February at The Studio!

New kits will go on sale tonight at midnight (when its officially February)! Besides the Feb. Papercrafting and Project Kits we also have an Add On Kit and a Page Kit (both can be found under "Limited Edition Kits") available this month. Don't miss new products now available under JBS products as well - the red paper line and journaling cards, the bracket stamp and new chipboard can all be found there!

AND. . .

in honor of our first anniversary (can you believe it?) we are having a sale on almost all of the Past Kits still available. These are 25% to 50% off! Most have only limited quantities left so get them while you can. The sale will go on until each kit sells out or until the end of Feb. - which ever comes first! After Feb. 1, those still available will return to their regular price.

Please remember, if you currently have a membership to either/both kits, you do not have to purchase them at the site! If you are in doubt, just log into your account on the home page and it will tell you if you currently have a membership. Also, if you would like to shop for other items, please be sure to check the box at checkout to have those items ship with your membership (and you will be charged no/reduced shipping when your membership is billed). This option is only available the 1st through the 5th of each month. After that we are unable to combine orders.

I have so much to report from CHA!! I will post a couple of times this week to update you -lots of exciting stuff!!

More hints. . .

As promised, here is the Valentine Junque Box. Each and every box will have one of these 3" quilt hearts (cut from an old quilt), vintage valentine seals or a Victorian card, vintage velvet ribbon and other trim in Valentine colors, a "Love U" dymo strip made with an old machine and various other vintage embellishments. It is such a sweet little box!

And here is the add-on kit. It will be $12. Each one will contain a vintage Valentine from the 20's through the 50's! The tin is filled with Valentine "bling", buttons, ribbon, etc.

Please note that the site will not actually be live with the new kits until midnight on the 31st. I used to try and sneak it in a little early, but our "add-on" option is automated and will not show up until it is truly the 1st. So. . . in order to avoid all of the manual work, we will do this for now on. If you would like to purchase these and other products to ship with your membership please be sure to check the box at checkout. We are unable to combine orders otherwise. This option is only available the 1st through the 5th of each month.

Jared and I are headed to CHA in the morning. Always so much to do in order to leave! It is always a relief to get on the plane. We are planning to head over to California Adventure one afternoon to check it out. Feeling a little guilty about doing that without the kiddos though! We may be heading back to the San Diego area for Spring Break (and may head back up to Anaheim). This after the travel agent broke me the news that it was going to be $6600 for us to go to Atlantis in the Bahamas for 5 days (and that was with the cheapest room)! Ouch!

I will post some pictures when we get back . . .

Some more hints . . .

This is Feb's Project Kit. We will be making these sweet, heavy casted metal photo charms! I have been wanting to do something like this for awhile but must have been waiting for the right "charm" to come along. These are brand new from Nunn Designs (I actually think we will be the first to have these). They are the best I have seen (Becky doesn't do anything but high quality though)! You will be receiving the black journal and the small brag book (and paper to decopage), as well as the ribbons and materials to complete the charms. The idea here is that you can make a simple, elegant gift for someone and they can either keep the charms as the book decorations or untie them and use them as necklaces (either using the ribbons or by adding a chain). I am actually going to make a key ring with mine (they are that sturdy)! The powder used to the fill in the charm is very easy to use- it takes about 2 minutes at 350 degrees in your oven. I had fun playing with these!

Look for a peek at the Valentine's Junque Box before Friday!

It's been less than a week! . . .

I'm getting better. I may just get wild and crazy and post twice this weekend!

I just got done watching The Devil Wears Prada (by myself which is what you do in a house full of boys). I really loved it - I cried (which tells you that I absolutely fall apart at movies that actually call for that kind of response). I'm getting my haircut in the morning (going to try for a few layers this time) so the whole "fashion" thing got me thinking about a trip to the mall too. Working from home I tend to wear alot of sweats and forego the high heels, but I'm thinking about buying a pair!

I have been getting things in for the February kit - the colors make me so happy. I think pink, red and blue were just meant to go together. I will post a few hints soon, but in the meantime, here is a photo of the Limited Edition page kit that will be available in Feb. I actually did this for a class I taught at a local convention last August so I decided to whip up a few more of the kits. Alot of the product was used in the February kit last year that sold out so quick:

And did I mention that we will be having a special anniversary sale??

"better than winning the lottery. . . "

- that's what the officers said who found Ben and Shawn in MO. I was so happy for my eldest to hear that. Money can only bring superficial happiness - an instant high that doesn't last. Kind of like a drug that only keeps you searching for more day in and day out. What a reminder! That deep elation that they must have felt when they received the call that not only had they found the boy who had been missing for 4 days, but they found with him another boy who had been missing for 4 years. I can only imagine.

It is truly a miracle - I can't stop thinking about it.

If you are overseas, you may want to search the web for the story. It will really make your day.

Gallery Teasers. . .

Here are two teasers of the January gallery which will go live tomorrow afternoon/evening. I really enjoyed this kit. I am LOVING the German Foil. I get it from a sweet german lady who imports it. Plan on seeing it alot! And pull out your old paint pens because they work great at changing the color (gold quickly changes to silver with one of those suckers)!

Both of these layouts were inspired by the guest designer. I am so thrilled I can't even tell you. If you are at all familiar with her book(s) you should recognize the title in the layout below. It came from one of my favorite layouts of hers:

Who is she???

And. . . I am sooooo enjoying what everyone is posting at the site! Just in case you missed the newsletter, check out the "Share" area at the site. I will be announcing a contest involving this area in the next month or so so get posting!

Our little piece of heaven. . .

So back in October we settled on our own "Green Acres" here in Mt. Juliet. 6 acres to start with the hopes to purchase more of the land beside us when the family is ready to sell. So amazing to think that we will drive through this entrance to our home someday. We are so looking forward to the process. I actually bought a pair of antique doors from Scarlet in December with the original old bubble glass panels for my studio entrance. I keep trying to explain to Jared that these things don't just "appear" when you are ready to install them. You have to collect over time (he is coming around). We don't plan to break ground until late this year or early next. I have that much time at least to figure out how to preserve the environment for the two large horned owls that live there (beautiful!) and find someone who can preserve the entrance for me.

I really have aspirations to be a better blogger, but something has to give in my schedule each week and it is usually that! I would make it a new year's resolution, but I would probably have better luck doing it if I didn't (since it seems I NEVER keep them - i.e. my gym membership). So, for now I will just wish to be better. . .

I am getting ready to work on my gallery stuff. Bought a couple of new CD's last night at Best Buy to help the process along (Citizen Cope, Corinne Bailey Rae, Keith Urban, and Augustana - a very eclectic mix, kinda like my scrapbooking)!

I will post what I come up with this week as well as a note about the guest designer. . . Have a great night!

Happy New Year!

I am just back from Xmas vacation and still trying to get back to reality (how about you?) I set the site live just a little while ago with the new January goodies. One of the problems I just realized (a little late in the game) was that the add-on shipping option for members will not go live until it is truly midnight. So. . . anyone who orders before this and wants that order to ship with their membership(s) to save on shipping will just need to send us a note through the website so that we can manually do it for you.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am trying an add-on kit this month. You will find this under "Limited Edition Kits". I am going to try and tweak this to show under Monthly Kits next month, but for right now that is where you have to go to find it. Here is a photo of what that includes:

A couple of vintage items here that I LOVE being able to include (but have had a hard time doing on it on a larger scale).

Also check out some new arrow and large heart JBS chipboard in the JBS Product section!

I added the April Project Kit to the "Past Kits" area as well. I had enough materials left to put together a few more of these (but they are very limited). You can view it in detail under the Project Kit Instructions for April.

Think that is it for now. I am on an organizing mission for this house! I can't see the playroom floor right now and I REFUSE to put anything away until I get the closets cleaned out. Wish me luck!

January Preview. . .

Since I have been such a bad blogger this week, I thought I would make it up to you with some previews. Above is a little hint at the Papercrafting Kit and below is the Project Kit.

You will also find some new JBS chipboard available for individual sale as well as an Add-On Kit for the Papercrafting Kit (first time ever)! I just sent out a preview newsletter with more details. The site will turn over on the evening of December 31st!

"The Studio" will be closed the 24th through January 1st. While we will casually check e-mails, most will not be returned until that time and orders placed during that time will not be shipped until the 2nd.

I just got an e-mail from Tara as I was typing this that she is sending me the photos for the guest gallery tonight. I will get those up tonight or tomorrow! I can't wait to see them.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I have spent alot of time this year trying to keep perspective on what this season really means. I am so thankful that there is a time of year when much of the world celebrates the coming of Christ - where songs are played in shopping malls and on network television that proclaim his name, if even for only this time of year. As mother's we all believe that our children are special - can you imagine what Mary felt that night? It overwhelms me, truly.

I will leave you with a photo of my littlest "special" one. Doesn't he make the cutest reindeer?

Ho Ho Ho. . .

Santa has come to visit my studio! This is a little peak at my growing Santa collection. I love the Santa mugs - have been collecting these for a couple of years (scored three this year for $2 a piece). My newest edition is the large candy box in the back. He is from the early 1900's - so cool (and unfortunately, I didn't pay $2 for him)! ha! Hope to get this photo up for the Studio Inspiration shortly at the site. This will then leave the Guest Gallery to be finished. My poor "Guest" was given a not-so-sweet gift from her little one that then swept through her family like wildfire! They are on the mend now and I should have something by the end of the weekend. Want a hint about who it could be?? Let's see. . . she is coming to Nashville next year to take photos of the Bowlin family. (Hopefully she is reading this)!!

The December gallery and instructions are all up now. If you are on a Mac and are using Firefox as your browser, you may not be able to view the instructions. Switch to Safari and you won't have a problem.

I wanted those who frequent the blog to know that I read the comments (even though I don't always comment on them). I SO appreciate the notes you take the time to leave. They really mean alot. I am a very emotional person (I attach emotion to EVERYTHING) and as you can imagine, in business (particularly this one that is so message board driven) it is not a good thing and can wear on you fast. Sharing my ideas and developing products is in my blood - I can't seem to leave it. Reading that someone appreciates what I try to do each month, with each product, means the world. Thanks so much!!!

Something to tide you over. . .

By tomorrow night, you should be able to see at least the November gallery from last month and the new December gallery (in part). I would like to ask for a little grace in that my programmer had an emergency, my guest designer and her little ones have been ill and I am utterly exhausted! You know how you go 100 miles per hour for 4 days straight and then your body just decides to give up? That is about where I am now (but slowly recovering)! I did manage to get all of my gallery stuff completed today and I do plan on getting it posted tomorrow. Here are a few previews:

99% of the time I make myself work with one kit (just like you receive). I loved this metal tag so much, I had to grab another one though!

You will now also see a new gallery each month- The Junque Box gallery. I did this layout below with pieces from the Flower Garden, Hodge Podge and Old School (large label) Junque boxes. PP is from My Minds Eye.

This one was done with just the Old School Junque Box. Doesn't my little man look good in a hat?

Just a reminder, if you are still not seeing the site, you would need to upgrade your flash in order to view it. See my post a few down for more information. We will have a "skip intro" choice at the site soon so you can bypass it if you would like.

For those who still can't see the site (and the erasing your cart issue) . . .

First of all, if you get to the site and just see black boxes, it is because the site is a Flash site and your computer has an older version of Flash and can't read it. Here is a link you can go to get the latest version: http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW

Or you can try: http://www.jennibowlin.com/eco/store.asp which completely bypasses the flash front end.

If that STILL doesn't work, please send us a note with the browser you are using (IE6, IE7, Firefox 1.07, etc.)...

Also, if you are getting the error that erases your cart everytime you click "checkout", try adding things to your cart and then hitting the "update" button BEFORE hitting the checkout button. This should temporarily fix this (until we can fix the error). Thanks for your patience - I know many of you have been trying for days!

I forgot to mention the giveaways!!

All orders that were placed from the first day the site went live until midnight this Friday, December 8th, will receive an assortment of pink/orange scalloped JBS exclusive notecards (these are not currently available for sale at the site)! Also, we will be picking 10 order numbers placed during this time period at random to receive a $30 JBS product assortment!

I am posting the JBS papers included in this months Papercrafting Kit here as I didn't do a good job displaying it on the site!

And finally, if you were one of those who checked out at the site and got the red note saying "you were purchasing something you already had a membership to", this is fixed now. This was written in the code mostly for the future months to help alert people that they are already set up for membership. It was showing it randomly for some reason. If you did not purchase because you saw this, you may want to do so (most of you sent us notes and we told you to just ignore it and checkout). Think that is our last little glitch for now!

I will do some gallery teasers soon!

Uploading changes. . .

just an FYI that we are uploading some changes to the site at various times during today so you may get a strange error, or get kicked off, etc. This is only temporary - you will most likely be successful a few minutes later. Thanks so much!

Go Titans!

Did anyone see the game today? I am a "fairweather" fan. Only around cheering when they are winning and today they won a good one! Almost broke the record for longest field goal to win the game.

The site seems to be running smoothly. I think most people can view it now and we have fixed the glitches we were aware of. If you still have any trouble just send a very specific note through the contact link and we will get back to you. I apologize for setting a specific "time" to the launch. I don't think I fully got the fact that it would take as long as it did for some to see it (and there could still be a few who aren't). Wishful thinking I think! Thanks for your patience and I hope everyone enjoys the site.

If you sent us a note in the past two days, we will be getting back to you very soon. Particularly those of you who checked out with a one time Papercrafting Kit because you couldn't get the membership price in your cart.

Have a great Sunday night - I am dealing with a sick little one today so it has been a little challenging, but he is starting to feel much better!

From my programmer. . .

My very sweet, hard working programmer wrote up something to post here last night (you will see it below). He always explains things to me very well. He has answered a few of the questions people have asked and has also fixed a couple of the glitches people found early on. Please continue to send us a note through the contact link (not here please) so we can contact you directly to let you know when we have fixed your specific issue. I will most likely have another post later today about the final issues a couple of people are having (and that they are fixed hopefully)! It seems to be the same 2 or 3 issues left that we are hearing about.

"Phew! What a day. First, let me introduce myself. My name is David
and I worked with Jenni on getting the new site up. I can't take credit for any of the great looking design (I draw crooked stick men), but unfortunately get to take credit for the bugs that slipped through testing.
I know many of you were very excited about the launch of the new site, and I apologize to those who experienced problems. Jenni has been great to work with and was very patient while I tracked down the cause of the few bugs that slipped through. I will explain them below, so you will know if you saw them that we are aware of them.

First, I will try to explain why some of you can't get to the new site (you may see a "404 error" or still hit the old site). I will do this with an analogy that hopefully makes sense. If you wanted to call someone whose phone number you didn't know, you would look in the phone book and dial the number. If that person's phone number had changed since the last phone book came out, you would get a message saying the number wasn't right. If you waited till next year and got a new phone book, the number would be correct in the new phone book and you could call them.
The internet works EXACTLY like that. When your computer wants to "call" a website, it looks up the address (this is called an IP address).
If your Internet Service Provider has an old "Phone Book" (this is called a DNS Cache), then they will give you the wrong number. Each ISP can configure when it gets a new phone book. Some of them are set to get a new one every few hours, some are set to get one every three days. If your ISP is the kind that has a three day wait period, I am sorry to have to say, you may have to be patient. Keep trying over the next hours and day or so and it WILL come up.
If any of you get to the new site (you can tell it is the new site because it starts with flash animation) and THEN get an error after that, please don't hesitate to let me know and we will work together to find the answer.

Second, there was the bug that showed itself by an error message next to the 'First Name' label. This was a tough one to reproduce, but I believe I have solved it. If any of you experienced this problem, please give it a try again. You should get through just fine now.

Third there was a bug that showed itself by an error message stating the
below:
Microsoft VBScript runtime error '800a0005'
Invalid procedure call or argument: 'instrrev'
/eco/ecoinit.inc, line 39

This error was due to a problem with our server trying to talk to the USPS server to calculate shipping costs, and us getting an answer we didn't know how to handle. Though I haven't yet solved this issue, I did change it so it will give you a better error message and give you some instructions on how to proceed. I will continue trying to reproduce the problem and fix it, but if any of you see it before me, please don't hesitate to email the message that comes up.

Thanks David!
We also know about a couple of you who got the notice in your cart that you are "already signed up for memberhsip". You are not if you haven't checked out before (it is a glitch connected to when you filled out your info.) and I think I know why it is showing you that. We will know more today.

And, for those of you who can't get the membership price to show up even when you click on that button, we think we know why are are working on that as well. This is only happening to a few.

Nothing major- most are getting through fine (not fun to hear for those who aren't I know) but we are working on it and will get it all smooth here very soon.

Oh- also. I have a quick question for my UK friends! (Please excuse my ignorance): From what I know, in all cases I believe, England and United Kingdom are one in the same as far as how I need to receive and write the addresses on the boxes. Is this a correct statement? I'm not sure why it shows you both choices in the drop down then (which seems to cause a problem because it wants you to choose England)??

A little bit of help. . .

Patience is not my thing- it never has been. Particularly when it comes to scrapbook products! So, I VERY much understand the frustration some of you might be having who aren't seeing the site or who are experiencing errors. Again, most of the errors have to do with the site not populating in full yet (even if you see the home page). It has not be a full 24 hours yet since we flipped the switch and can take up to 3 days.

I will make this commitment- if you are unable to order what you would like by the time you get in (even if it is next week), I will get you want you want. That is how confident that I am in my quantities. So, send us a note at that time if you missed out on something you really wanted. Hopefully this will help as I know the frustration comes from just wanted the product (which by the way I am flattered about)!

We are doing what we can at the moment, but Ruth and I are not programmers (far from it!) and it is Saturday which makes it a little more difficult.

Here are a couple of things I have resolved that might be helpful:

- the login/my account link in the top right hand corner is not something you want to use right now. We are still refining that page. Some of you are going directly there to set up an account before trying to checkout (and it is a little glitchy). So, if you put items in your cart and checkout, you will be asked for the info. needed to set up the account there and you shouldn't have anymore problems.

- if you get a "can't calculate shipping error" this is coming from the USPS. They don't like something in your address and are unable to verify it. 99% of the time it is just do to a typo (but lets us know if it isn't and we will figure it out).

Troubleshooting. . .

For the most part it looks like those who can see the site are getting through and ordering okay. I know some of you are having some problems, most of which have to do with the fact that the site hasn't completely turned over (even if you can see the home page). Trying tomorrow again would probably be a good thing.

I will post some feedback tomorrow once my programmer has had a chance to look at it. If you get a specific error message, please send it to the contact link with the specifics of exactly what you tried to do and what you were doing when it happened. I will also have a better idea by then about what is due to the site not populating in full and what is due to an actual glitch.

Here is the direct URL to the shopping cart if is helpful:

http://www.jennibowlin.com/eco/store.asp

More tomorrow. We really still have plenty of everything to go around. I promise we will get everyone checked out successfully!

Slowly but surely. . .

Unfortunately when you launch a new site, it can be very tricky to assign a specific time to when everyone will be able to see it. My programmer explained this very well to me today, but it basically comes down to your Internet Service Provider and how long it takes them to "receive" the message that that we have a new site. There is really no way around it.

We have alot of inventory- on all products. I have just glanced at orders and we still have plenty of everything and I expect to for several days (or all month). Most products would only be temporarily out of stock anyway. I also looked into getting more of the Limited Edition Bookplate Ornaments together, so if these sell out quickly, I will restock them.

If you are getting "page can't be displayed" or server errors it is most likely because every page at the site has not transferred over so if you give it a little while, you shouldn't have a problem.

Thanks for your patience - I hope you enjoy the site! Did you notice if you move over the photos on the home page they turn to color??

New Site Coming Tomorrow Night!

Below is the newsletter I just spent a half hour trying to send out with no luck. I will have my programmer try from the new site tomorrow. In the meantime, please share this with anyone who would be interested.

Tomorrow we launch the new Jenni Bowlin Studio website and we couldn’t be more excited! We have a new look, new products and a new, easy going way to maintain a membership!

Many of you have been anxious to start a membership again. While in the past we have required a 3 month commitment, the new site will only offer one type of membership, indefinite! This means that once you sign up for membership you are set-up for recurring billing until and if you choose to cancel (with no minimum length requirements). Super simple – no more having to keep track of when your membership ends. Be sure to read our new membership policy at the site once it is launched.

Also check out our variety of new products! We have 5 styles of Junque Boxes (a new product for those who love using vintage bits and baubles on their pages), exclusive JBS products available for individual sale, a new Mini Brag Book Kit that includes the new JBS papers in miniature and a Limited Edition Ornament Kit. You will also notice an area with past kits for sale in case you missed a month. This is all of course in addition to our two monthly kits.

The Gallery, which is now under the header “Create” will be loaded with the archived months in the coming days after the launch. You will see the archives here as well as the new December Gallery which will launch on the 12th. We will also be introducing a new “Share” area for our members to upload and comment on layouts (coming mid-month).

We are planning on launching the site at 8:00 central US time. However, depending on your ISP you may or may not see it by then. The vast majority of people will but it could take longer for some (a day+ in some rare cases). We have not sold out of the Papercrafting Kit for the past several months and 90% of the other products now offered are in high quantity and can and will be re-stocked. In short – we will do everything we can to meet the demand!

One last thing, while we plan to offer gift certificates and other gift services in the future, for now, if you would like to place an order or start a membership as a gift you simply choose yourself in the billing section and enter the person who is to receive the gift in the shipping area.

Think that is it! Please bear with us as we try to make this transition as smooth as possible for everyone. We appreciate the patience our customers have always afforded us!

Jenni, Jared and Ruth – Jenni Bowlin Studio