OMG...I'm blogging? What?!

Howdy! My name's Elissa and I love to talk. I'm wondering if that's going to be a help or a hindrance to writing a blog?? FYI - I also love to scrapbook, travel, take photos, drink coffee and wear Mickey Mouse ears on my head at every opportunity. I LOVE to laugh! I love Halloween, Captain America, Goofy and Tim Holtz (not necessarily in that order), I have a dog that I adore, although the feeling isn't always mutual and am excited and nervous about adding this new dimension to my life and the life of the Cottage.

I've been the sole owner of Scrapbook Cottage for almost 10 years now and a part of the business for the last 20. (That makes me sound old...) If you've been a customer over the past 21 years, thank you for being on this crazy journey with us. If you're new to Scrapbook Cottage, scrapbooking or paper crafting in general, HELLO and welcome to our community.

When I reflect on the Cottage and all that we've endured (the great flood of 2016 anyone?) and all that we've achieved over the past 2 decades, the community that we have built is the thing I am most proud of. I've always strived to have a store that stocked the best quality and best range of scrapbooking supplies at competitive prices, whilst being a constant source of inspiration and education, but the community aspect has been an unexpected bonus. The part of Covid that I find the hardest, is the inability to gather and socialise over our shared love of craft. The work area tables in the shop have seen plenty of celebrations (and cakes! We LOVE cake!), plenty of tears and countless friendships forged over the sharing of memories and the love of craft. I'm sure the enduring success of the Cottage is largely due to this powerful and inspiring community that exists within our walls. Currently we're forced to gather digitally and it gives me hope for the future and the strength to keep going when I see this community fighting to stay connected, despite the current challenges. We will prevail and we will gather again one day soon around our tables. In the mean time, we have social media and now, this blog!

Did I mention...

This blog will be a place for me to share. I'm still figuring out exactly how and what, but I figured it was better to start, even if I'm incredibly late to the blog  party and even if I don't really know what I'm doing yet. Thank you for joining along with me and stay tuned for inspiration, updates on life (both mine and the Cottage, although after this long, they're one and the same!) and hopefully a few laughs and lots of fun!

Comment below and say hi if you want to! I'm always happy to chat.

Happy crafting peeps,

Elissa xx

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