- Amazing Casting Products, Association For Creative Industries, CHA, Convention, Festivals, Home Decor, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Resin
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 Kerr, Tina Walker, Kristie 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!
2016 DesignerCon Recap
This year I was finally about to attend DesignerCon or otherwise known as DCon. While my recap is somewhat belated I still wanted to share some info on a few of the seriously talented artists I met at this show.
So what is DesignerCon? As per their website:
“Designer Con is an annual art and design convention that smashes together collectible toys and designer goods with urban, underground and pop art! DCon is over 90,000 sq. ft. and features over 350 vendors, art & custom shows, live demonstrations, and much more! he show coordinators strive to provide a fun, safe, comfortable environment for fans, artists, and vendors to meet. Join us every November at the Pasadena Convention Center for a weekend of fun, toys, and art!”
While I was only able to attend one day due to scheduling conflicts, making it a mad dash to be able to see all the vendors and wonderful artists, it was an awesome show to attend. With so many talented people selling their art is was honestly hard to pick who to buy from and what. It is not a show to miss and next time I hope to go both days to not just walk the floors but attend some of the special events and panels.
I wanted to show some of the artists I bought from, their links on social networks and where others might buy more of their work outside of DesignerCon!
*Some shops might be down for the holidays or have specials going only for the holidays, make sure to check out their different social networks for updates.
Artists Amanda Louise Spayd and Chris Ryniak had a combined booth showcasing their sculptures, vinyl figures, illustrations, prints and buttons. Their unique spin on monsters and wee creatures has been a favorite of mine for years and it was a pleasure to finally meet them in person and buy some of their art.
Their combined shop: https://www.bindlewood.com/
Amanda Louise Spayd
Created the puppets in the short film The Maker: http://www.themakerfilm.com/
Website: http://amandalouise.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandalouisespaydChris Ryniak
Making Monsters by Chris Ryniak lecture at Patreon’s first ever creator conference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81nzmR3jbe4
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrisryniak
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChrisRyniakArt/
Artists Shing Yin Khor, otherwise known as Sawdust Bear and Leslie Levings creator of the Beastlies had a combined booth as well. Each of these artists had sculptures, resin castings, illustrations, prints, cards and buttons of their lovely and playful work. Seemingly lost specimens and denizens of hidden worlds each one of their pieces of artwork is full of personality.
Sawdust Bear
Website: http://www.sawdustbear.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sawdustbear/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sawdustbearBeastlies
Website: http://www.beastlies.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beastlies/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beastlies/
I had the opportunity of seeing artist Kathy Davis at the 2016 Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show, before meeting her again at her DesignerCon booth. A truly talented doll artist and jewelry designer, her one of kind pieces were not to be missed! Her sculptures and dolls seem to have stepped right out of a fairy tale.
Website: http://www.kathndolls.com/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Kathndolls
Artist Melissa Pagluica, creator of Above the Clouds, a comic that tells two intertwining stories, the adventures of a hero who must save a dying world, and a girl who must convince an author to finish what he has started. Her lovely dreamlike illustrations caught my eye from the aisle, even without knowing they came from her comic series, and I couldn’t leave her booth without buying a few.
Website: http://www.mpagluica.com/
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TeacupBee
Artist William Kieffer, otherwise known as Cap’n Bill, had an amazing display of deep sea creature sculptures, cards and prints. His highly detailed and wildly imaginative art harked back to deep sea creature myths and tall tails, while his greeting cards tapped into pop culture humor.
Website: http://www.wondersofthedeep.com/
Facebook: facebook.com/CapnBillKieffer
Artist Dirty Lola, otherwise known as Scarlett River, had a lovely assortment of prints, cards and antique altered decorative plates of her pop culture art. Celebrities are portrayed as saints, dignitaries or one of kind focals in her lovely retro art.
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/DirtyLola
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scarlettriverofficial/
Artist shop Sadie Luca had a wonderful assortment purses, bags, pins, prints and aprons with retro horror camp prints with a modern fashion spin.
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SadieLuca
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sadieluca/
After just one day at DesignerCon I came back home with all of these wonderful items to display, share with others and give as holiday gifts!
We need and want beautiful art in our lives, but to have this we need to support artists who’s work we appreciate. Buy their art art, their images, sculptures, clothing, music and more, I can’t stress this enough. We lost a lot of amazing artists in 2016, support artists in their lifetime.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year, Until Next Time, Safe Travels!
A December Crafting Recap!
December has come and gone so quickly! The holidays have been a whirlwind of making gifts, food, festive events and cold windy weather. With many shows and special events not only in December, but upcoming in 2016 it has been an ongoing artistic adventure. While some of the art projects I have been working on have yet to be displayed, I wanted to share some of my projects already showcased before the New Year started.
As I have noted in the past I have a serious love for Fiona Accessories beads. Along with their jewelry supplies they also make hand painted beaded bracelets for many holidays and seasons. I had gotten a few of their cute Winter holiday themed bracelets just for fun. While the bracelets are beautiful as is, I got the idea to turn them into earrings.
With the addition of silver spacer beads, earring wires and decorative head pins I was able to create festive earring sets and still have many beads left over for other projects.
With the help of using Amazing Casting Products Clear Cast Resin, Fiona Accessories beads and papercrafting supplies I created a series of handmade jewelry. You can check out the tutorial to make your own HERE.
A local SoCal High Desert historic site, The Antelope Valley Indian Museum, held a Holidays on the Homestead event in December. The historic grounds were decorated in vintage holiday style with live acoustic music around a campfire, a chili cook-off, tours of the grounds, and a handcrafted country craft boutique! With all the jewelry I had been making it made perfect sense to get a booth in the craft boutique. Even though it was a chilly night, I sold many pieces of jewelry and loved being in a hall surrounded by art.
Hope you take Amber’s suggestion of staying warm and happy this Winter. Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Until Next Time, Safe Travels!
Craft & Hobby Association Mega Show 2015 part 2
Time for my Craft & Hobby Association Mega Show 2015 recap, part 2! My last Post about this year’s winter Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show was mostly about Amazing Casting Products/Alumilite Corp., my samples and demos at the CHA. This post will be about some of the new products, booth designs and awesome artists at CHA!
I made sure to drop by the Linpeng International Inc./Fiona Accessories booth to visit with Fiona and Jimmy and to see their new beads for 2015. They had a wonderful selection of new tear drop crystal beads in all kinds of wonderful colors I had to order.
Along with the new mixed color strands of hand painted beads Fiona and Jimmy were happy to show some of their new Bohemian pendants and beading accessories. They buy beads from manufacturers from around the world so you can find a wide variety of beads from China, Japan, India, Czech, countries in Africa and more in their booth.
Linpeng beading supplies can be found at many craft and hobby stores, Fiona Accessories finished jewelry can be found at chain gift shops in the US and you can order their beads online.
Cousin Corporation of America had a stunning Fairy Tale themed booth display, which had a very Once Upon a Time feel to it. Cousin is starting new environmentally friendly improvements through recycling, conservation and sustainability. Their booth decor had elements acquired from thrift stores and upcycled art turned totally glamorous.
This lovely chain dress overlay had a wonderful temple dancer feel to it and I think with a soft cut black dress underneath it would be perfect for a Renaissance Fair!
Cousin’s new mixed bead hanks next to another one of their lovely necklace and fabric displays.
This bib necklace on display had a wonderful Southwestern riverbed feel. I loved the use of warm color tones with the cool color of turquoise.
Spellbinders had a huge and rather multifaceted booth, with loads of displays and make n takes. The display that stopped me in my tracks was the opulent display in their booth by A Gilded Life.
Spellbinders and A Gilded Life now have a licensed line of dies, bezels, pendants, jewelry findings and trims sold online and at art and craft stores. Photos do not do their work justice!
Midwest Design Imports, a whole distributor of boas, artificial birds & butterflies, craft items, and more, had a wonderful selection of fairy, woodland characters and glass minis in their booth. However what caught my eye was their very humorous and full of character line of artificial owls of all sizes. I think those adorable owls will be perfect for Autumn-themed craft classes and displays! A rather cool aspect about Midwest Design Imports is all the feathers they sell are byproducts of other industries, and would have otherwise been discarded.
I had to meet up with the talented Suzann Sladcik Wilson, book author and CEO of Beadphoria, Inc.. Cheerful and happy to talk about jewelry projects and ideas, Suzann was looking great in the The CHA Designers in Action Showcase event. Tiffany Windsor of Cool2Craft, on her way to the Showcase, decided to photobomb us, making it all the more fun!
Suzann had a lovely display of her soldering book, jewelry and upcycled necklace folding cards.
On the other side of her jewelry display Suzann’s first book and other beautiful beaded creations.
A new booth this year that I found the last day of CHA was Bead Fairy TV, owned and operated by Jolene Star (AKA the Bead Fairy). Specializing in bead tutorials, online classes, beading kits and more.
I just had to walk into her booth; the colors, beads and just positive feeling was addicting. Do check out her beading 101 videos on YouTube; they are fun, funky and bound to get you beading. You might also know Jolene her from her store Bazaar Star Beadery in New Jersey.
Spinrite Yarns otherwise known as Yarnspirations made a huge booth display showcasing yarn and amazing artistic talent. “Yarnia” as they called it was inspired by the theatrical versions of the The Chronicles of Narnia. The first yarn creation to greet you was Jadis, the White Witch in her battle gown.
Next was the Pevensie boys in their armor.
The White Witch in her snow gown with wolf companions.
Last but not least Mr. Tumnus, the faun and Lucy Pevensie at the lamp post.
There was so much more that I didn’t photograph but in the next few months I will be receiving my orders and trying out new crafting goodness with all the new products!
Until Next Time, Safe Travels!
Craft & Hobby Association Mega Show 2015 part 1
Now that I am mostly over the yearly cold the seems to lurk the halls of CHA, it is that time of year: my CHA Trade Show recap! CHA, otherwise know as the Craft and Hobby Association, has a Mega Trade Show every January, full of all kinds of wonderful arts and crafts manufacturers, demos, classes, meet and greets, designer showcases and new trends!
Since I am proudly part of their design team, this year Amazing Casting Products/Alumilite Corp. asked me to create some food samples using their new product Amazing Remelt and to do demos at their booth! My friend Jami Poe Bostjancic, a talented cake designer, taught me some of the ins and outs of fondant. As she noted, working with fondant has some similarities to polymer clay. I decided to make a sun and moon for a mini cake, mushrooms on a cinnamon and brown sugar cupcake, chocolate bunny and mini presents all out of fondant for the requested samples.
Fondant can easily be pushed into Amazing Remelt molds and then quickly popped out onto a cold cutting board to dry. Here I have prepped and readied my molds to be packed to go to CHA.
As per the website: “Amazing Remelt is a Non Toxic, 1-part reusable mold making material for room temperature or low exotherm materials. Amazing Remelt softens at 120°F and becomes liquid at 135°-140°F. It can be remelted and reused to make new molds time and time again. Ideal for making molds for smaller items such as jewelry, embellishments, and chocolate molds.”
I assisted Susan M. Brown, Amazing Casting Products Design Team Leader and awesome artist in her own right, in assembling the Amazing Casting Products Hot Product display. I was able to take some photos of the display before the end of booth set up on the Friday before the show.
Susan brought some awesome little signs and clips from Deflecto, which helped hold up and highlight signs and info about the Amazing Remelt. I seriously need to buy some of the Deflecto Craft Organizers and Sustainable Office products now that I know they work so well.
On Sunday the Craft and Hobby Association had a awesome gala event where they donated funds to charities and announced the winners of the Hot Product Categories! Amazing Casting Products/Alumilite Corp won Hot Product in Cake and Food Decorating at CHA for Amazing Remelt!
The Amazing Casting Products booth had all kinds of samples of what one can do with their products. Depending on the day they had different samples and demos, from bracelets, pizza cutters, pens, plates and more! Now that Amazing Clear Cast Resin has received FDA certification, meaning it’s food safe, you can even make plates and bowls from their resin!
President of Alumilite Mike Faupel, wanted to make sure all the samples were easy to see, pick up and handle to showcase the versatility of the products.
I did afternoon demos at the booth of my push molds such as those seen in my CHA Sneak Peak Post.
This year I wanted to make a booth display that was a little different. I started with vintage cabochon molds and used layers of Amazing Clear Cast Resin and Alumilite Metallic Powders, glitter and rhinestones. Each little cabochon was a mini galaxy piece that I wanted to attach to a gown.
I first started creating a caftan but I wasn’t happy with the look, so I saved the fabric for another project and rummaged through my collection of thrift store finds. I found a red glittery gown that had seen better days. I made some alterations, changing the straps, fitting and how the gown would drape. I slowly glued on each cabochon with 36000 and rhinestones with Gem-Tac, as suggested by my stunningly talented cousin Kathleen Rojas, owner of Oso Rojo Costumes.
With the addition of a cape, and making necklace my “Cosmic Radiation” gown went on on display at the Amazing Crafting Products/Alumilite Corp booth.
I was so happy with how the resin and inclusions sparkled under the bright trade show lights!
Come back later for Craft & Hobby Association Mega Show 2015 post, part 2!
Until Next Time, Safe Travels!
Ancient and Contemporary Inspired Artistry