California Fun!

The CHA trip was amazing. I took my vacation to head to Anaheim for the Crafts and Hobbies Association trade show, and to hang out with friends in Southern California where Scott and I previously lived for 10 years. The trip began at the show where the corporation I work for, Simplicity Creative Group had a nice booth representing tons of eco products to support the theme, “It’s Easy Being Green.”

My position as the New Product Development Manager has been especially fulfilling as I have developed sustainable products including appliqués, transfers, biodegradable water bottles & decals, keychains, and non-woven recyclable bags. I also had fun coordinating one of the show stoppers; a trash bag tutu, made by Stefanie Girard. We caught several peeps standing behind the magazine clippings bustier and tutu for snapshots.

For the past 5 years, Scott and I have been shooting video for our video series as Craft TV Studios, which is sold to Creative Home Arts for their craft club. We also upload the videos on the web for the companies we choose to shoot. Being registered as Press, we were also able to shoot video for a documentary Scott is working on. We interviewed CEOs, designers and manufacturers in the crafts industry about how the new eco standards and green movement is impacting them. We spent some quality time with industry giants such as Robert Workman at Provo Craft and Bill Gardner with Craftrends, as well as Mike Harnett with Creative Leisure News. The documentary will be edited by Scott and eventually submitted to Current TV Network.

I finally got to meet Cathie Filian, who hosts with Steve Piacenza on Creative Juice, which airs on DIY and HGTV. She was so excited to finally get to tell me that she’s an Oklahoma gal, too! She has so much energy and filled up the room with her giggles and bubbly personality. We were all at the same party hosted by Carlos Garcia at Scrapblog.com.

What a party! Everyone was there. We got to hang with Traci Bautista, who is a fabulous collage artist and has her pic on every bottle of Aleene's Collage Pauge in the craft stores. She’s a sweetie, and so talented. Oh, and Stefanie Girard was there too. She’s one amazing fashion and crafts designer, and the sassy chick who made the tutu for my display in the Simplicity Creative Group booth. She has several crafty blogs, and you can go check her out to see what fun she had at the show with her new book, “Sweater Surgery.”

Deborah Norville was there, pushing her new yarn line for Premier Yarns. She is an avid knitter, and Deborah is an award-winning journalist, a bestselling author, and anchor of the television newsmagazine, Inside Edition.

Not to be upstaged, Paris Hilton made an appearance to promote her new kids craft kits in the Wooky Entertainment booth to promote her new Paris Creativity collection of crafting products.

The paparazzi were thick, and as you can see, she caused quite a stir with the curious onlookers. Scott got some great footage as she snuck in from the back of the building.

It was an absolute madhouse. If you are interested, you can go to Allison Orthner's blog to read all about it.

I ran into an old friend from my days as a host on Aleene’s Creative Living. Joann Pearson is an absolute doll, and has been the lead Craft Designer at Michaels for 20 years. Her knowledge, skill, ability to follow the trends and her amazing creativity make her a guiding force in the craft industry. It was great to see you, Joann!

I also met up with Vicki Howell who is the knitting expert at LifetimeTV.com and she looked beautiful as ever, even as a glowing expectant mom. I hung out in the press room talking to 2 amazing designers, Joan Fee and Lauren Johnston to talk about projects we are working on together. I can't believe I forgot to get pics!

I was stunned when I went to the EK Success booth and saw all of the Swarovski crystal designs in the glass cases. Check it out! And, if you click on the pic, it will be much easier to see.

Okay, the trade show was fun, but Scott and I were happy to leave and get into the vacation groove. Santa Barbara was absolutely GORGEOUS! Yeppers, Scott’s in his hap,hap,happy place.

I love shopping in Santa Barbara!

This public post is turning into one giant staple. I just think it is stunning and almost becomes art when you take a pic up close. The local bands and nonprofits as well as the stores, post their info here. I wish we were going to be there on February 7th. You can bet we would be at Reds to hear Inez and The Redemption band.

We met up with old friends and shopped State Street, checked out our old hangs, noticed the grafitti on the public post, and ate some of the best sushi in the world. Kat Shannon who is a host on KZSB 1290 AM Talk radio in Santa Barbara, Jen Fullerton, Susan and Peter Levin, Gloria Tracy, and even the bartender at Joe’s made it feel like a homecoming week.

Ahhhhh, Santa Barbara will always be a beacon to me and this sunset made me feel like I’m back home.

Speaking of home, the gang from Santa Paula threw a cocktail party for us at the Iron Horse, and we couldn’t stop laughing and telling stories. Peggy Kelly, Reporter from the Santa Paula Times was there, and our good buddy Frank held down the stools and brought us up to date on the local scoop.

Scott talked tourism promotional videos with John Blanchard, on the Board of Directors for Limoneira. Connie Tushla, former Chamber Board President, and Jeanne Orcutt, Curator for the Santa Paula Oil Museum brought their charm and sophistication to the party.

We had a hilariously fun time. Barbara Kroon, President of the Soroptimist International of Santa Paula was a blast as usual. I didn't get a pic of Sam Hishmeh, President of the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce, but he was as suave and GQ as usual. It was so fun. It was just too short, that’s all!

We had to stop by the Santa Paula Coffee Company to see if everything was still the same and check our email with the free wi-fi.

Venice Beach was still the same, only a little more crowded than a year ago.

Malibu was beautiful and I saw DOLPHINS!! I counted 5 dolphins frolicking with the surfers as we sped down the Pacific Coast Highway.

This cracked us up in the Nashville airport and seemed like the perfect ending to our crafty business trip/vacation adventure.

I don’t know the back story, but one of the vacant gates had these adorable kids crafts hung up for everyone to see.

It was freezing and icy while we were gone, but it was good to get back to Nashville.

We made it home and all the way to the Pie In The Sky for a glass of wine and killer pizza. Here’s to another CHA trade show.

Cheers!

Packing for the CHA Trade Show!

It's that time again, and I am almost packed and ready to hit the bed so I'll be fresh to jump on the plane and fly to Anaheim in the morning. This trade show is the largest one in the world for the hobby and craft industry. I've been going since the 80's and it never gets old to me.

There are always fashions shows like this one that showcase the fashion crafts every year. It's so exciting to see all the many ways to experience crafting.

This year my company, the Simplicity Creative Group under the brand of Wm. Wrights, will be participating in the fashion show on Monday night. I promise to get pics and blog about it. I'm also looking forward to the California sunshine. I'm leaving my gloves and boots in Nashville, and head for some fresh sushi and the In-n-Out!

The Inaugural Gown

Shock and ahhhhh, is all I can say about this amazing gown, worn beautifully by Michelle Obama. My favorite part was the over the shoulder swag of dimensional lace, by a little known designer, 26-year-old Jason Wu. The creamy dress was embellished with Swarovski crystals and fabric petal appliques. The gown was perfect for her statuesque features. This is a lady who can wear J. Crew or Jason Wu with ease. The next four years are going to be filled with fashion. How fun is that?

Happy Inauguration Day!

Michelle Obama wore an Isabel Toledo ensemble to the Inauguration celebration today, and looked very presidential indeed. It was a creamy golden yellow that spoke without saying a word, for the optimism in the air. I was mesmerized by the fabulously engaging musical performance of “Air and Simple Gifts.” All four musicians, violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, clarinetist Anthony McGill, and pianist Gabriela Montero brought tears to my eyes with this special composition by John Williams.

"Simple Gifts" was written by Elder Joseph while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848. These are the lyrics to his one-verse song:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

Thank goodness for FaceBook at work and earphones.

I’m watching the Inaugural Balls right now, and can hardly wait to see what she is wearing! Lady Bird Johnson wore yellow to the ball, and looked fabulously chic and trendy in 1965.

Of course, who could possibly compete with First Lady Jackie Kenndy. But after all, this is not a day to compete, it’s a day to celebrate.

More later….

Happy 85th Birthday, Aleene!

It's hard to believe that the Queen of Tacky Glue, Aleene Jackson, is 85!

Happy Birthday to a veteran of the Crafts & Hobbies Association. This is one courageous business woman who has stuck with her ambitions and pioneered the crafts industry as we know it today. Her determination and promotional skills led to regular local TV segments in the late 1940s, when TV was in its infancy. You probably have a bottle in your house right now, of the famous craft glue with her name on it. The inventor sold her the rights to the formula, and with her marketing savvy, the famous gold bottle became a big seller, and Aleene's Tacky Glue still sells all over the world.

Her Craftmaker's Caravan, which toured several major cities throughout the U.S. was important for widely promoting crafts to consumers. There had been no craft industry before, since crafts were thought to be part of the hobby industry. It is quite fascinating to me, as I can't imagine not having do-it-yourself show on television, and trade shows to promote crafts as a business.

Here I am on the set of Aleene's Creative Living, with Aleene during a shoot for the taping of the daily show which aired on TNN back in the day before DIY and HGTV. As one of the hosts, I enjoyed learning the business of how-to segments from the queen herself.

The Aleene's Creative Living show became a huge part of my life as a host. And as you can see here, we attended charity events in Santa Barbara and enjoyed each other's company. This is a pic of Aleene with me and Tiffany, Heidi, Star, Jen and Katherine.

Heidi Borchers followed in her mother's crafty footsteps, and designed hundreds of projects for one of the first monthly craft clubs for Leisure Arts. She has a fab website that showcases her talent for things creative.

Tiffany Windsor is pictured here with her mom Aleene, and is still much admired by her fans and all of us who worked with her on the show. Everyone in the family has gone on to other adventures and are doing well. Aleene's three daughters including Candace, have a nice website where you can contact them at Inspired At Home.com.

You can find out more about Aleene in her biography; Aleene: A Tacky Lady by Aleene Jackson.

Happy Birthday Aleene!

Recycled Bottle Caps

I'm really into recycled crafts right now, and this one is ubber-easy. I used an empty CD cover, added a pic of us doing a shoot at the LA Fashion Mart, and then hot glued bottle caps around the edges. I had to cut circles of foam core board to glue inside the caps, before gluing them to the frame because of the 1/4" space inside the caps. You could also use recycled foam food trays for the circles for a completely recycled craft. EASY recycled, and cool!

Placemat Purses

Okay, I have to tell you about my addiction to placemats. Scott can tell you that every time we are in Pottery Barn or Target, or any department store, I simply must check out the placemats. So, it was inevitable that I would get the notion to turn placemats into clutch purses! This one is cotton twill that reminds me of khaki pants. The wooden buttons were already bordering the edges. All I had to do was sew the edges together and add the huge wooden button. A little velcro closure is all that's needed to finish it.

I really scored with this placemat I found with the square shell buttons around the edges. I cut a branch of leaves from grey wool felt and glued onto the front. Then I sewed men's shirt buttons onto each leaf with a platinum bead in the center. This one was long enough to fold over far enough that I didn't need a closure.

Layers of Wright's trim are what make this clutch so cute. I add layers of felt flower cut-outs with a few beads and pinned it to the clutch with a safety pin. The cottony placemat has fringed ends, which I just love.

The bohemian satin ribbon is scrumtious on this one. There is trim along both edges and I made a rosette with the ribbon and sewed beads along the middle of the ribbon and in the center of the rosette. The placemat is suede, and feel so good to carry. I added a magnetic closure and it works perfectly.

Weiner Dog Bag

Sometimes ya just need a little weiner dog applique on a messenger bag to make you smile. And don't forget the rickrack and pompoms! I made this cheezie bag for my book, "Crafter's Guide to Glue" and forgot how cute it is.

So, you can use this handy dandy pattern and make your own, or pick up the book at Barnes and Noble Or Amazon.com, or you can just stare at it and giggle.

More Ceramics...Boxes!

Tanya Moller Jensen's ceramic boxes are fabulous. Not to be missed; her wall pockets and votives. I simply love the simplicity of these. I keep saying I want to start learning how to do ceramics. Years ago, I made some fun things when I went to a ceramics class every Monday night with my mom. We made some of the most funky things, like an ice cream cone shaped cookie jar, and a life-sized kitty cat. Weird, and long lost in a garage sale somewhere.

Ceramic Corsets!

Who knew that you could turn something as hard as ceramic into something as soft as a corset? Well, Nicole Moan has it figured out as you can see. Her art is a virtual explosion of creativity in a form that you can wear. I saw a peek of her work when I was channel surfing and came across a show call Split Ends on the Style Network and just couldn’t stop watching.

In her bio at her website, 4 Anything Art, she writes how that they are relatively comfortable as corsets go. Now, I don’t think these are something you would wear to breakfast, but for a shocking party dress, how could you go wrong?

This amazing artist from Oklahoma City, was featured at the Swatch Watch Alternative Fashion Week in London, England. The models who wore the corsets also had slip (the liquid form of clay) in their hair for unique designs.

Nicole works in themes, from super heroes to bridal gowns. I would love to see how she forms them into their custom shapes. Perhaps she uses actual models, or mannequins…I don’t know. But they are certainly mesmerizing with each being an art object to admire. Sure makes me want to take up ceramics!

Cookie Intervention!

Help me! The snacks and Christmas cookies have taken over! I found myself in the middle of the floor, covered with Mutti's & Pop's Christmas cookie cut-outs, chex mix, toffee, and cinnamon pecans. What are we going to do?

We need a cookie intervention! Scott is in a cross-eyed coma on the floor, too. Somebody help us!

Fun Birthday!

Yes, I had a stinkin' birthday. You'd think that sharing my day with a big holiday would make people forget, but oh, no. I got gifts. I got spoiled. I got lovins. And I'm calling Darsee right now to tell her how much I love the freakin' fun stuff she sent!

She loves craftin'up her cards as you can see, and of course she sent crazy fun jewelry. The cuff bracelets say peace and love, to match the rhinestone peace earrings. The cute patent leather red tassel is a keychain from Sandy and I got gift cards and other neat stuff from lots of peeps. Thank you EVERYBODY!!

Scott made yummy pizza with avocados and basil and tomatoes and black olives with goat cheese, which is my favorite. That's hummus, brie cheese & crackers, cookies & popcorn. Isn't that silly? Oh, and the martinis are acai and grapefruit with slices of honey crisp apples.

Joan sent the fabulous bouquet of flowers with matching vase and candlesticks. Absolutely beautiful! You'd think she could see my house all the way from the California coast, they match the house so perfectly.

Yep, he spoils me. Gotta make notes, so I can do his birthday up big, too. We are both capricorns, and like so much of the same things, it'll be hard to come up with a surprise.... but I'm up to the challenge...so look out birthday boy.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Nashville! It's been a laid back day, after a champagne toast by the fire last night.

We slept in this morning, watched the Rose Bowl Parade like everyone else, and then I got busy in the kitchen making our traditional black-eyed peas with cornbread and a carrot cake. My momma has never let a new year's day pass without cooking this meal so that we would be prosperous all year.

I had to don my new apron that was given to me by one of the interns at work, Kelly. She gave it to me because she knows how much I love kitschy things.

It's such a hoot! It has a big red heart that says, "How to keep your husband." And then it has all these cartoons with quotations in English and French. It says things like:

• Always look innocent! Cela vous va' faites la sainte nitouche!
• Watch your weight! C'est la chair qu! Semble s'enfler
• Kiss him often! Baisez-le, mais souvant!
• Have dinner ready! Avant tout, le diner!
• Get up for breakfast with a smile! Au de'jeuner, un sourire apportez!
• Don't open his mail! Ne touchez pas son courrier!
• Don't nag! Ne le crondez pas!
• Don't go thru his pockets! Ne fouillez pas dans ses poches!
• Don't gossip over the phone! Pas des comme'rabes au te'le'phone!
• Don't get mad or jealous! Pas des folies ou de jalousie!

The sayings withouth the translations are:

• Let him read his paper in peace!
• Encourage his hobbies!
• Praise his in-laws!
• Don't be a know-it-all!
• Don't go over the budget!
• Don't look sloppy over the breakfast table!

Isn't that hysterical? The cute pin-up style girls in the cartoons are adorable. Talk about politically incorrect, and a jab at the old ways of the 50's male chauvinist. It is certainly a conversation piece. *giggle Kelly said she found it at Pangaea, one of my fave shops in Nashville.

Scott's favorite (he says) is "Kiss him often!"
Thanks Kelly!

I'm Ba-a-a-a-a-a-ck!

I know, I know! It’s been forever since I did an update on my blog. I profusely apologize. It sucks when I go to someone’s blog and I’m expecting some fun ideas, news about what they are working on, and find that it hasn’t changed in months. My bad. I have no excuse except for working nonstop, photo shoots, finishing a new book, the holidays, and nursing a sore shoulder. Yes, I’m going play the pity card. There is a funky hallway going into our master bedroom and I was in such a hurry that I forgot about the left side of my body needing to clear the opening. Arrgh! The doctor says it will take up to 3 months for my rotator cuff to heal. The steroid shots were not pleasant, but all the babying from Scott is fabulous. And baby I’m gonna milk it. *giggle*





Project Runway Behind the Scenes Video

Hey, you won’t believe the fabulous line of products I have been working on. You all know that I’m a huge fan of Project Runway. Well, we have acquired the licensing for Project Runway products and I have been a maniac for the past several months as we developed unbelievable trims and goodies you can embellish your wardrobe with. I have always loved making rosettes out of just about everything, and when I saw the episode where the designers were repurposing jeans into extreme outfits, I decided that we just HAD to have Zipper Rosettes and Zip Trim!

The products will be in your local Michaels sometime in January, and at Target.com to order online. The photo shoot was unbelievable, and of course Scott shot it in our distribution center. I had a blast creating all of the fashion for the models to wear. The best part about the products is that you can use fabric glue to attach everything! So, not only can you sew it onto garments, you can also glue the giant gems, zip trim, rosettes, and studs to your shoes and purses and jeans.















Field Trip to Loveless Cafe

Field trips on the weekend are pretty much the norm for us, since moving to the Nashville burbs. We heard so much about the Loveless Café that we simply had to go see what all the fuss was about. My momma makes the most divine biscuits in the world, so I was pretty skeptical about the biscuits everyone talks about from the Loveless Café. But, when they brought out those biscuits and gravy and homemade jellies, I flipped out! OMG, they were fabulous. Buttery, flaky and endless. Yep, they keep bringing them out until you say, “stop!” We brought some home and ate on them another couple of days.



New BOOK!

I said that I’ve been busy, and I mean busy. Check out the new book, Cookbooking just now available at Barnes & Noble and of course at Amazon.com. I designed nearly all of the projects in the book, and Barbara Winkler wrote the content about them. The book is all about how to organize your recipes in creative ways. If you are like most people, you have a ton of loose magazine clippings and hand scribbled recipes, or cards that people have given you over the years, that are thrown into boxes and notebooks. Mine were the same way, but not any more. I figured out that I could design all kinds of creative ways to categorize my recipes and be able to find my favorite Stuffed Shrooms recipe when I need it.














One of my favorites was the cookbook I made for my Mom’s 70th birthday. My entire family participate by writing about their favorite moments with my mom’s cooking or their favorite dish. Then I made a notebook with retro fabric, tons of ribbon, grommets, and 3 binder rings. You’ll love it! Best part? Some of my mom’s recipes are in there! There are ways to give recipes as a gift, and how to create an heirloom cookbook, and even a kid’s lunchbox recipe organizer.



I plan to put them on our website to buy soon, but meanwhile you can scoop one up online or at the book store.

Holiday Videos at Lifetime!

Have you been watching the holiday videos on MyLifetime.com? The cute little stocking that I sewed up for the Christmas project is so easy, but you’d never know it by looking at it. And don’t forget that you can personalize yours by cutting out felt letters and gluing them on. I know it’s too late for this year’s stocking, but it’s a perfect time to get started for next year. One of the cool things about handmade stockings is, that they are perfect to stuff and pop into a fedex mailer to send anybody on your list. Fun!


CHA Trade Show theme: "It's Easy Being Green"

Right now I’m busy as bee working on new products for the upcoming CHA Trade Show in Anaheim at the end of January. It’s top secret right now, but it involves the theme of the show It’s Easy Being Green. I can’t wait to see what all of the other manufacturers present for their new products that speak to the need to recycle and sustainability of crafting. After all, that’s what we crafters do best, turn scrap into art. This has been one of the most satisfying challenges of my position as New Product Manager at Wm. Wrights Company. We recently combined all of our sister brands under the umbrella of Simplicity Creative Group, which has given me the opportunity to combine efforts with the talented team at Simplicity headquarters in New York. Our company just keeps designing amazing new products and marketing strategies to keep us on the cutting edge.