SUMMER CHA again

The Summer Show in Orlando should've been slow enough that I could leave the DIY Bangles booth and walk the show floor. And it was certainly small enough that it could've been accomplished, yet I can't say that I did it. At the end of the first day as we walked away from our booth for a late lunch, we were stopped by the film crew and asked to return for a quick taping. Again, no lip color, no time to comb my hair or search for earrings. What you saw was what you got. I was enthusiastic as always, but my accent was stronger than ever. Help us all.

I did make it over to the Ranger booth for a few photos, such as the one above. Grungepaper flowers were all the rage. Me, I like birds, but clearly it's a matter of personal preference. Perhaps if I want to see birds in their display I should give them a few of mine.

I love the whimsical and managed to find several things with appeal to me. I need one of these crowns!

I liked this shadow box and the hats the ladies are wearing. Magazines showcase letters to the editor with complaints about the dunce caps, and yet here we are, years after the fad began, still seeing them in artwork.

ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) continue their popularity, and here's a wall hanging that showcases a grouping of 6. I like this idea!!

I also liked this frame made with rolled papers, and it didn't hurt that there was a bird perched in the bottom corner.

I'm not really into costume jewelry, and certainly not much of a fan of the real thing, but these little pieces continue to inspire me. Combining a few trinkets is expression enough for me.

Thanks to everyone who came by our booth to make bangles during the wholesale portion of the show. You kept me busy for 3 days and I loved every minute of it. And for the thousands who came to play during the consumer super craft show on Friday & Saturday, a HUGE thank you for your patience. Our lines were consistently long, yet with the exception of 2 incidents fighting over a chair, we had very happy campers join us for a bit of play.

I saw lots of familiar faces from Stampfest, and a gal from Savannah who remembered me from my demos at Eleanor's in Greenville SC several years ago! Woo Hoo!!! I could remember her face but still can't remember her name, so accept my apology please.

There were over 100 of my finished bangles displayed in the booth and I tried to explain tips and techniques throughout the week. Since no one could possibly remember everything I said, expect to see photos and tips in upcoming posts to jog your memories.

My thanks to Claudine and the folks at Ranger for providing her line of paints and brushes for our make & takes. They worked beautifully on our bangles and were the perfect background for stamping words and phrases such as "Trust your crazy ideas...Create...Inspire...Dream Big..."

Thanks to Clearsnap for the ink pads and Smooch, including new colors! On Thursday we made ornaments using our 32mm beads, jingle bells, ribbon, Claudine's paints, rubber stamps, and Smooch to jazz up our artwok. Then we added heat-set crystals for that extra bling. The end results were sensational!!

And if I hadn't been so busy with the steady rush of participants I'd have taken a few photos. I'm pretty sure someone in our booth took a few over the course of the week, so if they share them with me I'll certainly share them with you.

I'm looking ahead to the Winter Show in Anaheim, planning new make & takes and hoping to see more familiar faces in my seats, with space left for new artists too.

Stay tuned, I have LOTS of Stampaway photos to share!

Summer CHA 2009

Just a glimpse (or two) from Summer CHA. Enjoy the tour...

More to come...

Life on the Flying Trapeze

A friend of mine celebrated a birthday last week by taking a class on the flying trapeze. How brave! I'd never do it. She described climbing that rope ladder over and over and I knew I'd have given up after the first climb. But with my fear of heights I'm not willing to step up a short ladder, so there's no way I'd have the nerve for this. She laughingly told me she can't raise her arms over her head this week and she has bruises behind her knees. We laughed but what an achievement, no matter the aches and pains afterward. Kudos my friend! I tip my hat to you.

I survived my week in Orlando, barely. My class with Tim last Monday was a ton of fun as always and I came home with lots of new goodies. The class with Claudine was also fun as we tried different techniques with her line of products by Ranger. And then she was gracious enough to give me lots of paints and brushes so we could decorate bangles with them in the DIYBangles booth every day. A huge thank you to my friend Claudine!

We drove home Sunday...12 hours in the Mini Cooper, in the rain, with limited sight through the rearview mirror because the back was packed sky high with product (and dirty clothes). I washed 3 loads last night which emptied one suitcase. Good thing since I fly out tomorrow at oh-dark-thirty for Cincinnati. Yesterday I shipped 75 lb of bangles, beads and blocks for my Chunky ATC class and my Wearable Art class. My 2 sold out classes tomorrow begin at 3pm and my flight arrives at 8am so I'm packing all those supplies in my carry-on bag; taking no chances with lost luggage.

I wish I had time to tell you all the wonders of CHA but I've miles to go today before I sleep. (I went to bed last night at 1am and I leave for the airport tomorrow morning at 4:15am, which means I've gotta get my ducks in a row!) I can tell you we had an incredible show, decorating bangles all 3 days of the wholesale show. And then on Friday, the first day of the first ever CHA SuperCraft Consumer Show, we had 2 make & take tables set up and both of us worked straight through from 10am-6pm with no lunch, no bathroom break, just forging ahead for one very long day. My day actually began 1 hr and 15 minutes before that, so truly, I was beyond exhausted by 6:30 when I raced to the Ladies Room. On Saturday I was in my seat at 8am. The show began at 9am and we had 3 tables going with make & takes of bangles at two and one table with beads. Still no break for lunch but I did make a mad dash to the restroom at 3:15 while the ladies were painting. When the show closed at 5pm we spent 3 hours packing up the booth for shipping back to OR.

I may not have been swinging through the air on a flying trapeze while you've waited for this post, but I assure you it's how I felt all last week and how I still feel today. I'm setting 2 clocks for tomorrow morning. Wish me luck. And I'll check back in with you when I return next week.

Til then, happy stamping!

Stampaway Stencils Masks & Stamps Oh My! Guinea Pig Class

First I apologize for cutting one of my guests right out of this photo. It wasn't intentional. She's not trying to hide. (Or at least I don't think she was hiding; just pushed a little too far from the table.) And poor photography on my part is mostly to blame. This year I've got a large group of ladies joining me on my trip to Ohio for the Stampaway convention. And a lot of good eggs willing to give up a Sunday afternoon to help me time out each step of this sold out convention class. All good sports; all invaluable to me. A HUGE thank you ladies for your willingness to be my guinea pigs!!!!

And yes, that's my very own line of rubber stamps you see in the above photo. I'm pleased to announce I have a new set that includes some surprising new designs, so if you're interested, holler and tell me so!

As always I provided oodles of supplies, giving them way too many choices. But that's the whole point of these classes: find out what works, what doesn't, what's most popular, and what we can live without. (There weren't many things we could live without, so when the class begins at Stamp Your Art Out, I'll be watching the clock and keeping everyone on track so that their finished portfolios are as divine as these.

Look closely at all these photos and you'll spot the most popular stencil: Onomoto Holes from Coffee Break Designs. Whether they were using inks or paints, the results were all brilliant!

Most of these gals had never played with the masks from Tim Holtz and Heidi Swapp, so experimenting was lots of fun.

And the tiny word stencils from Stampers Anonymous were also a hit. Keep scrolling; you'll find them...above and below.

Let's talk about before, during and after so that you can appreciate how much fun this class really was for us all. The photo below was during the process while the photo above shows the end result. Can you see a difference?

Same thing here...the too-close shot below was during, but just look at the photo above and you can appreciate those final minutes of a class when just the tiniest little thing can totally transform art into a masterpiece.

Could we have used more time? Certainly. Lynda C. spotted something I never thought to introduce in this class, and everyone took their art in a whole new direction. I'm not telling what they played with; it's a surprise.

Think we had a lot of fun in this class? You're right, we did. And once again I forgot to suggest that the ladies use the Kleen Handz before we got started. The great thing about this product is that the more you use it, the cleaner your hands are at the end of the day. We used it throughout the 3 hour play time along with a hand cleaner bar and it worked wonders, so all's not lost because I'm getting forgetful.

Hope you've enjoyed this teaser. Now if I can just remember to take my camera out and use it during my 5 days at the convention, I'll have lots of photos to post when I return. You will come back and take a peek, won't you?