Time Flies - Whether You're Having fun or Not..

The days are flying by lately...  too much to do and so little time.  Plus I lost a whole hour this weekend!  I've been trying to clean up my computer desktop and also my iBook.  The problem is that I have way too many photos and I just love looking thru them all over and over again.  I've probably told you before, that I love photography - looking at photos and taking them.  I'm always the one with the camera at showers and parties, hopping around taking candid shots of everyone there.  Even before I had a digital camera.  I received my first camera, a Brownie Reflex 620 at the ripe old age of 11 and my first 35mm, half frame Olympus Pen EE at 16.  And yes, I still have them both....... (I should post a photo of them.....)  but I sometimes wonder what I'm missing at all these gatherings while I'm recording the moments that everyone else is living.  Seems like I'm either getting food ready (if the party's at our house), or I'm taking photos of everyone else laughing, talking and having fun.  I've recorded some of life's most beautiful and vivid moments over the years, but do I sometimes forget to be part of them.....  Nah....  I've enjoyed them all to the fullest and I enjoy reliving them over an over again.  A wondrous "looking glass" experience.

Have a great week!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Birthday Boy!

It's my grandson's birthday today, so I picked him and his sister up from school early in the afternoon for a special trip to Toys R Us so he could choose his own birthday gift.  After that we met Mommy & Daddy & Papa at the Pancake House for....  pancakes, of course!  It was a fun outing, but not any where near as exciting as his party this past Saturday.  SPIDERMAN was a surprise guest and all the kids were absolutely thrilled to bits.  This was one of life's "scrapbook moments" that we'll remember for years to come.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

GIVEAWAYS!!

One of my favourite (sp? It's correct, old habits die hard) jobs, for want of a better word, as a host of Scrapbook Memories is to look for new and exciting products at the trade shows that we all feature on the Opens and Closes. So what do we do with them when we leave the set, you may ask... Well, now that I'm getting a little better at blogging (with encouragement from Julie FFB who's a whiz at this stuff), I am going to start GIVING THESE PRODUCTS AWAY!!!! I must admit that I will undoubtedly hang on to some things, but I have so much that I can share. In order to do this, however, I may need to change my blog template to 3 columns, so let me figure that one out first. (I know how to do it, just need to make sure I don't lose content in the process.) So bear with me and keep checking back. I have the iTop Brad & Button Maker from Imaginisce, fabulous Craftworks templates and some great new punches from McGill to start with. Need to run and do a press check on a book right now, but I'll be back.... hope you will be too! BTW: Julie will be participating too so you'll have double the fun. Julie's website is: www.balzerdesigns.typepad.com.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Scrapbook Memories - Series 1600

Welcome to the studios! There used to be a driveway around here somewhere.......

Julie and Beth with our new, artist to artist segment host, Julie Fei Fan Balzer.

First stop is to see Karen in the make-up room, then we're ready to tape the "Opens".

Beth is responsible for answering viewers questions, so she keeps track of all the different products we show during the "Open" to each show.

This is the "Green Room" where we lay out projects, set out product and prep for segments. It's also the dressing room where change and keep track of what we wear on each show and snack!

Nikki Sivils was one of our guests for this series and Lisa Singer joined us again together with

Julianna Hudgins, who showed us all the great features of the ECLIPS
as well as some old favorites.



We have the best lunch room! It's a the top of the building, so we always have a great view of the weather....... the roof is glass too, so it was covered in snow that week!



Beth and I prep for a segment and Jewels pops in for a quick "Three Julie's" photo before she and I head for the airport. Julie Fei Fan Balzer stayed for the weekend, which was probably a good thing since all flights to New York were cancelled. Jewels and I made it home okay.



There are obviously a whole bunch of folks behind the scenes who play a BIG part in bringing Scrapbook Memories to you. This is Mike, the director.

The show is produced by Kathie Stull, KS Productions. Kathie has been in the Arts & Crafts Industry for over 20 years producing videos and TV Shows for PBS. Her other shows include:
Quilting Arts - Beads, Baubles & Jewels - Hands On Crafts for Kids - Bake, Decorate, Celebrate (Beth hosts this show too) - America Sews with Sue Hausman and Knitting Daily.

This new series won't start to air until late Spring, but you'll notice it's quite a bit different from past series. You'll see segments we taped on location at the CHA trade show and we've added some different types of projects. The Arts & Crafts industry is changing as new products are developed and designers discover new, creative things to do; plus, there's a whole, new generation of crafters out there who are just itching to dive into something creative. Mixed Media is the trend "du jour" and this was evident at the trade show in January. You know something's afoot, when a scrapbook company - Making Memories - features jewelry products in their booth. No we didn't have anything like that on the show, but it's an indication of change. We do talk about mixed media though and are looking for your feedback, so please stay tuned then let us know what YOU think. Viewer feedback is, and always has been very important to us.

Check out our group page on Facebook - you can leave comments there for us too! Enjoy!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Chivalry isn't Dead Yet

Jewels (Julianna Hudgins) and I were leaving the hotel to head to the studio. It was 7:30 am and blizzard conditions. We left our luggage by the hotel door instead of dragging suitcases thru the snow and went to get the car. A gentleman had the same idea and pulled up under the hotel awning to load his own bags just ahead of us. There was only room for one car, so when he saw us pull up behind, he jumped back into his car and pulled forward out into the snow again so we could stop under the awning. Wow! I have to say it made our whole day, just knowing that the "Age of Chivalry" is not dead. A gentleman indeed.

Yours truly,
Julie :)

The "Craft Room"

I've seen some wonderful "Scrapbooking" rooms in books, magazines, etc and I'm often asked what mine looks like. Well this is my "Craft" room. It used to be a corner of our family room until we moved in 2003. The "ping pong" table was ideal for laying out designs and I could store lots and lots of boxes underneath, but now I have a whole room just for me and I love it! It's upstairs, so I can be as messy as I want, which is usually the case. It may not look like it, but I did clean up just for these photos - had to find my camera!



It's very practical, as you can see, with industrial shelving and the countertop under the windows is a formica kitchen countertop from Home Depot which I placed across two drawer units from the Container store. There's also another shelving unit full of boxes in a closet at the end of the landing just outside the french doors. My computer, printers, scanner, etc are all on the L-shaped corner unit, another industrial piece which has served me well since 1996. Nothing glamorous for me I'm afraid, but it fits my needs to a "T" - speaking of which, I could do with a cuppa right now. BTW - there's a balcony outside so I can watch the seasons go by while I work. Check out my snow photo from Feb.12th.



I must admit that I still commandeer the large dining room table downstairs for some of my more long and "involved" projects and I have even more boxes stacked along one wall of the garage. Most of them are full of projects that have appeared in books and magazines and on T.V. I've given a lot of them away to charity gift shops over the years, but there's still a lot left. Time to spring clean again........

Have a happy Monday and a great week!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

On the Inside Looking Out!

It snowed here last week. In fact it was a record snowfall for our area. I had a few minutes in the wee hours of this morning, so I downloaded my photos so I can share the beauty of the day. It was absolutely magnificent outside - outside being the operative word with me being on the inside....... On the other hand, it wreaked havoc in the area. Power lines were knocked down by tree branches that gave way under the weight of the 8"-9" of snow. And, being in Texas, we were definitely not prepared for something like this. The temperatures weren't too low though, so the main roads remained passable for the most part.

Here are the "Views from My Window". Enjoy!

Have a happy day!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

Where Does the Time Go?

I catch up with Beth thru her blog and it struck me the other day that her daughter and my grandson are the same age! In fact their birthdays are within a few days of each other. Is that a happy thought for a Monday morning, or what.........

I also follow Julie Fei Fan Balzer's blog and am always impressed at how she finds time for so much creativity and even more time to journal about it on her blog! So, what have I been doing these past few days? Well, most importantly getting ready to leave next week to tape Scrapbook Memories at the studio in Cleveland. I've also been working on projects for a manufacturer client and just sent a 32 page book to the printer. Unfortunately these projects are for clients, so I'm not at liberty to share even what they are, but I'VE BEEN VERY BUSY!

I've been dealing with the repercussions from the record snowfall too. My satellite connection was down (no TV either) and power was sporadic at best... I'm not sure that total dependency on the internet is a good thing. Which reminds me....... I actually received a hand written note last week from the girls at CHA to thank me for my support at the consumer show. Did you see that I said HAND WRITTEN.....wow! I continue to be impressed and absolutely delighted! I miss the "good ol days" - some of them anyway. These new days are wonderful in a whole new different way. I'm a Nana and my son is getting married in about 8 weeks! I have SO much to do to get ready for that........ I'll definitely have to get started as soon as I get back.

Have a happy day!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

I'm the Adult - I think.....

It's snowing - again!!!! There's such a beautiful snowfall outside. Big ol' flakes that look like chunks of cotton candy. It's the kind of snow that makes you want to run outside, look up at the sky and let the flakes tickle your eyelashes. Truth is, I'm just not that kid any more and I'm more than happy to watch it through the window. I'm a Nana for goodness sake, though I must admit I still jump waves at the beach, wear a swimsuit and build crazy sandcastles with the kids.

I took my grandchildren to school yesterday morning. Dylan went to his classroom first then Jovie and I walked down the hallway to her room. We hung up her coat, put her lunchbag in the cubby then I gave her a big hug. She marched into her classroom, then turned and blew me a kiss as she started to pull her "work" off the shelf. I lingered in the doorway as tears welled up in my eyes, thinking "hey you, you're the adult, YOU aren't supposed to be the one to cry when you leave!" Maybe I do need to go play in the snow.

This is what I see from Craft Studio window:

Yours truly,
Julie :)

CHA SuperShow • Winter 2010

Due to the resounding success of its very first consumer show in Orlando this past summer, the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) organized a second consumer show which preceded the trade show in Anaheim this month. Supported by manufacturers, local retailers, chain stores and even designers, the show is an opportunity to educate consumers about products and teach crafting techniques through Make-It Take-Its (MITIs) and demos. I taught two free workshops on the show floor for example: a Spirelli (string art embellishments) workshop and a Brushstroke workshop. There was a workshop every hour for both Friday and Saturday. There was lots of excitement on the show especially at the Cricut booth. Since the consumer show was before the trade show, it was the consumers who saw the Cricut Cake first and boy were they excited!!

It was busy everywhere, but for me the most exciting area was the KidZone. KS Productions, the company who has been bringing "Hands On Crafts for Kids" to PBS stations across the US for over 10 years, worked hand in hand with CHA and manufacturers to have MITIs for our youngest crafters. I spent all day Friday helping little ones make Monkey bookmarks. I can't put into words what a thrill it was to watch those tiny hands paint and glue, so here are some photos to share. There are no names, of course, but I did ask each parent for permission before taking these photos! If you are a manufacturer reading this, these will be your customers in the not too distant future, so please remember this when asked to support a childrens program of any kind.
















Future Arts & Crafts Teacher! Tara Smith and Keri Cunningham from CHA

Boys and girls, moms and dads even grandparents had so much fun making ants, octopuses, bracelets, necklaces, bulletin boards, pencil toppers, frames, sand art, bookmarks and more. In this hi tech era of computers and hand held games, etc. let's not forget how much fun it is to craft!

Yours truly,
Julie :)

California Here I Come!

Next week at this time I'll be heading for Anaheim!  God willing and the creek don't rise that is.......  The creek rising is a distinct possibility around here.  It rained so much one year the water almost reached the back fence and the road to and from the area was flooded in both directions.  We had no power for almost 4 days.  The stove is gas, so I could cook, but we had no water since we have a well and, of course the pump is electric.  None of that bothered us too much, it was the huge vultures that sat on the back fence that gave us the "eebie jeebies"........  As usual, I digress.

I've been so busy this month (and yes the tree is still up.  So much for 12th night.)  I'm teaching 2 small workshops at the Craft Academy at the CHA Supershow.  The first is on Friday evening at 7pm. This is a Spirelli workshop.  Spirelli is basically string art and a cool way to make embellishments.  Anyway I'll be showing you how to do it and here's a picture of what it looks like.

 

The second class is all about decorative painting.  Did I say these classes are only 45 mins!  Obviously I can't tell you everything in such a short time, but I'll show you some basic brush strokes and so you'll be able to paint this.  This class is at noon on Saturday.

It's a 4" tile and we'll paint it with Gloss Enamels, so we won't have to worry about prepping surfaces, etc that has to be done with wood.  Did I say already that the classes are FREE, that's right FREE!!

I'll be in the KidZone on Friday then in the Michaels booth for a MITI on Saturday afternoon at 2pm. Hope to see you there!

Yours truly,

Julie  :)

Happy New Year!

I wonder what this new decade will bring.......  the craft industry changed quite a bit over the past 10 years, but that's the nature of crafts - inherent creativity.  Nothing would be happening if things weren't changing.  Seems like the past ten years was the "digital decade".  It was all about computers, digital cameras and social networking.  I love my digital camera and treated myself to the new Canon Rebel for Christmas.  It's great for both photographing projects up close and personal and the grandchildren. Don't really care about the HD movie feature - I like what I call my "Mini Movies" - short and sweet that most cameras can take.  They're good enough for me.  I got a Flip video camera about a year ago, but never used it.  Let me know if you want one.  I'm not very good at the social networking stuff.  I try to keep up, but it's quite apparent that I have a hard enough time keeping up with the blog.  I have so many things I'd like to do do here, but it's so hard to find the time when living a regular life.  I like Facebook, but only to check on friends and family photos.  I don't know how the social networkers do everything that they do.

I'm still working on the projects for the Craft SuperShow in Anaheim.  Yikes it's a little over 2 weeks away!  I'm going to be teaching two classes.  Spirelli on Friday evening and a Brushstroke Workshop on Saturday morning.  I'll also be in the Michaels booth Saturday afternoon showing a line of Woodsie kits I created for Loew-Cornell and later in the afternoon I'll be at the Barnes & Noble for a book signing for Hands on Crafts for Kids - 20 Minute Crafts.  Come see me!  I'll post project photos later this week.

Yours truly,
Julie  :)