More Fabulous Finds from Creativation

Here’s another look at some of the Fabulous Finds found at the Creativation craft and hobby show in Phoenix last month:

 

(Layering stamps clockwise from top: large roses, Hampton Art; koi and rooster, Hero Arts; small vintage roses, Altenew)

Stamp layering (images you layer to create depths of color and design) is so pretty … and still oh-so popular, with more and more companies producing layering images. And ditto for stamps with coordinating dies. I became a huge fan of Altenew stamps, a company that elevated the stamp layering technique, when I first saw the company a few shows ago. They really ignited a trend.

Also fun, Hero Arts (love the koi and rooster and … a croissant? Whaaaat? So yummy); Waffle Flower  (marble, cross stitched cacti and roses, and more); Hampton Art, and more.

Here’s a cute layered/stitched cactus from Waffle Flower:

… and a nifty marbling stamp, also from Waffle Flower.

I also love the flower border stamps!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fabulous Finds Friday — CHA Treats

I have a few quick hits on some Fabulous Finds from CHA.

I’ve always been a fan of Avery Elle, and this year’s collection of new stamps and dies prove my point. Check out these two adorable cards:

Cute, right?

Last year we were introduced to Ken Oliver’s Colorbursts pigment inks. This year he made it even easier to get that beautiful look but without the mess — just use his pre-printed sheets. Check out these samples:

Ken Oliver paper

So pretty!

(For more inspiration, check out Ken’s blog here.)

Stay tuned for more highlights!

CHA Highlights: Spellbinders

Spellbinders® always has a delicious booth at the CHA MEGA Show, but this year’s entry was a delightful mix of artistic styles that gives the company a fresh appearance, with something for everyone.

There are also some cool new tools, including the Platinum™ Die-Cutting & Embossing Machine, billed as Spellbinder’s most powerful machine to date. I’ll post more on the new tools later.

There was a decided Southwestern look to the booth, with lots of clean, simple geometric shapes – all very on trend.

“We’re looking for a modern, contemporary (feel) while staying true to our roots,” said Spellbinders CEO Greg Tipsord. And that they did.

The company teamed with some of my favorite designers to create these fresh looks. “Creativity is more than selling a lot of products,” Tipscord noted. “Designers are a big part of who we are.”

Here are a few of the designers, including some new (to Spellbinders®!) faces:

Mixed media artist Seth Apter’s first release with Spellbinders® includes dies, embossing folders, stamps and a journal/planner/artist book set.

Here is a closer look at his display:

Tammy Tutterow, whose blog is on my “must visit” list, also joined the Spellbinders® team with dies, designs and embossing folders perfect for her shabby chic style:

The third designer added to the team is Debi Adams, who created the Quite Contrary™ collection with her signature clean and spritely style. The collection includes stamps and beautiful steel rule die flower shapes.

Don’t those flowers make you say “Yay, Spring!”?

Here’s a closer view:

I’ve long been a fan of Becca Feeken’s stunning Amazing Paper Grace line (and blog), so I was immediately drawn to her display of the Amazing Paper Grace Wedding Collection with its gorgeous array of elegant, delicate, swirling die designs.

Here she is with designer Donna Salazar, who brings a load of new dies and stamps to her “Girlie Grunge” style, including my faves, Cascading Butterflies die and Flower Bouquet, a stamp/die flower combo.

Spellbinders® founder Stacey Caron has gone all out with a gorgeous, elegant selection of Art Deco dies, which I covet! But we’ll have to save the rest of my Spellbinders® report for another post.

Stay tuned for more on Spellbinders®, including a look at some of the samples seen at the show!

 

 

CHA Spotlight: Richard Garay

Here’s another highlight from the CHA MEGA Show:

Richard Garay

Designer Richard Garay’s catch phrase is “make amazing happen,” and he does that with his new collection of stamps, dies, papers and accessories.

You may have been introduced to Richard through his Celebra’tions™ line, first shown via Spellbinders. He’s expanded the line and also branched out into several different looks, from spritely florals to outdoorsy lumberjacks.

“I don’t want to get locked into one style,” he explains.

For Richard, it’s all about the party! Check out this fun look from his booth:

Richard Garay

The Celeba’tions™ line has everything you need for a party, from balloons and banner stamps and dies to a fun new box die for party favors or gifts.

And check out these flowers!

Richard Garay

Lumberjack Days is more than just plaid shirts and manly beards … it’s all about outdoor images, include trees, flowers, animals, etc.  One fun set is the Great Outdoors die, which punches out pieces perfect for a 3D scene or a child’s school diorama. The Knitted Pattern and Pine Needles embossing folders caught my eye for next winter’s cards.

The Make Amazing Happen Collection has some great affirmative phrases, such as Brave You, Make Amazing Happen, and Be Amazing.

Noteworthy, with a slightly vintage flair (what he calls “modern vintage”), is built for corresponding with cute envelope, telephone and other designs, including some fabulous paper in shades of khaki and black.

As for accessories, I like the matte finish enamel dots as a little change from the shiny ones. They’d be great on more masculine cards.

Check out more on Richard at www.RichardGaray.com.

CHA Highlights — We R Memory Keepers

The engineers at We R Memory Keepers  deserve medals for constantly coming up with the best crafting tools I didn’t know I needed. Let’s look at a few that debuted at the 2016 Craft & Hobby Association MEGA Show (and some old ones that need to be noted).

Two on my must-have list are the Alphabet Punch Board and the Goodie Bag Guide.

WeRMK alphabet punch board

The Alphabet Punch Board (coming in February) creates any letter or number up to 3×5 inches in size with a few simple punches. (Don’t worry, there’s a guide book.) Use them for signs, cards, on scrapbook pages or create a banner. For banners, you’ll also want the Link Punch, which punches out a paper link. Here’s a great video link.

WeRMK party bag

WeRM party bag tool

Goodie Bag Guide: This acrylic tool looks a bit like an oddly shaped ruler. It guides you in tearing and folding goodie bags. And if you want to add food to the bag, make it from their food safe, grease resistant glassine paper. It’s a treat you’ll want to repeat.

WeRMK party bag finished

The Magnetic Staple Board (coming in April) let’s you staple ANYWHERE! The board comes with a small, medium and large stapler. You move the magnetic board into position on your paper, insert the desired stapler in the slot, and press away.

WeRMK anywhere stapler

And here are some random things I love:

I love the look of letterpress, but hate using the thick oil-based letterpress ink. Ta da! Letterpress ink in a pad! Be still my heart! There are even gold and silver inks. Can’t wait to try this.

Get your foil on with the Heatwave tool, a battery-operated wand-like tool that lets you apply foil in your designs, using heat to transfer foil. Simply go over the foil, drawing your own designs or working through a stencil. Magic.

Confetti Punch – I don’t know why I need this, but I do. Have you ever spend hours punching out tiny bits of confetti? This punch makes it easier because it punches out multiple dots of various sized pieces. Shaker cards anyone?

Another kit I didn’t know I needed is the Mini Piñata. Especially the donkey.

Other cool tools include the Laser Square and Mat, a boon for perfect aligning (coming in March); a gem die that cuts out two gem shapes, a popular trend today; lots of 3D projects; more Next Level deep embossing folders; a snappy storage system (literally – there’s a bar and snaps and you just snap on the containers); ruler décor (yes, you create wall hangings with these rulers); and … maybe the oddest thing … a DIY teepee kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

CHA, Sizzix Part Deux!

Welcome back! Yesterday I started to highlight some of the new designs from Sizzix, but there are so many cool things, I need another post.

First, let’s continue with our designer highlights.

Eileen Hull® is such a delight! Here she shows off her new Twist & Style™ Tool (coming in May) which makes it über easy to twist wires, make cording, etc, and is so easy on the wrists. In the background you can see some of her fun designs. (Eileen has the cutest little trailer she uses to tool around the country … do check out her site.)

I love the beautiful, romantic, detailed dies from Sharyn Sowell. At the booth, she showed me how to cut them apart to use smaller pieces. So pretty!

If jewelry is your thing, Jill MacKay’s Movers & Shapers ™ Magnetic Dies will cut pretty leather pieces, while the DecoEmboss™ dies nicely impress metal blanks.

There was so much more, with designers for every aesthetic. For instance, if you like to cook and bake, check out the Where Women Cook™ dies from Jo Packham, which not only has lots of treat boxes and bags, but some clever food-related decorating dies, such as the Bread album, which cuts out, yes, slices of bread-shaped material.

Get your ooh la la on with Kaari Meng’s French General designs; have some fun with Brenda Walton’s pretty posies; get back to nature with Jen Long’s outdoorsy dies and designs, including owls and acorns; and enjoy the whimsical doodle-like designs from Stephanie Ackerman.

For home décor enthusiasts, there’s the Big Shot™ Plus, with a 9-inch opening to handle larger dies, sized perfectly for home décor. The Tool Caddy attaches to Big Shot machines and offers a handy place to stash your scissors, pencils, etc.

Tim Holtz has upgraded his Vagabond to the Vagabond 2. There are upgraded adapter pads to keep the machine from jamming on sandwiches that are too, er, meaty. AND … he has some new dies… see more at his site.

And last, but certainly not least, are the 3-D Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, which give a nice, deep emboss. Here’s a sample:

Thanks for hangin’ in there and stay tuned for more in-depth coverage of the hobby show.

 

 

 

Fabulous Finds — Ken Oliver Colors, Stamps and More

Another crafting star was born at the Craft & Hobby Association Show … Ken Oliver. It was Ken’s first time starring in his own booth, and he did it with flair, introducing several cool new products, including coloring agents, papers and stamps.

Let’s start with his exciting Color Burst color treatment. Color Burst is a concentrated watercolor product in a powder form. To use it, first spritz your watercolor paper with water. Then squeeze the Color Burst bottle to spray out the colored powders. The powder reacts with the water and … POW! Bursts of color!

You can use Color Burst with stencils, over an embossed or wax resist, etc. You can spray more water to help blend the colors, move the color around with a brush or even a heat tool, and more. The vibrant colors make fast, easy, beautiful backgrounds and designs. As Ken says, “just sprinkle and spritz.” Color Burst will be available by mid-March.

Check out these samples:

And these pretty blooms:

Ken also introduced his Click It ink pad, a retractable, pivoting 1 x 1 inch raised dye ink pad. The velveteen pad gives a great color application whether you are stamping an image or edging a tag. It’s compact and I love the hangable chain that is attached.

PEGz™ stamp sets are individual letters that you click together to form words. Have you ever tried to line up alphabet stamps to create a greeting? Not so easy. Until now. (Look for them in your stores by the end of February.)

Look how easy they are:

Then there’s Stick It, a thin, dry adhesive specially formulated for use in intricate die cutting. When you first lay it down, Stick It is repositionable, giving you some sticky wiggle room. After a while, it becomes permanent. You apply Stick It to your cardstock before die cutting, then just peel off the liner after it is cut.

As for stamps and paper … Ken has definitely mined his small town roots. His Hometown images are vintage, nostalgic and beautiful, whether on paper or stamps. Paper designs include the Studio Collection (a soft, more colorful vintage feel), Watercolored Memories (vibrant botanical prints) and Pitter Patterns (geometrics.) I’m hoping to play with these soon!

Check out Ken’s blog at www.kensworldinprogress.com. His products are being distributed through Product Performers.

Hero Arts at CHA

Hero Arts never disappoints in its showing of stamps, inks and more. And this year’s CHA reveal was no exception.

We all know how crazy I am about succulents (see here)

So naturally, I immediately gravitated to these cards (and images):

I also love the new ombre ink pads:

And look at this cute card done with those inks:

Check them out at www.heroarts.com.

Thanks for stopping by!

Another Day, Another CHA Report

Here are some random items from CHA:

Spray paint has come a long way from when my dad used it to cover an old lawn chair. Krylon showcased some nifty new sprays including a cool dry erase spray that turns any surface into a dry erase board. They showcased a table sprayed with dry erase paint … how fun is that?

I also love some of the frosty finishes, and check out these pretty rocks:

Not to mention glitter and chalk and other delicious colors. Hmmm… where’s my old lawn chair ….
Check out Krylon at www.krylon.com.

And speaking of glitter, these pretty little bottles of bling from Sulyn (an Advantus company) are so … well, glittery:

Stay tuned for a peek at Hero Arts.

More Mega Madness — CHA report

Another report from CHA…

One of the joys of attending the Craft & Hobby Association trade show is discovering new (to me!) stamp companies.

Take a look at the delightful designs of Dare 2B Artzy:

I love coloring and doodling (can you say Zentangle addict?) so these flower/butterfly images speak to me. I was just playing around and stamped these images in VersaFine black on a piece of scrap cardstock. (See the full flower? I stamped once then reinked and turned the card so I stamped a mirror image to create the fuller flower.) I found it so relaxing to color in the patterns (not my best coloring work, but I had fun.)

I really like this bookmark image. This would have been a fun project for my Girl Scout troop!

Thanks Dare 2B Artzy, for letting me play with these stamps!

Check out the website: www.dare2bartzy.com

I’ll be back with more CHA reports.