Quick Report from CHA in Anaheim

As usual I am behind in my promises. I have videos ready to be shown, but I'm having difficulties with them once again. In any case, the 2012 Winter CHA Show was great! Seeing all the demos and going to as many classes as possible gives me so many new ideas for classes and products to bring to my customers. Both Carol and I again came away with many inspirations. Carol took lots of videos and photos so I will share many of them with you...when I can. Right now I'm dealing with year-end issues (Yuck!) and new orders arriving from CHA. Plus Carol and I have worked very hard to rearrange the store for a new look. There's a lot more to do, but it's a good start. Please be patient with me. I have many more ideas to share with you.

Batik Repeat

I know! I know! I was supposed to be more timely than I have been over the past few months. You understand though that things just happen. But Carol and I finally got this video and one more done (but I think I have to redo the other one). At least you will have one new-old technique. This one was just a twist on a technique that you most likely already know how to do. I hope you enjoy what I called Batik Repeat. It's a good one for all you penny-pinchers.

CHA WInter 2011 Dreamweaver Stencils Paste Spreader

How silly of me! I just noticed that the videos from the Winter Show have never been uploaded to my blog, so I will attempt to rectify that over the next few days. I also want to apologize. I really have had good intentions of creating the old technique videos for you, but my videographer and I have had trouble arranging time to do this. First we had to get past the Christmas Workshop that is held each year, regain control of our lives, and then get back to work. My New Year's Resolution for 2012 is to do a better job of this. I will be taking some new videos at the 2012 CHA Winter Show so I will have some new things to add.

In the meantime, please take a look at this great tool. In the past I have used the icing spreader which worked fairly well, but this new tool is so easy. See for yourself:

CHA Summer Show at Tsukineko with Ink Potion #9

John Peterson showed a different use for the Ink Potion #9. I know it's great for blending, but I had not thought of this use for the brayer and the Kaleidacolor pads. Take a look. John was such an enthusiastic showman. While I was at their booth, they also showed the new Vintage GlazOn and the Opaque Goosebumps. Tsukineko always has new products and great ideas! Unfortunately this was the last video I was able to make at this show because my batteries were dead. What a bummer!

Rit Dye Backgrounds

This is another one of those revived techniques. Be sure to have plenty of cardstock handy because you will want to make lots of backgrounds once you start. It uses powdered dye that is normally used for dyeing fabric. The powder is in a granulated form. It sometimes breaks down to color the water used, but sometimes the granules remain somewhat solid to add additional texture to your background. This is a fun project although somewhat messy particularly on cleanup. You might want to vacuum up any extra particles rather than turning them into a dye with water. Enjoy! On the sample card I used VersaFine to stamp the card made with the Hero Arts To/From Petals set.

CHA Summer Show with Juliana and Artistic Wire Mesh

I cannot believe how far behind everything I am. I need to start working 80 hours a week, and then maybe I will catch up. That's not happening! Anyway this video shows a wonderful new product. It's a very lightweight and flexible wire mesh from Beadalon. It's called Artistic Wire Mesh. Look at this video. Juliana was such an engaging person. Her jewelry was just gorgeous! And at the very end of the video check out the great wire card that was created for the show. I hope you'll enjoy this video. I only have one other video from the show because my battery died. What a bummer! There were so many things I wanted to record. I'm hoping I can remember most of them so I can share with you in some new classes for fall and winter. Do enjoy this new product with Juliana!

Marianne Walker on Copic Shading and Shadowing

At the winter CHA Show Marianne Walker was such a sweetheart to demo the use of one of her templates found in her book, Shadows & Shading: A beginner’s guide to lighting placement. She did such a nice job showing us how easy it is to use her technique. You might want to get one of her books. It is written for the non-artist. It certainly made me look at the world of light and shadow differently. I should have done a little editing on this video, but I wanted you to be able to see it. And my editing skills are just not what they should be. I'm still learning. Enjoy!