DESIGNER BLOG CONNECTION, CHA & A CRICUT!

When this post went live on 3/3/11 - I inadvertently posted the black Cricut logo above instead of the machine photo - sorry for any confusion but my blog is NOT one of those you need to find the Cricut on to be eligible to win.......This error was corrected on 3/4/11.... I'll try to not be such a goofball in future posts!

The Designer Blog Connection is now officially LIVE!  Each month a group of amazing designers will share projects in a variety of mediums on a variety of topics. This month we'll be posting ideas on projects for weddings on March 13th.  Look for the logo on your right on your favorite blogs.  Click the "hop forward" button and it will take you to another designer's blog. There you will find the same logo. This logo is your ticket that will take you from blog to blog to discover projects, tips and techniques from some of the Arts & Crafts industry's premier designers.

Julie McGuffee has generously offered to donate a CRICUT EXPRESSION!  Here's the scoop directly from Julie's blog on how YOU could win this awesome machine! 

This is how you enter to win. As you hop from blog to blog you will see this logo on 9 of them:

Make a note of the name of the blog where you saw the logo then list these names in the comments section of this post on my blog. The winner will be announced here on March 14th. (Please note: Due to shipping charges and customs regulations, I can only ship to a US address.) Followers automatically qualify to enter, but if you leave a comment, you can be entered twice - just let me know you're a follower. If you're not already a follower, you can sign up and be entered twice too!

I hope you enjoy your treasure hunt and all the exciting blogs you'll visit on your journey. Be patient with each of us - sometimes the logo is easily seen at the top of a blog and sometimes it's at the bottom, but it's there and if you don't find 9 "Cricuts" the first time around, check again in a day or two. Time gets away from us sometimes...... If you happen to get "stuck" somewhere click on the DC Connection button and it will take you to a list of all the blogs in the ring. Skip over the one where you just got "stuck" and click on the next on the list. Designers are busy, busy, busy and blogging has to take a backseat sometimes, but we will have something special to share with you each month and......there will be a giveaway! Not a Cricut each time, but something I hope you'll enjoy. So, y'all come back now........ and tell your friends!

Yours truly, Julie :)


Posted by Julie McGuffee - http://www.juliemcguffee.blogspot.com/

  CHA Winter - A Look Back -

In recent posts, I’ve shared a couple of trends I noticed (circus themes and houses everywhere...), and a link to the When Creativity Knocks episode featuring some of the designers who participated in the Designer Showcase - http://tinyurl.com/6kykskp. But as I sit back and think about the last CHA one thing stands out in my mind – the amazing fact that so many creative people are gathered together in one place to share their energy for a few days. One of the best parts of attending CHA is getting to see “old” creative friends, and make new creative friends. Getting to laugh, view so many mixed media projects, talk a bit even if it’s just a stolen moment here and there, and take photos. The time spent demonstrating and hosting make and takes at booths is always great because attendees are generally so happy to be able to stop and make a project. This year I hosted a Makin’s Clay make and take featuring a ring project.  I also worked with When Creativity Knocks at the Elmer’s booth hosting Make and Send projects – interactive fun cards for the troops. Episodes highlighting some of these projects are already available on the www.WhenCreativityKnocks.com site – and there are more to come soon. We also presented Crafting Under The Big Top with Craftwell and had a blast hosting making “circus lollypops” and DIY Bangles featuring dies cut with their awesome machine.

I had very little time to walk the floor this year, but I snapped a few photos of things that caught my eye.

Theresa Cifali, Vanna, Laura Bray and I - Smiling for the camera at the Elmer's Booth!

The Yarn Guy. Almost as popular as Vanna White at Lion Brand Yarn this year – was the Yarn Guy. I was working at Elmer’s booth across from the Lion Brand Yarn booth and I can honestly say almost no one made it past him without sitting down and having an imaginary chat, not to mention a few other unexpected things I saw people do to him…. I told them at the end of the show they needed to replace him with a real guy wrapped in yarn and have him get up and walk through the isles and out of the convention center.  A lot of people would be very surprised if they thought he had actually been a REAL guy in there!  Speaking of Vanna – she and her daughter Giovanna took the time after the Lion Brand Yarn fashion show to stop by the Elmer’s booth and create cards for the troups – it was great to create with them and I am sure the recipients will be shocked when they see they have a card signed by Vanna!

Feathers and a big bird….. I am always drawn to the feather booths –they are just so jam packed full of fluffy fun I can’t stay away. This year was no exception – and I loved this big bird at the Midwest Design Imports booth.

I have also enjoyed viewing the photos shared by so many fellow designers – together these photos create a very accurate snapshot of the showroom floor.   Click on the link in the upper right of my page to see what they've shared!