Just What is "Christmas in July"?????

When the time flies too fast and all the seasons just run together, why would we want to have Christmas in July?  No, it is not to remind us of cooler weather after the record breaking heat wave we just survived!  Here at Rock Paper Scissors, we are celebrating Christmas in July to help the creative juices flow and get started on all of those crafty projects you will want to do for the holidays!

We have holiday paper and embellishments to get you started on the perfect holiday cards and tags.  Is sewing more your thing?  We have holiday fabric to start those stocking and little gifts made with love.  A stitcher?  We have great patterns and floss and books to spark your ideas.  And, of course, the Rock section is always full of cool new and vintage beads for the perfect gift - or jewelry for yourself!  For this week (July 25th - 31st), all holiday themed fabric, paper, embellishments, stamps, punches,  and lots of other stuff is on sale - 20%, 30%, even 50% off!

Don't know where to start?  Well, we have lots of cool classes this week on stocking and tags and cards and countdown calendars.  Or join us on Friday for our "Cool Down and Craft" workshop - the Christmas in July edition.  This week, we will be making cute little embroidery and applique "hooped" art.  The class is free!  Supply bags are available or bring your own from home.  Sign up soon as we are almost full!

Need some ideas, you know we are always here and willing to help!

So, join us for a little early holiday fun.  Oh, and it helps that we have the air on!

Hope to see you soon,

Beth

Rock Paper Scissors Turns One!!!

Amazing as it may seem, Rock Paper Scissors is about to celebrate it's first birthday!  It has been a roller coaster year full of fun and crafting and new friends.  And we are throwing ourselves a party!

Please join us on Saturday, June 18th, from 10:00am-6:00pm as we celebrate this milestone.  We will have goodie bags for the first 25 customers, open crafting for the kids from 12-4pm, cupcakes and singing at 2pm, and birthday games all day long.  Every purchase qualifies you for a ticket for our raffle basket full of all sorts of crafty goodies!  The drawing will be at 4:00pm.

Amy Butler has graciously sent us another trunk show to help us fill the store with gorgeous samples in both her Love and the new Soul Blossom lines.  Check out the new patterns, too!  We are all stocked up in both fabrics and patterns.  Amy's creations helped us to shepard in our infancy and now she is back as we get legs and enter toddler land.  All patterns and fabrics by Amy Butler will be 20% off all day long!

Don't miss the fun!!

Beth

Join the Stitching Revolution!

Rock Paper Scissors is all about the sublime .... Sublime Stitching, that is! 

We have expanded our embroidery section and loaded up on the patterns, books, threads and fabrics of Jenny Hart, a.k.a Sublime Stitching.  If you are not familiar with Jenny and her fabulous patterns, check out her blog and website.  I think she can be credited with turning the embroidery world upside down.  Her creative and contemporary patterns have made stitching so much more attractive to the crafting world.  They are hip and fun and quick to stitch up.

So, grab those jeans or onesies and stitch a little pattern on them.  Make tea towels for the perfect gift for the newlyweds.  Stitch pillows and pillowcases and jackets and shirts ... you get the picture!  Once you start, you will see a potential stitch spot on everything.

I love to stitch and I stitch on anything.  Cotton, towels, runners, aprons, jeans, silk, wool, paper.  If I can poke a hole in it, I will stitch on it.  

Stitching has always been a part of my crafting life.  It has the most marvelous zen-like quality to it.  It travels well, anyone can do it, it is extremely inexpensive to get started and keep going, and it has the added benefit of instant gratification.  Have ten minutes? You can stitch and see instant results!

Yes, folks, there is a stitching revolution going on!  If you want to be a part of it but don't know how, why don't you join us for "Needle & Hoop", a stitching group that gets together at the store once a month.  Our next meetup is on Saturday, June 11th, at 10:00am-12:00pm.  There is no formal instruction but we all help each other and chat and share and just have a great time.  We have extra hoops and lots of vintage patterns to trace from.  I will even teach you how to create and transfer your own pattern.

So, join this revolution and be sure to include Sublime Stitching in your plans!

Till next time,

Beth

The Fortune Girls Rocked the House!

Last Friday evening, Rock Paper Scissors was full of an amazing group of young ladies - the Fortune Girls.  They came together to embroider hankies for our troops deployed overseas and they rocked the house!!

Everywhere you walked, there were girls, girls and more girls.  They stitched and chatted and ate pizza and laughed and made new friends.  And, all the time, they were embroidering these beautiful hearts and other messages on oversized camouflage hankies for the troops.  They also attached short notes to each hankie with a message of support and encouragement.  It was a beautiful sight indeed.

We were honored to have some service members join us, including two young women who have recently returned from deploymet in the Middle East.  MASN Chelsea Kepenis and BU3 Penny Zack, joined by Lt. Cmdr Michael Fourte, shared with the girls how much care packages from home meant to them when they were deployed.  They also fielded questions from the girls, helped them to stitch and took some time to read the notes.

The hankies will be sent to the troops in care packages that are shipped by Operation Gratitude, a California-based volunteer organization that ships 100,000 care packages to service people every year.  Please check out their website when you have a minute.  They are an amazing organization that epitomizes the word "volunteer". 

It is not too late to contribute to these care packages.  Through Memorial Day weekend, we are still collecting toothpaste, toothbrushes, beanie babies, and notes of support and encouragement for Operation Gratitude to include in care packages.

Fortune Girls is a lifestyle brand started by local Glen Ridge residents Madison Ruiz and her mom, Barbara.  It is dedicated to the empowerment of girls ages 7-12, helping them to see all they can be in their lives.  We were honored to host the first Fortune Girls Operation Hanky evening!!  Sponsors included PNC Bank, Super Scoop, and Notions Marketing.

We thank all of the girls who stitched, the service people who took the time to help us understand the importance of what we did, and especially to the service people (including my own son) who put their lives on the line every day for us without regard to personal gain.  They are the true heroes.

Till next time,

Beth

The New-Bees

Need some time off to just create?  Ever thought about learning to quilt?  Well, we have started a new quilters group at Rock Paper Scissors - and it's not your grandmother's quilting bee!  We are the New-Bees!

This group meets just once a month.  We are a group of fellow crafters who either want to learn to quilt or want to sew with friends, socialize and learn some new tricks.  There is no formal instruction, just a sharing of tips and ideas .... and fun!

We all follow the same quilting pattern but bring our own sense of style to the project through our choice of fabrics.  The first pattern is "Juice Boxes" from Cluck Cluck Sew.  If you have never seen Allison's quilts, do check it out.  She brings such a clean, fresh, contemporary flair to quilting.  She has been wonderfully supportive and helpful to us and we LOVE working with this pattern.

I am personally so excited about the fun fabrics that I am using for my quilt!

If you are interested in joining us, just contact the store.  We have started this quilt but you can catch up and jump in at any time.  Or join us when we start our next project.  The group is a no-pressure atmosphere - come when you can, catch up when you can.  It is just a load of fun to be sewing with other fellow crafters!  And, no reason to lug a sewing machine - you have full access to the machines and tools in the workroom.

For more info, call us at 973.337.6759.

Beth

Operation Hanky

Rock Paper Scissors is honored to be hosting Fortune Girls Operation Hanky, a special event to support our military troops, on Friday, May 20th, from 7-10pm. At the gathering, a joint effort with Fortune Girls, Inc., girls between the ages of 7 and 18 will embroider large camouflage hankies with hearts as a message of gratitude to the service of our troops overseas.


The event will be held at the store on Friday evening, May 20th, from 7:00-10:00pm. We will serve the girls pizza, teach them to embroider and have loads of fun!


We are expanding the store's partnership with Operation Gratitude, a California-based charitable organization that sends care packages to troops overseas. They ensure that the hankies and their heartfelt messages will arrive safely to their destination.

Helping to host the festivities will be two local service women who have recently returned from deployment.  We hope you can stop in and say a personal thank you to these brave women and their Lieutenant Commander.

To sign up, just call the store at 973.337.6759!  There are just a few places left so call soon!

Adults can participate by donating toothbrushes, toothpaste, small stuffed animals (such as beanie babies), or writing a note to the troops. All items can be dropped off at the store.

Read more about our efforts in the Montclair Times and Montclair Patch.

Fortune Girls, Inc. is a multi-cultural lifestyle brand created by Glen Ridge residents Madison Ruiz and her Mom, Barbara. The brand is dedicated to the empowerment of tween girls between the ages of 7-12, encouraging them to discover their own unique gifts.

We hope you will consider joining us in this amazing event!!!

Sale! Sale! Sale!

Oh, don't you just love that word?  Sale.  So simple, so sweet.

Rock Paper Scissors is hosting its first ever storewide sale starting May 7th.  There are items for sale in the jewelry section (the Rock), the paper section (the Paper), and fabric, sewing and embroidery (you guessed it, the Scissors).  Sale items range from 20-50% off.  And when they are gone, they're gone!

For a little surprise, we will be having some Facebook fan sales.  In addition to the sale items in the store, we will announce other special sales of many other items throughout the week, ending May 15th.  These sales will only be good on the day of the announcement so check back often.

So join us, browse all the goodies and get your crafty on!

And Happy Mother's Day to all of you moms out there!  I personally will be putting my tired feet up on Sunday and taking the day off but I hope to see all of you on Saturday or next week!

And, ladies, don't forget to sign up for our first ever Ladies Night next week.  We will be making this FABulous fabric necklace and pins.  Grab some friends and join us.  Registration is through the store.

Beth