Hometown Tags with Color Burst Backgrounds...I'll be Crafting with Deanna Allbrittin on the 6 O'Clock News Tonight!

I'm just back from the National Craft and Hobby Association Show, also known as CHA and I've just had my first TV interview with the local news...CHA was really a big deal for me this year as I launched about 60 new items as a new product line called Ken Oliver Crafts. One of the product lines is called Hometown and is inspired by Newburgh, Indiana, the town where I live.  The collection includes 12x12 craft papers, 2 sets of clear stamps, 6x6 craft papers and an ephemera, or collage sheet.  A reporter from town heard what I'd been up to and she paid me a visit today...we sat down and made some crafts together...and talked about Hometown.  We made a simple tag project using some of the new products I launched at CHA. 

 

 We started with a quick demonstration of a new watercolor product I brought to market, it's called Color Burst.  It's REALLY fun to use, you can create beautiful watercolor backgrounds in 2 easy steps.  There are lots of techniques you can use too like wax resist, stenciling and masking...for this project we did a simple "spritz and sprinkle" technique.  The results are stunning.  Here's a video from Craft Test Dummies if you'd like to see how much fun Color Burst is to use.
  

So we created a simple watercolor background with Color Burst.

Then we assembled our supplies, Hometown Stamps, a couple tags dipped in Color Burst, our water color wash, and some card stock. 

Here's a cool little tip, when you use Color Burst, you can dip tags, scrap paper, even white paper flowers in the wet pigment on your water color paper to transfer some of the pigment to other things.  

I've even used the residual water on my work surface to create some stunning backgrounds.  These tags turned out really cool. 

Here are a couple flowers I tinted with Color Burst, right off my water color paper.  

They look great.  

 We stamped Hometown images on the water color paper...

Then assembled our tags with tape roller adhesive.  I really like how the stamped Hometown images look a little grainy on the pebbled surface of the water color paper.

The tags turned out great, really kind of artsy, they'd make great artist trading cards too.  I had a blast...it's not every day you make it to the 6 o'clock news with a craft project. 

You can bet, I'll be setting the DVR today...It's going to be really fun to share the Hometown collection with the local folks in the Tri-State area!  

For my local friends, I'll be on Channel 14 tonight at 6:00 pm with Deanna Allbrittin...she said there will be a link on the 14 News website too...I'll make sure to share that on Facebook.  

Thanks for stopping by today...Ken Oliver Crafts products are distributed worldwide by Product Performers and can be purchased at local retailers around the world...if your shop doesn't carry them yet...ask, they can order for you.

It's Craft Day with Spellbinders Paper Arts and The Craft and Hobby Association

Hey there, this past week I had the amazing opportunity to visit with everyone at The Craft and Hobby Association  in Elmwood Park, New Jersey...we had Spellbinders' Craft Day for everyone at the office.  

We had a really fun crafty time.  The idea was simple...let's let everyone in the office have hands on crafting experience using Spellbinders and Spellbinders Media Mixage.  I was there to demonstrate and facilitate the creative process.  So, we set up a few cutting stations, provided lots of goodies to play with and then, we let the art begin!  

We had a blast.  It was awesome to see the creative wheels spinning in everyone's heads.  And since it was Easter break, some of the staffers brought their kids to join in the fun.  

Trade Show Producer Anthony Licata explains the finer points of creating bezels.  

We had so much fun creating handmade cards. 

It's really fun to watch how everyone puts their own creative spin on everything they create.  Beautiful spring colors and patterns on the card in progress.  

We learned all kinds of techniques together, diecutting, embossing, stenciling, inking, and discussed the finer points of layering die cuts to create beautiful cards.  

Glitter makes a perfect embellishment inside a heart bezel. 

Everybody got in on the action too.  

Craft and Hobby Association CEO Andrej Suskavcevic inspects the finely cut details of Spellbinders die cuts before creating his handmade card.  

The thing that really impressed me...

everybody loved what we were doing.  The card above, in progress, was created by the Information Technology Director at CHA.  He had never created a card before...but he was a natural!  And at the end of the day, he was formulating a process that the association could use to create handmade cards to use for their office correspondence.  

Anthony Licata created a French Country bezel. 

The more we created the messier it got, which is all good.  When it gets really messy, you know you are having fun.  

The handmade cards turned out beautifully. I got to teach bow tying methods.  

Susan Turchick, Vice President of Membership uses the Spellbinders Artisan X-Plorer to create die cut paper to fit perfectly inside a bezel.  

I got to hang out with my friend Laurie Pietruszka while we created...

Wow, we made a mess...you should have seen the paper chips all over the floor...

And each card was simply beautiful.  

Sue Turchick shows off her handmade card...it turned out so cute.  

And, Andrej, as it turns out is a blossom pro with Spellbinders die cuts.  

We came, we created, and we all left with beautiful projects at the end of the day...it was great!  

Thank you again Sue, Andrej, and everyone at The Craft and Hobby Association for letting Spellbinders host a craft day at your offices.  

I hope everybody had as much fun as I did..and judging from the comments at the end of the day, they did.

Ken   

Spellbinders on Create and Craft TV at the Craft and Hobby Association Show

The winter 2013 Craft and Hobby Association Show has come on gone...for Spellbinders it was an amazing show. I heard other people saying the show traffic was down. I had no idea. We were mobbed throughout the entire show...our new releases and the new Media Mixage line of products for mixed media art are amazing, and our results at the show proved it.  Winter CHA was just incredible!  As I am digging my way out from under the piles of orders and following up on all the opportunities coming out of the show, I realized that one of the most exciting things I got to do during the show, was to appear on Create and Craft TV with Spellbinders Director of Education Kim Hupke.  

I didn't know this, but Create and Craft TV is a big deal...it goes to something like 26 million homes worldwide...and more if you count the internet...I had no idea when I said, "Sure, sounds like fun." 

Now, Kim is a pro at this, she's been on QVC, HSN, PBS, and Create and Craft countless times over her long career with Spellbinders, she's a natural!   Me? Not so much.  I'll say "yes" to just about anything...so, it was a little daunting to walk into the Create and Craft TV Studio on location in Anaheim, to see the enormous cameras and booms overhead.  

But it was all GOOD...and extremely fun.  Kim really put me at ease...she said "just show them what you love to do and let your personality shine through." 

Her kind words of advice really helped me conquer that little twinge of "stage fright" I was experiencing. Anyway, it was the chance to share doing what I love to do with a much bigger audience...why wouldn't that be fun?  

We got to share lots of cool Spellbinders die cutting techniques, sanding on foil techniques and got to demonstrate using Royal & Langnickel Engraving Art Board. It gives a really dramatic effect when used with Spellbinders dies and new 3D Mbossability folders.  

We took advantage of a few quiet minutes before we went LIVE to make a few pics...

And, I got to meet and work with Nigel May.  He's is a powerhouse of crafty inspiration!  

After the show, I met up with the cast and crew at Downtown Disney...we shared quite a few laughs...it was really nice to make some new friends from across the pond, who I hope I'll have the pleasure of seeing again someday. They were all so nice.  

Here's a pic taken in the Create and Craft TV Green Room with Nigel May, Leonie and the Spellbinders team...it was really fun to work with such an awesome crew.  

Did I mention we had sellout, "record" hours on the show?  Our newest releases were so popular that we sold out almost as quickly as we demonstrated each die and folder!  I was really happy that our on air results were so good!    

This year's CHA was simply amazing...and appearing on Create and Craft TV was the highlight of the show for me.  It was a real pleasure to share Spellbinders with the audience in the U.K.  

Now, if you know me, you know I don't sit still for long.  This week, after a quick trip to Michigan for Media Mixage training, I'll be headed to Germany later in the week for the Paper World Show in Frankfurt.  I am really looking forward to this next adventure!

Thanks for stopping by today,

Ken