Thursday, June 24, 2010

It's 'Palooza Time



This is what I like to call "The Crazy Week". The week before Scrap-a-Palooza is one of our busiest times. There's packaging the 250 goodie bags, cutting and packaging the 250 free class kits, packing up a store, setting up the store, classes, demos...I have to stop or else I'm going to enter near panic mode. Let's just say that it's a huge event and a lot of work! I always enter the week before a 'Palooza repeating to myself, "You can sleep on Sunday. You can sleep on Sunday."

Some random things:

• To make this week even more insane, the air conditioner in our house said goodbye. Wonderful timing too. We have been in a heat advisory for the last few days so it's been borderline miserable. I don't know how in the world I survived as a kid when my dad didn't have air conditioning. I remember taking cold baths, having at least 3 fans pointed in my direction at all times, and hanging out in front of an open freezer door.

• I got to see the inside pages of our newest Sketches for Scrapbooking book, Volume 6. I think you are all going to be impressed. I didn't realize what a difference the professional printing makes. They look awesome! In the coming weeks before CHA we will be posting more sneak peeks and giving you more details and information.

• A little DVD update. We have finally seen the DVD in full after our producer brought it by earlier this week. We have always set a pretty high standard for ourselves and always strive for quality. While we loved the instructional segments and the sketches, the rest just wasn't us. We are determined to deliver a great, quality product and if that means driving our producer insane, then that is what we'll do. We aren't about to say "oh well" or "it will do" just because he's taken way too much time to put it together. It is important to us for our customers to feel that they are getting a great product and we will make that happen. We are pushing for the DVD to be done so that it can make the trip to CHA with us but I'm not going to tell you that it's a done deal yet. Thank you all so much for being understanding and supportive in this frustrating situation. Believe me, the second that I have new information or a for sure date of completion I will let you all know. :)

Have a great weekend and if you're going to 'Palooza, I'll see you there!

9 comments:

Amy from KC said...

First, oh how I wish I were going to Scrap-a-Palooza! (If I were attending I would feel comfortable with the more familiar 'Palooza- but since I'm not I'll keep it more formal.) :) It looks like such a rockin' good time.

Second, my sincere condolences on the ac. I don't know how you are surviving, but I have a 2 word suggestion for you: Residence Inn. The Springfield one is pretty nice.

Can't wait to see Sketches v.6. I love every volume. Thanks for the update on the dvd. I do appreciate that you are not willing to push out a project that is not up to your standards. It's one of the reasons that we trust you all for long-distance purchases, and also probably one of the reasons you guys have had such growth as a business over the past year.

Have a great weekend and make sure you get that sleep on Sunday! Go crazy and sleep on Monday, too! ;)

Michele Mc said...

I am soooooo wishing I lived closer so I could join that crazy good time! It looks/sounds like an absolute blast!

Re: the ac.... just try to think of how good your electric bill will look. (I know that's a lame 'think positive' but it's the best I can think of.)

Re: Vol.6 - it looks amazing! You should be very proud of your hard work.

Re: The DVD - what I hear when I read that is that you all know who you are and where you want to go as a business. I believe everyone trusts your judgement and are more than willing to wait for what will be an excellent product! Good luck in finalizing it.

Tasha said...

Can't wait for the DVD, I'm going to get the books as well just trying to space out my purchases.
Scrap-a-Palooza looks so neat, I might try to go one year. I'm really thinking hard about going to the retreat, it's a little closer to me than Springfield.

dawn said...

Hi Allison,

Thank you for all the information on everything. I want so badly to come and wish you were closer. I'm hoping next year our financials will be better and I can come to something of yours even just to your store. Sorry about the a/c I hate being hot too especially when it makes the kids crabby which just makes me be crabby back. Thank you for doing your best on the dvd and not just settling for less then you want. That's why your fans adore you and we will wait untill you give us the go ahead!! I am excited and can't wait though. Have a great weekend and have a great day of sleeping on Sunday.

Unknown said...

that crop looks awesome! I would love to go to something like that.

budletsmom said...

Oh I so wish I lived close enough to come to scrapalooza it looks like it would be a blast.

I hope you can get the AC fixed I so wouldn't want to be without it and so far it has been a mild summer in So Cal - I know it will hit hard when it does though and the though of no AC just can't imagine.

Can't wait for the DVD hoping that it will be available soon - was hoping to get it at the same time I order vol 6.

Steffanie said...

Thanks for the DVD update, Ali. I was wondering!

Penny Peck said...

Hey Allison - you don't need a n air conditioner to be cool!

mmspiker said...

Good luck with your Scrapalooza. It seems overwhelming for you, but it will be so memorable and awesome for the attendees. I wish I could be there, but am wishing you the best from the other side of the world in Taiwan. Can't wait for Volume 6 and the DVD to come out.

I used one of your sketches from Volume 5 and made a layout for this trip prior to leaving so I will be ready when I return, at least for one page.