* Jenni Bowlin *

The Present and The Future - Please Read!

Okay, so I know that I may get long winded (at least I can admit it!) so I have bolded the text in the post that is most important if you would like to skip to it!

A lot of you, if not most of you, have watched the evolution of our site over the past 8 months. Actually, as I type this I realize that evolution is kind of an ironic word to choose. There really has been a lack of evolution. Where I wanted to be at this point is so far from where I actually am. Many things, some that have been out of my control, have stifled my progression into what I wanted this to be. However, it is said that experience is the best teacher. I wonder if you can hear me shout "Amen"!?!? I wholeheartedly believe that my experiences have prepared me for the future and given me a clearer idea of what I want to do with this site and how I want to do it. So on to the future. . .

I am so excited about the vision in my head and what the site will become. And it will be soon (as in before the end of the year)! My goal has never been to just throw together some paper and stickers, shove it in a bag, and add a price tag. It has been far more than that. I wanted to create projects and kits and classes that stimulate the creative mind. I wanted to build a community (i.e. the "site") that promotes and fosters this spirit. A place to come for inspiration and to share inspiration. It has always been part of the "big picture" and it is finally going to come to fruition. I plan to share sneak peaks and updates as we go along. We are going to totally revolutionize the way we do memberships. It will be painless, easy and accurate and we will be overcoming some of the challenges we have had with safari and other browsers (yeah for Mac users)! I am very excited about what we are going to offer. . . but, in the interim, it means some temporary changes to the way we currently do business so read on!

Beginning on October 1st, the kits will all be sold as one time purchases through the cart at the site. We will not be able to honor current memberships nor begin new ones and will not be doing any automated billing. So, just to put it in simple terms, whether you are in the middle of a membership, just re-upped last month, etc., you will have to go to the website on October the 1st or later and actually purchase the kit(s) for that month. I understand that many of you enjoy your membership because you don't want to have to worry about buying the kit online - and chance it being sold out. While I understand that in the beginning the Papercrafting Kits were selling out in the middle of the night, this has not happened in months. In fact, I can guarantee you that we will not sell out overnight, if even during the entire month. There will be Papercrafting Kits for anyone who wants one. The Project Kits have been a little more unpredictable, but we have upped our quantities of these for the coming months as well. Other than the inconvenience of actually having to go to the site and make a purchase, the kits will come to you after the 10th just as you have enjoyed each month. We are hoping to only have to do it this way for one month, but we will obviously keep everyone posted on that.

You will most likely still see your membership information in "My Account" come the 1st, but you should also see a red note there at that time that tells you that that information is void and you must purchase a kit(s) through the secure check out.

We will be sending out this same information in a newsletter tomorrow as well (as many members are not blog readers). I will also post a reminder (and send a reminder e-mail) just before the first in order to hopefully reach everyone.

I appreciate so much the support I have received since I started this. I have many mailed letters and printed e-mails posted in my office and on my fridge that remind why I do this and who I do it for. I promise you- if it was just for the money I would have given it up a long time ago. It is not my motivation. It has really become much more than that. . .

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend. We have spent much time with the kids this weekend- school festivals, parks and the "Jumpy Place"! They even experienced their first Hibachi grill dinner last night and loved the "Volcano". Wish I took my camera. Seems I have been forgetting that a lot lately (sigh). . .