Monday, January 27, 2014

12 Tags of 2014 - January (Plus Winners!)

Hello Crafters! 2014 has started out with a good bang, and it is going to be the best year yet...I can just feel it!
Before I get to the two winners of the goodies from last week, I am going to show you my January tag. I just loved Tim's January tag (Definitely one of my favorites!), and when I started creating mine I decided to add my word for the year, which is the same word that I had last year...PERSEVERE.  Why? Because I didn't do such a good job with it last year. I've got to make some changes in my life and STICK with them and "persevere this year" towards all of the goals I've set for myself. I've become lazy in a lot of areas, and it's got to stop. Can any of you relate?
I used a Ranger Jumbo #10 Manila Tag, and used Tim's technique with Brushed Pewter Distress Stain. I wanted some sparkle.
I wanted more sparkle so I used Tarnished Brass Distress Paint and an inking foam to stencil in the Clockworks. I painted the edges of the tag too, then added the rub-ons.
I haven't used this Sizzix Wall Clock die yet, so I thought it was about time! I covered some black cardstock with a piece of  Vintaj Copper Metal-pressions Sheet from Ranger. I LOVE this color!
I cut out the center rectangle of the clock, flipped it over,  painted it with Brushed Pewter Distress Paint, and then dry embossed the pieces of the clock using the Riveted,  Diamond Plate, and Gears Texture Fades.
I rubber in some Black Soot Distress Paint on all of the piece to bring out the texture better, and grungy things up. I assembled everything back together, and embellished things up.
  
 
 

AND...now for the winner's of the CHA loot I came home with last week. Out of  60 comments, the Random Number Generator has chosen...
#2 Vic...who said...Wow, great picks and pics! I have many wants from this show - must save my $$$ for when things become available. Thanks for sharing.

AND...
#41 Asia...who said...Wonderful things I really like it. I love your top 10 pick news. Thank you for sharing them. Wow it is so great the last days spent in Disnayland is the best amusement park. I was also once in it but in Paris there was wonderful :)
Greetings Asia:)

Congratulations to Vic and Asia, and I hope you like your gift! Please email me your address!!!

You all mean so much to me, and I wish I had something for everyone, but please know every one of you takes the cake!!!

There is still time to get your January tag in! I can't believe I'm a little early with mine! Cheers! Here's to a FABULOUS new year!!!

Supplies:


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!


Wednesday, January 22, 2014

My Top 10 2014 CHA Picks & Give Aways

Hey hey hey!!!! Thanks for all the comments yesterday! I just love reading them, and it totally means the world to me! Here are my Top 10 Picks (Does my opinion count???) from the 2014 CHA Mega Show. They are in no order of importance, and these are all products I think I just must have ASAP! Let me know what you think, and don't forget that you have to comment on this post to be eligible for either one of the give-away prizes shown further down on this post!!!

My Top 10 Picks:
1.  Wendy Vecchi's Studio 490 Crackled Texture Paste:
This is the coolest Crackle ever! You put it on top of one of her other Embossing Pastes, let it crackle a bit naturally, then finish drying it with a heat tool. The cracks are wonderful...large and small...and never flake off, unless you work at it yourself to peel it off intensionally. You can color it with ink or paint (It's white.) and achieve the greatest antique look. I'm so in love with it!!! Hello Italian wall!!! I can't wait to get her new colors of Archival Ink, new stamps, and new stencils too! Yes, I want it all!

2. Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer: (And yes, I want the new Scissors, the new paper stash and embellies, new stencils, new Distress Paints, new stamps, and new Alcohol Inks, but I only have 10 spots!)
(This were a Hot 20 Winner!) This display in the New Product Showcase was super cool with all the Distress Markers piled up below it! What makes this tool so cool, it that you can use it with "MOST" markers and not just Distress. For thicker markers, you just take out the mechanism that holds a thinner marker, and load the thicker. TOO COOL!!! I even saw him demo it with a Sharpie marker!

3. Crystal Ninja's Crystal Katana:
(This was a Hot 20 Winner!) Those pesky tiny objects that are so hard to pick up and place on projects, will now be much easier to deal with using this rubber and sticky like tool. I am totally in awe as to how it works. When the tip wears off, you just add a new one. I even ordered a few extra for my mother who has arthritis, and I am using them in my classes!
 
 

4. Fiskar's 12 & 24 Inch Rotary Ruler Combo Cutter:
(This was a Hot 20 Winner!)  I really love the 6x24 inch one, as it has a handle and is narrow for easy storage, but what makes these super cool, it that they cut fabric as well as paper. I LOVE that! The blades are magnetized so they are easy to change out so you don't cut yourself.


5. ComposiMold Power Mold Modeling Compound:
(This was a Hot 20 Winner!) This is the coolest mold compound ever! Why? Because, you remelt it in the microwave and use it over and over. You can even mold chocolates and food, as it's food safe, so you need one for the kitchen and one for the craft space! It feels like jiggly silicon. So COOL!!!

6. Amazing Tape:
They is the greatest tape, as it sticks to itself, and it's reusable over and over again. If it gets fuzzy, you just wash it, and restick. Best yet, it's not sticky to the touch. I need this for wrapping paper, ribbon, twine, and burlap ribbon.

7. Various Spray Paints I'm Lumping Together: Krylon Looking Glass, Krylon Frosted Glass, Design Master TintIt, Design Master Metallic Sprays
This stuff totally sprays out a real mirror! ;0) A little shabbying up and you could make an antique mirror. Krylon is also carrying some awesome Glitter Blast Sprays as well as Make It Stone looking Sprays. See the website for awesome techniques!
The jar with the beads has the Mirror Spray on the base of it, and the larger jar has the Frosted Glass.
(This was a Hot 20 Winner!) I can't find a link yet, but the TintIt Spray was so unique in that it is transparent, and can be sprayed on most anything from glass to fabric. It doesn't dry hard on fabric. You can still see the wood grain here...love that...just like a stain.  See the website for fabulous techniques!
This was covered in foil and then sprayed with Modern Metals. I am so doing this technique!
The Modern and Premium Metal Sprays totally transformed projects. This pineapple looking sconce is really plastic spoons...double take huh?!?

8. Lumi Inkodye Transfer Paint:
(This was a Hot 20 Winner!) This is the do it yourself screen printing, but get this...it's done in the sunlight in just 10 minutes! CRAZY!!!! And, it's all green and safe!
It comes in several colors. You paint a color on, add your print negative on top (That you print yourself.), put it in the sun for 10 minutes, remove the negative, and presto...there is your image. You have to then wash it with the special soap for it to remain permanent. It's too COOL!!!
 


9. Arc Crafts BARC Wood Roll Sheets & Tape:


10. Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Inks & Mini Ink Blending Tools:
(This was a Hot 20 Winner!) Genius! Now one of our favorite inks come in a handy tiny size great for travel and class kits! This are so stinking adorable!!!!

I really could add so much more! The whole show was filled with fabulous finds for every type of crafter. I hope you've seen something you might use. 
Now for the "give-away prizes". Just leave a comment on this post, and I'll randomly pick two people using the Random Number Generator, and send you one of these two prizes containing a lot of Sizzix goodies, Zip Dry Glue, a Sizzix tote bag, and stencils from either Stencil Girl Products or Plaid. Check back on Monday, January 27th to see if you've won! Good Luck!



And, before I leave with these Top 10 Picks from CHA 2014 (AND the give-away prizes!!!), I want to show you how I spent my last days and nights in Anaheim...at Disney!!!
On Tuesday night, after the show ended, Gerriann, Darcie, Amy, Johnna, and I dragged ourselves to a nightly Disney special. We were sooooo tired, but it was a lot of fun.
It's A Small World!!!
 
 
Then, on Wednesday morning, I joined Heather, Mario, and Tim (Later Joy and Chelle.) We stayed until closing, and had an UBER AMAZING day and night! It was crazy great to experience both parks with the ultimate Disney Park tour guides Mario & Tim! WOW!!!
I Hope you enjoyed my Top 10 Picks of the 2014 CHA Mega Show, and don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for the prizes!



I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

My 2014 CHA Highlights & The Goods

Hi again Crafters! Thank you thank you for the awesome comments on the first post, and more words of encouragement! I love you all! Now, longly...not quickly...here are my favorite booths that I visited at the 2014 CHA Mega Show! There was so much to see and be inspired by, and many types of products that seem to trending. I hope you see some inspiration too!

The Ranger Booth:
Fabulous, fun, and colorful treats from Dyan and Kaz!
 
 
 
 

The Ranger Design Challenge: Using Distress Paint (For some reason I didn't have all the photos of the pieces on my camera...hmmm!!!)
These metal sheet colored butterflies were gorgeous!
 
 
Shelly's flowers were busting with color!
You could pick Wendy's out instantly! I LOVE her style, her Art Parts, her stamps!
There was so much to see on Tim's. I loved all the embellishment!
Paula hand painted those flowers!!!
 
Jim's was genius! The dimension was fabulous!
 
Richele's piece caught my eye first thing! I was in LOVE with it!
Speaking of Ranger, here is a photo I didn't have yesterday, and I so have to post some of my Ranger U Sistas!!! I love them so! 
I'm loving this photo with Cheryl, Linda, Candy, Marjie, and Susan.

The Idea-ology Booth:
Inspiration heaven! These windows were filled with beautiful projects!
I was in LOVE with the old piano music sheet used as the base of this beauty! I totally need to get some!
I love all the new papers and embellies! Wait, haven't I said that?
 
 
 
 
 
 


The Sizzix Booth:
The Susan's Garden line was fantastic! I used the tools and dies in the Sizzix class, and made a gorgeous flower. I so need the tools used to make gorgeous paper florals that really look real. So so so pretty!
 
What a wonderful display! I just loved the top hat on the corner of the sofa!
The wall of books always mesmerizes me!
Americana goodness!
More Artist Trading Blocks!

The Stamper's Anonymous Booth:
I loved all the new stamps from Tim and Wendy. There are some really fun Blueprints and the Hash Tag set is super FUN!!!
 
 
 


The Spellbinders Booth:
I could have sat on the sofa in this booth, and stared for hours! It was so beautiful, elegant, and yet vintage. Shabby chic inspiration abounded with old world European flair! AWESOME!!!
 
Jars of bezels were so so beautiful!
They have so many new bezels, embellies, and metal dies!
 


The Prima Booth:
A new vintage line, with places around the world is out. Cool stuff!
 
 


The Coats & Clark Booth:
Again, I thought I took more photos here! This chair is AMAZING!!! There was even a poster of the new Tim fabrics coming out soon! Gorgeous makes! I need to get a new sewing machine...seriously!!!

The Lion Brand Yarns Booth:
This booth had to be the most unusual and grandiose! The Wonders of the World were all made of yarn! It was truly so COOL and inspiring!!! I wish I would have taken more photos!
 


The Wobble Works, Inc. Booth:
The new 3Doodler is a super cool tool that is like a glue gun, except it puts out colored plastic that is not hot, and you can create all kinds of things with it. The ferris wheel, plane, and all these other goodies were all created with this plastic that you control with the tool. It's so cool! Jim and I had fun playing with it!
 


What's was trending at CHA?
-There were booths and booths of new tools and gadgets galore. So many companies were demoing tools! There is even a new movement called Maker's Spaces or Hacker's Spaces, which are these places filled with awesome crafting machines and tools for people to just go and create. It's my understanding that they are all over the globe, and each one has a monthly fee. Search for one near you, and meet new friends while creating Art! They even had a place set up at CHA, and people were creating and learning to use these incredible state of the art machines! So cool, and a little above my head, but so worth looking in to.
-The chalk board look is still growing strong. Several companies have various chalk board paints in every color, and there were many projects with the chalk board look, even furniture painted with it. It makes a super matte and soft look, and very vintage looking!
-Spray Paints for every job and decor look were available at so many booths as well. From mirrored, to etched glass, to frosted glass, to metallic, to soft and transparent, there seems to be a spray paint for everything now. I LOVE it!
-Handmade jewelry is all the rage, and the more metals, beads, and images, the better! There were so many gorgeous pieces everywhere. So many had a retro grunge feel, and the bead choices were endless.
-Fabric, material, yarns, burlap, and twine were scattered everywhere. People are really back in to sewing, crocheting, knitting, and just embellishing with these tactile yummies! There were even Make-n-Takes at two different places for using your arms and fingers to crochet a scarf out of the most soft, luxurious, and fuzzy yarns! I wish I would have made one, but lines were long!
-There was a plethora of paints and paintbrushes...from acrylic, to watercolor, and even oil paints! There was a booth with the most fabulous Make-n-Take, that you had to have an appointment time for, where an instructor was showing everyone the strokes and you would copy them to make your own oil painted snowy mountain scene. It was GORGEOUS, and everyone did so well with the copying of the strokes. I REALLY wanted to do this one, but by the time I discovered this Make-n-Take, it was the last day and all times were taken. Bummer! Very very very cool!!!
-WOOD items were all over the place!!! Yes, I'm so EXCITED about that, as you know how much I LOVE WOOD! There were papers, tape, tags, laser cuts, embellies, beads, all made from good ol' wood!
-Resins are still going strong. There are now several companies making the clear, moldable goodness! There are now so many to choose from with different properties ranging from drying fast to slow and steady.
-Metallic and prism like papers are going strong. There are so many colors and designs from several companies.

Thanks for traveling along on this 2014 CHA Mega Show journey, and join me again tomorrow to see my Top 10 Picks from the show, as  well as put your name in the running for TWO GIVE-AWAYS! 

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!