CHA Archives - Crafty Card Gallery

Creativation 2017

So I just got back Monday night from Creativation 2017 in Phoenix. Big news is that CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) has rebranded themselves as Association For Creative Industries (AFCI). This was the first year the show was in Phoenix, and they did a great job!I haven’t been on facebook as much since the political posts are ruining it for me… so I mainly posted my photos on instagram… if you’re not following me yet, you can find me here or on twitter as @CraftyCardGllrySo what were my favorite things???? Here are my top 10 in no particular order…. (and the pictures are below because I’m trying out a new blogging tool and I can’t figure out how to move them around where I want them!!!!)
1) I totally want to get the Anna Griffith Couture Creation Go Press Foil so I can use my die cutting machine with foil!
2) Loved way too many of the new Lawn Fawn sets… I’m convinced they can make anything cute!
3) I finally learned the proper way to use the Art Impressions water color stamps that I love – the key is stamping everything 5 times!
4)Thought the cactus dies from sizzix (and the cool cut out embossing folders) were cool!
5)Enjoyed watching the Bob Ross painting -who knew you could watch it on twitch and that they had a creative video channel?
6) Craft fan girl moment – we got to meet Lori Whitlock. It’s always neat & exciting to meet the people whose designs you love! We also saw (but didn’t talk to) Tim Holtz, Vanna White, and Becky Higgins, Gina K….
7) Thoroughly enjoyed making a painting (my own mini Jackson Pollock style) in the Splatter Room (and wearing the cool bunny suit!)
8) Getting made into a color by number picture – photomatic by gifted custom art
9)Going to the Prime Blogger Event and meeting representatives from a lot of creative companies and getting ideas on what to do with my blog
10)Learning more about the size of the craft industry & learning that most of us participate in more than one craft (which I think is because we end up buying all the stuff & it works for other crafts)…

But my favorite part of creativation is checking out all the cool new stuff! I love shiny and new… the only upside is you can’t buy there…because I could probably spend all of my money!!!And the trends we noticed this year?
– planner stuff – stickers/stamps/binders/etc
-painting – both on canvas, cardstock, and actual objects
-succulents – there were cactus dies, stamps, themed paper, etc
-positive sentiments – there were a lot of positive, optimistic, inspirational sentiments everywhereHope you enjoyed my recap! If you have any comments – or want more pictures, please comment!
I’ll be sure to post more later!

Crafty Card Gallery January 26, 2017

art impressions / blogger / bob ross / CHA / Creativation2017 / go press foil / IFCI / lawn fawn / lori whitlock / photomatic / prime / splatter room /

Birthday Card!

Happy Ides of March! And Happy Birthday to me!!!
This month’s theme is Birthday cards (since March is my birthday month).

I wanted to share a few cards with you… I’ve been on the design team over at http://cardadaychallenge.blogspot.com/ so I’ve been making quite a few cards lately… so these are a few of the birthday cards I’ve done for them…
So I’ll give you a few 🙂

Wanted a simple black & white card with just some color. Wanted to make the balloons pop, and have it be just a cute little card. These are great adorn it watercolor sheets I picked up at CHA.

Supplies – Adorn It watercolor sheet, Zig clean color pens, ATG, water & paintbrush.

I am obsessed with the Zig pens – I had bought the 24 set at the scrapbook expo – and now have bought the 60 set on Amazon (cheaper than I paid for the 24) – Zig

I thought this would be a great use of a paper pack where all of the papers coordinate and the paper is double sided. It needed more pop after it was done so I added some embellishments and wink of stella. I used the deco foil with dies for the first time – super easy!!!

Supplies – Close to my heart Sangria paper pack, craft easy tear tape. icraft Deco foil, i craft easy cut adhesive, wink of stella gold, queen & co pearls, banner dies from stamps of life & sizzix. Birthday dies (Not sure of brand).

Elizabeth craft designs sticker,

Forever in time chalkboard stickers

Zig Kuretake Markers

Watercolor brush

watercolor paper

Stampin’ Up wildflower memory, sketched birthday

Detail white embossing powder, clear embossing powder

Misti

Versamark ink

Zig Kuretake Markers

Watercolor brush

watercolor paper

And I wanted to share with you that I’ve been working on some “not cards no paper” crafts – I feel like I’m cheating on cards – but wanted to share with you that I’ll be posting some stuff with items I got at CHA – and I’m excited. It’s been pretty challenging for me (outside of my comfort zone)… but I wanted to try something new (and do scary stuff – a la Year of Yes – a great book if you haven’t read it yet).

I’ve also gotten quite a few new crafting goodies (I bought the Mint, and some other cool stuff) so there will be some new things 🙂

So stay tuned!

Have a great day! I think I need to go find some birthday cake!

Crafty Card Gallery March 15, 2016

adornit / CHA / Elizabeth craft / icraft Deco foil / misti / notcardsnopaper / year of yes / Zig Kuretake Clean Color Pens /

You are the Bee’s Knees

Hi everyone! It’s me, Tonya and I am here to share a card for Crafty Card Gallery blog and this month’s theme is CHA inspired. Since I had some of my projects in some of the booths at CHA and I had used digital images/vintage theme I chose to go that route with my card.
I started with a 6″x6″ piece of cardstock from the Kraft and Black Cardstock Paper Pad which I folded in half…3″x6″…to create a card base. I gathered up scraps of patterned cardstock that had a vintage, pinkish, valentinish feel. Which I cut, punched and adhered to the front of the card.

The girl image I found on Tammy Tutterow’s blog and best part it is free. I love the mischievous look on the little girl’s face. I sized the image down and fussy cut out. Next I printed out some butterfly wings that I purchased from Altered Pages and I fussy cut those out too. I adhered the wings to the back of the girl and then glued her to the card base. The wings I added a little Stickles to the wings and punched a crown out and glued to the little girl’s head. I also added flat back pearls to the crown.

I finished off the card with bits of lace and trim and a button. Also on the scalloped edge of the cardstock I added sequin and more flat back pearls. The sentiment I printed from the computer. The plan is to use this card in a Valentine’s Day card swap that I signed up for over on Instagram…fingers crossed she likes it. 🙂
If you have any questions about this card please let me know.

Thanks for stopping by, hope your Monday is awesome and enjoy creating!

Tonya January 18, 2016

Altered Pages / Bee Girl / Buttons / Canvas Corp / card / cardstock / CHA / Creative Addiction to paper / Flat Back Pearls / Lace / Printable / scrapbook paper / Sequins / Stickles / Trim / vintage /

“See You at CHA” Blog Hop

Welcome to the “See You at CHA” Blog Hop!

I’ve been lucky enough to attend CHA for the last few years…. It’s a great experience! It’s like crafting heaven! I joined CHA and have attended the Mega show because I have a card making app – Crafty Card Gallery for iPhones & iPads.

My app was even featured in the CHA magazine! I have met a lot of great people through CHA – if you are thinking about joining, I would definitely recommend it!

Here are a few tips if you’re a first time attendee to the Mega show:

1) Wear comfortable shoes! The show floor is HUGE! We averaged over 12,000 steps per day – so make sure your shoes are comfy!

2) Bring a bag (and if it’s a rolling bag, even better) to put all the make & takes, brochures, etc in! You will get lots of stuff – and it gets tiring carrying it all. It also helps to make sure to put a luggage tag on the bag in case you accidentally leave it somewhere (that has happened to me before).

3) Bring some snacks (hangry is no fun – and the snack bar food is just o.k.)

4) Be sure to bring an extra backup battery for your phone (especially if you’ll be posting to social media or taking pictures) – it seems like my phone dies faster at CHA and I take a ton of pictures and post a lot to facebook. You don’t want to miss out on taking a great picture & not be able to snap it because your battery is dead. I took over 800 pictures this year at CHA (bringing a regular camera is a great idea too).

5) Have a plan for how you’re going to do the show. We always start on one side of the hall and go row by row the first day. The second day we may skip around to make sure we see the places we really want to see. And the third day we make sure we get to everything else. It’s best to make sure you make it to your favorite places – because sometimes you’ll want to go back a few times. Also, manage your time – pay attention to how much time you have left in the day because it’s easy to spend a lot of time at one or two booths.

6) Be prepared to see some of your crafting idols! I was totally geeked out the time I got my picture taken with Becky Higgins (one of my crafting heroes) (Surprisingly, my non-crafting friends were not as impressed as I was) and there’s always a crowd around Tim Holtz and Vanna White – sort of cool to see them in person! Even some of the bloggers/you tube people you follow – you’ll see a lot of them there. Photo below from CHA 2013

7) Bring lots of business cards! Everyone will want them. I am horrible at remembering to pass them out so I have a wonderful friend who makes sure they get to people and that I get their business cards (and any relevant notes jotted down).

8) Take notes of things that are great. I can’t tell you how many times my friend and I couldn’t remember where we saw a certain thing… So now we try to take pictures of booths or company names or take notes on brochures or business cards so that we can go back to them.

9) If you can meet up with others you know try to arrange it! I have a group of ladies that I know through Facebook and crafting and blog hops that I meet up with at CHA every year! It’s very fun!

10) Take your vitamins! The years I have taken my vitamins before, during and after I made the trip (we fly) I’ve come home healthy. There are lots of people in the convention center and you want to make sure you stay healthy.

11) If you’re not the most outgoing person, wear something that is attention getting – it will make conversation starting easier! One year I wore a beautiful scarf, last year I had really interesting fingernails (see picture below).

12) if you can take advantage of some of the classes, be sure to do so. CHA offers a ton of great classes, and there are often classes such as COPIC markers scheduled during the show at nearby hotels. Last year I took a COPIC marker class

And most importantly – expect to be inspired by all the creativity, talent, and cool stuff that you will see!

I love the experiences I have had at CHA – getting to see a 3D printer and laser cutter in person, meeting designers and the people who have developed the products I love to use (and getting to ask them questions about the product), seeing new products months before you can get them in stores, and getting to try new tools and learn new techniques! I hope you have a fabulous time at the show! And if you follow me on facebook, you’ll be able to see what I see when I’m there 🙂

Thanks so much for visiting! And don’t let me forget –

There’s an amazing prize drawing – so you should check out all of the blogs – the full link is here:

https://craftandhobby.wordpress.com/2015/12/03/you-can-win-500-in-the-see-you-at-cha-blog-hop/

Here is the link to win!

There are just three entry options to win our $500+ Visa gift card:

Leave a comment on your blog (mandatory) answering the question – “What is your favorite “can’t live without” craft supply or tool?”
Tweet about the giveaway (tweet text includes #CHAshow hashtag; can tweet daily for extra entries)
Answer a multiple-choice poll about how often you “cre8time” for crafting (double entry value)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Crafty Card Gallery December 11, 2015

#CHASHOW / Blog Hop / CHA / Copic / Crafty Card Gallery / Giveaway /

Fall Blog Hop

Welcome to the Crafty Card Gallery Fall themed blog hop!

We have 9 very talented card makers who have each designed a fall themed card.

If you’ve never done a hop before, it’s a group of bloggers that have joined together. You hop from blog to blog using the links in each post.

Be sure to visit each of the blogs and comment on the posts. Some of the bloggers are giving away prizes – so you want to be sure to comment so you can be eligible to win.

Be sure to read the full post because I’ll be doing a giveaway!

You’re at the first stop!

I’ve been sort of slacking in the blogging department (don’t know if any of you can relate to that)… and I wanted to have a blog hop to celebrate the fact that Crafty Card Gallery App has been in the apple store for 5 years! I can’t believe it’s been that long – and it’s been a great time! I’ve met a ton of cool people and had a lot of great opportunities from the App. If you don’t know about the app – it’s an iPhone app that has cards so you can look for ideas. You can find designers and read their blogs…

You can find Crafty Card Gallery in the App Store! here.

I also wanted to celebrate the app being featured in Craft Industry Today. Sort of cool to have your app in the magazine for the Craft & Hobby Association! I’ve been a member of CHA for a few years now and it’s been a great opportunity!

So I know you’re here for the card….

I recently went to scrapbook expo and took a watercolor class and bought these Zig Kuretake Clean Color Pens (note – much better price on Amazon than at scrapbook expo)… and I also bought a ton of other fun stuff – including some super cute stamps from Stamps by Judith & Heather. This was my first time seeing their stamps and I loved a ton of them (so of course I bought them)!

So here’s my first attempt at using the watercolor pens & the new stamps:

Twine on the leaf that was a Lawn Fawn Die Cut – and the letters are Lawn Fawn as well….
Wink of stella on the leaves