If you are a die-hard Cricut fan, (or a cake decorator), buckle your seat belt- the Cricut Cake is here! (Well, almost- it’ll drop in late April.) But the excitement at CHA was palpable and the screaming non-stop from the ProvoCraft booth. The Cricut Cake will cut fondant, gum paste, sheet icing, even fruit leathers. But instead of me explaining it, watch this video from John Lee of ProvoCraft: I’ll be receiving one of these wonders sometime in late May, […]
Archives for January 2010
Article on Ice Resin for Craft Critique!
As some of you know, I write for Craft Critique, and have been doing some CHA coverage for them. I got a chance to write a post about Ice Resin, a product I’m really excited to try out. It’s a non-toxic 2-part resin (most 2-part epoxy resins are HIGHLY toxic) and is touted as being non-yellowing. Fabulous artist and fellow Ohioan Susan Lenart Kazmer uses this resin in her work, and frankly, she knows her stuff! I have a sample […]
More Pics from CHA Winter 2010
The show is starting to draw to a close, and even though I’ve grown a blister on my toe the size of a cherry, I’m still having a great time. Here are a few pics from today’s adventures: This last one pretty much sums up how much fun I’m having!!!
CHA updates on Craft Critique
I LOVE CraftCritique.com– it’s such great site for news and reviews on all things crafty. (Ok, and I write for them, too, but really I’m not biased.) If you are at ALL interested, you should click on over and read all the updates. Since I’ve been here, I specifically have written articles on Ice Resin (non-toxic 2 part epoxy), Viva-Decor’s Precious Metal Paints, and Carol Duvall. Go check out their coverage- you’ll be glad you did!
Craft Celebrities at CHA Winter Show
What I love, love, LOVE about the CHA tradeshows is that you get to meet and interact with the most amazing artists and designers. Folks that you usually see on television or on the craft product boxes and are there, in person, to answer questions and show off their stuff. Overwhelmingly, these demi-celebrities are….wait for it……nice. Really nice. Like real people. Who knew? I’ve been able to chat up some of my favorite designers and even get a few pics. […]
Fun at CHA with Viva Decor!
Here on the floor on day ONE of the trade show. I’m loving the Precoius Metal Color paints- so creamy and rich! Look at the cool sample bangles, too.
CHA Supershow, Winter 2010!
It’s been a wild and wonderful past 2 days here at the Craft and Hobby Association Supershow, and crafter’s (and spender’s) bonanza of crafty goodness. New products have been rolled out, crafting celebrities have been sighted, and there has been spending galore! The biggest news of the weekend was the new product rolled out by Provocraft: the Cricut Cake. (Yup, you read it right. Cake.) This new shiny red gizmo is mean specifically to be used for cuting fondant, gum […]
Review of “Artful Blogging†Magazine
I received not ONE but TWO different issues of “Artful Blogging” by Somerset Studios over the holidays. I LOVE art/craft magazines, and my thoughtful family and friends know that I’m an artist/crafter/maker and a blogger. They figured that this magazine would be right up my alley. WRONG. I am usually very open-minded and try to be objective, but I just don’t get this magazine AT ALL. Why would I want to read about arts/crafts blogs? Why wouldn’t I just READ […]
Scrapbook Update Features CHA Winter Sneak Peeks
Right now the big buzz in the crafting industry is the Craft and Hobby Association Convention in Anaheim, California. The Winter show is the one in which all of the big-name craft manufacturers debut their new product lines. Since it’s a tradeshow and not open to the general public, the next-best thing (aside from going to the Supershow, that is) is checking out the “Sneak Peeks” that many companies “leak” to the online community in order to build buzz. There […]
One Little Word: Polymer Clay “CHOOSE†Pendant
Ali Edwards came up with the “One Little Word” concept- picking one word to guide your intentions, resolutions, actions. As an artist/crafter/maker, sometimes one little word is all you need as a springboard to inspire you. I decided start the year off with a project featuring one of my favorite mediums, polymer clay. For this project, I used: Pardo polymer clay in Olivine, Gold, and some Sculpey black metal bookplate jade beads cheap craft wire white acrylic paint metal letter […]
New Line of Pardo Clay to Premiere at CHA Winter 2010
I got a call last night from Christina (darling gal) from Viva Decor, giving me some scoop about the new Pardo clay they are bringing to CHA Winter in Anaheim. Since I’m going next week, I got super excited & took down the stats: The new clay is considered “professional grade” and will be firmer It will come in 14 primary colors for custom blending, plus a translucent. The translucent is so clear you can read through it, and it […]
Altered Art- Crafting a New Purpose for Old Stuff
In the past few days I’ve had fun working on some “altered art” items, and I realized that I’ve never done a post on altering! I know there are a few of you out there who may not be very familiar with altered crafting, so I thought I’d do a little primer for you. In my own words, Altered art is talking old stuff that used to have a purpose and turning it into art. Interestingly, Wikipedia does not have […]
Flickr
This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.
Craft Product Review: Pardo Polymer Clay by Viva
One of the things I picked up at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) trade show last summer made me tingle with anticipation- Pardo Polymer Clay! Manufactured by Viva Decor, based in Germany, it’s the newest clay in the industry and has the distinction of being beeswax-based. It come is 70 yummy colors, and has some really cool “effects” clays, such as “glitter” and “transparent.” Easy to work, it does have a few drawbacks- one of which is poor availability […]
Calling All Crafters- CHA SuperShow in Anaheim Wants YOU!
My “Omnicrafter” pal Sarah Moore (who runs CraftCritique.com) contacted me today, and she has an fabulous opportunity for crafters/writers/makers. CraftCritique is hosting the Handmade Pavilion at CHA Winter (Anaheim) 2010…and amazingly THERE ARE STILL TABLES LEFT! Here’s the lowdown from Sarah: Big Crafty News! Craft Critique has been selected by the Craft and Hobby Association to sponsor a Handmade Pavilion for the Winter SuperShow on January 22nd and 23rd in Anaheim California. The Handmade Pavilion is a new addition to […]
Crafting a New Year’s Resolution, part 3: Crafting Word Prompts for 2010
Finding a word to prompt creativity is no biggie in the writing community, but it’s an idea that seems to be gaining traction in the crafting world. (Need a primer on word prompts? Creativity-portal has a list of prompts and ideas on what to do with them.) For artists/crafters/makers, the idea is being taken a bit further- choose a word that gives you guidance/inspiration and will be part of your New Year’s Resolution, but then also use it as a […]