We have some great Christmas products in-store now. Not only major collections but HEAPS of cute and CHEAP kits, embellishments and papers, so Christmas doesn’t have to be a credit-card binge.

Catch up on the goss from the Craft and Hobby Association’s Show in Chicago, Illinois, in July this year. New products and innovations galore! We especially love the Fiskars Holiday Punches which will be arriving in-store soon. These are limited edition.

Yes, Basic Grey has released their Christmas range at the CHA Summer show in the US and it’s called ‘Wassail’.

Wassailing - (thanks to Franklin County Horticulture for this…)

Many of us have heard the song “Here We Come A Wassailing.” But what does it mean? Wassailing is now the tradition of traveling from house to house singing, eating, drinking, and visiting with friends and relatives. However, wassailing was originally an important horticultural ritual.

Traditionally, the persons wassailing would bring wassail with them on their travels. Recipes for wassail often included cider, ale, and/or wine. This mixture was served in a large bowl garnished with roasted apples with small pieces of toast floating on the top of the liquid. Thus, the expression “to propose a toast.”

The word wassail is derived from both an Anglo-Saxon greeting “Waes hal” and the variation of a Viking greeting, “Ves heill.” These greetings, loosely interpreted, mean, “Be in good health.” Wassailers were invited into the home to share food and fellowship. As time went on, the greeting soon became synonymous with the word wassail.

Another ritual involving wassail was a salute to the apple trees for a good harvest. Wassailers traveled to major orchards and sang to the trees that produced well. Following the singing, loud noises were made to chase evil spirits away. Portions of the wassail and a roasted apple were thrown at the trees, and pieces of the wassail-soaked toast were placed in the forks of the trees. Sometimes, wassail was poured over the roots of the trees. All of these rituals were an offering of thanks to the trees. Trees that had not produced well were not treated to the wassailing.

Typically, this ritual occurred near or around the time of the winter solstice. The care with which the ceremony had been executed was measured by the crop yield the following year. It was important that the trees have a good yield the next year so that there would be more cider to put into the wassail.

Kaisercraft has a new range of Christmas albums and OTP kits in-store this year. BUT best of all, we have all the papers and bling to make the gorgeous projects in ‘Kaiser Workshop #11′. You know the pretty little magazine that is free from your local scrapping store?? Ever wanted to make these projects, but didn’t want the hassle of trying to find all the pieces? Well, we have everything you need under our Kaisercraft Christmas category - bling, chipboard, pearls, papers, paint, flourishes…it’s all here.

Making Memories’ new Fa La La collection of papers and embellishments has a traditional theme this year. Lots of creams, burgundies, olives and greens. Lots of traditional flowers and trims, including velvet, ric-rac and gold, which all add a distinctly vintage feel to your layouts. Perfect for a Christmas album which is traditional in feel and design - think fireplaces, pipes and Christmas pudding!

To celebrate the opening of our new store, we’re offering a further 10% off our already discounted prices. Simply go to the home page and click on the ‘Register’ link below the main menu.

I’m currently entering stock for SEI’s ‘Jolie Chocolat’ range and ‘Doodley Doo Boy’. Cosmo’s ‘Honey Pie’ range is also in store. They’re all sooo gorgeous - grab them while you can!

Cosmo Cricket’s ‘Honey Pie’ range - so feminine, soft and pretty!

SEI’s Doodley Doo Boy range - so cute, so boy!

SEI’s ‘Jolie Chocolat’ range - ooh la la, c’est magnifique!

Hi All!

I’ve decided to delay the opening of my store until mid-April due to the fact that I’ll be on holiday over the next week or so. Products are continuing to be uploaded and we are operational if you wish to place an order, however it won’t be processed until after the 12th of April.

Thanks for stopping by! We are currently entering stock into our system and should be live in mid-April ‘08. In the meantime, please feel free to join our newsletter to keep informed on our opening date and for some great opening specials and new products!