Dear Diary,

Funny how things work - I decided I needed to get my pre-business cards designed. This is the result. It's funny - I was thinking I need a theme color combo - kinda like FedEx - or UPS. Hot pink and lime green are two of my favorite colors together - plus the whole theme of the card goes perfectly with the Scrappinpsycho's Asylum.


The idea of this card - will be to hand them out now - in order to promote The Scrap Inn - even before it's open. I plan to hand these out to everyone I see in the scrapbook aisles of Hobby Lobby, JoAnn's & Michaels.  Or, I guess I should say - to anyone who will take one.  This will at least give them a way to contact me - and to keep up with the progression of The Scrap Inn!

How do you like my card and my idea?

Dear Diary,

Another pretty unproductive week.  We did look at a house on Sunday (through the windows).  The parking would be excellent - but there are just too many other things to compromise on.  One being - the scrap space.  I thought about using 2 rooms - separated only by one wall - but with the help of those who gave their opinion - here and at TwoPeas - I don't think that is an option.  So the house hunt continues. 

I did a little shopping this week - got a few goodies at Garage Sales on Saturday:
Bose sound system
Large White board (still in the wrapper)
a Shower curtain and hooks

That's all I can think of right now.  I also, got several things at Goodwill - I'll add later.

Question of the week (or until I change it) - How far is too far - to drive to a retreat?

Later,
Kathy

Dear Diary,

Wow, what a crazy busy week.  Despite the fact that I had the little corndog to take care of all week - I was still able to work 40 hours, see Gnomeo & Juliet, go to the zoo, play mini golf, go to the park, and of course some shopping for The Scrap Inn.  I'll catch you up on the latest purchases later.

Today we (hubby, corndog & I) went to a small town close by that had a house that looked like it might be a possibility.  The town was ok - not too far - and not a bad drive.  We were able to look at the house through most of the windows.  The parking was perfect - the house looks like it's in great shape - but it was difficult to determine if the rooms would work for scrapping.  My realtor is checking on the zoning - and then we'll go from there.

Question of the week:

Is it important to have all the scrappers in 1 room - or would it be okay to split the group up between 2 rooms?

What do you Want in A Scrpbook Retreat?

Please answer this question below!

Dear Diary,

Everything is kind of on hold here.  It's Spring Break - and with my little Corn Dog out of school - life is a little too busy to be doing much on The Scrap Inn.  Next week I hope to be able to get back into the house hunt. 

I'm also planning on making some business cards.  They will say:

 "Coming Soon to a town near you -
The Scrap Inn LLC ~
       Your Scrappin' Getaway!"

Then I'll have this blog address
my email address 
my phone #. 

I'll hand these out to "scrappers" whenever I get the chance in the scrapbook aisle of the local stores, at crops etc.  Once I have an address then I'll have permanent cards made and use them in the same way. 

I also plan to allow those who want to to put their name on the back of the business card - and hand them out.  If someone books a stay at The Scrap Inn from their referral (their name on the back) the referrer will receive a discount on their next stay at The Scrap Inn.

What do you think?  Do you think this is a good marketing plan? 

Dear Diary,

It's official - The Scrap Inn LLC is a reality.  I am now registered with the state and am an official business.

I've been playing around with a slogan- The Scrap Inn
Your Scrappin Getaway!

What do you think?

Dear Diary,

I'm so excited - sometime tomorrow I will officially be a business owner!  By the way - if you get a chance to talk to Bob - ask him about his other business women in his life!

Much more later!

Dear Diary,

So, lots has happened since my last update.  I'll try not to go into too much detail.

On Saturday I found the house I wanted - I was excited about it - and loved the location etc.  The problem was - it was a lot more than I wanted to pay - and was smaller than what I wanted.  I spoke to my hubby on the phone - and he wasn't as thrilled with it as I was (he's always the more practical one).  I have been praying that We will be on a united front - and it wasn't going that way.  So of course, my prayers were for God to change his mind - help him to be more open minded etc...  We'll by Sunday morning, my mind was changing - I started questioning myself - as to why I would pray for opened & closed doors and yet not see this as a closed door - I started realizing some other attitude changes that I needed to make.  I came to the conclusion that this wasn't the house for me.  When I told my hubby - he was still willing to go and look at it - although I pretty much felt the door was closed on this one - we decided to go look at it together.  He found several issues with the construction - that we're obvious issues.  Then there was the concern for the energy efficiency - it was obvious there was going to be an issue due to the number and kind of windows.  After looking at the house more closely - and seeing past the "cosmetics" we were both convinced it was not the house for us.  After a visit to the property neighbor it was even clearer!  Turns out the property had been bought cheaply due to the fact that it had major water damage - it was bought to flip.  We had seen many indications of things being covered up with paint that should have been repaired.  So, this just made it even more clear that this was not the property for us.

Later, I realized that God had made us united - just not in the way I expected Him to do it. Isn't it interesting how we sometimes think we know just how God should answer our prayers.  This was just a reminder to me - that if I want God to lead in this - I need to be willing to follow in HIS direction. 

We also decided we still have a lot of questions regarding the legal aspect of having a business, getting the right kind of loan for the business etc... So, I have made an appointment to meet with an attorney later this week.  Hopefully, that will answer some of our questions - and get us going in the right direction. 

Please continue to keep this in your prayers!

Later,
Kathy

Dear Diary,

The house hunt went well today - but I'm not ready to share it yet!  Please pray that God will open and close the doors He wants us to go through, and that we (my husband & I) will be united in any decisions we make.

I will share that I purchased this today!

I wasn't sure if tools were a drawing point for The Scrap Inn or not - my friend said it was a MUST.  What do you think?

Dear Diary,

Off house hunting again today.  Very excited to see what's out there. 

Found out that the houses I looked at on Wednesday - can be used as an Inn as far as zoning is concerned.  That was great news.  Also, decided that the house with the steps was NOT an option. 

Tried figuring out how much SCRAP space is needed per person - I'm really wanting to have 6 foot tables per person - not sure how realistic that is.  But I'm taking my tape measure today - that will give a better feel for the scraproom posibilities.

I'll report in later with the house hunt results.

How much space do you think is needed per person? 

Later,
Kathy

Dear Diary,

These are the houses I looked at today.  I have put a caption on each picture with my opinion. They are all in a small town about 25 miles from my home - the town is a county seat and has lots of large old homes,  old buildings and they are known for their
Bar-B-Que.  It's a very quaint little down town with a town square and the Court house in the center.  It has lots of cute little shops - and lots of character.  Definitely a maybe as far as the town is concerned.

I like the character of this one - but.. It has 2 steps going into or out of every room.  I think this would be an issue for those with mobility issues.  It also would take a lot of time and $ to get it in shape including tearing out the carpet and sanding the oak wood flooring that has been covered for years!  The wallpaper in the kitchen and dinning room will have to be tore out and the kitchen flooring replaced and the kitchen and all 3 bathrooms would have to be updated.  The house was built in the 30's and I think all the upgrades were done in the 50s!  I don't think this is the one.

Loved the spaciousness of this one - great scrapbook space, dining area and breakfast area, 4 bedrooms, single story & the price are all pluses.   The negatives are the limited parking - smaller yard, and no "character". 

Loved the location of this one - 5 acres in the country. BUT

the floor plan was not at all suitable for scrapbooking.  I thought maybe the three car over sized garage might be a possibility -

but  decided it would be very expensive to finish it off & add heat & AC.  It's a no go!

The plan is to go to another town this weekend - and just keep looking!

What do you think?  Are the steps an issue?  How important is the "character" of the house?  What do you think about the small town atmosphere!

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow is the big day.  I have an appointment with the realtor tomorrow morning at 10:00.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what's out there!

I'm planning on taking my camera - so I can take pictures and have something to remember about each house.

Tonight I hit Goodwill.  I found a Fiesta pitcher ($2.99) for me!  And picked up some more "Fiesta Like" dishes for The Scrap Inn.  I found this awesome set of mixing bowls.  6 bowls of graduated sizes - They had them each priced separate - starting at 1.99 for the smallest - to 6.99 for the largest.  I took them to the counter, hoping they would agree with me that they should not be priced individually - but as a set.  Unfortunately they didn't agree.  I have plenty of mixing bowls anyway!

Off to bed!
Later,
Kathy