75 Years of Creativity!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the CHA blog for the Mega Show of 2016!

 This year the Craft and Hobby Association is celebrating  75 years! That is certainly a record of which to be proud!

Every year I look forward to this show.  It's the Disneyland of craft trade shows, and I spend all the time I can ooh-ing and ah-ing at all the wonderful displays filled with new products, innovative designs and people like me who love crafts!  For the past few years, it has been set in the Anaheim Convention Center, which is always a plus in January.

Come along with me as I remember a few past shows.  There are certain booths I have to see at the show.  I design jewelry, so I always have to see the Beadalon booth.  Last year they had four new trend displays.  The trend on this one was tassels.  Yep, they were right - tassels are everywhere in jewelry right now! What will they think of this year?  I can't wait to see!

Beadalon - CHA 2015

I love yarn and all kinds of stitchery, so I have to check out the yarn companies.  Here are some adorable beavers that were part of a large display called Yarnia that was created by the Spinrite yarn group.  The whole scene was created out of different types of yarn and was quite imaginative.  Aren't these beavers the cutest things!

Beavers from Yarnia

Another yarn company that goes all out for the show is the Lion Brand Yarn company.  They always put on a fashion show highlighting innovative designs from new designers and emceed by Vanna White (who has her own line of yarn).  Celebrities are crafters, too, so you never know who you will see!

Lion Brand Fashion Show - 2013

Here's part of the Lion Brand Yarns display from 2014 - a replica of Stonehenge!

Lion Brand display - 2014

These are just a small sample of all the crafty goodness going on at the show.  With beads, ribbon, wood, wire and paper to view, it takes a few days to see it all!

Besides walking the show, I often work in one of the booths demonstrating the products.  Here's one at the Smoothfoam™ booth from 2014.  I had a great time creating with crafters who stopped by to see all the things you can do with Smoothfoam™.  I won't be in that booth this year, but I will have a few designs there.  I've been a member of the design team for three years now and it still amazes me what you can do with Smoothfoam™!

Last year I did something a little different.  I worked in one booth for the entire show and saw the show from the vendor's side of the show - from set-up to teardown!  It was an amazing experience, and one I decided to do again.  I'll be in the Eye Connect Crafts booth this year, so do stop by and chat about crafts and see all the new products that Erin Sparler has designed for this year.  Erin's chipboard creations are great fun for all ages - from kids making puppets with them to artists using them in everything from cards and scrapbooking to mixed media and jewelry.  Here's a project that I made last year using her adorable crab poppet.  The crab, like all the totem poppets, has movable parts that you can hold together with eyelets, mini brads or other connectors.  Here, I used twine knots. 

Crab Totem Poppet

Thanks for stopping by and letting me reminisce about past shows.  I can't wait for January and the 75th Anniversary show!  It's sure to be spectacular.

Be sure to enter the giveaway - at last count it was up to $650!! Stop by and see all the participating designers and manufacturers on the CHA blog, too, and get a taste of what the show will hold.  And, if you come to the show, stop by and say howdy!

Enter the raffle here on the Rafflecopter below.  If you don't tweet, leave a comment or answer a short craft survey.  Good luck!

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fun Yarn Ideas from CHA

Hi Everyone!

Yarn is one of the many crafty things with which I like to play, so I was thrilled to happen upon one of the major yarn events at the CHA show.  Every year, Lion Brand Yarn puts on a fashion show which showcases their yarn and the work of up-and-coming design students.  It's fun to see what they design; they stretch the boundaries of creativity!  And, it's always a pleasure to see the celebrity presenter of the show, Vanna White, who crochets herself. 

So, here are a few pictures from that event.  They are not the best since I got to the event late and am shooting over the heads of the crowd, but they'll give you an idea of the designs and colors this year.

I know some of these may not be your cup of tea, but they are full of ideas for the use of color and texture and a great source of inspiration.  (And, it's fun to watch the faces of the crowd, too!)
Happy Crafting!
Terry