The East Coast #PaperTrail Adventure

Hi everyone! I chugged into town last Friday morning after being on the first #PaperTrail adventure for nine days. The trip went really well- my only disappointment was not having enough time to post everything in real time. I learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t so am sure that my next jaunt will be even better.

To catch up with where we are on the #PaperTrail, read my posts here and here. When I say we, I am referring to my #papertrail companions- Amy Bowerman of Plucking Daisies  and Anita Houston, the Artful Maven.

After our fun afternoon at the Great American Stamp Store and visits with friends Theresa Cifali, Marjie Kemper and Orla Carey, we had a delicious dinner on Thursday night at Frank Pepe’s consisting of individual pizzas. We weren’t able to finish them- they were HUGE!- so they were stowed in Scotty’s fridge for lunch the next day.

Continuing the journey, we made our way up to the Sheraton in Framingham, MA to get ready for the The Collins Group Rep event which started bright and early on Friday. I say bright and early, but it was not bright at all. It rained the entire time we were there- messing up my plan to put up the trailer awning and table and chairs so we could get some outdoor crafting going. But we adjusted  🙂

The Sizzix Workshop we were teaching was scheduled for 1:45-3:15 PM so we made sure all of our supplies were in the workroom, then hauled in the rest of the materials from the camper. Luckily they were packed in waterproof containers because it was pouring! Then we set the room up for class. Our students were mainly store owners wanting to learn about the products so they could make samples, bring back to their stores and educate their customers on how to use them. We used my Sizzix Block die to create a variation of the Artist Trading Block (ATB) Everyone did a great job and hopefully had fun too.

Then it was time to pack up and head out to the camper for some crafting! It had been mentioned that our mascot, Norm the PaperTrail Gnome, was looking a little peaked so we decided to give him a makeover. Out came the Wendy Vecchi archival inks and Norm was transformed. Here is a quick clip of how Norm feels about this. He cracks me up!

I was glad my husband had suggested we bring the Coleman lanterns because we were not able to plug in to electric anywhere. The lanterns run on batteries and having two of them gave us just enough light to work from. We retired to our dry and comfy hotel rooms for the night.

Amy and I woke up early on Saturday to get to our class at Absolutely Everything that we were to teach at from 10 AM-12 PM. We left in plenty of time and made it almost to the store when we heard dinging noises from the truck. Honestly I was concentrating on finding the store and arriving on time and in the back of my mind I was thinking that Amy had unbuckled her seatbelt and the truck was signaling that. We went a little ways and I felt the truck engine skipping so I pulled over. That’s when I realized that we were out of gas ONE MILE FROM THE STORE! Nooooo! There was a elderly lady pulling out of the parking lot so I jumped out of the truck to find out where the closest gas station was. I told her I was teaching a class at AE and she said that she was heading to class and it was right next door to the store. Her name was Ruth- she had to be at least 80 and was headed to Tai Chi! Wow- go Ruth!

I arrived at AE and knocked on the door- they were’t open yet and tried to wave me off- but something in my face must have alerted them to the fact that they should open it. I blurted out the situation and in no time at all, I was whisked off to Kate’s house (the delightfully capable store manager). She ran in and returned with a full gas can meant for the snowblower. We sped off to fuel the truck. Amy, who was back with the truck, had been using the time to catch up on her SM. Scotty and crew pulled in to the AE parking lot with 10 minutes to spare and we were set up and ready to rock and roll in time for class! Whew. Another lesson learned. Who knew at my age, that there would still be so much to learn- shoot! I can tell you I will be listening very closely for and sound effects from the truck in the future!

Absolutely Everything is a delight. They probably have absolutely everything that a craft enthusiast might want! The staff was extremely friendly and knowledgeable, we were treated to a delicious lunch (and amazing chocolate cupcakes) and also given a nice discount on all of the unusual items we found to buy.

The class went great- Amy did an amazing job showing her techniques on the Artist Trading Blocks. We only had time to make one set but who knows- maybe we can go back and teach again. I love that store! After we had lunch, we did a fun demo of the Mini-Album die, which seemed to be a hit.

We packed up and bid a sad farewell, then were back on our way to the Collins show for the Sample Making Frenzy starting at 7.  (Can you see why we had no time for posting updates?) We rolled in and set up our samples and got ready for the crowd. For 2 1/2 hours straight we were making Mini-Albums! Then it was off to the hotel restaurant for some dinner and into bed. Whew! The days were full… I have one final installment to share with you this week. Stay tuned for more BTS along the #PaperTrail!