A Day at the Bronx Zoo

Sunday, Maryanne, Ceci, Ginny & I took a bus trip to the Bronx Zoo and we had a blast!  Waiting anxiously for the trip, we checked the weather all week long and were assured that it would be dry; actually partly sunny.………….but as we rode along Route 17, it started to sprinkle, and sprinkle, and sprinkle; and get colder, and colder, and colder………:(   

So what else can a group of stampers do when we reached our destination?  Go straight to the Bronx Zoo STORE!

That’s right, we were the first ones there to buy out hoodies, socks and even sweat pants!  Fashion went out the door; we needed to be warm so we could enjoy our day!

And so here are the four of us looking like twins.  Oops, not twins, but quadruplets. :)

Don't we look just great in those hoodies; all matching and even with Bronx Zoo tiger pins!  The Bronx Zoo should use this photo in their brochures! 

Our first stop was the Butterfly Garden.

 There was so much to see.........and here is just a sampling of our travels through the zoo.

I couldn't believe that I was able to get this shot!  Mr. Gorilla just decided to sit down and turn his back on us.  And then he just slightly turned his head, as if posing.  We were so excited to see him so up close and personal!

Just love that peacock blue color.

We also saw the 4-D Movie.  We all wondered why was it called 4-D and we quickly learned as we smelled the bananas, felt the airplane ride and even felt the sprays of WATER when we "traveled" through the waterfalls!  We laughed and laughed and felt like kids!!!  It was sooooo much fun!

The time just flew by.......................and we knew we had a great day as all of us slept almost all the way home!

Can't wait for our next girl's trip!

See you soon,

Anna

Tim Holtz Style Canvas by Barbara Thomas

Hi Everyone,

As you know, Barbara loves taking Tim Holtz classes, and here is her take on a canvas that she will be showing you how to make on Saturday, June 11.

You will learn how to make flowers using the new glassine papers, glitter sprays and more! Unfortunately you cannot see how this whole canvas just sparkles.


When you are done, this 5X7 art canvas will be ready to decorate your wall.
Call to reserve your seat today!

Ribbon Rose

Making your own roses is the latest craze in card making now. 

It was very easy to make this with twill ribbon and adhesive. The twill ribbon is heavier in weight and therefore perfect for this technique. You just twist the ribbon and keep laying it down on the card stock that was prepared with adhesive.

Last Saturday was Make & Take Day and here are some close up pictures of Debra and her sister, Michele making their roses.  As you can see, it's not that difficult and with just a little stamping, cut out leaves and punched butterflies, you have a very sweet gift card!

Thanks Debra and Michele........your hands are now famous!

Cupcake Cards

I had so much fun making these cards for the "It's All About Cupcakes" class. 
They're fun, easy and great for so many occasions!

The class will be repeated on Saturday, May 21 and you'll be able to play with peel off stickers, snow white Flower Soft, and even distress inks. 

Just call and let me know if you would like to join the fun!
Anna

Cards We Made in Canada

Here is just a sample of the cards Soni and I made in Canada over Mother's Day Weekend.  Dennis ALWAYS has so many beautiful samples in the showroom, it's just spectacular!  And he always has great cards for us to  make.

Here we learned how to make those small, beautiful roses, using a new rosebud maker die set.  The set allows you to make 5 different size roses! 

In this example, the roses were made from the largest two dies. 

We also used 2 butterfly punches; the small and medium sets.  These sets first punch out the butterfly and then you give it texture and dimension by putting it in the embosser.  I just love the layered look of these butterflies.


Isn't this card just gorgeous with the beautiful satin bow ribbon? 

 We learned how to use this new bow maker.  It is easier to use than the flat, plastic template one, especially for thicker ribbon.

 These new bow makers have simple picture instructions for you.

This is a great masculine card and you were able to personalize it with the Alphabet Clip Punch set and peel off letters.

With this punch set you are able to punch ovals with inner clips that allow you to weave them on ribbon!  What a neat way to personalize your card!

Hope you enjoyed viewing some of the new items we brought back for you from Canada.
Please let me know if I can be of any assistance to you on these new items!

Thanks for stopping by,
Anna

We FINALLY Got Home from Canada

We’re finally home from Canada!  And I have been catching up with everything…….we had two great Cupcake classes last Thursday and Saturday was Make & Take Day.  Everyone enjoyed the cards they made and looking at all the new goodies we brought back from Canada. 

I’ll post those pictures shortly, but first I wanted to let you in on our Canadian adventure!

Here’s how Soni and I took a 7 hour ride home and made it into a 3 day excursion/adventure.

First we thank God for getting us home safely!  It may have been long, but we’re here.

We had a great time at the Open House at Ecstasy Crafts.  We made great card samples, saw some wonderful new product and can’t wait to show you all the new ideas.  I also, want to wish everyone a “belated” Happy Mother’s Day.  Soni and I were lucky enough to be away doing the thing we love the most…..paper crafting!

The only unfortunate part of the trip was when my car started to act up in Canada.  I know things like this happen, but  it’s always difficult when you’re away from home…..a bit far away from home.

I want to thank the whole front desk staff at the Best Western in Belleville and Jim, Craig & Rick at Canadian Tire, also in Belleville.  Everyone was so nice, helpful and accommodating.  It was great dealing with them in this tough situation.

We had to wait til Monday morning to have the car fixed (no mechanics on staff late Saturday or Sunday).

So we finally got on the road in the early afternoon on Monday.

Unfortunately, as we turned into the Duty Free Shop by the border, the knocking started again.  We crossed the border and got in touch with Canadian Tire and they suggested to return to Gananogue's Canadian Tire to have it checked out.

So, it was over the border again!

But by the time we got there, it was after 5 and so we had to stay over.  The next day they couldn't find anything wrong and we were on our way.

And again it started to knock at the Duty Free Shop..........I guess it was trying to tell us not to spend any money there...........but we did.......I got this t-shirt to remind me to just keep calm and a great souvenir of this part of our trip...........will wear it at the next Special Wedding Class!  Hey, it's a "Royal" T-shirt!  And Soni was not left out.......she got herself a new purse she was eyeing for some time!

After the quick shopping stop,  we said, "we're going home"!

But in Syracuse it started knocking really badly and we found a Jeep Dealer who was able to help us. Another wonderful place!  Romano Chrysler Jeep in Fayetteville.  They figured it out.....it was a different problem with the same symptoms.  (knocking while decelerating and turning, no problem on the straight highway)

The car is driving wonderfully now!!!! Yeah!

We learned so much about CV Axle joints, the Pitman arm and track bars, and even welding metal to build up a part.   Believe me, I feel that Soni and I can pass Mechanics 101 now! 

Well, I finally drove into Soni’s driveway at 9PM on Tuesday and got myself home at 10!

It was great just flopping into my own bed that night!

 

We were so happy to get home safely............it was an adventure but thankfully we had each other and still had our sense of humor with us.

And don't worry.  This has not deterred us from returning to Canada in the future!  We just love seeing our Canadian friends, learning about the new product from Ecstasy Crafts and then sharing it all with you!

Thanks for listening!
Hope you enjoyed this part of the trip with us!

Anna

We had a blast !

Yes, we all had a blast Saturday at the Wedding Class.  We shared our views about the beautiful Royal Couple, learned all sorts of tit bits, had pastries with tea and made 4 fabulous cards!  Oh yes, and we listened to a whole bunch of wedding songs.  What more could we have asked for?

 Here we see everyone concentrating on their coloring.

But we still had time for goodies and tea!

While we were making some of the cards, this table held the pieces that needed to dry. Nice to have the extra space!

If you missed out on the fun, join us on Thursday, June 16, at 1PM for a repeat performance!  Please call to reserve your seat today!  You will not be disappointed.