Fiskars Ambassador

Fiskateers, Fay, Flamingos & The Frizzies!

Rebecca — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:52:01 +0000

We had it all during my weekend in Florida! This was quite a trip, so I’m giving the highlights bullet-style so you all don’t fall asleep in the middle of reading this!

1. Hurricane Fay wreaked havoc with Fed Ex, which caused them to ”misplace” half my tools and poor Frankie.

2. Hair was frizzy mess all day Friday due to the storm and no power at Meghan’s house (the pics tell the story)!

3. First training session at AC Moore was chock full of Fiskateers-Annie, Cherrie, Denise, Ina, Maggie, and Linda!

4. Got a little lost on the way to Piktails for the late night crop. Thank goodness for Annie! She was a big help with the mini-album make ‘n take too!

5. This is the cute mini-album make n take we did with the Heidi Grace Beyond The Sea line:

6. Cherrie, Denise, Annie and Ina were there, along with two new additions, Thelma and Louise. What do you think we should call them: Fisk-a-mingoes or Flaminga-teers? hee hee

7. Debbie, the owner of Piktails, and her helper Sandy were great!

8. Didn’t get back to the hotel untl 12:30 a.m., then it was up 6:30 a.m. for a long drive to Ft. Myers for another training session at AC Moore.

9. Meghan claims Dr. Pepper is better than coffee in the morning, and based on the smile on her face, I almost believe it.

9. Meghan did the second training session all on her own, while I spent most of my time on the phone with FedEx (again).

9. The brand new AC Moore in Cape Coral - Rain Dot heaven!

10. Stopped for lunch, then a long drive to Tampa.

11. Headed out for the potluck crop at Scrapbooking In Paradise, a great store in St. Petersburg.

12. Stoppped to pick up dessert, then got totally lost trying to find the store. Several phone calls later, we finally made it.

13. We were so busy we didn’t even have time to take pics, but Laura from SIP has some great ones on her blog.

14. Got back to the hotel after midnight.

15. Went to The Scrapbook Shoppe on Sunday for a store visit. Imagine our surprise when we pulled up to the store before it opened, and people were lined up along the sidewalk waiting to get in!

16. No time for pictures, because we had a huge waiting list for the make ‘n take. Julie, the owner, was fabulous, and made sure we stayed hydrated. Somehow Meghan managed to score a piece of cake once we were done!

17. Packed up again, drove to Orlando, dropped Meghan off, then headed to the airport!

18. Six stores, six hundred miles, and 90+ make n takes, all in three days! WHEW!!

19. The best part of the trip? Meeting all of the Fiskateers in person!!

20. Meghan was such a great Fisk-a-ssistant that I am now totally spoiled and want one for every trip!

Ok, since you hung in there through this epic post, I’ve got a treat! Leave a comment, and I’ll draw four names to win the makings of the mini album on Thursday at 9 a.m. EST.

*** 9/4/08**** The winners have been chosen. Check the message board!

It’s Here! It’s Here! National Sewing Month Is Here!

Rebecca — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 13:44:20 +0000

Can you tell I’m a little excited? We’ve got some great things planned for everyone here, and the legendary May has been working very hard to bring you some fun projects on the Fiskar Crafts website, like this great downloadable project. I’ll also be calling on my gals in SSFSS to share some of their sewing projects with you, and I’ll be bringing you some “on location” fun as well (no fake accents and faux hair this time, I promise!). Don’t forget, we have a live chat with June Mellinger, the Director of Education from Brother Sewing Machines, with us on Sept. 18th. The details are on the calendar. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this one! So, be sure to check in every day here on the blog, it’s gomng to be “sew” much fun!

Sorry, I’m a sucker for a bad pun, hee hee!

Are You A Nashville Crop Star??

Rebecca — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 00:28:09 +0000

That’s right, we’re headed to Music City!!! Tune up those vocal chords, dust off those boots (there may be some line dancing involved), and get ready to craft, sing your heart out, and kick up your heels! We’re going to have a hoopin’, hollerin’ good time! We’ll even have special guest stars! Our own Suzanne, star of FiskarsTV, will be there, along with Tricia and Brian from Li’l Davis Designs! Who knows, we may even have more surprise guests! YEEHAW!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlMwmzq77c0

Please ignore my flub on the date in the video! I think my faux ponytail was cutting off the circulation to my brain!

When: Saturday, November 15th, from 10 a.m. to ??

Where: Nashville, Tennessee

Cost: $20 per Fiskateer. There will be lots of prizes, some unexpected fun, snacks, food and croppin’ time. Wild horses shouldn’t keep you away!

How to register: Send an email to Carrie at Carrie@brainsonfire.com with “Nashville Area Regional Event” as your subject title. Include your name, Fisk-a-teer number, address and phone number. Each Fisk-a-teer must send in their own email to register. Carrie will follow-up with you with more details. I will also be sending you a little more information about the event as we get closer to November 15th.

What should I bring: Basic cropping supplies, comfy shoes, and a party attitude!

Where do we meet: Full details for our location and discounted hotel accomodations will be available soon!

*** Remember *** Space is limited to the first 100 Fisk-a-teers who register. The first 10 people who register will receive a limited edition surprise at the event!

Ready For A Change of Season

Rebecca — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:10:10 +0000

Last week, we had one of those rare summer days-cool and rainy. It was a welcome respite from warm summer weather, and it made me anxious for my favorite season, fall. I love the colors of fall-the changing leaves, the beautiful mums that start to appear at the farmer’s market, the bright orange pumpkins nestled among the vines. I love the smells of fall-the scent of the fallen leaves, the aroma of the autumn blend coffee the coffee shop starts serving, the smell of the hay on our annual fall hayride. I love the tastes of fall-the cold, delicious tang of fresh apple cider, a warm slice of pumpkin bread, a steaming mound of stuffing right out of the turkey. I love the feel of fall-the cool mornings that give way to warm afternoons, the fuzziness of a cozy sweater, the soft suede of my favorite boots that I’ve been waiting impatiently all summer to wear again. I love the sounds of fall-the locusts at night, the roar of the crowd at a high school football game, the crunching of the leaves beneath my feet. Yes, fall is my favorite season, and I can’t wait for it to arrive!

Now, I have an assignment for you: I want you to think about your favorite season, and WHY you love it. Then, I want you to create a layout with those reasons as part of the journaling, and post it in your gallery. You don’t even have to use a photo, you can make your journaling the focus of the page if you like! Leave a comment here when it’s done, and I’ll pick a random winner from each of the four seasons. You can only do ONE season, so think long and hard about which one is your favorite. The deadline for this is September 2nd at 8:30 a.m.

Why that day and time? It’s to celebrate the ultimate fall moment-THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! WAHOO!

The Coolest Thing I Saw At CKC Valley Forge

Rebecca — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 04:49:10 +0000

Was it a cute little printer? Nope. An awesome storage system? Nope. Some cool patterned paper? Nope. It was a friend!

Our very own Fiskateer #1943, Laura Casey! Through the luck of the draw, Laura and I ended up being roomates in San Antonio last November. We hit it off from the moment we met! We chatted and laughed the whole first day, but I knew she would be a friend forever the next morning. Why? Well, I decided at 6:45 am Saturday morning that we needed to decorate a certain piece of equipment that Fiskars had given all of us. Did she roll her eyes at me like I was nuts? Of course not! She jumped right on the crazy train with me! The result?

Yep, we turned our carts into horses (it’s a long story, trust me). There was more laughter and silliness as the weekend went on, but I knew I had made a friend forever. We’ve emailed and chatted on the phone since then, but there’s nothing quite like seeing a good friend in person! Besides, real hugs are better than cyber hugs anyday!

Public Service Announcement From #411

Rebecca — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:55:41 +0000

Fellow Fiskateers, I feel that it’s my duty to warn you about some dangerous behavior that you should avoid AT ALL COSTS! You know how they always tell you to never do your grocery shopping while you’re hungry? Well, there is something far worse! Never, ever, go to a scrapbooking convention (CKC Valley Forge) after being away from your scrapbooking stash for five days. You’ll be pining away for every cool thing in sight! For those of you with no willpower whatsoever, please be warned-I’m including pictures. Perhaps you should look away now while you still have the chance, hee hee!

Santa, if you’re reading this, please take notes!

The first thing I drooled over-er, I mean spotted-was this totally cute and adorable portable printer from Canon!

It comes with it’s own little carrying basket, and no, you’re not seeing things- it’s ORANGE AND GREEN!!! How fabulous is that?!?! It’s called the Selphy CP770 . I told the reps that they needed to have a “Bling Your Basket” contest, because that basket is just screaming out for some ”alterations”.

Of course, I couldn’t get out of the Canon booth without drooling over-er, I mean “admiring”- the Pixma Pro 9000, Canon’s wide-format printer. It had me at hello.

I do some digital work for one of the scrapping mags, so this would be great to have. The printouts were fantastic! You can print one 12 x 12 and two 6 x 6 layouts on the same page!

I also oohed and ahhed over this beautiful cabinet from For Keeps Sake.

Note the Fiskars paper trimmer and scissors stashed neatly on the doors, lol! I know there is no way that all of my stuff would fit in there, but they have some really cool stacking units, too! Note to the man in the red suit: I think the cabinet and four stackers would do me just fine!

I also got to see a few interesting Fisk-a-folks there too! More on that tomorrow!

It’s Been Quite A Week!

Rebecca — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 02:07:38 +0000

In case any of you missed me, it was vacation week here at the Peck household! We headed for the Poconos for a little R&R. I was under the impression that “R&R” stood for rest and relaxation, but I think I was wrong. Our first stop was Bushkill Falls, and for some reason we decided that the 2 1/2 hour hike would be a great way to kick things off.  Well, the scenery was gorgeous, the weather was perfect, and I took way too many pictures. I put just a few in a slide show for you here:

Bushkill Falls

We spent the next few days at the lake and the pools,



and we toured a real coal mine. The kids really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t the easiest place to take pictures, especially when you’re shivering-it’s 50 degrees down there year round!

On our last night, we spotted some race cars in a parking lot across the street from where we were having dinner. My husband comes from a racing family, and the kids love to see “real” race cars, so my husband asked if they would mind if we brought the kids over to see the cars. What a great bunch of guys! The two drivers, Sean Corr (#86), and Scott Ferrier (#81), took time out to pose with the kids and even let them sit in the cars for pictures!



They couldn’t have been nicer. They gained four new fans that night, and you can be sure we’ll be rooting for them in all of their upcoming races. Let’s hope nice guys always finish first!



I also got to stop at a pretty fun place on our last day, but I’m saving that for another post! What fun things have all of you been up to this summer?

Just A Regular Gal

Rebecca — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:47:52 +0000

I received a message from one of our fellow Fiskateers yesterday, and it really gave me a giggle. We’ve chit-chatted back and forth through the message feature on the board in the past, just a couple of crafty chicks having a conversation. Well, she sent me a message yesterday telling me that she never realized I was one of the leads, she just thought I was a “regular person”.  Guess what? I am a regular person, just like all of you! I put my pants on one leg at a time, I make mistakes, I don’t get all dolled up to go to the grocery store, I don’t have any super powers (except maybe the gift of gab, lol), I hate dusting, and I love chit-chatting with my fellow Fiskateers.   Just to prove it, I’ve attached a totally embarassing picture of me being my wacky self. And even though I’m here posting or doing fun things on the message board, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feel free to email me anytime you want to have a chat! My email is rebecca@fiskateers.com.   And to my fisk-a-pal that sent me the message, you’d better not treat me any differently now that you know! I love our regular-type chats!

P.S. We’re still waiting on our Fed Ex supplies, so if you’ve won a prize from any of the new leads, hang in there! We’ll get them to you as soon as we’re able.

If We Could Clone Ourselves, We Would!!

Rebecca — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:30:48 +0000

But we can’t, so we need your input!  Wendy Jo and I are trying to pick locations for our regional events this fall, and we need your opinions.  Unfortunately, we can’t be everywhere at once and we hope that you understand that, but with your help we can schedule our events so that we can have as many Fiskateers attend as possible.  We want this event to totally ROCK, and are busy coming up with all kinds of cool ideas, so please take a moment and give us your feedback on this survey!

http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/?p=WEB2283B5TRA4D

Thought I should add a note for all of your Florida Fiskateers: I’m heading your way next month! I don’t have all of the details worked out, but I want to hear from you! Check the message board!

A Quick Hi From All Of Us At CHA

Rebecca — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:07:21 +0000

Hey everyone! We’re all just popping in to say a quick hello! We are having a blast meeting all of the Fiskateers here at the show, and seeing all of the cool new award-winning (hint, hint) products. We’ll tell you all about it when we get back, but right now we are going to put our tired feet up and get some rest for the last day of the show. Yes we’re really tired, I’ve mispelled every word in this post at least twice!

We miss you!

Angela, Cheryl, Wendy Jo, Kelly Jo and Me, the incredibly bad typist