Friday, July 31, 2009

Violette's

I had so much fun at the violette's booth! I took their free watercoor
make and take and made the cute flowers in my previous post. Plus I
got to see and buy some of the new graphic 45 line of papers! I love
g45!!

Terri O Crafty Bootcamp - decoupage

Terri O's boot campclasses were all free! I took the one on decoupage
and it was so much fun! Such a cute project. And Terri was just as
sweet as can be.

Papertrey booth

The papertry booth was packed! There was a long line to do the free
make and take and then a second long line just to get into the booth
to shop! Their stuff is just beautiful and it looks like they have a
whole make and take schedule for all weekend long with several
different free projects! My favorite thing was that you get a super
cute pink tote with each purchase.

Joann booth make and take

The Joann booth was super cool with 6 tables of free make and takes
from yarn to fabric painting to scrabooking and jewelry. All free!
Plus they handed out a free geen handbag. So cool!

World record bead painting

First stop at the convention was at the Big Picture project. They were
awarded the world record for a 9 foot by 11.5 foot image of president
Obama made entirely out of beads. It was just amazing to see up close.

Whoa! What a line!

There are 15 Mins left until it opens and so I decided to stand up and
go get in line at the door and to my surprise the line was about a
mile long! Tons of people are here waiting to get in to the CHA Craft
Supershow. How exciting! I hope the exhibitors are ready!

Free Gypsy tote bag!

To my surprise after I picked up my tickets at the CHA Craft
Superstore, they handed each of us a free Gypsy by cricut tote bag!
How cool is that!

I also picked up a show guide that lists all the exhibitors and their
booth numbers. I wish I had printed the floor map from the supershow
website since it was not included in the show guide.

Arriving at the convention center

I made it to the convention center after a short and enjoyable ride on
the I-ride trolley and all I can say is that this convention center is
HuGE! After a long walk I found the will call booth and walked right
up. There were no lines yet since I am here an hour and a half before
it opens. Hurray!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Convention here I come!

Almost to Orlando for the CHA Craft Supershow. I have been listening
to all the reports from the preceeding CHA show and people have be
complaining about how it was too small and uneventful. Well I sure am
hoping that CHA is saving the best for last for the CHA craft
supershow! Tomorrow I'll be posting from the convention and at the
crop! Stay tuned for more messages throughout the weekend!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Off to CHA Craft Supershow!

Well, I am getting ready for my trip tomorrow to the CHA Craft Supershow. I am so excited! I hear that there are going to be tons of make and takes. And I already looked through all the workshops and I just love them! I am definitely taking one class, hopefully two, lets see.

I am really looking forward to the Michaels, Joanns, ACMoore, and SplitCoastStampers booths that look like they are doing different make and takes every 2-3 hours. So I'll have to keep going back to them and checking out what they have. I hear that some make and takes will be free and others will be for a fee, so I'll have to wait and see what each vendor decides to do. Hopefully I can do quite a few of these make and takes without going through all of my budget too fast.

On friday, I get to meet Nancy Nally and several of my fellow paperclipping fans. It will be fun to talk to her in person, and also get to put faces on some of the names from the paperclipping community. Possibly on thursday I will also get to meet Noell, we'll see if I can find where she is filming her next episode of Newsbreak.

Anticipation for this event has been mixed. Some people say its not worth it since the hot new products revealed at CHA summer earlier this week will not be at the consumer Craft Supershow. But it looks like with all the make and takes, workshops, crops, celebrities, and events that there is still much to look forward to at the CHA Craft Supershow!

Stay tuned throughout the weekend as I post live from the show with my reviews and photos. I'll make sure to post the event's highlights so you can share the experience with me!


Ibis

Tim Holtz Class: Patchwork Pandemonium


This past weekend I got to take a class with the Amazing Tim Holtz. I had so much fun! He is just amazing and his products are so unique and one of a kind that I find myself thirsting for more more more! Here is a picture of Tim, Mario and I at the event.

In this class we got to learn technique after technique after technique! I was giddy with excitement for the entire 4 hours! Little squares were inked, distressed, painted, sanded, embellished, crackled, and so much more. And at the end they fit together into this amazing quilt that I can display with pride. Not only was it an amazing learning experience but so much fun at the same time.

Before the class, I waited in line with tons of people who were all baking in the hot florida sun, but stood in line just the same so they can be one of the first to see Tim Holtz! I made new friends in the line, including Laura who was so much fun!

Once we got to our seats, there was a prepacked kit with instructions at our table all ready to go with supplies and materials all sorted, labeled, and organized perfectly to ensure that the class goes smoothly. Thanks Mario!

The table was full of Tim's products including a craft sheet, 8 color coded ink applicators a spinning holder, several inks, acrylic paints, jars of crackle paints, a textured hammer, a piercing tool, a set of tonic scissors, and so many more goodies to play with.

The pace was good, and the class was easy to follow since Tim had a projector showing each step clearly. I was able to keep up with the class and get my project completed.

My favorite part of the class was getting to play with crackle paints. Its something I have not had a chance to use before. My least favorite part of the class was that the air conditioning was not working well and it was so very hot hot hot. But Tim was a good sport and made us all as comfortable as possible.

I can't wait to hang up my new Tim quilt. I am so proud of it. Thanks Tim and Mario for putting together an amazing class! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!

Meeting Donna Downey: Intro to Fabric Scrapbooking

This past weekend I got to meet Donna Downey! I was able to sign up for her Fabric Scrapbooking class at Cherry Blossom Studio. For several weeks I was so thrilled and excited about meeting her in person and getting to learn from her. She is a true artist and has so much creativity. I love how she thinks outside the box and adds her own artistic flair to scrapbooking.

Donna was just so much fun in the class. She was so down to earth and just a regular gal with tons of funny stories to share. Plus she was so very patient and nice and it made the class a wonderful experience.

The fabric scrapbooking class was such an awesome learning experience. I learned all about gesso, gel medium and molding paste. Three items that are quickly becoming must-haves at my crafting desk. Plus we got to work with a breathtaking Prima fabric album which was just georgeous and several fabric embellishments designed by Donna herself. Just beautiful fabric flowers, birds and houses, Fleur De Lis, and embroidered tags. All just stunning pieces and prime additions to any scrapbook.

I was so amazed at how many pages were designed for this project. I felt like I could really do a full album with this set and although I have not finished all my pages, I cannot wait to get everything finalized and start showing off my book to my friends and family.

My favorite part about this class was learning how to use modeling paste. It makes such a statement to any project. I think I will use it quite a bit now. My least favorite part was learning to stamp on the canvas. I felt like there was no way to get a clean image and had to use pens and markers to get it to look decent.

If you ever have the opportunity to take this class, I would highly recommend it. There is just so much that you can learn in this class.

Special Thanks to Donna for sharing her amazing talent and for making this an experience that I would never forget. You inspire me!

Here are pictures of my album. There pages were all designed by Donna as part of her fabric scrapbooking kit.