Crafting Trends

Hi Crafters,

Today it's the beginning of another super blog hop. You may have noticed the blue button at the left of my blog. This button will take you on a tour of a host of designer blogs where you will see fabulous designs and read about the latest in crafts. This month, we will be talking about the trends we saw at the Craft and Hobby Show in January. And, as you hop around the blogs, look for clues. Yes, it's a blog hop and a treasure hunt! And, the prize is--ta da! A Cricut Expression! Now, that is a prize worth hunting for!

This prize is offered by Julie McGuffee, well-known designer and TV personality. You can find out how to hunt for the clues to the Cricket Expression on her blog. She also provided the photos that I will be using as I discuss some of the trends I saw at the show. These photos are provided for information only and contain designs under copyright.
Overall, I saw a continuing trend toward nostalgia and vintage in crafts. We want to get back to that idyllic past in the middle of the last century or beyond. There were lots of old suitcases like the ones Mom used to carry on the train--heavy and with no wheels! There were also old bikes and trikes and other rusty stuff. Old kitchen appliances in the '50's colors with coordinating aprons were very cute, as were all of the bright and colorful '50's designs. Love the pink stove! The show featured a lot of scrapbooking papers and it's nice to see that the trend in scrapbooking and paper suppliers is to use paper in different and more crafty ways than in layouts. There were lots of layered flowers in every shape and size. Birds are still a prominent motif in every form and material imaginable. This year, adding to the bird motif, were bird cages--old rusty ones, shabby chic white ones and others cut out of paper. And, adding to the fascination with air and flying were hot air balloons, paper lanterns, chandeliers and pennant garlands. Pennant garlands have gone from the triangular version into all shapes and sizes. Above you can see the bird cage combined with garden, home and layered flowers putting all the trends together!

Another trend that is still around is the early industrial/Steampunk look taken from the Victorian era. It's still quite a factor in jewelry with chain, pendants, and watches in a variety of tarnished, rusty and antiqued colors. The above photo is from the Ideaology booth and shows the vintage trend in the mixture of old machinery with the aged chest and birdcage.

I hope you enjoyed my take on trends. For more on trends in the craft industry, hop forward or back on the big blue Designer Crafts button.

Happy Crafting,

Terry

CHA Show Winter 2011

Hi everyone,

I'm back from the CHA Winter show. It's the biggest craft show in the industry. As always, it is overwhelming and amazing and great exercise. We got quite a work out. Some of the meetings and seminars were a half mile away (I think!) from the show floor, so we all did plenty of walking. And, of course, since we carry or drag pounds of samples, catalogs and projects, we did our weight-lifting, too! Now, if I can only keep up the regimen!

I didn't take a lot of photos. I was too busy gawking at all the wonders of the craft booths. But, a well-known designer, Julie McGuffee, took amazing photos of the show. You can see them here on her blog. You'll feel just like you walked the show with her.

I did have a photo of me and my showcase taken. Here I am in a large meeting room with about 40 other designers and their displays. Each of us have a 6 foot table on which to display our designs and portfolio. The place just oozes creativity!

All in all, it was an amazing show. And, it was the people that made it so fantastic. I met fellow designers whose work I have admired, an editor who is just a sweetheart, and worked with a wonderful family at Stanislaus Imports that has been in the industry for many years.

After the many changes in 2010 that had left many of us designers disheartened, I think this year will bring new and exciting oppurtunities! And, for all of you who attended I wish you a prosperous and enriching year. And, I don't just mean money!

Happy New Year!

I am finally back to the blog after a long holiday vacation away. Most of the ornaments are put away and I am now knee-deep in tax forms that must be out by the end of the month. I've been busily crafting also.

One of the big events for the craft and hobby industry is only 14 days away. It's the Craft and Hobby Show. This industry show is mainly for retailers who go to view the latest products to order for their stores. Business seminars and classes on how to use the products are also available.

Designers are a big part of the show and participate in many ways. We teach classes. We demonstrate for the manufacturers on the show floor. Designers also have the chance to show their work to a wide section of the craft industry including manufacturers, publishers and editors. We can have a booth right on the show floor or showcase our designs in a table-top display.

So, January is a little crazy as I try to come up with some new designs and create an eye-catching display. And, then, I try to fit it all into my suitcase! For the last couple of years, I have used canvas panels hinged together for my back drop. They were painted a nice soft green with lightly stenciled ferns here and there. This year I'm going bolder. I came up with this woodsy abstract by mixing three colors of paint and streaking it on with a foam brush.

I don't paint often, and when I do, it's usually a small kid's craft, so this abstract was out of my usual genre. I think it was a nice change from the precision of needlepoint and jewelry-making. And, when I get back from the show, I might put it on my wall!

Hope you'll try something outside your usual craft this month!

Happy crafting!

Terry

emerald, meet copper

Happy Holidays!

I have been anxiously awaiting a package today. And, it finally arrived--my copy of the Winter 2010 issue of Stringing magazine! It's loaded with wonderful designs for gifts or wearing to holiday parties along with lots of info on the latest in beading trends, as usual. And...I have a necklace design published in it! It's a mix of brushed copper beads and three different types and shapes of glass beads--clear green ovals, patterned rounds and bumpy mottled green pearls. I love to mix up textures and shapes in a design. It makes it so much more interesting!

Here's the page in the magazine. I'm in great company here--Denise Yezbak Moore's fleurs nouveau necklace is beside mine. Visit her blog to see more of her amazing jewelry.

This is an exciting way to end the year for me. Here's wishing you all good things and the best in the New Year!

And, of course,

Happy Crafting!

Terry

Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop - Bookmark

Hi Crafters!

This is the last week of our Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop and I want to thank Sizzix, Eileen Hull, Brenda Pinnick, Karen Burniston and Jen Goode for setting up this fabulous round of designing fun! These products are so versatile and the ideas and designs produced by this group of designers are astounding. I learned so much!

This week we're working with another of Eileen Hull's dies - Treat Bag Toppers. This is what I received:

This is a great assortment of pieces and the nice thing about them is that there are so many possibilities. Yes, you can use them to top a bag, but what about a place card with the large piece or labels for your holiday buffet or gift tags for goodies for the neighbors? The mind boggles! Well, at least my mind did! But, I'm easily boggled this time of year with shopping and shipping and baking and decorating.

So, after some thought, the idea light flickered on and I came up with this idea - a bookmark! It's quick and easy to make and perfect for the last minute when you need a craft for the kids to make or a quick gift for a friend.

You can dress it up or down with the styles of ribbon, paper, paint or glitter that you have on hand. The small bag topper piece folds over the book page or it can rest on the top of the book. I painted the pieces with a paint marker, added the lettering with a black permanent pen, cut two pieces of ribbon and glued them under the inside of the top piece. Then I glued the pieces on the ribbon. You could also stamp the lettering or use stickers.

Thanks to all of you who stopped by on the blog hop, made comments and signed up as followers! I truly appreciate your support and want to wish you the happiest of holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop Week 6: Wish Book

Hi crafters!

This week on the blog hop we are working with another Sizzix die from Brenda Pinnick - the Album, Brackets, Bigz XL Die (#656053). Along with the die cuts in cardstock, I received some cut from Xotic Felt(TM) and Brenda's fabric in fabulous colors.

I put some of the die cuts together to make a small album that I'm calling a Wish Book. I've been dreaming of going to Hawaii for some time now. With the winter weather, a warm tropical climate sounds especially nice. I'd also like to return to Italy one of these days. One trip there just wasn't enough.

To make the album, I found pictures of these locales in a travel magazine and glued them to my pages. I left frames empty for my own photos. The frames are painted, covered with felt or with the fabric. Double Sided tape from Scotch(R) holds it together. The front is covered with the felt and a few of the leftover flowers from Brenda's Beauty Bloom Flower Die. I had trim from a previous project and some glittered florettes (Dazzlers(TM) by Petaloo) that I glued over the felt flowers. Then I tied it together with a scrap of ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by on the blog hop! Keep on hoppin'!

Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop Week 5: Christmas Gift Card

Hi everyone!

Here's the project for this week's Sizzix Triple Play Blog Hop - a Christmas Gift Card. The die cut we are working with this week is from Karen Burniston. It is a pop-up gift card holder with a "for you" phrase on it, and, for me, it is the perfect item for this time of year. My family gives each other a lot of gift cards for Christmas, so I really need fifteen or twenty of these! Maybe Santa will bring me a Sizzix Big Shot Pro die cutting machine for Christmas! I've been good!

To create this card, I used a card, cardstock and chipboard embellishments from Die Cuts With a View. These are last year's Holiday Collection that I purchased intending to make homemade cards last year. Right!

I love the color combinations on the cards and cardstock and found one pattern that matched the gray color of my die cut. Other than the tape to hold the card together and a piece of ribbon, I used a Gelly Roll Stardust Clear glitter pen (a gift from the Sakura folks) to add a little sparkle to the edges of the cardstock. Since I don't have a Sizzix die cutting machine, I traced and cut out the red frame and other colored cardstock for the inside of the card. I don't regularly work with cards and scrapbooking materials, but I found this pop-up assembly easy and fun to do. You can find the instructions here.

Here's the finished card:

This nifty pop-up makes giving a gift card fun for the giver and the receiver! I can see more card-making in my future!

Happy crafting and Happy Hopping along the blog trail!

Terry