Make and Take in Ketchican

Great News! The fine folks at Alaska Scrapbook Centre will have a Make and Take for Sailing with Scissors guests. We don't all have to rush there at the same time. It will be available the whole day. Don't forget the coupon for your 10% discount.

Number of participants for Card Swap and Wood Mount Game

Hello friends! I just wanted to give you the scoop about the number of people participating in the Card Swap and the Wood Mount Game. At this point in time, we have twenty people participating in both events.

For the Card Swap, please bring 21 cards that are identical that you will be swapping with your swapping pals. The additional one card will be for the contest. We will have prizes for the first, second and third place winners.

For the Wood Mount Game, please bring a new or gently used wood mounted stamp that is at least 2 inches by 3 inches. Details are in the post from last year. Here is the link:

http://sailingwithscissors.blogspot.com/2009/08/wood-mount-game.html

I have played the Wood Mount game before and it was so much fun. We will all have a blast.

Elegant Winter Card Class Samples by Maureen

Maureen has come up with wonderful cards for her class. She is going to show you a herringbone technique with strips of beautiful shimmery little sage green paper. Gorgeous! Also, she does another technique called "stamp blocking" on the larger green, card. What a great way to incorporate all those Christmas stamps you have, in a fresh new way. She has a couple of cool glittery cards too. Check out the actual cards at the store for an up close view.

Parking for seven days

Donna has had some people wondering where they can park their cars while they are on the cruise. This is especially true for our guests coming from the Valley.

We have seven undercover parking spots at the store, Cherish The Thought and I would be more than happy to have our cruise guests park there for free for the seven days. Please call me at the store to reserve the spot.

Also, I live "up the hill" from the store and there is room for four more vehicles in my residential complex, on the street. Again please call me for more details.

*We have a comment below from Debbie which is a good one regarding transportation from the pier in Vancouver to our homes or back to the store. Many of us are taking the Skytrain out of downtown and then taking a taxi or having friends/family take us to our homes. The nearest Skytrain to the store is at Lougheed Mall. This would also be the best location to get a taxi, for an inexpensive taxi ride to the store.

6:30 AM meet time at Cherish the Thought

We've been having a few people inquiring about the 6:30 time. Way way back last year, I know we were kicking around 10 am start time. Unfortunately we needed to nudge this time a few hours early. The bus company rep and the bus driver said that due to high volumes at the border, random bus examination by customs, and even the fact we are leaving on a Friday, means we could be delayed at the border. We don't want to miss the ship! It will not wait for us. As a result, we have to leave early. The bus driver is leaving at 7:00 AM on the nose. This is why we want to start gathering at 6:30 AM so that we can get the luggage on the bus organized and so the bus driver can check your tickets and your passport.
If we cross the border in sufficient time, we will stop at Stampadoodle in Bellingham for a shop-stop. Yay.

10% off coupon at Scrapbooking store in Ketchican

OK, I know that the dreaded "s" word (I mean Scrapbooking) will not be uttered by anyone in our group. We are proud cardmakers! Let us stand up and rejoice....have now jumped off soap box.
Anyways, if you are planning to scrapbook our trip, please note that Alaska Scrapbook Center in Ketchikan will give our group 10% off our purchases. The store carries Alaska themed supplies that would make really nice pages. I have a copy of the coupon here. The coupon also has a map of it's location. You don't need to print it because you will be getting a coupon with your ticket package. It is the purple piece of paper - you can't miss it.

Message from Ms. Donna

Here is a message from Ms. Donna:

Hello Ladies and Gents,
Yes, we have a few gents joining us. Thank you fellows for joining us. I know this will be a rough crowd so having a few bouncers in our group will be a great asset. Ha ha.
Is everyone counting down the days? I can not believe our trip is only 2 months away and we will be boarding our "hotel on the water" for seven glorious nights.
As soon as the tickets are ready, I will be sending them to everyone by Priority Post. I will include a letter which will explain all the important things you need to know to enjoy your trip, even more.
The most important thing is that everyone must be at Cherish The Thought, Jessie's store in Port Moody on September 10th at 6:30 AM!!!!

The bus is leaving promptly at 7:00 AM! Sorry, but any latecomers will be left behind to find her or his way to the pier in Seattle.

The bus driver is required to check your passport and your Cruise Ticket before you board the bus.

Any questions? Call me at 604 464-7447 or at 1-800-299-0817. Or email me at dathey@cruiseshipcenters.com.

Cheers Donna Athey!

Vintage Card Class Sample

Here is a pic of my vintage card class. Any of you who know me, know I'm a huge fan of vintage and shabby chic.

If you haven't signed up, please do so - you will love this class.

Acrylic Card Samples

Drum Roll!!!! The wait is over. Here is a picture of the acrylic cards we will be doing on the cruise. Acrylic is a see through material that gives the cards a window-like appearance. Actually, in the picture, you can see right through the front cards, to the cards that are located behind them. If you haven't signed up for the class, please do so, you won't be disappointed. I just did an acrylic card class at my store, Cherish the Thought last weekend, and it got rave reviews.

Classes

I know you have all been waiting in anticipation for the class schedule. Your wait is over. Here it is:

Saturday September 11th 1:00pm to 4:00 pm. Diana Crick - Special Folds using the Scor-Pal Buddy. Diana will be introducing a brand new product on the cruise and we are honoured to the be first people to own this product. The details will be unveiled at the class. Cost of the class includes this new product. $45 per person.

Tuesday September 14th - 9:30 am to 11:30 am - Jessie Hurley - Pop-up Card Class. I will be showing you how to make four 3-D cards which will pleasantly surprise the recipients of your cards. $30 per person.

Tuesday September 14th 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm - Jessie Hurley - Acrylic Card Class. Yes, I am doing a double-feature on this day. In this class, you will be using clear acrylic to make four see-through fabulous cards. $30 per person.

Thursday September 16th 10:00 am to 12:00 pm (noon) - Jessie Hurley - Vintage Card Class. For those of you have visited my store, Cherish the Thoughts in Port Moody, you will know that I love the vintage look of olden times. The four cards we will make in this class will have the feel and style of an era long gone, but not forgotten. $30 per person.

Thursday September 16th 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm - Maureen Hollanti - Elegant Holidays Cards. You will make four beautiful cards which will take your breath away. Maureen has been passionate about cardmaking for many years. Advanced cardmakers will love this class. Maureen will have assistants to help the beginners so everyone will have fun. $30 per person.

Alaska Cool Facts

Alaska is the 49th state in the USA. It became a state on January 3, 1959.
The word Alaska is from the Aleut Indian word "alaxsxaq" or "agunalaskash" that means the mainland or shore.
Alaska is a large state, reaching so far to the west that the International Date Line had to be "bent" to keep the state all in the same day.
Alaska has 33,000 miles of coastline. It is the only state to have coastline on 3 different seas - the Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea.
It is also the only US state extending into the Eastern Hemisphere. Alaska has more than 100,000 glaciers and has 3 million lakes...who said you can't find lakefront property anymore?

Sneak Peak Pics of our Ship

Oh Wow! Look at these stunning pics of The Rhapsody of the Seas. These were recently taken by our fabulous travel agent, Donna, who is booking the cabins for our event. She told me yesterday that the bookings for this cruise is "Code Yellow" which means that the ship is almost sold out. If you have been "on the fence" about Sailing With Scissors, now is the time to book. My favourite picture is the chocolate walrus. How cute.

No X-Acto Knives

Hello guests. Please just a reminder, don't bring along any X-Acto Knives. You won't need them. A pair of plain ol' scissors will do the trick.

---As an aside, here is a cool idea if you have an X-Acto Knive and you don't have protective cover or cap for it. You can insert it or "stab it" into a synthetic cork and it will not fall off. Don't use a real cork because it will eventually crumble and will not keep the X-Acto blade protected.

Back to the topic at hand, Customs will confiscate the X-Acto knives. Please don't bring them.

Cordless Light, if you have one, bring it along

This is a great tool. It is a rechargeable Ott Light. You can charge the light in your cabin and then bring the charged light to your class. Unfortunately, there won't be sufficient outlets in the conference room if too many guests bring corded lights. I know Costco sold them last year. If you have one, please bring it along. You will want to pack it in your checked-in (luggage) bag and not your carry on, and inform Donna if you are bringing one of these lights on the cruise ship. Royal Caribbean wants to know if passengers are bringing "odd" items aboard the ship. I think most people (non stampers, of course) would think this light is an odd item.

Donna's back from checking out Rhapsody of the Seas

Donna's back from her Hawaiian cruise on the ship we will be sailing on for our Sailing With Scissors cruise. She said the ship is really nice. There are lots of fun things to do on the ship. I can't imagine anything more fun than cardmaking.

Now that she is back, definitely give her a call to book your cruise and transportation.