Where have I been?

I was doing better with keeping my blog up to date over the holidays than I am now with nothing else to do. I haven't even been on the computer all that much, thanks to my son who always takes it over when he's here & now there's my daughter, who has discovered the fun of the WWW, thanks to Nickelodian. At least when she's on the computer, I can get something else accomplished somewhere else.

I have been a bit creative lately in my non-computer time. I signed up to do a demo for The Memory Zone this past Sat. using the new Border/Corner punches by Fiskars. They are so cool! Here is a page made using one of these punches.

I just love these beauties! I also want to give a HUGE Thanks to Kelly Crowl for letting me use one of her punches for the demo too! I also brought a bunch of my own border punches too with lots of examples for people to see. I'm kinda proud of myself for actually planning ahead & being prepared for once. Too bad there just wasn't that many there to see my efforts. It was kind of a dreary day out, but I did manage to persuade one person to buy the punch that created the border on my page here. I thought I had another customer convinced to purchase one too, but I think she was more interested in the Quickutz. That's OK, maybe she'll be back & decide to get one eventually. She makes cards & these babies were right up her alley! I'm not a very good salesperson, I have to admit, so I need my examples to help me sell the product & even though I LOVE to talk, I don't get my "sales pitch" down very good until I've pitched it a few times. I always seem to forget some things in the beginning. It's a good thing I don't have to make a living in sales!

I have been seeing a bit more sneak peaks for this weekend's Craft & Hobby Association's semi-annual convention. It will be interesting to see who survives in this sad economy being the way that it is. We've had such an overload of products in years past that we as consumers have found it difficult to keep up with the industry. I loved all the choices, but found it overwhelming at times that I would not, nor could not be able to get it all or work with it all before the next round came out with even more trends. I hate to see some of my favorite companies closing, but I also like to be able to keep up. I would like to see prices drop a bit, I'd be more likely to make more purchases if I could afford them, but when they want $10 for a small plastic container of paper flowers or nearly $5 for 8 tiny fabric shapes, I just can't see the justification for that purchase. It's not the retailer's fault, they're dropping like flies around the country. Nor can they compete with the Walmart's, Hobby Lobby's & Michael's either. It's really not fair.

OK, well, I have more projects to work on & more things to take care of today, so I'll get off my soapbox (again!).

God Bless & have a great day!
Beth M.