Thursday 23 January 2014

Inspiration Thursday - Valentine's Edition

Happy Thursday!!  Off searching for some inspiration this week...I thought it might be nice to highlight some of the new Valentine's lines that are here in the store!

First up, one of my favourite lines is Love Notes by Crate Paper.  Check out the super cute card that Rose made with it
This line has such amazing and adorable embellishments with it so it was no surprise to me that Andrea (aka the Embellishment Queen) picked it to do a super cute layout and card class with it!  
Andrea's class is on Monday Feb. 3rd (evening) or Wednesday Feb 5th (morning) - here's a sneak peek!


Bo Bunny came out with some pretty cute Valentine's paper too!  This is their "Head Over Heels" line:

I don't know who made this cute little project...but the image comes from the Bo Bunny blog and it is awesome!


My Mind's Eye went off the cutesy a bit and went with a mix of chalkboard and foil paper - a touch of elegance with a dash of fun!  Check out the layout that Yohko Takiguchi created
The writing on the the right of the paper is already there and I love how she added the layers to brighten it up.

Fancy Pants didn't disappoint with their line "Beloved".  Softer colours and a TON of embellishments make for some fun projects.  Glenda Viljoen has a fantastic tutorial on the Fancy Pants blog that teaches you how to replicate this creative layout

Authentique took their Valentine's line "Smitten" over to the vintage side of things, while sticking with traditional red, pink and white.
Check out this elegant mini album by Tiffany

For our last inspiration of the day.... 
Echo Park's Head Over Heels line... lots of patterns to mix it up!
Check out their design team member Lisa Swift's adorable cards!  
I just love the typewriter and the little paper airplane designs!

And.... we have a big announcement to make next week....this picture may give you a hint!  Any guesses??

(link to the designer will be added when we make our announcement)

All lines are currently in stock along with some layouts that are up for inspiration!
Have a great rest of the week!




Thursday 16 January 2014

Inspiration Thursday

Well we are back from CHA and I am bursting with creative ideas!  We took a ton of classes, met some really cool people, and saw AMAZING new products... Normally we do an Inspiration Wednesday post but was a little tired so decided to rest up so I could really inspire you today!
One of the main themes was Mixed Media at pretty much every booth... you normally expect this from some companies but lots of them surprised us with it too!  So for inspiration today, I did a little Pinterest browsing to find you some Mixed Media used in products and ways you don't normally think of.  Hope you enjoy!

BO BUNNY - PIN CUSHION
Have a look at Gabrielle Pollacco's stunning layout using a very subtle bit of gesso!



Next up is Bella Blvd...yep, I said Bella!  Bella is usually known for their bright colours and fun designs...but check out what Diane Payne did with it and a little bit of Gelatos!
How fun is that?!



Another line that is known more for cutesy...October Afternoon!  Sometimes the bright colours and fun patterns just lend themselves to pulling out some inks, paints and mists and spicing up your layouts a notch!
Check out Lynnda Hosni's version of October Afternoon and Mixed Media



One of the big misconceptions about Mixed Media is that is has to be messy.... I will fully admit that that is the part about it that I personally love but I also understand that not everyone does.  So I loved when Jennifer McGuire entered her piece for Ranger's Designer Challenge at CHA.  She has a crisp, clean style and stuck to it - isn't it pretty??



If you don't know about Ranger's Designer Challenge, they pick a handful of people that have very different styles and give them one product to focus on...it is amazing to see what everyone came up with focusing only on Distress Paint!  You can check out all the entries here

And last but not least, one of the more traditional Mixed Media artists out there... Anna Dubrowska (aka Finnabair).  She can mix products and mediums like crazy and her work is honestly breathtaking.


Isn't it crazy what a little bit of paint and stamps can do?  

Hoping you find some inspiration from these talented crafters - our classroom is open if you want to come play!

Sunday 12 January 2014

CHA Day 2 and 3 Recap

Wow!!  Day 2 was fantastic!  It was gorgeous here  (24!!) and the show floor finally opened!  We only made it about a third of the way through the booths in between classes and loved every second of it!  We had classes today with Imagine Crafts, Bazzill (where Jere won a FANTASTIC prize), Hot Off the Press, Canvas Corp/7 Gypsies, and a super fun art journal class with Seth Apter.  It is so fun to come back to the hotel room and share what we learned and look at each other's projects!
We also ran into a very cool person here at CHA and we think you will never be able to guess who it was!  We posted a snippet on our Facebook page...so if you can guess who it is, we have a fabulous prize pack for you!  We also uploaded 150 photos to our Flickr account ... leave us a comment here, or on our Facebook page and let us know what your 3 favourite projects were and your name will be entered into a draw for a second fabulous prize pack!!
And here is a little peek at some of the projects we have created so far!
Flickr Album - Make and Takes and Classes


Day 3 was spent in a few more classes and trying to tackle more of the show floor.  We took classes with Imagine Crafts and Art Anthology....and found some products we absolutely loved and some that we didn't... It is interesting to take a class and not love a product but found that it was a great way to understand how not everyone can love everything!  We are all a little tired (this shopping thing is exhausting!) but are really enjoying coming back to our hotel room and chatting about the everything we have seen and heard.  We have been having a bit of computer issues so hopefully everything is fixed tomorrow and we can share a bunch more pictures with you!
Hope you are all doing well back there...we will soon pack up our flip flops and head back home to share all the cool new stuff with you.  Have a look at all the projects and tell us which ones you would love to learn!







Friday 10 January 2014

CHA Recap - Day One


Hello from sunny and warm California!  We hear it was pretty warm today in Edmonton today too...although a lady in line with us did not think minus 2 was anywhere near warm.. :)

We spent most of the day in classes today testing out new products and learning new things!
I spent the morning with Tim Holtz, most of the afternoon with Dyan Reaveley and the evening with Limor Weber (Faber-Castell).  Ivy spent the morning with Graphic 45, the afternoon with Spellbinders and the evening with Limor.  Jere spent the day morning with Graphic 45, the afternoon with Stampendous and the evening with Hero Arts ...and are now back resting in the hotel!

One of the best things about classes here is learning how to use products in a new way while also getting a first look at the new goodies.  Tim really focused on how to use Distress products in a non-distress way and I love how he spoke about it...not everyone loves the grunge look (shocking, I know) and so he is really trying to showcase how to do that.
Dyan stepped out of her art journal and made a gorgeous class with 3 co-ordinating canvases...it was a long class but she was so patient and funny and genuine...a real treat!  It was a thrill for me to look over in the classroom and see Christy Tomlinson in the class!  I even ventured over to ask for a picture with the two of them (and I hate having my picture taken so you have to know this was a big deal).  She also joined us in Limor's class and I just have to tell you all how lovely she was....we even talked about getting her to come up and teach in Edmonton!
Limor taught us how to play with gelatos and shared with us the new bigger sized Double Scoop gelatos which were fantastic!  It was neat to be able to whoop it up when she talked about Edmonton :)
Mixed Media is a big focus here so far as Hero Arts, Stampendous and even Spellbinders all based their classes on it.  Spellbinders introduced some new paper pads which took Ivy by surprise!  I didn't get pictures of the finished projects today but promise to take them tomorrow :)

For now, please go check out our Flickr Site for a few peeks from today!  The show floor opens up at 10 am tomorrow morning so we will have a ton to post tomorrow - booth photos, more classes, and maybe even a few other surprises! 
What booth would you most like to see?




Thursday 9 January 2014

Hello From Sunny California!

Hello crafty friends!!!  We arrived early this afternoon to a beautiful and sunny California!  It was so great to see green grass and no snow!  The temperature sat around 16 today which is a big change from the weather in Edmonton!  We were thankful that all travels went well and headed out to Disneyland for some play time today before we head into our classes tomorrow. If you are back in snowy Edmonton, our apologies... but make sure you pop into the store and say hello to our awesome staff that stayed behind to keep things running! 


If you are on Instagram, search for the #CHA hashtag and you will find a ton of sneak peeks at the booths that are in the process of being set up!

Tomorrow, we will be taking classes with Tim Holtz, Dyan Reaveley, Graphic 45, Stampendous, Hero Arts and Faber Castell - so many classes, so little time!!  Look out tomorrow for a ton of pictures from the classes and maybe even a few from Disneyland!

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Are You Addicted to Classes??!!

Happy New Year!

We hope you and your families had a great Holiday Season - we are excited to get back into our crafty modes... and have really exciting news to share with you!
 We are thrilled to be hosting two fabulous ladies here at Scrap Addicts who will be teaching a full weekend of classes!  Check out the details below!
Join Sabrina and Leica for a fun-filled crafty weekend here at Scrap Addicts!

FRIDAY Feb 21st - 630-930 PM - Sweet Sentiments two page layout class with Sabrina.  Fussy cutting and layers like you have never seen!! This layout is absolutely stunning!


SATURDAY Feb 22nd 9AM-4pm - Graphic 45 Couture Tri-Fold Album with Sabrina.  This 10x10 mini album is made from scratch and a perfect keepsake for your treasured photos.  



Saturday Feb 22nd - 6-9pm:  Mixed Media Canvas Class with Leica.  Make it your own style and create a beautiful piece of artwork to hang on your wall!


Sunday February 23rd - 9-11am:  Misting Technique Tag Class with Leica (pictures to come!)

Sunday February 23rd 1-4pm:  Mini Album with Leica (pictures to come!)

Please call the store for more details - don't miss out on this opportunity...spots are going fast!!