The Creating Place Blg

Beautiful Juneau

Juneau has many moods when it comes to weather and this week has been mostly dry, beautiful, and Spring like. The flowers are blooming which inspires me to be creative. Growing up in Florida the flowers were never a source of inspiration. They were so manicured and uncomfortable (it couldn't be fun spending your days in the middle of a 6 lane highway). Here the flowers seem free. I am loving my walks to and from work. I have been a little late a couple days because I get caught up taking pictures of these beautiful blooming flowers. If you would like to see some of my images check out my flickr sight www.flickr.com/photos/jenyfer and leave comments I would love to get feedback. If you are putting together your spring pages of your 2008 scrap book stop in, we have some great paper that captures spring beautifully! 

There is beauty everywhere, the cracks in the sidewalk, moss growing on anything that stands still long enough, and paint pealing on a white picket fence. If you live here I hope you will take time to notice Juneau's everyday beauty and if you are reading this from afar it is worth a visit.

side note: I took some pictures for the Juneau Empire that made it in the paper on Friday 5.23.08 check out the links below.

http://juneauempire.com/stories/052308/nei_282178498.shtml

http://juneauempire.com/stories/052308/nei_282178745.shtml

Seriously Cool

One of the new things we have for our new store is a window designer (yeah for Tanna Peters!!)  She is the young woman who is part of The Craft Addicts (see previous blogs/ April feature artists) who turns used fabrics into hats/ cup cozies/ aprons.  She is also an expert with an exacto knife, as evident in both our street display and our larger-than-life die-cut that she made for the lobby display...She's Juneau's version of Nikki McClure (if you don't know who she is, come in and ask us about her because we love her as well--she's also mentioned in previous blogs too!!)  Also she has an amazing imagination, as seen in her crow made entirely out of paper--way wicked!!  I only wish I had half of her talent to inspire people with...

Tim Holtz Cruise!!

"Horton Hears a Who" I've said it before..but sometimes we feel like Horton.."We're here, We're here". While we love living in Juneau, admittedly it is a bit isolated and it can get a bit lonely. It was amazing yesterday to meet so many crafters from all over the world on the Tim Holtz cruise. I went home and told my husband, "Look honey I'm not the only one who covets every shard of paper, or searches out old rusty things". We loved meeting all of these unique and creative individuals who graced our store yesterday. We can't believe the ATC's that they brought us and the beautiful charms...hopefully we'll post pics soon. It was more than amazing to meet other people who share our interests...and love the things we love...GLOBAL COMMUNITY!!

And of course we couldn't believe it when TIM HOLTZ walked through our doors. Are you kidding me, TIM HOLTZ!! Oh did I mention TIM HOLTZ came into our store today!! Me at the grocery store picking up milk last night, to the store clerk, "Did I mention, TIM HOLTZ came to Juneau today!!" Me to my 7 year old, "TIM HOLTZ came to our store today!!" 7 year old,"Who?"  Me, "Imagine if Hannah Montana walked into our store in Juneau". 7 year old, "Hannah Montana was in your store" Me, "uhh no". You get the idea. Yes Elton John is coming to Anchorage..but we had TIM HOLTZ. Sorry Tim I think I just compared you to Hannah Montanna and Elton John. You are truely the Hannah Montana of Altered Art, the Elton John of all things crafty.

We were also completly sold on a new line of cool metally things, that we haven't even seen yet. But we hear they will be out soon. Said, cool metally things were introduced to the cruisers but hopefully we'll find them soon and craft away with them. Check out the pic of the cool necklaces these cruisers did. Hopefully we'll get our hands on them soon. Very Steam Punk Tim!!

So thank you passengers of the Norwegian Pearl and Scrapmap Cruise and TIM HOLTZ (did I mention Tim Holtz came to our store, tee he he), you brightened our whole summer and we loved meeting each and every one of you. Thank you for your positive vibes, your songs (Julie, smile) and your willingness to share part of your journey with us. We only wish I could've joined you on this journey..but we do hope to hear about this trip from you soon!!!- Anji, Jen & Amy

PS big thank you to the mystery lady who helped us figure out how to put more price stickers in our pricing gun...you've ended 2 years of our needless suffering trying to figure that stupid thing out.

New location, New items for sale

We have a new assortment of crafty and artsy must haves. Books, journals, art, and craft supplies galore. I want one of everything from the book on Guerilla Art to the pen and ink set. We have locally made Alaska stamps, cards, and hats just to name a few. If I were on a green hilltop I would twirl around and sing a lovely melody, too bad I can't sing...but I sure can craft.

HOORAY FOR MAY!!!

So--we did it!!  We were able to finish the transformation of the fleece-ladened area in the Senate building into our new creative sanctuary in time for a few hour of First Fridays and then for a wonderful Grand Opening on Saturday May 3rd!!  (It also was National Scrapbooking Day--which we found a pretty nice coincidence!)   We were greeted the whole day (and able to greet) by the terrific people who volunteer their time to make Juneau's tourist welcome and by our loyal customers who came by to admire our new home/ space....everyone was very impressed and happy with the new space that we have carved out for ourselves and finally we are able to sigh, sit back and maybe, just maybe, relax a little before the hectic time of summer rolls around...

If you live in Juneau or are planning a visit to the Southeast, come by and see the new digs!!  We are sure that you'll find something new that you haven't seem before, in our fine arts area, art or crafts supplies or scrapbooking--and yes, we have the LARGEST selection of Alaska scrapbook goods that you've ever seen!  Tell us what you think about the changes and we'll look forward to chatting with you about upcoming schedules, goods, etc.  Thanks for all your support and help during our time of upheaval--we're sure you'll agree it was worth it!!

Working towards a new home...

We at the Creating Place have been BUSY!!!

Jen has been away, renewing her spirits and creative self, strengthening those family and friend bonds in the meantime whilst Anji and Amy along with several other cohort (family

from both sides in from out-of-town and friends, husbands who are amazing!!) have been cleaning, moving saleswomen and packers galore--not to mention painters, floor installers, dusters, slat wall hangers and light bulb expert changers--all to help you discover a new, beautiful home for your creative needs!!

We are already thrilled and loving the space and can't wait for all the rest of the work to be complete so you can come in and "ohh" and "ahhh" over our new home and all the work that has been put into the new Creating Place!!  We are still shooting towards the 1st of May as a target date and are working furiously towards meeting that goal, so keep your fingers crossed, eyes and ears open for our announcement to come celebrate with us--hopefully your gonna love it as much as we do!!  Thanks for all your patience during this month as we have packed stuff up, had odd hours and not been as available as previously--we promise--it will all be worth it!!

Sincerely-- The New Brighter Beautiful Creating Place    

now located at 175 S. Franklin St   in the Senate  Building 

We are MOVING!

Yes, The Creating Place is MOVING! Starting in May we will be located in the Senate Building at 175 South Franklin. We are on the ground floor, third store on the left. We have alot of stuff so this Friday and Saturday we are going to have a garage sale at the current Creating Place location on Seward. Friday we will be here from 11-6pm and Saturday 8am - 6pm. Cash or checks accepted on garage sale items.

Fun First Friday

First Friday - April 4th couldn't have been better. The weather was nice. Creativity was in the air. Juneauites were out and about. What made First Friday so much fun you might be asking, well, the array of Cooky crafts, the handmade sweet little cupcakes, the window models causing a stir on the street, and most of all the Craft Addicts themselves. They are a very talented and fun group of Alaskan crafters always being creative. If you missed First Friday don't fret the Craft Addicts have a fine selection of handmade crafts that will be available at the Creating Place through May

Scrap it!

Here are the layouts we did for the March Saturday Scrap class...

The theme for this month's sketch is: photos! Lots of photos. We used one large (5x7) photo and 12(approx. 2x2) small photos. Alter the sketch to fit more journaling. Whether it's lots of pictures or lots of journaling...the more the better! Look for info on the next Saturday Scrap class where YOU can complete [at least] 3 two-page layouts. Scrap it!

Crafty Craft Addicts

First Friday is almost here. We are very excited to see all of you!

Call up you friends, make plans for First Friday at The Creating Place. The Craft Addicts have a fine array of goodies to show. Check out their flickr site for more images. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tannadesign/sets/72157600840447250/.

Give us a call for more information 780-5437