Friday, July 8, 2011

SMASH ! has arrived...


So, what do you Smash? Well, it doesn’t have to be a life event, just the special little moments and mementos of your day—some of that stuff in your junk drawer, for example. A snapshot, a ticket stub from that movie you loved, a newspaper clipping, a magazine snippet, a cardboard coaster from a favorite restaurant, your child’s first crayon doodle…get the idea? Smash it, jot a note or add a caption sticker, and go! This video will show you everything you need to know.

The SMASH Book can travel around with you, on all of your adventures! It comes with a two-in-one pen and glue stick, so you can add movie tickets right after you see the movie AND write your review as soon as you walk out of the theater. The point of this amazing book is that it’s NOT perfect, but a place where you can jot down your ideas, glue in an idea you saw in a magazine, add bits of memorabilia – there are ENDLESS possibilities with this book!This video will help you get started, then a trip to the shoppe will get you all the supplies you need to SMASH your life.

Thursday, June 16, 2011

I'm happy to report to you that the Queen has resumed her throne (often for full days), although she does have to sit and do the icepack routine after a few hours on her feet. She is working on a class schedule for July and August, including workshops with Dyan Reaveley on July 23rd and 24th. Those details are forthcoming and will be posted here as well as on our website when they're finalized. Kudos to our very own Ellen Vargo who couldn't wait to use Dyan's new "Dylusion" stamps, and created these fabulous tags for us:



The new Wizard of Oz Collection from Graphic 45 is now in stock. I never get tired of watching the movie, and I sure do love the Scarecrow... maybe because I'm often singing to myself "...if I only had a brain"! Three different collections of cling-mounted stamps are available in this collection--really cute!



New products since last blogpost:
  • New wood and cling mounted images from Stampendous
  • New cling mounted Wizard of Oz Collection images from Graphic 45
  • Restock of "Dylusions" stamps by Dyan Reaveley from Stampers Anonymous
  • New stamps from Lockhart Stamp Company
  • New stamps and dies from Memory Box
  • Restock of T!m Holtz Collection cling stamp sets from Stampers Anonymous
  • New 12x12 and 8x8 Wizard of Oz Collection double-sided papers from Graphic 45
  • New decorative specialty paper and chipboard accents from KanBan
  • Tim Holtz Collection Mini Movers & Shapers - Flourish and Lock and Key from Sizzix
  • New paper embellishments from Imaginisce
  • New and restock of bottlecap paper images in a variety of themes, cabachons, pendants and chains from BottleCap Inc.
  • New Archival Ink Pads in 24 colors from Ranger
  • New Foil Tape Sheets from Ranger
  • Restock of Adirondack Color Washes (redesigned) from Ranger
  • Restock of Tim Holtz Collection Kraft Resist paper stash from Advantus
  • New Tim Holtz Collection ring binders in two sizes from Advantus
  • Restock of Tim Holtz Collection Distress Stains from Ranger
  • Restock of Sketch Markers from Copic
  • New embellishments, trims, chipboard, and papers from Melissa Frances
  • Restock of metal multipacks, Humungo tape sheets, and tools from TENseconds Studio
  • New 6x6 and 12x12 patterned paper from the "Valise" collection by Memory Box
  • New Tim Holtz Collection dies: tree branch, mini labels, and valise from Sizzix
  • Restock of tubes and wands from SRM Designs
  • New handmade paper from Graphic Products
  • Copic Coloring Guide from Auntie's Attic
  • Spellbinders Nestabilities Basics & Beyond from Auntie's Attic
  • Unfurling - a mixed-media workshop with Misty Mawn from Quarry Books
  • Secrets of Rusty Things - transforming found objects into art by Michael de Meng from Northlight
  • Belle Armoire Jewelry (Jun/Jul/Aug 2011)
  • Sew Somerset (Summer 2011)
  • Cloth, Paper, Scissors (May/June 2011)
  • Studio by Cloth, Paper, Scissors (Summer 2011)
  • Somerset Studio Gallery  (Summer 2011)
  • The Stampers' Sampler (Jun/Jul 2011)

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Shop happenings...

Susan Newton is teaching a fabulous all-day workshop this coming weekend called "Creativity - There Must Be 50 Ways to Use this Stamp", a class she originally taught over 8 years ago when The Queen's Ink was located in Crofton, MD. Over and over, we've heard from our loyal royals that this one class was pivotal for them in their stamping hobby as they understood just how much mileage could be gained from a single stamp and a few different techniques/chemicals. With so much change in the industry over the years, Susan delved into the new inks, papers, and processes, and updated the workshop to include even more great information. This will be a workshop to remember for all those fortunate enough to have secured a spot (both sessions offered are now full). A special Thanks to Susan for sharing her expertise with all of us!



Check out the new publications sure to inspire you from Somerset Studio:

  • Take Ten
  • The Stampers' Sampler
  • Somerset Studio Gallery - Summer 2011
  • Artful Blogging - Visually Inspiring Online Journals
  • Art Doll Quarterly
Other products that just arrived:
  • Alcohol Ink from Ranger
  • Restock of T!m Holtz Collection cling stamp sets from Stampers Anonymous
  • Restock of Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts and Clearly for Art Modeling Film
  • Restock of double-sided tear-able tape in a variety of sizes from Rubber Stamp Concepts
  • Inchie Squares in assorted colors from Inchie Arts LLC

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Just in...

Impression Obsession never fails to impress us (ha ha, so punny). Mitra's new wood mounted stamps are always fabulous, and now she's offering very cool cling-mounted background stamps and a new acrylic handle called the "Mega Mount" which has a 6x6 surface area and makes working with the larger images much easier.


Also new from Impression Obsession, we now have the Shaker card overlays and plastic capsules that make creating a Shaker card much easier. No more struggling to build the card - how cool is that?!


Our Zentangle display is looking pretty robust this week, with a restock of all Design Originals Zentangle publications, including the newest ones, "Alpha Tangle" and "Zen Quilting Workbook". Pay us a visit and get your own copy before they fly off the shelf! Patti taught a Zentangle Basics on Tuesday, and an Intermediate Zentangle class is scheduled for early June. Take a look at our Class Schedule, then call us to reserve your spot!

Susan Newton is teaching "Creativity - There Must Be 50 Ways to Use This Stamp!" next weekend, offered both Saturday and Sunday to accommodate our customers' busy schedules. Class size for this all-day workshop is limited to ensure each student gets plenty of attention. The display board in the shop is awesome... come by and see for yourself! The stamp you're going to use is yours to keep at the end of the workshop - cool, huh?

I just updated the Products list on the web... more dies and texture fades from Sizzix Tim Holtz Collection, plus new and restock of stamps and papers from Hero Arts.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

T!m's Stuff...

Our Royal Wedding Reception last Friday night was a resounding success. Patti reigned supreme in the classroom as customers created their own tiaras, plus she was the judge for the hat contest. You wouldn't know that her new knee is only 5 weeks old! She is moving around quite well, and was almost giddy just being back in her domain! She is very appreciative of all your well wishes as she continues to recover.

Susan Newton hosted a make-n-take and we had 30 takers - wow! She taught a card technique that will be repeated over and over by those who learned it.

 
I'm in the middle of putting out lots of new stuff that has T!m's name on it... boy, is he prolific! In addition to re-orders of his new cling mounted stamps some very popular Sizzix Bigz dies (Jalopy, Tag, Tray), and his Configurations boxes, we now have the tissue tape dispensers, Kraft Glassine Envelopes in two sizes and the Glassine Stash, Grungeblocks, Pen Nibs, Fractured Dolls, and Crowded Attic paper stash. We have also restocked the Distress Ink wall, including re-inkers. Hurry in cuz this stuff won't last long!!!!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

You're invited...


We all want to help the Royal Couple, William and Catherine, celebrate their special day. The Queen and her Court have been eagerly watching the mailbox for our invitation, but sadly, it was apparently lost. No worries...In true royal fashion, we will be hosting an evening soiree to toast the Royals, complete with wedding favors and door prizes and an appearance by our Queen (a.k.a. Patti with a new knee).

In honor of this momentous event, we are having our biggest sale EVER!!

Come dressed for the occasion, eat royal snacks, do a make-n-take project, and have a little retail therapy too! You will also have an opportunity to create your own tricked out tiara. Wear your favorite hat... prizes will be awarded for the best ascot appropriate hat!

Remember... the celebration begins at 5:00 p.m. (okay, so we're about 12 hours late, but Queens do NOT arise that early, so we've been told).


Wednesday, April 20, 2011

New stuff...

The shoppe is hoppin' with lots of new products and cool classes that just say SPRING! Here's to hoping the cold weather is behind us for another 9 months or so.

We continue to chart the Queen's progress as she rehabs her new knee. She actually sneaked in last Sunday for a few minutes to say hello to guest artist Gail Russakov. We were all very glad to see her, especially knowing that it took every ounce of energy she possessed. She is making steady progress, but it will be another month before she's back in the shoppe for any length of time.

Next Friday night, April 29th, we're having our own wedding reception at the shoppe since our Royal invitations from Buckingham Palace seem to have gotten lost in the mail. The Queen herself will make an appearance for some food, fun, and a good sale to mark this auspicious occasion. So grab your tiaras and wallets and head for Savage Mill!

Look at what we've gotten since last week:

  • New "Dylusions" stamp sets by Dyan Reaveley from Stampers Anonymous
  • Restock of Studio 490 stamp sets from Stampers Anonymous  
  • Four wood stamps from Memory Box
  • New 12x12 and 6x6 patterned paper and embellishments from Webster's Pages
  • New Tim Holtz Grid Blox from Advantus
  • New 12x12 double-sided paper and flower embellishments from KaiserCraft 
  • Some of the new Sizzix dies from the Tim Holtz Collection: "Bigz" dies: umbrella man, the big clock; "On the Edge" Gear die, "Movers and Shapers" double heart, crown/fleur de lis, and "Texture Fades" Pocketwatches/Steampunk set and Muse set 
  • New MDF book forms and boxes, 12x12 and 6x6 patterned paper pads from KaiserCraft 
  • Somerset Studio (May/Jun 2011) 
  • Stampers' Sampler Catch Up Issue (Volume 15 - 2011)
  • Where Women Create (May/Jun/Jul 2011)
  • Artful Blogging (May/Jun/Jul 2011)
  • Art Doll Quarterly (May/Jun/Jul 2011)

 

Friday, April 1, 2011

March went out like a lion...

Well, not really a lion, but it sure is cold out there! We're keeping warm by reworking the displays and stocking our shelves with new stamps, paper, embellies, paints, and supplies.

Check out the new Sizzix dies from the Tim Holtz line and some cool embellishments from Advantus' Idea-ology line. The staggered release schedule is a little disappointing, but I'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of ideas using these products. We expect more in April and May.


One wall of our shoppe is decked out with the new 7 Gypsies products. Wow, such gorgeous papers and journaling tags from the new "Camden" collection! We would love to see what you are doing with these new products... send me a photo.


The Queen continues her grueling rehab, and it won't be long before that new knee is ready to run the marathon (or least walk up the steps into the shoppe). She thanks everyone who has sent well wishes and asked about her.
Stay tuned!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

The Queen's Knee....

The Queen's Knee has been replaced by a new and improved model. After some royal pampering befitting the queen (that she thinks she is), she'll begin her reign in physical therapy land, and have that new knee working perfectly before long. I'll try to keep you updated on her progress.
Meanwhile, back at the shoppe we're putting out the new Stampers Anonymous wood images from the Tim Holtz and Studio 490 collections. Lots of fabulous images to see. We also received new Viva Pearl Pens and InkaGold in a variety of colors.
We welcome Ellen Vargo as our guest instructor for tomorrow night's Two Tag Minimum class. We sure do appreciate her help as well as her talent. If you didn't sign up this month, try to get on the list for April's class (the 15th). We have a lot of fun, and we're amassing quite a collection of cool tags.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Masterboard samples...

Here are some of the amazing results from the Quinky Dinks' masterboard class:

The Thursday Group a.k.a. The Quinky Dinks

Once a month on Thursdays you'll find a friendly group (dubbed the "Quinky Dinks" by loyal customer Bev), in the shoppe's classroom creating art (whatever the Queen chooses), eating, kvetching, and laughing. This class is usually listed as the Mystery Card class (sometimes it's even a mystery to Patti until about a half hour before they arrive), and is open to anyone who wants to enjoy a fun day out with like-minded people. This month, Patti showed them how to create a "Masterboard" which they then cut, tore, and shaped for card and tag backgrounds. It's always fun to see their end products, all so different AND fabulous! (Blogger is experiencing problems right now so I can't show you the finished projects in this posting; however, the next one will have it.)


New products this week:
  • "Moments" magnetic die from the Sizzix Movers & Shakers collection
  • Mini leaf and branch magnetic die from the Sizzix Movers & Shakers collection
  • New ribbon and twisty twine in new colors from May Arts
  • Somerset Life (Apr/May/Jun 2011)
  • The Stampers' Sampler (Apr/May 2011)
  • Haute Handbags (Spring 2011)
  • Somerset Memories (Spring 2011)
  • Jewelry Affaire (Spring 2011)
  • Prims (Spring 2011)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

March Madness...

We enjoyed a busy, art-filled weekend with Guest Artist Carol Owen teaching "Painting Without Planning" and two Altered Book workshops.


We are now starting to receive products that debuted at CHA, and I urge you to check the Products section of the website on a regular basis since I provide a list of the newest additions to our collection. Our first shipment from Stampers Anonymous included T!m's newest stamp sets as well as new stamps and Art Parts from Studio 490 (Wendy Vecchi). The Queen just told me that Wendy is planning a return visit in October... can't wait to see what she comes up with for those workshops!

We have scheduled some great classes for March, April, and May so make sure you take a moment to check the website for details.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

7 Gypsies "Lillie" Collection




With CHA just around the corner, many companies have offered pre-releases and we've already started receiving them. Just in today from 7 Gypsies is the "Lillie" paper collection which we have in 12x12 double-sided paper and 6x6 and 8x8 paper pads as well as journal cards and paper tape coordinates.

Another new product is the ATC drawer... great for collecting ATC cards, photos, or could be used as a small shadowbox. Take a look!

Atc DRAWER

Last week we put out the "Once Upon A Springtime" paper collection from Graphic 45, and Patti has already had to re-order the 12x12 paper pads... FABULOUS!!!

Stop by regularly as we announce receipt of more new products. The Queen has pre-ordered the new Sizzix dies and texture fades from T!m Holtz, as well as the embellishments he designs for Advantus.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Stampington Pubs have arrived...

It's time to stock up on reading material to keep you inspired through the dull days of winter. The newest Stampington publications have arrived and are waiting for you:

  • The Stampers' Sampler (Feb/Mar 2011)
  • Artful Blogging (Feb/Mar 2011)
  • Where Women Create (Feb/Mar/Apr 2011)
  • GreenCraft (Spring 2011)
  • Art Doll Quarterly (Feb/Mar/Apr 2011)
  • Apron-ology (Volume 3)

Take a look at our class schedules... we have some fresh new offerings and some old favorites. Don't miss a chance to indulge your creative self!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

New stamps from TENseconds Studio


We're so glad to be among the first stores to have TENseconds Studio's new calligraphy alphabet stamp sets. So cool! Check out their blog for ideas using these fab new stamps, then start your year out right by making a fresh project for yourself!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Countdown to Christmas...

We're celebrating the holidays in the shoppe by creating (and collecting from customers) our own versions of T!m's 12 Tags of Christmas. We have all the supplies you need to create your own, including a restock of many dies and embellishments that sold out during our Birthday party.

Friday, December 17, 2010

2011 Hero Arts Pre-release...


Hero Arts has done it again... come see for yourself. We have wood stamps, cling and clear stamps just waiting for your creative touch!


The 2011 Idea Book is also available... see what the Hero Arts designers have created to give you a springboard for your own creations.


New publications this week:

  • Somerset Studio
  • Somerset Life
  • Journaling
  • Hero Arts 2011 Catalog & Idea Book

  • We still have a few spots in Jenni Bowlin's Old Book Mini Scrapbook / Journal class scheduled for Tuesday, December 28th. Call us :-)

    Monday, December 6, 2010

    A Great Success!

    Thank you to all who so generously gave gifts that will go to Sarah's House. What a fun birthday celebration we had. We are still accepting donations, in case you didn't make it to our birthday party.

    Saturday, December 4, 2010

    Celebrating...

    Today we celebrate 10 great years reigning over our growing kingdom of stampers and mixed media artists (addicts). Stop by and say hello, and enjoy a big sale today.



    So many of our customers have come in to stock up on the products T!m is using in this years 12 Tags of Christmas feature (on his blog) that Lolly got permission to convert the web version to a more manageable (and paper-saving) print version. You can find the PDF file for each tag (as they are created) on our website (http://www.queensink.com/) as the first bullet in the Royal News section. Challenge yourself to make a few, then send a photo for our blog!

    Friday, November 19, 2010

    Magic at the Mill...


    Preparations are underway for this weekend's Magic at the Mill kick-off to the holiday season. Trees, lights, and shiny things add a festive air to your shopping experience. Visit with Santa, see a puppet show, and enjoy live music over the weekend. The complete schedule is available on Savage Mill's website.

    We're also getting ready to celebrate our 10th Birthday, so check our website and watch for an email newsletter for details of special happenings coming December 4th thru 10th.

    The new Stampington publications have arrived:
    • Artists' Cafe
    • Take Ten
    • Belle Armoire Jewelry
    • Sew Somerset
    • Somerset Gallery