ADDITIONAL SALE OFFERS...IN STORE ONLY !

Packs of 5 PRO MARKERS : NOW £4.99
Packs of  10 AND 12 PRO MARKERS : NOW £9.99

DIE CUTS WITH A VIEW SELF ADHESIVE COLOUR CARD BLOCKS : £4.99

12 X 12 PAPER PLASTIC STORAGE FOLDERS ONLY £1 EACH

ALL ASSORTED PACKS OF EYELETS AND BRADS : £1 / PACK

LOADS MORE ASST ITEMS DRASTICALLY REDUCED !

MORE TO COME !...IN STORE OFFERS ONLY !

Gordon

NEW SPELLBINDER DIES : SUMMER 2012

We are being asked what we are doing about the new range of dies from Spellbinders .

We can advise you that the whole range is ordered and will be arriving shortly .

Due to problems with the existing website we will not be listing them for pre orders .

Here is how it is going to work :

Keep an eye here for an announcement of there arrival.

As soon s we do this the dies will be available on a first come , first serve basis via the telephone and in the shop .

Free postage will apply as usual .

Price of the new dies ?

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER :

ALL NEW SUMMER 2012 SPELLBINDER DIES : £14.99 EACH !

ANY 7 FOR £100 !

APPLIES TO ALL OF THE NEW DIES APART FROM GRAND SIZE WHICH WILL BE £29.99 EACH.

Please wait until we have announced there arrival !!

Please look on the SPELLBINDER web site at the new designs before you call us so that you know what you want !

WE HAVE AN ALL NEW WEBSITE COMING SOON WITH SPECTACULAR NEW PRICING !

Thank you for your patience everyone .

Keep an eye on our progressing SALE ...it can only get better and better as we go on !

Gordon

LATEST SALE ADDITIONS

ALL STAMPBORD ASSORTMENTS : NOW £4.99 / PACK !

INKPADS ( NOT DISTRESSED ) :

ADIRONDACK / STAZON ETC : ANY 3 FOR THE PRICE OF 2 !

ALL RE-INKERS ( INC DISTRESSED ) : BUY 1 GET 1 FREE ....
I SAID ..BUT 1 AND GET 1 FREE ...LOL ( you know the ad )
HUGE REDUCTIONS ON ALL PAPER PADS ...K&CO ETC

MORE TO FOLLOW !

REMEMBER AVAILABLE IN STORE ONLY ...SORRY !

Gordon

SALE ADDITIONS AS PROMISED

Here are the latest additions to our summer sale event :

FRIENDLY PLASTICS : ANY 10 PIECES : £4

12 X 12 PAPERS : ANY 20 FOR £5

ALL 7 GYPSIES PRODUCTS : HUGE REDUCTIONS : STAM SETS NOW £5.99 !

SIZZIX ON THE EDGE DIES NOW £4.99

K & CO 3D STICKER SHEETS : FROM £1.50

LARGE PEARLESCENT PAINT SETS : £4.99

MARIANNE DESIGNABLES EMBOSSING & CUTTING FOLDERS : £2.99

ALL 6 X 6 PLASTIC TEMPLATES : ANY 4 FOR £10 !

ALL 12 X 12 PLASTIC TEMPLATES : HALF MARKED PRICE ( NOW £ 3.50 EACH )

More to follow ...but remember these offers are available from the shop and not online !

Gordon

SALE...SALE...SALE...SALE...SALE

Once Upon a Stamp have begun our great summer clearout event. Please note this is not a closing down sale , we are simply re-organising our business in light of all that has hapenned recently . We fully intend to come back stronger , bigger and better !!

Every week we will be posting more and more offers for you via this BLOG .

These offers will only be available to those who visit our warehouse shop , they will not be available online .

The sale begins SATURDAY 18TH AUGUST !
Here is a list of some of the offers available in store only :

ALL TIM HOLTZ STAMP SETS : £9.99
ALL SINGLE TIM HOLTZ STAMPS : £2.99

ALL SIZZIX AND TIM HOLTZ BIGZ DIES : £6
ALL SIZZIX STRIP DIES : £8

TIM HOLTZ DISTRESS MARKERS ( FULL SETS ) : £65

ALL SIZZIX VINTAJ ITEMS HALF PRICE ( sorry not the machine )

ALL MARIANNE DIES HUGE REDUCTIONS

SCOR-BUDDY BOARD : £5
SCOR-BUDDY MAT : £2.99
SCOR-PAL BOARD ( INCHES ) : £19
SCOR-PAL MAT : £6

CROP-A-DILE : £9.99
CROP-A-DILE BOXED SET : £15
CORNER CHOMPER : £5

HUGE REDUCTIONS ON ALL JUST RITE STAMPS :

ALL STAMP SETS : £2.50
ALL BOXED ALPHABET SETS : £5
SPECIAL OCCASIONS BOXED SET : £5
WEDDING AND BABY BOXED SETS : £1 !!
VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL STAMPER SETS : £3 EACH !
ALL STAMP HANDLES : £2.50
MINI STAMP SETS : £1.50

This is just the start , more sale items to be announced every week , but you have to watch the BLOG for details and you can only get these offers if you visit the shop . They are not available online !

SALE STARTS SATURDAY 18TH AUGUST : 10.30 AM

WE ARE OPEN ON THE FOLLOWING DAYS AND TIMES :

SATURDAY : 10.30-2.30
OTHER DAYS : 10.30-12.30
CLOSED : TUESDAY AND SUNDAY.

WE ARE EASY TO FIND BEING APPROX 2 MILES FROM J29 M1 TOWARDS MANSFIELD

BE QUICK !!

Gordon

Memorial Fund Update

First of a great big thank you if you were one of the 150 or so who attended Roberts memorial at Southwell Minster , it was a wonderful tribute to Robert in every way .

I have decided to close the fund in Roberts memory at the end of this month . Times are hard , but if everyone on here was to contribute between £1 and £5 we could raise £1000 for a very worthy cause to help those suffering from cancer as well as there families.

Please see the previous posting on how you can contribute and help me do something good from all that has hapenned .

Love and Smiles

Gordon

Memorial Fund for Robert

In response to requests for charity donations i have today set up an account for donations :

Royal Bank of Scotland
acc no : 11009127
sort code : 16-25-17
Branch : Mansfield

acc name : G.Fraser/ ILM Robert

You can either pay directly to this account or send a cheque made payable to :
G.Fraser / ILM Robert
Please send your cheque made payable to the above , to the shop address .

As previously stated , Robert believed flowers belong in the ground or in a pot , he regarded cut flowers as being dead flowers .

When the dust settles i intend to do several things for Robert . He has left a legacy of about six journals he was working on during the last four months of his illness. These have been seen by his nurses , doctors , cleaners , cooks and others in his hospital ward including the hospital Chaplain.

They have all commentated on how powerful these things he has left us could be to others .

I have been asked to make sure something is done with these to help and inspire others and this is what i intend to look at in the coming weeks.

Robert attended a place called Maggies Cancer caring centre in the hospital grounds . He took part in healing groups and creative writing . Robert had high praise for the work that is being done here and it really made a huge difference to him .

Maggies is about empowering people to live with , through and beyond cancer by bringing together professional help , communities of support and building design to create exceptional centres for cancer care .Maggies centres are for anyone affected by cancer  . They also welcome and support family and friends .

Please see : www.maggiescentres.org

Maggies is a registered charity and your kind donations will go to this wonderful organisation who helped Robert feel like a very special person for a small moment in time when he needed it most.

Please donate whatever you can to the fund i have set up . I will keep you all informed of how it goes and what happens to every penny .

 Robert gave something to all of us , just the memory of his smile , his quick wit and the laughter he left with us all , makes this a very worthwhile cause .Now its time to give a little back .

Thank you everyone .
Love and Smiles.
Gordon

List of those planning to attend , leave your name or names here please .

More details as promised

Today has been a busy day trying to bring everything together for the 24th . I find myself in a totally bizarre situation as i am organising something i never ever thought would happen  and it is Robert im doing it for .

The funeral will take place at 12.00 on the 24th at Southwell Cathedral Minster .
I am organising the funeral myself and there will be no funeral directors present.

Robert will be taken to the Minster in an old converted white VW Camper Van Hearse which is a stunning vehicle in white ...no black allowed !

Robert will be in the minster from around 10am lying in a white cardboard coffin as this is going to be a natural burial in a woodland meadow.

You are invited to do a number of things . You can take along a rubber stamp and inkpad and stamp Roberts casket . You can write something on the casket or if you prefer you can take along a small sample of your artwork or a message and stick it to the casket using some double sided tape.

IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND AND WOULD LIKE A SMALL PIECE OF YOUR TRIBUTE ARTWORK PLACED ON THE CASKET I WILL BE HAPPY TO DO THIS FOR YOU .PLEASE KEEP IT REASONABLY SMALL AND SEND IT TO THE SHOP ADRESS MARKED FOR THE ATTENTION OF GORDON.

This is a celebration and i want as many of you as possible to attend with a smile and hopefully some laughter . Please wear colourful clothes and a sturdy pair of shoes or boots for the burial site if you attend ( welly boots if the weather is really bad )

After the service , which i also promise will be different , Robert will be taken on to Tithe Green Burial ground nearby . Hopefully we will all follow the VW with Robert on to the burial ground to the graveside where anyone will be invited to say something at the graveside in the most beautiful setting . We hope the procession will be led to the burial site by a Scottish piper .

After the burial , you are all invited on to the nearby PATCHINGS FARM ARTS CENTER for tea, coffee and cakes . Patchings was one of our favourite places where we took part in the Arts Festival for many years demonstrating things like Friendly Plastics. Patchings also has art materials for sale and a couple of galeries for you to view , simply a wonderful place to end the day and talk to like minded people.

If anyone attending is thinking of flowers , i would ask that only a single flower should be brought along for the graveside . Robert thought flowers belonged either in the ground or in a pot.

As you can see i am trying to make this a bit of everything , just like Robert was to all of us .

I will also  make a separate post and i would ask you to leave your name or names of those planning to come along on the day . We can make this a perfect tribute to someone who brought a smile to all of our faces whenever we met or spoke to him . Lets give him something back for all he achieved.

Once again thank you for all of your kind comments .

Gordon x

Southwell Minster : www.southwellminster.org

Tithe Green : www.woodlandburialoxton.co.uk

Patchings Art Centre : www.patchingsartcentre.co.uk

COME TO A DAY OF CELEBRATION , ALL WELCOME !

I know a lot of you are still finding out about Robert and are in disbelief at what has hapenned . Yesterday i went in to Roberts craft room for the first time just as he had left it . I put on his Reggae music which used to drive me mad . I shut the door and left it playing all day . Later when i was tidying up downstairs , i suddenly shouted up " would you like a coffee " Of course there was no reply , and i just thought to myself , hes too busy crafting and listening to that crazy music .

Roberts Celebration ( im not calling it funeral ) will take place on :

Tuesday 24th July
Where : The magnificent SOUTHWELL CATHEDRAL MINSTER .
Time ( to be advised ) :  but not before 12.00 to allow time for you all to get there .

The celebration of Roberts life will be taken by the Canon of Southwell Minster .

The cathedral organ will be playing .

This is a huge privilage for this to be granted at the Minster but Robert has touched the hearts of many over the years and deserves nothing less.

It is a celebration , therefore we want you all to come along from far and wide to join in with us in this magnificent setting . This is not to be just a family funeral . Please please try to be there to help us all celebrate , to smile and have a little giggle . This is what Robert gave to us all , now its your chance to return it back .

Please post a message to let me and others know you can come along, say which area you are from and maybe you can share a car with likeminded crafters or even hire a small minibus to bring along your crafting group.

After the service at the minster those who would like to , can then come along to the Tythe Green Burial Ground not too far away for the Natural burial of our Robert in a woodland meadow setting near to the burial place of another crafter who suddenly left us last december , Sarah Lawrence .

If you choose not to , you can have a great day out in the lovely old town of Southwell and Newark is only next door.

At the graveside all are welcome to say something if they wish to do so .

I hope you all think i am doing something quite wonderful for Robert , but he really deserves nothing less , he made you all smile , laugh and admire his great and inspiring talents .

Robert loved crafting and he loved being a born entertainer.

I hope to see as many of you as possible one the day , please help me spread the word on other forums , groups etc .

Thank you one again to you all.

I will keep you all fully informed.

Love and Smiles

Gordon x

Thank you for your kind comments and thoughts .

I am overwhelmed by your kindness and i would like to express my greatful thanks for myself and for our Robert , he is smiling widely and no doubt making some off the cuff witty comment . I will be posting details of the funeral arrangements for Robert shortly . This could turn out to be quite an occasion as you will see shortly . Robert made me promise to keep no-one away . He wanted people , lots of people to come along .This is not a simple family funeral , it is going to be about one of the most wonderful persons any of us have ever known , a celebration.
YOU ARE ALL INVITED FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE TO A WONDERFUL CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE OF ROBERT GORNALL . LETS  TREAT IT LIKE A HUGE  CRAFT SHOW AND COME ALONG FROM WHEVER YOU ARE IN THE WORLD. HOWEVER YOU DONT NEED TO BUY A TICKET FOR THIS ONE ...OH AND I FORGOT..HE WANTED NO BLACK AT HIS FUNERAL !.. I will post full details very shortly of this special occasion .
Once again on behalf of us both a huge thank you to you all , it makes his life very worthwhile !
Gordon x

Robert : Im writing this as he would have wanted me to do so.

Im very very very sorry to have to bring you all this terribly sad news , but Robert always insisted i looked after the blog for him when he was unable to do so.
Robert Gornall aged 54 , my wonderful partner for the past 20 years passed away yesterday , Tuesday 10th July at 2.15 am . I was by his bedside as i have been for over a week now .
I know this will leave all of you absolutely stunned by this news , this is Robert , the happy , quick witted , peter pan of the crafting world , how can this possibly be true.
Believe me i am still in a total daze over all of this as is Roberts close friends and family. We are all in total shock and disbelief.
Robert suddenly without warning , deteriorated just over a week ago to the horror of all those looking after him in the hospital . No one at all expected this. The cancer was found to have suddenly surrounded his brain and that was that , there was nothing that could be done , they thought of everything they could , but this was a rare thing that hapenned to Robert .
Robert and i were due to tie the knot on 1st September in the grounds of our wonderful new house .
Last tuesday as things were very bleak and with the help of the hospital chaplain , Arthur and Roberts good friend Clare , i made arrangements for a civil ceremony to take place last wednesday in the hospital. Robert was unbelievably happy and we just managed to get though it before Robert returned to sleep for most of the time. There were around 20 people present at the ceremony to hear robert answer the questions and make his mark , he was incredibly brave and i was the happiest man alive for those few minutes , combined with extreme sadness .
Robert passed away very peacefully .
My greatful thanks will always go to the most wonderful team of cleaners , cooks , nurses , doctors and everyone else at the Gervis Pearson ward of the City Hospital , Nottingham . They became roberts trusted friends and family and made his two month stay in to something he really loved . It became home for Robert .The care and attention they all showed towards him was quite incredible all the way .I cannot say enough about these people and i know that Robert touched there hearts in a very special way they had not experienced before , that was Robert .
I have a day of sorting things out , but i will post all of the arrangements for anyone interested . Robert asked me to do this , he was very positive in his attitude if all wenet wrong . We had spoken about this and had agreed what we were going to do , a difficult conversation , but one i am now so glad we had .
It seems surreal that that i am even doing this , but i am doing it for my lovely Robert .
He loved crafting and he loved his little life .
Please dont be sad , if you met Robert you will surely be thinking of something nice and you will have a smile on your face and perhaps a little giggle and that was what Robert wanted .
As Robert would say .
Love and Smiles
Gordon

Upbeat .. Onwards and Upwards !

Hi everyone .
I am going to try to be upbeat tonight as it has been a good day today for Robert .As i previously mentioned , he has a rare form of lung cancer which unfortunately has also spread to a lymph node . This is not good news as im sure many of you will be aware . You can imagine how we both felt when this was diagnosed after all we have been through in recent months with test after test as they tried to work out what was going on with Robert .
He has now been in hospital for five weeks today and he is likely to be in some some time to come .
Robert is entirely upbeat and in a very positive frame of mind and everyone at the hospital from the nursing staff to his consultant are quite amazed at his positive attitude and his fighting spirit .
If there is a way to defeat this you can be sure we will try.
Next week Robert is about to begin an intense 11 days of Radiotherapy three times a day . This course of action has been decided upon due to the attitude Robert has shown to his condition and his inner strength and his consultant has decided therefore to do all she can to help Robert .
No one knows how his body will react to all of the this , but they are very upbeat in the hospital for a more positive outcome given Roberts fighting spirit.
After this 11  days of treatment he is then being moved to a specialist unit with his own room and a team of physiotherapists dedicated to help him get some of his mobility back and especially the use of his legs again.
Today Robert managed to stand up for the first time in five weeks with the help of these wonderful physios and they are very sure they can be of help to him , so Robert is in great spirits today as am i .
He is in wonderful hands and he is still crafting from his bed with his journal and Zentangling which he loves to do.
Things are progressing with cancer treatments all the time and who knows what may come along .If anyone can defeat this horrible desease Robert can and we are both sure of this despite the fact we know the odds are against us .
Robert is delighted to have received many cards from you all as well as your kind thoughts and wellwishes , we both thank you for this.
Seeing what goes on in the hospital has also made me think of things such as wheelchair access to premises and to this end i have now invested in a ramp for the shop to make access easy for anyone coming along in a wheelchair , i now know more about the difficulties involved .
It has been a good day today for Robert and a very positive one for both of us .
Life goes on , onwards and upwards .
Unfortunately , I have to end on a sad note , by sending my very best wishes to our lovely friend Sandra . If any of you attend the Stevenage show you will know Sandra as she looks after me at the show and manages both me and  the stand .  Sandras wonderful husband , Tony , sadly passed away yesterday after a long fight with his illness . He was a lovely gentle man and we will not forget him . Sandra you are very much in our thoughts and we are proud to have you as a good friend.
Lets keep smiling everyone !
Gordon

FURTHER ALTERATION TO SHOP HOURS

Due to the ongoing seriousness of Roberts health we have decided to alter the shop opening hours as follows :

MONDAY - FRIDAY : 10.30AM-12.30AM
( CLOSED TUESDAY )

SATURDAY : 10.30AM- 2.30 PM.
( CLOSED SUNDAY )

Web orders will continue to be processed on a  daily basis .

We apologise for any inconvenience , but we appreciate your understanding of the situation.

Thank you.
Gordon