Can you believe it???

Multiple posts in one week - what is going on here?? ha!

Keep checking too because I will post photos on Tuesday of the mid-month releases and let you know what time that evening they will go up for sale. . .

In the meantime, here is a layout done with the new Victoria paper line that highlights my FAV new product - Crepe Paper Ribbon. It comes in 6 different colors. Each card has 3 styles - scalloped, pinked, and polka dot!! This just gives you a taste. . . (I really need to learn PhotoShop - this is too dark-uggh)

And I keep hinting at August and all of the cool things we have planned. A new look for our website, new kit announcements, a giveaway, a contest and more!! Below is a glimpse of an amazing old photo album I purchased. Believe it or not- it has something to do with a new addition to the monthly kits!!!

And. . . the gallery for July is up for the most part. There are a few holes here and there that will get plugged in sometime tomorrow, but for now, here is a cute example from our Guest Designer this month, Michelle Guray! All kits are still available. . .

CHA product hints. . .

As promised, here are a few peeks:

New Apothecary Label Cardstock Stickers (available in 4 classic colors). . .

New MINI Bingo Cards (they are so cute- my heart skipped a beat when I opened the box). Half the size of our standard Bingo Cards and available in 4 colors. Can you smell the ink???

And. . . this is Madeline - she matches our new paper line, Victoria. She dressed to match it just so I could take photos and do layouts. Isn't she a beauty??

It is a little different than our current lines, a little more detailed and no repeat patterns (although I truly believe you cannot have enough tiny dot)!! I will show you more on Monday. . .

Oh- and here is a photo of the mess awaiting the show crate (it is a beautiful mess in my opinion however)!! 14 old locker baskets. . . and I still don't think it's enough (can you ever have enough)?

Download this now. . .

"Lose my Soul. . ." by Toby Mac with Kirk Franklin. A very cool song that I can jam to in the car and not worry that my kids are listening (and I sure hope they listen to this)!!

It is reminding me of what is real and valuable and meaningful today. And I always need to be reminded - I get lost daily in my quest to "gain the world". . .

Music is so very powerful, don't you think?

Forgot to mention. . .

I have re-stocked several JBS products as well as the Blue Horse Notebooks (a small amount) and the Vintage Milk Cap Tins. I also found 6 June 07' Papercrafting Kits today so I put those back up for sale under Past Kits and discounted them 50%! I also discounted the January 08' PK's 50%! Get them while they last!!

July 08 Kits!!

I'm back from Maryland with my tummy full of crabs and desperately trying to get caught up! I will post some photos this week of my visit and some new flea market finds. (and. . . CHA previews!)

But for now. . . here is a sneak peak at the July Papercrafting Kit. It includes some wonderfully muted papers from Anna Griffin, beautiful flocked silhouette stickers, gold wing rub-ons, and an antique perfume label (to name a few highlights)!

Here is the Project Kit for this month - when I went to Phoenix to teach at Melrose Vintage, Wendy, Diane's daughter, was sitting in the back of the class glittering the ledger alphas for much of the time. I was amazed at how accurate she was and I loved the technique so I incorporated it here (thanks for the inspiration Wendy)! I'm not sure how she did it, but I used a tiny paintbrush with clear glue to fill in the letter, sprinkled on the glitter, and then used a Q-tip cut off at an angle to clean up the edges so they were perfect (almost)! You get enough of everything to make two of these little accordion displays. It ties up on the long edge for easy storage. The pattern you see is FABULOUS old wallpaper I just found - rolls and rolls of it!!

And finally, this is the Add-On kit. Some vintage goodies, coordinating Anna Griffin products and the most fabulous Brown (yes Brown!) glass glitter. I little chunkier than usual!

So tonight at midnight, central time. See you there!

(P.S. - look for some mid-month vintage kit releases on the 15th)

Where does the time go?

June 1st seems like yesterday. I feel like my life goes at warp speed (don't we all)? Summer just adds to that. Jared and I both had appointments today that we missed - not like us at all. It scares me a little when things get that out of control. I am headed to Maryland on Friday to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday and I'm looking forward to some time to relax and think and eat crabs and Wah-Wah milkshakes and visit my friends at the Queen's Ink and lay by the pool. Ahhh- but to make it to Friday will be a rough road!

I so enjoyed AZ and seeing everyone involved with Creative Escape (this is going to be a good one!). I also got to go to Melrose Vintage and meet some wonderful ladies. And let's just say I came home with more than just some scrapbook paper (I found the PERFECT chandelier for my studio in the new house). I asked Diane to take a photo for me and send it over. I will post it soon! In the meantime, here is the old store counter I have moved into the center of my studio (not a great photo, but you get the idea).

And. . . a new tablescape just in time for summer. . .

And, speaking of summer, I have a few more of these (the June Project Kit) up for sale (while supplies last)!

Happy Tuesday!! (oh- and you will see Doris's gallery and some additions to Rita's by tomorrow night for this month's PCK- still available)!

Gallery and Arizona!!

Just an FYI that I got most of the gallery already loaded (a little earlier due to our upcoming trip to AZ). Here is a little taste from my guest designer this month, the wonderfully "Simple" Celeste Smith:

And. . . there are still a few openings for my class this Saturday night at Melrose Vintage in Phoenix. Call the store at 602-636-0300 for more info.

I promise to post more when things calm down (I have so many cool photos and stories of recent finds to share)!

All better now. . .

I think sometime during the night or early morning orders started coming through. It seems as though the USPS website went down at midnight and since our cart is directly connected to theirs we were getting shipping errors, obviously making it impossible to check out.

All appears to be well now however so happy shopping! (and thanks for your patience)!

Website Down

It's about 15 minutes after midnight and not a single order has come through so there is obviously something wrong with the site. Everything looks okay on my end as far as what I do every month so I unfortunately I can't fix it on my own. I have notified my webguy but it will likely be later tomorrow before I am able to get a hold of him, if not Monday. So. . . I will post here when it is fixed and I will also send out a newsletter. It is storming very bad here and I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

I'm really sorry for the inconvenience!

June Kits Available Tonight (and lots of new product)!

(FYI - I'm not sure if you will see the new photos on the home page at midnight, but rest assured all of the new products will be there when you click on shop. Also, I am getting an error when I click on "New Products". If you get this as well just hit back and go directly to the individual Product Categories to shop. "New Products" just makes it easier, but for some reason it isn't working tonight and I won't be able to get a hold of my webguy until tomorrow)

A little peek at the Papercrafting Kit which includes Brand New Cosmo Cricket double sided paper (I couldn't pass on something bright for June but it still has that vintag-y feel)!

Aren't these lovely?? They are making me happy right now in my small ironstone pitcher (you could string yours into a garland though). I read once that something like 90% of the world's flags use red and blue (don't quote me on that - but it's alot)! So. . . hopefully overseas crafters can sub their flag for ours. Lot's of vintage stuff here. . .

And. . . this month's Add-On kit. The chipboard letters shown are from last month's PCK. They will actually be brand new Red Glitter Chipboard Thickers from American Crafts (so new I didn't have one in time for the photos, but will have them in time to ship)! A Red Slick Writer to write on the clear label stickers and some vintage things including that FABULOUS old Liberty Label and sweet illustrated music page from the 40's.

Also, all JBS Rubber Stamps are back in stock!!! They have been out of stock (all but one) for month's now so if you have been waiting, now's your chance.

And finally, the entire Trendy Line and the 3 new JBS Chipboard Shapes are available for individual sale beginning tonight. Part of this introduction also includes 2 Project Kits - a Baby Boy Mini Book and a Baby Girl Mini Book. The Girl Version is shown below. They come with full instructions and all you need to make the book! Find all of these under "New Products" of JBS Exclusive Products.

See you tonight (12:00 midnight, central time)!

Mid-Month Instructions and Summer Classes!!

Instructions are now up for the mid-month kits. You will find these in the May gallery under the Limited Edition gallery (again, I'm sorry for the delay there)!

I wanted to also let those of you know who live in the Phoenix area or the Baltimore area about a class I am teaching in June. Here is a little preview:

I have been collecting old bottles for months now (see first photo)!

So. . . I will be at Melrose Vintage in Phoenix on Saturday June 14th beginning at 7:00. The phone number to the store is 602-636-0300 . I know they have a couple of spaces left. You can Google the store name and see photos of this FABULOUS store on various blogs, but they do not have a website.

I will also be at The Queens Ink near Baltimore, MD on Thursday June 26th from 6-9. Just click on the link above as they do have a website and all of the info. is there under June's calendar. I have known Patti for years and I am so excited to be back there again.

I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! We went hiking today (TN has the most fabulous state parks) and ran the last mile out to avoid a storm. All is well now however and we are safe and sound at home! Thanks to all of the families who are serving and have served in our Armed Forces (including my Dad who served two tours in Vietnam). Your sacrifices are big and do not go unnoticed. I am truly thankful!!

Limited Edition Kit Instructions. . .

Just a quick note to let you know that I did indeed try to load the instructions for the Father's Day and Hodge Podge 2 Kits on Friday but they were uploading changes to this part of my admin and I keep running into errors. So. . . I expect that this will be fixed sometime tomorrow. I will post here when it is. Again, I'm sorry for the delay on this. I certainly like to have these posted just as the boxes are hitting your front porch!

everything I love in one place. . .

Old bottles, brown transferware, and an old battery jar holding a flower branch cut from our property yesterday. . .

And the flea market is this weekend- oh happy day!!

Instructions for the mid-month kits will be in the gallery by tomorrow night (I'm sorry for the delay).

Look for a post this weekend about my summer classes in Phoenix and Baltimore!

And the winners are. . .

#1 - Carey P.

#15 - Jenny

#181 - Jessica C (A Little Creative Oasis blog)

These girls get the yard sale SWAG! Just send us a note with your addy this week to jennibowlin@gmail.com and we will get your boxes out to you!

Thanks for playing!!

Another post coming this week with some previews of my Phoenix and Baltimore classes this summer!

And. . .some photos of my flea market scores from Atlanta this past weekend!

Mid-Month New Stuff!!

New Hodge Podge Book Kit, as promised. Not a ton of these again, but I will do another version as soon as I collect more stuff. These can be found under Limited Edition Kits. And so can this. . .

I found these button cards at the flea market last month and picked up all he had. They are a little rough but still so very cool (I took off the buttons that were taped to the bottom frame where the title is). There is a mini accordion book inside - check the site tonight for more photos.

And for those of you who missed the Add-On kit guess what I have?!?!? Blue Horse notebooks with approx. 8 pages each. These can be found under JBS Exclusive Products(Other).

Also under in the Other category are these SWEET die cuts. I just picked them up this morning from my new friend Lisa. They are pretty amazing and very old (many of them are from the Victorian era- these are the things you find pasted in the old scrapbooks). My favorites are the little girl with the bouquet (a placecard or calling card I think) and the tiny witch. Just to give you the scale, the largest is almost 3" and the tiny witch is about 1". You will see some of these (and other's) popping up in future projects. You get a glassine envelope filled with one of each shown (9).

Don't these look familiar? After getting numerous e-mails over the past two years about them, I decided to do an embellishment tin filled with all of the best colors! You will find the Butterfly Sequin Embellishment Tin under JBS Exclusive Products, Vintage Embellishment Tins.

Also there you will find a Vintage Milk Cap Embellishment Tin. My collection is growing so I have decided to share!

Everything goes on sale tonight at 9:00 central time. I will also have a few of this month's kits to put back up for sale (just a couple)!

And now for the giveaways!! I have put together 3 boxes of embellishments, old books, vintage stuff, etc. from the "Yard Sale". 1 box each for 3 lucky people. Just post a comment here and Noah will choose randomly 3 numbers from the total number of posts that come through by Monday afternoon. If you aren't comfortable leaving an e-mail address, we will post the winners here Monday night and you can contact us with the info. (so check back Monday)!

I know I'm forgetting something???? I bet I will have to edit!

Big Blog coming tomorrow. . .

Be sure to check back by tomorrow afternoon (Thursday the 15th) for new mid-month introduction previews (on sale tomorrow night) and a giveaway opportunity (and who doesn't love that?)!

The gallery is up for this month as well. Here is a little sample:

And. . . I forgot to introduce Rita Weiss officially here last month. She will be doing the Monthly Technique gallery for now on and has already done an INCREDIBLE job! You will see her gallery up in a few days- we had a little mishap at the Post Office this month with her kit (that never happens, eh?). Happy Wednesday!

Yard Sale!

Because Ruth and I are gluttons for punishment, we have decided to have our annual yard sale this weekend (in the midst of shipping the kits, new product to retailers, etc.)!

So, if you are local and want to come by Friday or Saturday - we will be there! As you can imagine, even when we sell out of kits each month we still end up with pieces and parts left over. So. . . we have tons of scrapbook stuff plus some antique/vintage items I'm purging. Etc., Etc. . .

If you want directions, just send a note through the contact link at the website and Ruth will forward them to you.

And. . .just like last year, I will post a few goodie giveaways after the sale here so check back!

May Kits

Okay, so I know we are only a few hours from the product going up for sale anyway, but this was the best I could do! I swear April just seems like a big blur. . .

Introducing. . . "Trendy" - the new Jenni Bowlin Studio line for Spring/Summer. It comes with 6 papers, a die cut paper (this time I printed some notebook lines on it), journaling cards and mini papers. We have also introduced 3 new shapes of chipboard (brought back 2 of them actually) - hearts, stars and flowers. You just can't go wrong with those, can you?

Here is a taste of what the entire kit looks like - I added a little yellow for some punch!

And of course the Project Kit. . .

a sweet little hanging book made with 6" and 4" JBS chipboard flowers, red German Scrap, vintage papers and vintage milk caps. Mine is going to my Grandmother and she will cherish it. .

Last but not least, the Add-On kit. I think this is my favorite yet- you get a vintage Blue Horse Notebook (remember my old store auction?) with about 12 pages in each and lots of other goodies, vintage and new!

We will have a mid month release of some limited edition embellishment tins and a vintage kit so be sure to check back on the 15th!

See you tonight at midnight (central time)!

Retailers- FYI: Newsletters will go out late tonight about the new product and will be available for on-line purchase and otherwise beginning tomorrow.

Crazy month. . .

I am looking forward to May. . . we will actually be in town with nothing big going on for 4 weeks (but then there is June. . .!)

The blog has been a little neglected, this I know. I have been trying to post a little something about Scrap Etc. last weekend and have finally found a moment (just before I hop on a plane yet again in three hours)!

I had a wonderful time at the Scrap Etc. event again this year. The women that come to this event are FABULOUS - they make my job so very easy. I love getting to meet everyone and see familiar faces. I must say that the anticipation for large events like this is killer on the preparation end, but once I get there and start the teaching I realize why I do it! Of course I didn't bring my camera as usual, but Amber Ulmer snapped this one and sent it to me. It was taken the first night at the SIS TV question and answer session:

I would like to think I said something brilliantly funny and everyone was enjoying it, but I'm pretty sure nothing I had to say was brilliant or funny! Next time I will not sit in the middle of Wilna and Heidi. Wilna has the most beautiful accent and the most poetic answer to anything she is asked (I swear I could just sit in a room and listen to her for hours- I so enjoyed meeting you Wilna!). And Heidi. . . well, it's HEIDI, what else do I need to say. I think she saved me several times and bailed me out. We had not seen each other until that point so we were a bit gabby on the corner there to ourselves. We seem to make the same choices when it comes to fashion as well. This night we both had silver shoes on, but the next day we were dressed exactly the same top to bottom! I am looking forward to seeing everyone at her event in September!

Previews will be posted next week for the May kits - guess what? We have a new line and the May kit is built around it! It is called "Trendy".

Retailers - you will be getting a newsletter early next week with previews as well. Ordering will open up on May 1st!

More soon . . .I'm off to pack my bags!

Mid-Month Selections. . .

Did you remember? This month I had a couple surprises up my sleeve and needed time to get them together (plus it gives you enough time to complete Mother's Day gifts), so. . . here we go!

This is the FABULOUS necklace kit I put together with the new Nunn Designs Patera jewelry findings. I added a vintage pearl button, some vintage brass butterfly charms I have been hoarding (they layer together perfectly) and topped it off with a metal rhinestone button charm. If you have not seen the Patera stuff in person, it is very high quality and thick. I love the new reproduction rosary chain! The kit also includes the Patera glaze to fill the large pendant. This is fine jewelry grade and must be set with a UV light (good old sunlight for 15 minutes will do it) - printed instructions come with the kit on how to use it. It has a much better end result than using embossing powder. This would make a very nice gift. The square pendant is 1 1/4" just to give you some scale (nice and big)!

I also put together this collage on the back of an old yard Domino (these babies are 2 3/4" x 5 1/2"!) I love them and hope to find more. I have a few to share this time around along with some fabulous wallpaper I have been holding on to, waiting for the perfect project. Some vintage trim, a millinery flower and a vintage brass "mother" charm finish off the project. You create the collage on the blank side of the Domino (the second one is shown so you can see the front- obviously the dots on the front will vary with each one). You get one Domino in the kit with all of the embellishments.

And finally, all of the embellishment tins will go back up for sale tonight along with a Limited Edition "Spring Romance" tin. Here is what the contents look like (you will get exactly these things, although the styles of the bird and flower Dennison labels will vary). This can be found under JBS Exclusive Products (look for Vintage Embellishment Tins).

All of these things go up for sale at 10:00 central time tonight (Tuesday, April 15).

If you are coming to the Scrap Etc. event this weekend at the Opryland Hotel, I am looking forward to meeting you! I am packing up everything as we speak (for the long 15 mile trip)!

Newest Finds. . .

As promised, I finally took photos of some of my recent finds! This is the ledger, notebooks and mother-of-pearl buttons from the general store auction I went to over Easter (coming to a Project Kit very soon). . .

These are some items I picked up out in Franklin last week for our new booth at CHA (as well as not 1, but 2 kitchen islands from Scarlett - more about that later. . .)

And here is the AMAZING find I mentioned in the last post that I found in New England last weekend. . .

Can you believe it? It was handmade in 1908 (as carved on the inside). It took my breath away when I saw it. I couldn't imagine anyone with that name in 1908 (weren't all Jennifer's born in the 70's)?? Yes it has an "e" on the end but I think I can live with that! Now where to put it. . .

I also picked up another ironstone pitcher while there (so much more plentiful there than in the south). The smell of these Lily's are filling the house right now.

And. . . I got a new toy. Jared ordered us the 40D as well as a new portrait lens (a Canon EF 85mm)- thank goodness for business write-offs! I really needed this for the website photography (and to take this. . .)

He is 10 next month (sigh) and wearing Abercrombie cologne everyday. I'm losing my grip and it is paining me so. He is me made over body and soul (Christian belongs to his Dad).

I hope your week starts out great! Spring is finally here to stay here (or so we hope)!

New April Kits tonight!

This is a little hint at the Project Kit for April. This is how I have displayed it (on my new "old" settee that desperately needs to make it to the upholstery shop)! It is a Spring banner made from old wallpaper scraps and the mini scalloped banner chipboard pieces (and a beautiful glittered butterfly thrown in for good measure)! Here is a close-up:

This is the Add-On kit. This one has lots of fun mediums to play with including the petal pink Perfect Pearls paint and the ultra fine glitter from Art Institute (you get a full jar). It is the most perfect shade of yellow!

Here is an overall look at the Papercrafting Kit as well (below). We have a few more than last month so I think we will go at least into tomorrow before selling out.

We will also have at least one mid-month introduction so keep checking in to see previews!

I will also take some photos this week of my auction finds and some very cool things I found while antiquing in New England this past weekend. You won't believe what I found!!

A little preview. . .

just to tide you over - here is a peek at the Papercrafting Kit for April. This paper from Anna Griffin was one of my favorite from show (and the goodies in the pillow box are good enough to eat)!

We traveled to my in-laws for Easter this past weekend. They live in a rural area and it happened that there was an auction that weekend for an old general store that closed in the 1960's (I believe it had been in operation since the late 1800's). Everything had been stored until now. There were many great things among a lot of dirt and dust (and a little junk)! The old cash register was there, but it was in horrible condition - you couldn't even read the numbers any more through the dirt and the rust. There were tables and tables of "stuff" - my heart skipped a beat as I went through everything. I only had two hours to be there - not enough time (although my mother-in-law's Easter dinner was certainly worth leaving for)! We were there for no more than 5 minutes when I heard the auctioneer say "ledger". Much to Jared's embarrassment I started throwing up my number (I had to get an education on how it all worked later). In the end I took home the thick ledger (dated from 1917), boxes of old writing tablets (still wrapped in tissue) and two boxes of dusty cards of mother of pearl buttons. I was one of probably three women there in the midst of about 100 gentlemen in overalls- oh what they must have thought of me!

I hope all of you had an equally wonderful Easter weekend!

Hey there. . .

I finally updated Stacey's gallery so you will see some new things in there (lots of techniques)!

We took the boys to Disney World this past week (just got back yesterday) - hence the crickets chirping here. I promise to share some hints about next month's kit next week. The project kit will be a Spring banner (much requested- ask and you shall receive!) and I have a special memory jewelry kit that you will LOVE!!!

AND. . .I am putting a few more March Papercrafting Kits up for sale as well a couple of March Project Kits right now (8:30 central time). As I always say, it pays to read the blog! We always end up with a few extra after billing, but only a few (sorry I don't have more)!

Have a great Easter!

Mary Engelbreit

Have you seen it?? I just picked up my issue yesterday. I was THRILLED to have been asked to do the Crop, Paper, Scissors project for the month of April as I love this magazine so. I also really loved this project - the most fun I have had "playing" in a long time! Here is a link to the online version of the article: http://www.homecompanionmag.com/hands_on/paper_scissors_crop/fly_away_home.asp

You should also find a link to Jen Cushman's blog - she edits this column.

I have had a lot of requests for the instructions for this. I have good news and bad news. Good news first- I am going to make this into a kit with all of the pieces and parts including the instructions. Bad news - you will have to wait until then to get the instructions. I wasn't required to write these so I have none at the moment. I am working on getting the little bird book pages laid out and printed. I will keep you posted here and let you know the day and time they will be available. Most likely next month sometime. And, in case you tried to purchase the bird chipboard at the site and saw it was sold out, they will be back in stock in about 7 days. I will post here as well when they get back in (bad timing to go out of stock, eh)?? Truly sorry about that!

We are working on a face lift for the website and a few new features and changes. One of the things I am working on is a new arrangement for the gallery each month. I am seriously lacking in the inspiration department and I need some help (although I will continue to have my own gallery)!! I will be introducing the ideas as we implement them and we will be running some contests this summer to find guest designers! For this month however I did want to introduce everyone to Doris Sander. She is going to be taking over the Journaling Jumpstart gallery each month. She is brilliant and I know everyone will enjoy seeing what she creates each month. Here is a little taste of something she whipped up last month:

Speaking of the gallery, by tomorrow you will see some parts and pieces loaded (including the instructions to the Project Kit). The rest will be filled in a little later (on the 17th) this month. Sorry for the delay. We did get the kits out a little early this month to make up for it!

I hope you are having a great weekend!

Website issue. . .

Thanks so much for posting and sending e-mails about the site error! It takes us longer to notice these things without the e-mails so I really appreciate it!

The site was apparently down yesterday (Wednesday). As of 11:00 this morning (Thursday) my programmer says it is good to go.

If you continue to experience problems today, please post it here but all should be well now.

Thanks so much!