 30 minutes (because I knew by then she wasn't coming back and if by some chance she did, because her brain had been deprived of oxygen for soooooo long, she wouldn't have any quality of life and she deserved nothing less than the perfect life she'd always had). So before they took her off all the life support she was hooked up to, I scooped her up in my arms and held her for the last time, rocking her and kissing her, I had her all snuggled up against my heart where she loved to lay, and talked to her for quite a while, just in the off chance she could hear me. Earlier when they were working on her, I had begged her over and over to please stay with me, that I needed her, but now it was time to tell her it was OK for her to go and that I would always love her. And as I held the little love of my life for the last time, I literally physically felt my heart break in a million pieces.

And now I'm left trying to figure out what happened and how things could go so badly, so quickly. Considering this dog has been so closely monitored by the vet because of her Cushing's Disease for sooo long, I don't understand how a underlying condition (like a heart problem!) could be missed. The E.R.vets last night told me they believe she'd been having heart problems for a while, but my question is, how could her own vet miss such a thing?? Believe me, if we'd known, we would have taken her to the best Cardiac vet in the area. In fact last night there was a plan early on to have her transferred to a cardiac surgeon in L.A.in an animal ambulance, but they could never get her stabilized enough for transfer. I'm left with so many questions right now and yes, I know I can have a doggie autopsy performed, but I just don't want her little body to be put through anything else.

What bothers me is that I've been telling her own vet for a couple months that she seemed "off", which is why I had asked for that last test that checks her cortisol levels to make sure they were alright (because of her Cushings disease). When the cortisol levels on those tests came back as normal, I still knew something was not OK with her, but I couldn't pin down what it was. And I guess because those tests came back as OK, my regular vet decided not to investigate any further.

However, I knew this little doggie better than anyone else, because I was with her day in, day out for her entire life (10 years). And because of that, I really feel as if my concerns should have carried more weight and her regular vet should have done some more investigating and testing.

Gucci is what I call my "Once in a Lifetime Dog". Because dogs have shorter life spans than we humans, most of us dog lovers own several dogs within our lives. But I do believe within that group, although we love them all, we each get one, very, very special dog that we love and adore above all others, and this is what I call our "ONCE IN A LIFETIME DOG". Without question, Gucci was certainly that for me.

I've spent literally almost 24 hours a day with Gucci for her entire life (she was only 10 years old when she died last night and should have had a life expectancy of average 15 years). Wherever I was, there was Gucci, literally making the well-known description of the Brussels Griffon breed as the "true Velcro dog" completely true (they are never happier when they are velcro’d and stuck up against their owner). When I got up in the mornings and took a shower, she'd be right there with her little paws pressed against the glass shower doors, waiting for me to hurry up and get out, and as soon as I stepped out of the shower, I was greeted by tail-wagging and foot-kissing, as if I'd been away for months, LOL!! When I worked my online business at the computer, whether it was answering emails, typing the blog, editing together videos (where Gucci was always named as the Assistant to the Director!), she was always right there, laying across my feet as I typed. When I'd be going back and forth packing and weighing shipments for customers, she would be "velcro’d" to my leg, no matter how many times I went back and forth--she didn't care, because all she wanted was to be as close to me as possible (I always said if she could have lived inside my skin, I know she would have!!).

She was quite the traveler as well, whether it was going "bye-bye" in the car (in her own car seat!), or just hanging out with her family at our main family business in Downtown Huntington Beach, CA by the Pier. And she knew how to work people to get them to come into the store, even if they thought they were going to just hurry by on the way to the beach--all it took was one look from Gucci and they were putty in her little paws. She was well-known by those who worked in the Huntington Beach Downtown Business District and she knew which businesses were ready to hand her some "doggie treats". But also, from the very beginning of her life, Gucci was also a long-distance traveler. She always traveled with me in the airline cabin, with her little dog carrier tucked underneath the seat in front of me (where my feet should have been!) - in fact, she took her first jet ride with me about 1 week after I first got her, (so she would have only been about 12-13 weeks old!!) and she continued to travel with me, especially when I'd fly back home to Omaha where my parents and my only sibling live. She even had her very own Doggie Frequent Flyer Card with one of the main airlines we used for those trips!! For last summer's CHA Convention (in Chicago) she and I first flew into Omaha, where I got her settled in with my Mom (they adored one another!), I spent the night there and then I traveled onto Chicago on my own, while she stayed and partied with my Mom and my sister, Gail (they also had a mutual love-fest!!). When CHA was over, I flew back to Omaha, where we hung out with my family for a while longer. That would now have been her last plane trip.

She was the most amazing dog I've ever known and everyone that met her knew she was something very special and precious. I've never known another dog who was as loving and absolutely devoted to me, as well as the rest of our family. The fact that this breed, Brussels Griffon, have the most-human-like face of any dog breed (which is why they used this breed in the movie, "As Good As It Gets" with Jack Nicholson), made her able to have facial expressions like a little person, especially with her huge, amazingly expressive, beautiful eyes. This fabulous dog has seen me through several failed back surgeries and the 24/7 pain those failed back surgeries have left me with. Many days when I was in such horrific pain, Gucci was the one and ONLY reason I would actually get up out of bed. I know that this darling dog has quite literally saved my life, more than once. And all she ever asked in return for everything she gave to me and everyone around her was love, a little snuggle, a tummy rub and one of her favorite cookies. It was truly unconditional love.

Right now while typing this I am still sobbing and have been all night and morning long and even sleeping pills didn't work last night, even though I'd been awake with Gucci all night long the night before, so I'm now 48 hours with no sleep!! My own heart felt as if it broke into a million pieces last night when it was finally over and right now it still feels the same. I actually feel as if I've been run over by a big truck and I hurt everywhere. I can say without question that this is what heartbreak feels like, because my heart physically hurts so badly right now, it even hurts to breathe. I'm not sure how long this will last. I haven't eaten since day before yesterday and haven't slept for 2 nights and all I want to do is crawl into a hole and never come out.

Everywhere I look I see Gucci's things all around me and each time I do, it's another hard blow to the chest. I wish these stupid sleeping pills would actually work, because I keep thinking if I could just go to sleep, even for a while, that I might get some relief from these devastating feelings as well as the physical pain.

I will be taking a few days off while I try to recover and hopefully anesthetize myself with large doses of Ambien. I keep hoping that maybe this will have all been a nightmare. I am broken and devastated beyond words. Please understand that I will be AWOL for a few days, probably until the beginning of next week…

I know the timing is bad with the brand new Spellbinders releases being shown on the Spellbinder's blog, but just know that (as always) you can send me your orders in email and I will take care of getting them for you. Please email me with your orders at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and please out the word "ORDER" in your email subject line.

Thank you for your understanding, I'm going to now crawl back under the covers again with Gucci's blankie (it still smells like her) and stay there (I hope) for a very long time.

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OK, I finally was able to come back and add some photos of Gucci:

Gucci as Puppy-1

Gucci as Puppy-2

Gucci as Puppy-3

Gucci in Glenda's arms, with her sister Gail & Mom Gwen.

Gucci making Glenda's sis Gail and nephew Andrew laugh.

Gucci with Glenda's Dad, Jerry.

Gucci as tiny puppy trying to show Dad's dog, Trouble, just who is the boss!

Gucci with Glenda's Mom, Gwen.

Again, Gucci attempts to show Dad's dog, Trouble who is large (well, maybe not large!) and in charge!

Gucci with Glenda's sister, Gail.

Gucci with Catherine-the Party Girls have turned to party poopers, LOL!!

Gucci-official Party Girl with Glenda and Moe.

Gucci collage

Gucci- just too sweet and too cute.

Gucci with cute hair bow!

Gucci hanging out in the porch swing with Glenda on another gorgeous southern California day.

Gucci, ready for a nap, laying in the porch swing with Glenda.

Gucci-more hanging out with Glenda in the porch swing.

Gucci begging Glenda for a tummy rub in the porch swing!

Gucci-1 more on Porch swing

Gucci snuggling in Glenda's arms on Glenda's Birthday!

Gucci with Glenda-Partying at my sister's house on another Omaha Vacation!!

Gucci with my nephew, Andrew at another Omaha Vacation party!

Gucci being a lazy girl on vacation in Omaha!

Gucci with Glenda and her cousin, Dick at his Kentucky ranch.

Gucci with Glenda's Mom, Gwen-returning to an autumn snowstorm (Gucci's first and only time in the snow ever!!) from vacation in Kentucky.

Gucci-rocking her Christmas outfit!

Gucci with Matthew--Matt was helping her open her gifts, LOL!!!

Gucci sitting at Moe's feet on Christmas morning.

Gucci in Moe's arms Christmas morning.

Gucci modeling new Santa hat on Christmas morning.

Gucci snuggled in Moe's arms, ready for a Christmas morning nap.

Gucci with Bubba (Matt's dog, my grandpuppy!!) Christmas morning.

Gucci trying to show Matthew her new Christmas outfit!

Gucci on Christmas morning, wondering if all those gifts under the tree belong to her.

Gucci and Bubba (my grandpuppy!) snuggling in with Moe for a long Christmas nap.

Gucci in Glenda's arms. along with Shawn, Moe and friend, Ali.

Gucci snuggling with Shawn for a nap and a tummy rub.

Gucci, my best friend, love of my life and greatest dog that ever lived. R.I.P. Gucci, July 6th, 2011. Gucci, I love you and I miss you more than I can ever say. Please wait for me at the Rainbow Bridge.

I lost my darling dog, Gucci tonight

2011-07-06T23:39:00.000-07:00

I just came home from grueling day & night. The absolute love of my life, my little Brussels Griffon doggie, Gucci got sick & was throwing up last night, I was up all night with her, took her to vet today, where she was put on IV fluids, then at closing time at the regular vet, they had me take Gucci to an all night ER Animal Hospital where all hell broke loose & she went into cardiac arrest. They valiantly tried & tried to bring her back for several hours, but they couldn't. I just held the love of my life for the last time & I literally felt my heart break in a million pieces, or so it feels. I will be taking a couple days off while I try to anesthetize myself with large doses of Ambien. Maybe I'll wake up & this will have all been a nightmare. I am broken & devastated beyond words. Please understand that I will be AWOL for a few days, probably until the beginning of next week..

I know the timing is bad with the brand new Spellbinders being shown on the blog, but just know that (as always) you can send me your orders in email & I will take care of getting them for you. Please email me with your orders at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com ,

Thank you for your understanding, I'm going to now crawl under the covers with Gucci's blankie & stay there for a very long time I think.

I'mmm back!! And a Great Article about Spellbinders GRAND Nestabilities!

2011-06-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm FINALLY back & recovered from that horrific bought of pneumonia & its complications!! I've missed all of you & am ramping up to have a really great social networking summer via this blog/website & my business Facebook page. BTW—please, please "LIKE" my business Facebook page because I am reeeeaaallllly trying to migrate my entire Crafting Group that was originally set up on my personal Facebook page on over to where it really should be, which is on the business side!! I set it up incorrectly at the beginning—my bad! Oh well, live & learn, LOL!!! And of course, I would also LOVE lots of new crafty members as well! So be sure to SUBSCRIBE to this blog using the email subscription (found down a ways on the right sidebar) and then please LIKE me here: http://www.facebook.com/glendascreativeplace !!! THANKS!!

There's going to be lots of fabulous things happening at Glenda's Creative Place this summer, from Featured Customers as Guest Designers (let me know if you are interested in being featured!!), other fabulous Guest Designers, as well as really, really great give-aways coming up—and there will be a seriously big, big give-away and believe me, it's one I know none of you want to miss (seriously!!!), so stay tuned in & linked up to me in every way possible (subscribe to this blog, business Facebook page...)!!!

So, onto crafting!! I'm still getting lots of questions about how best to utilize the Spellbinders GRAND Nestabilities and I thought today would be a great day to share this page from the Spellbinder's blog with you, because it helps explain a LOT about the GRAND Nesties!!! Please give it a read and let me know if you have any other questions!! And remember, I sell ALL the Spellbinder's products, among many other manufacturers. All you have to do to place an order with me is to email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com with the list of what you want, then I’ll invoice you and get your shipment sent out to you – easy peasy!!!

Here’s the link to the Spellbinder’s article from their blog (but be sure to do all your Subscriptions with me here and on Facebook before you leave me here—thanks!!): http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/blog/how-do-grand-nestabilities-work/ HTH!

Have a wonderful crafting day!! I have REALLY missed all of you!!!!!

It's confirmed-I have walking pneumonia! Thanks CHA!!!

2011-02-16T04:00:00.000-08:00

I wanted to do a quick post to update my status. Many of you already know that I left CHA early because I had gotten sick while there and was continuing to get sicker. Since then, I've been literally knocked completely off my feet and just haven't been able to get well, despite following doctor's orders and resting for over 23 hours a day! I finally got confirmation today that I do have walking pneumonia (and I pretty much already knew that's what it was before seeing the doctor today, since I've had it a few times in the past, so I know the symptoms!). But it does explain a lot, including the utter exhaustion. Those of you who know me know I typically run at Mach 1,000 most the time, so this has been quite tough to handle, since I have zero energy (not to mention I feel as if I've been run over by a very large truck!). The doctor says that this started out as the flu (and yes, I have had my flu shot and I get one every year!) and I was likely exposed at CHA since there were so many people there who were sick when they arrived at CHA, so it was like a big petri dish of germs there, with everyone touching all the same products and displays, etc. Add to that having a lot of stress and pressure on me getting ready for CHA (and even more of it while I was there, which is a whole other story!), mix in a lack of sleep, then add in all those germs floating around the Convention Center and it all added up to an environment that made my natural defenses weak and viola', it set the stage for the perfect storm for getting really sick!

If you've emailed me and I haven't gotten back to you yet, it's because I have been and am still in bed--doctor's orders! This is a one-time post just to update everyone on my status, (which I felt was necessary because people have been calling me to find out why I haven't been posting) and I'm headed right back to my sick bed as soon as I finish this. But please know that I am receiving your emails and as soon as I'm able to stay upright for a couple hours at a time, I will start responding to them. In the meantime, if you want to order anything from CHA (or anything else from previous products), or if you've already placed your order with me and need to add to it, please just email me the list of products that you want, because I can still add-on to all the orders I placed at CHA, there's no worries about that. Please send your emails to glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and please be sure to put something in the email subject line that lets me know your email is about an ORDER. Oh, and if you're also looking for shipping information, please be sure to also include your zip code!

One more thing-- if you've already placed an order on my site within the past week for a Pink ATG, I am out of them again (due to some more very large international orders that came in during CHA), but an order has been placed with the vendor for more of them and I am now waiting for that shipment of them to arrive from the vendor. I expect they will be here sometime next week (probably early in the week). If you can hold on and wait for them to get shipped out to you next week after they arrive here, I will make sure that my helper throws some extra tape into your package for you, as my way of thanking you for your patience!

Here's hoping that these new antibiotics will finally get me on the road to a full recovery--and I hope it happens really soon!! As those of you who know me might imagine, to put it mildly, I am NOT a very good patient, LOL!! In fact, I'm not at all good at just laying around, doing nothing, even as terribly sick as I've been--it makes me really cranky because I like to be BUSY, BUSY, BUSY! I don't think I could ever be a lady of leisure--I would certainly lose my mind from boredom!

If any of you have any wonderful home remedies that might help me build up my strength and get well faster, please email them to me, or you can post them on my personal Facebook page HERE. After having been sick for so long, I am almost willing to try anything to get back to "regular" !! TIA!

I also wanted to say thanks so much for all the well wishes, emails, calls and the beautiful Get Well cards that I've received from so many of you. It feels great to be part of this very special crafty family and I appreciate you worrying about me! Thanks again--I will talk to you again when I'm back on the road to recovery.

I'm off to CHA! Please read for pre-ordering information!

2011-01-26T13:11:00.000-08:00

Well, here we go again-it's already time for CHA! Hardly seems possible, since it feels as if we barely just finished up with everything from the last CHA last summer!

I absolutely LOVE the thrill when we first see the hottest new products unveiled (the ones that have been kept "under wraps" until they debut at CHA!!). I especially look forward to everything involved with the Provo Craft events, from their fabulous set-ups within their exhibit space on the Convention floor, to the always fabulous party they have for us Retailers. Now, it's no secret that I am a huge Cricut fan, but even though I do favor and sell their products, I don't think anyone does CHA BETTER than Provo Craft!! I can't wait to see what they're going to show us this time!! What do you all of you think think they're going to WOW us with this time??!!

Anything you see that you want me to order for you, please be sure to send me your list of items via email to glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com so your orders can be included in my total count when I place my orders at CHA!!

Provo Craft Products Available here (as always!)

2011-01-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

As always, all Provo Craft products are available to be ordered from me. This includes all Cricut, Imagine, Cuttlebug, Yudu (and of course, the newest products!!). Please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com for prices!!

Spellbinders Blog Hop - Donna Salazar and more. Also new Cricut storage and Spellbinders Book finally shipping!

2011-01-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

SPELLBINDER's Blog Hop!!! Get ready for all the new CHA releases!! FYI, I'm typing this on my phone so it will be very brief (since it takes me forever to post anything from this very "smart" phone, LOL!!). BUT--I wanted to make sure everyone knows that I am going to be taking pre-orders for all the new Spellbinders CHA releases. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled over the next week and a half (or so) on the Spellbinder's blog at http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/blog/ . Each day during the Blog Hop, be sure to click on the featured designer's names to be linked to their blogs (there are usually 2 featured designers with the new Releases/Reveals). In fact today they have a new designer who is one of my personal favorites, and that is DONNA SALAZAR!! WooHoo!!! I LOVE her!!! Many of my regular customers know that for a while now, I have been quietly providing them with the first line of Spellbinder's Compatible stamps that were put out by Donna & those that are Donna-Devotees and have gotten those stamps from me have been having LOTS and LOTS of fun with them!! And just WAIT until you see exactly what Miss Donna Salazar put out today--sooooo cool!!!!!!

Start making your lists of which of the new releases you want & email them to me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please include the Product ID# & Product Name (if possible!), along with your NAME and your Message Board NAME (if you have one--from any of the Crafting Message Boards!!), your ZIP CODE, & your PAYPAL email address. And if you know how, please COPY and PASTE THIS PHRASE into the SUBJECT line of your email:
"SPELLBINDERS PRE-ORDERS-CHA Jan2011" (which should automatically pull those emails into a special folder!!!) (And yes, I'm trying to use technology to save time for all of us!!)

Email me for prices, but as all of you know, as always. my prices will be amazing!!!

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Also, I am taking pre-orders for the brand new Cricut Cartridge Storage from Provo Craft:

Cricut Cartridge Holder-closed

Cricut Cartridge Holder-open

Go to my main Provo Craft page for all information by CLICKING HERE.

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Next new item is the long-awaited "NESTABILITIES: Basic and Beyond", (about using the Spellbinders Nestabilities dies). I've had some of these pre-ordered for a while, and am ordering more based on your requests.

"Nestabilities' Basics and Beyond", publication by Annie's Attic

Please go to my main Spellbinders page for all information by CLICKING HERE.

All New Winter/Spring Releases: Including all of the "Original" Style Stamps, as well as the Spellbinders/JustRite Custom Dies, and all of the new Cling Style Stamps:

2011-01-03T17:00:00.000-08:00

You may purchase ANY and ALL JustRite Stamps and Custom dies from me, including any of the newer releases from this Winter and the newest releases for Spring. This includes all "ORIGINAL" style JustRite Stamps, as well as the FABULOUS JustRite/Spellbinders Custom dies, and of course all of the new Cling style JustRite Stamps.

To see all of the stamps available, please view them all on the JustRite Stampers site at: http://www.justritestampers.com/ . When you get there, just click on PRODUCTS, then go into all the separate categories for JustRite ORIGINAL, JustRite CUSTOM DIES, and JustRite CLING stamps. Make your list of everything that you want, then come back to me to order, because my prices will be substantially less than what you see listed as the MSRP/Retail prices on the JustRite website.

To place an order with me, just email your list to me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please be sure to include your ZIP CODE, and your PayPal email address (if it's different than the email you're using to communicate with me). And it is helpful if you put something in your email subject line such as: "NEED to PLACE ORDER for JUSTRITE...". You can figure that my prices will be at LEAST 20% to 25% less than what the MSRP/Retail price is on the JustRite website, and on many items, the discount is even greater!!

Another advantage to ordering with me is that you can also order OTHER items from different manufacturers (such as Spellbinders, Ranger, Tim Holtz, Copics, etc.) at the SAME TIME, on the SAME order with your JustRite items, so they will ALL ship together in one package, which will save you $$ on shipping!!!

If you have ANY questions, please don't hesitate to contact me, either by email at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com , or you may also call me on my business telephone number during my phone hours (please see the CONTACT ME page for all that information).

I look forward to helping you build your collection of JustRite Stamps!!

Thank you for all your prayers and good wishes

2011-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

I want to say thank you so much to all of you who left comments either here or on Facebook, as well as for all the email messages I've received and for all of you who sent out prayers and positive thoughts for my Dad and his aneurysm surgery.

The news is good. They were able to insert some shunts in order to hopefully control the problem long-term, and for an 81 year old man, he came thru surgery pretty well. It was a LONG surgery & he had some minor post-surgical complications which kept him in the hospital longer than expected, but we do now have him home (at my Mom's house!!). And although at this time he is certainly not able to fully care for himself independently, he continues to make progress and is slowly but surely starting to gain back some strength. It will just take a while to get him back to "normal"!!

Your kind responses have once again shown me just how many of my customers, Followers and Subscribers have actually become my friends, even though most of us have never met had the opportunity to meet in person. I am forever grateful for all of you!! My family certainly appreciates all the prayers, kind words & thoughts!! Thank you again.

Please keep us in your prayers--family emergency

2010-12-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

I had to travel to Omaha, NE today for a family emergency. My 81 year old Dad is having surgery in the morning to repair 2 aneurysms that were discovered. Please keep us in your thoughts & prayers.

Any orders placed during my absence will be shipped out after I return. I hope to return about Jan. 5th or so, depending on how things progress here.

Because I will be spending the majority of my time in the hospital, I won't always be able to return your emails right away, so I'm asking for your patience and understanding while I'm away. Your business means everything to me, so please know that I will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for all of your business in 2010. I appreciate it more than I can ever say. I look forward to helping all of you again in 2011.

I wish you and your loved ones a very Happy New Year.

GIFT CERTIFICATES--Immediately available!! The PERFECT, easy and immediate Gift!!

2010-12-21T15:07:00.000-08:00

Uh oh---there are only 3 days until Christmas!!! EEEEKKKK!!! For those of you who are STILL not quite finished with your shopping, or just don't know what to buy for someone, a GIFT CERTIFICATE is the PERFECT gift!! It is easy to get right here and now, and even more importantly now that it's so close to Christmas, it can be delivered through email IMMEDIATELY!! And to make it even better, it is secured by PayPal, which is the safest method for shopping online!! So why not give a gift that any Scrapbooker, Paper-Crafter, Hobbyist, or general Crafter would love?? And why not give a gift that makes it easy on you?? You don't have to drive anywhere to get it, or brave the awful weather this time of year, or fight any crowds. Just click the button below, choose the amount from the drop-down list, and voila'--it's done!!!! What are you waiting for??

For all my customers who are seeing this post, why not accidentally forward this to your loved ones and help them out (while still getting what YOU want, LOL!!)?????? You know very well that many of them are STILL struggling, trying to figure out what to get you. Or, you may have a "Procras-ti-Santa" on your hands--you know what I mean--the one who always waits until the last minute. Give the poor guy (or gal) a hint and send them over here. These Gift Certificates can be used for anything I sell here (see the right sidebar for a partial list!), including anything with a PayPal Cart Button, or to pay a personalized invoice for any custom order that you place with me! FYI- they do NOT expire!!! So make it easy-peasy for everybody--grab a Gift Certificate from Glenda's Creative Place!!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!! Thank you soooooo much for your business!!

BUY YOUR GIFT CERTIFICATE:

GIFT CERTIFICATES available!! Not sure what to get? Behind on shopping? In a time crunch?

2010-12-17T12:11:00.000-08:00

Now that it's just before Christmas and really getting down to the wire, it seems that's often when we finally realize what we REALLY want for Christmas!! Or for all the Friends and Families out there who have a loved one on your shopping list who is a Scrapbook or Paper-Crafting diva (and you're just not sure what all this crafting stuff means!), or for those of you who are simply running behind on your shopping (aren't we all??)--let me help you make it easier on yourself!! You can purchase a GIFT CERTIFICATE to be used for any of the products that I sell (see right sidebar for a list of products!). And it can be sent through email to anyone on your shopping list! Easy Peasy!!!

Solve your shopping problems with the push of a button and get a SECURE Gift Certificate!!

Finally--a working laptop--for now anyway!! Also, new releases...

2010-12-02T14:23:00.000-08:00

OK friends--WOW, is there anything less fun than having computer problems?? HOW FRUSTRATING!! But it seems to be OK (for now).--The laptop kept yelling at me regarding something about a Print Spooler, and a Print Spooler Application kept closing the laptop automatically and then re-starting it and it just kept going around in that never-ending loop!! VERY FRUSTRATING!! Finally did a full System Restore from the week before. Good reminder for all of us to manually make a RESTORE Point every so often!

Good news is that I have all of your emails from the Black Friday weekend & am working on them now, so expect to hear from me with your PayPal invoices soon!!

I also know I need to get some new products put up here on the site for all of you (after I'm done with Black Friday!!) but for now let me just start by letting you know that YES--I am selling all of the new JustRite stamps--the originals and all the new Cling stamps, as well as the long-awaited JustRite/Spellbinders Custom DIES (dies made by Spellbinders to exactly match specific JustRite stamps!!!--LOVE THESE!!!) But since I haven't been able to get them put up here yet (trying not to push my luck with the laptop!!), to see them for now, please view the new JustRite Cling stamps by CLICKING HERE to go to the JustRite Stampers site. To see the new Spellbinder/JustRite CUSTOM DIES, CLICK HERE.

Make your list from the information on the site, and then come back to me to order. Please know that my prices are normally at least 25 to 30% less than what the JustRite Retail/MSRP prices are on their site. Same goes for Spellbinders (although many of my Spellbinder's discounts are even deeper, as well as most other manufacturers). When you're ready, just email your list to me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com .

Please show the manufacturer, the Product Name and Product Number-- (here's a couple examples: JustRite, Quiet Moments Cling, CL-02050, or Spellbinders, Grand Labels One, LF-161 ). Please try to get your lists to me ASAP, as it is much easier for me to place a larger order all at once, rather than trying to grab a few products here and there, which ends up costing me more (and remember, the less I can pay for the total of an order, the more discounts I can give & the more cute stuff I can give away!!).

When you send me your orders, please put something in the email subject line to let me know this IS an order, such as "ORDER ENCLOSED". And ALWAYS include your ZIP code, (or for international customers, your country code and city/town information), and for all of you, please be sure to include the email address that is attached to your PayPal account.

Once I receive your order, I will process it and soon after, I will send you a PayPal invoice. (Exception would be for any items you want to buy from my site that already have the PayPal ADD TO CART buttons attached to them--those you can just finish up on your own automatically!)

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to call me on my office number, (714) 964-0656 between the hours of 10 AM to 6:30 PM, PACIFIC TIME (3 hours earlier than Eastern, 2 hours earlier than Central, and 1 hour earlier than most of you in Mountain Time)!!

Thanks so much for your business!!

P.S. Are you watching the reveals for this year's Twelve Tags of Christmas on Tim Holtz's blog?? CLICK HERE to go to Tim's Blog!!! I swear that a big part of the fun of it all for me is trying to guess what he'll do next!! Ot just gets better year after year!! OMG--the technique for Day 2 with the Cut-n-Dry Felt is one of my FAVORITE "Tim Techniques"-- EVER!!! If you need any of the products Tim uses throughout the series, let me know!!! I am a HUGE Ranger devotee!!!

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Black Friday=laptop problems galore!! BUT-ALL sales are being honored!

2010-11-28T21:08:00.000-08:00

This is being posted from another computer by a friend. Been having lots of PC problems all weekend--worse today--continually keeps starting and restarting in a loop. Can't stay on long enough to get anything done or respond to your emails or orders-- BUT--want you to know I am honoring ALL orders & sale prices from this past weekend!! I DO have your emails and orders--I just can't get them answered yet.

Giving up tonight after fighting with this for 2-1/2 days. Going to attempt to do a System Restore before I go to bed (if it will stay on long enough!) to see if perhaps by chance, some crazy driver or something got installed somehow that shouldn't have. Hopefully when I get up in the morning, it will have been corrected by the System Restore. If not, at least it will be normal business hours when I call HP for help, since warranty just expired on the laptop! (Of COURSE it did!!!)

I will be going thru all your emails and orders from the weekend sale just as soon as the laptop allows me to do so. All sale prices will be honored!! So, so sorry about the delay!!

*Black Friday sale CONTINUED thru SUNDAY!!- re:Black Friday /Saturday at GlendasCreativePlace.com

2010-11-28T16:28:00.000-08:00

Hi All!! Hope everyone has had an absolutely fabulous shopping weekend! Good news--I have extended my sale thru midnight (Pacific Time) tonight (Sunday, Nov. 28th) because I have had sooooo much computer trouble with my laptop this weekend, I haven't been able to answer all the emails I've received. (Laptop keeps freezing up for hours at a time--grrrr!).

So rest assured, if you have emailed me over the weekend (anytime since Friday), I WILL take care of you!!! And if you were worried you missed out, you still have time right now to get your list to me!!

Now, just wish me luck keeping this #*@!)*^# laptop running, LOL!!! Thanks!!

Black Friday /Saturday at GlendasCreativePlace.com

2010-11-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

My Black Friday here at Glenda's Creative Place is going to mirror my everyday crafting philosophy. And all of you who are familiar with my crafting philosophy know that I think crafting should be FUN and therefore, it should be fast and simple (aka easy-peasy!!). But, how do we get there, to simplify all those great techniques we want to try?? Well, the answer is by having the right tools and GADGETS that do the work for us! And who better to help you with those then me, Glenda, who is the original GADGET QUEEN of the internet?!

So on this Black Friday, I am offering a 40% discount (off the MSRP/Retail price) on all the major lines I sell, whether the products are in stock or not!! So what that means is that all the manufacturer's products listed below are yours at 40% off (unless otherwise noted) all day Friday, as well as Saturday (Nov. 26th and 27th)!! The reason I'm extending my sale thru Saturday is to celebrate the National Small Business Shopping Day (on Sat.). As the owner of 2 totally unique small businesses, I think it is very important to support the small businesses within this country, since they are the actual backbone that helped grow this country into what it is!! So please, support your favorite small businesses on this great shopping weekend (including mine!!)!!

Here are the 40% off (MSRP/Retail) product lines:

Spellbinders (excludes Grand Caliber machine, which is 35% off)
JustRite Stamps
Ranger (all their lines underneath their main parent umbrella)
Ranger / Tim Holtz (all Distress products, alcohol inks, Perfect Pearls, Liquid Pearls, Pearls Mists,... )
Ranger (all other featured designers)
Tim Holtz/Sizzix (excludes Tim's Vagabond machine, which is covered under a M.A.P. agreement)
Tim Holtz / Advantus
Tim Holtz/ Ideology
Tim Holtz / Stampers Anonymous
Donna Salazar
Imaginisce
Cuttlebug
Zutter (New Christmas Specials: Bind-it-All: $49.99, and Distrezz-it-All: $29.99!!!)
Scor-Pal / Scor-Buddy
Scor-It
Ultimate Crafter's Companion
Teresa Collins
Tsukineko
Clear Snap
If you don't see something on this list that you want and if it's a product line that I have listed on the right sidebar of my blog under the heading: "PRODUCTS I SELL", just email me and ask!!

I'm also running a special Copic promotion, which as many of you may already know, has a very strict M.A.P. (Minimum Advertised Price) agreement, which is vigorously policed, so I can not post any price under the $5.15 per unit price (for Sketch Markers), but I CAN give away anything I want, so my Copic Special is this: For every set of 10 Sketch Markers you order at $5.15 each, I will give you 3 free Sketch markers (and YOU get to tell me which 3 colors you want!!). FYI--since I will be ordering these for each and every one of you specifically, there's a chance that I might not have all colors in stock and therefore, might need to order some of them, which could add an average of 7 business days to shipping time--I just want to be clear about that, so there's no confusion.

HOW TO PLACE AN ORDER:

Make a list in email that includes the manufacturer, the product name and product code (if you have it!!), YOUR ZIP CODE (or for international customers, your country and country code information) and the email address that is attached to your PayPal account, and email the list to me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please be sure to put something similar to this in the email SUBJECT line: : ***BLACK FRIDAY/SATURDAY ORDER SPECIALS!!***

Or, if by chance, everything you want happens to have a PayPal ADD TO CART Button attached to the item(s) on my site, go ahead and check out as you normally would, using the ADD TO CART Buttons, and during checkout, please be SURE to put a note for me on your order under the heading: "Any Special Message for Glenda???" and write something like this: ***BLACK FRIDAY/SATURDAY SPECIAL!!*** Then I will go in & MANUALLY adjust anything owing to you (to get those items to 40% if they're not already there!) and that adjustment will refund immediately to your PayPal account.

That's it!! HAPPY SHOPPING and especially HAPPY CRAFTING!!

P.S. I will be trying to work at home as much as s possible over the weekend, so if you have a question, or if you need immediate help, or if it's just easier to place your order over the phone, you may contact me on my home office #, anytime between the hours of 10 A.M. to 7 P.M. PACIFIC TIME. The home office # is (714) 964-0656. Thanks again!!

Busy, Busy, Busy--products rolling in!! And check out new Snag 'Em Special section!

2010-11-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't been posting lately, but I have been incredibly tied up and just haven't seemed to be able to find the extra time!!

But things are starting to settle down a bit, so hopefully I can start to get back on some sort of a schedule here.

Lots of products are arriving and more on their way--Spellbinders, Ranger, Tim Holtz, JustRite, eh I, eh, I, oh!!

As always, my prices are far below the Retail/MSRP. If there's anything you want, please email me at glendascreativeplpace@yahoo.com & include the list of products, your zip code & of course, the email address that your PayPal account is under.

FYI-I'm starting a new section on this blog called "SNAG 'EM SPECIALS". I will occasionally put items in there with special pricing and limited quantities, so be sure to check those out when you have a chance! These will be changing frequently, so the easiest way to keep tabs on any changes is to make sure that you are subscribed to my site & then you'll receive an email whenever I post anything new. To Subscribe, scroll down the right sidebar just a bit until you see:
Subscribe to My Blog For E-Mail Updates!!!
Your email address:
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There's just a few items in there now, but I will add more when time permits. I hope these Snag 'Em Specials will help you build up your craft supplies in this touchy economy. After I've had some time to have this new section grow and evolve a bit, please let me know how I'm doing with it.

As things begin to calm down a bit around here, I hope to get some videos made & uploaded for my Cricut Imagine. I have some new Imagine cartridges on the way, so I can't wait to make time to play with those! If any of you want me to get you any of the Imagine cartridges, let me know!

OK, that's all for today. I've missed being here with you and I'm so happy I managed to find the time to get this post done tonight. I'll be back soon!

More new CHA Items--and it's just the beginning!!

2010-09-09T12:56:00.000-07:00

Please CLICK HERE and check out the link to this interactive catalog which shows many of the new products from CHA that I can get for you. (FYI-this link was updated on Sept 19th, so if you've saved a previous version, please save this newer version) . This is a great way to get your "Wish List" going!!

If you are interested in any of these items, please send an email to me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com with the list of items and whose product line the items belong to (i.e. Tim Holtz, Spellbinders, etc,). Please also be sure to put the words: "CHA Product Catalog Info" in your email subject line.

This catalog does NOT show everything from the last CHA, but it is a good start. (Remember, there is always a list on the right sidebar of this site showing the product lines I have access to as well!!)

I also wanted to make sure that all of you were aware that I am now able to get single versions of individual Copic markers for you (because before this, I was forced to order a minimum quantity of 3 of each color), plus I can also order most of the collections/sets of Copics for you. Just let me know what you want, and I promise my prices will be amazing!

I am also placing yet another order for more of the newer JustRite stamps, so if there's anything you want from them, please let me know ASAP so I include your quantities in my order.

And of course, I am ordering more Spellbinders (again), so if you want any of those, please email me so I can make sure I order enough for everyone!

As always, for any other questions or for specific pricing, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com !!!

P.S. If you are still thinking about joining the Cricut Circle, please let me know and I will have an invitation and all the details of the program emailed to you so that you can make an informed decision. Please CLICK HERE to see my full article about the deadlines and cutoff dates that are quickly approaching, also for the details of Cricut Cartridge give-away I've added (if enough people sign up under my sponsorship!), and why this program has been fabulous for me (and hopefully would be for you as well!!). This is urgent as far as timing goes, since the cutoff to sign up (after receiving an invitation/sponsorship) is 9/13, which is just a few days away, so don't delay if you want the information and/or want to take advantage of all the amazing discounts & offers that are ONLY offered to Circle Members, including the upcoming special for the Cricut Imagine for Circle Members.

P.P.S. I think all my regular customers will breathe a sigh of relief right along with me when I tell you that I am ALL CAUGHT up on ALL back-orders for the Pink ATG tape dispenser and the i-rock tool!!!!! Wow, it was quite a journey, but thank goodness, now everyone that had been waiting should have their products in their hands (or on the way to them!). Even better news is that lots of folks are still currently ordering the Pink ATG from me, so we are continuing to help put money into that fund from 3M to donate to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. And in the end, that was all I ever wanted when I started with Pink ATGs, so I am very happy about that!! Thanks to everyone who has already bought one (or two or three of them--seems like a lot of gals are pooling their orders together to save on shipping--very smart!!!)--and thanks in advance to everyone else who will order one in the future (and yes, I DO still have them IN STOCK!!). I hope going forward I can find more products like this so that all of us can help "give back" while also helping ourselves get the latest and greatest crafting tools!

Who Wants to join the Cricut Circle?? Who wants to receive the special for the launch of the Cricut Imagine?

2010-09-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

If you've been teetering on the fence about whether or not to sign up for Provo Craft's Cricut Circle special program, this might be the information you're looking for to push you over the edge.

There is a special offer for Cricut Circle Members in conjunction with the HSN Release of the new Cricut Imagine. This special will give Cricut Circle Members access to another Imagine cartridge (in addition to the regular bundle that will be revealed on HSN).

To receive the additional Imagine cartridge you must do the following:

• You must have been signed up to be a member of the Cricut Circle by Sept. 13th. (Please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com if you want to sign up--I would love to have you come in as my guest!!)
• Buy the Cricut Imagine on Sept 14th during the HSN launch.
• Send in proof of purchase with the UPC from the Cricut Imagine along with your Cricut Circle number and email address. (Specific details to come)
• If you meet all these criteria, you will receive a free Imagine cartridge (details of the Imagine cartridge to follow, once you are a Circle Member--I can't disclose the name of the cartridge yet) to start your Cricut Imagine library off right.

If any of my subscribers and followers want to join the Cricut Circle program, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and please put "CRICUT CIRCLE INVITATION" in the email subject line. I would love to be the person who refers you to join our Cricut Circle. FYI--Cricut Circle enrollment will be CLOSED after Sept. 13th, so this is the last chance to get in on not only this special, but all the others to come, including the special free cartridges only available to Cricut Circle Members and the special Rewards items that are only available to the Circle Members.

***And let me tell you that in IMHO, the special machines and Cricut cartridges (even very current and highly sought-after cartridges!!) that have been added to the Rewards site for Cricut Circle Members only is the most amazing perk of all---I just grabbed some FABULOUS cartridges in there this week, using some of my thousands and thousands of Rewards points that had just been sitting around, gathering dust!! And of course, they were free, because I redeemed them using some of those Rewards points--woohoo!!! This thrills me as much or even more than the 4 new Exclusive Cricut cartridges that we receive as part of our membership.
Here is more information about the Cricut Circle Program:

What Exactly is the Cricut Circle?

The CRICUT CIRCLE™ by Provo Craft is a select community of Cricut® enthusiasts. Cricut owners are the most creative, passionate, social, and fun-loving people on the planet. The Cricut Circle is our way to celebrate your enthusiasm (and ours!) for Cricut! The shape of the circle signifies inclusion, unity, kinship (think King Arthur and the round table). The goal of The Cricut Circle from Provo Craft is designed to bring this community of amazing people together to learn, share, and grow The Circle love!

What does life look like inside the Cricut Circle?

• Four exclusive cartridges a year, one each quarter, (starting with French Manor) ONLY available to The Cricut Circle members.

• Special buying privileges like rebates, monthly coupons, and opportunities to buy other exclusive products for your Cricut, from friends and partners of Provo Craft.

• Extra reward points and special cricut.com discounts.

• A members-only bracelet with an exclusive Cricut Circle charm (get ready to be the envy of your friends).

• A special Cricut Circle Community will come together through an exclusive Cricut Circle forum on cricut.com.

• Inspiration and education from exclusive Cricut Circle webinars, swarms, meet-ups, and events.

• A fun Cricut Circle blog and a monthly project-inspired online magazine to fill your mind with ideas galore.

• Charter members will have access to information and opportunities to become a part of the decision making process of future Cricut products by participating on research panels.

Q: Will there be a separate rewards site for Cricut Circle members? 
A:YES! There will be special items on the Cricut Rewards program ONLY available to Cricut Circle members. (As I mentioned up above, I just ordered some current & really fabulous cartridges using my Rewards points--and these particular cartridges were ONLY available on the Rewards site to Cricut Circle Members. This is the BEST use of the thousands and thousands of Rewards points I have had just sitting there!!!)

Q: What is the cost of the Cricut Circle Membership:
A; There are 2 types of memberships, if you email me and are interested in joining, an invitation will be sent to you from Provo Craft and will detail all information and costs.

Once again, to recap, enrollment for the Cricut Circle Membership program will be closed after Sept. 13th. If you have ANY interest in this program, including being able to receive the very special offer for the extra Imagine cartridge with your purchase of the Cricut Imagine during the HSN release of Sept. 14th, please email me and I will have an invitation sent to you via your email. There is no commitment needed to receive the invitation and to learn about all the benefits of the program--once you review all the information, then YOU make the decision to either join or not.

For me, so far, it has been a pure winning program all the way around. I received the first of my 4 free exclusive cartridges and the second one is getting ready to be released very soon. I've grabbed some amazing cartridges (that were ON my wish list!!) in the special Rewards section for the Cricut Circle members--and since I redeemed them with my Rewards points, I paid nothing for those either!!! And I was able to attend 2 amazing events at Summer CHA, both of which were first class and a whole lot of fun!!

So if you think any of these membership perks might help you, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and I'll make sure you get all the information necessary to make an informed decision. Thanks!

P.S. IF at least 10 people sign up to join the Circle with me as your sponsor, I will put the names of all of my new Circle Members (under my sponsorship) in a drawing for a Cricut cartridge--and that cartridge is the soooo darling 3 Birds on Parade cartridge. OR--if the person who wins the drawing already owns this cartridge, I will substitute it for Sweet Treats, or a $50.00 gift certificate for anything I sell & have in stock on my site!!! So, talk to your friends & make sure they contact me as well for the invitation! Thanks!

Pink ATGs and i-rock Tools--I'm still at it: I'm packing and taping and printing and labeling and shipping--and again-- I'm packing and taping and printing and labeling and shipping, and again...

2010-08-27T04:43:00.000-07:00

I want everyone to know the rest of the products are showing up and I have been at it non-stop, trying to get everything out to everyone as soon as I possibly can (in fact, I've been up again all night again!!). Yes, thanks to the power company, who decided this is the ideal time to replace some transformers in our neighborhood, they've actually got a "planned outage" for most of today. In other words, we'll have no electricity here most of the day--again--yikes!! Now it's not bad enough that because of this lack of electricity, I won't have access to my computer, printer, fax, phones (yes, all my phones here are cordless and therefore run on electricity!) and we won't even have a working fan in here (remember that I live by the beach, so we have no air conditioning!!), but on top of that, just to add insult to injury, no electricity means NO COFFEE ---urrrrggghhhhhhhhhhh!!! Talk about torture!!!!!! Especially after staying up all night again!!! But I really had no choice because I wanted to get as much done and printed out before the #$#$% power goes out (which should be ANY time now!!).

So before my computer goes dark for the day, let me bring you up to speed. The other shipment of Pink ATGs I've been waiting for should be here late today (Friday), along with the rest of the Pink ATG refills and the remainder of the i-rock Tools. As I said, I've been packing and shipping almost non-stop since the first shipment arrived. I was delayed a bit waiting on the rest of the products to arrive. but in addition, the entire process is taking a little longer than I thought it would. I'm cranking these things out of here as fast as I can, but I think I might have underestimated the amount of time it takes for me to get through each and every order, from start to finish. I'm just hoping that once the rest of the products arrive here this evening, I can get everything finished up and out of here over the weekend. I'm certainly doing the very best I can to make it happen!!

With that said, I better sign off before everything goes dark here. Wish me luck that the power comes back on much sooner than what they've estimated our down-time to be!!

More delivery news about Pink ATGs, their refills and the i-rock Tool!!! YIPPPEE!!!1

2010-08-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

OK, here we go again--are you ready??

Let's begin with the latest news about the Pink ATGs and their refills:

Great news about the remainder of my 2nd shipment of Pink ATGs--they should be here by the end of the week. I did manage to round up some more of them today from another vendor & they already shipped them out to me today. Unfortunately, they ended up costing me quite a bit more than what I would have paid if I'd have just waitied until the next shipment showed up from overseas, because this vendor charges for freight (and this many ATG units in this many cartons did cost me a big chunk of change to have shipped!!). But, I decided to bite the bullet and have them shipped right away because I know how many of you have been waiting for a very long time for these and I absolutely don't blame you for being impatient about it. I ALWAYS try to look at things as if I were the customer how would I feel and what would I want the Seller to do for me, and I know by now I'd be impatient as well!! (And since I am a "customer" to the manufacturer who ordered and has been very impatiently waiting for hundreds of these to arrive for a long time now, I TOTALLY "get it", because honestly, no one has been more impatient than me!!) Anyway, it is GOOD NEWS about the Pink ATGs because I should have the rest of them in my hands by the end of this week---WHEW!!!!

HOWEVER, now I'm having a little delay with all the Refills fror the Pink ATG that I ordered. They did NOT ship me all the refills when they sent out my first shipment of the ATGs, but they have since shipped some more of them, and most of the remaining ones should be here sometime this Wednesday,Aug.25th and then the remainder should arrive either by the end of this week, or more likely, sometime next Monday, Aug. 30th. Which leads me to this: I had hoped to get every single one of the orders shipped out by Wednesday at the latest for the first shipment of ATGs that I already received, HOWEVER, I am going to be short on the number of REfILLS needed and since most of the those Refills are due to arrive here on Wednesday, Aug. 25th (and unfortunatly, where we are located on the route of our very nice UPS man means that our UPS deliveries arrive very late in the day, usually after 5PM), which means I probably won't get everything out until Thursday from the first group. Now, many of them have already gone out, more will go out tomorrow and Wednesday, but this Refill shortage does mean that some will not go out until Thursday. And I know that in the grand scheme of things, waiting just one more day isn't really that much longer, but for those of you who have been waiting for such a long time to receive your Pink ATGs, even one more day probably doesn't make you feel too good about the whole thing.

Which is why I have some good news for you and I hope this good news will make your wait a bit more bearable:
---I have decided to dig even deeper in my pockets and include yet ANOTHER roll of the refill tape in your order for the Pink ATG for everyone who pre-ordered theirs from me and who has been waiting for them to arrive--whether you are in the first shipment of ATGs (the ones I already received) or the second shipment (the ones I should receive by the end of this week); if you have been waiting to receive your Pink ATG order, then be sure to look inside your box and you should see another single roll of refill tape (in addition to the 2 refill rolls the Pink ATG is already packaged with!). What that means is I am GIVING you another 36 YARDS of refill tape!!! I really, really hope this helps take some of the "sting" out of the long wait we've ALL had for these Pink ATGs!!!

Next, onto the i-rock TOOL:

More good news continues to pour in!!! My back-ordered i-rock Tools are ALSO arriving this week, in 2 separate shipments (don't ask me why in 2 shipments, because frankly, I don't know why they wouldn't just send them altogether!?!?), but regardless, they will all be here by the end of THIS WEEK!!!!! WOOOOOHOOOO!!! I will get all those back-orders / re-orders for the i-rock Tools out to you ASAP. And before you start pouting, or feeling left-out or jealous about those folks getting an extra roll of tape for their back-ordered Pink ATGs, quit it!!! Because I hope you know me well enough by now to know I would NOT leave you out!! There will also be some sort of little gift included in your package with your back-ordered i-rock Tool as well!! So now there's even MORE good news!!!!!!! YIIIIPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

SOOOOOO MUCH GOOD NEWS TODAY, I can hardly stand it!!!!! It's a good thing I have all these great endorphines pouring out of me from all this good news, since I still haven't managed to get any sleep (was up packing shipments all night again!!!). So I'm not exactly sure if I'm running on happy endorphines, or if I'm just plain old "loopy" from sleep deprivation, LOL!!! But whatever it is, at least it's helping to keep my eyes open right now, because I have a feeling that when I finally crash, I will likely crash hard!! Which will probably entail me falling asleep with my head on the keyboard of my laptop, LOL--and somehow, someway, I really need to figure out how to get a picture of that sometime when it happens again (oh yes, it HAS happened before!!), because I already have the absolutely perfect scrapbook layout planned out for that photo!! Thank goodness all of my Subscribers and Followers are paper-crafters, because otherwise that last statement would appear a little bit nutty to others (non paper-people!!!), but I KNOW that all of you completely "get it"!!! Wink wink!!

OK I'm off to get back to packing up your shipments!!!!!!!!

First shipment of Pink ATG have arrived!! It's Wall to Wall in here right now!!

2010-08-21T17:16:00.001-07:00

The first shipment of the Pink ATG Tape Dispensers arrived here last night (Friday, around 6:45 PM!!) and it is wall to wall PINK in here right now! I've been going at it almost non-stop since they got here and I just realized, in all my hurry to get everything ready to go out, that I had forgotten to post and confirm that the Pink ATGs actually did arrive (although I know most of you already know that they did, since I'd already posted previously that I DID have a confirmed delivery date from UPS for yesterday!!!).

I've also been tracking down alternate resources to try to get the remainder of my orders (the ones that they still have NOT shipped yet) delivered here a little earlier than what was projected (which was sometime soon after Aug.30th, which is when there's another big shipment expected to arrive from overseas). Anyway, I'm hoping to hear back early Monday morning from a couple different 3rd party resale vendors to see if any of them have enough of the Pink ATGs in stock to fill the remainder of my order, and it looks hopeful!! If that does happen, then there's a good chance the rest of my order could be here by the end of next week, rather than the time frame I was given the other day, which was after Aug.30th. In other words, I STILL haven't stopped in my quest to get every single person's Pink ATGs out to them ASAP!!!

And in that quest, I am going to try to save ALL of us some time by explaining right here how you'll know when your package is shipped: As soon as I go into PayPal and create your shipping label, you should receive an email with your package information on it, including your tracking number. When I create that shipping label, that means your package will be going out within the next business day (within the next 24 BUSINESS hours).

Regarding the i-rock Tool, it SHOULD be here late next week. They still haven't given me the Delivery date or a tracking # yet, but I know they have been absolutely slammed, so their order system has been working overtime. Good news is when I look at the order online, where the i-rock order is sitting in their system DOES indicate the product has been pulled already and is ready to be shipped. So let's cross our fingers and hope that's true. And while we're crossing our fingers about the i-rock Tool, let's cross our toes as well in hopes that the rest of the Pink ATGs make it here ASAP!!

Alrighty then, I'm off to get back to it! It's doubtful that I will make it back upstairs to get any sleep tonight, so I'm sure I'll be getting a little "punchy" by the time Sunday & Monday roll around. Since I am sooo focused on getting these out to you, I'm hardly going to be in my email at all this weekend, so if you don't hear right back from me, that's why !! OK, back to land of PINK I go...!!!!!!!

More Info about Pink ATGs & i-rock Tool

2010-08-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

OK, here we go again.

Let's start with the Pink ATG:
I just found out today that the vendor did NOT ship me every single Pink ATG that I ordered, even though I was told otherwise earlier in the week. Apparently, once again, they are parceling them out to the rest of the retailers, so that they can fill yet ANOTHER order from the largest craft store chain in the country. GRRRRR!! Yes, I KNOW I ordered a LOT of them, especially for a smaller retailer, but I really did expect to get ALL of them that I pre-ordered sooo long ago, but when I saw the final invoice for them today, it reflected most of them, but not all of them. In addition, I've actually placed a few more orders for more Pink ATGs within the last couple weeks (including another one yesterday) because I've suddenly had another large amount or orders that have just come into me within the last week or two. Unfortunately, none of those additional orders that I placed will ship out to me until the vendor receives THEIR NEXT shipment from overseas, which they say they will receive by the end of this month (they say they should receive it by Aug.30th). So, please know if you are placing orders now, or maybe even within the last couple weeks, there's a good chance that your order will not be shipped to you until I receive my next shipment from the vendor (after Aug. 30th). All throughout this entire process, I have been as up-front as possible and have been sharing any and all information from the vendor/manufacturer as soon as I receive it. I want to make sure that all of you know exactly what is happening with your orders. Please know that the moment I get these in my hands, they are going to start shipping out. Any back-orders/pre-orders/re-orders are absolutely my #1 priority right now!!

Now, onto the i-rock Tool:

The majority of my back-orders for the i-rock Tool shipped out to me today. YIPPEE!!!!! However, somehow part of my back-orders for the i-rock Tool got canceled & no one can tell me why or how that happened (Grrrrrrr!!), but I went ahead ordered that same amount of them again today, so hopefully those other ones will ship out to me tomorrow. The good news is that even without the the ones that mysteriously got canceled, I still should have enough to fill all the back-orders out of the shipment that went out to me today. But any new orders will be filled from the shipment that should go out tomorrow, (so it will be 1 or 2 more business days difference from all the rest of the i-rock orders).

This seems as good a time as any to also reiterate my philosophy about refunds for pre-orders/re-orders/back-orders. Let me say it again LOUD and CLEAR, if there is a delay for products being delivered to me because of the manufacturer's inability to fulfill the orders, I would NEVER hang onto someone's hard-earned money if they needed to cancel. I don't care if it's over 45 days, or 60 days or anything else (which are time frames that are guidelines within PayPal)--under these circumstances, I will cancel and refund a customer's order--no matter how long ago the transaction occurred. And FYI, I am the ONLY one who will financially get hurt if it goes past a certain amount of days within PayPal and I end up issuing a refund, because when that happens (after a certain amount of time goes past the original transaction date) and I issue that refund in PayPal, I do NOT get a refund for the fees that are taken out of my Merchant account for that transaction. But the customer will get refunded the full amount they paid on that transaction.

I am always more than fair to all my customers; that is how I choose to run my business and it is the ONLY way I would ever want to do so. The only thing I ever ask in return is for my customers to also be fair with me.

This whole delay mess with the Pink ATGs as well as the i-rock Tool are NOT the first manufacturer's delays we've ever had and sadly, they will not be the last. In fact, I fully expect that this is going to be more the "norm" going forward, especially since almost everything in our industry is now being manufactured overseas (mostly in China). When a company/manufacturer sends their work to be done overseas, that means that in exchange for receiving less expensive costs to get that product manufactured, they are giving up the day to day "hands on" ability to shepard their products through the manufacturing process, which means they giving up control of that process to the manufacturing facility overseas. So in effect, they no longer have complete control over what's going on with the manufacturing process of their product, so they may have had the best intentions when they gave us a deliver-by date, but then they end up as surprised as we are when the product is not completed or shipped by that date!! And it's not as if they can just walk out on the floor of the plant and get things moving along, because that manufacturing facility is thousands and thousands of miles away in a country that operates on their own laws (not ours!), and their own processes.

It's really too bad for all of us, but it's the price we all pay for having the products we want having lower price points on them now than in the past. It's what we, the buying public demand and what we now expect, so with that, we must understand that along with those lower prices also comes other costs, which are the delays and the unmet commitments that are now the norm for the manufacturing process of those products.

Which is why when you see new products posted here going forward, you will usually see me tacking on at least 2 more weeks as the expected shipping date over and above what the manufacturer tells us, so you might see other sites showing earlier expected delivery dates from mine. I would much rather error on the side of caution and not have my customers be disapointed!! And if things show up earlier or actually show up on time, I will ALWAYS ship them out as soon as they arrive here!!!!

Pink ATGs have shipped TO me!!! And i-rock Tool is also coming really soon!! YIPPPPEEEE!!

2010-08-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

It is 100% verified and confirmed. The majority of the Pink ATGs that I ordered shipped out FROM the vendor TO me yesterday, Monday, Aug.16th!! And I actually have tracking #s for all of them and guess what else---wait for it-----yep---a DELIVERY DATE!!!! They are scheduled to arrive by UPS very late afternoon/early evening this Friday, Aug.20th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which means after I check them in & make sure everything is there that was supposed to be sent to me, I will start shipping them out!!!!!

With the huge amount of them that I have to ship out, I expect it will probably take me 2 to 3 business days to get all of them shipped out, because getting each and every single order ready to ship out actually does entail a lot of steps. I'm not sure if all of you are interested in knowing what all those steps are, but I have had many people ask me in the past what the process was, so this seems as good of a time as any to share the steps I go through for those who would like to know.

HOWEVER, before I do that, let me also update you on the i-rock Tool: It looks as if it should be shipping to me THIS WEEK, probably in the next couple days, so again, I say WOOHOOOO!!! I don't have the delivery date or a tracking # for the i-rock Tool yet, but I should have it very soon!!! It sounds as if FINALLY--all pre-orders, back-orders & re-orders for the Pink ATG and the i-rock Tool will FINALLY, FINALLY be completed!!! Then next, we'll be onto all the brand new products from CHA, which I haven't even had a chance to input yet!!!

So for those of you who would like to know all the steps I go through to get each individual order out the door from start to finish, here's an example of the process to get your order out to you: (if you don't care to know, but want to know how my little dog, Gucci is doing after being so sick (thanks for all the emails wishing her well!!), skip down to the next paragraph of this post):

First, I get notified in email from PayPal that I have received an order. I log into PayPal, look up that order and I print out a hard copy on my printer. I also double-check to make sure that the customer also received a notification that I've received their order. Once I verify that everything on that order is in stock and ready to ship, I check (and double-check) the order and then I go and pull every single product item the customer ordered from inventory, then I weigh the total order, then re-check how I want to ship that order (double-checking to make sure I'm using the best & most economical method for the individual package size and weight). Once I have all that information, I pack/box up each order, then I tape it all very securely (and every one of my regular customers knows I am a chronic "over-taper" (better safe than sorry I always say, LOL!!!). Next, I'm back to the computer and logged into my shipping program, where I input the correct information for that individual order (dimensions and weight of the package, shipping method being used, etc.), then the program takes all that information I just input and previews a virtual shipping label for that package, which appears on my computer screen. Once I check (and double-check) it to make sure all the information on the shipping label is correct, I tell it to print out that shipping label, as well as the receipt for the label. After it's all printed out, I take a paper trimmer & separate the actual label from its receipt, I trim down the label to make it fit more easily and correctly on the front of the package, then I roll some glue from my big tape runner all over the back of the shipping label, attach it to the package and then I tape the entire label on with packing tape, all around on all four sides of the label (yes--even MORE tape--remember what I said about "better safe than sorry"?? I really am overly cautious about the safety part of each transaction!!). Now, I'm ALMOST done, but there's still a couple steps left (and I don't think most people do these next couple steps, but as you've already probably figured out, I am a detail gal, so I always want to double check that everything reflects correctly what I've done so far for that individual order!!).The last steps are these: I go back into the customer's order in PayPal and verify that it now shows this order as being shipped and that it has the tracking number included on the Transaction Details page of the customer's order in PayPal. I click on the tracking number and make sure it takes me to the shipper's website tracking page (USPS or UPS). Once I know that's all working correctly, I then print out that Transaction Details page in PayPal with the shipping and tracking information showing on it, I take it, along with the printed receipt for the shipping label, and staple them both to the paper copy of the order (which I already printed out as soon as I received it). I write across the paper copy of the order the day that the order was completed and the ship date (if different) and any other miscellaneous notes I might want to remember about this order if I'd ever need to look at it in the future, then I go into MY CONTACTS files (on my computer) and I type those same notes into the customer's file, so I have them in two places (I told you I was a detail gal!!). The very last steps are I file the paper copies of the completed order in chronological date order for that month and then I put the package at the door, ready for Carrier pickup. WHEW!! Then, onto the next order and the next and the next... My DH thinks I should buy stock in a packing tape company, along with stock in HP because I use up so much printer paper and printer ink on my poor old over-worked HP printer and he's probably right. I know I make extra work for myself by adding in the extra steps that I do to make sure that I know everything is 100% ready to go with all the information documented, and I know that many online retailers don't do most of these extra steps and extra printing, etc., but I do it for my own peace of mind so that I know I've done everything possible to make sure that each of my customer's orders get to them safe and sound, the way I feel as a customer myself, they deserve to be. So yes, maybe I'm a little overly detailed (nutty??). But so far, it has allowed me to take of people in the same way that I would want to be taken care of if I were the customer!

Last things for today are an update on my poor little sickly dog, Gucci and then after, more travel adventures (NOT!!). Regarding Gucci, we spent most of the day yesterday at the vet's office, where she was administered I.V. fluids again (second day in a row!), was also given an antibiotic shot along with some other meds to try to stop her "stomach problems". She was finally able to keep some food down late last night and again, this morning (so far!!), so it appears she is on the mend. None of us are sure what happened to make her so violently sick, but the vet thinks it might have been some kind of bacterial thing. (In other words, she's not sure either!!) I can tell you that when we traveled home from Omaha, it was the HOTTEST day they'd had all year and it was MISERABLE and I do mean MISERABLE. I felt sick myself all day when we were rushing around, getting ready to go, because the air conditioner at my Mom's house just couldn't keep up, so it was hot even inside the house, and it was SOOOOOO stinkin' HUMID, it was like walking into a steam room every time you walked outside. Thankfully, Gucci travels in the cabin with me in her little carrier, under the seat in front of me (where I would normally be able to put my feet, but when she's with me, I'm a bit cramped up in the airline seats, which seem to continue to get smaller and smaller every year, don't they?). I can't imagine how she could have ever survived if she had to go under the plane as luggage--or how ANY dog or cat could have survived that awful heat that must be ever present in the luggage area at this time of year Thank goodness, Gucci will never be under there, since the airlines will not allow any flat-faced dogs, (such as her breed, Brussels Griffon, or bulldogs, shitzus, etc.) to ever travel under the plane, because they can't handle the air pressure and temperature changes. But even though she was in the cabin with me, we were both really hot and not feeling well by the time we arrived at the airport, and inside the terminals it wasn't really very cool either, so I know that I felt hot and icky all day, so I can only imagine she did as well (even though I had her carrier opened up during the entire flights and while waiting to get on the planes--but I did have to zip it up to get on and off the plane and when traveling within the terminals when going to the gates). I don't know if she got sick from all the heat, or if she somehow picked up some strange bacteria somewhere along the line, but all that matters right now is that she is getting better. She's still pretty lethargic, but I would be as well, if I'd been as sick as she's been.

Speaking of travel, one last word about our trip home. I think many of you know that I've had several failed back surgeries (the first surgeon REALLY messed it up and I've had several subsequent surgeries to try to help alleviate the ongoing and consistent pain from it all). I manage the pain and I get along OK most of the time; I just know what I can and what I cannot do. And traveling carrying my laptop and carry-on, along with dragging Gucci's little carrier (which is thankfully also on wheels!) is hard enough, not to mention being cramped up in those little airline seats (with nowhere to put my feet because of Gucci's carrier). So, just to add to my fun level on the trip home, just before we started to descend to land in Denver (where we changed planes to come home to southern CA), I decided I'd better make a quick run to the restroom before they turned on the Fasten Seatbelt sign. So I did and just as I was starting to stand back up to pull things back up into place (if you know what I mean), all of a sudden the Fasten Seatbelt sign came on, the captain started talking about turbulence and within a split second, we took a big drop and I was tossed hard into the door and then thrown back onto the back of the toilet. Whatever happened to me and my poor back in those few seconds, let's just say that I could hardly straighten all the way back up--I just could not stand up all the way straight. But I somehow managed to finally pull myself together and started limping back to my seat, where the stewardess continued to rant at me all the way down the aisle, because of course, they'd turned on the Fasten Seatbelt sign while I was already in the restroom (which I tried several times to explain to her!). To make a long story short, I had all these big plans for this weekend, after I returned home, to get all caught up on everything and be ready to dive back into work, headfirst, bright and early Monday morning. Well, needless to say, between laying on ice packs for two days because of my crazy back situation, thanks to the airline not turning on the Fasten Seatbelt sign soon enough, and then running after Gucci, cleaning after her stomach problems nonstop, my well-laid plans went awry and I did NOT get all caught up with everything like I'd wanted to. I don't know why these kind of things always seem to happen to me, but I really, really think I've had my share of bad luck lately (especially this last year!!) and now it SHOULD be time for some good luck to come my way!!!

And, I do NOT plan to travel anywhere for the next couple months at least, so hopefully, staying on the ground on Terra Firma will help keep me safe and sound as well!!

So that was my excerpt from my own version of "Trains, Planes and Automobiles", except mine would be titled "Planes, Turbulence in the Restroom, and My Little Sick Doggie", LOL!!!

Pink ATG-UPDATED news about shipping!!

2010-08-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post a quick note about the latest information I received this morning about the Pink ATG. They are FINALLY shipping the majority of mine to me TODAY, Monday Aug.16th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't have the tracking # yet, but the promised that these would ship out today, which means that they should be here by the end of the week!!!!! This is GREAT NEWS!!!!!! And on top of that, whatever they're not sending me this time (which is just a tiny handful of them, so it won't really effect anything anyway!!), they said they'd send the rest of those in another shipment that should go out about Aug. 18th-20th time frame. So I am ONE HAPPY gal!!!!!!!

i-rock news: It still looks as if they are on schedule to be ready to be shipped out sometime this week. As soon as I hear anything definite, I will post it here.

Please, please keep tuned to this site right here for any & all updates about products shipping because I absolutely will post here first BEFORE I ever return any emails, and that way, we can all avoid the huge log-jam of emails going back and forth--thanks!!

I will update again later, but right now I'm off to the vet (again). My poor little dog, Gucci has literally been sick as a dog since we returned home--poor thing has had violent stomach problems & am taking her back in to the vet to get her some fluids by I.V. (she had some yesterday as well). She is looking REALLY weak, & I feel sooooo helpless. Needless to say, I did not get caught up with everything (work-wise) that I wanted to this weekend after returning home, since I've spent almost all my time following her around & cleaning up after her, poor sick girlie.

I'm off; wish us luck at the vet please!

Pink ATG News--FINALLY!!!!

2010-08-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

OK, here's the news about the Pink ATG tape dispensers I know many of us have been waiting for.

I FINALLY got confirmation that the majority of the Pink ATGs I ordered should be shipping out to me either by this Friday, Aug. 13th, or at the latest, by Monday, Aug.16th. So that means I should have them in my hands sometime next week--WOOHOOOOO!!!! This of course means I will start shipping them out as soon as they arrive and I will be shipping them in the order in which they were received (first in, first out).

They "think" they should be able to send me the full amount of the entire quantity that I ordered, but they couldn't (or wouldn't) verify that until they actually ship. But they did say it "looked good", so I am VERY hopeful that everyone who ordered them from me will get yours shipped out after I receive this shipment.

I am STILL out of town, supposedly on vacation, although with all the emails I've been receiving because of the Pink ATG being delayed for so long, I have to say that regrettably, it hasn't been much of a vacation. And the saddest thing is that my 80+ year old parents, having not been raised in this electronic age, don't seem to understand why I have to keep spending all this time working, rather than spending quality time visiting with them, so I have a personal message from my parents to 3M: "Thanks a LOT 3M!!!!!!!!!!!!" Anyway, I will be back home and back to work sometime on Friday, Aug. 13th.

Regarding the i-rock Tool back-orders, when I checked on those again today, they were projected to ship out sometime next week. Again, they won't "guarantee" this until they actually ship them to me, but that's the latest information they had for me, so that is sounding hopeful as well.

FYI--I will probably NOT be online at all tomorrow (Thurs. Aug. 12th), so I won't be receiving or answering emails at all, because I will be having some work done on my computer in the morning, and then I'll be out of touch for the rest of the day. But as I said earlier, I will be returning to work sometime on Friday, Aug. 13th (if I can EVEN see the top of my desk when I get back, since it was already buried before I ever left home!!)

Once I get an actual tracking number for the Pink ATGs (or the i-rock Tool) I will post here again with the shipping information; that way everyone can find out the information at the same time without all the emailing back and forth.

I want to thank ALL of you for your patience while waiting for these manufacturers to FINALLY get their products shipped out. Believe me, I absolutely understand how frustrating this wait has been, since what I've been waiting to receive from them has been magnified hundreds of times over, due to the large amount of products that I ordered. Once again I can only apologize for the manufacturer's delays in shipping the products, since I have been totally at their mercy as well. But it appears that finally there's a bright light at the end of the tunnel and the products should be here very soon!!!

Remember, I WILL be posting any new information RIGHT HERE, so if you're not already subscribed to my blog to get email updates when I post anything new, you might want to do that. To do so, scroll down the right sidebar to where it says:
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***Please make sure you're subscribing under my site name, http://www.glendascreativeplace.com/ , (instead of subscribing under the old, long blogger name (http://glendascreativeplace.blogspot.com/ ) -- THANKS!!!****

SHIPPING UPDATES for the Pink ATG and the i-rock TOOL

2010-08-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

First, let me please apologize that my "out of town" technology has not been working very well and certainly not with any consistency while I've been on my trip to the Midwest(to CHA and then a swing over to Nebraska to visit the folks and take my first vacation in 2-1/2 years!!). It has been an exercise in frustration to say the least. I've even resorted to trying to at least update my Facebook, but there's nowhere on my mobile application to send or receive emails there--so PLEASE don't send me emails thru Facebook, since apparently I can't get them!! If you need to email me, please use my regular email address, glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . But please, please use this post to get the information about the shipping dates if possible, rather than just emailing me for it. My email is absolutely back-logged right now because of all the issues I've had with my technology while out of town.

OK, on with the product and shipping updates. Let me first stress that in ALL cases, once I receive any pre-orders, back-orders or re-orders, I will ALWAYS ship them out ASAP. Not only do I know that my customers are anxiously waiting for their orders, but on a personal level, I just don't have the extra storage space to hang onto anything extra (and I have NO desire to do so!!).

In addition, if you happened to pick up the delayed pre-ordered product at the large national craft store while the rest of us (retailers) were waiting to receive their shipments from the manufacturer, please don't worry about getting a refund from me, whether it's over 30 days or not. I will always do what's fair for my customers. Please just know that I have placed all these orders with the manufacturers and have paid for them upfront, so all I ask is that you be fair with me as well.

PINK ATG UPDATE:

The latest update is this: There was a quality problem with the one large shipment that shipped from overseas early (to a large national craft retailer). That quality issue caused the manufacturer (3M) to have everything else pulled back and corrected, which has caused major delays all across the board for everyone else. (Although after hearing about the quality problems that have been found in that first early shipment, this is one time I'm thinking that maybe it's a GOOD thing NOT to have gotten the product early on!!)

I've been in contact with the manufacturer constantly, on the phone and in their booth while I was at CHA. They changed the expected arrival date range now to sometime during the 2nd week in August (and again, this IS an estimate from them, they won't guarantee any exact date!!).

I have absolutely NO control over 3M and their manufacturing process--grrrrrrr!!!! I am held hostage to them fixing their quality problem and sending all the products I ordered to me. I can't even BEGIN to explain how INCREDIBLY frustrating this has been for me, and how helpless it has made me feel, despite my multiple calls and contacts with the manufacturer.

I can't WAIT to receive these and get them shipped out to everyone who ordered one. There is NO worry about getting a refund if you happened to pick one up locally at the large national craft retailer who received that early shipment (but please, be sure to check EVERYTHING included in your box to make sure it's all working correctly if you did get one, since there have been those quality issues reported within that shipment, which are what caused the delays for everyone else since!!). I would NEVER hold anyone's hard-earned cash hostage like that (even though I've paid for my orders upfront!).

i-rock TOOL:

This is a case of the manufacturer, Imaginisce, under-estimating the immense popularity of this fabulous little tool. Unfortunately, they are actually completely out of stock right now of the i-rock tool itself. They absolutely underestimated the overwhelming demand for this great product & had to have more manufactured. They have ZERO in stock right now to sell to any retailers. I have several large orders in with them & they will fill the retailer's orders in the sequence in which they received them, so for me, my orders should be close to the front of that line (which is a good thing!!). But right now, we are all waiting for them to get the tool shipped from overseas. Their current estimate is that it should arrive around mid-August (a couple more weeks). I also checked with them every day in the booth at CHA (and tried to see if they would even sell me the demo units they had in their booth, but that was a big "no"!!).

As soon as I receive these, I will send them out ASAP.

CONCLUSION:

Any pre-orders, back-orders and re-orders are always dependant on the manufacturer sending me the products I order from them. I am ALWAYS at their mercy as to when they ship their products. I have noticed this year that more than ever, the manufacturers just don't seem to be meeting their projected ship dates for new releases. I don't know if that corresponds with more and more manufacturing being sent to be done overseas, but it certainly seems to. Going forward, I have now started adding at least 2 weeks onto any new release date that I'm being given by any manufacturer who is sending their work overseas. I prefer to err on the side of caution, than to put out any dates that I believe will probably not be met by the manufacturer.

ORDERING ON MY SITE (and LOTS OF CHANGES HAPPENING HERE!!)

2010-07-30T15:22:00.000-07:00

To all my very LOYAL Readers, Followers and Customers,

Yes, I've heard you. Because of your many, many requests, I am in the process of changing the way you may order or pre-order from me, including how you can now easily and quickly pre-order / purchase the new PINK ATG Tape Dispenser by 3M with the touch of a button!! Making all these changes across the board is a very time-consuming process, so please be patient as I get items updated.

I have begun adding the ability for my customers to purchase many items by just clicking a button and going through a Checkout process, all managed by PayPal, which means every transaction is absolutely secure. Please note, so far, the Shopping Cart Buttons are ONLY set up for domestic mailing within the USA!! All International customers, including my Canadian customers, need to email me their information and I will send you a PayPal invoice. That way (for now anyway!), I can keep a better handle on the International shipping!! Please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com - be sure to include all the items you want shipped together, along with your mailing address / shipping information and your PayPal email address (if it's different than what you use to normally communicate with me).

I started with the Pink ATG Tape Dispenser. This item was sooooo well and generously received by all of you, and soooo many of you wanted to place a pre-order for it with me, that it actually crashed my email!! I am still trying to sort out your emails about the Pink ATG from days ago.
So, if you have NOT yet received an invoice from me for the Pink ATG and you want to purchase the Pink ATG Tape Dispenser (this is the item that 3M is donating part of the proceeds from to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation), please select either the tab up above on the Navigational Bar that says "ADHESIVES" or just CLICK HERE to go to the original post. Now, in either of these two locations on my site, you can easily just add it to your Shopping Cart and pre-order / purchase it right there, without having to go back and forth, without sending and receiving multiple emails, and without receiving and responding to invoices, etc. This is going to help all of us save a great deal of time!

FYI--for news, updates and information about any pre-orders or re-orders, (such as the Pink ATG or the i-rock Tool, etc.) please go to the original post for whichever item you want to check.

I appreciate your patience as I continue to add to this process. Any suggestions or criticisms you may have, I will gladly hear. This site was created for you and your input is always valuable to me. If you have any questions about your shipping charge after using the shopping cart checkout process, please go to the Contact/Shipping/Shopping Cart page and scroll down to the section about "Shipping charges using the Shopping Cart Buttons". To contact me, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com. Thanks!!

I'm at CHA! Wow-HATS OFF to Provo Craft for the new Cricut Imagine machine!! And--my first vacation in 2-1/2 years!

2010-07-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody!!

Greetings from a very muggy (and now under a severe thunderstorm warning) Chicago!! I am at CHA and trying to look at all the new goodies for all of you!!

I am in a bit of technology funk right now, so if you're trying to reach me, please be patient!

WOW--Cricut fans, you are in for a SERIOUS treat with the new Provo Craft machine, the Cricut Imagine. Hats off to the entire PC team, especially Mr. Jim Colby, (VP of all Product Development at PC), of course CEO Jim Thornton, Mr. Mike Wigton and everyone else on their teams who were involved in the creation of this next generation of our beloved Cricut family.

Wait until you see how it can combine your existing Cricut cartridges with the new Imagine cartridges, basically rendering the need for lots of different colored cardstock, as well as lots of patterned paper moot!! You can now take an image from any of our existing Cricut carts, (which now, as we know, only cuts an outline of the image), and with the Imagine machine and an Imagine cartridge, fill the outline of that image with either a color of your choice (it has access to the entire color wheel!), or a pattern chosen from any of the Imagine carts. WooHoo!!!!!!!!!!

Let me try to explain, using an example for someone who already owns existing Cricut cartridges (which are most of my followers and subscribers!):

Take a Princess image from one of the existing Disney Cricut cartridges, (which is plugged into one side of your Imagine machine), select her dress image and put her in your queue. Then, from one of your Imagine cartridges, (which is also plugged into your machine on the opposite side of the machine), pick either a patterned "paper" design from the Imagine cartridge, or one of the matching plain colors on the Imagine cartridge, or if you didn't care for any of those, you can even enter the exact color code you want by entering the RGB codes. You just go in and using the normal color wheel (just like you do to choose a color to print out on any ink-jet printer!!) choose the color you want (PINK!!) and then you fill your dress with the pattern you chose, or for me, the pink color, and now we have a beautiful dress for our princess that is already the pink color we want or is is already filled with a beautiful pattern we love. Next, put a piece of white cardstock on the mat, load it and let it work its magic!!

When it's done and your mat is unloaded, you will now have this: A dress ready to put on your princess which is already the color and/or pattern that you chose and, is already perfectly cut out for you. You didn't have to go searching for, and then buy any patterned paper, you also didn't have to cut out a background color to put under it (unless you want to add another layer, which you certainly can do!!) AND--you have only used an inexpensive piece of white cardstock and you allowed your Cricut Imagine machine to do all the rest of the work for you.

Now, let's take it a step further:

Using the same cartridge as before, choose some of the other layers of your princess (such as her hair, lips, etc.). And let's say you searched the internet and have found the exact color codes (RGB Codes) for the Disney Princesses. Using the same steps as before, you can go into each of those individual layers and insert the exact RGB code, which will then give you the exact color match for her lips, or for her hair, etc.

So, we are going to take the base piece of your princess, (already cut out for you!), then, you also now have her layers ready and they're all the perfect color match because we entered the matching RGB code for all her "parts", and they are all cut out for you as well. We take all her layers, such as her hair layer and adhere that on top of the base piece where her hair already is (maybe with pop dots??!!), next, we adhere her shoes over the shoes on her base piece, and then for the finishing touch, we adhere her dress right on top of her dress on the base piece and what we end up with is a beautifully stacked and layered image, where all the pieces of the layers on top are perfectly matched to what's underneath on the base layer--similar to a technique used in rubber stamping where you stamp the same image over and over, and then manually (and laboriously!!) color and cut each piece apart and adhere them on top of their base layer, making the project have immense depth. But, using the Cricut Imagine machine, we did not labor, we did not touch scissors, we did not color anything with markers, pencils, etc., we did not have to stamp anything---we just allowed the Imagine machine to work its magic and to do all the work for us. Come on now, can it really get any better than that??? I'm feeling a bit whoosy just thinking about it!!

Or let's say we're using a Disney cartridge that has Mickey and Minnie Mouse on it. Referring to that same chart we found on the internet that lists all the RGB codes for the various Disney characters, you want to find the exact color that will match Minnie's hair bow. All you need to do is have the layer with her hair bow open on the original Cricut cartridge, and then on the Imagine, go to the color wheel and enter the exact RGB numbers and voila'--now on your Cricut Imagine screen, you will see Minnie's hair bow flood-filled with the exact color of that it is supposed to be!!! Then load of piece of WHITE cardstock and it will print out Minnie's hair bow in the perfect color AND it will then go back (after printing) and cut the image out for yiou as well!! Can you IMAGINE all the countless possibilities of what we will now be able to do with our regular Cricut cartridges??? My head is literally spinning with ideas.

Ready for another fabulous idea??? There are companies out there who sell stamps, inks and cardstock that all match together perfectly. Guess what?? For many of those companies (such as Stampin' Up, Close to My Heart, etc.), there have been lists complied and posted on the internet that specify what the exact color code (RGB) is for their products. So let's say you are making a project and you're using an ink pad to stamp your sentiment from one of those companies, but you don't have the exact match for the cardstock in the same color. You can look at that list of the RGB codes for that company's products and enter it. Load a piece of white cardstock onto the cutting mat, insert it into the Cricut Imagine and again, it will print out with the EXACT color match to the ink pad you were using, so now you DO have a matching piece of cardstock to finish up your project!!!

Here's another fabulous thing: Using an Imagine cartridge, we pull up a piece of artwork from that cartridge and when we first see it on the screen, it's all in one layer. But when we click on it, it opens up all the layers that make up this piece of artwork/image and shows us all the pieces separately on our image screen. We can keep all of those layers, or delete some of them if we choose to. We can also go into any of those layers and if we want to, we can change the pattern to any other pattern on any other Imagine cartridge that we own, or maybe we just want to change the color of one of the layers. Again we can change it either to one of the regular colors on our Imagine cartridges, or if we know the color code, we can simply enter that RGB code. Once we get those layers looking exactly how we want them to look, we can now either combine them back together again into one layer, or if we want a bit more depth or texture, we can leave all the layers separated and then tell the Imagine to print and then cut out each layer on its own, using only a piece of WHITE cardstock. Once that's done, we can layer them up by using pop dots, foam tape, glue dots or however you prefer to use in order to give the piece some dimension. And of course, an easy way to add even more visual interest to any piece of paper that we cut out on any of our Cricut machines, is to emboss them using our Cuttlebug machines and embossing folders!!!

There are soooo many things we are going to be able to do with this new Cricut Imagine and frankly, I haven't even scratched the surface for you here. And it's all going to be done for us just by using the Cricut Imagine machine and some plain white cardstock!!!! EASY PEASY!

And the best part of this for me is understanding that WE CAN DO ALL OF THIS USING JUST PLAIN WHITE CARDSTOCK, which the Cricut Imagine machine then transforms into the colors and patterns we chose!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!! It is the true and beautiful marriage of the technology of our Cricut machines and our ink-jet printers!! (HP, the industry leader in printing is actually Provo Craft's co-branded partner in the Cricut Imagine machine, so this is a very serious combination of the best technology from two companies which are the very best in their own industry at what they do!!)

I can't wait to get my hands on this great machine!! My mind is absolutely exploding with ideas! BTW, it will also work with the Gypsy (they're working on the update for the Gypsy now), so that is GREAT NEWS as well!!!

I think most of us who are Cricut lovers will agree that the Cricut completely changed the way we crafted. This new Cricut Imagine machine is going to take it even further, to places I don't think I've even "imagined" it will go yet. The possibilities of what we can do with this, whether you buy it new (with the Imagine being your very first Cricut machine) and use the new Imagine cartridges alone, or if you're already a Cricut owner with a collection of Cricut cartridges and you combine those with the power of the new Imagine machine and its Imagine cartridges, it's going to be an exciting journey!!!!! I can't WAIT to get started and I especially want to thank Provo Craft for their AMAZING generosity for giving me the new new Cricut Imagine machine at last night's gala event. I was absolutely floored when I heard they were giving us all a machine. I was already fascinated with it and falling hard in love with the new Imagine machine from looking at it all day Tuesday (and trying to win one at the Provo Craft booth's drawings!). I know I've been both a very loyal, long-time Provo Craft and Cricut consumer (since 2006), a Premier Charter Member of the Cricut Circle from the get-go, as well as a retailer for some of their products, but I really was surprised and over-joyed with Provo Craft's generosity in giving me (and everyone else there!!), the new Imagine machine so I can help show all of you what it can and what it will do for you, so I want to publicly say "THANK YOU" to everyone at Provo Craft for this amazing opportunity. I promise all of my followers and subscribers that I will show you exactly WHY you will want this new Cricut Imagine machine, once Provo Craft mails it to me!!! And just like our other Cricut machines, it will work beautifully in combination with many of our other favorite crafting tools!!

One last note and shout-out to Provo Craft, thanks soooooo much for a fabulous gala event last night!! It was a great party with a mind-blowing performance artist painter who makes nothing into something gorgeous and fabulous in such an unexpected and creative way in just a matter of minutes--I wish ALL of you could have seen this. I do have videos, but somewhere in my travels, the USB cords for my cameras have gone missing, so I have to track those down before I can upload and post any videos or still pictures!!!

I've also had a blast here at CHA getting to say hi and to visit with soooo many people from our Cricut world, from the Cricut Circle and from Provo Craft, such as GMCricut (Genny!!), Joy, Diane (Capadia), Melanie, Megan, Maggie, Shannon, Tammy, Susan Edwards, Donna M, KissKoala, Robyn and Karlee, Terri, Marti, Kendra, BobbyJo, Kelly and all the gals from Custom Crops, and more (I know I'm forgetting some people and I apologize up front for that!!), and of course, all of the great Provo Craft folks such as Jim Thornton, Jim Colby, Brad Brusa, Mike Wigton, Matt, Jinger Adams, Kristi, Richard and all the rest of their amazing team of very helpful people! It is sooooo much fun to spend time with so many like-minded people (Cricut lovers!!!!). We all seem to understand this major obsession we have with our Cricuts.

One last quick note about Provo Craft: there's a new, sleeker-looking version of the Cuttlebug, but I was told that the functions are the same and it works the same as the existing Cuttlebug, it was just the cosmetic look of it that was changed (and it's also still the same green color as before!!). But it is very pretty for those of you who still don't have a Cuttlebug machine yet!!

OK all, I'm off to get back to exploring all the fun new products I know you want! Later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pink ATG Gun- Pre Order: $21.50 with 2 free rolls of tape!! Now here's something we can do to help with the Breast Cancer cause!

2010-06-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well, isn't this timely? Just after hearing the news about our fellow crafter, Monique being diagnosed with Breast Cancer, I got a notification that there is now a new ATG tape gun being offered by 3M that is PINK and the best part is that 3M will donate a portion of the proceeds of the sale of THIS item to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. When I read that, I knew I had to place a pre-order for these so I could allow myself and my customers to help out with this cause. Ever since we've all heard about Monique, the most common thing I've read is how each of us wished there was something we could do to help. Well, I have to say, I believe there are no coincidences in life--which makes the timing of the email I received about this product introduction simply amazing.

For those of you who are not familiar with what an ATG is, it is simply a double sided adhesive applicator.

Here's a description from from 3M: The Scotch® ATG Applicators quickly and neatly apply Scotch® and 3M™ branded adhesive transfer tapes. A touch of the finger on the trigger of the unit releases the adhesive and liner for quick, controlled application of tape. No mess or clean-up. Saves time and effort. Applies adhesive transfer tape while simultaneously removing and rewinding the liner. The liner is captured on a secondary spool, leaving only the adhesive on the surface.

This is the same size as the ATG 714 model (the red one) and it will hold all .25" tape designed for ATG use, so if you already have any of the tape that fits the ATG 714, that tape will also fit this new Pink unit. WooHoo!!

But again, for me, the best part is that 3M will donate a portion of the proceeds from this unit to the Susan G. Koman Breast Cancer Foundation!!!

NOTE:***International Customers, please skip to the last paragraph on how you can order, because the Shopping Cart Buttons are NOT set up for International Shipping at this time!! Thanks.***

3M ADVANCED TAPE GLIDER - Pink: Suggested Retail: ~~$26.99~~, my price: $21.50.

Includes the Pink ATG gun and 2 rolls of .25" tape. (BTW, this is a GREAT price!!) ***3M will donate a portion of the proceeds from this Pink ATG to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation!!!

3M ADVANCED TAPE GLIDER- REFILL 2/Rolls - #085RAF: Suggested Retail:~~$9.99~~, my Price:$7.99 .25"X36yd - Acid-Free refills for the Pink ATG

To place your orders for the Pink ATG (and refills!) with me, please use the PayPal "ADD TO CART" Buttons above (exception--INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS!!). If however, you also want to add additional products to ship at the same time as the Pink ATG, or, if you are an International customer (including Canada!!--because the Shopping Cart Buttons are NOT set up for ANY International Shipping yet!!!), please email me at mailto:address. Please include your zip code, along with your Cricut or Split Coast message board name (or from any other crafting message board, if you have one--just so I can recognize you!!), and please put the words "PINK "ATG": in the email subject line. Also, if your PayPal account is attached to a different email address than the one you normally use to communicate with me, please include that as well, so that I send your PayPal invoice to the proper address.

You've asked how you can help with this cause, so let's grab this opportunity that has literally been dropped in our laps!

Fun with i-rock and i-top Tools!!

2010-06-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

OK, these are my latest tool "obsessions" (and you all know, I have many, LOL!!)

i-rock Tool: I've now received a few re-orders of this product & I am still really enjoying it. I am now waiting for even more items to arrive, especially for the actual i-rock tool itself, which at this time, the manufacturer is completely out of & had to have more manufactured!! So for now, this item is a re-order item. We expect (hope) the manufacturer to ship our back-orders for the i-rock Tool to us by mid August (or earlier!). We are still allowing you to order it so that you can reserve it & get your "place in line". All orders will be shipped out based on the date they were paid (unless you had an early order with special invoicing from me).

This is another really COOL tool by Imaginisce. First off, let me just say, I think it was brilliant to make it CORDLESS, because the older crystal setting tool I've owned for several years has a cord and it seemed to always be in the way--in fact, I've almost melted it before!! So I am THRILLED about this tool being cordless--thank you Imaginisce!!

What the i-rock Tool does is permanently affix rhinestones, jewels, pearls, or mirrors to paper, fabric, or even furniture to create a dazzling masterpiece! (Home decor', here I come!!!) And BTW, yes, I said PEARLS!!!! They make their own Pearls to work with their tool and I can't WAIT to get busy with those, to help satisfy my ongoing pearl obsession!!!

My prices for the i-rock Tool and accessories are as follows:

i-rock Tool: Retail: ~~$12.99~~, my price is $9.75

i-rock "Hot Rocks Compacts" - 800, (either Crystal, Multi-Colored or Jewel): Retail: ~~$12.99~~, my price is $9.75

i-rock "Glam Rocks "- 300, (either Pearl (my fav!!), Metallic Pearl, Rhinestuds, Color Fusion or Mirror): Retail: ~~$3.99~~, my price is $2.99

i-rock Stencil Kits-include stencil, bling and flowers (either Swirls, Frames or Flowers): Retail: ~~$4.99~~, my price is $3.75

i-rock Jewel Setter Stix (helps w/exact placement of bling!): Retail: ~~$3.99~~, my price is $2.99

To place an order for any of the i-rock products, please use the PayPal "ADD TO CART" Buttons above. Please be advised, this product line has been a challenge (to say the least!!) to keep in stock, so I might have to re-order some of the manufacturer's items, which would cause a delay in shipping your package to you.

i-top Tool: I honestly don't know what took me so long to get on the i-top bandwagon, but I am REALLY on it now!! This tool by Imaginisce is used to help you create your own custom accents by allowing you to make your own personalized BRADS, BUTTONS, BADGES and MAGNETS in three different sizes: SMALL-16mm, MEDIUM-22mm, and LARGE-28mm!! When I say "create", I really do mean create--you can put your own photos, papers (or whatever else your imagination can come up with!!) into the "toppers" and make your own embellishments!!! Over the past couple weeks, I've been making brads out of anything around me that isn't nailed down!! One very important thing to note is that in order to create any of the LARGE (28mm) sized embellishments, you MUST also purchase the Large Die Carriage attachment (but it's really inexpensive!!) Here's what the i-top tool looks like. The Large Die Carriage attachment is shown directly below the tool.

I have several different "package" possibilities for the i-top and the accessories, depending on what you are most interested in (because besides all the different items you can "top" (brads, buttons, magnets and badges), they also have punches and templates to make everything as easy as possible!). The best thing is to email me your wish list for this product line and I will put together a package for you based on your wishes. Please remember if you want to make ANY of the LARGE sizes (28mm) of any of the "toppers", you must also purchase the Large Die Carriage attachment!

If you are interested in the i-top tool, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com and include the list of which i-top products you want, along with your zip code and I will get the information back to you. Here's a link to the manufacturer's site, which will show you all the items (and their product codes!!) within this i-top product line that are available with the i-top Tool (please make sure you notice there is more than one page, so be to page all the way through!!): http://www.imaginisce.com/Products.aspx?col=37

WARNING--WARNING--WARNING: These tools are seriously ADDICTIVE!!! Proceed at your own risk, LOL!!!

One of our own Cricut Family needs our prayers-please show your support for Monique G.

2010-06-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

Hi All. This is not a blog post I wanted to write, but I want to ask all of my followers to please show support for one of our well-know Cricut Family Members, Monique Griffith. Unfortunately, Monique has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Many of you probably know her already from the Cricut Message Board, or from her wonderful blog, Monique Griffith Designs , from her work with Stampin' Up, or from some of the other blogs where she has been featured as a guest designer (such as EveryDay Cricut ).

Monique has helped so many Cricut users over the years--let's take a minute and please offer up a little prayer for her and then go sign her Guestbook over at Caring Bridge as she blogs about this very serious journey she is just beginning. She is absolutely reading all the messages she's been receiving & the support seems to have really touched her.

If you have ever been helped out by another crafter who was willing to give you their own precious time to assist you, please take a few minutes of your time now to help one of our own & to let her know we are all with her. To go to Monique's Guestbook: CLICK HERE.

New JustRite Stamps-Taking orders!! And wait until you see what they've done now!

2010-06-01T06:48:00.000-07:00

Oh WOW!!! Here we go again--this is really exciting! JustRite Stampers is releasing a brand new line of stamps with unique nesting capabilities. There are new Nested Frames, Sentiments and Verse Sets that are all interchangeable. These new sets are shown using what I think is the most exciting new addition to their product line, which is the new CLEAR (yes, I said CLEAR!!!) Horizontal Stampers!! With the new Clear Horizontal Stamper Set, we will now be able to do things with our JustRite Stamps we've just been dreaming about.

Some of the advantages of the new, CLEAR Stampers are:

PIN POINT ACCURACY - exact placement of your image or font.
MULTIPLE IMAGE ALIGNMENT - precision alignment of font, borders and centers in a single impression.
TWO-COLORED IMPRESSIONS - new see-through clear stampers allows you to stamp in two colors and align the centers and borders to look like a single impression!!!!
EASE OF USE - clear interlocking grid system guarantees precision placement of custom font phrases.

I am currently taking orders for all the New Releases (June 2010). Here they are:

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JB-09200 - BAROQUE NESTED FRAMES - 3 Border and Center Set

MSRP/Retail Price: ~~$14.95~~, Glenda's Price: $11.50

. 3 Large Frames

. 3 Small Frames

. 3 Small Phrases

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JB-09205 - VICTORIAN NESTED FRAMES - 3 Border and Center Set

MSRP/Retail Price: ~~$14.95~~, Glenda's Price: $11.50

. 3 Large Frames

. 3 Small Frames

. 3 Small Phrases

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JB-09215 - CHERISH the MEMORIES - Nested Sentiments and Verses

MSRP/Retail Price: $~~14.95~~, Glenda's Price: $11.50

. 3 Large Phrases

. 4 Medium Phrases

. 3 Small Phrases

. Fits Clear Horizontal Stampers

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JB-09210 - ALL OCCASION - Nested Sentiments and Verses
MSRP/Retail Price: $~~14.95~~, Glenda's Price: $11.50

. 3 Large Phrases

. 4 Medium Phrases

. 3 Small Phrases

. Fits Clear Horizontal Stampers

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JB-09225 - BIRTHDAY CENTERS - Round, 1-5/8"

MSRP/Retail Price: ~~$14.95~~, Glenda's Price: $11.50

. 9 Designed Centers
. Fits 1-5/8" or 2" Stampers.
. Use 6 or 15 point letters to create your own custom borders!! (Sold Separately)

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JB-09520 - CLEAR HORIZONTAL STAMPER

MSRP/Retail Price: ~~$23.95~~, Glenda's Price: $17.95

. See through grid for exact image placement.
. Smaller size is easier to use and perfect for Nested Frames.
. Sizes included: 1-3/8" x 2-1/2", and 2-3/8" x 4”.

Here's some examples using the new Clear Horizontal Stamper with some of the Nested Frames and the All Occasion Nested Sentiments and Verses:

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LT-36474 - JUSTRITE - 2010 IDEA BOOK

MSRP/Retail Price: ~~$6.95~~, Glenda's Price: $5.25

. Features over 100 Projects, most complete with supply lists!!

. Includes all current products plus release(s) coming through August of 2010.

. Finally--the entire line in one catalog, grouped by category and easy to use.

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To order, go ahead and use the "ADD TO CART" buttons above. If however, you want to add other items not listed here, combine shipping with other items (other than these), or if you're an International customer, please email the list of products you want to: glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please be sure to put the words "JUSTRITE JUNE RELEASES-2010" in the subject line of your email. PLEASE include your ZIP CODE in your email so I can correctly figure your shipping.

I can not WAIT to see what all my immensely talented customers are going to do with the possibilities these new sets and clear stampers open up for you!

FYI, if you want to see more about how the new Nesting Sets and the Clear Horizontal Stampers work, or if you are new to JustRite Stamps, here's a great illustration from the JustRite website of how their unique system works: JustRite Stamps - The Basics What I love most is the ability to create your own custom stamps with the many different combinations!!

P.S. In the meantime, remember that you may order any of the JustRite Stamps from me. I have quite a lot of them in stock right now, so please don't hesitate to ask!

Updated my list of products-- Plus, you still have time to tell me what you want to pay for Cuttlebug folders!!!

2010-05-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

Hi all, after many requests, I have updated the list of products that I sell and/or have access to. Please scroll down within the sidebar (on the right side) of my site to find the list.

And please remember, if you EVER have a question about what I might be able to get for you, please, please don't hesitate to ask me. All you need to do is to email me with the specific product name, size and/or color (if applicable) and manufacturer. My email is glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com .

In the meantime, there is still time to tell me what you want to pay for your Cuttlebug folders. Please see my last post for all of that information (CLICK HERE). I asked you to put the information in the COMMENTS, but it seems most of you have been too shy to put that information in a public forum for some reason, and instead, have opted to email me your information and suggestions. I appreciate getting the information any way you decide to send it to me, however, I am now buried in emails, so please be patient if you asked me to get back to you in your email!!! I really encourage you to take this opportunity to help set a price for a product that most of us adore and use all the time. It doesn't happen very often in this world where consumers get to have first-hand input about what they want to pay. I am giving you that opportunity with me.

I started this business initially to help people in my (mostly) Cricut community get the paper crafting supplies they needed at the fairest price possible, and to help highlight techniques to get things done quickly & easily. Somehow the word spread and now my customers come to me from all over the internet, from all different types of crafting disciplines, as well as from many different countries. I am constantly humbled by the trust you put in me to help you. And I am ever joyful as I see the community this site is evolving to become.

I honestly feel as if I 've become the "Dear Abby" of the crafting world, as I respond to all types of crafting questions sent to me in email, and I only hope my answers continue to help you learn and grow. My crafting philosophy is all about making it fun, and making it as easy and as fast as possible, which is how I became the original "Gadget Queen". If there's a tool or other product that can help me complete a project in a more pain-free and fast way, then I want to have it in my arsenal. I'm the type of crafter who needs to be able to see the end of the project in sight--that's what helps keep me motivated. So if there's a tool of some sort that can help me get it done, I will buy it. But, I also want to get the best price possible for those tools and products for myself, and now for all of my customers. Crafting should be a joyful thing, it should never be stressful, nor should it ever feel like a "chore". I am here to try to help you get your projects completed by taking advantage of the many great products that are made to help us get them done quickly and easily.

As we go forward and enter the summer season, let's make a pact to make crafting a priority whenever time allows. I know many of you will be busier than ever this summer. But let's keep in mind that crafting is good for the soul and for the mind. Do you remember that feeling you got when you first started crafting and you finished your first project or two?? That amazing "high" of looking at something YOU created and the pride that swelled when you realized that you were pretty good at this??? Let's promise ourselves to get back to that feeling this summer by working on projects that DO allow us to see the end and allow us to finish/complete a project. What that means for each of us is certainly an individual thing, but how about we try to make a small collection of some generic, every-day use greeting cards, or how about a small book ( 5x7, or 6x6 for example) of one event, and use only 4x6 photos (no cropping!!)?? Take an event (and BTW, it doesn't have to be a BIG event--just take some photos of your family swimming or at the park or just playing in the yard---keep it simple!!), and use those in a small book. What I love about a small book is that using the tools available to us, we can make an entire book, from start to finish in a matter of one to two hours. (And BTW, this is also a great way to keep the kiddos occupied while they're out of school and to start them on a love of crafting themselves!!!) The same holds true for making a small collection of cards--pick a theme (color scheme, papers, etc.), decide what greetings or sentiments you want to use and you should be able to make 5 to 7 nice cards in an hour or two. And when you DO finish a project from beginning to end, please remember that wonderful feeling of accomplishment. The reason you feel that way is because you got it DONE!!! You FINISHED it!!!

I think paper-crafters, especially scrapbookers often feel as if there IS no end in sight, because they are constantly working on filling up these albums--especially if you are trying to scrap chronologically. That's how I was--and for quite a while, that feeling of NEVER being done actually sucked the joy out of my scrapping. I have now stopped scrapping chronologically, because I realized that unless I scrapped 24/7, for years to come, I would NEVER catch up with the years of photos stashed in the shoe boxes under our beds---there was NO END in sight & that made me feel as if no matter what I did, it wasn't good enough, because I'd never get finished. So, if you are still scrapping chronologically, I beg you to consider trying to scrap whatever suits your fancy over these coming summer months. Use smaller books and do them based on some small events you want to remember. You won't believe the feeling of freedom it gives you once you realize you don't have to scrapbook everything "in order"!!

The same thing applies to other projects such as stamping or home decor'. You can whip up something darling for your house, or for a gift (especially for all those weddings we have coming up--yikes!!!) in a matter of just a couple hours. This again allows you to accomplish a project that has an end--a "finish". I promise you if you try to do it this way over the summer, it will re-invigorate your crafting Mojo!!!!

So, let's make a promise to each other this summer to make ourselves re-discover the joy in crafting by allowing ourselves to see the finish line on the projects we take on. And if you need any of the tools that will help you get them done faster and easier, just let me know! I am here to help you and in return, I hope you will also help me stay motivated to get some projects completed for myself over the next few months.

New Cuttlebug folders? Who wants me to order these for them??

2010-05-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

OK, OK, I finally am going to do it, after all your requests. I am going to order all the newest Cuttlebug folders (have already ordered some). (FYI--when I say the newer Cuttlebug folders, I mean any that were introduced at Winter CHA and all of them introduced since that time, including the newest Companion folders that match up to specific Cricut cartridges.) Now I just need to know how many of you want to order them from me. I also am very interested in what you think is a fair price for them, including all the different types of Cuttlebug folders. Those of you who are my regular customers, already know that I am always committed to having the fairest prices I can possibly manage on ALL my items!!!

So, here's your chance to let me know what you want (meaning which folders) and what you want to pay for them. How often do you get to have this type of influence on a Seller?? So, please leave me a comment here on this post and tell me absolutely everything you want and what you're willing to pay for those items. If you're shy about doing so in a public forum, you can also email me--please put this in the Subject line of your email: "Setting prices for the new Cuttlebug Folders" and email to glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . (BTW, if you post a comment and it shows up as ANONYMOUS, please keep in mind that I won't know who you are, so if you want me to follow up with you, please send me an email as well!! Thanks!)

OK, so, LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!! Scroll down to the Comments and let me hear you. Thank you sooooo very much in advance for all your help and for your great advice to come!!!

Tim Holtz Embossing Folders are HERE and Ready to order!

2010-05-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

Hi all! I'm editing this post from the original post, because all the Tim Holtz Embossing Folders are finally now in stock, after having their ship dates changed several times!

To place an order, please use the PayPal "ADD TO CART" Buttons that are located inbetween the Name of the Folder and the image of the Folder. You may add as many folders as you like! If however, you want to add some other products that do NOT have any PayPal buttons associated with them (yet), or if you're an International customer, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . List all the items you want, along with your ZIP CODE (or for International, your country and city codes), and please put the words "ORDER for Tim Holtz Folders..." (or whatever else you're ordering) in your email's subject line!! And-- if your PayPal account is under a different email than what you use to contact me, be sure to include that as well. I will then send you an invoice through PayPal.)

So, if you haven't seen these fabulous, much sought-after and long-awaited embossing folders yet, please take a look. They're different than the embossing folders most of us are already used to, in that the designs actually have a "fade" to them, so the design is more pronounced in some places than others, which results in some amazing effects. In other words, they are totally cool in the typical Tim Holtz way!! They will be a fabulous addition to your cards, scrapbook layouts, journals or even home decor' items.

Here they are, MSRP: ~~$10.99~~, Glenda's Price: $8.79 per set (each set contains 2 folders!!): ***For those of you who place an order for ALL 8 sets of embossing folders on the same transaction, I will give you FREE SHIPPING within the Continental USA!!!*** (To give free shipping, I will need to refund what PayPal charged on the transaction to your PayPal after the transaction is completed!)

Bingo and Patchwork:

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Bricked and Woodgrain:

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Burlap and Swirls:

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Checkerboard and Cracked:

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Collage and Notebook:

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Damask and Regal Flourishes:

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Dot Matrix and Gridlock:

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Rays and Retro Circles:

So, there they are!! How cool are they???? WooHoo!! Be sure to use the PayPal "ADD TO CART" Buttons to buy these, or if you need additional help, please email me at mailto:glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com%20to . Thanks!

JustRite Stamps-New Releases-April 2010-with Pictures and all ordering info!!

2010-04-22T01:46:00.000-07:00

OK, here's the information many of you have requested about the new releases from JustRite Stampers.

Those of you who have been wanting more SQUARES, here you go!!! There are 3 new SQUARE sets, WooHoo!! If you love the water and the beach, wait until you see "By the Sea"! And for those of you who have been asking for something a little more light-hearted, this is your lucky day with the "Let's Celebrate" set!! (But be sure to notice with the "Let's Celebrate" stamps, those borders could be used beautifully with a totally different category of stamps! Such is the genius of the entire JustRiteStampers "system"!!

To order, all you have to do is email me your list of everything you want to order to: glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please be sure to include your zip code and the email address for your PayPal account (if it's different from your regular email). Please put: "JUSTRITE NEW RELEASES" in the subject line of your email. (And FYI, I sell ALL the JustRite Stamps, not just the new releases!!)
OK, without further ado, here are the newest releases from JustRite Stampers:

JB-09760: Appliqué - Decorative Borders and Centers Set,
2" Square

4 Square Borders and Centers included.

(Wood Stamper not included; needs 2" SQUARE Wood Stamper.)

MSRP: $16.95, Glenda's Price: $12.95

JB-09745: Hope - Borders and Centers Set,

2" Square

Borders and Centers included.

(Wood Stamper not included; needs 2" SQUARE Wood Stamper.)

For versatility, ROUND Centers from any 1-5/8" set also fit in the center area.

MSRP: $16.95, Glenda's Price: $12.95

JB-09755: By The Sea - Borders and Centers,

2-1/4"x 3-1/16"Ovals-(LG)

4 Designer Centers and 4 Borders.

Fits 2-1/4” x 3-1/16” Wood Stamper (not included).

MSRP: $16.95, Glenda's Price: $12.95

JB-09750: Kaleidoscope - Borders and Centers,
2-3/8" ROUND

6 Designer Centers with 6 Borders.

Fits 2-3/8” Wood Stamper (not included).

MSRP: $16.95, Glenda's Price: $12.95

JB-09765: Let's Celebrate - Borders and Centers,

2" SQUARE

4 Decorative Borders and Centers included.

(Wood Stamper not included; needs 2-3/8" Wood Stamper.)

For versatility, ROUND Centers from any 1 5/8" set

also fit in the center area.

MSRP: $16.95, Glenda's Price: $12.95

***If you don't have the Wood Stampers to match these sets, here they are. Please make sure you have a Wood Stamper in the correct size and shape that corresponds with your stamp set!! If you have a question about what you need, please just ask me for help--that's what I'm here for!! I don't just sell the things I offer on my site, I actually USE THEM!! (And FYI, I carry ALL the different wood stampers!!)

JB-08407: Wood Stamper, 2" SQUARE

Border enables use of 6 or 15pt font to create custom sayings.

2" and 1 5/8" Centers fit in the center area.

MSRP: $9.95, Glenda's Price: $7.95

JB-08410: Wood Stamper, 2-3/8" ROUND

2-3/8" Wood Stamper only.

MSRP: $10.95, Glenda's Price: $8.95

JB-08119: Wood Stamper OVAL, 2 -1/4" x 3-1/16",

OVAL (LG)

2-1/4" x 3-1/16" Wood Stamper only.

MSRP: $12.95, Glenda's Price: $10.50

Remember, to order, just email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com & be sure to include your zip code. Please see full ordering instructions at the beginning of this post.

As a reminder, I have several other products and many of the new releases from CHA Winter. I have all the Spellbinders CHA releases, the new Zutter tools (the Distrezz-it-all and the Zutter Kutter, as well as the Bind-it-All, DreamKuts & more from Zutter), some of the new Ranger & Tim Holtz, lots of misc. products and much more. Not sure what I have?? Just ask me--you'll be surprised!!

Thanks for all your good wishes & prayers! It's been a rough few weeks for our family!

2010-04-19T17:45:00.000-07:00

I wanted to publicly thank all of you who have sent me your kind words, good wishes and prayers for our "special" son, who'd been hospitalized for a good while. It just isn't possible right now for me to thank each and every one of you who have emailed me or called my business phone to leave your very encouraging messages, so please allow me to use this public forum of mine to let you know how very much I appreciate all of you. You have truly touched my heart.

It's been a very scary time for our family, especially not knowing all of the "why" of what led up to everything, because the one person who could give us all those answers, can NOT give them to us, because due to his disabilities, he can not speak. We know he was hurt while out with his special day program where he apparently took a bad fall. We know it was not reported to anyone until bruises and then huge hematomas were found all up down down his left leg from his foot to his hip. And after the long, difficult hospitalization and the immense battery of tests this poor kiddo has been put through, we know, according to the admitting physician, that in the end, QUOTE, "This must have been an extraordinarily big fall and he has sustained a great deal more trauma than was ever reported to you." End QUOTE. Certainly the trauma was enough for his body to fight soooo hard that he became suddenly and very dangerously anemic--his hemoglobins dropped to half of what they're supposed to be and because of that, he had to have emergency blood transfusions. (Unfortunately, there was no time for any of us in his family to donate our own blood to him, which we would have preferred. In fact he has a rare blood type that they didn't even store in the hospital and that they had to have delivered from the Blood Bank.)

He was found to have extra axial fluid around his face and eyes, which also reflects a great deal of trauma, but luckily the trauma appeared to be mostly around the face & orbital areas and there was no brain bleed, which is what was initially feared. (So now we're left trying to figure out how a fall at the City Library could cause all these different injuries on separate parts of his body!!??) Finding out about the axial fluid around his face, while terrifying, helped to answer our questions as to why the entire area around his eyes was sooo black--he literally looked like a raccoon--not bruised, but almost looked as if someone had taken a very dark eye shadow and applied it under, over and all around the sides of each of his eyes. It was terrifying to see. And of course because he couldn't understand why everything was being done "to him", he continually fought the I.V.s by pulling them out, plus the catheter (ouch, poor guy!) , not to mention all the many, very difficult tests that he had to end up sedated for, because he would not/could not cooperate, because he simply didn't understand.

I know many of you have expressed your concern for him, for me and for the rest of my family. I thank all of you, because I really have felt your prayers and your kind words have given me strength throughout. Our son continues to improve and I continue to ask the hard questions, as uncomfortable as they may be for the parties who were responsible for him when these injuries occurred. It is the scariest thing for a parent of a disabled kiddo, no matter if they're 3 years old, or 30 years old, when they can not speak. You are constantly worried about what could be happening to them, and you're scared that they're unable to articulate or report any of it to you in any fashion. This has played into one of my greatest nightmares I've always had concerning him. (Imagine having a perpetual baby and all the fears that go with that!)

I soooo appreciate the patience and the incredible loyalty of my amazing customers, who allowed me the extra time I needed during this hospitalization and were willing to wait an extra day or two for their orders if necessary. Thank you so very much for your understanding and patience.

Now, if it weren't enough that our son was injured and hospitalized, we also found out in the last week that our beloved family dog, our precious little Brussels Griffon, Gucci has Cushings Disease. We're now awaiting the results of another blood test that will tell us which form of Cushings Disease she has. Of course, a dog can not ever compare to a child, but I have to tell you, this darling dog has wrapped herself around my heart like no other pet I've ever had and she is absolutely a huge comfort to me when I'm sad or upset about something--in fact, she reads me like a book!! So on those days when I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders, she is the one thing that can always brighten my day; she somehow always manages to comfort me with her unconditional love. So finding out that she has a disease which will require life-long treatment (and the medications have their own bad effects!!) just broke my heart. I gave a look up at the heavens and asked just how much was I expected to shoulder all at once, because over these past few weeks, I have really worried that I could collapse under the weight of it all!!! But then, like Moms everywhere, I take a deep breath and soldier on, because that's what we do.

Just to let everyone know, now that our son is on the mend, I am also getting back to life "as normal" and I'm trying to get caught up with everything (including blogging!!), and to get back to "business as usual" for my craft business. In the meantime, there's been a great deal of products (ordered at CHA) arriving here, so I really am trying to get back to business as usual, so we can move this inventory!!

All the new Spellbinders releases from CHA arrived quite a while ago and I have all of them. The new Ranger Distress Inks are here, and many of the new Tim Holtz Alterations dies are trinkling in daily (but we're all still waiting on his embossing folders!!!). And of course, the new Zutter tools have arrived, so I have the new Zutter Kutter, as well as the fabulously helpful (and really cool!!) Distrezz-it-All (DIA), not to mention many different covers, page protectors, corner rounders/Round-it-Alls, Bind-it-Alls, DreamKuts and more. I've also received a lot of the Teresa Collins covers and other products from her previous collections (previous to this past CHA), because it appears that her previous collections are sadly being phased out!! Of course I also have her new Collections that were released at CHA as well. There are more products from CHA that keep arriving, so if you have a question about something you want to order, please email me. The most recent product news is the release of the new JustRite Stamps and I AM taking pre-orders for those, so be sure to email me about those. (I will make a separate post about the JustRite Stamps!!) My email is glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com .

Thanks again to this amazing community of crafters that I feel so privileged to be a member of. I have never come across a more generous and helpful community of people anywhere. And the most amazing thing is that although we are situated all across this huge world of ours, and most of us will never meet face to face, we are now united as neighbors, by our love of crafting and through that, we truly have become an actual community. I thank God for this community every day.

More new CHA Product updates & information-Spellbinders, JustRite, Zutter, Ranger...

2010-02-22T14:42:00.000-08:00

WooHoo!!!! I finally got a tracking # from Spellbinders for the ONLY dies that weren't sent in my original shipment (the one that I received from them last Monday, 2/15/10) and the news is good! They've been shipped and that usually means a couple of days delivery time from Spellbinders headquarters to me (at the most), so the wait is almost over for that small handful of dies that were delayed coming in from overseas!

To recap, I already have ALL the new Spellbinders releases in my hands right now, except for the missing Easter dies & the new Big Scalloped Circles and those will be here any day now!!!! YIPPPEEEE!!

For those of you who haven't seen all the new Spellbinders CHA Releases, here's a link to most of them: http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/new-dies?limit=all . The new items that aren't shown in this link are the new Impressabilities (for embossing and letter-pressing) and you can find those on this link (--the first 6 shown on this page are the new releases--and they're even prettier in person!!): http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/impressabilities .

For those of you who haven't spoken with me about my Spellbinders pricing for the CHA New Releases, here's the pricing that I set up before I went to CHA for the pre-orders and I'm still honoring these fabulous prices right now:

If the MSRP is $24.99, my price is $15.99.
If the MSRP is $19.99, my price is $13.99.
If the MSRP is $ 6.99, my price is $ 4.49.

If you've been waiting for the Spellbinders new releases to arrive before placing your order, then your wait is over!! You can place an order for the new Spellbinders releases, as well as the newest releases from JustRite Stamps (or any of the other manufacturers I carry!!) by emailing me the list of products that you want (with the product name and product code --if you happen to have that!!), along with your zip code (for shipping) to glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please put the words: "NEW CHA RELEASES" in your email subject line.

I've also placed orders for a small amount of the beautiful new colors released at CHA in the Tim Holtz Distress Inks product line. It appears from the emails I'm receiving about them that I'm going to have to place an additional order to get more of them for you!! So, if you want any of the new Distress Inks and/or their re-inkers, please let me know that as well!! Here's a link to the Ranger site which shows the new colors with their product code (this is for the ink pads)--they're on the first line and are the first twelve shown: http://rangerink.com/products/prod_dyeink_distresspads.htm . And here's a link to the re-inkers for the new colors along with their product codes: http://rangerink.com/products/prod_dyeink_distressreinker.htm . (Please specify in your email if you want the ink pads or the re-inkers, or both!! Thanks!!)

I was lucky enough to have taken another class with my "Tim Timmie" (the genius aka Tim Holtz!!) at CHA, so I got to play with all his new Distress ink colors and they are spectacular!! My personal favorites are the new pink, Spun Sugar, some of the new blues, especially the Tumbled Glass & Chipped Sapphire, and I'm sooooo excited about the new Pumice Stone, which is FINALLY the most perfect distressing color--EVER!!! As much as I love Antique Lace, Old Paper & few others for distressing, they all have a sort of color cast, either yellowish or greenish. But Pumice Stone didn't seem to have any color cast like that--it was just PERFECT!!! I can't wait for these arrive at my door!!

I've also had a lot of questions and requests about the new Zutter Distrezz-It-All (aka DIA), which is another fabulous and incredibly useful and smart tool by the same manufacturer, Zutter, who makes our beloved Bind-It-All (BIA) and DreamKuts (DK) machines!!! This new tool actually automatically distresses your papers and all the way up to heavy material such as corrugated cardboard! No more hand-sanding for us!! No more destroying your nails and manicure! The DIA will distress cardboard, chipboard, wood, leather, fabric-covered projects and up to 12 sheets of cardstock at once, all in the blink of an eye! I WILL be ordering the Distrezz-It-All for those of you who ask me to order it for you. The MSRP is $39.99, but obviously I will have a "special coupon code" and/or a "bundle" for my customers, to make sure you get it at a better price. However, due to the Minimum Advertised Price Policy (aka MAP) instituted by Zutter, I can not publish or advertise my "special" price, so you will have to email me for those Distrezz-It-All "specials/coupon codes/bundles"!! Here's a link to a YouTube video showing what the DIA can do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFrjSwnmdMs&feature=player_embedded

I will also order, upon request, the new Zutter Cutter (aka ZUTKUT), which is their new seriously powerful trimmer. This trimmer can cut almost anything, from the lightest weight paper, on up to chipboard, book board, Zutter Canvas Artboard, Zutter Clipboard Wood, foam board, stacks of cardstock, leather and Zutter's New Corrugated Cardboard. So for those of you who need a more powerful and efficient trimmer, you may want to consider this new ZUTKUT. It is a serious and heavy duty trimmer, from the construction of it, which is made from steel, on up to the price tag. The MSRP is a hefty $169.99, but once again, I will have coupon codes, specials and bundles, which will allow for a much better price. And once again, because of the Zutter MAP, I can't advertise those prices here, so you'll need to email me for them. Here's a YouTube video which shows this new new Zutter Kutter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnOAlSZS2YI&feature=player_embedded# . FYI--both of these Zutter products are due for release in March.

Well, there's the latest news and wrap-ups from Glenda's Creative Place, all about the new and most fun product releases from CHA Winter 2010!!!!!!!! As always, please email me for help and information at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com .

Even more good news about CHA Spellbinders deliveries!!

2010-02-18T20:50:00.000-08:00

I got an early morning call from Spellbinders today with some REALLY good news!! The only dies that were still missing from the original shipment of all the new CHA releases that I received earlier this week (on Monday, 2/15/10), were being packed & loaded for me today in their warehouse in preparation to be shipped, so I should have ALL the new CHA Spellbinders releases in my hands by early to mid next week!!! WOOHOO!!! The dies that I'm talking about that were missing are the Easter dies & the Big Scalloped Circles (LG & SM). They were missing because their delivery from overseas had been delayed.

So, if I already shipped you all your Spellbinders CHA new releases except for any of these missing dies, I will mail them out to you as soon as they arrive. If you've placed an order within the last day or two that includes any of these dies, then I've already make arrangements with you about your entire shipment.

This is REALLY GOOD NEWS, because originally there was talk that none of these dies might not arrive until sometime in March!!!!

Next thing is getting all the new Tim Holtz stuff for those of you that have placed orders for those, and then the new Zutter Distrezz-It-All & then.... Sooooo many new products, soooooo much fun waiting to be had, LOL!!!

If any of you want any of these new, very cool products, please email me at glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com with the product name & if you have it, the product ID, along with your zip code!! Please put something in your email subject line like this: "NEW PRODUCTS--Tim Holtz", or "NEW PRODUCTS--Zutter"...etc., "...Ranger...", just so I know right away which product line you're interested in.

I can't WAIT to find some time to play with all my new toys myself, LOL!!!

I'mmmmm BACK!!!! And new CHA Products are here & more arriving-Spellbinders, JustRite, Ranger, Zutter...

2010-02-15T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, here I finally am, with an internet connection that will now hopefully STAY working!

Great news to share is that new CHA products that I ordered are arriving!! FYI--most of the new CHA Spellbinders releases were delivered today (except for a handful of them, mostly the Easter Dies and the Big Scalloped Circles, but Spellbinders says they're expecting those to arrive from overseas early next week (hopefully Mon or Tues 2/22 or 2/23), so they'll be here soon as well--woohoo!!!).

The new releases for JustRite Stamps are already here and more products are scheduled to arrive later in the week!! And the rest of the products I'm interested in, such as the new Ranger & Zutter products are all still on schedule to arrive either late Feb or early March. (So, if there's anything you want me to order for you, please let me know!!)

For those of you who haven't heard, I've had a very faulty internet connection over the last few weeks, ever since we had those horrific rain storms just before CHA began. Apparently, it wasn't just my poor garage that got flooded out, but also the underground wiring of our internet provider, so our internet keeps "shorting out"!! Not too fun, especially because there's no warning, no notice, nothing before it happens. So, I would be typing away, thinking I was almost done and then, voilà', the internet would just shut down and I'd lose everything (or close to it!) that I'd been working on! So we'd have service, then we wouldn't, then we would and we wouldn't....well, you get the picture, right?? Needless to say, it's been a very frustrating experience to say the least (GRRRRR!!!!), but also quite a wake-up call as to how very dependent we've become on technology!

All I can say is I thank goodness I'm still such a "paper hoarder", because whenever you send me your orders, I always print out everything, so even when the internet wasn't functioning, I was still able to work from those, which was a life-saver!! But hopefully now, that's a thing of the past and they've gotten all the water that was standing underground here finally drained out, dried off and going forward, we'll have normal internet service again (is there actually such a thing as "normal" internet service, LOL??)!!! I have sooooo missed this!

For those of you who haven't seen all the new Spellbinders CHA Releases, here's a link to most of them: http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/new-dies?limit=all . The new items that aren't shown in this link are the new Impressabilities and you can find those on this link (--it's the first 6 of them that are new--and really pretty!!): http://spellbinderspaperarts.com/impressabilities . I'm also going to get them all posted here as well, but it's going to take a little time, so I wanted to be sure to at least get as much information posted for you as I possibly could, right away.

For those who haven't spoken with me about my Spellbinders pricing for the CHA New Releases, here's the pricing that I set before I went to CHA for the pre-orders and I'm still honoring these fabulous prices:
If the MSRP is $24.99, my price is $15.99.
If the MSRP is $19.99, my price is $13.99.
If the MSRP is $ 6.99, my price is $ 4.49.

If you haven't placed any pre-orders with me yet, you can still place orders for the new dies (or the beautiful new releases for JustRite Stamps!). Just email me your list of products with the product name and its' product code (if you have that!), along with your zip code (for shipping) to glendascreativeplace@yahoo.com . Please put the words: "NEW CHA RELEASES" in your email subject line.

For all of you who have already placed your pre-orders with me (thank you soooo much!!), you should have already received your invoices from me thru PayPal. As soon as all the products that you ordered have arrived and your invoices are paid (and most all of you have already paid--thanks so much for your promptness--I DO have the VERY BEST customers!!!), I will ship to you!!!! If by some very slim chance you placed an order with me, but still have NOT received an invoice from me yet, please email me right away. I don't think I've missed anyone, but with the internet hell that we've been thru, I suppose anything is possible!

For those of you who are wondering where are Glenda's CHA videos??? They are coming, plus a bunch of other "HELP/TUTORIAL" videos I've done---but on top of all my internet problems, I've also had a problem with my video editing software and it keeps crashing. Have I been in technology hell or what??!! It appears that I transferred a vital Adobe file off my laptop when I moved a bunch of videos to an external hard drive--(duh, Glenda!!), so now I'm trying to figure out which file I deleted/moved, so I can get all my videos finished and posted for you! (I'm thinking I need to hire a technology helper, LOL!!).

Wow, it feels good to be back!! I have missed all of you soooo much!!! Please let me know if I can help you in any way!

Now, I'm going to sign off because my little dog, Gucci is barking like crazy, which usually means that the UPS man is here!!! Ohhhh, let me run and go see, because that hopefully that means that more new products are at my door!!!!!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!