Sunday 5 February 2017

Crafty Chick's Road Trip 2017

Hello fellow craft hoarders.....I mean papercrafters. Our trip to Scrapfest in 2016 was so much fun, we have decided to do it again. This time we will start out on Thursday April 6th. There will be pick ups in Kingston, Shannonville, Belleville and Cobourg. We will be staying at The Radisson hotel in Kitchener and enjoying a full breakfast before being shuttled to the Convention Center in time for the Scrapfest Crop. We will be staying until Saturday so you will have lots of time to crop and shop in the huge Scrapfest Market.

Your passport to crafty fun includes: a seat on one of McCoy's luxury coaches, 2 nights shared accommodation at the Radisson hotel, full breakfast on both Friday and Saturday mornings, shuttle service to and from the event, crop and market access and inspiration from some of the greatest retailers in the industry. We will even bring you home Saturday when you are too tired to think straight. All this for the amazing sum of $350.

 For those of you that would like a ride and crop space we only  have a limited number of seats reserved for $250. Hurry to reserve your spot. 50% non refundable deposit required at booking and the remaining balance is due 2 weeks prior to the trip. Book with three friends and you will all be entered in a draw for a brand new product from Creativation 2017. To reserve your space: email mygrandmasteacups@gmail.com


Thursday 2 February 2017

The Right Tool for the job.. The top 5 benefits of Cricut Products.

This post was sort of a rabbit hole as I was planning a tutorial for next week on how to use your Cricut Explore to make planner stickers. I was looking on YouTube to make sure the topic had not been covered 100 times already. I was surprised to see that most of the tutorials were for the cameo.

I have been a long term Cricut fan from the original right on through the Explore Air. Cricut had a few bumps along the way that upset fans of the product. Despite  that it is still one of the most user friendly digital cutter around.

Top 5 Benefits of Staying with Cricut.

#1 Backwards Compatability
They never abandoned the cartridges from previous machines.
#2Constant new innovative products being release
Cricut Vinyl, magnetic sheets,  markers, tools.
#3 Once master a Cricut the learning curve for the next machine is not bad.
#4 Print then Cut
So many new projects can be made with this feature alone
#5 Ability to load any svg to Design Space.
For people that are still bitter about losing SCAL this gives you back the ability to cut anything.

I know everyone has their own opinion but for me, I am firmly planted on team Cricut.

https://youtu.be/dbNdLBqvMTQ



Thursday 26 January 2017

Why you may be spending too much on everything

This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.


As you may have noticed I am a bit obsessed with papercrafting supplies. Beautiful designed paper and frilly die cuts make my heart all a flutter. Unfortunately all these pretty toys come with a hefty price tag. This leaves me with only three options:

1. Stop buying supplies. (PARDON ME WHILE I TRY TO STOP LAUGHING)

2. Stop taking my family out for supper. (ALSO HIGHLY UNLIKELY)

3. Price match, coupon clipping and points ninja.


Yes, you guessed it I am that lady ahead of you in line explaining why I should be getting $0.50 off that box of cereal.

You would be surprised how much you can save by using reward programs and coupons to your benefit. No time to search out discount codes or Coupons?  Well you are in luck. With the use of Groupon Coupon you can find deals on things you buy everyday! From shoes to coffee and even electronics, you are only a few clicks away from saving big. All those savings add up and you will be adding to your scrap stash in no time at all.

Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Family needs new shoes?
Payless Shoes Save up to 60% on clearance items

Coffee time? 
Starbucks buy one get one free

New Electronics?

Best Buy Up to 50% on select tablets





Wednesday 25 January 2017

Creativation Adventure

I am home from Phoenix! I can hardly believe what a whirlwind the trip was.

My mind is jam packed with creative inspiration, new technical abilities and a bit of swoon over all the papercrafting super stars I met along the way.

We arrived in Phoenix on Thursday afternoon and got settled in at the Wyndham Gardens Hotel before heading to the Phoenix Convention Centre to get our badges for the event.

Friday my first event was the CHA Canadian Chapter Breakfast meeting. 7:30 is a bit early in the morning to be social but it was a great opportunity to meet fellow Canadians in the craft industry. Ironically Ecstasy Crafts was there which is funny because I live right around the corner from their store. Karen Beupre the Creative genius behind Southern Ridge Trading Company was there as well as Tiffany Bond from Craft and Create.



















I had to cut the meeting short to get to my first class Mastering Affiliate Marketing where I had the chance to meet the ever flamboyant Melody Lane.























My second class was 4 ways to be published. Guess who one of the speakers were! None other than The Crafty Chica.























My third class was on the benefits of establishing a craft collective. I enjoyed their presentation immensely.  Guess who the speakers were: The Phoenix Freda's. If you have a chance find them on social media.

The day was very tiring so I thought about playing hookie from my next class but as you know I am a rule following Chickie who would never want to offend anyone. I was pleasantly surprised to be regaled by the story of how a older lady started her YouTube channel to make her Church groups crocheting lessons easier for her 12 members to see and keep up at their own pace. She has over 800,000 subscribers now and quit her fulltime job as a professor at Southern university.

By far my favourite class was with Shanna Noel the creator of Illustrated faith. Her story of her journey to find her connection to Jesus was inspiring as well as at times quite comedic . She has inspired my to include Bible Journaling in my craft repertoire.





Saturday was the main event. The tradeshow floor opened and I was overwhelmed with sheer volume of new products coming to market. I found new companies that I have not seen before that I am now obsessed with. I am eagerly awaiting their new releases. One such company is 49 & Market which just started out 9 months ago and already has Gabriella Pollaka desgning for them.

My favourite moments were meeting Heidi Swap, Sheena Douglas, Debbi Moore and Emmalou from Heartfelt creations.

Though my blistered toes will say otherwise, this was one of the most exciting events I have ever attended.  I find it hard to believe I was actually there. It's a perfect example of living your dreams. Now I have to decide on my next adventure.