• 2017 Creativation Show with Amazing Casting Products

    This year’s Craft & Hobby Association 2017 show was a whirlwind of changes, arts and crafts manufacturers, new products, demos, classes,  and networking opportunities. Formerly known as the CHA  Mega Show, it is now called the Creativation Trade show, held in Phoenix, Arizona. CHA also went under a new rebranding, now Association For Creative Industries or AFCI to reflect their more broad ranging inclusion of creative industries.

    Here is their lovely new logo that was introduced to attendees and exhibitors on the second day of the show!

    I was once again a demonstrator at the Amazing Casting Products/Alumilite Corp booth at CHA, this time for all three days! With the show being shorter but with longer show hours everything was a whirlwind.

    In the above photo the President of Alumilite, Mike Faupel is proudly showing off the products of the Amazing Casting Products line and all the artwork samples.

    On the front table there was a wonderful array of artwork by Cat KerrTina WalkerKristie Taylor and yours truly.

    The talented and lovely Cat Kerr did afternoon demonstrations at the booth on Saturday. A tutorial of one of the projects she was demoing can be found Here.

    While sadly Cat couldn’t stay for all of the show, everyone at the Amazing Casting Products booth made sure she had a great time!

    One of my new pieces on display was resin frame piece I created and brought just for this show.

    Using an old frame, gold leaf, Amazing Clear Cast resin tinted with Alumilite’s Dyes and mixed with Alumidust powders I was able to create a vibrant one of a kind abstract piece.

    There was so many samples showcased in almost ever corner of the booth! From home decor, mixed media, jewelry, garden decor, fine art and more!

    Trying a new spin on my resin canvas application (such as I did for last year’s show) I painted, applied gold leaf, Amazing Clear Cast resin, real leaves on a 12″x 24″ canvas. The depth and dimension I was able to achieve was lovely.

    At the end of three days of demos from 9am-6pm I was looking a little frazzled but I had a wonderful time sharing techniques, new resin applications and showcasing my skills as a designer.

    One of my favorite demonstrations was using the tile molds you can see in the photo. If you would like to find out how to create your own a tutorial can be found Here.

    While I didn’t get to walk the show floor like I normally would because everything was so busy this show turned out to be a wonderful and new adventure into the creative industries.

    Until Next Time, Safe Travels!

  • Craft & Hobby Association Create & Connect Conference and Trade Show

    Another Craft and Hobby Association Summer show has come and gone! This year it was called the Create & Connect Conference and Trade Show and was held in Las Vegas. While this was by far a much smaller show than the Winter CHA yearly show, it was still a great show to attend. There were better opportunities to talk and network with vendors and designers. There was also plenty of new products and artwork to see! I got there a day late due to health concerns and forgot my camera so I had to take photos with my phone but here is a few of the booths that I just loved and have to share with you.

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    As per normal Die Cuts With a View (otherwise known as DCWV) had a stunning display of papers, bead, embellishments and artwork! These three lovely shadow boxes were attached to the outside of their booth showcasing some of their products and talented designers.

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    DCWV had both their Summer and Winter collections up and were doing wonderful make-n-take canvas and necklace art.

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    Those lucky enough to be there the last day of the trade show and the last few hours had the chance to buyDCWV papers and Blue Moon Beads. Here is some of the items I was able to purchase from them the last hour. 🙂

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    The talented Suzann Sladcik Wilson, book author and CEO of Beadphoria, Inc. was at the Buttons Galore and More booth doing demos on how to turn their whimsical line of buttons into wearable art!

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    Here is some of the Buttons Galore and More buttons turned into rings!They have so many designs and styles of buttons that could be used as embellishments in many art forms.

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    Next we have the awesome Violette Stickers, a small but growing sticker company with some of the most beautiful stickers. They were at the Winter CHA this year but I somehow didn’t see them. I am glad I got a chance to really look at their stickers this time! They have lovely reproduction Victorian art stickers and fun and funky modern art stickers.

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    Here is some of their sticker selection I bought. The photo does not do them justice. They have vivid colors, sharp detail and some of their lines of stickers have clear backing making them perfect for layering in resin!

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    I love to Create booth had a wonderful collection of Summer themed art using their line of products. The talented Kathy Cano-Murillo founder of CraftyChica.com was doing demos at their booth of all kinds of wearable art! The Tulip One-Step Spray Dye Kit they are now selling is a no fuss way of dying fabrics. I love the ease of use and vibrancy of the colors!

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    The ever popular Graphic 45 had a gorgeous booth full of Steampunk and vintage print papers and embellishments. The display of finished art using their products was just beautiful and I love that they are doing more home decor tutorials using their products!

    In the next few months I will be using all of the wonderful products I got at the show in new artwork. 🙂

    Until next time safe travels!