Archive for January, 2007
So the whirlwind that is CHA is over & I’m back home to unwind. What a great few days. For those that have never been, CHA (the Crafting & Hobby Association) has a semi-annual tradeshow for the industry with over 3,000 booths to visit! There were make ‘n takes at most booths & a buzz in the air as buyers met sellers from all over the world! There were hundreds of talented designers scattered around the show floor as well.
Some of this year’s highlights for me… Meeting Carol (see previous blog entry) ;), classes with Tim Holtz & Lisa Pavelka, visiting with some of my favorite designers from the Hero Arts booth (hi Lisa & Shari!), talking to a few publishers, purchasing the new “it” tools from Zutter Innovative Products (will post more on these later when they arrive in the mail!), and seeing some friends from last year’s show.
Mike & I had the opportunity to catch up with one of my close friends, Caroline, and her fiance, Terry, on Sunday night as well. We spent the evening at Disneyland! It was a great way to see the park, in my opinion. Paid half the price because we were only there from 6-10, but we were able to visit most of the rides due to the short lines & see the Disney Fanstasmic night show on the river as well!
January 31st, 2007
What an honor it was to be a finalist in the Amaco BOH contest this year & be able to meet so many wonderful artists at the reception in the booth during CHA!
There were some truly amazing entries in the finalists & some very deserving winners. See this link for pics of each of the 25 finalist entries & the winners! I especially loved Dotty McMillan’s Geisha (winner of best use of product) & Helen Bradley’s amazing clown (winner of most original - pictured to left). Congrats to everyone!
January 31st, 2007
Ok…so I’m a crafting geek. I totally admit it. And being the crafting geek I am, I can’t think of a cooler thing to experience at CHA this year than meeting the queen of crafting herself, Carol Duvall. 
So how did I run across Ms. Duvall? Carol has a new papercrafting book coming out in mid-2007 and just happened to be doing a meet & greet in the DRG publishing booth when I went strolling by. She was ever so gracious & sweet as I gushed compliments towards her & was kind enough to take the above picture. So her eyes are shut, but who’s really looking that close? 
January 31st, 2007
Hard to believe CHA is already here! Amazingly enough, knock on wood, I think my prep work is done. 
Last year, I was still scrambling at this point (Mike & Rhonda can attest to this)! Press kits & portfolio are complete, and I sent ahead four projects to be displayed in the lobby in the Designer Home Accent Display as well as a couple of projects for the Polyform booth. I also recently found out that AMACO selected one of my Bottle of Hope submissions as a finalist in their designer challenge this year! I am both honored & humbled to be included in a list with such incredible talented polymer clay artists. I can’t wait to see their creations. Hope to see some familiar faces & make some new friends over the next week. :) Will report back with all the news when I return.
January 25th, 2007
I learned about a fascinating photography technique today that gives almost any photograph an ethereal, dreamy quality. It is called the Orton technique & is super simple to do in Photoshop. Below are some samples I made today & here is a link to a tutorial so you can learn how to do this yourself. It works particularly great on landscapes, but also works on portraits as well.
Close-up of flowers from NYC Arboretum. First pic is original. Second uses the Orton technique:
Yellow flowering bushes at NYC Arboretum. First pic is original. Second uses the Orton technique:
A portrait. First pic is original. Second uses the Orton technique:
Another portrait. First pic is original. Second uses the Orton technique:
January 21st, 2007
This is a rotating ring I recently fabricated from a sheet of 20-gauge sterling silver. It is based on a “poetry ring” design by Julia Converse Sober. See her wonderful pieces here.
I first sawed out the band & the ring base. The round ring bezel was soldered together, then 14-gauge wire was soldered to either side. I bent the ring piece into a U-shape & drilled holes for the wire to fit through. I then soldered small pieces of sterling tubing to either side for the wire to fit through. Finally, the wire was riveted to hold the ring in place. After sanding & buffing, I placed polymer clay inside the ring & a couple of beautiful cane slices on either side (blue cane by Denise Spillane & pink flower cane by Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg). After baking, I added a layer of Kato liquid polymer clay to the surface to give it shine.
January 21st, 2007
I recently posted a green, black & white thank you card using one of the new Hero Arts 2007 stamp images. I loved the simple design so much that I decided to make it in a slew of other colors. These were all sent out to family & friends this week.
(Stamp - Hero Arts, B&W Ribbon - JoAnns brand, Seagull decorative edge scissors - Fiskars, Ink - Tsukineko Versafine in Black Onyx, Paper - DCWV textured mat stack & bright white Wassau cardstock)
January 20th, 2007
I recently tried my hand at another sterling silver fabricated hollow bead. The flower design was drawn free-hand on a sheet of 20-gauge metal. The metal was then sawed out, filed, domed, soldered, sanded & polished to a high shine. There are a few rough spots where my torch was a bit too hot for the metal…but it’s not too noticeable from a distance.
January 18th, 2007
Tsukineko (an ink manufacturer) just released their 2007 product catalog & one of my cards was highlighted in the Encore! metallic ink section. Here is a link to a PDF file containing my project. The seasonal thank you card used all Hero Arts rubber stamps. It also featured a dry-embossed border made from a Lasting Impressions brass template. Thanks for looking!
January 16th, 2007
One of the rooms in the designer showcase will feature an antique door with altered finials attached to it so that jewelry designers can showcase their necklaces.
My contribution was made by covering a wooden finial with a mix of 50% white / 50% transculent Premo! polymer clay. After the piece cooled, I created a glaze by mixing Jacquard Pinata alcohol inks with Liquid Sculpey. After coating the piece with the glaze & re-baking for 10 minutes, I applied some Future floor finish to give it shine to create a faux ceramic look. The end of the finial was created with a homemade mold made from a beautiful metal cabinet knob from Lowe’s.
January 15th, 2007
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