Sweet Shoppe Designs

 Amazing gift ideas from Juli–all under $10!

At this time of year, there are so many people you don’t want to forget, but how can you afford to get everyone on your list a gift? So, if you aren’t ultra crafty and just need something you can pick up to give as a gift for under $10, here are some of our favorites. (Prices don’t include shipping in some cases, but most online retailers are offering free to reduced price shipping if you join their e-mail list.)

 Hostess Gifts

1.  Urban Paisley Kitchen Towels – Cost Plus World Market $9.98

2.  Snowflake Glass Mugs (2 sizes) – Crate and Barrel  under $4.00 each

3.  Chesapeake Bay- Gingerbread Candle – TJ Maxx  $6.99

4.  Cake Stand – H & M  $9.99

5. Snowman Soap and Lotion Dispenser – Pier One $7.96

6.  Red Misto Gourmet Olive Oil Sprayer – Cost Plus World Market  $9.99

Gifts under $10 Teen Boys (ages 14–18)

1.  Grinch Boxer Shorts – Target  $9.99

2. Ceramic Ramen Noodle Cup – Spencer’s Gifts  $7.99

3. A classic – The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (paperback) – Barnes and Nobel $7.99

4. iHome Colortune Noise Cancelling Ear Buds – Target  $9.99

5. Darth Vader Cup and Hot Cocoa Mix – Wal-Mart  $8.98

Teen Girls (14–18)

1. Forever In Love Cosmetic Bag – Forever 21  $8.80

2.  The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (hardback) – Barnes and Nobel $9.99

3. eos Three Pack of Lip Balm – Target $7.99

4.  Designer Fabric Key Fob (monograms are hot with teens right now!) – Etsy $8.00

5.  Corner Acrylic Make-up Organizer – The Container Store  $6.99

6.  e.l.f. Party Nail Polish Cube – Target $10

Younger Kids (5–10)

1. Hello Kitty Mesh Jewelry Organizer – Wal- Mart $7.00

2. Easel Chalkboard – IKEA $9.99

3.  Harmonica – Pier One  $4.00

4.  Do It Yourself Chopsticks, set of two – Cost Plus World Market $5.98

5.  Dora Gardening Set – Wal-Mart $9.97

6. Hoyle Skinny Playing Cards 2-pack  (perfect for little hands that can’t hold full sized cards) – Amazon.com  $7.99

7.  Finger puppet theater and puppets – IKEA  $4.99

Men’s Gifts

1. Habenero 4 Hot Sauce Gift Pack  - JC Gourmet Gifts $9.49

2.  LED Head Light (perfect for when your guy is working on something outside at night, or for camping) – Home Depot $7.98

3.  Humerous Flasks – Target  $9.99

4. Superman Caped Socks – Thinkgeek.com  $9.99 (they have other super hero’s so you can your guy’s fave!)

5. Etekcity® Magnetic 0.67X Wide Angle / Macro Lens for Apple iPhone – Newegg.com  $7.98

6. Stanley 10 Piece Screw Driver Set - Amazon.com  $8.28

Women’s Gifts

1.  Owl slippers – Kmart  $9.99

2.  Chevron Infinity Scarf – Amazon.com $7.99

3.  Love and Toast Gin Blossom Handcreme – Loveandtoast.com  $9.00

4.  Sportline 2 Funciton Pedometer – Wal-Mart  $4.97

5.  Monogram Mugs – Cost Plus World Market $4.89 each

6.  Herb Scissors – Crate and Barrel  $8.95

If you are interested in seeing even more ideas, check out our Under $10 Gifts pin board on Pinterest.  Have fun shopping!

Hey Hey Sweet Shoppers! Your favorite day of the week is here, and I’m here in your inbox with lots of sweet stuff from our Designers and Babes! I hope all of you survived the chaos of Black Friday, and that you had a memorable week with your loved ones. I can hardly believe that 2013 is nearly history – it truly seems like this year has flown by! So without wasting another minute of your time, here’s your first look at this week’s yummy new goodies…

Our advent calendar event has been so much fun so far, and there are lots of amazing treats to come over the next 19 days! If you’ve missed any of our freebies so far, there will be an opportunity to pick up the entire collection of treats at the end of the month, so stay tuned for details on that special offer.

In other news, the ridiculously talented and inspiring Traci Reed is having her once a year call for new creative team members. This is the rare opportunity to work for one of the best in the industry, so don’t delay in sending in your application! Check out the details of this special call below…

On that note, I’m off for the week, but I’ll be here in your inbox next weekend with lots more sweet new stuff. Until then, keep making memories and scrap MORE!

Lydia highlights a few of her favorite products from the Shoppe.

Choosing a few favorite products from the Shoppe is nearly impossible. If you want to see my favorites, it’s probably easier to tell you to just go look through every single page of products in the store. I love it ALL!! But, I’ve broken out just a few categories of products and wanted to show you a few of the products that I’m sure you’ll love just as much as I do.

Alphas

Color Block Alphabet by Shawna Clingerman

Hang Ups V.2 by Erica Zane

Paint/Stamps

Bundle-Blotz V.1 by Lauren Grier

My Stamp Stash No 8 by Krystal Hartley

Collections

Days of the Week by Mari Koegelenberg and Sugarplum Paperie (Click on the link to see the full collection.)

Get Artsy by Traci Reed and Jenn Barrette (Click on the link to see the full collection.)

Two Scoops

Mr. & Mrs. Frost by Libby Pritchett and Kristin Cronin-Barrow

Sweater Weather by Krystal Hartley and Juliana Kneipp

Like I said . . . these products just BARELY scrape the surface of all of the amazing products in the store. Be sure to check in again . . . perhaps we’ll be back later on in the month with a few more product favorites.

~Lydia

Meghan introduces December’s blog theme

Welcome readers and Happy December!! I know around here December is a busy month..full of festive kits, holiday spirit, and planning and ideas for the new year! This month we are going to focus on FAVORITES. Favorite websites, kits, gadgets, gifts, memories..you name it we will probably cover it! I hope you read along and enjoy the goodness we come up with this month.

I hope all of you enjoy this holiday season and make a lot of new memories to scrap!

Until next time..

Get Everyday Basics, a charming digital scrapbook kit from Zoe Pearn, FREE with your $10 purchase in the shoppe between now and December 15th! You also won’t want to miss checking out some fabulous inspiration from our talented Babes featuring this adorable kit, too. This is one special offer you won’t want to miss!

What is your current bestseller?

My best-selling kit that is still available would be Tis The Season – it was from Christmas 2011, and is still one of my most favourite Christmas kits!

What is the product you’re most proud of creating?

My most favourite recent product would be my Christmas Spirit: Comfort & Joy Kit.  As someone who usually likes to work with a lot of colours in a  kit, I found it a real challenge to work with such a limited palette. But, I absolutely love how it came out!  It reminds me of sitting in front of the fire with a hot cocoa – warm and cozy!

What is your favorite layout you’ve seen in the gallery created by a customer?

There are so many lovely layouts in my gallery, so it’s hard to pick just one!  But ttt83′s layout “Fall Into Autumn” (using my Fall Into Autumn kit), really jumped out at me!  I love the photos that she used, the clustering is beautiful, and I love that she’s chosen the bold floral background!  I’m a sucker for patterns!

What do you have in the works?

At the moment, I’m just looking forward to getting through the silly season that is December!  I’m looking forward to having a little break over Christmas, to recharge the batteries so I can come back with lots more digital goodies in 2014!  Beyond that, I’ve got a few more fabric lines due for release with Riley Blake, as well as a couple of paper lines with the Australian scrapbooking company, Kaisercraft, which I’m looking forward to!

Do you have a favorite hybrid project you’ve seen made with one of your kits? Why do you love it?

Bonnie is on my team, and she does the most fabulous cards!  This one using my A Very Happy Birthday kit is a recent favourite!

Show us some standout recent layouts  from your creative team!

Do you have any products which you think are perfect for this month’s blog theme “Favorites”?

I think my “Walking On Sunshine” kit would be great for the “Favorites” theme this month, as it has lots of fun word strips that would be perfect for that!  Plus, it’s got lots of bright and happy colours, which are my favourite thing!

You can connect and interact with Zoe in the following ways…

Like her on Facebook

Subscribe to her Newsletter

Visit her Blog

And don’t forget, when you spend $10 in the shoppe between now and December 15th, you’ll get her featured designer kit, Everyday Basics, absolutely FREE!

Robin shares how thankful she is for Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Nearly 8 years ago, I had the opportunity to set out on an adventure that I had no idea would take me on the journey that it has. Sweet Shoppe Designs was originally a business venture taken on because I thought I could do it better than it had been done before me, and ‘WOW!’ has it grown beyond my wildest dreams!

Each and every day, I am so so grateful for Sweet Shoppe Designs and all of you who make it a reality!

I am thankful for our wonderful customers who come shop in our store week after week, month after month, year after year. I love that you are as addicted to our products as we are to making them for you.

I am thankful for our sweet community. I love all of you who spend time talking and sharing your lives with us each day. I am constantly blown away by your creativity, and having been in the industry for such a long time now, I love seeing people come and go, learn and grow and take advantage of all of the opportunities that are available to us as digital and hybrid scrappers. It’s amazing to be part of such a creative and growing industry!

Finally, I am thankful for the 52 amazing women who I am privileged and honored to have working with me. Back in October, I had the most amazing opportunity to spend 4 days with a big chunk of these talented and inspiring women and more than anything, it made me realize how lucky we are. Beyond just having a staff of talented artists, we have a family of warm and generous souls who are dedicated to making Sweet Shoppe Designs the absolute best place to be if you’re a digital scrapper! As a store owner, I couldn’t ask for anything more.

SugarBabe Maria is grateful for digital scrapbooking.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Spending time with family and reflecting on all the blessings that fill me with gratitude always makes me realize how thankful I am for digital scrapbooking.  It really changed the way I approach memory keeping and has become such a big part of my life.

One of my goals going into 2013 was to savor all the little everyday moments that are so easy to take for granted.  I absolutely love looking through my layouts from this past year because I was able to document a lot of the small joys I normally forget. This was nearly impossible for me before I started digital scrapbooking.

Now that my memory keeping process is tailored to fit the way I think and work, even those big album projects seem so much less daunting.  Ironically, digital scrapbooking has enabled me to work a lot more with paper!  So, this year, I’m excited to begin working on my Holiday album, because I know it doesn’t have to be a stressful experience and I’ll actually be able to enjoy those memories I’m collecting!

Hey, Hey Sweet Shoppers! I’m here in your inbox a day early this week to kick off our biggest sale of the year! That’s right, Black Friday is here, and not only do I have a slew of new goodies to show off from our Designers, I’m also super excited to give you a sneak peek at our amazing December promo which will be kicking off on 12/1 too!

I know you guys are excited to get all of the details, so read on for everything you need to know about Black Friday here at the sweetest spot in town…

Aside from our Going, Going, GONE! sale, 40% off is the biggest discount we ever give on our products here at the Sweet Shoppe, so this is a great time to stock up on your favorite sweet stuff! Best of all, this amazing discount applies to our newest releases too, and our designers have outdone themselves with more than 100 new products hitting the shoppe for you tonight! Here’s your first look at this week’s sweet new treats…

Those tiny pictures don’t do this week’s new releases justice, so be sure to take a peek at the Black Friday category in the shoppe so you don’t miss a thing!

Speaking of things you won’t want to miss, this year we’re doing something special to celebrate the holiday season! In the days leading up to Christmas, you’ll be able to indulge in 25 days of December Delights by checking in every day to see what’s behind each of the doors in our darling advent calendar. Here’s a sneak peek at the amazing collection that is just one of the treats we have in store for you throughout the month of December…

On that note, I hope all of our friends in the US had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that each of you makes the most of Black Friday. Whether that’s staying up until the wee hours to grab this year’s steal of a deal at your favorite retail outlet or staying cozy in bed to make the most of your online shopping, we wish you an amazing and memorable holiday shopping season!

I’ll be here in your inbox on schedule next weekend with lots more sweet new stuff. Until then, keep making memories and scrap MORE!

p.s. – my family and I are heading out of town to enjoy some much needed R&R over the next week, so responses to emails may be a little slower than usual from 11/30-12/8. I will have my laptop with me and I’ll be checking in at least once a day, but your patience is appreciated while we are away!

SugarBabe Lydia is grateful for music.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who are celebrating today!!!

Today it’s my turn to tell you about something that I’m thankful for. But, I don’t quite know where to start with this one. Music is so much a part of who I am and has given me so much in my life that it’s just hard to express how much it means to me. I’ve always been involved with music in some way. I grew up listening to my dad’s Kingston Trio records and singing with the family on road trips. I started playing the piano when I was around four years old. By the time I was a teenager, I was in love with playing and spent a few hours a day at the piano, playing and singing at the top of my lungs. It was my stress relief, and my family quickly learned not to disturb me during these singing sessions. I sang with choirs beginning in Jr. High and continuing into my late 20s. The opportunities for that kind of thing have decreased over the years, as I’ve had a young family to care for. But, every now and then, I get to do some real singing again, and it just fills up my soul. I absolutely love it.

I recently found something that I wrote back in 2007 about my love for music, and it still expresses my feelings pretty well: “Music isn’t just something that I sing or listen to or play. It’s a part of who I am deep in my soul. Music defined me as a teenager and introduced me to a peer group where I found life-long friends. Music healed my broken heart and taught me about God’s love. Music took me to concert halls, crowded stadiums, and sacred places where I became part of something larger than myself. Music helps me express my love for my children. Music binds me to my siblings. When I am happy, I sing. When I am sad, I sing. When my heart is overflowing, I sing. With all that I’ve been blessed with, how can I keep from singing?”

This time of year, I start to get really excited about Christmas music in particular. I haven’t gone full-throttle with the Christmas music quite yet, but I have listened to a little bit of it here and there. By this weekend, I’ll have it playing non-stop until Christmas.

I feel like there’s so much more I could say about music, but I really don’t have the right words for it, so I’ll just leave you with a layout that I did a while back highlighting some of my favorite music from this time of year. I hope you all enjoy this holiday season and take the opportunity to count your blessings.

~Lydia

SugarBabe Lizzy is grateful for her cameras.

I am so thankful for many things in my life, but recently I’ve been very grateful for my cameras. Just weeks ago, on the anniversary of my father’s passing, my sisters and I got together and were browsing through our old family photo albums and other items from our childhoods. And, it occurred to me how few photos there are of us all over those years. We have our school photos that were taken most years in school, and there are the “event” photos that were taken of us at weddings and other family gatherings. But, the everyday snapshots are few and far between, and the photos of all of us as a family, or photos with either of my parents in them are practically non-existent.

It’s made me really appreciate my two awesome cameras and the thousands of photos I have of each of my children since they were born. I take hundreds of photos of them every month, and never really give it a second thought. I’m never without a camera, my point and shoot comes absolutely everywhere with me, or if I was somehow caught without it, I always have my phone to take photos. So I’m going to make more of an effort to get into the photos with the kids. I have a remote control after all, so there’s no excuse! That way, my children will be able to look back on the memories of their childhood . . . just as soon as I manage to get all those photos printed into a photobook! These are my two cameras that I’m so thankful for today: