CHA Revisited

Hello my wonderful friends!  Welcome to the official kick-off of the Designer Crafts Blog Connection.  As I have mentioned previously, this fantastic group has been born from the Sizzix Blog Hop that was held this past fall.  Many of the designers from that group...along with a few new faces...expressed a desire to remain linked together.  So here we are!

Today is particularly exciting for two reasons.  First,  it is the first coordinated effort of the group to provide you all with some really great content!  Second, for this blog hop we have a giveaway!  That giveaway is a Cricut Expression!!!  To enter to win is simple.  Nine (9) blogs contain the Cricut Logo somewhere on their blog.  All you need to do is post the names of all 9 blogs into the comment section of Julie McGuffe's  blog and you will be entered to win.  The name of the lucky winner will be announced on March 13th...which happens to be our next coordinated Hop date.  

     

So, back to our Blog Hop topic!  When you hop along the circle today, you will see all sorts of information about CHA.  There will be lots of pictures.  Everyone will be posting about all the cool stuff they did and saw and heard at CHA Winter show.  I have already done quite a bit of blogging about the show, so I am approaching it from a little bit of a unique angle.

What I especially noticed at CHA Winter wasn't so much all the great product.  It was something that I was especially in tune with this show...

...and that was Designer presence!  Practically everywhere I turned, you were reminded of the strong Designer section presence at the show.  It was amazing to see!  Of course, Designers have always been active participants at CHA, but in my 4 short years here, I have seen that grow by leaps and bounds.  It makes me very proud to be a member of such an important and influential group.

Here are some ways I enjoyed seeing the Designer Section make their mark on CHA Winter:

During the Welcome Event of the first day of show, a group of CHA Designers (me included) had their art canvases displayed.  These canvases went into a silent auction for the Kids in Need Foundation.

Me and Marisa Pawelko....Marisa generously coordinated the designers and projects  donated to the auction.

This is the Designer's Craft Studio.  Here, designers created and displayed projects using certain craft projects in new and innovative ways.  Then, each designer had a demonstration time.

Designer Craft Studio had 24 participants.  This diplay had their pictures and demo times on 3 sides!

Display case at Craft Studio.

Another group of designers donated projects for auction to another very worthy cause.  These projects were displayed in the main hall...

Of course, everywhere I went, Designers were working!  They were working in booths, demoing, interviewing, doing make and takes, doing book signings, taping shows!  It was quite a site!  Way to go Designer Section!

Even I was busy doing demos!

Sue Kelsey was at Makin's Clay.

Rebekah Meiers was at Simplicity.

Laura Bray was doing Make and Takes for When Creativity Knocks at Craftwell.

Ken Oliver was working at Unibind.

Laura Bray and Cindi Bisson were doing Make and Takes for When Creativity Knocks at Elmer's.  

Of course, our celebrity designers were working just as hard...

Suede was at Simplicity to promote his new, awesome line of dress patterns.  He was signing them for the masses.  He also made an appearance at Craftwell.

Mark Montano was signing copies of his new book, Pulp Fiction, at several booths at the show.  I caught up with him at Design Originals.

 The Designer Section Members are more than just creative...we are also business savvy!  We are a very organized and coordinated bunch.  Here we are conducting our Designer Section Meeting.

Ann Butler, Lorine Mason, Svetlana Kunina....and I got part of Tiffany Windsor, too!

 A big part of the show is the Designer Showcase, which is open to editors, publishers and manufacturers.  Forty-nine designers participated in this event!  CHA promoted us through the show catalog and signage like this one...

 

Here I am with my display.  I set up in the weeeeee hours of the morning because I was so busy working.

Carla Schauer and Jen Goode not only participated in the Designer Showcase, but they had a booth in the License and Design Section as well.

When all the work was done and we cleaned up our art supplies....it was really just great to see my colleagues, many of whom I am proud to call friends!

Cindi Bisson

Suzann Sladcik Wilson

Roxi Phillips, Beth Watson, Suzann Sladcik Wilson, Vicki O'Dell and Laura Bray.

 Hope you enjoyed seeing how the Designers spend time at the show and this little revisit of CHA Winter.

Now hop forward....and don't forget to look for those Cricut logos!  There are 9.

Artfully yours,
Theresa

My Monday at CHA

Hello crafty ones!

Just when you thought it was all over....there's more!  There is just way too much to share!  

Monday began with more time spent doing make and takes with When Creativity Knocks!  I even guest appeared on one episode with Ana.  That was a nice surprise!  I'm always amazed at what Ana Araujo creates with foam board.  Sometimes I wish I could spend a couple of hours in her head so that I can wrap my head around it!!  Just amazingly incredible!  All the videos of these awesome cards will be up on the WCK website soon.  

At the show, Ana and Megan interviewed some of CHA's top crafters.  The segments are titled Great Crafter's Viewpoints and you can see segments from some of the industry greats like Brenda Pinnick, Suede, Mark Montano and Drew Emborsky, "The Crochet Dude"...just to name a few.  Plus, Laura Bray taped at fantastic segment called Valentine Votives at Art Glitter.  You don't want to miss that!!

Ana Araujo and Cindi Bisson...two of my favorite designers whom I am proud to call friends!

This smiley fella is Scott Pfeiffer, the Producer of When Creativity Knocks.  He is always behind the cameras and I think he needed to get his props!!  Thank you, Scott!

Next, it was time to stop at Charity Wings, formerly known as Scrapbook Royalty...where I got to speak a little bit with, always gracious, Elena Etcheverry.  They are a very generous organization.  They had the warmest, most inviting booth with all this great, new signage.  Just beautiful.  Plus, they were streaming live during the entire show.

After my visit and short walk of the show floor, it was time to head down to Craft Studio for my demo.  Here is the display case of projects from all the designers who contributed to this event.

Designers were asked to choose between four different material:  yarn, paper, wire and canvas.  We were challenged to do something innovative with those materials.  We were allowed to incorporate other medium into our projects but the focus had to be on the material we chose.  I chose yarn.  Since I don't crochet or knit, I thought it would be challenging and fun.  It really was too!  Once I figured out what I was going to do with cream colored, acrylic yarn!  I used yarn, ribbon, Sizzix die cuts and Ranger's Color Wash to create my piece.  I thought it was pretty innovative!

That's it for today.  There's more to come.....

Sunday at CHA...Part One

Hi all!  I have finally made it back east.  What a trip!!  I left a day early to beat the snow and then got stuck out in LA.  Honestly, I wasn't complaining either...I'd rather be stranded in a warm, sunny place than in the middle of a blizzard.  The weather effected many of my designer friends, too!  While we all wanted to get home, we were all kinda happy that we were able to spend a little more time together.  

Now that I am somewhat settled (and awake this morning, as my body is still on Pacific time), I have lots more to share with you.  It'll be coming in dribs and drabs over the next couple of weeks.  I also have a surprise coming....so keep look out!

CHA Winter was a wonderful show for me.  I participated in a lot and was also working part of the show.  As I mentioned before, I was working for Ana Araujo from When Creativity Knocks.  Ana and her team taped four episodes at Elmer's and two at Craftwell.  After each episode at Craftwell, we did make and takes.    At Elmer's, we did make and gives! 

Elmer's and When Creativity Knocks came up with the concept of Cards for Our Troops.  We made 4 different, interactive cards with show attendees and then Elmer's is shipping them off to our Troops overseas.  Blumenthal Lansing, Clear Bags, TaDa and Elmer's all donated product for the cards.  The generosity of these manufacturers is amazing!

This is one of the cards that is being sent to our Troops.  We also made a Magic Card that is based on the Magic Wallet, a Checker Board card that comes with buttons so that you can play and another that has a door that opens.  I guest appeared in an episode where Ana shows you how to make a game card with foam board and photos...you can slide the pieces around and mix them up and then try to put the picture back together again.  It's ridiculous!!!!  I want to spend just one day in Ana's head so I can understand how she comes up with all these concepts.  It's truly astounding to me.

People seemed to be having a great time making these cards.  They really got into it and some even wrote personal messages.  We met a lot of really great people.

Even Megan, Ana's daughter and the host of WCK made some cards to send.

My colleagues and friends....Laura Bray and Cindi Bisson....kept me entertained.  Ana gave each of us a new Mimi bag at the show.  Laura was so excited as I was showing her all the really neat compartments I was finding.  ;)

The time flew right by on Sunday.  We even had a very special visitor...but that'll have to wait until next post!

Artfully yours,

Theresa

More from the CHA Show Floor

Here are some pictures from the show floor at CHA.  I think they pretty much speak for themselves...so I will forego the chitter chatter and let you see for yourselves.  Enjoy!!!

The bride to the right isn't there for her reception!  Many of the manufacturers had some type of clothing at the show made from all sorts of products.  Laura Bray and I were trying to figure out which booth she was representing. 

May Arts

I forgot which yarn company this was!  Yikes...but the display was very cool.

Graphic 75....I love their products.  It's so delicious.

Me & My Big Ideas

Xyron

View down one of the show aisles.

Provo Craft

Hands on demos at Provo Craft.

EK Success

Plaid

Plaid had this gentleman painting right there on the show floor.

Plaid was also streaming their Craft TV.

iLovetoCreate has tons of make & takes going on.

Sizzix