Nashville Will Never Be The Same!
- posted by: Rebecca
- posted in: Uncategorized
- on: November 21, 2008
WAHOO!! What a day! The Nashville Fisk-a-Friendzy was a party with a capital P!! We had an unbelievable time in the Music City!
Everyone was so anxious to get started , we had quite a few early birds!
Suzanne was nice enough to man the registration table!
Once the doors were opened, everyone got to see what was waiting for them!
Yes, they had to wear those hats!
Before lunch, we had time to get to know each other and do some fun crafty stuff:
Tricia and Brian from Li’l Davis were there, and they had a great make n take for everyone to do.
Vince from Canon brought along four printers, and let everyone print two pictures.
We had a “Random Acts of Crafting” table, with tools and supplies for card-making. Everyone was asked to come up and make a Christmas card, which we planned on donating to the local Veterans’ Hospital. Our goal was to have 70 cards, we ended up with 82!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8SPlh0Rd1o
During lunch, they were goodies and prizes, then we posed for a group photo.
After lunch, more crafting, and an orange fashion show! Kim dressed up as an orange M&M with giant scissors and recited her poem, check out the video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gw1zaEKlC1Q
Claudean dazzled us with some major orange attire!
The gals from South Carolina made some cool shirts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZClKhCez7BU
And Maxine’s Merry Band of Fiskateers showed up in their crowns, with one for me too!
We also had some special guests:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7LwNqM4_kE
And the fabulous Bernie Berlin came and hung out with us all day!
We got some more goodies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0fRteXjd8k
Then we had a special bus to take us to the recording studio:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Uj2F9PPuco
Complete with Flashing lights, DJ and dance floor! Everyone got dance fever!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-OaqKKFPd0
Once we got to the recording studio, everyone sang their hearts out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LD6S69-fvo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJwlDKxWxZA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wFw0eEFiJE
Then we headed back for more crafting fun, and gave away the grand prize. Tina won, and I have never seen someone so excited in my life!
At six, we headed to the Nashville Palace for our line dancing lesson and dinner. We danced to our very own “Fiskateer Boogie”!
Then we had a surprise announcement-Meghan #1358 was named Fiskateer of the Year!
She was so surprised and excited she was shaking! Do you think she’s excited?
After the Palace, we headed back to the crop room for coffee and brownies, where we relaxed, chatted, and made new friends. Those gals from Kentucky did some serious cropping, they were there until 3 am!
What a day! Thanks so much to everyone that came, you all made it so much fun!!!
Mak’in Lasting Waves
- posted by: Cheryl
- posted in: Uncategorized
- on: November 20, 2008
When Fiskateers get together to share their passion . . . beautiful things happen. Friendships are made, laughs exchanged, hearts filled up, and people go away feeling different because they have invested in each others lives.
Well, this is what took place in Long Beach, California on Saturday, November 15th. We were ‘Mak’in Lasting Waves’ . . . some even for a lifetime.
We started the day off by having a photo opportunity with Captain Chad.
Then into the room for a little welcome time. I introduced some special guests we had present . . . Angela Daniels (current lead #009) and legendary Stephenie Hamen (#003). I was so blessed that both of these special ladies attended. What a special treat! I also introduced my husband and daughter (who earned the new nickname 2 1/2 . . . since I’m fiskateer #002). They are such a Fiskafamily and so supportive. Abigail was to bed late and up early and was such a trooper . . . this photo was taken at about 8 p.m. and she was all out of steam. My hubby really enjoyed his time and was such a help! Incredible. It was exciting to share the day with them and folks really enjoyed getting to know them.
We played some great games (thanks Elena for heading them up). A cruise wouldn’t be a cruise without Bingo so we played Scrap Bingo using fun Fiskars words. The squeeze punch hearts were the markers. As well, we played the ‘People Map’. The person living the furthest North stands at the most North part of the room and so on. The person who lived the closest and farthest got a great prize. As well, part of the game is that we exchanged fiskateer cards with their contact information (special cards I had made up for this game) with ten people and you have to write something special down about them. If that person’s name is called someone stands up and shares that something special about that person. People made new friends and it was awesome to see. I already hear of plans being made of reunions. It blessed my heart and so many people asked for more than just ten cards. Here are some winners but everyone was actually a winner . . .
After such a time we had the wonderful, talented and sweet Candice Carpenter come and share her gifts and talents with us teaching those in attendance a very special book that you can few and read about here . . .
https://candicecarpenter.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/11/fiskateers-rock.html
She is such a beautiful person. Thank you Candice.
We then had a special presentation and the captain announced the fiskateer of the year . . . Melita Chow. Congratulations again!
We partook in a yummy lunch after a fun group photo. Mykle was awesome snapping over 500 photos.
During lunch I shared a special message from fiskateer Maxine Hodges about her father’s service in WWII and shared of his travels aboard the Queen Mary to the Battle of the Bulge. Tears fell silently as I read this special message from Maxine.
We swapped ATC cards, played more games, enjoyed each others company and were off to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Everyone seemed to enjoy the beautiful Aquarium and my daughter (2 1/2) Abigail had some great Aquarium buddies (Elena, Mel, Patty, Anita and all)! She was well taken care of and felt like a princess hanging around the fiskateers!
Then to Bubba Gump’s where we played more games centering around Bubba Gump trivia. While there were over 100 fiskateers in attendance for the event, some left right after or before the Aquarium because of the wildfires but there was 53 at dinner. Yahoo! It was fun!
Then some of us cropped til midnight! Whew!
This is a day that will not long be forgotten. I have so many people to thank and especially Fiskars! Their generosity and care for the Fiskateers is top notch! To Carrie at Brains on Fire for taking the funds and names for the Fiskafriendzys. To Angela and Stephenie for coming and supporting. For Colette and Amanda from Angela’s corner who helped haul things aboard the ship! They were such troopers and I just really enjoyed them both. To my hubby for his incredible support that day and always. To Elena for games, the Durbins for greeting and seating, Stephanie Ackerman for printing our photos and for doodling all the nametags. She even brought a Canon printer that was raffled off and Patty Root was the winner! For Mitzi for collecting, Tiffany for helping with seating charts, to Bud for signing folks in and ironing all the goodie bags, Kim W. for just helping where it was needed, to my aunt for always being faithful and helpful friend! Sandra and Michelle for helping with the ATC’s. So many to thank for making this day special and especially to each of you in attendance. Everyone made lasting waves in each others lives that will last for months, years and some for a lifetime. Each one of you are special and I was blessed by your presence. So many special friends at this event and not enough time. My heart just feels completely full! We rocked that ship and set sail on a day of fun, friendship and unforgettable memories! There will be more times of memories but no day quite like the one we had!
Fisk-a-Friendzy Thanks!
- posted by: Rebecca
- posted in: Uncategorized
- on: November 19, 2008
I can’t even begin to describe to you how much fun we had at the 2008 Nashville Fisk-a Friendzy! It was INCREDIBLE! But, before I tell you about all of the fun we had, I have to tell you about some very important people, without whom this event would not have been possible:
Patti, aka Tennesseeeeeeee!, Fiskateer #1442-What a sweetheart! She is a kind, generous and funny woman. Patti let me filll up her house with boxes before the event, and she and Bettye covered 80 buckets with rubons. She worked so hard before, during, and after the event, and even went with me to both crops Friday night! I don’t know how I kept the car on the road, she and Bettye had me laughing so hard the whole night! Thank you Patti!!
Bettye, aka Bett-Bett, Fiskateer #3743-She is the Energizer Bunny of Tennessee! Seriously, the woman does not stop! Not only is she a hard worker, she is incredibly thoughtful too. She is always thinking of someone else, and she can navigate like nobody’s business. She was better than my Tom-Tom GPS system (hence her new nickname). If she hadn’t gone with us to the the crops, I think the search party would still be out looking for us! Thank you Bettye!!
Jane, Fiskateer #329-What can I say about Jane, an amazing photographer and incredibly giving person? She showed up at 11 pm on Friday night with her sister, daughter and niece in tow and said “Put us to work”! She stayed until 2 in the morning, then got up early Saturday and worked some more. She helped all day making sure everyone got their goodies, and made sure that we had great photos as well. Then she helped me pack up Saturday night too! Thank you Jane!!!
Linda, Fiskateer #4939-I don’t know if Linda realized what her sister Jane had talked her into, but I’m so glad she came to Nashville! She was a huge help, we probably would have been there until 4 in the morning if it hadn’t been for Linda! Thank you Linda!!
Emma, Jane’s daughter, and Stacy, Linda’s daughter- They spent hours filling tool caddies with ribbon and flowers, what a team! They are definitely future Fiskateer material! Thanks Emma and Stacy!!
Pinky, Fiskateer #3405 - I got to meet her husband and that cutie patootie son of hers, Gage, because she made them come to the hotel with her Friday night to see if I needed help, poor guys! But, they were good sports about it, and Pinky was a huge help getting things set up and making sure things were running smoothly on Saturday. Thank you Pinky!!!
Cherrie, Fiskateer#1790 - This was supposed to be a vacation for Cherrie, and I put her to work! What kind of friend am I, sheesh? Not only did Cherrie come to the hotel with Pinky Friday night to help, she wrote the song that we recorded, had the guts to stand up in front of everyone and sing it, and then directed both groups at the recording studio! She did a great job, don’t you think? Thank you Cherrie!!
Meghan, Fiskateer #1358- There’s a reason she’s a Fiskateer of the Year, and Saturday was just one example. She worked so hard all day, making sure goodies were handed out, getting folks on the bus, chasing me around with glasses of water, and helping me keep the prizes straight! She even made her poor hubby Paul get out of his jammies Saturday morning to help us get everything ready.
Paul, Meghan’s husband- If we ever have a Fiskateer Husband of the Year award, I’m nominating him! Not only did he manage to help keep Meghan’s award a secret, he got out of bed early Saturday to help us all morning, picked up our CD from the recording studio, and snuck the giant scissors over to the Nashville Palace without anyone knowing!
Tricia, Brian and Li’l Davis too! Thanks so much for coming to Nashville and being a part of the Fisk-a-Friendzy!Everyone loved the make n’ take and prizes that you so generously provided. It was a treat meeting the real Li’l Davis, what a cutie! Thank you!
Betsy, aka Shania Kline, Fiskateer #2572 - Betsy totally ROCKED the message board as our Nashville On-line Correspondent! She kept everyone hopping all day long, with lots of fun challenges! I sure wish she had been there to stalk me in Sam’s Club, but having her online with us was the next best thing! Thank you Betsy!!!
Suzanne and Fiskars- Thank you so much for letting me host this event! I am so honored to have been able to work alongside these amazing people. It’s a memory I will always cherish.
771 and climbing
- posted by: Legends
- posted in: Uncategorized, Challenges, Contests
- on: November 19, 2008
You guys ROCK!
In less than a month we have added 100 demos - way to go! We only need 229 more before the end of the year. Be sure to get in there and log in your events. We want to capture every single demo that is done.
Also, for the 1000th demo - who knows, maybe there will be an extra special surprise… wink wink wink…
So, keep logging in those demos - I KNOW that some of you have done them without putting them in. In order for us to get an accurate reading, we need all of these events in.
Keep up the great work and I know that we will break 1000 before 2009! Way to go!
Project Orange Thumb Announcement
- posted by: Wendy Jo
- posted in: Uncategorized
- on: November 19, 2008
Hey Fiskateers! I’ve recently received some exciting news how Fiskars can help your beautiful hometown communities and I thought I’d share this announcement with you. Fiskars is now accepting applications for the 2009 Project Orange Thumb grant program.
What is Project Orange Thumb?
Project Orange Thumb is grant program committed to encouraging, sharing and inspiring creative expression in gardening. This program has been around since 2003 and has granted over 100 gardens with over $300,000 in gardening tools. Community groups, schools, churches and other community focused organizations can apply. This year, applications are being accepted from the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In total, twenty grant recipients will be selected and they will receive various tools and gardening-related materials. Only group applications will be considered; single individuals are not eligible for this grant. The application deadline is February 17, 2009.
The cool thing about this grant program is the application process. A large focus of the application is that each group is required to create a creative piece in response to a particular gardening question. This year’s question, in my opinion is “out of this world” and I thought I’d share it with you…
“In an inter-galactic exchange program, an alien is sent to Earth to learn of our ways. The United Nations chooses you to explain how gardening makes you feel. Express it non-verbally because, of course, he doesn’t speak your language.”
Applicants are asked to “think outside of the box” when submitting their application. Applicants in the past have sent in collages, music videos, and scrapbooks… so this is the perfect opportunity for Fiskateers to encourage and help their local community organizations in applying for this special grant. Just check out some of last year’s applications…
For more information on Project Orange Thumb grant, please visit www.projectorangethumb.com
New Paper Find
- posted by: Kelly Jo
- posted in: Crafts
- on: November 18, 2008
I love Christmas and Winter themed scrapbook papers (and spring and summer and…I digress). And although I have plenty of both Christmas and Winter, I can’t resist when I find something this cute!
Aren’t these snowmen and reindeer adorable? I think I’ll use my fingertip craft knife to cut out a few of them. These double sided papers are made by Dream Street Papers and I found them during a recent trip to my LSS. I have never heard of them before but they are a new favorite (along with Kelly Panacci, October Afternoons, Basic Grey, and of course Heidi Grace, Cloud 9 and Li’l Davis). I just love blue and red together and the mix of the small and large patterns. I get so excited when I find something new, well new to me.
And I couldn’t leave without some of these papers from My Mind’s Eye.
A snowman family of 4. I think I may have a snowman addiction. And I really *need* a snowman stamp. 
I can’t wait to scrap with these new papers. But here is the big dilemma…should I use some of the photos I already have from last Christmas? Or should I hold on to these papers and use with photos from this year? You’ll have to wait and see.
Now for a winner:
Congratulations, Maya #351. You are the winner of the Beyond the Sea Challenge. Email your address and phone number to me at kellyjo@fiskateers.com.
Tuesday Demo Reminder!
- posted by: Legends
- posted in: Uncategorized, Challenges
- on: November 18, 2008
I know - you are all probably getting sick of me…
I just wanted to remind you all to go in and log your events into our tracker! If you can’t remember how, email me at shamen@fiskars.com and I will get you all the info!
Remember… we need 1000 before the end of the year!
Thanks for all you do!
Fiskateer of the Year was Stunning
- posted by: Cheryl
- posted in: Uncategorized, Fiskafriendzy
- on: November 18, 2008
Wow . . . what an incredible day with incredible Fiskateer friends. There is even more to come. I did want to share with you that we had fun sharing with the group one of the five Fiskateers of the Year . . . Melita Chow. I titled this post . . . the Fiskateer of the Year was Stunning or should I say . . . Stunned. She shares with us a little bit about her reaction.
“I was so excited to be able to attend the Long Beach Fisk-a-friendzy! I knew it would be a wonderful experience, connecting with old friends and making new ones. I was right. I loved seeing all the ladies I have met before and getting to meet a few new friends throughout the whole weekend! I got to spend time with Angela and her Reno contingent (Hi Coleen and Amanda), Legend Stephenie, and the awesome ladies I was seated with on the Queen Mary (Tiffany, Sonya, Sylvia, Mitzi, Daniella, Shawan, Gina, and Trish who was a tour guide on the Queen Mary when she was 18 and gave us a ‘virtual tour’ as well, so cool!)
We were in the middle of the class with Candice Carpenter when Cheryl took a break to introduce a special guest. I have to admit, I was only partially paying attention because I was helping Daniella use her portable rotary trimmer. So when the Captain came out, I thought that was the special guest and continued helping Daniella with the project. A minute or so later, there was lots of applause, everyone was looking at our table and the legendary Stephenie Hamen was telling me, ‘It’s you, get up there’ to which my intelligent response was, ‘What?’. I quickly realized what was going on when I saw the GIANT scissors. I was STUNNED!
It is such an honor and a priviledge to have been selected as one of the five Fiskateers of the Year. I am so humbled to be included with these four ladies. Thank you so much Fiskars for your support of the Fiskateer program and everything you do to make it so special.”
So there you have it . . . Melita . . . congratulations. You know when Melita was caught off guard . . . I was thinking that she was doing what she does well . . . helping another!
I’m so excited that Melita was there with us as we Rocked that Boat! Warmest congratulations Melita! Melita shares a few photos with us . . . Enjoy!
Autographed Book Winners
- posted by: Wendy Jo
- posted in: Uncategorized, Contests, Book Club
- on: November 16, 2008
Who’s up for a good read? I bet the following Fisk-a-teers are because their names were selected at random to receive an autographed copy of A Page Out of Time by Kathleen Reid.
Nana Beth #2906, Peggy #4129, Michelle #3624, Kathie Jo #5209, Michelle #88, Jennie #414, Patty #2262, Alex S. #3614, Carlee #2225 and Kat57 #1614.
Send me your mailing address to wendyjo@fiskateers.com so I can get your book out in the mail. Be sure to read this wonderful book in time to join us for the Book Club chat scheduled with the author on December 2nd. Congrats!
We Were Cruis’in
- posted by: Cheryl
- posted in: Uncategorized, Fiskafriendzy
- on: November 16, 2008
Good morning Fiskateers! I’m so excited to report that at the So. Cal Fiskafriendzy aboard the Queen Mary . . . we were cruis’in and had a blast. Friends made, crafts created, food consumed, laughs expressed . . . you name it.
Way to go . . . those of you who made it to and through the crop til midnight! What troopers . . . thanks Amanda too for being my travel buddy! We enjoyed the Scrapbook Sisters.
We traveled aboard ships, buses, planes and automobiles to and from the Queen Mary and Aquarium. I just dropped off the Fiskateer of the Year at the airport . . . you have to wait . . . I’ll share more later.
Want to thank everyone who attended and all those that helped! What a very incredible special day because of all the special Fiskateers present near and far.
I do want to mention to continue to keep the fiskateers, store owners, friends, law and fire personnel affected by the fires in California in your thoughts and prayers.
Off for now . . . it’s just the beginning of sharing some very fabulous and fun moments ‘on deck’.