Scrapaganza's Annual Garage Sale

Who: YOU! Customers can obtain a registration number (issued July 2nd). Call or come in to register. You will be given a sale number and asked if you know approximately how many items you think you will have for sale. (Start getting these ready now) We are limiting this to the first 25 registrants.

What: An opportunity to sell your left-over and gently used scrapbooking and stamping supplies. Anything from A to Z that is used for scrapping or stamping can be sold!

Where: At Scrapaganza!

When: The sale will start on Friday morning July 27 and run through Sunday. We will have a check-in for your items on Thursday, July 26th between 2 and 7 p.m. If you cannot bring in your items on July 26th, please call the store and speak with Kelly, Beth or Sally to arrange. Remember sign up starts July 2nd-- and is limited to 25!

How: You will receive an IN-STORE GIFT CERTIFICATE for the total of all your sales, less a 10% fee. (This fee covers our overhead costs… advertising, store usage, employees etc.) No other fees!! You keep 90% of the sales!!! Please note when redeeming this gift certificate you will not receive store punches since you earned certificate for selling your own items.

Gift Certificates will be ready for pickup no later than August 7th. (This should be just in time for all of our new merchandise to arrive from our CHA trip.)

As Seen on TV...

Here are the pictures of the projects featured on Paula Sands:
(click the pictues to enlarge)

Looking for the perfect functional centerpiece for this summer's picnics? This "6-pack" holds condiments and utensils and would be perfect for all the BBQs!

This fabulous layout is featuring the overlay technique. Her journaling "frames" the page. Very cute!

These cyliners can be decorated and used for several projects. Here they are used for banks. What a fun summer idea... saving that summer money for vacations, extra toys, or just savings! Also, the tall canister is a great hostess gift with a bottle of wine.

Be sure to stop in the store to see the rest of the Art Blanche line. (The Art Blanche™ collection offers a blank canvas for creating artistic boxes, home décor and gift giving items.) We also carry the paper rolls. These contain three 24" x 36" double sided paper sheets, so the projects can be covered with one large piece without seams!

Show & Share

Thank you for stopping back by for the Wednesday "discussion". This week's topic is POP DOTS. Do you love them? Do you hate them? Do you use them? Do you have another method for "popping" pages? We asked our designers and here is what they had to say...

Kelly- “I love to use pop dots. My favorite idea (which I received from another designer in the store) is to pop the design on the back ground paper. When you buy a piece of paper, buy an extra sheet. With the extra sheet cut out a few of the designs on the sheet. For instance, if the paper has a flower pattern, cut out a few flowers and put a pop dot on to adhere. Adhere right over the same shape on the back ground paper. It gives your whole page a 3-D look. I used this idea during the the EKStravaganza in Las Vegas and the layout placed in the top 10. It looks very hard, but truly is a very easy trick!” (Photo below)

Penny- “Honestly, I use glue dots (dimensional) more than I use pop dots-but they are both great! One idea that I love regarding pop dots, is to save the "frame" of adhesive around the dots-after you use the dots- you can cut a "sheet", or whatever shape you need, of adhesive to fit under a larger piece (journaling box, title, etc.). A great way to use the "scraps" left over after the actual dots are used! And easier then applying a ton of dots to a larger piece!
Also, if you have a die cut or stickers you want to add dimension too, you can mount them on cardstock and use a pop dot under them for that added "pop"! Older stickers that you like but are hesitant to use can be used this way for a more "updated" look-they can be distressed and inked too!”

Ashleigh- “Yeah, my favorite thing! Just read the designers bio about me and you will see! I love love love pop dots. I use them on almost every page. There is just something about the way they make the items pop right off the page. I like to cut out an image from the background and pop dot it right over top to show dimension. I also like using it on picture frames, or even on shadow boxes. If you have never used them come in to try them. They are cheap and a fun way to change up your scrappin style!” (Pictures below)

Candi-“I am not a big Pop dot user… in fact, I don’t own a pack of them. BUT, I love the 3D glue dots. They work the same and you don’t have to worry about picking the paper backing off and all that. Just unroll and stick ‘em on. Maybe I will venture out and get some pop dots after reading these others though...nah- just stick to my glue dots!!”

Please leave comments in the comment section and let us know what you think of this week's product. Can't wait to hear from you all!

Wedding Bliss

Are you planning a wedding? Be sure to join Ashleigh for her Wedding Bliss class. It is a great time to get ideas on invitations, response cards, save the dates, will you be my..., programs and more. She has several styles to match your wedding. You will have the opportunity to make several samples. (you pick your wedding colors and Ashleigh will print your information) You will leave with finished ideas. It is also a great opportunity to talk with other brides about ideas, and see what is new in the store. (Our newest line is the Reminisce Wedded Bliss! It is so beautiful, classic, & timeless. You can use it for so many projects, even outside of weddings.) There are only two dates left June 28th and July 21st. Be sure to check the website for more information, or call the store to reserve your seat. The cost of the class is $18. Space is limited, make your plans today to attend.

Critic's Corner

Every Wednesday our designers will give you feedback about products and/or techniques. Be it good or bad we will tell you what we have found using them. (or alternatives if we have them) We will also be posting a few examples of ways we have used them. If you have an idea on something you’d like to know some more about please let us know and we will try and work it in. (please, leave a comment)

This week… Distressing Inks. I am sure you have heard the buzz on this technique—it is all around us in the scrapbooking industry. You can use inks, liquid chalks, chalks, paint, bleach… anything that will give you the “distressed” look. You can use it on your paper pages and paper elements, right on the photos, and on any of your embellishments. Don’t forget when distressing be sure to use a sanding block to rough up your surface. This helps the ink “stick” better—and helps with dimension.

Here is what we have to say…

Ashleigh- “HMMM distress ink, love it, and hate it at the same time. It adds so much dimension at times to a layout or project. It also helps make that vintage, rugged look that I am always looking for in my guy and sports layouts. However, I hate how once it’s on, it’s on, and I always seem to get too much or not enough! Even though I struggle with it at times, (which I think everyone does with some scrapbooking tool) I still use it all the time!”

Deb- “I like Distress Ink on some applications, but REALLY love Fluid Chalk. The petal point option pads match all of the papers and really gives depth. Fluid Chalk makes the difference between a good LO and a great LO.”

Kim- “Did you know that you can use any color of distress ink as an embossing medium? Stamp any image using your favorite distress ink color, cover it with clear embossing powder, and heat with an embossing gun. Watch your image "pop"! I love distress inks! But there are many more techniques to use them for besides on the edge of paper. I also love to make ink-stained tags. Spray your tag with a bit of water, crinkle it up, lay it flat, and ink it with a brown distress ink.”

Megan- “Distress Ink! I love IT!!! I use Shabby Shutters (green) on most of my stuff. I sand photos & add ink the raw edges, color raw chipboard. I Mix contrasting colors for a layered look.”

Candi- “I love distressing! I either use distress ink for a bold look, liquid chalk for a more subtle look, or paint for a “messy” fun look. I don’t feel like my page is finished until the distressing is done.”

Some distressing examples:
(click on the picture to make it larger)

Below is a slide show featuring some of our favorite products:

Thanks for stopping by! Join us next Wednesday for another product review. Be sure to ask in the store for a deminstration of these products. Also, we would love for you to share your comments on distressing... let us know if you like it, love it, gotta have it, or any experiences you may have had with this technique and the products. This way we can all learn from each other!

Tune in...

Be sure to tune in TOMORROW to see Kelly on Paula Sands Live.

Add Some "Flair" to Your Summer

Stop in and check out Flair's new line, Hit the Beach. The colors are bright and the designs are great for vacation, beach, or even your backyard pool pictures.

We also have the stickers, alphabets, vellum journaling & titles and beads to embellish your pages. You can use these papers to make a travel journal, great summer invitations, scrapbook layouts, mini albums and much more.

For more information on these ideas & to see even more visit Flair Designs.

Welcome

Welcome to Scrapaganza, the Quad Cities’ premier scrapbooking store.

We opened our doors in December 2005. Scrapaganza has had the good fortune to have a staff willing to step out of the box for their customers, and most of all have the customers willing to step out with us. Here we go again! This blog will be designed to help us stay in touch with you, our customers. Here you will find new product announcements, upcoming events, contests, and ideas to help spark your creativity. We will also introduce you to each of the Scrapaganza designers. We will take a look at each of them, their work, and their favorite products. We will also formulate some reviews and information on "the latest"!

Thank you to all who have encouraged and supported the work of our designers! Your opinion and input is invaluable! Thank you to all that frequent the store! We are so fortunate to have the oppurtunity to make so many new friends! Please leave lots of comments. This way we will be able to “monitor” the usefulness of this resource and learn what you love and what you would like to see different. Thanks again, and enjoy our new blog.

For more store information check out our website.