Craft + Hobby Association -- behind the scenes

While you would never have known I was away last week because my blog was updated -- I was happy to find myself in Anaheim California for the Craft + Hobby Association meeting. It's a show where manufacturer's, buyers, educators,  and designers come together to see and play with new products.

Designers like me often venture out there to look for new work or demo the new and exciting products. Or -- to network and take the cool workshops offered. It's a great opportunity to meet new people that share the same love art and craft supplies. 

I went looking for some new opportunities. And to learn some new techniques. And MAN was it exactly what I needed. I can't wait to share -- I've got some pretty exciting news coming -- just not sure when I'll be able to tell....sooner -- later -- only time will tell ;-D

When I left Maine it was quite cool -- but arriving in  CA I kinda felt like I was home. It was cool -- no really cold to many -- but the sun was shining, plants were green and there were pretty flowers so that wonderful. It felt more like a warm Maine Spring day where you go without your coat and maybe have a chill here and there but it feels amazing to shed the heavy winter coat.  

Our early morning walk over to the convention center. Love the long shadows of my roommates and I. 

I was really excited to see the new products being introduced by Spellbinders -- Ice Resin, Bezels and a NEW machine. AMAZING products and I can't wait to share a little how-to in a few days or so. 

My friend Martha taking a funny picture of me -- but look at her phone case -- it's one of mine she bought from my Zazzle shop!  

 

Cool Geode ring that Suzan Lenart Kazmer was wearing. I LOVE LOVE LOVED it! 

One of my bezels in the Ice Resin class....I still need to pour the resin!

 My little birdies from the last Spellbinders Workshop....so cute and fun to work with.
 

A not so healthy snack, I tried to eat right it's just so hard when you are traveling and the options are not that great to start with.

My blurry picture of my art in the Tattered Angels/Canvas Corp. Booth. It looked great. I've got a how to coming up on that one too!

The pretty fountain outside the convention center. It looked really cool, sadly I missed the Philharmonic playing at the dedication that day.

I did spend a little time chitty chatting with my sweet boy -- he missed his Mom and thankfully we were able to text back and forth -- but because of the 3 hour time difference either he was sleeping or I was sleeping it was a little tougher to manage.

Pretty leaves on a not-so pretty looking piece of meat. Not sure what this was -- it was Martha's dinner on the last nightbut I loved the way the cilantro looked on the melted cheese.

Well that's it.....I'm finally rested and ready to tackle everything on my to-do list! Phew -- hope I can manage it all! Thanks for stopping by -- hope you have a GREAT day!  

One Puffy Heart two Puffy Ideas

sharing a fun project I created with a paper-mache puffy heart and a china doll head. this was a fun project and pretty easy to make. 

isn't she sweet tucked inside that heart?

perfect for Valentine's Day!

I was inspired by a quote on a Tim Holtz metal charm to make this tag. I wanted to use the charm but it didn't fit where I wanted it so I made my own version out of paper.

 

 i sent one to my friend Martha in the fall and look at what she created for Tattered Angels!!

Isn't it awesome??

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by!

Are you LOOKING?

Just checking to see....

have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

random journaling

just pictures today -- oh and this fun quote I found in the spine of an old agriculture book for the state of maine.

I was as a
gem concealed, me.
my burning ray revealed.

makes me think of a sunflower!

hidden journaling. i made the image below into my business card. love it.

Have a great day, thanks for stopping by.

Click on Over

Just popping in to share the link to the Crafts n' Things Newsletter where you can find more images, step-by step instructions and a complete supply list to make this pretty winter card.

I love these stamps from Impression Obsession and have quite a few from this artist -- he is an amazing illustrator -- I can't wait to get my hands on some of the sweet ones he released at CHA last week!! 

If you like the look of watercolor painting on your stamped images you should check out In + Out Watercolor Painting for Stampers and Card Makers at My Creative Classroom!!  It's a new class I'm offering and it starts on Monday, January 21.

That's all for today -- thanks for stopping by have a wonderful day and if it's snowing in your neck of the woods like it is here -- drive safely -- it's slippery out on the roads! 

 You can also find me here: 

My blog: http://cmscanlon.blogspot.com Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/cmscanlon/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/cm_scanlon

the Whatevers -- a Catch Up Post

Last June two GREAT friends and I started a year-long project called the Whatevers. We each chose 4 vintage images, scanned them and committed to telling a story around these vintage pictures each month. Since we are HALF-WAY through our challenge I thought I would do a quick re-cap for January -- re-post all the images in case you want to join in, the rules and links to where you can find more about the Whatevers Project! And anything else you may (or may not) want to know about this fun and creative project.

The cover of my book -- a little teaser posted before our project started! 

In June I introduced Winston and Newton, the two main characters in my story.

July, meet Mother -- Cordelia Marie Faber-Whatever. She's got some crazy hair and eyes!

 August Mother, Winston and Newton travel to the beach to vacation with the evil cousins!
 

In September the focus is off Winnie and Newt and I've introduced Elizabeth, Art and Frida. Oh, and the Countess. 

In October the story is about Winnie and Newt's father, Winston Newton Whatever.

In November the story comes back to the US and what the evil cousins Boots and Hermione and their mother Elldridge are up to as they wonder about what is happening in Germany.  

 In December Newton and his Grandfather go out into the country and cut down a Christmas tree for the castle.

So many twists and turns -- wonder what's going to happen next month??

________________________

Want to play along?? We have just a few things to let you know about: 

• Vicki, Nat and I have made a one-year commitment to each other and picked twelve photos with Whatevers whom we will give a story.
• Every month – if possible always on the 15th –  each of us will do a post with an individual story that goes along for us with the same photo.
• If you want you can play along and we will have the photo for you – just right click on it to safe it to download and show us your version of The Whatevers.
• There are no rules to the story itself- it can be funny, sad, uplifting, breathtaking- WHATEVER
• There are no rules on the length or the form of the story- it can be a short sentence, an essay, a poem or a soap opera – WHATEVER
• There are no rules on the art form you choose – it can be a scrapbook layout, an altered art project, an art journal page – WHATEVER
• Here is a rule though: if you take the photo you have to link back to us and show us your story.
• These pictures are from our personal stash and are for personal use for you only! If you want to use them for a publication whether a book or magazine in print or digital form please ask for permission!
• If you want to participate we’ll have a linky list for each Whatever Post.
• You can also join our The Whatevers -Facebook Page 

And here are all the images for you: 

 

June 

July

August

September

October

November

December

See you back here next month for the next chapter in my story! 

learning to see...

it's hard to train yourself to see.
I mean REALLY see and take in your surroundings.
breathe them in like a breath of fresh clean air.

into your heart.
mind.
body.

for me it's one of those things that comes naturally. maybe i've done it so long that it's just a part of who i am. maybe i was born with it. i don't know.

for instance. what do you see in the first photo? i see a line going down the center of me - splitting me in half. reminding me that i often feel torn between doing what i love 24/7 and taking care of my family.

in this photo. i don't really see myself. i see the beautiful trail in the background and the shadows of the trees that fall across the trail where i just came from. i do see that my hair is the same color as the trees, and i wish it was not so grey.

in this picture i see my brand new christmas cross country ski's and the unbroken trail in front of them. i see the beautiful blue from the natural light and the lens on my phone. i see the shadows of the beautiful shrubs falling over the tips of my ski's creating fingers reaching out to me. I see cute little curvy tips creating a nice little serif on the ends of my ski's. i see peacefulness and also feel peaceful when i see this. i love this picture.

i see the wind blowing the snow off the trees creating a tiny temporary blizzard. i see the snow stuck to the sides of the trees -- and the huge widow makers falling over the trail where i need to go. i hope they don't fall on me as i ski under them.

in this photo i see a heart made of freshly fallen snow encased in a prison of branches.

 

this photo makes me think of the 4th of july and the beautiful fire-works that a local community has.

what did you see today that was out of the ordinary or maybe not so that inspired you to take a picture and remember it for all your days?

THANKS for stopping by -- have a inspired and creative day!

Creative JumpStart 2012

Thought I'd share my Creative JumpStart video from last year -- enjoy!!


Creative JumpStart 2012 from Catherine Scanlon on Vimeo.

Thanks for stopping by -- have a great day! 

In + Out Series at MCC

I am BEYOND excited to share my new class concept at My Creative Classroom! I know it's not new to what other people are doing -- but for MCC and the classes I offer it is --- and I am BEYOND excited to share.

Last year I had a test class in the fall that I called "In + Out Art Journal". The premise was that you could pop in to the classroom and watch all the videos, download the art, instructions and anything I had in the classroom related to the class and get started creating. Everything you needed for the course was there -- much like when you take a class at an art or scrapbook store. Easy to pick and choose what you like and not feel overwhelmed with a TON of information.

Plus there was no guilt if you didn't make all the projects, which often happens when you take classes sometimes.

the supply lists are smaller so you don't have to be overwhelmed with a shopping frenzy if your budget is tight -- as is for most of us these days.

The course fee is really reasonably priced considering you'll get a lot of video (In + Out Art Journal had over an hour) and other information!

With the one lesson format you will receive everything you  need to make a journal and then a page full of journal prompts to fill your pages with. 

This concept was SO successful for me I was overwhelmed -- and inspired to offer more.

With that -- my In + Out Series was born. I decided to offer one class a month -- in topics that teach a technique and others that teach a specific project. I think you'll be happy! 

So, without further delay -- here are the dates and classes for the In + Out Series! 

• January 21: In + Out Watercolor Painting for Stampers -- click here to go to the information page for this class at My Creative Classroom!
• February 15th: In + Out Embossing
• March15th: In + Out Easter Egg Diorama
• April 15th: In + Out Spellbinders Mix + Match
• May 6th: In + Out Mother's Day Heart Project and Card
• June 17th: In + Out Summer Art Journal
• July 15th: In + Out Embroidery for Card Makers
• August 15th: In + Out Collage Project
• September 16th: In + Out Punched Cards
• October 15th: In + Out Halloween
• November 5th: In + Out Thankful Project
• December 13th: In + Out Christmas Project

BONUS- If you SIGN up for all classes in the In + Out Series throughout the year and you'll get a FREE Class in January 2014! You can't sign up for all of them right now - but the In + Out Watercolor for stampers is open and starting on January 21st! 

Please let me know if you have any questions about the In + OUt Series in the comment section and I'll get back to you asap!

Creative JumpStart 2013

I'm totally speechless.

Completely. I've been sitting here for 15 minutes trying to put my feelings in this post and I can't. So I think I'll list the emotions I'm feeling right now.

grateful
inspired
amazed
speechless
happy.......... from the wonderful comments and messages I've received about my Creative JumpStart 2013.

The funny thing is -- as I had watched some of the other Jumps I was nervous. Worried even that my jump wasn't going to be  very good and I even thought of asking Nat if I could re-do my whole video and all three techniques. 

But I didn't.

My heart is full and I wish I had time to make create something in my journal today to capture the feelings in my heart. Really, you will never know. Thank you ALL. So instead of new art I'll share pictures of the pages I created for the jump so you can see them separately from the video.

 

Jump # 1: What do you See?

BTW -- this is my ALL-TIME Favorite rut-buster ever! 

 Jump #2: Keeping it Private

Jump #3: Stencils

Thanks again everyone!! Tomorrow I'll share the details on the In + Out Series so you will have an idea what's coming this YEAR!

Have a wonderful and inspired day...did I say thank you yet?