For the Birds!

This blog has definitely become "one for the birds" lately - very boring, unless, of course, you're a closet ornithologist. Life in the craft lane is definitely not boring, but I seem to be stuck in an overlook lately and unfortunately, I've neglected the creative side of my blog. Don't give up on me yet, this just happens to be a very busy time.

This week I've been working on the supplies for my Christmas Crafts workshop at the CHA show in Chicago. It's amazing how time consuming it can be. Not only gathering the supplies, but making sure they're cut to size, drilled, etc. to make it easy to assemble the projects in class. I've also been working on projects for a book, which, together with step by step instructions, also took up much more time than expected.

The CHA trade show is back in Chicago this summer. You may remember photos from last year when we were in Orlando. My friend, Jean and I will be leaving next Sunday and won't be back till around August 4th. I don't usually blog when I'm away from home, but I'll try to post some highlights if possible. There'll be lots to share though when I get back. One will be an important announcement about Scrapbook Memories and I also have something else up my creative sleeve to tell you about........ so stay tuned, it's going to be fun!

In the meantime here are some photos from the Dallas Gift Market. A sneak peak into what the retailers are being offered for their stores for the holidays and beyond.

Snowmen continue to melt our hearts, but penguins have apparently returned to Madagascar.

I love the bright cheery colors on these guys below:

but there are still plenty of choices for the traditional holiday decorator.

I saw more Elves this year than in the past. Relatives of the Garden Gnome they are following in the family tradition, or maybe they're being influenced by sales of the "Elf on the Shelf". A cute story to be sure, but he's quite a scary looking elf in the story. Not sure I'd want him watching me! I think these guys are much sweeter.

Growing up in England, I was inundated with stories about elves and fairies - we even had a fairy on the top of our Christmas tree. Santa Claus, known to us as Father Christmas, always had a fairy as a helper. Fairies were and still are, quite popular in Australia too. Remember the Fairy Tea Parties? Except for Tinkerbell and her friends, I haven't seen too many here, although there were some Spring Fairies hiding amongst the flowers in one of the showrooms. Check out the photos and see if you can spot them too.

There was lots to see and I'll share more photos in Part II. So check back after the weekend! Have a good one!

Yours truly,
Julie :)