New kits tonight!!!!

New kits and new flea market finds - all up tonight at 12:00 midnight central!

I am literally just back in the door from the CL Fair in Austin and don't have any photos yet from Doris, but will post some here tomorrow.  I did peek at some of the layouts the design team created in the newsletter that went out yesterday and loved them (you are going to love the exclusive stamp this month).  More tomorrow. . . but don't wait on me to check out the new additions - things have been selling out quickly around here!

We have a winner (and CL Fair, here I come)!!

TERRI B who said. . .

Silver and gold love them both! This is a fantastic giveaway!

Congratulations!  Please email us at jennibowlin@gmail.com and we will get the prize out to you.

I am headed out tomorrow to Austin, TX (one of my favorite places by the way) to the Country Living Fair.  I'm so excited - I love, love, love this show.  If you are anywhere near Austin (even if you're not) you must come! 

Here's a little peak at the "bones" of my booth.  I decided to set it up this time on the driveway to help, hopefully, with time on setup day.  Keep in mind that this is just the furniture and bigger stuff, displays, etc.  If you have been to our booth you know I have oodles of tiny things everywhere.  I really don't know where to stop!  And of course suitcases, printers trays - so much not here!

And by the way, notice the super cool hardware store spinner above. . . it is one of the few things not for sale shown.  Only because no one would every pay what I did for it, let alone leaving any room for profit.  I will go to my grave with that secret!  But. . . it is PERFECT for organizing all of the little things I sell in one condensed space.  It will be my new traveling buddy.

Hope to see you there!

Nunn Designs Giveaway!!!

As promised, to celebrate our newest Nunn necklace kit going up for sale, Becky, owner of Nunn Designs has asked me to giveaway an amazing stash of the newest Nunn Designs products!

Here's what the lucky winner will receive . . .

 

1 piece each of the following items:

• Cp-gb  Channel Pendant-Gold Bulk
• Cp-sb  Channel Pendant-Silver Bulk
• Cp-cb  Channel Pendant-Copper Bulk
• Cp-ssb  Channel Pendant-Sterling Silver Bulk
• Cbl-gb  Channel Bead Large-Gold Bulk
• Cbl-sb  Channel Bead Large -Silver Bulk
• Cbl-cb  Channel Bead Large -Copper Bulk
• Cbl-ssb  Channel Bead Large -Sterling Silver Bulk
• Cbm-gb  Channel Bead Medium -Gold Bulk
• Cbm-sb  Channel Bead Medium -Silver Bulk
• Cbm-cb  Channel Bead Medium -Copper Bulk
• Cbm-ssb  Channel Bead Medium -Sterling Silver Bulk
• Cbs-gb  Channel Bead Small -Gold Bulk
• Cbs-sb  Channel Bead Small -Silver Bulk
• Cbs-cb  Channel Bead Small -Copper Bulk
• Cbs-ssb  Channel Bead Small -Sterling Silver Bulk
• Csbfcb-Collage Sheet Butterflies-Channel Beads
• Csbcb-  Collage Sheet Birds-Channel Beads
• Csacb-  Collage Sheet Angels-Channel Beads
• Csmcb-  Collage Sheet Madonna-Channel Beads
• ompc-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle-Gold Bulk
• ompc-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle-Silver Bulk
• ompc-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle-Copper Bulk
• ompc-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle-Sterling Bulk
• ompcs-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle Single-Gold Bulk
• ompcs-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle Single -Silver Bulk
• ompcs-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle Single -Copper Bulk
• ompcs-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Circle Single -Sterling Bulk
• ompo-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval-Gold Bulk
• ompo-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval-Silver Bulk
• ompo-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval-Copper Bulk
• ompo-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval-Sterling Bulk
• ompos-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval Single-Gold Bulk
• ompos-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval Single -Silver Bulk
• ompos-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval Single -Copper Bulk
• ompos-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Oval Single -Sterling Bulk
• ompr-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle-Gold Bulk
• ompr-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle -Silver Bulk
• ompr-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle -Copper Bulk
• ompr-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle -Sterling Bulk
• omprs-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle Single-Gold Bulk
• omprs-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle Single -Silver Bulk
• omprs-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle Single -Copper Bulk
• omprs-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Rectangle Single -Sterling Bulk
• omps-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square-Gold Bulk
• omps-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square -Silver Bulk
• omps-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square -Copper Bulk
• omps-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square -Sterling Bulk
• ompss-gb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square Single-Gold Bulk
• ompss-sb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square Single -Silver Bulk
• ompss-cb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square Single -Copper Bulk
• ompss-ssb  Ornate Mini Pendant Square Single -Sterling Bulk

That's a long list!!  Here's a little sample of what you can make with these and other Nunn products (maybe Becky can post here who made this - it is beautiful)!

So here's what you need to do. . . just leave a post with what your favorite metal finish is to wear (I'm a gold girl!) along with your full name by Monday 4/23 noon central time and I will choose a winner.  Good luck!

One of these is not like the other . . .

I need to figure out which chicken is laying these monster eggs and bring her some extra kitchen leftovers.  I think she deserves it!

And speaking of chickens. . .

This photo was taken right before Scarlett had the law laid down on her (via Jared) for chasing chickens.  We let them out of their yard and you can see Scarlett stalking them (she is on her lead).  Once one got close enough she decided it was playtime!  She doesn't understand that a 100+ pound dog can't wrestle with a 5 pound chicken.  All I could think of was my favorite Zac Brown Band album (if you have it, you know why).  I think it's time for her to drink her water from a broken mason jar!

I'm headed to Kohl's to pick up a KitchenAid mixer - finally.  In white of course.  They had a deal I just couldn't pass up.  Time to retire the old hand mixer!

Happy Wednesday!

Mid-Month . . .

Maybe because I have been digging through things getting ready for the Country Living Fair, we have an extra large mid-month release this time! And because tomorrow is Sunday, we decided to put everything live tonight at midnight central time like we do on the first of the month. So here is the rundown! . . .

We have our first Dime Store Kit for 2012 - don't miss out on this great deal! . . .

Just in time for Mother's Day, I put together this 24" double chain necklace using high quality Nunn Design components and some vintage glass teardrops (and check back this week on my blog for a Nunn giveaway)!!. . .

And of course lots of new Vintage Items in the Flea Market including. . .

This retro video camera. . .

Old corporate seals (I used these in a blog post a couple of weeks ago - love them)!. . .

A SWEET set of antique -to-vintage ink bottles. . .

A mid century sign printer - and it's complete!! . . .

Old stock fabric index tabs (worth it just for the box alone) . . .

Vintage card catalog drawers from the Vanderbilt University library (or so I was told). . .

And so much more - All available tonight at 12:00 midnight central!

Just a heads up. . .

I just put a few more April Papercrafting Kits up for sale now that we have completed billing/shipping.  These kits went so fast.  Hopefully if you missed out you can grab one of these!

Sidebar updates and my new favorite show. . .

If you peek over to the left you will see that I have updated my 2012 Road Trip through August.  I am going to be a busy girl for the next few months!  Up next is the Country Living Fair in Austin, TX where we will have a load of antiques and vintage items (will be sharing photos as I get ready for this) and then Mega Meet in Novi for our second year.  If you happen to have looked at the schedule over there, take a peek again as my class photos have been updated. 

And just a little note on my classes, if you have never taken one from me before. . . my class kits are packed full and meet the retail value or more of the class cost itself.  You always have alot of product left over.  I like to finish my projects so I don't try, for example, to do 20 pages in 2 hours.  Instead I try to stick with something that can be completed at a reasonable pace during the allotted time with product leftover so you can add to it later should you want to.  Also, my goal is not to teach how to cut and fold paper - you likely know how to do that!  I always incorporate stamping, inking, painting, punching in the hopes that I might teach you something fun you didn't already know.  Having said that (ha!), my "Figuratively Speaking" class in MI only has a one hour time slot.  At a reasonable pace this is more like a 1.5 - 2 hour class so we will pick up the speed a bit here!  I LOVE this project though - every time I look at the layout I start craving cotton candy!

So enough about that and on to my new favorite show, Duck Dynasty - have you seen this?

Very, very funny. I don't even know what else to say other than it's refreshing to watch something that makes me belly laugh without hearing a "beep" on every other word.  A new episode is on tonight on A&E.  Check it out as you will hear pearls of wisdom on every episode from Willie (foreground) such as "If you eat alot of these you'll start to move backwards as fast as you move forward" - said as they sat down to a crawfish supper.

Happy Wednesday!

Hope you had a joyous Easter. . .

I feel like I spent the entire weekend cooking - and I loved it!  I fixed Mandarin Chicken Salad for the potluck at our church Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday (and painted about a million Angry Birds on little one's faces.  Thank you to the sweet little girl who asked for a Peace Sign!).  Then on Sunday we hosted dear friends and Jared's sister.  I tried a new crock-pot macaroni and cheese recipe.  It tasted great, but I decided to call it "cheesy breakfast casserole" as the eggs ended up cooking.  Don't you love little surprises?

I also wanted to share with you my egg project for Ranger, in case you didn't see it here.  They only had room for one photo over there, so you can see more details below.

I took wooden eggs and painted one with my Malted Milk Paint and decoupaged the other with strips of vintage ledger paper.  I then used my Stick Candy, Cough Syrup and Lemon Drops Re-Inkers to make mists, and colored a half sheet of my JBS Stamp Perforated Paper.  Once that was dry, I punched out butterflies using the Jenni's Butterfly Fiskars Punch and added it them to the eggs with a few embellishments. Hope you enjoy! 

Bonjour!

I'm back from my first trip to France and still mourning all that I didn't see.  It was a whirlwind trip.  We only had 1 day in the city before the event and we made the most of it!  I have many photos on my phone that I still need to download but I at least wanted to sneak in a little post here.

In the morning we hopped on the metro and headed for the Eiffel Tower.  Growing up in Maryland, every summer we went to Kings Dominion amusement park in Richmond, VA.  And guess what - they have a mini Eiffel Tower there.  And it's actually a pretty good replica - ha!  But when you go up to the top you just see roller coasters and such, not hundreds of years of architecture and the River Seine.  I think I'll take the Paris version . . .

Took this just to prove I was actually there. . . 

Breathtaking details, everywhere you looked.  I don't even know what to say - I just walked around speechless all day . . .

From the Eiffel Tower we went to the Museum d'Orsay (can't take pictures in there) which was amazing.  Had a Nutella crepe and an Orangina on the steps afterwards before heading to Notre Dame.  Again, there are no words to describe.  I walked around the interior and cried.  Service was in progress so the organ was playing and the choir was singing.  I won't soon forget it. . .

And I need to also make mention that I'm so thankful for my in-laws and my mother - without them coming in and out to sit with the kids, we would never be able to have these adventures.  I know I am blessed.

Once I download the photos off of my phone I want to do another post about the Version Scrap event itself and the wonderful people I was privileged to meet.  Stay tuned!

JBS Mercantile April Peeks!

Jenni is in France creating, but she's left lots of creative inspiring treats for us to enjoy while she's away.  The April Papercrafting Kit has the design team in a swoon!  It's the perfect combination of warm spring colors!  Here is a sweet one from Becky Novacek that features the main kit.

 And here is another from Jill Sprott that features the April Artisan Add-on.

Here is a peek of the main kit.  How about that perfect exclusive stamp!  Hello chevrons!!!

The April Artisan Add-on . . . what a lovely stencil.

The Antiquarian Add-on with some charming mushrooms, adorable peeps, and a stack, yes a stack! of cigar papers.

 Our mini-album kit this month is designed by the fabulous Lisa Dickinson.  You're going to love it!

And one more treat!  Beginning with this release, Jenni will be offering her one-of-a-kind items on the 1st of the month as well as the expected 15th of the month!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow night at midnight CST for shop updates!

Fresh from the flea market. . .

One of the things I love about coming back from a weekend of shopping, is putting things away.  As I unpack bags and lay them out on my table to be sorted, many times items take on their own vignettes, as if they were always meant to be together.  I love how this happens, and I love playing with little things and creating my own hodge podge of items.  So much so that I plan to start offering each month small collections of items that I think are just meant to be together.  They would be great art journal or collage starters.  Here is one such vignette from my trip this weekend. . .

And while I'm talking vintage, we are going to start offering new One-Of-A-Kind items on the 1st of the month for now on, as well as the 15th.  We will be starting with April 1st.

Betsy and Doris will be updating my blog later this week with some sneaks of those goodies as well as the new kits (I LOVE this month, just sayin) as I will be France.  I look forward to sharing some photos when I get back!

Bon Voyage!



A little road trip . . .

The boys started Spring Break last week so we decided to take a little road trip.  The Natchez Trace Parkway actually begins here in TN (Franklin to be exact).  Jared has gone horseback riding on the TN end before, but I had never been on it.  When I found out it ended in Natchez, MS (before the civil war, this city was home to the most millionaires in the country), I knew we had to take a trip!

There are tons of places to stop on the Parkway.  We spent our first day stopping at several historic sites and then stayed the night in Tupelo, MS.  I had scheduled for us to go to the Tupelo Buffalo Park the next morning.  It was a really neat place - very interactive!

We saw this guy - an escape artist and lock picker apparently . . .

And this guy, who happens to be the tallest giraffe in captivity . . .

And we also fed some Buffalo, and stopped for some photo ops . . .

My favorite stop when we finally got to Natchez was Longwood plantation.  It was under construction when the civil war broke out.  Only the outside was complete however.  During the war, they finished the basement level, planning to live there temporarily.  You tour this level and the level above where you can see up the middle all the way up.  It was sort of a reminder that our plans are only that - they are not guarantees for tomorrow.

Still trying to get back into the swing of things.  Worked on Christian's room a bit today - then it's on to Noah's.  Hope to post some pictures soon.  I haven't done anything in these rooms since we moved in.  I think it's about time!

Tomorrow is the 15th!

That means tons of new vintage goodies.  Find all of these items (only a small representation of 35+ new items) in the This Month's Finds section of the Flea Market . . .

Super cute vintage old stock crayon packs . . .

A rare small wooden cigar box . . .

3 different photos of a Victorian little girl with the most exquisite hand coloring I have ever seen - very unique.  I kept one for myself! . . . 

Old store receipt holder . . .

1950's Little Mother Sewing machine - crank style.  Includes the carrying case.  The graphics are so lovely on this . . .

Antique celluloid dresser box - excellent condition.  These are usually falling apart and this one is almost perfect! . . .

Antique leather baby booties . . .

Vintage Dennison old stock Transparent Mending Tape Spools - so cute just to have sitting around, but I'm sure there are wonderful things to be done with the tape itself! . . .

Some more extra large thread spools to use as pin boards - this time in black . . .

And some cool industrial stampers . . .

And don't forget my first mixed media kit for the year - this sweet "HOME" canvas.  Be sure to note in the product description the re-inkers I used, just in case they aren't ones you already have in your stash . . .

and this year's limited edition Easter vintage crafting kit . . .

Everything will be available tomorrow, the 15th, at 10:00 a.m. central time!