New Series of Scrapbook Memories Now Airing!

BYU is now airing the latest series of Scrapbook Memories every day at 1pm CST. DVD sets of the series are also available, so you can watch any time as many times as you want!   Details are on our website, www.scrapbookmemoriestv.com.

This month has been unusually hectic. I won't go into details, let's just leave it with me still shopping for Christmas gifts and only 2 days to go.... Christmas comes whether I'm ready for or not and over the years I've learned to just sit back and enjoy all the hustle and bustle. Okay, I'll admit I'm not too good at the sitting back part. My favorite thing is decorating the tree. It's full of ornaments we've collected over the past 35+ years and each one has its own special memory. It would never win a beauty contest, but it's the best ever.

I've been working on some technique workshops for the CHA Consumer show in Anaheim, California at the end of January, so check back after the New Year and I'll let you in on what's going on!  BTW - they will be FREE  :)

I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

The Color Purple? + Wax Ornaments!

Purple, Lavender, Violet........ whatever the shade, it's apparently going to be very trendy (or is already), and, if we follow our European cousins, we'll see it paired with turquoise.  Love it, love it!  Purple and turquoise are two of my favorite fashion colors - for clothing that is, but, sorry, I just can't see myself buying purple Christmas ornaments.  I have to admit, purple did not jump out as being a "hot" color when I walked the Dallas Gift market in January and July this year.  The first time I really saw it as being a possible trend, was in the Christmas aisle at my local Michaels store.  Michaels buyers are very savvy about trends, but I'm going to reserve judgment on this one until I see that it "sold out".  The "proof is in the pudding", as my mum used to say, so we'll see how much purple is left for the after Christmas sales.

My favorite colors for the holidays are red, green, silver and gold.  I'm a die hard traditionalist when it comes to Christmas.  I still love my wooden ornaments from Germany and the old fashioned, colorful glass ornments.  My favorite is a small coffee pot.  It's just like the one my dad bought for me about 55 years ago - yup.... it's all about the memories.  This weekend I'll be unpacking Christmas decorations.  It's a chore getting all the boxes down, but I just love unpacking the boxes of ornaments for the tree.  I usually do this on the 2nd Sunday in Advent.  We decorate outside first, then inside with the tree being the last decoration we put up.  It's not just the wood and glass ornaments, but things we've made over the years that are full of memories - sand dollars sprinkled with clear glitter, clothespin reindeer, oh and RECYCLED candle ornaments!  They're the best.  I had a whole tree full one year.  I melted old red candle wax in a double boiler. Let it cool until it just coats a metal spoon, then used a gravy ladel to pour it into plastic cookie cutters set out on wax paper on a cold surface.  Let the wax harden then pop the cookie cutter away from the wax.  Voilá, you have a perfect wax heart.  The real beauty is seen when they're hung on the tree and the lights from the tree shine thru the wax.  Hangers are easy.  Light a candle, then thread gold thread onto a needle.  Heat the tip of the needle in then candle flame then push thru the top of the was ornament.  Thread a whole bunch at once then tie them off one at a time. I made hearts, stars, moons, and small gingerbread boys and girls.  Oh, and if the wax was perfumed, your ornaments will be too.  Just a word of warning.  Store them in a cool place after Christmas.......  an attic in Texas was not the best idea.  Of course you can always melt them down and re-make them........

Happy Thanksgiving "ya'll"

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Shoebox Crafts - "Card-Ecologist"

Okay, I promised some old, timeless projects from my Shoebox Crafts column, so here 'tis:
(This is a page from Craftworks©/November 1998 magazine, published by All American Crafts.)

"Recycle, reuse, remember and rejoice - it's almost Christmas!"  Sound familiar?  This was 11 years ago. BTW:  Christmas Day is 6 weeks from today.  I digress.......  not sure you can read the text.  I'll check once it's posted then if it's not legible I'll post instructions on my website: www.juliemcguffee.com on the "Projects" page.  Give me a day or two though.............

Hmmm... interesting photo - oh to be 50 again!!

Happy Friday the Thirteenth!  Enjoy.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Shoebox Crafts

In 1996 I started to write a feature column in Craftworks magazine entitled, "Julie's Shoebox Crafts".  They were all very basic craft projects with a chatty little story, of course, featuring....drum roll please..... things that most people have around the house.  We have a saying in England - "I'm not as GREEN as I'm cabbage looking", but apparently I was already being very "green" by featuring projects that reused, repurposed and recycled. I always was ahead of my time, at least that's what my dad thought.  Craftworks evolved into Create and Decorate a few years ago and the column changed to "Home Remedies" (Home Dec projects), but life got in the way and I had to stop writing the column a couple of years ago.  Some of the projects were pretty timeless, so maybe I'll feature some of them again here and on my website.  I'll have to pull out my old computer for the files though, or maybe I can scan the project photo from the magazine.  I'll have a think and see what I can do.

In the meantime here's one of my favourite photos - taken on my way to the grocery store.  Enjoy!

STEER CLEAR

Isn't he - not exactly cute...   how about "Typically Texan"....  I told you I lived in the country. 

Yours truly,

Julie :)

Scrapbooking - Alive & Well

In 2003 Leisure Arts published "Alphabet Doodles", a book I had written about creating fun and simple alphabets for scrapbookers by combining a variety of markers.  Here's a condensed version of the forward I wrote for the book:

    "Over the past six years or so, photograph albums, scrapbooks, and even diaries have combined and the word "scrapbook" has evolved from a noun to a verb.  Without doubt, scrapbooking has become one of the most popular creative pastimes for the new millennium."

So popular, in fact that capital investment companies took note as they started to see small family businesses grow into multi million dollar enterprises seemingly overnight and decided that buying and consolidating these liitle companies was going to be BIG business.  Now, another six years later the scrapbooking industry has a completely different face.  But, we still scrapbook.  Influenced by digital cameras and online products,  we don't necessarily scrapbook the way we did in 1997 for example, or even 2000, or 2003, but scrapbookers still create scrapbooks

    "showcasing the very essence of our lives".  A scrapbook becomes a perpetual record and helps us to remember those special moments we might otherwise forget."  Whatever your style, scrapbooks are important.  Years from now they will make you laugh, smile and maybe even shed a tear or two, but, most importantly, they will be worth every second you took to put them together."

There are so many industry polls about whether scrapbooking is on the rise, or decline.  Independent scrapbooks stores are now few and far between, each one vying for customers, trying to hold on to their niche in spite of competition from the chain stores and more recently from online stores.  There is constant discussion about why this is happening and who's to blame and there are polls that show this, and polls that show that and "no, you can't borrow my axe because I'm making soup".

Things change.  People change.  The baby in the photos that were painstakingly scrapbooked in 1997 is now 12 years old and we are scrapbooking in different way - sometimes, sometimes not.  We are taking more photographs now than we ever did because we have digital cameras and our biggest challenge today, is to print them!  I, for one, admit to having over 6,500 in iPhoto on my desktop.  Now that's different for a start.  But, I still scrapbook.  I chronicle the important events in our lives because whatever the polls say, it's still all about me and I will always take photos and, even though some of my scrapbooks are a mere iPhoto library on my desktop, they are there for all of us to see and enjoy and are just as important.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Don't Quote Me!

I LOVE quotes!  I saw one in my "Cheeky Quotes" today that reminded me of one of my all time favorites:

Winston Churchill was at a dinner that was also being attended by Lady Astor.  At one point during the conversation she turned to Winston and said, "Winston.  If you were my husband I'd put poison in your drink".  Without missing a beat Winston turned to her and replied, "and if you were my wife madam, I'd drink it". Brilliant!

Have a happy day!  Only 7 weeks and 2 days till Christmas  :)

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Unsung Heroes

Our business was audited this week - thankfully not by the IRS, but by the state Workforce Commission.  One of the questions we were asked was, "what exactly is it that you do?"  Not an uncommon question and not an easy one to answer to someone who has no idea that there even is an Arts & Crafts industry. I'd just finished working on some kits for a manufacturer and had about a dozen projects in a box waiting to be packed up and shipped out.  I also had a box full of the manufacturer's product that I had been sent to work with.  Using these to illustrate, I explained my job as a designer as follows: 
        The majority of companies provide consumers with a finished item that they can buy then display, or use in a certain way.  In the Arts & Crafts industry, companies manufacture components that the consumer can use to create an item themselves.  Fabric is an easy example.  The consumer can buy a dress, or buy the components and tools to make a dress, i.e. fabric, thread, scissors, pins, needles and a pattern featuring fabric.  The designer's job for manufacturers is to create an item (project) featuring their component (product) to inspire the consumer to buy their product and make the item.   Finished projects with instructions on how to make them, appear in craft magazines, books, on TV, project sheets, websites, or, as in this case, the projects were designed specifically for the manufacturer to create kits.  So why my "unsung heroes" title?  Any time you see projects on packaging, or a header/poster in a store that promote a particular product, they were created by a designer who you may, or may not know.  And, of course,  the products being sold whether they are finished pieces or raw components, were designed by someone. You'll be seeing the kits I designed in a major chain store next year.  Like many other things I work on, there'll be no name attached.  My wish is, that I hope you enjoy making the projects as much as I enjoyed designing and creating them.

Yours truly,
Julie  :)
BTW:  We passed the audit with "no errors"..........

New Series of Scrapbook Memories Airing this Fall!

I wish I could tell you that it'll start on such & such a date and at what time, but.....  here's the kicker.  We produce a series of 13 shows which then go to a distributor for all public television stations.  Public TV stations are independently owned, so each program manager chooses which shows to air and when, so, unlike commercial channels, the shows air at different times and on different days throughout the US.   There is no cost to TV stations who choose to air the show - public television at work.  These are stations that anyone can see anywhere at any time whether they have cable, satellite service or not, so we love the fact that we're on PBS.  If the station in your particular area doesn't air the show (and there are a few), contact the program manager and ask your friends to do the same.  "Squeaky Wheels" do help, especially if they're looking for your support.

For those of you who do have cable, etc.  Scrapbook Memories airs Mon-Fri at 2pm EST and Noon on Saturdays on the BYU (Brigham Young University) channel.  Since there are only 13 shows in a series, it takes just 2 weeks and 1 day to air a complete series, so, like PBS, they keep repeating old shows until they have a new series.  We produce 26, half shows per year and have done for over 12 years now.  That's more than 312 half hour shows making the show one of the longest running of its kind.

KS Productions now has DVD sets available of complete series.  You can check out which ones at: www.scrapbookmemoriestv.com  Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Home Sweet Home

I'm asked all the time if I miss "home". The answer is definitely "no" since I'm a firm believer that "home is where you hang your hat" even if most of us don't wear hats any more. I say "most" because there's a whole lot of folks who wear cowboy hats around where I live.

Of course I know they're asking if I miss England. I haven't lived in England since the late 60's and things have changed a lot in the past 40+ years. I definitely miss things like the best Fish & Chips and Yorkshire pudding in the world, but more than anything, I miss the England I used to know. The only constant in life is "change" and, like everywhere else, life there is very different now. We don't even have British passports any more now that the UK is part of the EEC. I do try to go back "home" whenever I can. There are still a lot of places that have stayed the same for hundreds of years and I enjoy being there.   It's "comfort food" for the soul.

Being born and growing up in England however, couldn't help but leave an indelible imprint on my life. It's the early years that have a great influence on who we are and what we become. I've been around quite a while now and even remember when my dad brought home our first TV set. It was black & white, of course, and I remember shows like "Watch with Mother" and not being bothered a bit that Andy Pandy and Looby Loo slept in the same toy box. I remember entertaining myself by reading a lot, writing stories, drawing, painting and making things out of anything and everything that I could find around the house like pipe cleaners, nut shells and even leaves. My favourite supplies were shells and to this day I still have boxes upon boxes of shells I've collected from the past 50 years. It's no wonder that I've become the "itinerant crafter".

So, in answer to the question "do I miss home", I have to say "yes" and "no". On the one hand I am home, but "yes" I do miss the home of my childhood and treasure those memories dearly.

Yours truly,
Julie

Christmas is Coming!

In less than 100 days!!!! I am never ready for Christmas, but, guess what, it comes whether I'm ready or not. Each year I think I'll be more prepared - ha - it's the thought that counts! This year I got a head start. I've been working with a fun product called Smoothfoam. It's a dense, lightweight material with a nice smooth surface that can be painted without prep, glued and, if you don't want to glue stuff to it, you can pin things to it! It's great for topiaries, kissing balls and a whole lot of other projects. I LOVE the lightweight part - at last I can make photo cubes that don't break my tree branches and store them in a box that doesn't break my back when I lift it. Here are a couple of photos to get you in the spirit and whet your appetite. There's a few more on my website, www.juliemcguffee.com/projects, but you can see them all - and the supplies used to make them at Michaels. There's a Christmas endcap in the general crafts section with a free - yes FREE - booklet. Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

09 09 09

What a cool date! Just think, after 12.12.12, we'll have to wait 988 years before being able to write dates like that again. The mind positively boggles! I wonder what kind of a world this will be then. Hmmm.... that is way too deep for a gray and rainy day.........

Speaking, or rather writing, of rainy days, makes me realize how much expectations affect the way we feel. I hosted an engagement party for my son this past Saturday and, don't you know it, it poured down. It didn't just rain, it POURED. I think we had 4" that day. I was SO disappointed. Obviously I wanted it to be one of the best celebrations ever. I had big plans - for outside. We had Tiki torches, lanterns to hang in the trees and we even dragged our white fairy lights out of the Christmas decorations stash to hang on fences, etc. Not only was it pouring rain, the bakery called that morning to say they couldn't make the cake I'd ordered, because the storms had knocked out their power! Aaaaargh! The party was still wonderful however, and I was so pleased that all their friends braved the driving rain to join us. Between you and me, I would not have ventured out on a night like that! Did I say we kinda live out in the boonies - roads tend to flood out here. The thing was, I had had everything planned out in my head for a few weeks, but it certainly didn't turn out the way. Expectations vs. Reality.... my expectations for the party were totally different, so I was SO disappointed, but everyone else just enjoyed the reality of how it was. It's still raining today - a week later. Hopefully this will alleviate some of the drought and next time we party, the grass will be lush and green.

Have a wonderful day!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

What Inspires Me

Betsy Edwards asked me this question on my Facebook page. "What inspires you?" I have to admit that the first thing that came to mind was - a paycheck. Then came the self imposed guilt trip. I really, really, really love what I do and I would still do it even there wasn't a paycheck - some of it anyway. I've always been a crafter and no doubt, always will be. It's just part of who I am and I feel so blessed that I'm involved in industry where I've been able to develop a business around what I love to do. It wasn't easy, like most designers I gave away more than I was ever paid for, but I always believed that if "you cast bread your bread onto the waters, it will come back buttered" and sometimes it will even have jam on it! I never really understood the "bread on water" analogy, since bread sinks and gets soggy in water, but let's not split hairs at this point..............

I've been giving Betsy's question a lot of thought. Creating professionally (meaning getting paid for projects), does affect creativity. Now I create to sell a product. "Sell" may be a four-letter word, but let's face it, buying and selling is what makes the world go round. Nothing happens unless someone, somewhere, sells something. That's reality. Before I designed "professionally" I created things for fun, now it's for fun and profit. I don't mean to sound mercernary, but that's the fact of the matter. The fun part is still the most important however. Now I see creativity as a challenge to create a project other people will want to make, but....... it has to use product A, B & C and sometimes even D. And there are rules - well, not so much any more, so, for example, when scrapbooking first became popular I used all kinds of things on my pages, only to find out that this was even more than a "no, no". Was it acid free? No. Was it archival? No, then how could I do such a thing.......... Thanks goodness that - albeit 10 years later - new designers have changed "the rules" and we're now allowed to be creative. So I can pull out my paints and old supplies and re-discover what inspires me! Thanks Betsy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Life in the Craft Lane

If you checked my blog earlier, you'll notice I've changed the title. Not really sure why, except that I started to write a book about 15 years ago, entitled - you guessed it - "Life in the Craft Lane" by Designing Women. Designers had so many funny stories to share, I had thought it would be fun to write them all down and create a book for SCD members. For those of you, who may be new to the Arts & Crafts industry, SCD was the Society of Craft Designers. We got together once a year to learn, share, network and generally have a great time. The industry has changed a lot since then but the influence SCD members had on the industry is still apparent today. Anyway, I originally thought "The Creative Sides of Life" sounded kinda trendy especially since creativity can be so many things - gardening, cooking, decorating, etc and I love doing it all, but.......... when all said and done, I'm a crafter first and foremost and I think the new title reflects that. For a while anyway - who knows what it will be next month!!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Letterpress Printing

I've been seeing quite a number of articles about Letterpress printing lately. I have to admit that when I saw the letterpress system at the Quickutz booth at CHA, my first question to self was, "why would I want a letterpress system when I can print anything on my computer?" Then I read an article by Joanne Fink in the Design Notes section of the May/June issue of Greetings etc where she defined Letterpress printing as an "affordable luxury". Joanne went on to say, "Letterpress printing, which makes a deep impression in the paper, provides a unique, almost three-dimensional appearance - adding appeal and value to numerous types of stationery-related merchandise." Joanne seems to have answered my question perfectly. Invitations, etc printed on the computer look as if they've been printed on the computer. Although we love to be creative and make things ourselves, we still strive for elegance, excellence and quality. We don't necessarily want the items we create to look as if we've made them. As the paper crafting industry continues to develop, we will continue to look for a certain amount of uniqueness in our creativity even if it means reverting to techniques developed in the 15th century.

Quickutz's Letterpress system is designed to work with the Epic 6 die cutting machine. For more information, availability, etc check it out at their website, www.lifestylecraft.com.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Or a week, or a month, or a whole generation! It's unbelievable how much the Arts & Crafts Industry has changed over the past 15 years, or maybe not (unbelievable) since it is a creative industry after all. We've seen trends come and go, then come again - beading for example. Some trends are starting to make a comeback - wearables - and some have disappeared altogether. This was really apparent at the recent CHA show. I've been home a week now and had a little time to go thru some notes and photos again. As I said earlier, there was definitely more vintage and not a lot of digital, in fact I really don't remember seeing any digital at all.

I missed a couple of things in my initial post that are worth mentioning. Marvy Uchida has some new very, very big punches with 5 or 6 shapes on them. They are great for card making and easy to use, since it's a lever punch. Unibind has a wide variety of small albums that are just perfect for gift giving! They are sized for standard photographs, 4" x 6", so it's easy to make one in minutes. Sandy Lion has always done a tremendous job with licensed characters, but this time they really outdid themselves with 3-D papers! Just like the books and movies, when you view them thru special glasses the characters jump out at you, but the pages look fine without glasses. I'm just waiting for a company to come up with a 3-D camera, or at least software to turn digital photos into 3-D. I have an old 3-D viewer that my grandparents owned. I loved to pull it out and look through all the special photos they had every time I went to visit. My children had one too (about 25 years or so ago) and just loved it. Donna Smiley at 7 Gypsies always does such a wonderful job finding cool products for her company and, of course Ranger had new products to share. All in all though I didn't see a whole lot of innovation at this show, just new ideas that are really old, rediscovered ones in a different dress. It's all about presentation, and, of course, if you haven't been around as long as I have, some of the ideas and products really are new! I just LOVE the amazing creativity of it all!

The next CHA show will be in Anaheim towards the end of January. I'm already looking forward to it and wondering what will be new and exciting. In the meantime, give something different a whirl and ENJOY!!!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Scrapbook Memories Films Segments at CHA

We taped segments for a new series of Scrapbook Memories at the CHA trade show in Orlando last week. It was a 3 day show and we spent the last day filming. We chose the last day, since film crews inevitably draw a crowd and the last day is usually less busy, making it easier for us to get from booth to booth. Here's the sign from the crew's equipment cart and Ivy and Diane making adjustments to their camera angles, etc.



We have a new guest host for this series, Julie Fei Fan Balzer. You may remember that Julie presented projects for Sakura on the last series and you'll be seeing her again on the series which will start to air in September. Julie will be hosting "Artist to Artist" segments for us, the first of which we taped at the show. Her special guests include Claudine Hellmuth, Suze Weinberg and Mou Saha.





Julie's projects have always had a fun element, and as you get to know her, you'll understand why. Living in New York, in Times Square no less, Julie is one of those amazingly talented, artsy designers I so admire. Her own designs as well as the Artist to Artist segments will bring a new element of creativity to the show. In the meantime you can check out her blog at balzerdesigns.typepad.com for an up close and personal look.

Our first stop was at Hampton Art where Melodee Langworthy showed us how to use tags to make a quick and easy mini album for everyday photos, or special occasions. It never ceases to amaze me how versatile clear stamps can be. Melodee also showed us a new product that looks like nail polish, but is used to add a little sparkle to stamped images.



For our next segment Suzie Gurzi showed us how easy it is to create 12" x 12" pages in minutes using coordinating paper pads and embellishments at Me And My Big Ideas. This is the company known originally for their stick figure kids. You'll be happy to know - they're back!!! You'll just love the papers in their themed paper pads - there are transparent overlays, flocked and foiled papers and everything coordinates. Awesome!



Next stop was the Flower Soft booth. This is such a great product. It’s totally unique - nothing else like it anywhere. Flower Soft is a British company (not that I’m biased or anything) that was founded by Susan Balfour. Noreen McKie showed us how to use Flower Soft to "sprinkle a little imagination" on our projects. Susan and Noreen are from Newcastle, which is even further North than from where I was born, so when you see the segment you’ll notice her accent is a lot thicker than mine. You'll get to see their colored sprinkles at work on the show, but they also had white sprinkles, which is new this year. It looks like snow and I can hardly wait to use it on some Christmas projects I'll be working on in a couple of months or so. Flower Soft products are readily available in the US. Their website is: www.flower-soft.com. One important thing to mention is that Flower Soft sprinkles only work with a quality PVC glue. Their own brand is available, or they recommend Aleene's.



What can I say about the Doodlebugs booth...... I am drawn to it each show, because it is such a fun and happy place. Their product line is always new and fresh, but they have always maintained the "Doodlebug" look by maintaining their signature colors. I talked with Cynthia Sandoval about how she was using their paper line for everyday home dec items throughout the house. I wish you all could see what she has accomplished, but here are some photos to whet your appetite starting, appropriately enough, with the kitchen............







Liz Hicks showed us how to use Glimmer Mist, Glimmer Chips and Glimmer Screens with coordinating stamps at the Tattered Angels booth. You can find lots of information about their products and how to use them at their website, www.mytatteredangels.com and there are more photos of their booth in my previous post below.



We also taped segments at the Sizzix and Spellbinders booths; you can find photos in my previous post below.

All in all it was a great show. The filming went well and you'll be able to see the results in 2010. Filming Scrapbook Memories is always fun. We have wonderful guests with a great variety of ideas, projects, tips and techniques to share. Filming on location, however, adds an additional level of excitement and I hope you enjoy the segments as much as Julie and I did filming them.


This is Kathie, our producer in the photo above with Mou. Kathie also produces Hands On Crafts for Kids, Beads Baubles & Jewels, America Sews, Bake Decorate Celebrate and Knitting Daily.

Scrapbook Memories has been on the air now for 12 years and we have taped over 312 half hour shows. We've seen a lot of changes since 1997, but that's the nature of crafts, the Creative Side of Life................ Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

CHA - Craft & Hobby Show in Orlando

After a great deal of frustration yesterday I thought I'd give Blogspot a whirl, so here's my newest, new blog........

Let's start with news about the CHA show. Up to this year the show has always been in Chicago so it felt a little strange to be getting on a plane to Orlando. Let's face it though, the inside of one convention center is pretty much like every other. This one, however was much darker than the ones I've been to in the past. This show was also much smaller. The Winter shows are probably 5 or 6 times larger, maybe more - all I know is, that it takes me 4 days to see almost everything at a winter show - and I do mean everything. This one was only a 3 day show. We taped segments for a new series of Scrapbook Memories on Thursday, so I only had Tuesday and Wednesday to walk around, but it was plenty of time to see everything without feeling rushed.

Trade shows are fabulous. The booth displays are just amazing and totally inspiring. The best thing about a smaller show, is that there's more time to spend at each booth, so you can really see what's new and fabulous and there was a lot. I saw more Vintage elements than in the past especially at Making Memories. Here's a photo of Graphic 45 to give you an idea.

Tattered Angels had fabulous displays and there was always a buzz around their booth. Birds are the new butterfly when it comes to images, but anything with wings seems to be popular as well as wings on their own. Here are some photos from the Tattered Angels booth. Wendy Sanger, in the photos below, is the owner and creative force behind this company. They first exhibited about 2 years ago in one 10' x 10' booth. Now their booth is huge. We taped a Scrapbook Memories segment there on Thursday.





Nikki Sivils was exhibiting her line of scrapbooking supplies for the first time. She had the cutest cupcake for her Make It/Take It (MITI). You can see more at her blog @http://nikkisdoghouse.blogspot.com. I'm sincerely hoping she'll be able to be a guest on the next series of Scrapbook Memories. She's so adorable, just like her products and I know you'll love to meet her. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. :) This is Nikki and her husband in their booth. What a great guy! He gave up his job as a lawyer to help Nikki with her business. He also tapes every Scrapbook Memories show!

There were a few new tools at the show. Sizzix debuted their new embossing tool. It's fabulous! It's only for embossing, not cutting, and it looks like a little purse. Believe me, there's money in it for those of you who sell your paper crafting projects! You should try it with color core cardstock from Core'dinations. Julianna Hudgins is the spokesperson for Sizzix and she was busy all the time showing hundreds of people how it works. We taped a segment for the show with her, so you'll be able to see it on Scrapbook Memories, but in the meantime, I'm sure there's information on the Sizzix website and probably a video on YouTube. You can see the new machine at the bottom left corner of the photo on the right below.



Quickutz featured their new letter press system! It's totally awesome. Letter Press printing is so classy looking. Sorry I don't have photos, but I didn't have my camera while I was at their booth and didn't have time to go back. Yes, I know, I could have used my phone, but that means I'd have to learn how to download photos off my phone! I'm sure it's as easy as blogging with photos, but you know the challenges I've had with that. I'm sure you can see it at their website, quickutz.com and probably on YouTube. At least you now know to look for it, right? We R Memory Keepers introduced Corner Chompers at the show. These are for adding decorative corners to thicker materials like chipboard. There are 6 or 8, designs. I also saw that they had a new rotary paper trimmer with a great selection of decorative edge cartridges.

Kaisercraft exhibited at the show again. It's an Australian company with great products. I love their shaped albums and they have a lot of wood surfaces for everyday creativity. Melissa is the owner of the company, but you can always find her at the MITI table. She's so passionate about what she does, people love being around her. Their catalog is about 1/2" thick, because it's also a great idea book!



The industry has changed so much over the past years and nothing has had greater impact than the internet and social networking. For example, this is the first time I've carried a camera on the show floor. I've still asked permission to take photos of booths (old habits die hard), but up until just recently, photography was strictly forbidden. Now the exhibitors love to see photos of their products and projects on blogs and websites.

For all Heidi Grace and Cloud 9 fans, Colorbok is now selling their papers and embellishments. I went by their booth and saw Heidi. She is so excited to be back!



I also saw Susan McShirley and Laura at SRM Stickers. Susan has a new calendar kit that will be available soon and other new ideas in the works. I also stopped by My Little Shoebox to see Helen and Suzy.



Core'dinations had a great booth at the show. All their papers were on display with vignettes to feature new paper packs. This is great paper to use with your new Sizzix Embossing machine, or Spellbinders embossing and cutting dies.



There was a lot of excitement at the Spellbinders booth at this summer. Spellbinders won an innovation award for their new medallion dies. Here's a photo of the award.



Stacey Caron and husband Jeff, founded this company about 8 or 9 years ago. They have worked so hard to bring the Wizard and their dies to the marketplace, I'm really thrilled for them to get the recognition they so rightly deserve. The dies are truly unique in that they both cut and emboss. Stacey fractured her arm a few weeks before the show and has been a little "out of sorts" since she wasn't able to demo, but I'm sure this award was the perfect thing to give her spirits the exact boost she needed.





Fancy Pants had a fun display of their Kraft Paper line and



I always stop at Nunn Design. Becky Nunn has a line of Patera and other jewelry items. Patera are like small, shallow dishes so photos (or anything) can be added then covered with resin. I showed a patera project on a recent series of Scrapbook Memories. Finished items can be pendants, earrings, rings, or even ornaments. Becky now has a new resin, which forms a clear dome. Everything you need for this comes in a kit. See up close at www.nunndesign.com



Quick Quotes always has an impressive booth at the shows. This is another manufacturer that combines project ideas with their catalog. Here's a photo of Michelle, who was a guest on the last series of Scrapbook Memories and Andy - they guy who makes it all happen.





There was a lot of hootin and hollerin from the Provo Craft booth this time to introduce the Gypsy. I may be over simplifying what it is by saying it's a remote control for the Cricut. You definitely need to Google this one to get all the details. Purple monster not included........



Just two more photos and I'm signing off for a while. Here's Webster's Pages booth and Pink Paislee. Don't you just love, love, love those snowmen!! Webster's Pages has magnetic frames which I just love. Check out their website at www.websterspages.com for a ton of inspiration, especially for Home Dec projects and ideas.



This is only a smidgeon of what could be seen at the show. If I had taken photos of every booth and every thing in every booth, I'd still be there and it would have taken me a week to write about it all. I hope it's give you a taste of what a trade show is all about. I have been to every one for the past 20 years and wouldn't miss them for anything!

Yours truly,
Julie :)