If you follow my blog, you would have heard me mention CHA and the Designer Showcase before. But have you ever wondered what a Designer Showcase actually is? Well, it's anything that the Designer wants it to be. In the past, I've always displayed my work so that Showcase visitors could get a feel for my style and what it is that I do. But this year, I decided to take a different approach. You see, CHA provided us with a gallery-style pedestal instead of a table, so I created a very minimalist display. And unlike past years where I've had lots of my designs on display, this year I had just ONE finished piece. But, that piece is the hero of my display. I hope it will all make sense by the time you reach the end of the post. In the meantime, follow the pics to see how my Showcase took shape. Let's start with the props for the display. I wanted three round, white boxes which nested inside each other. But having left it until just two days before jetting out to the US to put......

Preparations for CHA always brings a last minute rush in the studio to complete things and this year is no different. To say I'm organised (the word I'm trying to live up to for 2014) would be stretching the truth out of all proportion..... it is absolute chaos in my studio at the moment! I have a book deadline to meet, a Designer Showcase to design (and create!) and jewellery to make to wear at CHA. All before Tuesday morning. Let's just say that there's not a lot of sleep programmed into the next three days! But today I'm setting aside the time to make those special pieces of jewellery to wear during the show. Here's what I've been up to this morning: punching, threading, rolling and gluing. I wish I could share the finished piece with you 'cos it's kinda cool but that's a definite "No-No" before the show. What I can tell you though is that it's gold and it's leather. But, hey, you could tell that from the photos, couldn't......

Before I left for CHA, I promised to post about all the cool stuff I saw. I had a technical hitch whilst I was there and I wasn't able to get many photos from the show floor and since returning home I've been working long into the night to meet some upcoming deadlines. So, it has had to wait until now to tell you all about CHA. There were a couple of cool tools for tying bows. The first one is the Bow-it-All from Zutter which was being demonstrated by it's inventor, Stacy Nicholas. I watched closely as she created a very full bow from a continuous length of ribbon by firstly wrapping the ribbon around the outside pegs of the tool and then the inside pegs, then the outside and then the inside again. She had a nifty little technique for tying it off so that the bow never came undone which I didn't catch on camera but check out the video in the link below to see how it's done. With this easy to use tool, she quickly created a beautiful 6 loop bow for me.   There are a ......

It's just 3 days before I jet out to LA for the CHA Winter Trade Show and Conference and I'm working on the finishing touches for my Designer Showcase at the moment. Each Show I tease you with some sneak peeks of my showcase but you never get to actually see the final display and this year is no different. But instead of teasing you this time, I' sharing photos of one of the pieces on my Showcase as I make it. You might recall the posts about the LED light strings that decorated my dining room last year for my birthday dinner bash. If not, you can check them out here . I'm going to put those lights to use as a decorative feature on my showcase this year by dressing them up a little. Originally, I thought I'd change the colour because they are quite a bright purple. It would have been easy enough to do - a swipe with methylated spirits would have removed the alcohol ink. But I've decided that the purple works quite well with my "all black and white" the......

CHA Summer Show is geared a lot more to the paper craft industry than it is to general crafts so there are fewer bead manufacturers who exhibit. But without a doubt, the blingiest booth at CHA was Connie Crystal . You just about needed sunglasses to cut the glare - it was truly sparkletastic! Take a look at some of the wonderful crystal creations on the stand. Crystal wedding bouquet Red Christmas Tree. There was a blue Christmas Tree on the other side of the booth too. Hello Kitty Bicycle - just too cute! Mini bike The spectacular bejewelled gown I showed you the dress in the last post but take a look at the beautiful matching slipper. This is just a selection of the many beautiful pieces displayed in the booth. Aren't they inspiring? They also hosted an easy but eyecatching Make It, Take It which I'll share later. In the meantime, check out their blog which features some pretty designs (with instructions) created by their Design Team. Why not have some fun creating some of yo......

By the last Day of CHA things are beginning to wind down and there are fewer people on the show floor making it much easier to take photos. Here's what I liked today. I found some great project samples at the Canvas Corp booth: Burlap Jester Stockings from Canvas Corp Burlap and Canvas wall art Stretched Canvas shadow box Graphic 45 always has beautiful themed display stands at their booth. This one was my favourite. Wonderful Christmas Display at Graphic 45 featuring their new paper collection, Nutcracker Sweet Heidi Swapp had quite a few new innovations which took my fancy. Firstly, the neon embellishments. Neon is a hot new trend but she cautions us to use it sparingly! Neon Tapes and embellishments. Heidi Swapp used Hero Arts new Neon  ink pads in for this hot look! Day Glow Tape Color Shine mists - designed to spray on Heidi Swapp resist papers but works equally well on canvas and leather! Connie Crystal had the most wonderful display of crystal beaded objects at her bo......

I'm back on the show floor for Day 2 of CHA hunting out great eye candy and new products to tempt you with. One of the new trends emerging is the use of colour. Even in the distressed Ranger products line there is a definite move towards strong colour. The vintage look is still around too but there is a shift towards the whimsical look. Here's today's selection: Tombow's Irotjen Pencils in fantastic neon shades. They glow under a black light - a very fun effect! Tim Holtz Bottle Brush Christmas Trees - before...... and after staining - very eyecatching display! Queen & Co's very creative washi tape table - it took 5 hours to complete! A whimsical ferris wheel at Prima Check in again tomorrow to see more of the things which catch my eye. 'Til next time..... If you can't get enough of My Tutorials and you want even more inspiration,  click here to find my books and printable pdfs...