What is CHA anyway?

Those of us who have been around the crafting block for a while know that the Craft & Hobby Association's Winter Conference and Trade Show is full of magic and sparkles, but for the new readers among us, here's a quick overview.

CHA (pronounced C-H-A, each letter, not CHA, like cha-cha-cha) is like the Prom for craft manufacturers. Held twice a year, the Winter Show is the THE place to be for buyers for retail chains, independent craft stores, and media looking for the newest, coolest stuff in crafting. Manufacturers bring out their latest and greatest, the buyers order it, and in a few weeks' (okay, sometimes months') time, you, the consumer, can find it on your favorite stores' shelves. And we here at Craft Critique get to report on it all!

The show isn't just about what's new, it's also about what's happening in the world of craft. There are tons of educational opportunities, workshops, and classes available. Add that to the speakers and other crafting rockstars who frequent the show floor, and we're all in for a real learning experience.

Craft Critique is proud be among the media who report directly from the show; as we see it, you'll see it. New tools, trends, and techniques... we walk the show floor all day, and then write about it all night.

Once the show starts on January 29th, hold on to your hats; we'll be reporting all the best stuff for you to drool over.

To follow along with all the news from the show floor "like" us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and even follow our new Pinterest Pin board.

Leave us a comment and let us know what *YOU* want us to report on: favorite manufacturers, product lines, anything you've heard about through the grapevine and want a closer look at.

Product review: Beacon's 3 in1 Glue

Many crafters want to know what is the best adhesive out there. That answer really depends on what kind of adhesive and what you're using it for. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a multi-purpose adhesive for us to use? As many of you know, there are plenty of such products. Then one day, I accidentally discovered the wonderful world of Beacon's 3 in 1 Glue.

I was first introduced to 3 in 1 while attending the CHA show two years ago. We used it on many items for a make and take at one of the booths I visited. I ordered a case of it and I've been using it, over a glue gun in many cases, ever since. With that in mind, I wanted to share with you the many uses of this adhesive and its versatility.


Let's start with project #1. I rummaged through my husband's workbench area - something he did not appreciate until I told him what I was doing. I was looking for anything that looked 30-40 years old, lol. I mean, if he's been saving it this long is he really going to use it? I also found a bunch of old screws, keys, cable splitter, switch - all kinds of things. With a project this size, getting the glue out of the needle nose nozzle was going a bit slow. Thank goodness 3 in 1 has a removable cap: 

I also glued the metal hinges on the inside of the cover:

After a drying time of about 8 hours, the album was safe for me to pick up. Don't believe me that these pieces are really on there?  Look at how strong the hold is. It doesn't even rip from the paper I have on the album cover:

Below are some other items I created using Beacon's 3 in 1. The first project, I glued a metal drawer handle to an album cover with Beacon's 3 in 1 glue and then glued a few rhinestones in the holes where screws would normally go:

In the project below I glued another metal handle (same kind as above - I have 4 total) to the lid of this metal canister. I also used Beacon's 3 in 1 glue to adhere the ribbon to the can which is another point I wanted to discuss in this article. Fabric and ribbon do not soak up Beacon's 3 in 1 glue the way it does many other brands of liquid adhesives do - which then dries and becomes too stiff for use. Usually crafters use adhesive that's specific for fabric, wet or tape, or they use glue dots.

Finally, I had a little fix-it job for myself. A ceramic thirsty coaster that was broken in three places. The Beacon's 3 in 1 glue holds it together once again. You can see the cracks where my coaster broke:

Pros:

• It's available in most craft stores at an affordable price.
• The glue does not dry up in the nozzle - which is removable - or in the bottle.
• Very versatile as far as purpose and use on various items.

Cons:

• Cannot find it in a gallon jug.
• Due to its thickness, if you're getting to the bottom of the bottle you will need to place upside down for a while to get the glue to the top.
• I also don't care for the glue threads and have to work hard to find a way to make it stop.

Conclusion:
As one can tell, I have become a huge fan of Beacon's 3 in 1 glue. And if I have a tough home repair I am more likely to reach for it over crazy glue or Gorilla glue. In fact, I just received an item my husband bought for me off of ebay; it arrived with a broken piece. Obviously, I will be using Beacon's 3 in 1 to repair it.

There are other multi-purpose adhesives on the market that are comparable; however, I wanted to report specifically on Beacon's 3 in 1 glue. Have you tried Beacon's 3 in 1 glue? What "multi-purpose" liquid adhesives do you prefer and why?

Disclosure

The Cutting Edge System

Reported by Eileen Hull

I hang out with some friends who are amazing quilters. Pat Sloan asked if I would be interested in reviewing this new rotary cutter and mat system called The Cutting Edge for Craft Critique. Being a big fan of cutting tools, I said, "Sure!" However, I am not a huge quilter or sewer, so I asked my friend, Lorine Mason, editor of the Sewing Savvy newsletter, if she would work with me on this review. She also reviews the Cutting Edge system in her newletter.

The tools are made by Sullivans, a notions manufacturer. The thing that's unique about this product line is that the rotary blade is sharpened on the edge of the ruler so every cut you make results in nice clean edges and a longer-lasting blade.

I received a rotary cutter and blade, a self healing mat, a 12.5" x 12.5" grid ruler and a 6.5" x 12.5" grid ruler. The rotary cutter is a pretty standard tool with a blade that retracts when you are not using it. I like this as I have cut myself more times than I care to remember. There is nothing worse than almost completing a project and then bleeding all over it. (TIP- my daughter is a nurse and shared her method for getting blood out- hydrogen peroxide in a spray bottle kept by the washer- it works great!)

The self-healing mat is also fairly basic. But the grid rulers are what make this system special. It says on the package that "the diamond-powder-encrusted edge maintains your blade sharper for longer." Another tip they give is to reverse your blade periodically to keep both sides sharp. That makes sense!

I decided to cut some felt to make a little Christmas tree ornament using my Sizzix Fringed Flower die. I bought 9" x 12" squares of felt and cut them down into quarters with the rotary cutter to fit on the 5.5" x 6" die. I tried cutting 5 layers of felt but it was too thick (I had to push the envelope) but found that three layers was about the most you could cut at a time. 

The rotary cutter worked great so it was a pleasure cutting the felt down to size. The only thing I didn't like was the grating noise that resulted from running the cutter along the edge of the ruler. Luckily, I have four children and am able to tune out stuff like that :-)

The rotary cutter cut the felt like butter. I cut about 12 blocks of felt and the cutter worked just as well with the last piece as it did with the first. However, I probably didn't give the tool the workout I could have with a larger project. I do plan on testing it with a paper project. For most paper cutting, I use my guillotine cutter, but could see that in some cases, this tool would be a good alternative (e.g. if you were working on a project that involved cutting both fabric and paper). 

I cut four pieces of felt in each color and die cut my flowers. The flower circles were threaded onto a pipe cleaner in graduating sizes separated by a pony bead in between each flower. I added buttons to the bottom for a base and one as a tree topper. The stem of the pipe cleaner was used for a hanger. These went together really quickly and would be great to make with kids.

Here is what Lorine created using the Cutting Edge.

Supplies:

• Inexpensive framed art
• Coordinating fat quarters of cotton fabric
• Complimentary thread color
• Cotton batting
• Acrylic paint
• Spray adhesive
• Fabric glue
• Rotary Cutter, Ruler and Mat*
• *Sullivans The Cutting Edge ruler, mat and rotary tool
• Sewing machine, basic sewing tools

1. Purchase an inexpensive piece of framed art with a pre-printed message stenciled on the glass.

2. Remove the backing from the frame, detach any 3D elements and the paper from the frame backing.  Set aside. 

3. Using a rotary mat, ruler and cutter*; cut strips from coordinating fat quarters of fabric. Cut strips 1 inch, 1 1/2 inch and 2 inches wide.

4. Stitch strips together using 1/4 inch seams. Press seams to one side. Continue until the piece is equal to the measurement of the frame backing.

5. Cut sewn fabrics piece apart an a variety of angles, adding additional strips between each of the cuts. Continue cutting and re-sewing the fabric piece until the desired affect is achieved. 

6. Layer the sewn piece over top of an equally size piece of cotton batting.

7. Top stitch along the inside edge of each of the fabric sections using a complementary color of thread.

8. Paint the 3D heart using acrylic paint in a complementary color. Attach to the front of the quilted piece using fabric glue.

9. Use spray adhesive to attach the quilted piece to the front of the frame backing.  

10. Trim away excess fabric and batting and insert backing into frame.

11. Cover back of frame with additional fabric or decorative paper.

12. Hang and enjoy!  

Pros:

• The concept of sharpening the blade at each cut. Wonderful- it seems to help with my somewhat limited use thus far. Time will tell.
• The sharpening factor is great when changing media – paper to fabric was once unheard of – no more...
• We both liked the frosted look – no glare.

Cons:

• The grating sound as the rotary cutter slides against the length of the ruler
• Lorine would like to see a 3 inch by 18 inch ruler
• Price point. These run along the same lines as the other non- sharpening rulers but are still fairly expensive. Are they worth it for the amount you would use it?

Would you buy a tool like this? What features do you look for in a rotary cutter? How would you use this cutting system? What would you cut with it?


Disclosure

Behind the Scenes at the 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade Floats

Reported by Maria Del Pinto

2012 Shriners Hospital for Children Rose Parade Float

One of my favorite family traditions is to work on the Rose Parade Floats for the "Tournament of Roses" which is held every year in Pasadena, California.  While everyone else is out doing their after Christmas activities, there are hundreds of volunteers working on those wonderful floats that you can see during the Rose Parade.

2012 Loyola Marymount University Rose Parade Float

So how do you get from the metal base float to the finished "Loyola Marymount University" 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade float in the photo above?  Well it is a very well organized system that is powered by both the float building personnel and volunteers from all walks of life.

2012 Tournament of Roses looking down at the Rose Palace Work Floor

The work floor may look a bit chaotic but it is actually a very organized process.  There are flowers, floral supplies, scaffolding, power tools, and equipment. Additionally, there are people everywhere all

working in a unique harmony to create some of the most breath taking pieces of floral art that I have had the pleasure to enjoy first hand.  Every flower that comes goes through a process that can vary in accordance to the type of flower it is.  The volunteers then begin the processes of gluing wooden sticks to the stem of each carnation bud.

Petal Pusher Volunteer Gluing toothpicks to the Carnation Buds

Once the adhesive is dry, each bloom is carefully hand fluffed by the volunteers

Fluffing the Carnations

and then put onto Styrofoam base to be lined up by color and type of flower.

Then they are labeled to be placed onto the float in accordance with artist diagram directions.

Once they are labeled, the flowers are lined up next to the float they are going to be placed on. 

This allows the volunteers to begin the process of placing the flowers 

2012 City of Glendale Rose Parade Float

onto the floats, one by one.

Every part of the float is covered by flowers, leaves, stems, seeds, and other natural materials.  Some of the float signage is covered by a process of using individual flower petals which are glued onto the surface one-by-one by the volunteers.

This is slow and sticky process. The glue has to be strong enough to hold the petals onto the signage throughout the parade route.   We usually end up with glue all over our hands and clothing, most of the seasoned volunteers will advise new volunteers to wear their oldest clothing (since it will probably get trashed during the float decorating process).

Additionally, we glue seeds, dried orange slices, and other natural materials to various surfaces and

signage.  In the photo below, you can see a volunteer working on the "City of LA" plaque using these types of materials.

You can see how tiny the natural materials used in the process can be.  Each seed has to be attached with the adhesive.

More examples of the various materials used.  The wagon wheel has dried and fresh flowers, seeds, beans, and more on it.

2012 City of Glendale Rose Parade Float

The beautiful portrait below, is composed of seeds, ground pepper, ground flower petals and other natural materials which were applied by hand (one-by-one) by various volunteers.  It is amazing to see this time consuming process create such an interesting portrait in person.

HGTV 2012 Rose Parade Float

Here is a look at some of the different floats and the cool features you may not get to see when you see the floats in the Tournament of Rose Parade on television.
The 2012 HGTV Tournament of Roses Parade float sported a very cool cobblestone road,

which is made with by using potatoes that are cut in half

and covered in spices and ground seeds.

The Lions Club International 2012 Tournament of Roses Parade float was an amazing example of the creative use of crushed natural materials and florals.  The center of the flower is dried lentils.

Which were individually glued on to create the center of the flower bud.  All materials used on these floats must be organic in nature and cannot be dyed.  They are fresh, dried, crushed and/or pureed and then applied individually by the volunteers onto the float surface.  All visible parts of the float must be covered in these floral or natural materials.

These bud were attached to the float.  The floating ribbon on the float is completely decorated in crushed natural materials and cut up leaves.

2012 Lions Club International Tournament of Roses Parade float

Seeing these amazing works of art emerge from their beginning stages to end product is an amazing experience.  Being that they are built in large empty buildings that have to be large enough to house these amazing pieces of work, volunteers do get exposed an interesting variation of temperature conditions.  This year we had a very warm week (70 plus degrees), so it was rather warm in the daytime.  Then it switched to cool in the evenings (50 degrees and below), so if you decided to volunteer to work on these in the future, just layer your gear because getting to work on these floats and seeing the end result is so worth the extra effort.  

If you live in or are visiting California,  I highly recommend checking out the Tournament of Roses Parade Float display which sets up at the end of the parade route (on Sierra Madre Blvd).  Currently they charge $10 for adults and children are free.  I find that it is worth the traffic and parking challenges to see these floats in person and see how the designers and volunteers have used natural materials to create the Tournament of  Roses Parade floats.

Disclosure

We would love to hear from our readers what type of activities they participate in during the holidays.  What are you looking forward to in the new year?

Event Review: Glitterfest Fall 2011

Reported by Maria Del Pinto

 If you embrace the creativity of the holidays, enjoy unique handmade items, German glass glitter, love vintage collectibles, or just want to enjoy in a bit of whimsy and fun, then you need to know about the "Glitterfest" show which is created by Sheryl Simpson and Dianne White.  

The Glitterfest fall show was held on October 15, 2011, at the Elks Lodge in Santa Ana, California.  My friends and I arrived early to be able to catch all the fun and excitement of the event.  Upon arrival, we followed the signs and joined the line of excited attendees who were kind enough to share their excitement for the event with us.

They told me a little about the various artists that they were going to see.  Since it is easier to understand the whimsical nature of this event through photos, I got permission to take some pictures at the event to share with our readers. Below is a peek at some of the wonderful work these artists donated for the show raffle.

I stopped by Denise Hahn's (In My Blue Room) booth.  She sells some great vintage supplies and fun crafting kits, along with her finished pieces through her etsy site shop.  I bought a fun skeleton kit and a jewelry making kit (that came in a jar). 

I love the "Day of Dead" festival celebrations throughout the Los Angeles and Orange County area and was pleasantly surprised to find some very cool "Day of Dead" inspired work.  One artist who had a fun display was Dennis Haynes from Runnamuck Studio.  He also sells on etsy but there is nothing better than getting to see his creations in person.

Another fun artist, is Lori Gutierrez who make an eclectic collection of that spans from home decor to wearable art.  She even had some of her cool crowns on display that were similar to the one she did for the Somerset Home article she wrote. 

Then there was the work of Colleen Moody.  I just fell in love with the cute snow angel diorama below. Unfortunately, someone else bought it before I could.  Her pieces are so whimsical, cute and each one has its own unique story.  Her vintage jewelry pieces are also lovely.

It got pretty crowded at this show, so I had to wait a bit to finally see the fun characters created by Jenny Hernandez (The Polka Dot Pixie) in person.  I had heard about her work from some of the ladies in line and just had to get a peek.  

After talking to Jenny, I found out that she also teaches sculpting classes at different locations throughout the year.  You can also so see more pictures of her whimsical characters on the Polka Dot Pixie flicker site.

The show also had an outside area with some amazing booths that included the "Blossom Vintage Chic" booth, where I got to meet Debbie Watts.  

I had a fun time talking to her and seeing her great selection of vintage and antique merchandise. I also spent some time talking to Linda Fitt and Sandi Woods of Eurotrash.Co.  They had some fun mini kits for jewelry making and for tabletop decor, as well as a great selection of vintage inspired jewelry.

I was excited to find out that Michele Legler (Mosaic Cottage)  had a table at this show.  I love her mosaic work.

  She makes some very cool mosaic furniture pieces, home decor items, mosaic cakes, and mosaic cupcake pieces that are so darling.

Another fun booth was "Beyond the Poison Apple" with fun selection of holiday merchandise made by Rose Polanco.

 I especially enjoyed her cute Halloween inspired tree ornaments and potion bottles.

Of course it would not be glitterfest if there was not at least one vendor actually selling an amazing selection of German glitter.  The Meyer Imports German Glass Glitter Staff was so very helpful in 

explaining the difference between the glass glitters and some of the cool fun things I could do with them.

They have a blog where they post ideas, links, and more on glitter related topics. I purchased some cool silver glitter, that tarnishes over time, to use on my crafty projects. (Check out the Craft Critique reviews of Meyer Imports glitter and supplies).

Additionally, each person who attended could enter their names in a drawing to win one of the many lovely prizes shown below (this is only a sample of the prizes).

All in all, this was a fun show to attend.  I ran into so many people that I know, including Jeanine Stein, (author of "Re-bound" which features some of her book binding techniques), Jenny Doh, Beth Livesay (from "Stampington") and many others. This was a fun and exciting atmosphere.  The producers of this show did a wonderful job in decorating and maintaining a whimsical atmosphere that just made shopping fun.  The people who attended the show were very happy with their purchases as you can see in the picture below.

Pros:

• Fantastic variety of artists and crafters.

• The show offered a unique variety of merchandise to appeal to a wide group of individuals. There was plenty of "eye candy" to be enjoyed.

• If you have read some of my previous articles, then you know that parking in the Los Angeles and Orange County area is at a premium, and cost for parking in that area can be high.  The producers of this show went the extra mile to offer attendees two parking choices.  One was to park at the Whimzy store (in Tustin, CA) and ride the special tram to the show, or to park at the show site.  The parking was free and plentiful.

Cons:

• Other than the fact that there was a fabulous selection of merchandise and I had a hard time of deciding what I wanted to buy, there really were no cons to attending this show.

Disclosure