Sunday, February 28, 2010

News, New Samples, Links & My Vancouver Photos!

Our Website Update
Lots of Fantastic New Samples
Spring Challenge at Splitcoast
Come See Us at These Shows
My Vancouver Photos During Olympics

Yes, our website is still down but Westhost tells me they have fixed 97% of the sites they lost, which I guess makes us in the 3% they are still trying to repair. It’s been 8 days now with no website and 2 of our main emails down! You can email me at:
craftysecrets@telus.net and stores can fax orders to 1-888 597-8898 or email: craftysecretsorders@hotmail.com

I have so many fabulous new samples to share created with our new stamps and images! I haven't posted much lately, so this is a long one! Between finishing off CHA orders, I've been suffering from Olympic mania! It was finally over tonight, so life can start to return to normal but it's been an incredible experience to have our city host the 2010 Winter Olympics here and I feel so proud that it all went so well! The weather was wonderful most of the time (it can rain for days here), the visiting athletes and tourists seemed to have fun and Canada won more gold medals than any country has ever won - so Canadians have been going NUTS as you can see HERE! I have more Vancouver photos at the end of this post.

Our head DT leader, Vicki Chrisman was away teaching classes this weekend at the Scrap for a Cure Crop in Coleridge, NE and one class was with her new 3D Shadow Box Die she has done with AccuCut. You can see on her sample the class got to use our new Altered Fairy Scraps and add a keepsake photo. I will be posting a list of stores that have ordered the AccuCut Shadowbox Dies hopefully this week. We also have Kits of 3 for sale in our Shopatron Store HERE and you can watch Vicki's step by step video HERE.

Look at this wonderful Shadowbox that DT member Julie Campbell created on her Saint Patrick's 'Wee-bit-of-Blarney post' She used images from our old Seasonal Booklet. The new revised Booklet only has one page of St Pats images, so if you order it from Shopatron specify if you want the old one. Several stores still have the old one. The new one still has the girl in the center and 2 smaller cute kids, plus it has some really great new seasonal images. I will also be posting a Free St Pats image & poem later this week.
Julie is our newest DT member and she is so enthusiastic she has been creating LOTS of samples you can see HERE on her blog. I love this tag she created with our new Message in a Bottle Clear Art Stamp Set. The ribbon part of the stamp looks so real!

Back to the 3D Shadowboxes, look at this incredible one Rita Barakat created using our Alice in Wonderland Clear Art Stamp Set! I love the way she stamped the 3 little card guys and stacked them. The cool mushrooms were her own design. Rita really helped us out st the Super Show in Florida, moving our booth over to to the CHA floor.

Rita also designed this wonderful Alice wall hanging for her daughter using the Alice image and ivory chipboard from our Story Time Vintage Postcard Kit. You can see more photos and read all about it HERE on Rita's blog and enter her Giveaway to win a great prize pack from Kaiser.

Look at this fabulous card DT member Michele Kovack designed using our new Mermaid Clear Art Stamp Set. I love the colors and sparkle! You can get all the details HERE on Michele's blog and click HERE to see Michele's Crafty Secrets Gallery with 132 samples she has created!

In case you missed it, here is another beautiful mermaid card that DT member Linda Duke created for our color challenge a few weeks ago, using our new Mermaid Clear Art Stamp Set.

Here is another pretty card Linda made using the 'nest girl image' from our Birds & Blossoms Creative Scraps. You can get all the details and see more photos HERE on Linda's blog.

I adore this fun card DT member Marissa Grosson created using the ladies from our new Ladies Hat Club Clear Art Stamp Set! The ladies look a little wacky but we decided they suited the words, so we didn't change the old 1908 artwork. Marissa also created very cute cards with our Party Cats Set and Message in a Bottle Stamps as well you can see HERE on her blog. Marissa also has a Crafty Secrets Gallery HERE with 117 samples!


This card DT member Melissa Phillips created is so adorable with the little bunny driving the convertible from our Easter Creative Scraps. The colors are delicious! You can read about it HERE on Melissa's blog and check out the pretty card she also made using our French Mail Clear Art Stamp Set.

The ladies over a Splitcoast have been busy creating as well and this last week Marcy (kiddielitter) hosted a Spring Challenge HERE on Splitcoast and 13 people have posted samples HERE. This is Marcy's pretty card, which she created using an image from our Birds & Botanical Booklet, the sentiment is from our Sweet Kids stamp set and the nest is from the Fairyland Clear Art Stamp Set.

I also wanted to share one more sample with you. Look at this cute paper weight Marcy also made using the bunny and words from our Greetings & Wonderland Clear Art Stamp Set. She said she's always fretting about projects and deadlines, so she thought the sentiment was perfect.


Okay, now I have some photos to show you from Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics. Vancouver is less than a 1/2 hour drive from here in Surrey but all of Canada lined their streets to cheer the torch across the country and everyone was so proud and enthusiastic to invite the world here for the games!
This is the Vancouver Art Gallery, which has a display of these huge fabric paintings decorating the front. There was lots of art, sculptures and wacky costumed people to look at. I hope it all stays!
People were carrying flags from every country and we stood on a street corner and heard at least 5 different languages being spoken around us. The weather was perfect, except maybe a little too warm on some of the mountains, so they brought in truckloads of snow and used snow machines for a few days. You couldn't go up the mountains unless you had event tickets.
My husband Scott retired last month and has been driving a bus with some of the NBC crew around for almost a month as they arrived early. He's only had 2 days off but loved every minute being involved.
We made our way down to Sunset Beach to see the Olympic monument. I love the big mittens someone knit. Sunset is one of the beaches along the seawall at Stanley Park in Vancouver.


This is English Bay and people are surprised to see the row of palm trees but more people seem to be growing them here now in the northwest. It doesn't get that cold, we have the same sort of weather as Seattle.
Right across the street from the palm trees, is one of my favorite pieces of art called A-Mazing Laughter by Yue Minjun. They are huge bronze statues set up in a bit of a maze and all laughing.

Here I am, I couldn't resist pulling on his ears for the camera.

We walked up Denman street after (in the West End) and went for dinner at a great Italian restaurant but I can't remember the name now. There are some neat little stores and lots of resturants because there are lots of hi rises down by the water.

I had to take a photo of the flowers at this little market on the corner. The pots went all the way up the other side of the store as well. It's been so warm everyone's bulbs are blooming.

After dinner we just walked around and took in all the sights and sounds. This was another new sculpture I discovered on Granville Street called In the Same Boat - by Chien Chun-Cheng. I really hope all the new outdoor art will stay.
I love their surf board and I would love a summer dress in the same design!

At Granville and Georgia Street they has all these Asian lanterns lining both sides of the street and they looked way cooler than this photo shows.
That's all my photos for now but here is the 2010 Flickr group link again to see the giant party it has been here!
Finally, we will be attending some upcoming shows and if you are in the area I would love to meet you!
Mar 12&13 The Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival Victoria, BC
March 20 & 21/10 Heirloom Stamp Show, Portland, OR
April 16 & 17/10 The Great Canadian Scrapbook Carnival, Abbostford, BC http://www.canadianscrapbooker.ca
June 3-6/10 Great American Scrapbook Convention Arlington TX.
Vicki will be coming and teaching 2 classes!
July 27-29/10 CHA Summer Trade Show , Rosemont, IL (wholesale only)
July 30-31/10 Craft Super Show, Rosemont, IL
Wishing joy & creativity
Sandy Redburn
Owner
Crafty Secrets
Our Website: www.craftysecrets.com (when it's back up!)
Toll Free Phone or Fax 1-888 597-8898
Local Phone 604 597-8817
Crafty Secrets Head Office
15430 78 A Ave.,
Surrey, BC V3S 8R4
USA Warehouse
250 H. Street, #436
Blaine, WA 98230

3 comments:

Thespa McLaughlin said...

Wow! What amazing samples! And it looks like you had a great time on your trip. Thanks for sharing, hopefully the website will be fixed soon and relieve some of your stress. Have a happy day!

Pattyjo said...

You look like you have had a wonderful time! I love the laughing statues! I have never been to Canada, although my daughter and son both got to go with the church youth group, years ago. They were impressed with gigantic shopping mall. Have a great time!
Pattyjo

Rita Barakat said...

Wow- great samples! Thanks for including me! Looks like you had a blast in your pics!!Fun!