What a day!

I WAS going to make stamps today... But grannie called and said "Lets go to Bear Lake"... (We're having a mini retreat up there in March).. So I had wanted to go up there but I didn't want to take the time to do it.. I did have some things to pick up from a couple manufacturers so I said why not! I got on the phone and called Lindsay at Cosmo Cricket and got directions.. then I called Paul at Tinkering Ink and got directions...

We left here at about 11:30 am and it's now 7:30 pm... we are home and boy am I tired!!! The truck is LOADED with stuff. We totally scored!!! We never did make it to Bear Lake though.... We got lost going to Cosmo Cricket.. then we spent the better part of an hour talking shop so to speak with Lindsay.. This man is an awesome guy!!! He totally hooked the Royal Stamping Maids up today!! I mean... HOOKED THEM UP!!!

He's a very intelligent man and I'm definetly going to keep him in my Rolodex. It was worth the whole trip to go up there and see the Cosmo Cricket offices and warehouses. I got to meet Jon the famous warehouse guy and the nice staff.

We headed up the road and up the mountain to Tinkering Ink, where I met Paul and his lovely wife who's name escapes me right now.. I also took some photos of their view!!! It's an amazing view from their office. To the right is a shot I got from the driveway of the TI office.

Then... we thought.. we will never make it to Bear Lake and back AND still have time to hit Carolee's and SEI... So we just scratched Bear Lake and hit the manufacturers. :) Here's a couple shots I got outside of Carolee's...

This next shot is the view from to the East looking out Carolee's door. Isn't it a nice clear day?? But brrrr it was cold!!

This is the view from their parking lot looking South West-ish. :) As you can tell it was getting late in the day by then and the sun was beginning to set.

I have to tell you... I got to meet Carolee herself today!! Oh my, what a pleasure that was. She gave us a little 'tour' of their warehouse and let us pick out some stuff to buy and some to bring back to the Design Team. What a fantastic set up they have there!! Did you know that they cut their own chipboard albums?? YEP! They do and guess who go to see how they did it?? YEPPERS!! That would be ME! It was a very interesting visit we had. She told me a bit about how and when she got started 12 years ago! Did you know she was one of the FIRST Scrapbook paper manufacturers??? I knew it but I wasn't sure when she started, I just had seen her products a long time ago. She was one of the first to make actual scrapbooking papers in 8.5"X11" and also she helped pioneer the way for 12"X12". Did you know that? I guess it's true, you learn something every day.

They have this new sticker paper out.. Man this stuff is NIFTY!!! Look for it SOON in a QKD kit!! HINT HINT!! Also, there's this clear plastic that's embossed.. OMG! I got to see a sample that was made with it... I can TOTALLY see a few of my DT members eating it up!! That'll also be in an upcoming kit.. I'm telling you guys.. get the QKD kits.. They are so worth the money and time that goes into them. Carolee also HOOKED the DT up!!! I was so overcome with generosity. It was a nice thing to experience this day and age, you know?

By the time we left Carolee's Grannie was begging to go home because we spent the whole day walking, driving and talking to everyone we met she was exhausted... BUT.. there was 1 more stop on our schedule... SEI. Yep, that's right.. We got lost going there too.. But not as bad as Cosmo Cricket. LOL. Check out the view from the East end of their parking lot.. It's pretty nice.

I just want to end with a BIG THANK YOU TO Cosmo Cricket, Tinkering Ink and Carolee's Creations. They have hooked our Royal Stamping Maids up for the next few months. It's going to be so fantastic to see what my Court does with all of the fantastic products that Lindsay, Paul and Carolee gave us. THANK YOU SO MUCH!