Crafty in Kansas City - First Friday at West Bottoms

One of the great things about moving so often (thanks Army) is that Don and I never run out of places to explore. Imagine my absolute joy this weekend when we discovered a monthly shopping bonanza that celebrates handcrafts and artisans of every kind. If you live anywhere near the Kansas City area you MUST check out First Fridays in West Bottoms. First Fridays is a community of antique/reclaimed/artisan shops that are only open one weekend a month in the West Bottoms District in Kansas City.

I scored a HUGE collection of handcrafted Christmas items (all 50% off - woohoo!), some hand-dyed ribbon, and I love owls - so this little wooden Valentine called my name. We found an INCREDIBLE table made out of one giant slab of wood (but did not buy it - because it was over 12 feet long. Did I mention it is one piece of wood? And we are curently living in an apartment?) and Don, who is a military collectibles buff, has his eye on a French "support the troops" poster from WWII. I have a feeling if it is still there when we go back next month it will come home with us!

We all know how important it is to support local businesses, and crafters more than most understand the importance of supporting artisans who pour their heart and soul in to their creations. You will find those people here - and probably bring home a few treasures in the process. Just stay away from the french poster and we'll all be fine! :)

(photos above by me - photos below from Pinterest)

 

PS - if you love food like the Kingstons love food, after you are done in West Bottoms hop in the car for a short drive to the Kansas City River Market.  This community is an international celebration of all things food.  Not only does this neighborhood house dozens of ethnic restaurants and African, Italian, Mediterranean and Asian groceries, it also has one of the most exciting Farmer's Markets I've been to in a while, including an open-air spice market.  Heaven I tell you!  Heaven!  Hope to see you there!

Introducing Xyron's NEW Design Team Members - and Day 2 of Giveaways!

Last week we announced six new Xyron Design Team members - and today we want to introduce them to you!  We are SO excited to have some fresh new faces...leave them a comment here on the blog (and check out their personal blogs) and one lucky winner will receive paper packs from DCWV and Colorbok, and a Mega Runner and 1.5" create-a-sticker from Xyron!  I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning on my Facebook page!

name: Tina McDonald
lives in: New Brunswick, Canada 
blog: www.tinamcd-mysanity.blogspot.com
why we love her: Her tutorials are FANTASTIC and she uses a variety of different techniques on each project.
a little bit about her: I am 35 years old and live with my hubby of 12 years and our 5 beautiful children! Life is busy but exciting!!  Scrapping is my release from every day reality! I've been scrapping for about 8 years. I draw my inspiration from life around me!! Everything from the looks on my children's faces, to their clothes, to music we listen to and emotions in our daily life! My style is hard to pinpoint... but is kind of romantic, often simple, and slightly shabby by times. I love layering, B&W photo's and journaling strips!! I'm a Layout gal...  I love the photo's and the journaling... this is what it's all about for me! :) That is they WHY behind doing what I do! I have also grown to love creating cards and off the page style projects. I've had the honor of being on several fabulous Design Team's. I am presently designing for Spellbinders Paper Arts and WOW Embossing Powder US. I have had the honor of being published in several great magazines and books! (Scrapbook Trends, Canadian Scrapbooker, Summerset Memories, Create: Family, Scrapbooking and Beyond, Crafts N'Things and Scrapbook and Cards Today and more). I am so excited to be embarking on this new journey with Xyron! I look forward to inspiring you all and being inspired in return!

layout by Tina McDonald

name: Linda Abadie
lives in: Fairfax, Virginia
blog: http://lindaabadie.com
why we love her: We've been wanting to broaden our horizons in to the world of mixed media art, and Linda was the PERFECT fit.
a little bit about her: I am a Registered Nurse during the day and an avid papercrafter, who love painting and mixed media art. I was introduced to crafting at a very young age. I just love being creative and trying new techniques. Creating art has become therapy for me. It brings me happiness and helps me stay positive in life. I have adored Xyron products since I first discovered it and I am so thrilled to be a part of the team. I am excited to start this creative journey and share my creations with you.

layout by Linda Abadie

name: Van Nguyen 
lives in: Today - Rhode Island.  Tomorrow - San Diego!
blog: http://likethecar.blogspot.com
why we love her: Her clean and colorful projects, her photography, and we thought her Project 100 idea was genius! 
a little bit about her: I started scrapbooking right at the end of my maternity leave in mid 2010 with my amazingly strong-willed yet sweet daughter, Charlotte.  While I had slowly collected crafting things since I was a little girl (i.e. stickers, stamps, pretty paper), my desire to document her life really pushed me to pursue the hobby a bit more seriously.  It didn't take long before I acquired an extensive collection of supplies to satiate my scrappy appetite.  After I returned to work as a big firm attorney, I found creative refuge in scrapbooking.  Scrapbooking also gave me an outlet to write my family history - both the major and mundane events in life.  The preservation of history - this was a topic I studied as a student of public history in both college and graduate school.  Who knew that my academic studies would one day help mold how I scrapbooked?!  :)


I was born and raised in San Diego in a traditional Vietnamese home.  After high school, I left the mild southern California sunshine and bounced around the world - from Connecticut to Wisconsin, Hanoi to Melbourne.  I eventually found myself back in California for law school.  During law school, I married my high school sweetheart and best friend.  After a year of long-distance marriage, we finally found ourselves back home in San Diego.  This past September, with military orders in hand, I quit my big firm job and we moved our family of three to Rhode Island.  For the past seven months, I fully immersed myself in scrapping, crafting, and cooking as much as my daughter lets me.  In mid-May, my daughter and I will move back home to San Diego while my husband continues his military training and then deployment elsewhere.  

layout by Van Nguyen

name: Sharon Callis
lives in: Ardee, Co Louth, Ireland
blog: http://www.sharoncalliscrafts.blogspot.com
why we love her: Sharon could quite possibly be the Queen of the Xyron Creatopia.  Her 3-d cards completely blew us away...just look at the rest of the photos of the cake card you see below.
a little bit about her: I am 37 years old and I live in Ireland with my husband Kieran and my three children. I have been crafting for over twenty five years since high school. I started cardmaking ten years ago and I love love love it. My other passions are needlework, dollshouses, home furnishings, painting, drawing, 3d paper art and model making. I spend a lot of time designing, sketching layouts and drawing.  Last year I was crowned Cardmaking and Papercraft/ Quick Cards Made Easy Magazine Cardmaker of the Year 2011. I believe that using Xyron Adhesive products played a major part in me winning the title.  I used Xyron Adhesive products in creating all my entries. My work has been published in Cardmaking and Papercraft Magazine, Papercraft Essentails, Creative Cardmaking and on Xyron facebook. I am beyond thrilled to be joining the Xyron Design team and I cannot wait to share my projects with you. 

card by Sharon Callis

name: Christina Heeren 
lives in: Des Moines, IA
blog: http://christinaheeren.blogspot.com/
why we love her: Christina has the ability to turn every day items in to creative, fabulous projects.  Her home decor ideas make us happy!
a little bit about her: I have been married to my wonderful and supportive husband, Doug, for 18 years. I have been blessed with four children who keep me inspired and on my toes! I started papercrafting over 14 years ago when my oldest son was born.  I love to create mini albums, scrapbook pages, cards, 3D projects, and more. When I'm not playing with paper I love to hang out with my family, volunteer at my children's schools, and work on my photography skills. I am very excited to be part of the team and can't wait to share my projects with you.

projects by Christina Heeren

name: Linda Neff
lives in: Howell, MI
blog: http://linda-neff.com/
why we love her: Her use of different mediums and techniques made us swoon, and her love of fabric made her the perfect choice as we expand in to the world of fabric crafting with our Creatopia!
a little bit about her: I discovered through my first attempt at scrapbooking I could create art – my way. With rubber stamps, inks, paints, paper, fabric and other mediums, I create a soft, vintage look that is sometimes natural and sometimes a bit more romantic, but always evolving. I enjoy making mini albums, scrapbook pages and wall art to capture my little scrapped treasures.


The mother of three adult children, I live with my retired husband in Michigan and spend my time designing and teaching classes. I am Ranger certified and currently am a Design Team member for Art Glitter, Globecraft Memories and now Xyron. I am always on the lookout for new techniques. I encourage others to dive head-first into the art of papercrafting, whether it be scrapbooking, stamping or altered art.

projects by Linda Neff

These fantastic ladies join our current fabulous Design Team members:

Jessica Barnett

http://www.sunnyside-updesigns.com/

Ann Corbiere-Scott

http://www.anncorbierescott.typepad.com/

Stacy Rodriquez

http://stacy-scrappinqueen.blogspot.com/

Christina Klauer

http://ckmom78.blogspot.com/

Angela Ploegman

http://www.angelaploegman.typepad.com/

Tammy Caudell

http://www.fromtheheartoftammy.blogspot.com/

Kay Brown

http://www.scrapbook.com/myplace/index.php?mod=galleries&u=463879&m=view&id=3592641&type=-1&start=1&page=1

We can't wait to see what they create together - hope you'll join us for the inspiration!

PS - Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Sparkly Snowflakes - Kids' Crafts Saturday

No...today isn't Saturday, but we made these on a Saturday - does that count?  :)

Actually - I call it Kids' Crafts Saturday because Don and I volunteer at the Fascinate-U Children's Museum in Fayetteville, NC on the second Saturday of every month (sponsored by Xyron - yay!).

We create fast and easy craft projects and have a BLAST doing it! I'm going to start sharing these projects here with you - maybe on Saturdays, maybe on other days, but I hope you'll be inspired to make these with some of your favorite little ones!

Supplies:
foam shapes (we got boxes of these snowflakes for a RIDICULOUSLY low price because all the stores were clearancing out holiday stuff)
markers
Xyron 5" Creative Station (also known as the 510)
glitter
tupperware container
scrap paper

Set out your scrap paper, markers and foam shapes on your craft space. (Tip - if your foam shapes have punch-outs in the middle, do NOT punch them out until after the glitter process. Trust me.)

Let the kids color on the foam shapes to their little hearts' content! (Another tip - if they color it TOO much the adhesive won't stick as well because the foam will be saturated.  We had more than 50 kids come through and it was really only an issue for about 4 of them - we solved that by just putting glitter on the non-colored side.)

 

Run your foam shape through your 510 (of COURSE I don't have a photo of this part!) with the colored side facing down. The 510 is easy enough to use that kids can help crank the handle! Peel off the top film, then peel the foam shape from the backing and place adhesive side down in your tupperware container filled with glitter.  You need enough glitter in the tupperware to make sure the bottom of the container is completely covered.

Help the kids move the foam shape around in the tupperware to cover the foam shape with glitter.  The beauty of Xyron is that if you pick it up and realize that you missed a spot - you can just stick it back down in the glitter!

And voila!  Sparkly snowflakes!  You can keep the foam shape intact,  or punch out the center for a cool shape.

Oh...and uhh...I held a snake.  :)  This has absolutely nothing to do with crafts - but it sure was awesome!

Happy Crafting Everybody!

Death of the Christmas Card?

I LOVE handmade Christmas cards.  LOVE them.  Almost as much as I love family Christmas letters - give me a handmade card with a family Christmas letter inside and I am yours forever!  But I digress.  Handmade cards - I eagerly anticipate them, display them, talk about them, and - at the end of the season - put them away carefully in a box as inspiration and ideas for my own future Christmas cards. Since I work in one of the biggest "handmade" industries in the world - I always looked forward to LOTS of handmade Christmas cards.  So last year, when the handmade cards were coming in few and far between, I mentioned something about it to Don. I ranged from the paranoid (no one likes us) to the over-scheduled (I bet people are just late getting their cards out) to the blame-the-post-office (well - we DID move - so maybe they are all just lost in the mail).  Then Don, in his blunt, wise way said "Maybe people just don't make them any more".

I was CRUSHED. Could it be true?  Could one of my favorite holiday traditions be disappearing in front of my eyes?  In the world of digital this and downloadable that was my Christmas joy being lost in the shuffle? Was I the only one who still cared?

Then - a few days before Christmas, I came across this article about how the internet is, in fact, killing the Christmas card industry as a whole.  I stayed strong - finished up my last batch of cards (because while I love getting handmade cards, I often procrastinate and/or underestimate the number I need to make and so I completely stress myself out and sometimes they don't arrive until...say...New Years) and merrily made my way through the holidays, enjoying and appreciating the handmade cards I received even more.

With the holidays over I set aside my cards, made grandiose plans to start my 2011 cards in February, and - I admit - sort of forgot about the whole thing. Until, a few weeks later, I found something between redemption and clarity in the form of Dear Abby.  On page B7, right next to the comics, was this...

Dear Abby: Five years ago, when my niece was 9, we came up with the idea of making Christmas cards and sending them out to special friends and family members. We both work hard to make sure each is attractive and in good taste, and we handwrite a personal note inside. We also print on the back that the card was “handmade with love.” This has become a tradition for the two of us, and the cards are quite beautiful.
Last year, after we sent them out, I received a card from a friend with a small check inside. The card read, “I’m sending you this check so you can afford to buy ‘real cards’ next year.” I was, to say the least, hurt and offended. I wondered if others felt similarly, so I asked around and was shocked to learn they, too, thought I was “cheap.” Although it cost more money and time to create each card, no one appreciated them.
We won’t be making the cards this year, but how do I tell my niece why?
Blue at Christmas
Dear Blue: Tell your niece what you were told — and by whom — so she won’t waste any more effort on these rude and unappreciative individuals. Better she hear it from you than one of the recipients.
As to the “friend” who sent the check, I hope you returned it and deleted her from your Christmas card list. What she did was uncalled for. 

I was further heartened when, a few weeks later, Abby printed an entire column full of letters from readers who thought the "friend", for lack of a better word, sucked.  Many readers commented on how much they enjoyed receiving handmade cards and Abby herself thanked fans who sent her handmade holiday cards.  And then it hit me.  Some people DO care about making and receiving handmade cards - but not EVERYONE. It doesn't have anything to do with how much they like me or whether I send them a handmade card or whatever other reason had been whirling around in my mind - it just isn't that big of a deal. And you know what? That is a-ok.  In fact, it is more than ok - it is actually quite freeing!

So this year I've vowed to make some changes to my Christmas card list.  I'll still be sending out my bajillion cards, but some will be handmade and some won't.  I'm sure Don's single 25 year old brother doesn't give two hoots about a handmade card, but I know his elderly aunt treasures them, and that brings me a lot of joy.  My pre-school teacher and Don's grandmother would both disown me if they didn't get a handmade card (in fact - one year when we had just moved and I didn't send out any cards, Don's grandmother called my mother-in-law pissed off to ask what was wrong with me), but I don't think my hairdresser will miss it.  Will I have to fine tune my list down the road?  I'm sure.  Will I still have years when I am behind schedule and feeling stressed and wonder why I do it in the first place? Guaranteed.  But then I'll get a handmade card from my friend in Germany, and a photo card from our friends in New Mexico, and an ecard from my boss who has five kids, and I will remember the most important thing of all.  We are loved.  Electronically, mass-producedly, or handcreatedly. We are loved and remembered and treasured with glitter and singing elves and video clips, and I couldn't be more grateful.

Unless it includes a family Christmas letter.