Saturday, June 5, 2010

The adventure of crafts..........

The convention is closed and all is I'm sure much quieter around the Arlington Convention Center as vendors make their way toward home. I know I am not the only one who has some wonderful memories now stored away with new ideas, products and samples to share with friends. So I thought I'd get a quick blog update on all that went on during my little northern adventure.

Despite some travel glitches and the like with hotels and travel partners, the overall experience was wonderfully fun, educational and expensive! : ) My travel partner had to back out at the last minute which saddened us both. So I headed up to Arlington on my own Wednesday afternoon, checked in the hotel and just stretched out in my room to review the convention line up and relax.

What was I to see?

There were more booths than one could comfortably see in one day; I had signed up for two classes so that also tapped into the time line. Check out some of the fun!


There was wonderful artwork, with versatile techniques. I have to admit, my pages pale in comparison to what they had on display. I have to step up my game for sure!



I attended a class by Tattered Angels called Glimmer Mist 101 and while the packet was a generous techniques notebook and four bottles of glimmer mist, stencil and lace, flowers and ribbon to alter I am still unsure if this product is for me. Each page I did seemed to look much like the last and the overall feeling I got was that this was just a messy medium best used outdoors. The problem is, I don't craft much outdoors and my small craft area isn't conducive to alot of ink spray. I'm still undecided but the class was fun and the teacher was quite educational, enthusiastic and made it worth the time and money.

I also attended a Slice tips, tricks and techniques class which was a wowza success. Besides the awesome paper pack and embellies they included for us to work with we ended up with the materials for a two page spread. I feel like a harker on a bad tv commercial but wait, there's more! Included in the $27.00 price of the ticket was also a Slice monogrammed apron and a discontinued Slice cartridge called Seasons which I did not already own. That alone was the creme de' la creme for me! What a great surprise. They gave away a ton of door prizes but alas I was not a winner, unless you count the great review and question/answer session that sold me on the new Slice Hands Free system and the embossing nibs (which I did not buy but soooo should have!) I am the happy new owner of the Slice Hands Free system at a great price from my new friends at Scrapmart! I have no idea where they are located and I haven't found their website yet, but rest assured, their show specials and great selection, they got plenty of my money right on the spot!

And that was just day one!

Tomorrow I'll be posting my pics of Tim Holtz hard at work and then the great art I received from him along with a picture of yours truly and Tim. What a joy the whole thing was.......who knew?

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