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Boredom Buster Kits – Part 6

Posted on July 16, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

W KITS ADDED: 7/22/2020

Meet Rocky the Crab! This card is created with a now retired die set from Karen Burniston & Elizabeth Craft Designs. He is here to celebrate whatever happy place you can enjoy.

The kits are $3.00 each and come with complete instructions.

Our next #boredombuster kit is the Rainbow Connection Card Kit. To remind us all that it takes both the sunshine and the rain to make a beautiful rainbow.

$3.00/kit with complete instructions.

Feathers From Heaven

The kit was inspired by the memory of a dear friend who passed recently who loved feathers.The card is wonderful for many occasions: birthdays, thinking of you, thank you, sympathy, the list goes on. The kits are available with either iridescent white, blue or red feathers. Complete instructions included. $3.00/kit.

Posted in art, Boredom Busters, Cards, Cindy Earl Higgins, classes, creativity, customers, cutting dies, educational, embellishments, friends, fun, greeting cards, imagination, inspiration, local, make and take, paper arts, Pendleton, Shop Local, take and make, Terri Earl Brooks, thanks, The Mercantile, Virus kits | Comments Off

Boredom Buster Kits – Part 5

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

New kit added – June 17, 2020

Here is a kit to make a holder for a 3″ x 3″ sticky-note pad.

The colors did not photograph well. 71 is a mix of aquas, lavender, and periwinkle, 72 is a soft lavender pink, 73 is a denim blue with aqua accents, 74 is a beautiful autumn colored floral, 75 is an olive green, and 76 is a rich dark brown.

The color of the sticky-note pad may vary from kit to kit.

Complete instructions are included as well as the ribbon for the closure.

**NOTE: there is a typo in the instructions for the Sticky Note Pad Holder. Step #1 says to measure in 3/16″, it should read 3/8″. Apologies for the mistake. It will be corrected on all kits not yet sold and any future kits made.

Photos showing the steps:

We had a few sheets of these fun patriotic print papers and our wonderful friend Michelle cut us some gnomes out of them! Just in time for Independence Day!

If you need a refresher on assembling the gnome, check out the earlier post (Boredom Busters – Part 2) with the Forest Gnome and there is a step-by-step.

Enjoy!

Posted in art, Boredom Busters, Cards, Cindy Earl Higgins, classes, creativity, customers, educational, Facebook, friends, fun, gift shop, helping, imagination, inspiration, Iris folding, local, paper arts, Pendleton, Shop Local, supplies, take and make, Terri Earl Brooks, thanks, The Mercantile | Comments Off

Boredom Buster Kits – Part 4

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

New Kit Added – 5/26/2020

We are now gearing up a few kits that could be perfect for the father, dad, pops, deeda, grandpa, grand-dad, poppy… in your life. The first kit is for those men who love to dig in the dirt and garden (or farm).

**The colors, prints, and even shapes of the bodies, beards and hats will vary from kit to kit.

The Gardening Gnome Card Kit $3.00 each:

And here are some photos showing how we assembled our sample:

Our sweet friend Michelle designed not only the Gnomes we have been using, but these next kits.

She really took to making Napkin Cards after taking a class from Cindy. As so many say, “she will never look at a paper napkin in the same way again.”

These kits are going FAST! We received reservations for 23 of them in just a few hours after posting them on our Facebook page!

We will check to see if we have the supplies of napkins so we can add to the remaining stock. Our most popular yesterday was #63, with #64 & 65 coming in close, tied for second!

Posted in art, art supplies, Boredom Busters, Cards, Cindy Earl Higgins, classes, craftinga-la-carte, creativity, customers, educational, embellishments, Facebook, friends, fun, gift shop, gifts, greeting cards, helping, imagination, inspiration, Iris folding, local, make and take, orders, paper arts, Pendleton, rubber stamping, samples, Shop Local, students, supplies, take and make, Terri Earl Brooks, thanks, The Mercantile, Virus kits | Comments Off

Boredom Buster Kits – Part 3

Posted on May 1, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

New Kit added 5/18/2020.

We have not forgotten the 2020 graduates!

Our newest kit is a custom order kit (so we can get together the school color for the tassel and the colored layer). Like our other single card kits, it is $3.00/kit.

The technique is again, Iris Folding, but it is good for beginners. Complete instructions are included. If you feel you need some step-by-step photos, Cindy has taken some photos taken and posted them below for you.

The caps themselves will be black glitter, the tassels are what color you pick. Please specify color # GC1 through GC18. If you don’t see your graduate’s school color, we have included black (GC18).

Step-by-step for the folding on the Graduation Cap.

Doodle Art Square Card Kit:

This fun kit includes a piece of watercolor paper to doodle on and a coordinating frame and base card, as well as an envelope. We have also supplied some doodle ideas, but you are welcome to create your own. There are 5 frame colors to choose from. (#51 – Brown frame/ivory fleck base, #52 – yellow frame/olive base, #53 – aqua frame/cream base, #54 – Olive/white base, and #55 – blue/kraft brown base.

The doodles can be set to the side and this frame and base card would make a fun photo card to send to a loved one who is staying home and staying safe elsewhere. Just pick a photo that fits into the frame, glue it all together and wha-la!

I apologize for not posting this when it was originally introduced.

Since so many fabulous Spring festivals have been cancelled all over the place, the fun of face painting has gone to the wayside. And if a mask is worn in public places to keep everyone safe, it would cover any great face painting anyway.

The Face Paint your Face Mask kit is a fun way to enjoy the festival feel while still playing it safe. It comes with a cotton duck mask with ribbon ties, a set of 8 acrylic paints and some fun face painting ideas.

$3.00/kit. Check the chart in the photo for sizing measurements. We have children’s Small, Medium, and Large.

This Monday (5/18) we are introducing the Seed Packet Pocket Card Kit.

These kits are limited supply because the wonderful printed paper with the seed packet art has been discontinued. We can make up to 4 of any one of the designs (that is all of the paper we have). First come, first choice. If you are ordering for shipment, we can take photos of what is in stock.

We also have some step-by step photos to help with folding and creating the pocket. (The die-cut pocket is from one of our paper suppliers.)

Posted in art, beads, Boredom Busters, Cards, celebrate, Cindy Earl Higgins, classes, craftinga-la-carte, creativity, customers, educational, Facebook, friends, fun, giving back, greeting cards, helping, imagination, Iris folding, local, make and take, orders, paper arts, Pendleton, Shop Local, shopping, students, supplies, take and make, Terri Earl Brooks, thanks, The Mercantile, Virus kits | Comments Off

Boredom Buster Kits – part two

Posted on April 17, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

New kits added on 4/24.

Hello everyone, we are still creating kits to help bide the time while in isolation mode. We started with some basic Iris Fold cards (see previous post) and added in some easy doodle and assembly cards as well.

With the previous post getting longer (as I just added to it when we had new kits), I decided that I would add a fresh post for the newest kits. We still have some stock of the others as well, and will make more if needed. There are a few remaining Easter kits which we will not make more at this time.

The Bead Soup Elastic Bracelet Kits will make 3 – 4 bracelets and are $4.00/kit.

The Dragonfly Cards were designed with Mom in mind. These would make a perfect Mother’s Day card. They also would be perfect for a Thinking of You, Sympathy, Birthday, Missing you… just about any occasion. They are $3.00/kit and make one card.

As with all of our kits, colors may vary as we may run out of stock on certain papers or embellishments.

The Fold-out Pop-up card is the next addition. We created it in two different color combinations. Again, this card would be wonderful as a Mother’s Day card, Thinking of You, Birthday or any other special occasion. The words are optional, but “I <3 U” is appropriate for so much!

OK, for those of you who are ALL IN on the Gnome craze, we have a brand new Forest Gnome Card Kit for you! Our friend Michelle designed these Gnomes for us and they are too stinkin’ cute!

The Gnomes colors and shapes will vary from kit to kit, but all of them are so cute!

Introducing the one, the only……. CARD SHARK! This kit came about because a customer asked us to design a card for her twin grandsons second birthday. They love “Baby Shark”.

Mr Shark is currently only available in green, but we may consider adding other colors later.

**We are working on other kit designs at the moment… our creative juices are flowing. (There are others in the back of our minds, but we are not currently ready to get them available for you… they are patiently waiting their turn.)

We are currently planning to be open from Noon to 4:00 PM Thursdays through Saturdays. We will let you know as soon as those plans change. But we are more than happy to meet for curbside pick-up, ship (orders over $25 ship for free) or make other arrangements. Our thought is that it is best to be safe for everyone’s sake.

Thank you all for your patronage and your friendships. We truly appreciate your support of us and our business as we go through these trying times.

Posted in art, Beading, beads, Boredom Busters, bracelet, Cards, Cindy Earl Higgins, creativity, customers, educational, embellishments, Facebook, flowers, friends, fun, greeting cards, helping, Iris folding, jewelry, local, paper arts, Pendleton, Shop Local, students, supplies, take and make, Terri Earl Brooks, thanks, The Mercantile, Virus kits | Comments Off

Boredom Buster Card Kits #1: Step-by-step photos and more…

Posted on March 20, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

We are selling card kits to help kick the virus isolation boredom to the curb.

The next photo is of the color combinations available at the time of posting this (limited quantities)

The next photo is a step-by step, following the instructions in the kit. (These same steps are applicable to the hello card with the circle iris fold.)

This project is good for beginners on up.

Round 2!

The Egg Iris Fold and the Watercolor or Doodle Egg Card Kits:

The step-by-step for the Iris Folding:

And, the Step-by-step for both the Doodling and the Watercolor.

We hope you all are enjoying these card kits. We have had a lot of them find new homes!

These are the next few batches we have designed. All come with instructions.

Cross with Iris Fold

Hello kits

Thanks kit and Watering Can kit.

Bunny and Egg 2 card kit

With the state of SC under a “Go home. Stay home.” order we are still taking orders, providing curbside pick-up (with proper social distancing and PPE), and offering shipping as well. All kits, except for the Bunny and Egg 2 card kit, are $3 each, the Bunny and Egg 2 card kit is $6. Orders over $25 will ship for free. (A minimum of $25 per shipping address to qualify for free shipping.)

Just a quick compilation of what kits we have made so far. Because of paper supplies, some may vary from what is pictured.

Posted in art supplies, Cards, creativity, educational, friends, fun, greeting cards, Iris folding, local, make and take, paper arts, Pendleton, The Mercantile | Comments Off

A belated Happy New Year!

Posted on January 25, 2020 by Cindy Higgins

Christmas came and went so quickly. We were grateful to have family here (not all 6 of us “kids” but 4 of us!) and enjoyed each others company.

January is almost gone! Terri went to the Wholesale Buyers Market last week and has some wonderful things scheduled to come in over the next several months… games, toys, plush, gifts…

Our February class schedule is in the works, whatever is already on the calendar is on our “Schedule of Classes & Events” page. We are trying to get it finished before the end of the month.

There’s new things going on in town. The Islander has closed (so they can retire) and the building was purchased by the Blue Heron, a long-time Clemson restaurant who was displaced by developers. They have renovated the space and are now open. A Brooklyn Style Pizza restaurant is slated to open in the next few weeks in what was most recently the Carolina Superstars Dance Studio (the Pendleton Flower Shop previous to that). The space on East Main that was most recently the Village Boutique is now Newtique Boutique with a little bit of clothing, Clemson themed items and more. The former Curlis building is currently without a roof or a back wall. Once re-constructed, it is slated to be a bar & grill. We also have a new antique store in what was recently CC&J Kitchens, it has a number of dealers with a variety of beautiful antiques. Come check out Pendleton Place Antiques on N. Mechanic St.

Spring Jubilee is scheduled for the first full weekend in April (the 4th & 5th this year). We look forward to a wonderful slate of artists for this juried show, not to mention the food vendors and the entertainment! We will have special hours that weekend: Saturday 10 – 6 and Sunday 12 – 5.

Come see us, we are here 10:00 am – 5:30 pm, Monday through Saturday. The sample pot of coffee is waiting for you.

Posted in art, art supplies, artisans, Beading, beads, candles, childrens books, classes, coffee, customers, Folkmanis Puppets, friends, games, gift shop, greeting cards, hours, jewelry, local, Melissa and Doug, mixed media, New Year, open, paper arts, Pendleton, schedule, Shop Local, Spring Jubilee, The Mercantile | Comments Off

Merry Christmas!

Posted on December 23, 2019 by Cindy Higgins

From our hearts and homes to yours, best wishes for a wonderful Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2020.

We will be closing early on Christmas Eve (4:00PM) and closed our usual two days, Christmas Day and Boxing Day (the 26th). We will return to our regular hours on Friday, December 27.

Our End-of-Year Clearance Sale will begin on the 27th and run through the 31st.

We will close early on New Years Eve (4:00PM) and be closed for New Years Day. On the 2nd, we will return to our regular hours again.

Thank you all for your love and support of our family business.

Posted in celebrate, Christmas, Cindy Earl Higgins, customers, educational, flavored coffees, friends, gift shop, greeting cards, hours, local, mixed media, New Year, Pendleton, sale, schedule, Shop Local, shopping, special hours, Terri Earl Brooks, thanks, The Mercantile, toys | Comments Off

Happy 88th to Bill!

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Cindy Higgins

We did not schedule an A-La-Carte for this evening because we have family in from out of town to celebrate Dad’s 88th birthday! (Today – August 15, 2019)

Thank you for understanding that family is important and these milestones are ones to celebrate with family and close friends.

If you see Bill in your travels today, please feel free to wish him a Happy Birthday.

(PS – The Mercantile is celebrating it’s 31st Anniversary with an Open House on Saturday, August 24!)

Posted in august, Bill, birthday, candles, celebrate, craftinga-la-carte, friends, retired, thanks, The Mercantile | Comments Off

Pendleton Cookbooks are here

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Cindy Higgins

The Pendleton Area Business Association has had a community cookbook published. We have copies of it for sale here at The Mercantile for $12.50 each.

Posted in Cookbook, Pendleton Area Business Association Inc | Comments Off

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