Well, after months of preparation and 10 weeks of the SENZ Sunday Times, we thought it appropriate to end with a summary of the weekend. The NZ Scrapbooking and Stamping Expo was held in Christchurch over the weekend of 16th – 18th July at the Riccarton Park Convention Centre. Thousands of people attended from across Canterbury, NZ and even a keen group of girls from Aussie made the trip over!

Artfull Crafts decided to get a big stand – and then we enlarged it some more! We packed up most of the Timaru store and just managed to fit all the stock and fittings in the back of a huge furniture trailer – as well as a second high-sided one. We packed up the trailers by 11pm on the Wednesday night and woke up early for the trip to ChCh the next day.

Thursday morning began with a bit of drama! The night before Graham had driven the car with the very heavy furniture trailer out into our back yard area. It was a really frosty morning and the car would not go up the slope of the driveway. The wheels kept slipping and sliding and it would not go forward! I was starting to get quite concerned. He had to do a huge 3-point turn in the carpark and tried a few more time from different angles. I was even trying to push it up the hill!! It finally got some traction and made it! Whew. That took 15 mins (I had visions of having to unpack the trailer and running late to ChCh!)

So we got on the road and nervously drove to ChCh (frosty roads and all). It took longer than usual travelling at 80km max! That’s how heavy it was. When we arrived we had to go and hire a car trailer and pick up the 2 huge stands that we would be using at the show (we’ve since brought them back and set them up in the shop. They look great!). That was a job for 4 strong men and a few helpful females!

By 11am we were ready to start. Thanks to extra helpful friends we had a team of 9 people unpacking the trailers and setting up the stall. We worked flat out until 5pm – right on queue for the early VIP Shoppers! After a very busy hour and a half of trading we were ready to collapse into bed! But we still had some class prep to do, and then we needed to stay awake til midnight to pick up the Aussie guests from the airport! Melissa Kennedy and Al Hannah from Kaisercraft came out to run 6 of our classes and they did an excellent job! Thanks girls for all the laughs.

Throughout the weekend there were 8 classes run and 6 Demo Theatre Presentations – which I really enjoyed doing! There was always something to win at an Artfull Crafts Demo. They were always short and snappy too as I was running off to introduce the classes and check on the stall! I also ran a mini-masterpieces class which seemed really successful and I loved the creations people came up with. Many thanks go to Besty Clarke and her daughter who ran a very popular Vintage Cards class for us. People are still ringing me wanting extra packs of these!

My thanks have to go to my wonderful husband - who wore a Depserate Housewife” apron all weekend (while we wore bright pink!), Juanita and Vicki who are very hard-working employees of Artfull Crafts and the other wonderful helpers – Shirley, Clarissa, Diana, Judy, Francine, Betsy, Jocelyn, Melissa, Allanah and family… We couldn’t have done it without your support.



Every morning we were up early making sure everything was ready for the classes. We did have the odd panic where some wooden pieces were in wrong packs and we only had 5 mins to get the classroom set up between the classes – but a few free prizes and laughs hopefully kept everyone smiling.

It was a high-pressure weekend and incredibly tiring. I admire anyone who goes to SENZ. It’s a lot of work if you are running classes and even though it’s only a weekend event, it does represent months of work!

Artfull Crafts was thrilled to win the Best Stall Award. We thank everyone for their support and were so pleased to put names to faces over the weekend. Thanks for all the positive feedback too. My worst fear was coming home to negative emails – but it was quite the opposite!! (Whew!). We tried hard to put on classes that would appeal and that had generous class packs – and we’ve certainly been pleased with the feedback.

After the quick pack down on the Sunday night we headed back to Timaru with the Kaisercraft girls. We set off early morning on a 750km tiki-tour of the South island! We started with breakfast in Timaru, a quick trip to the Moeraki Boulders, through to Oamarama stopping off at Elephant Rocks, then up to Tekapo (with numerous photo stops at the dams and lakes).







We had a quick look at the Church of the Good Shepherd, a dip in the hot pools, fish ‘n chip dinner and a drive back to ChCh via Geraldine. We dropped the Kaiser girls in ChCh for their early morning flight and headed back to Timaru! The next day we set the shop back up and opened on Wednesday.

What a crazy week we’ve had. We’ve been quietly hibernating this week and recovering from all the excitement!

So the question is … Will we go to SENZ next year?

Watch this space…! It might be a good chance to have a little look around the North Island… Mel and Al might even consider it after their fingers and toes thaw out.



Here is Al wanting to touch the snow!

Whoops! It appears I was so busy last week that I forgot to do the SENZ Sunday Times!! And this one will be very short...

We have been working long, hard hours to bring you a great looking stall at SENZ. We want to be really well organised so that we can enjoy chatting to our customers - old and new! It's pretty exciting now - with only 4 more days to go (that gives me a nervous flutter in my stomach).

We are still making samples and class kits, designing pamphlets and special notices, and writing list after list...

Things for you to think about...
1) Have you booked into classes? We have an extra-large classroom and still have a few spaces in each one. We've had a great response so far and we know that there will be last-minute bookings - so don't run the risk of missing out.

2) Have you checked the "what to bring" lists? Click into the classes to find the link.
3) Go to your favourite stores first - as you don't want to miss out on the hot-selling items!

What will Artfull Crafts be stocking?
What won't we be stocking?! We will have a large selection of Martha Stewart and EK Success punches, Spellbinders, Cuttlebugs, folders and dies, Cricuts (at AMAZING prices!), Ranger and Tim Holtz products, Opalettes, Copic Caio Markers, iRock, Flower Soft, Layout packs, Scor Pals, stamps and scrapbooking supplies (it's impossible to list it all) and of course a FULL Kaisercraft stall...
Bascially we will have a lot of our website stock PLUS all the new stuff that has arrived in the last 3 weeks...! We have pallets of stock arriving here this week. When will we have time to unpack them all?!

Where will you find us?
Come up the stairs and and turn through the doors to your right. We are the stall immediately on your right - the extra long 11m stall!! We will have it seperated into 3 different sections - Kaisercraft, Stamping and Scrapbooking. We'll be wearing the BRIGHT pink aprons with some iRock decorations on the pockets!

Competition
We have a very cool black bird cage - and we've filled it with Frangipani flowers. You just need to guess how many there are! The closet guess will win the generous prize pack that's on display at the stall.

Other Free Stuff

* Spend $50 and go in the daily draw to win a Kaisercraft Collection Pack
* Get FREE bling with every Kaisercraft Beyond the Page purchase
* VIP specials (in the coupon book)
* Sign Up to the website at SENZ and get a free welcome pack
* Plus heaps of other product specials and deals...

Demo Theatre
Everyday at 10:30am and 1:30pm we will be at the Demo Theatre near the Cafe. We'll be showcasing new products and ideas and will give out handouts to all those watching. All our Demos begin with "3 ways to use..." - so they should be pretty interesting and informative.

Please make yourself known to us if you are a website customer. We'd love to meet you! I'd better go ... so much still to do!

Liz - Artfull Crafts

I've finally had a minute to sit down and check out the new Kaiser Design Team. I have to say I'm really impressed with some of their choices! I did a bit of blog-hopping and came across Lady Grace Belarmino's blog. Her work is inspirational - and makes me want to stay up all night crafting...

scrappinworld.blogspot.com

Perhaps I'll just go to bed though...!

SENZ is in two and a half weeks! Where did the time go?

Class Brings Lists
These have been finalised and are available for online viewing. Simply click into the class that you are attending and find the "What to Bring" link. Here you will see what is recommended and other items that are optional.

New class opening
We are allocating some seats in the Sunday 9am - 11am Vintage Clock class for people who may want to complete one of the other classes they may have missed out on. Melissa Kennedy will be teaching the clock class while Al Hannah will work with the others. If you want to book in for this option, just select the class you want to do and then email us a note to say it's for the Sunday 9am session.

General
It's pretty crazy around here at the moment. A whole lot of new stock came back with us from Brisbane and we've been trying to get it online. We've also been putting in lots of International orders (and hoping they'll get here before SENZ!). Most days we're making up the class kits, ordering goods and generally making sure we are ready.

This weekend I was in Dunedin and so I set about to find some Hot Pink material for our aprons and table covers. I was really thrilled to find the exact fabric that I had dreamed of in Spotlight (and on VIP special). I bought 30m of it and then took it outside...into the bright daylight... and to my horror it was REALLY BRIGHT PINK!! Sort of like flourescent bright pink...!! Let's just say you won't miss us! We will be decorating them with the iRock - a great tool that adheres bling to fabric and papers. Keep your eye on the website and be in quick to purchase yours.

I have been working long, hard hours lately to make sure we are well prepared - so I gave myself most of Friday evening to do some crafts! I ended up making some samples for the stall (is that still work?!). I was pretty pleased with my efforts - two Twiddleybitz projects. One of them is a Christmas tree (is it too early to be thinking Christmas?) and the other is an ornate shelf. I successfully used crackle medium to get that French Provincial look and had a bit of fun with Smooch Spritz. I have a feeling that might be the last of the 'playing' I get done before SENZ.

Next weekend we are transforming the classroom into the SENZ stall. That way we can plan what we need to take with us to Christchurch and how the stall will be decorated etc. I'm looking forward to that. I've always loved moving furniture around!

Chat soon
Liz

I think it's 3 weeks today that we head to SENZ. Somehow I'd been counting them wrong - I thought I had another week up my sleeve!!!

Anyway, well done to Jenny E for winning a free class at SENZ. She simply purchased a kaisercraft product over the weekend. And there were plenty of choices! The new Kaiser collections - Le Chateau and Konstrukt are really great.

Win a FREE SENZ class to the value of $49 by purchasing your items for the SENZ classes before midnight Sunday the 27th June. Click into the class and find the "What to bring" link.

We've also spent all week loading up new stock. Check it out...More coming in the next few weeks.

Our last class is running at the shop tomorrow until August! Stampin' Fun. Still some vacancies! Call us if you want to come.

Better go to bed - got some strange intention of watching the soccer. I've never watched socccer - so I'm not sure why the renewed interest all of a sudden!! Probably something to do with the fun of going down to the boys' work and watching it on a huge screen in the middle of the night (and taking my sleeping bag. And there are other girls going too... can't be seen to be slack now!!

Juanita might not be happy with me tomorrow though if my brain is fried. Which it has been since I've come back from Brisbane anyway. It's buzzing all day long at the moment. So much to do for SENZ!

Night night!

Only 5 more weeks to go until NZ's Paper Expo...!

We're back from our trip to Brisbane (except Vicki is enjoying the warmer weather a bit longer...). If you want to read about our trip and all the exciting products that we've brought back, then read our blog 17th June.

I've spent all weekend putting the new stock in the shop and I'll have it loaded up online as soon as possible. This week we should also have the time to send out the information regarding the SENZ classes and what you'll need to bring.

Here's part two of the interview with the Kaisercraft girls. Al Hannah answers some questions...

Al loves the new Le Chateau range - it's her favourite one this year (and I have to agree it's pretty special). We just got the collection delivered and I can't wait to have a play. Think bird cages, keys and a french provincial style collection. The stamps and metal keys have sold out in Aussie already - but they're back in stock next week. Al loves the new wooden flourish vines and if you check out the Kaisercraft blog you'll see some great use of opals on them. She also enjoys embellishing her projects with pearl strips.

Al likes to complete her Beyond-the-Page projects properly (so she paints the backs as well!). She paints the edges of projects first, then uses glue to stick down the paper, trims off the excess with a craft knife and then , and then uses the Kaisercraft file set to get a tidy edge.

(Melissa tried at this time to find a project that Al had not completely finished - checking the back of all the projects at the Kaiser stand - but she didn't find one! Al joined in the fun and showed us a Melissa boo-boo. We tried to take a photo of it - but Melissa was too quick with her hand!)







As far as tools go, Al is a fan of her Making Memories trimmer and EK Success punches.

Al loves layouts most of all as they are a good way to preserve memories and the journalling acts as a record of people's lives. But she also makes gifts for others - (although I got the feeling that she's made enough recipe books for the moment!)

Al is a homely person and loves to spend time with her 2 boys and husband. She doesn't seem to be doing much crafting after hours at the moment - she gets to do it all at work! She loves Thailand in August - and so she's not so keen on the cold! She hasn't been to NZ before and has no ideas what it's like. She's looking forward to meeting new people and having fun with Artfull Crafts customers in the classes.

Design Team
Why don't you consider joining our Design Team? We're happy to receive pictures of projects if it's not suitable or practical to send them in the post. Some people have even sent us YouTube clips! Applications close 3rd August.

Keep warm this week!
Liz
Artfull Crafts

What a fun trip we had to Brisbane SIA! I really should be going to bed now (after a 3am arrival back home...)

We were at the Papercraft Expo for Saturday, Sunday and most of Monday. Vicki and I slowly walked the aisles meeting lovely crafters and retailers, checking out the new stock, make-and-takes, demos and doing a little (little) bit of shopping.

The Saturday was pretty busy and it was really hard getting into some of the stalls to see what was going on. Satall design is VERY important!!

We've found quite a lot of new product lines that we will be introducing - in time for SENZ we hope. And we brought some back with us too after visiting Aussie distribution warehouses. Well, we tried to bring the goods back! I decided to pay the excess baggage and was ready with the invoice for the commercial goods (to pay GST and customs charges). The plane arrived at 12am and by 1am we were being seen by the Customs area. They didn't want to deal with the clearance and said that we had to keep everything at the airport in the boxes until the morning...

So we came back to Timaru empty handed. Hopefully they will have everything done by tomorrow so that we can do a quick drive back to ChCh to collect them over the weekend!!

Anyway, some of the new items we brought back are the Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies and embossing folders, Twiddleybitz chipboard (for miles!), Me and My Big Ideas layout kits, Papermania products (part of the DoCrafts machine), Just Rite Stamps, Smooch and Smooch Spritz (what fun) and some other random bits and pieces. I'm sure we'll be working hard over the next few days to get it out in the shop and on the website.

We'll also be stocking Magnolia stamps, Martha Stewart punches, Copic Ciao markers, Opals, Unity Stamps, Stamp Scapes and some Darkroom Door products. We're wanting to improve our stamping selection to meet the local demand - and we think you'll like the range. These items will be arriving in time for SENZ.

We didn't have a lot of time for holidaying while we were away - although friends of ours met us for a meal and we popped down to the Gold Coast for an evening with my cousin.

Vicki is staying in Aussie for another 2 weeks visiting family and Juanita is sunning it in Fiji. Meanwhile I had 568 messages to check this morning, 15 boxes of stock to open (that's the stuff that arrived while I was away!) and now I've just finished packing up the Scrappin Sensations Monthly Layout Kit. I think I need a holiday...!! Night Night...

Only 5 more weeks to go until NZ’s Papercraft Expo! (yes it's that close!)

This will be a short edition tonight as Vicki and I are in Australia enjoying the Brisbane Scrapping and Cardmaking Convention. We do have lots to share – but you’ll have to wait for some of it!!

Interview with Melissa Kennedy Today we enjoyed informal (and at times jovial) interviews with Melissa Kennedy and Al Hannah (the tutors teaching Artfull Crafts classes at SENZ). Here’s Melissa’s take on life and scrapbooking…. Melissa’s favourite paper range this year … (Yes, I meant Kaiser papers Melissa…) is Devonshire. (So it’s just as well she’s running a Vintage clock class using this range). She also mentioned Prima’s Shabby Chic (who’s got good taste in papers?!)

Mel’s favourite product at the moment is the new Kaisercraft wooden flourishes (in particular the vines). She says, “It’s versatile. It starts plain but you can tiz it up!” (Well maybe Al added that bit! This interview was a bit like a circus – with one starting and the other finishing the answer! We are sure you’re going to enjoy the Mel and Al show at SENZ this year!)

Melissa was quick to point out that layouts are her favourite type of paper crafting activity. She started scrapbooking to keep a record of her kids’ lives and also has an interest in family history. Melissa also enjoys making gifts for others (but did suggest that after she had finished them she often wanted to keep them for herself!!)

She describes her style as “A little bit of this, and a little bit of that”. She also enjoys clusters and is willing to experiment with different styles.

Mel just happened to be using 3 retro flower punches when we asked what her favourite tool was… and the evidence was on the floor! A pile of punched out scraps – she said she was preparing for her Dream Layout class (I do believe she’s running that one at SENZ too!! In fact it’s so popular we’ve timetabled it twice). She also mentioned she loves paper distressers – any brand will do…

Melissa loves to craft in the room her husband built her while she was away at a CHA in the USA. Her kids are welcome in the room and they seem to enjoy ‘borrowing’ her equipment!!

When asked about her upcoming trip to NZ she said she was excited about coming and meeting lots of new people. She’s also looking forward to seeing a bit of NZ. (She has been to NZ once before skiing – but I reminded her that we’d be working her too hard for any skiing this time!!)

Brisbane Expo

So here we are in Brisbane. We came with 4 goals in mind. Let’s look at each of them and see how we’re doing…

1) See what makes a great stall – layout and display ideas. Comment: Lots of stalls have been jammed packed with people and have been difficult to get in and out of. So we think an open stall design might work better. The displays on some sites have been outstanding – Twiddlybitz in particular had stunning display items. Check them out on their website…

2) New product exposure – what’s new and popular. Comment: Invaluable for this. We’re going to be bringing in some new products – and we’re very excited about some of them! Think Tim Holtz, Copic markers, some very classy stamps, opals, Martha Stewart punches, smooch, and more…

3) Demonstration and Make-and Take ideas. Comment: There has been a definite theme in the demos this year – cutesy stamps with Copic colouring, Peelcraft with Gelly Rollers and chipboard laser cuts by the miles.

4) Meet Manufacturers and Distributors. Comment: Oh yes!! It’s been great to meet people in the industry – and put faces to emails! We have one more day at the show and then we’re off to the suppliers warehouses. We’ll bring some stock back with us, but other stock we’ll be getting from the USA in the next few weeks.

We’re back from the show toward the end of the week and I suspect we’ll be busy with a few hundred email messages until the weekend! Then we will compile the class email lists and send you more information about the classes you’ve booked in for.

Design Team

We’ve announced our desire for a larger Design Team. Check out our ads in the Up 2 Scrap magazine and the upcoming Scrapbooking Memories magazine, or head to our website to read all about it. Aussie entries also accepted! Please consider joining our fun team.

Next Week

We’ll have Al Hannah’s responses to our (very) informal interview.

Until next week,

Happy crafting!

Liz

Artfull Crafts

Only 6 more weeks to go until NZ’s Papercraft Expo!

Classes
The classes got released this week and the response has been great. We still have spaces available – although they are all filling up well. The two most popular classes appear to be the Advent Calendar and Dream Layout – so you’ll need to get in quick if you are contemplating those classes.

The full class timetable can be viewed on the www.senz.co.nz website.

We’re offering a $20 Kaisercraft goodie bag to anyone who books in for THREE or more Artfull Crafts classes by Wednesday 9^th June. Pick up your entry ticket too…

Over the next week we intend to send out more detailed class information.

Exciting News

Next weekend Graham, Vicki and myself are off to Brisbane for 5 days to attend the big Aussie SIA Scrapbooking and Papercraft Expo. Our visit is 4-fold:

1) See what makes a great stall – layout and display ideas

2) New product exposure – what’s new and popular

3) Demonstration and Make-and Take ideas

4) Meet Manufacturers and Distributors

We’re very excited about this trip and know that it will serve us well in our preparation for SENZ. We’ll be bringing a LOT of new stock back with us and plan on shipping some back too. Artfull Crafts plans to keep expanding!

We’d love your input too!! If you have a particular product line that you’d like us to stock, send us an email and let us know. We’ll put you in the draw to win a free ticket to the Vintage Clock class at SENZ (worth $49). It’s on Sunday 9am – 11am. You’ll have to send the email to us by Thursday the 10^th June

Design Team

Just a quick note (unrelated to SENZ!). We’ve announced our desire for a larger Design Team. Check out our ads in the Up 2 Scrap magazine and the upcoming Scrapbooking Memories magazine, or head to our website to read all about it. Aussie entries also accepted!

Next Week

SENZ Sunday Times might be a bit late next week. We’ll be on Brisbane time and possibly a bit pre-occupied! But we do intend to publish an interview with Melissa Kennedy from Kaisercraft. Melissa is also teaching at the Brisbane Expo and will be running most of the Artfull Crafts classes at SENZ.

Until next week, Happy crafting!

Liz, Artfull Crafts

Only 7 more weeks to go until NZ’s Papercraft Expo! I can’t quite believe how close it’s getting…

Classes

This is one of the more exciting weeks. You get to see all the classes that are on offer – starting from Tuesday. There are some great tutors coming to SENZ (including the special guests for Artfull Crafts – Melissa Kennedy and Al Hannah from Kaisercraft Australia).

The full class timetable (72 available classes!) will appear on the www.senz.co.nz website. You’ll need a password to access the Classes page. That password will be emailed to you during the week.

Here’s how the mail-outs will occur: Tuesday 1st June for VIP 3-Day pass holders Wednesday 2nd June for 2-Day pass holders Thursday 3rd June for 1-Day pass holders Friday 4th June for the public

If you purchased your tickets through Artfull Crafts, we will be sending you the Password on each of the applicable mornings. If you purchased your tickets from other outlets then your email will come from someone else.

Competition Corner

We’re going to offer a $20 Kaisercraft goodie bag to anyone who books in for THREE or more Artfull Crafts classes by Wednesday 9^th June. We’ll post this goodie bag out as soon as the class payment has been made.

Another Free SENZ class is up for grabs… ends tonight. Artfull Crafts has been working hard to bring you a new website Gallery. If you comment on any of the layouts before midnight tonight you’ll go in the draw to win a FREE SENZ class (worth $50)

Tickets

You can still purchase SENZ entry tickets from Artfull Crafts.

Design Team

Just a quick note (unrelated to SENZ!). We’ve announced our desire for a larger Design Team. Check out our ads in the Up 2 Scrap magazine and the upcoming Scrapbooking Memories magazine, or head to our Gallery to read all about it. Aussie entries also accepted!

That’s it for today! We’ve got some more exciting news next week - but you’ll just have to wait for that…

Until next week,

Happy crafting!