Photo Expressions

Playing In the Snow - Class with Tanya

Jan 11th, 10am-12noon
Cost: $20
Skill Level: B/I

We have a couple of spots left in Tanya's "Playing in the Snow" layout class. We're bound to get some snow next month, and we certainly had our fair share last year. So no doubt you'll have some photos to use on this gorgeous Basic Grey layout. You can register for this class online here, or call us at the store (604-463-3654) to pay for your spot.

Basic Grey Page of the Month Program

We're so excited to be offering the Basic Grey Page of the Month program again this year! 48 of us participated last year and completed a 26-page album about our lives! Here's a glimpse at some of the layouts we did...

 

So when we learned that Basic Grey was running the program again, we jumped at the chance to get another album done! We don't know the themes yet (but not to worry.... if we don't like the themes we can still do the layouts and change the themes!), and it isn't starting until March 2010.  So Tanya, Renee and I decided to take matters into our own hands, and we are doing our own Basic Grey Page Of the Month for Jan and Feb 2010, using the 2 new lines that are arriving soon.

Origins will be used in January


Sugar Rush will be used in February

When you sign up for January, you are in for the full year, so your spot is reserved. (Don't worry, if you absolutely hate the official program theme when it comes out, and don't want to change the layouts, then you can withdraw.)

Class Times for January are:
Thursday January 14th 10-12
Friday January 15th 7-9pm
Saturday January 16th 10-12
Friday January 29th 7-9pm

More than half the class spots are already gone, so if you're interested call the store today to register and pay for January and reserve your spot for the year. Online sign-up is not available for this program.

Grand Prize 26th Anniversary Winner

Big congratulations goes out to Jennifer who won the grand prize for shopping at PE during our 26th anniversary celebrations.  She is now the proud owner of a Silhouette SD and Holly Gift set (over $500 value). Her excited screams on the telephone let us know, it will be used a lot.  Way to go Jennifer!

"Sharing Cards" Card Contest

One of the things that we love so much about working with the public is the opportunity to come together and impact the lives of others. During this holiday season, we would like to invite you to join us in making a difference within our own community!

This year we're hosting a "Sharing Cards" Card Contest. This event will raise money for a local charity and will gift dozens of cards to our local seniors' homes just in time for Christmas! There will be a main winner of the contest who will win a Sizzix Big Shot machine ($118 value!!!), plus two more random draw winners who will each receive a QuicKutz $50 draw bag! We would love it if you would partake in this fun event and in doing so, positively impact the lives of others!

Here are the details:

• Purchase a Sharing Cards card kit at Photo Express for a minimum $2 donation, between now and Sunday Dec. 6^th.
• Take your kit home and create a card with some or all of the pieces in your kit.
• The only product that you may use in addition to the items in your kit, are: adhesives, ink, pop dots, glitter, Stickles, and colouring implements for your stamped images (e.g. Copic markers, pencil crayons, etc.).
• Return your finished card to Photo Express by Sun Dec. 13^th.
• Your card will be displayed on our “Sharing Cards” display board along with all the other entries.
• Be sure to come back to Photo Express between Mon Dec. 14^th and Sun Dec. 20^th to cast a vote for your favouite card (other than your own!). Make sure to send your friends in to vote as well!
• The cardmaker with the most votes will be announced on Mon Dec. 21st. The winner will receive a Sizzix Big Shot Machine (value $118.00)!!!!
• The winner of the contest will also choose 1 of 4 local charities to receive the proceeds of this event: Friends in Need Food Bank, Cythera Transition House, SPCA, or Ridge Meadows Hospital Foundation. The cards will be donated to local seniors homes, to offer cheer and goodwill during the holiday season.
• Two random draws of all the entries will also be made. These two winners will receive a QK goodie bag with a retail value of $50 each!

What a great way to share your holiday spirit with others! We hope that you'll join in on the fun and pick up your card kit today!!

26th Anniversary Door Prize Winners!

Whew!  Saturday's 26th Anniversary Bash & Sale was CRAZY!  Thank you all so much for coming by.  We love that we are relevant to the lives and memories of so many people in our community.

Without further ado, here is a list of Door Prize winners.  Every Club Member who made a purchase on Saturday was eligible:

Silhouette SD + Holly Gift Set
Valued at over $500!
Jennifer R.

Flower Soft Lavender & Lace Collection
$45
Rebecca P.

JustRite Monogram Stamper Kit
$45
Dorota H.

Prepaid Prints Card (100 free prints)
$35
Sharon D.
Wendy B.

Free Studio Sitting & 8x10 Portrait
$35
Martin B.
Jessica L.

Free Foto Calendar
$30
George P.
Jeffrey F.

$25 Photo Express Gift Card
Heather C.

Nikon Ball Cap
$20
Nona R.
Paula H.

Congratulations to all the winners!  You can pick up your prizes in the store.  Here's a few photos and a video from the day, enjoy!

 

 
 

Woohoo! 26th Anniversary Bash & Sale This Saturday Nov 21st!

It's almost here!  Can you smell the excitement (and the popcorn and Big City cupcakes)?

Saturday from 9-6 you are invited to come celebrate PE's 26th Anniversary.  Here are a few reasons why you will want to come by:

• The first 126 customers will receive a sheet of very valuable coupons - we can't show them here, let's just say they will help your Christmas shopping!
• EVERY camera in the store is on sale!  Receive bonuses like free memory cards, free extended warranties, and free camera bags with every camera purchase!
• Door Crasher Specials - Click the link to read all about them!
• A HUGE scrapbooking sale - like for example, all in-stock scrapbooking items are 26% off the regular price!
• Our very knowledgeable sales reps from Canon (9am-12pm) and Nikon (1pm-4pm) will be here to answer your questions and show off the latest gear.
• Did we mention the FREE Big City cupcakes and popcorn?

If you are a Club Member, you can also win one of many door prizes just by making a purcahse on Saturday!  Just a few examples of door prizes:

• Silhouette SD machine!
• Prepaid Prints Card!
• Free Foto Calendar!
• $25 Photo Express Gift Card!

Hope to see you there Saturday!  We are so excited we even made a video to tell you all about it:

Donate Food - Win an iPod!

We'd like to raise a ton of food for the Friends in Need Foodbank this year, and we need your help.  Bring your food donations into Photo Express foto source and each day you bring in food, you can enter to win an 8GB iPod Touch!  As you know, this year more than ever donations are needed to help people in our community from going hungry.

There shouldn't be people in our community that are hungry. It is very difficult to think, to learn, to do the right thing, if you are hungry. 34% of their clients are children!   Children need food to grow and to learn and to play.  Their little bellies shouldn't be wondering when food will be available. They also have many seniors whose pensions just aren't lasting until the end of the month.

 

Photo Express is again a drop off location for food for the Friends in Need Foodbank.  And to encourage you to bring in food everytime you come in or are in the area, you will receive an entry ticket each day that you bring in food from now until December 14th, 2009. What can you win? An 8GB iPod Touch from Photo Express! (To be drawn on December 15th, you don't have to be present to win.)

Any nonperishable food items are great.  Make sure the food is unopened and hasn't expired. They are in extra need of canned fruit, kids recess snacks (granola bars, pudding cups, juice boxes), bottled water and Gatorade, and diabetic stuff as many of the elderly are diabetic.

Feel good knowing you are helping someone who needs a little extra help and you might even win a camera in the process.  Thanks for your generosity!  What you give out always comes back tenfold!

And here is some info from the Food Bank

The Friends in Need FOOD BANK was founded in 1989 by two women in Pitt Meadows, who saw the need to assist the hungry in their community. Since that time, Friends has grown from a basement operation to a 3,200 sq ft warehouse in Maple Ridge, with a secondary distribution depot at the Grace Church in Pitt Meadows.

The food bank distributes to well over 600 families and singles in a month. As well it assists 7 community agencies to provide food and nourishment to those who are hungry. The food bank usually receives over 105,000 kilograms of food donations each year. These are donations from local groceries, bakeries, retailers and community members.

Friends in Need are a member of the CAFB - BC Branch. It abides by their Code of Ethics and does not promote door to door or by telephone solicitation. We depend solely on the generosity of our community and its members.  To donate or volunteer, please call (604) 466-FOOD (3663).

An Elegant Christmas

Hi everyone, Michele here. I'm very excited to announce that there is a new class just added to the November class calendar. Allison is a teacher at Archbishop Carney, and I have been going in on Mondays to help her with the card club at the school. She has a very elegant, beautiful style and uses very cool techniques, so I finally convinced her to come and teach a class at PE! You'll absolutely love all the cards she has planned for you, and I know you'll have a hard time giving them away.  Here are just a few of the cards you will be making.  Click here for class information and to register. Hope you can make it!

 

"My Ridge Meadows" Photo Contest - Now Even Better!

The entries are pouring in...

...and we've got some good news!  We managed to secure an even better camera for the grand prize, which is now valued at over $350!

The grand prize camera is a purple Nikon Coolpix S630.  It is a really cool, fun camera with some nice specs:

• 12 megapixels
• 7x optical zoom
• 2.7 inch LCD with wide viewing angle
• VR (vibration reduction) image stabilization
• Motion detection
• Sport continuous mode
• Quick Retouch
• It's purple!

Don't forget there is an early bird prize for entering by November 19th.

Click here for details and to enter...

An Amazing Feat

We are so very proud of our Cristina! She successfully ran the Haney to Harrison Ultra Marathon this past weekend and ran the entire 100 km! Here are some pictures of her experience...

At the beginning of her race...still smiling :-)

 

As the day wore on, her body became quite sore, so her mom would spray her down with a homeopathic pain med.

 

This is just before the end of the race....after 12 hours of running - incredible!

We are so very proud of what Cristina has accomplished and are so proud to share in this moment with her :-) We love you, Cristina!!!

 

Cristina also asked that I include this last photo and these words from her:

"I just wanted to express my gratitude to Marcel and my Photo Express family for sponsoring me and lifting me up so I could accomplish my dream (I know, kinda weird dream!) of racing in a 100 km Ultra Marathon. I had a really hard day out there and I couldn't have done it without them." ~ Cristina

"My Ridge Meadows" Photo Contest

Do ya like photos?  Have any good photos of the Ridge Meadows area?  Photos that represent something you love about where we live?  Now you can enter them into the "My Ridge Meadows" Photo Contest and win some great prizes!  And don't worry if you are not a professional photographer, there will not only be a Grand Prize for best photo, but some random prize draws just for entering!

When does the contest run?
From November 5-30, 2009.  Contest closes at 11:59pm PST on November 30th.  Prizes will be awarded in the Photo Express store on Saturday, December 5th at 11am.  There will also be an Early Bird Prize drawn from all entries received by 11:59pm PST Thursday, November 19th, 2009.  The Early Bird prize will be awarded in the Photo Express store on Saturday, November 21st as part of our 26th Anniversary Bash & Sale!

What type of photos can I enter?
Whatever says "My Ridge Meadows" to you!  The people, the places, the events, the landmarks, the natural beauty, your favourite store Photo Express ;)  We live in such a beautiful and varied place, and we want to see it all!

How do I enter?
You can enter up to 3 photos in the contest.  After reading through the Terms and Conditions below, you can enter via e-mail to "contests(@)photoexpressions.ca".  Please include the following information:

• First Name

• Last Name

• Telephone Number

• E-mail Address

• Optional: description of each photo

Send your entries to:

contests@photoexpressions.ca

(Click the link above to send an entry)

What are the prizes?

There are 6 prizes to be won, and 5 are drawn at random!

GRAND PRIZE:

• Nikon Coolpix S630 digital camera

• 2 GB foto source SD memory card

• 4 rechargeable AA batteries and charger

• Prepaid Prints Card (100 free 4x6 or smaller prints)

• Free Studio Portrait sitting

• Your winning photo printed and displayed on the wall at Photo Express foto source.

Total retail value of this prize: over $350!

EARLY BIRD PRIZE (enter by Thurs, Nov. 19th to be eligible):

• Prepaid Prints Card (100 free 4x6 or smaller prints)

• Free Studio Portrait sitting

Total retail value of this prize is $50!

 RANDOM PRIZES:

• 2 - Prepaid Print Cards (100 free prints each)
• 2 - 2GB SD memory cards

Terms and conditions:

Contest is open from 12am PST Nov 5, 2009 to 11:59pm PST Nov 30, 2009. Enter photo contest via e-mail to contests(@)photoexpressions.ca.  Limit of 3 photos entered per person.

Prizes consist of 1 Grand Prize, 1 Early Bird Prize drawn at random from all entries received by 11:59pm PST Nov 19, 2009, and 3 Random Prizes drawn from all entries. Early Bird Prize to be awarded in the Photo Express store on Saturday, Nov 21^st, 2009. All other prizes to be awarded in the Photo Express store on Saturday, Dec 5^th, 2009 at 11am.

Must be at least 18 years of age to enter. Entered photos must be taken by entrant. Photo Express foto source reserves the right to disqualify entries based on their content (namely, photos not taken in the Ridge Meadows area, objectionable content).

The following people are not eligible for this photo contest:

• Staff of Photo Express and their families
• Professional photographers (main income is from photography)

To enter, send an e-mail with up to 3 photo attachments to contests(@)photoexpressions.ca. Include the following information: First name, last name, telephone number, e-mail address. Optionally, a description of each photo may be included.

Winners’ first names and last initials will be published along with their photos. Grand Prize winner will be photographed with Grand Prize and representatives from Photo Express foto source. Early Bird / Random Prize winners may be photographed as well. All entered photos remain the property of the photographers, but may be used by Photo Express foto source for future promotions.

 
  

BC Crop for Kids 2009

Many of the staff and friends of PE had a FABULOUS time at the BC Crop for Kids this past weekend, raising money for BC Children's Hospital. Here's a lil' slideshow for you to enjoy!

World Cardmaking Day Pics

Thanks to all of you who came out and celebrated World Cardmaking Day with us - it was fabulous! Here are a few pics from the day...

friends of PE

Free Card Class

Tamara - our new QK Ambassador at her first official event with us

 

...handing out some very yummy prizes throughout the day!

Fall 2009 Page Commitment Card

Join us this fall for another Page Commitment. You can download your Page Commitment form here. 

You liked the Summer Page Commitment a lot and said that it helped you get pages done. Many of you requested a fall challenge also, so we are doing it again.

For the month of October and November, we are challenging you to commit to creating at least one layout per week (including journaling!) It could be a layout from scratch, a layout from a class or crop, a layout on Luci, a digital layout, a layout from a page map...just get a layout done. Please don't cheat yourself and use a layout you have previously created.

This means that every week this fall, you will sit down and create a layout. (If you know you are going away one week, then create 2 layouts the week before.) The layout doesn't have to be fancy, and if you preplan your pages, shouldn't take more than about an hour. (Of course if you want to do it fancier, that is great too).

What this means is that by Sunday December 13th, you will have at least 10 layouts created.  (If you do more that is awesome! 10 is the minimum). Challenge one of your friends to join you, and maybe even get together every week to create the layout, making it a social event too. Any time there is not a class going on at the tables, you are more than welcome to come and create at our tables.

Once you have completed your "Commitment Sheet" (available at the PE demo bar) and have 10 PE staff signatures on it, enter it to win a $100 Prize basket. There is a maximum of 3 weeks initialed in any one visit. (To allow for those weeks when it gets busy, but to also ensure that you don't wait until the end and stress out over getting 10 layouts done in one week!)

If you are one of our out of town friends, you can still participate, by emailing us a scan/photo of your layout each week to scrapbooking@photoexpressions.ca. We will keep a commitment sheet on hand for you to initial off on, and we can email you a copy also for you to keep track with.

Please don't "cheat" yourself, and submit layouts you have previously done.  Use this challenge to create some more layouts that will be cherished for many years to come and to get another story told. There is space on your Commitment card to write down some ideas for layouts each week so you can preplan what supplies and photos you need.

FAQ (actually the answers) Yes, you can do two single page layouts instead of a double page layout. Yes you can use a kit or PTM Kit, or class layout, or predone type layout like Bisous - but it isn't finished until you have photos AND journaling on it! Yes, you can do 2 or 3 layouts in one week if you miss a week. Yes, you can create way more layouts once you get your groove going. Yes the layout can be simple or fancy - it just has to have photos and journaling. The answers are pretty much yes, as this is for YOU to help YOU get something done!

And yes, you can still participate even if you don't want to bring it in and show us.  Mark down each week which layout you got done to keep on track.  You'll never regret time you spent creating such a precious keepsake.

World Card Making Day Sale Details

Hope you can join us this Friday and Saturday for a great sale celebrating World Card Making Day!