No April Fools Here!

Let's get right to it because this is a BIG night y'all!

There are hundreds of possibilities with this months Papercrafting Kit - from more muted and neutral layouts to the brighter side.  So many fun things to play with.  I really spent a lot of time at CHA trying to find some unique bits for the kits, and this one has some good ones, including those sweet molded flowers I found in bulk.

I decided to try something a little brighter this month for the Project Kit - and I got out my needle and thread!  I loved the results.  Mine is hanging on my old hotel key holder in the dining room.

Our first Add-On Kit is called "Good Day Sunshine" (thank you Doris!) and is filled with golden yellows and bright reds.

Our second Add-On Kit is called "April Showers" and is filled with more muted colors and includes these AMAZING XL "Just Rite" vintage wardrobe hangers that I happened upon in bulk a month ago.

April begins second quarter and as such, the introduction of a new Dime Store Kit.  Doris has already had great fun playing with this one and it's such a deal!

We don't normally introduce additional kits/vintage items on the 1st but the 15th would be too late for Easter Crafting so we have loaded all of our Vintage Easter goodies including this kit for two large treat cones (I had so much fun making these)!

And . . .vintage Easter postcards, vintage brass crosses, antique German scrap, German Foil chicks and more!

And as if that wasn't enough, the entire JBS winter release is now available in our General Store!  Yep - everything. . .Be Our Guest papers and accessorises, spools, tins, stickers, chipboard, rub-ons, Hodge Podge Books and more!

Everything goes live tonight at midnight central time zone!

And thanks to everyone that commented on my last post - its always nice to know you are not alone!

Reality Check . . .

Life is messy sometimes.  Although you typically see photos of my studio with a clean desk, swept floor and "everything in it's place" facade the truth is that is often not the case.  Same with the house in general.  Although the dining room may be clean and decorated, you don't see the door closed behind it leading to the guest bedroom with the paper shades (still after a year), dresser with one changed drawer pull, dead plant, and broken frame waiting to be fixed.

Struggling a bit today with the balance of it all.  I have so many interests, so many relationships, so many responsibilities pulling me in every direction that I just don't feel like I do anything "well" (sound familiar)? 

In having said that, I really began to recognize that my presence on the Mercantile site had been lacking for a few months.  In theory, I didn't go anywhere, but I found myself just going through the motions.  I was putting together the kits, creating projects - but with less heart than I used to have.  But that has changed as of late. . .

You may have already noticed the beginning of some changes (mostly thanks to my wonderful team)!  Site cleanup (with more to come), new easy-to-use message board, member benefits, new kits, new finds (consistently) and a new focus on the content of the kits with a more varied presence of the industries coolest companies.  We have also introduced videos (with some exciting introductions in the next few months) as well as kits designed by our award winning design team.  In the next couple of months you will also see new and exciting exclusives and a new kit structure that will bring more focus back to traditional scrapbookers while continuing to up our offerings of vintage finds and kits for "lifestyle" crafters.  I can also tell you that in the past month I have been beating the pavement (and the internet) and have assembled the largest and most unique inventory I have ever had of vintage and antique crafting supplies with a long list of exciting projects planned.  I am so excited and I hope you are too!  There has NEVER been a better time to be a part of our community.  I am thankful for each and every one of you and I promise not to let you down.  I hope you come along for the ride!

RestaurantWare

Can't you just image the chicken fried steak and potatoes served on these plates?  I don't know who Ed was or where he served up the grub, but I like his style!  I started collecting Krystal and Steak and Shake mugs for my kitchen just before we moved and have been expanding a bit (and as always, I buy to sell what I love so I am stocking up for the Country Living Fairs).  Last week Jared and I met one of my connections from Florida as he was coming through TN and I picked up a set of Delta Airlines plates (1st class baby!) and some sweet scalloped coffee cups.  Logos are such a weakness.

I also want to mention tonight that we have partnered with the incredibly talented Kerry Lynn Yeary who will be creating a series of kits for Mercantile.  Her first one just went up for sale tonight.  Be sure to check it out here.  And remember. . .the March Madness boxes are still for sale, but only until the end of March so you may want to check those out too.  It's a great deal on some classic products.

Happy Monday!

Mark your calendars - this is gonna be a big one!

We are going to have a one day sale next month on April 9th from 9:00a.m. - 5p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Juliet, TN just off of interstate 40.

We have double the space then we normally have and here's what we plan to bring with us:

- the super cool vintage and antique items you are used to finding at our Vintagefest shopping events (displays, knick knacks, ephemera, trinkets and treasures).  I have been shopping for months and this will be our first sales event of the year

- discounted past kits from the Mercantile site of all kinds

- discounted individual products leftover from Mercantile kits

- and NEW to this sale, many discontinued JBS stickers, rub-ons and papers at reduced prices!

I will take some teaser photos the week of the sale AND we will plan something fun for our on-line friends as well.

Do you recognize these people??

For all of you Country Living fans, you may have been perusing your latest issue (just like I was) and came upon a familiar face!  Although I was aware that they were taking photos, I had no idea that we would make it to the ad as the sole representatives (at least living, breathing ones) of the Fair.

Just a few little behind the scenes notes:

- Jared and I did NOT set out to match that day (we never do but it happens quite often).

- I had some super cute red ballet flats that I WAS wearing just 5 minutes before this (who knew my feet were gonna make it to a national magazine).

- We were fortunate to sell alot that weekend but we did not sell that sweet cherry themed lotto card.

- Editor Sarah Gray Miller also filmed a piece for TLC's "Dinner And A Movie" in our booth.  Don't know exacatly where that ended up but hopefully a link will pop up at their site soon.

- We will definitely be back to the Atlanta Fair this year and have our fingers crossed tight for Ohio.

We have had some interesting "opportunities" pop up here lately but I don't think I can talk about any of it yet.  I will be sure to share as soon as I can though!! 

I could post about a million things today. . .

but since we have an AMAZING release planned for tomorrow morning, I suppose that should be at the top of the list!

Tomorrow is the 15th and that means a long list of vintage additions and our first ever March Madness JBS Product Box (the best deal ever)!  Below is just a sampling of what you will find tomorrow, March 15th, at 10:00 a.m. central time.

The release includes. . . these "happy" yellow thread spools.  They are extra large and would make a great photo display with stick pins like I did here for the photo (saw something similar in the latest edition of Flea Market Style).  Or of course you could actually use the thread which would be cool too!  I recently purchased boxes full of spools in different styles, types and colors and will list different ones in the coming months.

I have several of these sweet vintage porcelain hands (ready to hold all of your tiny treasures). . .

I also have 3 different types of these Vintage Large Bird Prints, ready to frame or use in collage projects.  Also look for restock on German Gold Foil Alphabets and Butterflies (and a new addition)!

And last but not least, here's a little peek at the March Madness Box!  We will offer this box through the end of the month or while supplies last.  For the full list of contents and pricing information (more than 60% off of retail) check it out tomorrow!

We have just a handful of this Month's Kits left - check out the Design Team gallery for some amazing inspiration.

Happy Monday!

The sun will come out, tomorrow. . .

And it did.  After rain, rain, and more rain, finally, a day of sunshine.  Our sweet puppy has been sunbathing all day on the driveway.

This is a little peek at one of the new projects I have been working on exclusively for my Big Picture Class.  Sign ups are still going on.  I've been in my studio most of the day (except for the lunch break to Five Guys).  That is very unusual by welcome!

Completed my second YouTube video today too.  Once Jared gets it edited and loaded I will let you know.  It goes over the specific techniques associated with this month's Mercantile Project Kit.  EDITED:  It's up!  Here's the link

Have a great weekend!

Tiny Treasures. . .

are my favorite treasures.  These were awaiting transfer to their new homes in my studio after recent shopping trips.  I couldn't help but snap a shot.

We have an exciting 15th coming to Mercantile.  Lots of new vintage finds and the elusive March Madness JBS product box I have been referring to.  More info on that tomorrow!  And. . .I'm shooting another video tomorrow so I will let you know when that is posted as well.  Have a great night!

Vintagefest Announcement . .

Thanks so much for the inquiries on our little annual event!  We love to put this on and see our old friends and make a few new ones. 

We have decided to offer the event only once a year instead of twice and with the extension now of our local Flea Market for at least another year, we have decided to try a different time of year all-together and are  going to do it this fall.  The date will be announced in May.

However, we are going to have our first ever one day warehouse sale in April.  I will announce the date next week.  We will have all of the stuff we normally have for sale at Vintagefest but with more discounted and discontinued product - lots of great deals!

I promise to share all of the details soon.

And for those of you not in our neck of the woods, we are going to have a March Madness sale box coming on the 15th.  More details on this by Friday!

Do you love it??

Thanks to Betsy I have a brand new blog!

Check out my updated sidebar too - we have a busy few months ahead (and that's not even everything - still need to add).

Busy, busy, busy today.  More tomorrow!

My Little Cash Book. . .

Meant to post this yesterday but it didn't happen. I was too busy going through my stuff from "picking" yesterday. Will share more next week (did share one photo on Twitter though)!

My accountant husband is always on me to record my cash purchases in detail. To me this is how it works: you get money out of the ATM, you go to the Flea Market, you hand over the cash and you bring home your treasures. Who has time to record the details -ughh?

But, I have given into his pleading and decided that I would at least make it fun so I took the awesome recycled notebook from this month's Papercrafting Kit and made a simple little book to record my purchases. I stapled in Journaling Cards to the pages that didn't have areas for writing but between the ones that do and the plain backsides this should keep me going for a while! We have 3 different versions of these little books so you will continue to see them popping up in the kits! I cheated and used two of my new stamps but everything else is from this month's kit (which by the way, there are only 12 left and even less of the Add-On Kits)!!

Have a great weekend!

Pure Bliss. . .

I think I have this exact canister set in my antique booth right now!

These are pages from a 1950's Spiegel catalog. I could sit and look at it for hours. I think some of these boot styles are back in style!

I'm sure I will share some pages in a kit soon, but for now I keep walking by it in my studio and flipping a page, excited to see hardware, stoves and even chicken coops.

Another sweet storage idea. . .

I've been hoarding these little guys for months now. I have a clear bin almost full downstairs just for baby shoes! I used them at Christmas to make Baby's First Christmas gifts but recently I have repurposed one as a holder for my Mini Mister's. You could take out the shoe laces and add some seam binding, add some rub-ons, etc. I kind of like mine pure and simple - just like the little chubby foot that must have once lived there!