Tuesday Thoughts...
Dearest Friends of The Crafting Cottage,

Lots to fill you in on this week. First, I will be sending out
"Tuesday Thoughts" instead of Monday Musings for the next few weeks.

The first "online" class for September, Cozy Cabin & Truck Loads of Fun, has already registered several crafters - one from California, one from Pennsylvania and a couple from New York! The kits will be mailed out next week.

The deadline to register for this class so that you can receive you kit in time is by Sunday, September 13th.
The kit includes a die-set (with 18 pieces!!!) plus a cling stamp, ribbons, embellishments, pad of patterned paper, blank cards, pre-cut items for making the first few cards along with printed instructions, link to the exclusive ZOOM class and much more!
Two of the four cards that will be taught in class are below. Best part is after the class - you will have the stamp and die set plus lots of extra goodies to make many, many more cards.
For more information and to register - CLICK HERE!
Creative Challenge Event - Sept. 30th
via ZOOM
Each month, I will be hosting a special "Creative Challenge Event".
The concept is for as many of us as possible to get together via ZOOM and spend a few hours creating various projects using the supplies you received in your kit plus anything else you wish to use from home.

I will be giving a challenge that will be the same for everyone for the first couple of cards and tags. However, inside each participant's kit will be an envelope with a special "Mystery" challenge that only that crafter will know. Additionally, "mystery" products will be included for that particular mystery challenge.

As we all work on our projects, even though we are not physically in the same room, we can still chat and share stories, ideas, inspiration and have a laugh or two via this technological thing called ZOOM.

For the September challenge - the main "star" of the event will be the stamp set below. It will be wonderful to see how many different ways we interpret the same images.
Three inspirations are below:
A Paper Crafting Conference & Trade Show
VIRTUALLY
Next week I will be attending paper crafting classes from Avery Elle, Hero Arts, Graphic 45, Impression Obsession and many others. I am very excited.

It is all being done virtually. I just received my box of supplies and products for the various classes. I obviously hope to then offer some of these classes to you all either virtually - or in person in 2021.

I'm looking forward to the seminars that are being offered to help us small shops figure how to navigate these new waters we're all sailing in.

This conference/trade show is being hosted by The Collins Group. Normally, we get together in person - usually in Massachusetts. However, they figured a way to coordinate fourteen vendors to teach classes to over 200 shop owners. Plus, they have the speakers for the seminars. The event will run for four days with the first two days filled with workshops and seminars. The last two days are devoted to the Trade Show part where vendors will "meet" with the various shop owners by appointment to answer questions and show products. It's going to be an adventure!

I'll share how it went with you all in a couple of weeks.
Crafting Cottage Shop & Inn Updated Musings...
I was thrilled to receive so many emails last week after I (finally) sent out a newsletter. It was lovely to hear from crafters. Let me share some of the most asked questions with all of you now.

Question: What is happening with the trucking company issue?
As of today - there are still meetings going on between the Painted Post Planning Board and several of the residents of the village. Since I do not physically live at the Crafting Cottage, I am not able to vote in any of the elections pertaining to the Village of Painted Post. As such, I have stepped back from attending many of the meetings. I was able to do quite a bit of research on several fronts for my neighbors and they are in possession of all the legal papers, reports, communications, past history....etc., etc. that I was able to dig up and they have been able to use that information. I also created a Facebook Page specifically for the neighbors of the Village of Painted Post to communicate with others who were unaware of what was happening.
Clearly, there were many levels of inappropriate action taken and the saddest, to me, of it all was how certain people took advantage of the Pandemic to try and slide this under the radar. I am encouraged by the fact that there are enough people now that are not going to let this situation slide by.

Question: When do you anticipate opening up for in-person stuff?
Ahhhhhh....the Crystal Ball question. I do not know the answer to this one yet.

I am working on an idea for those who would like to have access to the Tool Room and be able to cut out several items using the large die-cutting machine and commercial dies. I know that several crafters out there rely on access to the big dies to create multiple tags, shapes and cards for the upcoming holidays.

I would limit it to two people (who know each other - friends or family) at a time for no more than two hours or one person solo up to three hours.

I can easily sanitize everything when it is just one or two people at a time. Everyone would need to wear masks at all times, etc., etc.


Question: Any idea as to when the Inn will reopen??????
My first booking for 2021 in is the month of April. Let us all hope that the Inn will safely welcome back guests once again by that time. I will soon be posting available dates in the online shop for groups to book for dates beginning in late March of 2021.

I have made several changes in anticipation of dealing with the
Covid-19 and those will all be listed on the Crafting Cottage Inn Page.

Do You Still have a booth at The Shoppes at Oldies But Goodies?
Yes, I do. I hope to get in there soon during one of the Vendor nights to refresh the booth and fill it with lots of crafting products that are geared for the upcoming holidays. I lost a lot of time in August as I was staying away from people so I wouldn't risk getting exposed to Covid-19 since my hubby was having three surgeries in August.

Will you be bringing back the Creative Challenge Kits again?
Yes, I will. I am offering one via ZOOM where people can interact with each other. I am offering another one similar to what I did in the Spring. Crafters will get to order the kit and create cards and tags and then send in pictures. It won't be a fund raiser as it was before. The themes will be geared for Autumn and the upcoming holidays.

I was asked to include more scrapbooking challenges - so I will do that, too!

What's happening with the online shop?????
OK - full disclosure here - I gave up on it!
As much as I fancy myself a Wonder Woman on steroids most days - I have finally waved the white flag of surrender trying to fill the online shop with products. It is one of THE most time consuming tasks. I have to take the picture, write the description, weigh it, determine the shipping price and then input all that data. I much prefer inputting kits.
There is so much competition out there, too. Most companies like Hero Arts, Graphic 45 and even Dare2BArtzy - all sell directly to the consumer. They also have several employees to help with the packaging and shipping, etc..
So - I am focusing on what I CAN do. I am working on classes. I am working on creating unique kits. Feel free to check out the shop and see if there is anything on there you would be interested in. Some of the items are on a special SALE! CLICK HERE!!
Personal Thoughts & Musings...
Normally at this time of year I seem to be seeing off one of my children back to school. Last year, I flew over to England to help Tara move into her new digs as she began her educational journey.

This year, I will be welcoming Tara back home from England!!! YEAH!! I will also not have to wave goodbye to Brianna as she has finished her educational journey this past Spring. YEAH!!!! I will have both my girls HOME! I shall be in bliss.

But, what IS USUAL at this time of year is that I am moving one of my children somewhere. This year, we are moving Brianna out of Syracuse back home. The movers are set to move her in mid-October. In the meantime, Brianna and I will be packing up her apartment and getting her new digs ready. She and Tara will be dividing up their time between home/home and a tiny cottage that is close enough to home yet far away enough, too. Perfect.

For the past couple of weeks boxes have been arriving filled with Tara's books and big bulky items such as sweaters, etc.. We discovered this awesome service that will pick up the boxes and luggage from Tara's door in England and they simply put them on the first plane with room and then they get delivered right to our door here in the states. Literally, door to door service.

Speaking of moving - I couldn't help but reminisce about how much fun my brother was when it came to moving. Dennis made it fun. Always. I moved him in and out of his dorm for five years, then his various apartments and he, in return, always helped me with big moves.
I remember a couple of times in particular when Dennis and I had rented a U-Haul truck to move my family from one house in Connecticut to another house (just down the road). Of course - it rained that day. It poured. And yet, Dennis and I were slipping and sliding up and down that U-Haul metal "EZ Ramp" as we carried couches, beds, mattresses, tables, chairs.....And LAUGHING, laughing, laughing. It was just Dennis and me. I learned early on that my hubby is the WORST person to move with. He gets grumpy. He gets snippy. He gets an 'attitude'. As such, I simply forbid my hubby to 'help' move us anywhere or anytime. Period.

Dennis's humor was also a dangerous thing when moving things - especially large items - like a couch - going down a long flight of steep stairs. There I was at the top of the stairs holding on to the couch as Dennis took the brunt of the weight of the heavy thing at the bottom. As we were slowly inching our way down the stairs, Dennis started making me laugh and I no longer had a good grip on the couch. As I tried to warn him the couch began moving faster down the stairs. The next thing - I hear him making all these whoops and hollars and then he says something like "Shazzam!" At that point, I was useless, and was now doubled over holding onto the stair handrail while I heard the couch thump, thump, thump down the rest of the stairway. Then there was that 'silence'. I finally ventured the question, "Dennis - you OK?" His reply was to start singing , "So just call on me brother, when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on..."

Like I said - Dennis made moving fun.

September will be my medical month. I am having a colonoscopy tomorrow. Then more blood work next week. Then I will be going to physical therapy for my left arm to try and deal with the tendonitis. Fun, fun, fun. I think I mentioned in one of my last Musings to you all prior to the summer break that I was determined to finally lose some weight and get back into shape. Well, imagine my frustration. Two months I did a workout for at least 30 minutes each day. I changed my diet. I drank enough water to compete with an ocean. I ate lettuce, fruit and healthy stuff for two months and what did I have to show for it? NOTHING! I lost and gained the same three pounds for two months. I kept track on a calendar. Now the doctor is thinking it's my thyroid. So I continue going through various tests - bloodwork, ultrasounds.....I JUST want to lose some weight here folks.

Then my daughter, Brianna, decided to be my "Health Coach" and she cheers me on and tells me not to give up (and all that stuff). However, I knew I was in trouble when Brianna happily informs me that she had ordered us a box from the company, Daily Harvest. I had seen the commercials (and thought to myself, "No way I would eat that stuff"). Kelp, Lemongrass, Matcha, Acerola, Lychee.... It arrives frozen. There are soups, Harvest Bowls, Flatbreads and you simply heat them up when you are ready to eat them.

Well, my hubby (of ALL people) is LOVING this stuff and of course, he's losing weight. My first 'meal' was supposed to be a soup but I think I overcooked it and it tasted like warm bath water to me. Needless to say - I did not care for it. Brianna and my husband are enjoying this little healthy club they've joined. They compare notes on what they've had and even rate the various meals. Good for them. You may wish to check out Daily Harvest. I have to say - they love it and I still need to give it another chance.

Remember - the newsletter will be "Tuesday Thoughts" for a few more weeks. Don't miss the deadline to register for the upcoming online class.

As always - Stay Crafty My Friends!!!

Cheers,
Georgiana