still here

Anaheim Convention Center Welcomes CHAW 2013

Despite my earshattering silence, I've been up to stuff lately. (Aren't I always?) Last month was the annual winter trade show from the Craft & Hobby Association (aka CHA). I was happy to again work with Pink Paislee /Heidi Swapp in their beautiful booth.  We had a team meeting the night before that included an introduction to Heidi's new media team (the sweetest girls, ever!) and a wonderful class from Heidi Swapp herself. There was also dinner and orientation for working the booth --all of it was lovely and much appreciated.

With Rebecca and Heidi

With the Heidi Swapp Media team (except for Kim, sadly)

 Booth duty was great fun as always and I really enjoyed being able to do make-n-takes for one of my shifts. If you know me at all, you know how much I love doing make-and-takes and demos. And teaching too for that matter!

With Elaine at the booth Make-n-Take Counter

On the subject of teaching, I'm hard at work planning some public classes this year. It's been awhile since I taught at a store. Lately, all of my gigs have been at private events such as crops and retreats. So, I'm kind of excited about getting back into the retail stores and meeting more happy, scrappy people. I'll be sure to post more once I've got things in place. While I'm thinking of it, if you are interested in keeping up with my teaching and other crafty shennanigans, be sure to follow me on twitter: twitter.com/MammaJammaBlabb

At my other favorite booth Epiphany Crafts with Cathi & Tina

A few weeks after CHA was over, I was back at the Anaheim Convention Center, this time for the Scrapbook Expo. I worked for two different vendors there. First, I did setup (and teardown) with the lovely people of Paper Wizard. In case you're not familiar with Paper Wizard, they are makers of beautiful, intricate pre-made laser cut titles and accents. The owners are an adorable husband and wife team who were a joy to work with. And they are music lovers, so we had tunes going the whole time we were setting up the booth. It's as good as better than whistling while you work!

With Eric & Bonnie of Paper Wizard after tearing down the booth

During the show, I worked a day and a half with another lovely family, this time the owners of Mon Ami Gabby, purveyors of a beautiful selection of elegant embellishments. It's always dangerous for me to be around a lot of luscious trim and flowers and the like. Like being a kid in a candy shop.

With Chris at Mon Ami Gabby

With Marina and Chris

 I was able to take some classes, too. I did a Melissa Frances bookbinding class taught by the lovely Kim Garner, a "Hot Off the Press" elegant cards class with Sophia of Strictly Scrapbooking and an awesome organization class with Tiffany of The ScrapRack. Plus, I had a half day to walk the floor for awhile with a friend I used to work with, and then for while with one of my besties. I guess you could really say I packed in all that I could in the few days I was there.

With Tiffany of The ScrapRack

With Kim of Melissa Frances

With Sophia of Strictly Scrapbooking

Now, I'm inspired and motivated and working up some ideas for National Craft Month to blog about . So, be sure to check back soon!

CHAW 2012 pics

It's been three weeks since the CHA Winter trade show ended, and here I am finally posting some of my photos and highlights. I was surprised to find that I'd taken a lot less photos than I normally do and that they were a different type of photo. It probably had something to do with what my focus was for the show (meaning I was thinking ahead to what product lines I'd order for classes). So, the fun project photos of projects are a bit thinner than usual.

First off, the lovely folks at Epiphany Crafts who are very much on my mind right now (coincidentally, I happen to be back at the Anaheim Convention Center again this weekend working the Epiphany booth for Scrapbook Expo). Isn't the garland in the booth amazing? It was made of cupcake wrappers and coffee filters and it was absolutely beautiful! Epiphany introduced a couple of "must-have" new tools. I totally have my eye on the pennant tool - too cute!

Next a few pics from the Heidi Swapp booth. First, have to say again that it was an absolute pleasure to work the booth and be there for her big re-debut. Heidi had the most AMAZING samples to inspire visitors. I loved the innovation and creativity of her new products and the many projects on display.

The glass display cabinets were changed out daily with fresh eye candy. This was easily my favorite display using the "Instaframes" which make any photo look like a cool polaroid.

The Instaframes are part of the Memory File collection, which also includes beautiful file boxes and sets of die cut patterned folders. I was enchanted by the cute projects using these folders.

And while I'm on the subject of "Heidis" (yes that was plural), I had the privilege of having one of my layouts displayed in the Heidi Grace "Clever Handmade" booth. I guess the company was a bit short of samples, so the night before the show started a call went out for some samples to be made. It was a great experience, and a bit of a challenge since I had only a handful of supplies picked up from the booth the night before the show. Heidi really wanted to show off her new embroidery pattern rubons, so I did quite a bit of embroidery on this layout:

The Maya Road booth is always one of my favorites. They are an embellishments & trims company so that is right up my alley. They have some great designers and always display so many adorable samples.

  

AccuCut is another booth that always features tons of samples and inspiration. I've never opened any of the mini books to see if the insides are decorated or not, but it's fun to browse the covers.

And of course, the showstopper for samples is Graphic 45. Their booth is so full of amazing samples that I can never quite absorb them in one visit I usually have to stop by multiple times to really appreciate the full display. I will leave you with some of the amazement...

the party's over

CHA Winter '12 is a wrap and my head is swimming and brimming with thoughts, ideas, inspirations, things to share, plans to make.

I can't wait to post some of my pics here in the next few days. For now, here is a booth pic with some of the Pink Paislee/Heidi Swapp team. (It just wasn't possible to get all of us together at one time.)

the happiest place on earth

Today, I'm in Anaheim at the happiest place on earth. No, not Disneyland. I'm at the Convention Center for the Craft and Hobby Association's annual winter trade show.

You don't have to be a paper crafter to love this one. It is every craft, ALL crafts - fine art, needle art, kids crafts, and more. The show floor opens on Sunday and for two days I'll be working the Pink Paislee booth. This is my third year working with them and I'm thrilled. The booth is always fabulous, the people are terrific and I always have a fabulous time.

I was able to preview what they have in store for us about two weeks ago and have had to keep my lips sealed all this time. That wasn't easy! You're going to love what's coming and I can't wait to share photos with you!

The Pink Paislee team, CHAW '11

On Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be walking the show floor and taking lots and lots of photos. As usual, I'll be posting my pics at Flickr. You can view photos from last year's show here.

I'll do my best to be a good set of "eyes and ears" for those of you who can't be there!

what... me excited?

You betcha I'm excited! Tomorrow the Craft & Hobby Associations Winter Trade Show begins. Saturday is the start of the education program and I can't wait!

I remember when I was a kid that if we knew we would be going somewhere exciting the next day (like Disneyland, for example) being so giddy with anticipating that it seemed impossible to go to sleep. Not expecting to have trouble with the sleeping tonight but still planning on having a great time.

Anaheim Convention Center, here I come!

perfect motifs

I love this time of the year. The CHA sneaks are coming fast and furious, and anticipation is building. Here's something cool to look forward to. "Perfect Motifs" from Websters Pages...


By: Webster's Pages
Do you love all our motifs but don't always want to fussy cut? Problem solved! Introducing Webster's Pages Perfect Motifs PaperPad!

Looks like something I would love to work with!

quietly crafting (among other things)

At California Adventure with the kiddoes

So even thought I've been pretty busy this year, it's been a fairly quiet year for me as far as teaching classes. Fact is, other than the classes I've done at my home, I haven't done any other teaching. It wasn't that I haven't wanted to, but before this year even started I knew I had a big, busy spring in store. I guess I've really just been too distracted to throw myself into the throes of class design  & prep (as much as I wanted to).

At CHA Winter Show with Tammy, Genine & Michelle

As I mentioned in my last post, I haven't been on hiatus from my creative/crafty life. Besides attending and working the CHA Winter show in January and the Anaheim Scrapbook Expo in February,  I also kept busy creating projects for Ready, Set, Create ezine so I've been plenty crafty.

Scrapbook Expo Anaheim - Working with PK Glitz

This month I've been busy getting ready to be a vendor at an NSD crop in Orange County (more on that at my other blog).

Getting my vendor table ready for NSD crop

But the Big Thing that has really got my attention is party planning. My son graduates high school in just a little over a month. And in just a couple of weeks after that we are having a graduating party for him. Seems like there is so much (too much) to do in just 8 weeks.

Trying to remember to take it one step at a time. Oh, yeah... and to breathe.

get your craft on!

In case you don't already know it, March is National Craft Month. That means it's a great time to...

• discover and explore a new craft (or re-discover an old craft)
• expand your crafty horizons by trying a new technique
• add your handmade flair to something that is otherwise ordinary (the link will take you to a blog with LOTS of ideas, if you are up to the challenge)

For me, March has been very crafty. In fact, so far all of 2011 has been one big crafty event. First, there was the Craft & Hobby Association Winter Trade Show aka "CHA" (what? you're saying I haven't posted my pics? eeek! I better take care of that, right?). Then, no sooner was I back from CHA and dove straight into designing/prepping some cards for my monthly crop group using some of the new techniques I'd picked up at the show.

After the crop was history we squeezed in a weekend trip to Disney (not crafty, but very inspirational I'd say). We had a great time and less than a week later I was back in Anaheim for Scrapbook Expo.

That was just about two weeks ago, and since returning I've been deep in crafty-land getting my projects done for the next edition of Ready, Set, Create. I've been in a lovely glittery, inky mess of delight since then.

I will leave you with this sneaky peek at some of my RSC projects, and be sure to look for the new issue when it debuts the first of April (no fooling!)

new maya road to love

Maya Road just posted the last of their sneaks and it is YUMMY! The thing I'm really digging is the canvas and especially the canvas dress form. Isn't this too cute? Take a look at these projects from their blog using the dress form:

To see the entire sneak, be sure to visit the Maya Road blog (did I mention there's a giveaway involved?)

super productive day

Some of the buttons from today's discovery

I got so much done today ... now, why can't every day be so fruitful?

First I did my 30 minute walk. I've been trying for daily on this but haven't managed more than three successive days. Gonna keep at it though. It's gotten easier, that's for sure. I'm walking faster and working my legs more so there's a plus. Next my morning bible reading, which I'm doing better at consistency-wise. I think I've missed two days this month (but made up the reading so that I stay on schedule). So, yay me.

From there it was on to garage/patio cleanup & organization. Just made a wee dent in all that there is to do, but any start is a good one. I was able to find a clothes rack in the garage that I'd promised to loan to my mom and in the process get some of the storage boxes labelled and tidied. The patio had created its own little project for me - a box had tipped over (the cat may have had a paw in this!) The contents had spilled out blocking the path to my scrapbook storage area, so it had to be dealt with.

On the plus side here, I found a treasure trove of buttons to put into my stash. They were those extra buttons that come with new clothes and I'd saved them for 30 years or so. I used to keep them in my old dresser but I guess when I got the new one, they got packed up and forgotten. Still not sure how they ended up in the particular box they were found in, but oh well.

With access to my storage restored, I went about putting away supplies from the Just Us Girls event last month. They've been hanging around my living room for a few weeks too many since I've been super busy with creating for the upcoming issue of Ready, Set, Create magazine. The new issue will hit the streets in less than two weeks (yahoo!)

I also had some new goodies to put into inventory as a result of some recent shopping binges (insert red-faced, eyes downcast smiley here). Actually, truth told I'm not really embarrassed or regretful of my purchases because I was able to snag some awesome deals on unique items that will make great additions to future classes. Yay!

In the late afternoon, I tackled some unruly plants that needed to be tamed. I trimmed an old lantana that has been left unattended for far too long and has gotten very leggy and woody. I didn't have the energy to prune it into complete submission, but it does look better than when it started. I also took the Mexican sage down with a good, serious sheer leaving only a handful of very tender new growth. I also have a perennial salvia that was looking very tired, so took that down to the ground and noticed that it is already sending up some new growth. These are all beautiful plants and I can't wait for them to come back around.

Now, I'm all about preparing my PaperCraft Princess retail sales tax return so I can focus on getting ready for CHA!  It will all come together... it always does.

cha is approaching quickly

At the Pink Paislee booth, CHA Winter 2010

At the end of the month designers/instructors/retailers/manufacturers/sales reps all will descend on the City of Angels (L.A. Convention Center to be specific) for the Craft and Hobby Association's winter trade show. I'm looking forward to being there again and for the second year I'll be working in the Pink Paislee booth for a couple of days.

One of the most exciting things about CHA is the new product releases and the samples. For any of you crafty types who aren't able to be at the show, surfing the web for sneak peeks at the new releases is the next best thing. Nancy Nally of Scrapbook Update has added a nice resource for finding the latest sneaks at her blog. Check it out!

The other thing I will recommend to my fellow crafters is to surf the manufacturer websites over the next couple of weeks. Most manufacturers not only leak sneaky peeks at their soon-to-be-released products, but they also post lots of wonderful projects using the new lines which means lots of great inspiration to get your creative juices flowing! Some of them also post contests with giveaways (I've added a link to one at the end of this post), so be sure to visit the manufacturer blogs (if you're on Facebook keep an eye out for release updates and links to manufacturer blogs - you'll need to "like" the company first in order for the updates to show up in your news feed).

Have fun!

ETA on 1/14/10 - click below to enter to win a new, unreleased Core'dinations assorted pack:
Core'dinations- win a paper pack

more from CHA

Here are some more pics of things that "jumped out" at me at this year's show:

Canvas! Not new, but I kept noticing (and loving) canvas creations.

First there was this beautiful display at the Pink Paislee booth showcasing the new Queen Bee line.

 

  

  

 

I also loved the canvas over at Maya Road (but then, what didn't I love in their booth?)

 

  

  

 

Donna Downey was at the Prima booth and did her make-n-take using canvas, but sorry no pics of Prima. There were lots of signs all over the booth requesting "no pics" so I respect.

Butterflies! Maybe it was just me, but I spotted them everywhere. These are just a few of the pics I took with butterflies in them.

At Making Memories

 

  

  

  

 

At Anna Griffin

 

 

At GCD

 

  

 

At My Little Shoebox

 

At Maya Road

 

 

At Pink Paislee (butterflies *and* canvas - sweet!)

And at DCWV a whole pad devoted to las mariposas!

That's all for now.