Thursday, April 18, 2013

Convention Findings

  I cannot begin my post without mentioning that my prayers go out to all those affected by the senseless tragedy of the bombings in Boston on Monday this week. May the strength of our prayers, faith and actions allow us to be fearless, to continue towards peace.

  In my last post I mentioned going to an Heirloom Pro Rubber Stamp Convention being  held in town. Some of you may be familiar with this as they do hold events throughout the US each year. The downside to the show this year was that it was held in a much smaller space so there were only 23 vendors. It made for a madhouse crowd in the beginning, with some aisles so small it was impossible to get thru! Not to mention that many who were either in wheelchairs or pulling carry on suitcases were not so careful of the walkers feet! Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of new product or demos.Considering all the fabulous new things that came out of CHA, it was disappointing.

  However, my friend LuAnn and I did manage to have a really fun time and make some purchases! Here are some things I picked up:

  I got three pkgs. of these darling brads from The Eyelet and Brads Outlet. They literally had hundreds! to choose from-anything you could think of- from mustaches to sock monkeys (LuAnn's fave) and everything in between.

  These Dylusions Ink Sprays are now a part of my growing collection-LOVE them!!!:


 I found this 12" x 12" stencil by Prima(for only $7.00 !!), one of only a very few seen at the show :(


 Further down this post I'll show you what I did with it so far. (if you last that long)...

 Another fun place to visit was Our Daily Bread where they featured Flower Soft and products to coordinate with it. Here are two pics of what Flower soft is:






  They come in many variations including sparkly colors, solids and mixes in teeny tiny bits meant to add soft dimension to flowers, trees etc.  Here is a sample detail on a card LuAnn and I each made there:


   It adds a special touch without any bulk. I've used this product before and plan on making a Mother's Day card using it.

   I have one more purchase to share along with some card samples I thought were just too cute to resist sharing here.I hope you'll agree :) At the same vendor my eye was completely drawn in by these gorgeous cards:


  Be still my heart!!! My fave is the one with the bright orange/red morning glories-YUM! I've never seen these flowers in this color, but who cares? Of course I bought the custom design die template (Spellbinders) to cut the lattice like pattern as many times as I wish! Yes, LuAnn bought it too:):)

  These card samples were displayed at the TooMuchFun Rubber Stamps booth:





    Great name for this company n'est-ce pas?? LOVE those shirts and jackets, and yes, besides the rubber stamps, they sell tiny buttons, bits, hangers and zippers- way cute!! Tempting as it was we didn't buy anything. I just found out they are going to offer their stamps in unmounted only beg. Sept. :) :)

    For those of you who follow along here you know I'm taking the 52 Weeks of Creative Abundance online course. At the beg. of each new month our wonderful instructor Christi gives us a new word to set the month's theme along with a new tag to create. Here is mine in my moleskine journal:


   Again, I pretty much followed Christi's idea. I used my new stencil above to create the page along with yellow acrylic, twinkling H2O, Sunburst Silks acrylic glaze and a mix of Ceramicoat Pearl Finish and Olive Green acrylic paint. The shimmer is beautiful. The patterned papers I used are all from my gelli plate prints. I just loved Christi's idea to use threads for the water!!! Our word for the month is "cultivate" and I chose these words representing what I wish to continue to grow and cultivate. Of course there are material things I'd like also but my thought is that if I focus on these non material things the rest will come.

 Anyone here yet???? One more photo:
  Background page in my large journal, playing with my new stencil and new Dylusions sprays in Lemon Zest, Dirty Martini and Calypso Teal.

  Please join me in linking up and/or visiting the talented artists at Art Journal Every Day, Paint Party Friday, Inspiration Avenue, Creative Everyday, and Mandarin Orange Monday.

  Thank you dear friends for all your encouraging and supportive comments regarding my "artful" birds in my last post. It means so much .

  "Until you commit your goals to paper, you have intentions that are seeds without soil." Anonymous





52 comments:

  1. I've been to shows like that where you just have to muscle your way through to the booths!
    But good on you for sticking with it because you surely purchased and SAW some wonderful things! LOVE those little brads and the Dilusions....I need to try those!
    The card samples are divine, too.
    Recently I went to a Quilt show and a mixed media store was there ~ I spent a bundle on stencils! LOVE them and have used them often. It was a new and exciting way to be inspired.
    Your new stencil is great and so is your page.
    I'm sure we'll be seeing much more new art with all the products you purchased.
    AND, I read the entire post!!!
    Hugs
    Jan

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  2. Oooh Linda. Despite your disappointment, it looks like you really scored with some super fun goodies! I would be all over those spray inks too. And I love the stencil. I know I will be seeing that in your awesome journal pages. It all looks like so much fun!

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  3. Sounds like it was hard to hang on to your $$$$s at this event. You spent wisely. LOVE the stencil...and what you did with it.

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  4. Stopped by from IA. You sure found a beautiful supply of new inspiration. I think I am in serious like with those flower soft things! Thanks for stopping by and for your nice comments on my beaded flowers--I beaded some morning glories, but never considered orange--they're awesome!

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  5. I am sorry your show was not near as good as you hoped. And I am sorry about your toes!
    The items your bought look fab! I love that stencil(and what you did with it!), and the sprays too. The cards are very creative, and I too love the lattice background. Wonderful that you got the tool for that one.
    It is so fun enjoying all this creativity! Taking art classes really helps to keep on making art!
    Hugs,
    Terri
    Hugs,
    Terri

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  6. Great little tag and I love the new stencil. And what a neat idea to use the thread as the water!

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  7. You managed to find some goodies! I really like the big stencil/mask. It's very difficult to find the 12 x 12's in the UK.

    My toes suffered a bit on Sunday when I went to a Stamping show at Alexandra Palace, they just seem to attract wheels!

    x

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  8. Looks like you still got some goodies there, despite not being that many stalls. Those flower soft products look awesome. Your new stencil looks great too, wonderful tag you made!

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  9. What a fun time you are going to have. I just purchased the spray inks too, can't wait to see what you do with them. Blessings, Janet PPF (PS. My carpet was disgusting, but in FL I don't like carpet anyway! Thank you.)

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  10. Oh my what a yummy post Linda. Before watercolours took over I used to make cards and your post definitely hit a chord with me. Beautiful especially those wonderful cards.

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  11. your got some great stuff and your stencil page looks so pretty! I need to get my sprays out and use them more often! Happy PPF!

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  12. oh my gosh!AMAZING this all Linda!
    F'A'B'U'L'O'U'S'---
    your cards are like little reausures for dolls!

    Happy PPF
    Susi from the monthly challenge for art journalers---
    ART-JOURNAL-JOURNEY

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  13. Wow!You have got so much wonderful stuff and my favorite is the stencil. Your stenciled background is awesome.
    Susan

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  14. you got some lovely things at the convention..happy ppf

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  15. Looks like you had a great time inspite of the crush - lovely new stash, too! Enjoy, Valerie

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  16. hi Linda,
    Lots of lovely things to see here! I really liked your tag on the moleskine page...and the stencil looks awesome! Happy to join you in linking with PPF, AJED!

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  17. what a post full of eye candy!! It looks like there were some really gorgeous wee things on sale and I love the flower soft - it looks great in the cards you made. Great journal page - the threads as water is a great idea, I agree!

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  18. Sooo wonderful artwork, Linda.

    HPPF and have a nice weekend

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  19. Ooh nice stash. Loved the tag and your stencil looks great, especially the background. Thanks. Looks like you are having a lot of fun.

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  20. Oh wow, you did some great shopping for sure, thanks for posting pics of your finds! HPPF!

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  21. Beautiful..your art is always fantastic Linda! Inspiring ..your cards are fabulous..and I always love your artful birds!Your abundance-themed journal..so powerful! Wowness..what a fantastic array of treasures as well..and what a wonderful event to go to..such fun!A feats for the eyes!Great photos...thanks for sharing!
    Happy wkd
    To all those in need of comfort and peace..so beautiful what you wrote
    Victoria

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  22. gosh, what a lot of gorgeous inspiration...you did well not to buy one of everything! and great journal page! happy PPF!

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  23. Hi Linda: I LOVE your colors in the stencil and what a steal you got it for! The trinkets are adorable. good for you to make it there and to navigate the aisles and you are right....re wheelchairs etc. Some shows completely forget wheelchairs will be going by; it is very sad. I love all the pics you took. The shirts are precious and the flower soft card you and your friend made are gorgeous! I'm really glad you shared all this with us. What a treat to not go but to benefit from you going, especially when I live in Ontario, Canada. How nice of you to mention Boston. My daughter is running in the Toronto Marathon (where we live) and I am really nervous, but she will feel it is vital to continue. It too is a 1000's of people from all over the world. We shall pray for safety. They tell us that the two she is running here will have up'ed security, but these people seem to be very tricky. But G-d is trickier and He will get them and teach them right from wrong! {heart} lovies, samara

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  24. Oh my gosh! You picked up some really fun stuff. Can't wait to see more of what you are doing with it.

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  25. All some beautiful creations, lovely snaps!

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  26. Although it was crowded, it sounds like you managed to have fun at the convention. I have a jar of the "Flower Soft" that one of my cousins gave me a couple of years ago. It is fun to work with and does give you a nice effect. I love all the colors of sprays and the die cut that you got too. I can't wait to see what you do on that art journal background. Blessings!

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  27. Looks like you had some fun retail therapy Linda ... those brads are wonderful and something I have not seen.

    Thanks for sharing so much eye candy

    the news out of Boston and Texas is just so dreadful ... hard to wrap minds around it all

    wishing you and yours a lovely weekend dear one

    oxo
    p.s. You should have seen my art room 'before' I did those journal pages LOL ... as a friend likes to say ... if you're not making a mess you're not having fun ;)

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  28. Oh my goodness what a whole lotta fun you had. Now you will have to show us what you do with it all. Happy PPF.

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  29. Wow, your new stencil is fabulous. Looks great in greens and yellows. Love your tag and the threads for water.

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  30. lovely products and cute things you made this week!

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  31. We have an art in the park thing once a year in our area and it's always the same. It used to be fun to see what's new, now it's so redundant and the items being sold are outdated...it's a bit of a shame really!!

    But you came away with some very cool things...a and I love your stencil background gorgeous!! So is your cultivate piece of art!!

    Thanks for sharing!

    Hugs Giggles

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  32. looks like you had a fun time! I love that teacup card overflowing with the sparkles!

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  33. Wow! You truely have some wonderful cards and your tag is great! I love the Flower Soft, I have not seen that before, looks amazing!

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  34. Beautiful cards and I love your tag! The Dylusions inks have lovely vibrant colours and look great with your new stencil :)

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  35. Absolutely loving your CULTIVATE kettle...so inspiring :)The cards are wonderful too !!

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  36. Wow, you have a lot of new things to create wonderful things with. I love the tea cup filled with beautiful tiny flowers.

    I always enjoy getting to see where others get their inspiration and what they are able to create. Thank you for sharing.

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  37. At least you bought some terrific items which know you will make full use of Linda. Loving your tag and your great background page. Happy PPF, Annette x

    http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

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  38. Adore the tea cup spilling with sparkles and the thread ....what an ingenious idea for water! lOVELY LOVELY POST : )

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  39. It is absolutely amazing how creative you are. Well done, Linda. Beautiful works. Love and blessings to you.

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  40. Beautiful photos, and a very inspiring post! The colours in that last photo of your journal page are amazing!

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  41. Marvelous finds and I adore your cultivate garden of good things for your life. Happy PPF xox

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  42. Stopping in to see amazement!! Love those cards made!

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  43. That stencil does make for a fantastic background!

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  44. Oh! so many exciting things you're sharing! I just love the flowers in the cup! :) How fun it must be to play with that flower material! and the spray ink. The lolly stics are temptating!

    Yes we must work for peace. I'm sorry for the awful crime in Boston. and what happened in Texas. and all other places in the world. We have one world, nowhere to run but the world. so we got to pray and hope for a greener and better world.

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  45. What a wonderful post!!!

    I especially love the stencil and the colours you used with it are great!

    Karen x

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  46. What a beautiful tag! All those tiny words are such a good reminder. Thanks for inspiring me. :)

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  47. Love those brads! :)Great cards and I want that stencil. :)

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  48. Those brads are too cute. So much eye candy in this post! Thank you for sharing all the wonderful things you saw. Those threads from the watering can are just fantastic, and I love the words you chose too. And that stencil with those colors - oh my!

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  49. That stencil would make a beautiful ATC or journal card or...anything! You found some awesome treasures. I'm glad you shared it with us at IA.

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  50. you sure did find some awesome things to create with Linda! I know they will be well used and you will have some gorgeous projects from them!

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  51. Love all the things you have been doing!! You have been very busy. I lOvE the background on your page. Beautiful colors!!!

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Thank you so much for your comments; it's a pleasure to connect with you!