Mudd Puddles

NSD 10am Hour Challenge: Clean Up!

May 1, 2010 By Nancy Nally

Goooooood Morning Scrappers! (and Good Afternoon & Evening to our international friends!) Happy National Scrapbook Day!

Most of us will be doing one of two things today: Shopping or Scrapping (or a little of both). That means we actually want to use our scrap stuff, or we have to make room for more!

But if you are anything like me, your work area looks something like this right now:

That’s the floor next to my scrap table…major nightmare, huh? I’ve been basically scrapping off the floor! Stuff needs to be PUT AWAY!

So, before we get started on all of that, let’s get organized so we can work efficiently! (And if you are an international reader who has already been celebrating all day, maybe it is time to dig out of the mess you’ve created so you can keep going!)

On this week’s Paperclipping Roundtable podcast I talked about a productivity technique called the Pomodoro (named after a tomato kitchen timer) that says you can get a lot done if you concentrate on one task for a half hour sprint. So, we’re going to do a half hour organizing sprint to get ready to do our scrapping today (and why not listen to the Roundtable on your computer while you do it?)

Then you’ll be ready to do stuff like these projects on my table I’m excited about:

Oh yeah, and you can win a prize while you tidy up!

Since we are talking about messes this hour, we’re giving away some Mudd Puddles texture mediums! These are texture grains embedded in clear glue that you apply and when the glue dries it leaves fabulous texture. I’ve used it to create this beach mini-book I have in progress:

I used the Malibu Beach color for the book I’m working on.

This prize package contains a selection of 7 different colors, including some that were discontinued when Creative Imaginations picked up the line from the original creator of the product. So enjoy them!

How to Enter:
All you have to do to be one of the lucky winners is leave a comment on this entry before Midnight U.S. eastern time on Sunday night, May 2nd Tuesday night May 4th (deadline extended due to Feedburner delivery issues) telling us your favorite organizational trick or product . Make sure you include your email address in the line reserved for it on the comment form (for your own protection, don’t put it in the text of the comment, where it will be visible to the public – just in the line labeled “email” in the form where only Scrapbook Update staff can see it). We will need it to notify you if you are a winner. Winners will be drawn by random drawing from all eligible entries. One entry per person.

(Note: If you are reading this post via an RSS subscription, click here and it will take you to the giveaway on the Scrapbook Update website where you can fill out the comment form at the bottom of the article to enter.)

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: Mudd Puddles, organizing

News From CHA Winter 2010

January 29, 2010 By Nancy Nally 4 Comments

Here’s a news round-up of stories that came to Scrapbook Update’s attention at CHA-Winter 2010 in Anaheim:

Queen & Co. Halts Shipping of Disney Print Paper

Prior to CHA, Queen & Co. showed a sneak peek of a collection called Magic Memories that was designed to be used for Disney scrapbooking. One of the prints, the white background one in the photo below, featured interlinked circles that were obviously a mouse ear pattern:

Disney is notoriously protective of its trademarks such as its Mickey ears logo. After receiving questions from multiple potential buyers about whether they were on questionable legal ground, Queen & Co. is opting not to ship that paper design to err on the side of caution. The rest of the papers in the collection will ship as scheduled.

Darice Acquires Core’dinations

Effective January 22nd, cardstock company Core’dinations has been acquired by Strongsville, Ohio-based Darice. Almost two years old, Core’dinations made a big splash at CHA Winter with its embossed cardstock collection packs that coordinate with collections by companies like Jenni Bowlin and Cosmo Cricket. The core of Core’dinations cardstock is a different color than its surface, creating interesting effects when sanding or embossing it.

Anthony Grinnell, Core’dinations director, said “Our business has seen tremendous growth since it’s inception in February of 2008. We will be able to accelerate that growth as we join with Darice and their extensive line of paper-crafting products.”

“Bringing Core’dinations product lines into the Darice family of products allows us to provide the most comprehensive and highest quality paper-crafting assortment for our retailer customers” said Mike Birkholm, Darice’s president. “Additionally, we are pleased that Anthony will continue to provide creative and strategic direction for this great line of products.”

Darice was founded in 1954, and is most widely known for its non-scrapbooking crafts products in areas such as jewelry making, kids crafts, and floral design.

EK Success Goes Peanuts

Charlie Brown and the gang are coming to EK Success. They have acquired the licensing rights to create products featuring the popular characters. A few products are coming in the CHA releases, and a few sneak peeks of Halloween products were on display in the CHA-Winter booth as well.

CHA 2011 Dates Conflict With Paperworld 2011

The schedule that has been announced by CHA for the 2011 show in Los Angeles – Jan. 29th through Feb. 1st – is exactly the same as the dates for the Paperworld 2011 show in Frankfurt, Germany. Paperworld is the world’s leading trade fair for the paper, stationery and office supplies market. Many scrapbook industry companies have ties to it.

Craft Critique Sponsoring Event for Professional Crafters

Craft Critique announced they are sponsoring an event for professional crafters in Chicago, on Oct. 21-23, 2010. Few details are currently available but you can sign up to receive future updates at the Crafty Con website.

Creativity Inc. Discontinuing Scrapbook Products

After offering only limited introductions at CHA-Summer 2009 in Orlando, Creativity Inc. is shelving its scrapbook product lines. The parent company of Westrim, Crop-in-Style, Autumn Leaves and Foof-a-La had its booth in the General Crafts section in Anaheim, and had only a small display of clearance merchandise that was scrapbook-related.

Mudd Puddles Picked Up By Creative Imaginations

Mudd Puddles, one of Scrapbook Update’s CHA-Summer 2009 Hot Picks, is no longer being produced independently by creator Dave Felber. The announcement was made at CHA-Winter in Anaheim that Mudd Puddles is now part of the Creative Imaginations line of products. The product, a great fit at Creative Imaginations due to their affinity for doing beach-themed products, is now limited to just 10 colors.

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Filed Under: CHA, News Tagged With: Autumn Leaves, CHA Winter 2011, Coredinations, Creative Imaginations, Creativity Inc, Crop-in-Style, Darice, Disney, EK Success, Foof-a-La, Mudd Puddles, Paperworld, Queen & Co, Westrim

Scrapbook Update CHA-Summer 2009 Top 10 Hot Picks

August 2, 2009 By Nancy Nally 16 Comments

I came, I saw, I photographed. I asked questions. I listened to what other people were talking about on the show floor. After weighing all of that, here (in no particular order) is the Scrapbook Update list of Top 10 Hot Picks from CHA-Summer 2009.

1. Toy Story 3D Papers by Sandylion

Sandylion has a new line of licensed papers coming out to coincide with the release of the new Toy Story 3D movie later this year. There are two noteworthy things about this line. First, they will be exclusive to local retailers for the first three months. But what makes them really cool is that the papers are designed to appear to be 3D when used with the 3D glasses that will be distributed for viewing the movie. Yet when viewed without the glasses, the papers look perfectly fine. Between the popularity of the Toy Story license, and the 3D gimmick, expect these papers to be extremely popular!

2. Pink Paislee

At each show, there is usually one or two companies that absolutely nail their entire collection. This time, one of those companies was Pink Paislee. Vintage is hot and they interpreted it perfectly for the holidays that buyers were looking for at CHA-Summer (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day). Their embellishments and their papers are both gorgeous, a rare feat in a collection.

3. Provo Craft Cricut Gypsy

The Cricut is the dominant force in the electronic die cutting market, and this new portable gadget (available in October) is causing a lot of buzz. The Gypsy will let Cricut users carry their entire cartridge library with them on one portable device, great for carrying to a friend’s house for a crop, and also let them plan and create cuts while they are away from their machine. There is a lot of future potential for functionality in this device. (Watch for a future Scrapbook Update article with details on the Gypsy and its possible future.) Cricut devotees will likely love this new gadget.

For video of the Gypsy in action, check out the Craft Critique YouTube channel.

4. Jillibean Soup Corrugated Alphabet

Corrugated is a popular look with fans of kraft paper, and Jillibean Soup is going to make them very happy with their new kraft Corrugated Alphabet. The alphabet comes in a single lowercase font as a die cut sheet that contains multiples of the most popular letters.

5. Prima

Here’s another company at CHA-Summer 2009 that hit a home run with its entire new release. There is something for everyone in the new Prima introductions: bling, pearls, fabric, florals, and papers. There is even a new budget-friendly line called “e.” that wholesales for only $.75/pkg. Whether you are vintage or graphic in style, something here will appeal to you.

Check out the Scrapbook Update CHA Giveaway of the Prima e. collection to win your own!

6. Jenni Bowlin Chipboard Buttons

Once again, Jenni Bowlin makes an appearance on the CHA Top 10 Hot Picks list. This time it is for her beautiful (and trend-conscious) chipboard button embellishments. They are simple to use, can lay more flat than real buttons, and the decorative designs on them make them an extra special element on a page, card or tag.

7. Mudd Puddles

Texture is hot. Mudd Puddles are a sand texture suspended in a glue mixture that can be spread on a surface, creating the appearance of the surface being coated in sand when the glue dries. It comes in about a couple dozen colors, mostly natural sand colors but also a few colors like blue and pink. Mudd Puddles created a lot of buzz on the CHA show floor, and at the Supershow on Friday, seemed to be a hit with consumers who were buying it as well.

8. Quickutz Lifestyle Letterpress

Quickutz is selling its latest tool under a new brand name called Lifestyle to broaden the reach of the brand outside the scrapbook market. The Letterpress tool is an accessory for the new Epic 6 die cutting machine which uses ink and embossing folders to print letterpress designs and type on high-quality paper. The company is selling a line of inks and cotton paper as well as the tool and the printing plates. Designs are available to create all sorts of social stationary such as cards, letterhead, invitations, and place cards. After printing, the back of the designs are actually raised off the the paper, just like in traditional letterpress printing.

For video of the Letterpress in action, visit the Craft Critique channel on YouTube.

9. Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday

This is the only repeat on the hot picks list from CHA-Winter, but it is a well-deserved one. Ali continues to demonstrate that she has a magic touch for usable product design with her new stamp releases from Technique Tuesday at CHA-Summer. Fans of Ali’s style (and there are legions of them) will fall in love with this release. I have no doubt that these stamps will be as successful as her earlier efforts for Technique Tuesday have been.

Want to win some Ali Edwards for Technique Tuesday stamps? Check out our giveaway!

10. Domestic Goddess by Graphic 45

Kitchen themes and vintage were both big on the CHA-Summer show floor. Graphic 45 combined these beautifully in its Domestic Goddess line. It actually goes beyond just a kitchen theme and includes tributes to other domestic arts practiced by women of the 1930′s and 1940′s. And like everything Graphic 45, the colors are rich and deep and the designs are true vintage.