sassafras

WOW.... what a year!

Thank you talented artists, valued retailers, and vendors for your support of and passion for Sassafras products. Thank you to our amazing design team whom continually feature, support, and express their talents with much Sassafras love. Thank you to many savvy magazine editors for always choosing new Sassafras products in monthly hot picks and favorite finds. Thank you world of Sassafras pals for inspiring us each and every day. WE HEART YOU!

 

Thanks to ALL of you 2009 was the largest growth year in Sassafras history. In 2009 Sassafras released what felt like a million new products. It was the year of the love at first sight felties, hand stitched layered blossoms, whimsical as can be paper whimsies, super duper monster cuteness, and so much more! Many thanks to new domestic and international distributors for bringing the Sassafras brand to new heights in 2009.

 

2009 marked the beginning of our blog. We have LOVED the connection with readers around the world who share in our passion.

 

Along with growth, progress, and successes came growing pains! The late nights in the studio were fueled by the conviction and confidence that with such great fans we would continue to grow despite tough economic times. Nose to the grindstone!

 

2010. We have big plans!

 

First: Product, product, product. At Sassafras it's all about the product.

Our designers are hard at work putting the finishing touches on 3 amazing sparkling new collections that are alive with Sassafras splendor. These new collections have quickly become in house favorites. We can't wait to see what YOU do with them. Look for sneaks very soon!

 

Second: The biggest request from our wholesale customers and our employees has been a faster, easier to use website. A website that will support our continued growth and make placing an order super easy. You asked and we listened. Great news! A brand new lightning fast, beautiful Sassafras website will be unveiled in January 2010.

 

Third: More supportive marketing and advertising for our retailers. They are the ones that spread the Sassafras goodness to the world. Class kits, POP materials, awesome online contests and education that will drive passionate artists directly into their favorite retail store are just a few ways we plan to brighten our retailers in 2010. Stay tuned right here on our blog for more info.

 

How are you are going to accomplish all of this and still attend CHA winter you ask? Despite careful planning our team came to a critical decision.  It was realized that we would have to choose to either launch the new website in January or attend CHA and have product shipping later than we hoped. We decided that a new website is the best way to support and serve all of our customers including those that attend the show. Sassafras will miss seeing all of our friends at the Winter 2010 CHA show, but hope to see you in Chicago this summer!

 

Be on the lookout for NEW products coming soon to your favorite shopping spot!

 

Thank you for making 2009 fantastic!

 Happy New Year,

The Sassafras Team

it's been a fabulous year of projects....

thank you to everyone for making 2009 an inspirational journey of creativity! product is fun to make, but it would just not be nearly the same without each of YOU turning sassafras product into marvelous projects. YOU continue to inspire us to design more and more fresh new products.

thank you!

speaking of marvelous projects, megan klauer sent in this assortment of pure creative goodness....

 

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... poking out from underneath the m and o of moments is a little display of sassafras paper whimsies blossoms. these are taken from the back of the packaging on this product. love love love that megan used her packaging on her project! 

 

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 WOW! thanks megan for sharing your work with all of us =) 

only a few more days left to show the projects that made 2009 the best sassafras year yet! and then....the year count clicks to 2010 and we start off with the potential to have another best, better than ever, jam packed year filled with the chance to reach new creative levels. for you and us. thank you for teaming up with sassafras as we move forward.....

cheers!

rebecca

it was Merry indeed....

welcome back! i hope you had a lovely holiday weekend. we had a blissful, peaceful, small family affair. it was pure delight! we cooked a scrumptious surf and turf Christmas dinner with local fresh seafood, a vegetable wellington, an heirloom tomato bruschetta,  topped it all off with a ginger crisp and mascarpone fruit torte. the leftovers are gone, and it's back to reality. 

here are a few of my favorite things from under the tree....

these items hope to be the gift that keeps on giving....... more running in 2010 equals more fitness in 2010!

 

a sweet little tube of hand creme. love the oil paints style of the tube. a sand dollar from my sweetest 4 year old.... found during our Christmas afternoon visit to the beach.

 

one of a set of custom prints my husband has been randomly gifting me with. i want to find the perfect frames and create a beautiful wall arrangement.....

 

a set of cards from austin press. i love collecting things with the letter A. a hobby picked up soon after naming our two girls A names.... very coincidental indeed! the all natural owl came from a beautiful local shop fortini's.

 

 
 
i am in picture heaven because the photo you are not seeing is a new little canon point and shoot. pure happiness! we have had one of those big, chunky, not very portable types that mean great pictures, but less pictures because we don't take it everywhere. no longer! 

now i need to start learning the tips and tricks of photography..... perhaps 2010 is the year =)

after a morning of fussing with each other in the backyard over who had the longest worm i was happy to take this picture of cozy sisters. they did NOT get their fascination of all things slimy and squirmy from my side of the DNA chain.

 

a big thank you to miss cath at moxie fab for choosing this year's VINTAGE YUMMY in the top 10 collections of 2009! we are very honored!!

 

well we are close ladies, and possibly a gentleman or two, close to a NEW year filled with new creative opportunities. i cannot wait to start showing sneaky little peaks of what we hope will start your year off with a spark of inspiration!! not too much longer.... =)

back tomorrow with some great projects that came in over the holiday weekend.

rebecca =)

3 more days!!!

are you feeling festive today? i am wrapping up just a few more packages to send out today, and am loving the Christmas spirit warm fuzzies. 

if you are in the crafting mood today here are a couple of sweet projects from the sassafras design team. leila used sweet marmalade to spread holiday cheer...

and martha decorated with this bright cheery garland...

 

in the spirit of bright and cheery, wouldn't you love to cozy up in this beauty, and enjoy a warm cup of Christmas chai? mmmmmmm

they might have 2 day rush shipping at mielie.com =)

love the color mix and style of this sanna annukka piece.

 

i hope you are having a bright, joyful, spirited MERRY CHRISTMAS week!
  

  

3 winners to announce....

sorry to make you wait for winner announcements....BUT.... i hope you forgive me knowing that the reason i'm a little behind is because i have been really really busy finalizing products for our january release =)

without further ado i present to you not one but two winners for last weeks amplify contest.....(an extra winner is my consolation prize for taking extra time in deciding)...

juliana michaels congratulations! she submitted four superb amplify projects for the contest...

 

 

 

you can read more about the ideas and techniques behind these layouts in an article juliana wrote for a cherry on top!

congratulations also goes to miss milkcan. she was one of the first to submit an amplify project. when i went back at the end of the week to look thru all submissions hers really jumped out at me again...

thank you to everyone who participated. all of the projects submitted were really tremendous!
if you are on the lookout for more amplify inspiration check out this months kit at studio calico. chock full of amplify goodness.

one more congrats goes to april! we spotted a sassafras blinkie on her blog, and are excited to send her a big thank you!

thanks girls for joining in on the contest fun =)

rebecca

super special and super winner.....

today we have a super special deal for all paper lovers! and if you are reading this blog you are most likely fanatically, giddy, yes must have, need, passionate about your paper hobby, one of those LOVERS of paper. perfect.....

would you like to purchase these papers at 27¢ a sheet??? today you can do that very thing! each of these paper pads have 36 patterned papers, single sided, heavy weight, a spectacular deal at $10 a pad. this is 50% off of regular retail price!

a few of your favorite shopping sites are offering this deal today! so hurry and click on a link below and shop away....

Oh My Crafts, Inc

a million little things

scrapmart.com

scrapbook.com

twopeasinabucket.com

 

while you are busy shopping i will be reviewing submitted amplify projects one more time..... and post a lucky winner later today!!!

see you in a little bit...

rebecca

we have a birthday girl!

this is kathy. she works in the sassafras office. she has been a close friend for year and years before sassafras was ever thought of. today is her birthday!!

she is a super girl! she is the real deal! super genuine, giant heart, greyhound lover, loyal friend, and all around sweet girl.

happy birthday kathy!!

yesterday started the amplify project of the week contest. day one submissions proved to be very contest worthy...

julie starts out the competition with a creative force to be reckoned with.

her submission is a fine display of a "manly project". this is a common challenge for scrapbookers. finding the right collection that allows you to be your creative self, while still keeping the men in your life unashamed to adorn your projects. amplify is a co-ed collection. designed by a man, to be used by women!

take a look at the details, my favorite part....

 

 

diana enters the competition with a simple sketch turned into a WOW mix of amplify pattern, glitter and pop...

 

she tops it off with coordinating layered blossoms. way to go diana!

 

kristy got home from work last night, coincidentally hopped onto diana's (see above) sketchy blog and the sassafras blog, put the two together and created these competitive pieces in no time flat..

love the way she use the 1,2,3,4 journal tag sticker to lead into the title..

 

her second entry, this cute crafty card...

thank you for starting the competition of with HOT projects! keep checking back in as the heat rises with each new amplify entry. one lucky winner..... to be announced on friday!

 rebecca

good monday to you...

hello friends =)

after today only ONE more monday till CHRISTMAS!! it's been fun reading posts around the blog/facebook world of all the baking, crafting, and tree decorating that's been going on this past weekend. i took the girls to a gingerbread house decorating birthday party! they had a blast, wanted to eat the whole house before we got home, BUT they made it safely to the mantle without being totally devoured. 

 

 

kids of all ages were in gingerbread mode this weekend. one of the girls in our office, hayley, was at her family annual decorating party. check out her masterpiece... (all gingerbread houses shown via mobile uploads)....

 

i would like to visit this luscious fairy land! 

speaking of creative.... visit lilibee studio and sign in for her free tutorial to make this puppy loving mini book. perfect christmas gift for the pooches on your list.

she is also sponsoring a sassafras stamp give away on her blog! don't miss out! 

in other happy monday news.... we have a new blinkie winner! 

congratulations to vel from halcyon dreams.

in the spirit of christmas giving, i'd like to post two winners at the end of this week. one for our weekly random blinkie give away, and one for the amplify project of the week. submit your projects using the amplify collection by midnight on thursday and you will be entered to win a lovely assortment of sassafras goodies!!

good luck!

rebecca =) 
 
 

hi kimberly!

it was just about 5 years ago when this darling bubbling enthusiastic girl walked into the sassafras booth as we were finishing setting up for the next days trade show. she introduced herself and asked if we needed any last minute projects created for display the next morning. ummm are you serious?? you can scrapbook in your hotel room?? YES she was serious, and showed up the next morning with a handful of gorgeous projects showcasing our brand new products! that won her an instant spot on the sassafras design team. her sweet spirit won an instant spot in our hearts! hello kimberly neddo....

besides scrapbooking (her very obvious hobby) kimberly LOVES 

• photography
  
• yoga
  
• reading
  

kimberly tell us about her passions..

" i LOVE to learn more about the things I love to do and grow with them"

so let's chat about her scrapbooking hobby... are you wondering what kimberly's favorite technique is at the moment? me too, so i asked...

"I really LOVE to create dimention to my LO's. I love to use inks and paints and sprays of all sorts. I think my favorite thing to do is, to take a product and alter it to make it unique."

 

would you like to see more of kimberly's projects? you can always find her at these hot spots...

scrapbook.com's gallery

studio calico's gallery

 

i asked kimberly what are the top 2 things that have inspired you to create in the past couple of weeks?

her answers:

"my family... a huge factor in inspiring me daily to create"

 

"a quilt that was in the Anthropology catalog inspired me to try making yo-yo's with paper"

bonus for you.... kimberly took the time to make this tutorial to show you how to make these cool paper pieces to add awesome dimension to your pages...

 

kimberly, please give us all a tip on how to get the creative juices flowing...

"I find inspiration in the most random places...Sometimes it comes when I'm out and about and see a pattern on some fabric on a person's shirt...and I sneak a picture with my camera on my phone.

I think my favorite place to find inspiration is from Anthropology and urban outfitters...they have such AWESOME color combinations and the products are fun and fresh. 

I also LOVE a good sketch to draw some inspiration from. My favorite sketches are from GotSketch blog."

  
  
 
 because kimberly has been on our design team for quite awhile, i thought i should ask her what is her favorite thing about working with sassafras products? her superly sweet answer...

"This is a really hard one for me to answer...because my Love for Sassafras goes far beyond the product alone. If there is any one product out there that I can sit down with and have a creation just fall into place effortlessly, it is with Sassafras. The vibrant colors make me happy and inspire me to create. The integrity behind the business and all the wonderful people that make all these wonderful new and exciting products always WOW's me beyond my own understanding. I never get tired of any of the lines...past, or present. They are versitile and can be used to create very artsy, to very clean lined LO's with ease."

thank you kimberly for sharing what inspires you to be so creative! a big thank you and HUGS for being a super sassafras star (aka- design team member) for the past few years! you are an inspiration! 

that's all for today folks, i'm ready to shut down my computer and go make some paper yo-yo's! wouldn't they be great for embellished christmas tags!?

check back tomorrow for more fabulous design team ideas....

happy crafting!

rebecca

 

a monday for winners....

let's start the week off right with 2 blinkie winners!! these 2 lucky ladies were chosen for the last 2 weeks random "you have a blinkie on your blog" picks.

congratulations to ....

julie from la grande cupcake. she has been busy making christmas cards using the sassafras classic "life at the pole".

 

 

 

our second winner is charity sorrells. congratulations girls! 

a couple of gorgeous projects came in over the weekend... a must share! 

thank you for sharing gayle martin.

 

 

check in later this week for a spotlight on a design team girl who's been on our team for almost 5 years!

also coming up on thursday.... tutorial with the clever lillabee! she will show you the "how to" for a darling mini book. she also has a new christmas card posted on her blog ...

 

happy monday everyone!

rebecca =)