Inspiration all around

Well, we are back from the CHA show. It was a little disappointing this year, because the economy has hit so hard and a lot of companies just didn't feel like it would be a good use of their money. But what a wonderful treasure trove of information and inspiration! We tried out so many cool things- like one of my favorites- iron-on trims and fibers. I can use my little tack iron to attach them to things and there is no need to sew!!!!
None of the clay companies were there. They must not have anything new to show. Lord knows, the last time we were there so was Polyform- with their Studio product (fail). They had a beautiful booth and a terrible concept. Oh well, they should have asked the accomplished clay artists to weigh in before trying to sell that product.
Die Cuts with a View- their booth was GORGEOUS! It looked like a forest, with big trees and things hanging from them. A bead company went so far as to hang their strands from a faux-tree, it was beautiful. I came home and started making things, how could you not? The BEAE art show hangs in two weeks and I'm hoping to put two pieces into it. I'll post pics later :)
If you are interested, you can check out some of my photos at the sneak-peaks post on ThingsCrafty.

Excited to go to Cali!

Can't wait for my weekend trip to California! Gonna see my 2nd cousin Van, only 9 months old...gonna see my BEST FRIEND Cindy for the first time in 20 years. There's a story there, thank you Facebook. And of course, gonna chill with Ilysa at the CHA convention. Well, more like work our tails off and come back with 50 pound suitcases. I do believe my suitcase is going to have almost nothing in it when I leave. Except maybe another suitcase, debating whether I should bring one to act as a carryon for the trip back.
Right now, we are waiting to hear if we will be chosen for a Reality TV show. I can't believe it, I actually hate most of them. But I love the Cupcake wars, and this show is put on by the same producers. It's kinda like a Crafter war, we don't have a lot of details yet but casting ended yesterday- so keep your fingers crossed. If we get on tv, ThingsCrafty.com will take off like crazy- which is perfect because once again, this year I've already been informed that I'm losing my job in June. Ugh. When will public education get better?

Shut Up and Put Out!

OK, that's a little strongly stated, but that's the point. Ilysa and I were talking business this morning and we decided that is going to be the theme of our new crafting community. We are both action-minded women, and Ilysa has been self employed for almost her whole adult life- and that is my goal too. In the next 2 years, I plan to leave "the Man" behind and work for The Woman- Me! But that requires SMART goals and planning. You need to do small, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely things in order to move forward in life. That's what we will be talking, writing, videoing, and blogging about in the near future over at ThingsCrafty. We've got great things in the works- and we will be explaining how sometimes you need to just Shut Up your mouth or your brain, and Put Out- that means get it done!