Thursday, June 16, 2011

Celebrate Our 4th Anniversary with Us!

Hi SP Bloggers ... I know, I know.  Blogs are supposed to be short and sweet.  But this one needs to be longer.  Enjoy!

For a little fun, why not add your own favorite Playground memory in the Comments section at the bottom of the blog!  Also, watch for a new blog later on Friday with more new stuff that's hit the Playground shelves!

What could the Playground Crew be planning
for this mystery space all taped out on the floor?

Here's the story behind the picture.  Stopped by the store Wednesday afternoon only to find Sue and LynnMarie rearranging things to make room for a new display.  The end result is the mystery space that you must be wondering about now.  Well it's for the absolute newest - and gorgeoussssssssssssss - paper line from Authentique Papers.  And Playgrounders, you're getting it first this Saturday 'cause the Playground's the first in ... not Long Island ... not New York ... but the country to get this new product!  Be sure to check out photos at the end of the blog, but you're gonna want to see, feel and throw these new papers and embellies in your shopping bucket this weekend!

So after helping to move things around more than once (ha!), LynnMarie, Renee and Blogger ended up stretched out in the new mystery space ("Blogger down!" went the cries!).  Anyway, we got to talking about the 4th Anniversary Celebration this Saturday and that got us going down memory lane ...

  • How many of you remember classes in the Playground before the Park?  Yes, Sue managed to teach many classes, including the Star Album class, IN THE STORE.  At class time, displays got squished forward, tables and chairs came out and we were one big cozy class ... and we had fun!  As Tim Gunn says, "Make it work." and so we did!

  • When the Park opened a bit later, we were all ecstatic ... spacious work tables and cushy chairs.  Then came the summer and there was one little problem.  No A/C!  But have no fear, 'cause Playgrounders persevere!  We have fun no matter the weather -- indoors or out! 

  • Then there were the birds and bees ... really!  One spring day a bird made it's way into the store, so Sue took her handy dandy yardstick to try to wrangle her a bird.  Picture Sue waving her yardstick in the air like a mad cowpoke, one frightened bird, and lots of beautiful layouts hanging from the ceiling.  Now picture Renee coming back after a brief visit to the Park to find #@!& everywhere ... bird doo-doo and layouts falling from the sky!  At first she thought Sue must not have liked her Seasonal layout display, but then realized there was a bird in the house.  Eventually the bird made its way outdoors at last, but it and Sue have never been the same (ha!).

  • Oh, and the bee story.  The Park may not have originally come with A/C, but it did come with a bee hive.  While teaching a class, a bee made it's way up Renee's t-shirt and stung her on her nano-nano's (note to self ... look up blogging rules for proper ways to reference body parts).  Anyway, Renee jogged back to the bathroom and was heard calling for her good friend and loyal class participant for help.  It went something like this: "Josephine, come to the bathroom and look at my ... !"  You know the rest (ha!).

  • There was also the time when LynnMarie and Danielle were in lockdown at the Playground.  There was a little police activity in the nearby residential area so, as a safety precaution, local businesses were asked to lock up ... and that turned out to be hours long.  So LynnMarie and Danielle decided to slip out to the pizza place next door for a bite ... not sure if they ever got their pizza, but heard I nearly had mug shots to share on the blog (just kidding!).

  • Debbie ... one of the newest members of the Playground crew ... is now also the team's fire warden, a well earned title for sure.  On one of her first days at the Playground, she had a little run in with an electric plug that was in its final days.  Like a true scrapping queen, when she saw smoke coming from the outlet, she didn't run out of the store to safety.  Instead, she unplugged everything (computer, register, etc.) and plotted out the products she would save first if needed.  Fortunately, Debbie didn't need to evacuate the store, the electrical outlet was retired and all is well again behind the register.

In four short years, there have been many good times shared at the Playground.  And that's due to all of our loyal customers and friends, a terrific Playground team through the years and - though she'd hate for me to say it -- Sue's commitment to making the Playground the fun place it is today.  Please join us on Saturday, June 18 to celebrate our anniversary and continue making Playground memories!  There will be:
  • Store sales all day long -- you won't want to miss it.
  • Goodie bags to the first 25 customers
  • Free Make & Takes (10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Park); and
  • Chances to win great prizes -- for every $50 you spend, you get a raffle ticket for the Big Shot basket PLUS for every $10 you spend, you get a raffle ticket that you can drop in the bucket(s) for our other great gift baskets.
Thank you everyone for your continued loyalty and friendships.  See you soon at the Playground!

Don't forget to check out pictures of Authentique Papers and the coordinating embellies!

Authentique's Journey Line

Authentique's Blissful Line

Authentique's Uncommon Line

And each of the 3 lines comes with 6x6 and 4x6
coordinating embellishments.  Here we've shared
with you the Uncommon line. Similar embellies
are available for Journey and Blissful too!

2 comments:

  1. Ok. I will be the first to post a comment. I have had some great times coming to classes at SP. You girls are a blast (Nick too!)! You do enable me though, in my addition to stamping! JK! My fave class was the first Mimi. I learned so much from that marathon class. Now I have to have every Ranger product there ever was and will be. Amen!
    Your hard work and dedication is well appreciated. Sometimes i just like to come to the store for a little inspiration: there are ideas all over the place!
    A special thank you to all of you and happy anniversary!

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  2. Carol, too funny. When I think how many times we've bumped into each other at the Playground, it's down right embarrassing (ha!). Glad to have met you and love your creations!

    ReplyDelete