Craft and Hobby 2014 Mega Show - It's That Time Again

I wonder what awaits around this corner. This will be my 4th trip to CHA (Craft and Hobby Association convention). You can read all about my previous years, starting in 2011 Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3, then 2012, and finally last year 2013. Nope, sorry, while looking for the link, I just realized I never recapped that trip. Bummer. I did however - post a tutorial prior to leaving for the huge leaves I used on my showcase table that year. The experiences each year have been amazing - so who knows what will be in store this go around. We shall certainly see. If you have never gone to CHA, but want to, if you have a talent to share, or something crafty to sell, contact me. I'll help you get there for next year. It's worth it every time. You never know what can happen.

If you are going to be there....why not come find me? I'll be giving out some fun pins - a hot lobster or a polka dot turtle, and would love to meet you!

You can't miss me - I'm the one with the green finger nails and toes...with tiny white polka dots! Here's a picture to show my dedication to this tradition....I wore flip flops in the horridly cold and snowy weather we all seem to be having. Isn't it so cute?! ha!

You can find me here:

Sizzix (booth #633) 

Sunday, January 12th at 3:00pm

F+W Booth (booth #401)

Monday, January 13th at 11:00am

Please come see me and all my little friends and get your pin before they are all gone! So excited to get there and be amongst some of the most fun and crafty people in the world. (If you aren't going, don't worry - I did say "some", not all! Wouldn't want to leave anyone out!)

See you all soon!

Here a Leaf, There a Leaf - A Sewing Tutorial

So it's that time of year again....I spent the last 2 weeks getting ready for CHA (Craft and Hobby Convention in CA.) and deciding what I wanted my designer showcase to look like...I really love what I do. It really does make me happy (when things are working out right and my family is happy)! I have gone to CHA twice now and have been so blessed because of it! You can read about my trip in 2011 and last year in 2012. Because of CHA, I have had the great opportunity to work with Anna Griffin, Inc and designed some patterns for her, and just last year signed with F+W Media to write my first book (which is done and due out Sept this year).

For my table this year....I decided I wanted to make these HUGE leaves and grabbed all the Amy Butler green/blue fabrics I've been hoarding forever, and made 11 of them for my table. They are approx. 12" without the stem...and maybe 15" with. All you need is a ton of fabric (doesn't have to be leafy colored), and some natural cotton batting, and pipe cleaners as I still call them...despite everyone calling them chenille sticks now. I used 5 pipe cleaners per leaf (how many you use, depends on the size of your leaf).

Here's what you do if you want to make some of your own..

Sew the leaf all the way around from one corner on the stem, to the other, leaving the end open for turning. Notch the rounded edges to reduce bulk once turned right side out.

Carefully turn the leaf right side out, pulling the tip through, and supporting the skinniest part of the stem to avoid it ripping or tearing at the seams.

Once turned out, prepare the pipe cleaners by connecting two together at the very end 1/2". Twist them together (pliers work) so they lay flat, not twisted together straight up. Connect 4 pipe cleaners together for each leaf (approx). Insert the center of the pipe cleaners into the stem opening, all the way up to the tip of the leaf.

As you push the pipe cleaners to the edge, pin it in place to prevent shifting.

Place a smaller pipe cleaner up into the stem, and pin it in place to appear as the center vein (be sure to curl the very tip of the pipe cleaner and flatten it, to prevent it from poking through or snagging the fabric. Tuck the edge of the stem inward, and pin in place.

Carefully sew all the way around the leaf edge to sew the pipe cleaner into place. Then sew a very long skinny oval around the center vein. Be careful not to accidentally sew the pipe cleaner. If the needle hits it just right, it will break it and then the leaf will be floppy.

Thanks for coming by my blog. I can't wait to show you all the fun and gorgeous stuff from CHA! When I get home I will also post a pic of all of the leaves so you can see them all together and get an idea of what you can use them for! Don't forget to post pics of your kid giddy projects in the flickr group, for possible feature on my blog.

Busy Monday: CHA 2012 Show Photos

This was my second year at the Craft and Hobby convention. Last year it was in LA, CA. and this year they returned back to Anaheim, CA. It was quite a show.

I have said this to many people, and I'll say it here: If you are an artist or crafter and want to make a living doing what you love to do, then you need to attend the CHA show! No kidding! Ask me all the questions you want!

OK - so I know you just want to see all the photos that I have been formatting and uploading all day right?! (in between this and that and the other thing!) Well - here goes!

I'll start with the best news of all...I won the Designer Press Kit award. It's a really big deal, and I'm extremely grateful to have won! There are so many other talented designers out there, so I wasn't sure if all my hard work would pay off. But it did. Thank you to all the judges! (The Gnome girl was not included and not there. But it was her backpack and the contents that won them over....I guess!

Here I am before accepting my award, with Sarah Conrad-Ferm of November Oak (my associate for the show and my best friend since 3rd Grade! - yep - not many people can say that! She rocks!) and the after with my award in hand. Still doesn't feel real! It's just so exciting!

Here are some pictures of my travels to get to Anaheim and then once I was there. It's just so beautiful, I couldn't help but photograph the area! The colors are so amazing and inspiring!

I was one of many CHA Designer Members that took part in a Designer Display of Ornaments to benefit many charities (mine was for the Portable Playhouse), as well as participating in the awesome Flash Mob, all thanks to Charity Wings! If you don't know much about Charity Wings, please check them out!

(the flash mob Charity Wings pics are missing from my list...I'll add them in the morning - sorry)

Then of course there were all the beautiful things in the booths! And trust me folks - there was no shortage of spectacular this year - I just wasn't allowed to capture it all. Nor did I have that much time to capture it all!

The always lovely Anna Griffin (which by the way - have you entered the Anna Griffin Sewing Patterns and Fabric giveaway yet? it ends on Wed night! HURRY!). I love that I get to go into her booth and get big hugs from her. She really is just the sweetest person. I love working with her! Then I found a fun friend roaming around, the Cricut himself! I knew my girls would get a kick out of him! And all the little baby cricuts too...they are coming to get me! I tried to get one...or two - but they wouldn't give them to me so early in the show. I might have to call them now to get one!

 And then of course the really awesome - oh so exciting T-Shirt Remix Contest I was privileged to be a part of!...And yes - I was a total dork and rocked out with the "air guitar" Westcott Scissors! Those things are awesome and I'm still waiting for them to mail them to me. From what I understand though...I'd have to ship them back after a certain amount of time. To the which I could not agree on!

And last but not least....the giveaway. We get so much stuff at shows. I have so many bags, I don't know what to do with them all. I usually give them to my mom and sister, but they have tons now too! So I'm doing a little giveaway of my CHA 2012 swag! The bags are awesome - the Make and Takes book is sweet! (my girls are much older than these projects - but it's really awesome for younger kids!!!) The Sizzix cards are actually a different project on each card! Fun tags and pins, a mouse pad, and scissor holster that I made in the Westcott booth! Have at it!

As I was going through all my photos, I thought I wasn't going to have that many...and last year I did one post for each day. So maybe I has less than last year? I don't know...but for as many as I have shared here...I hope you enjoyed it! And next year, I hope you'll attend too! Thanks for stopping by and again don't forget to enter for your chance to win the swag...and enter the Anna Griffin Sewing Patterns and Fabric giveaway!

UPDATED 2/16: This Giveaway is closed. The Winner was selected using Random.org and is #2 (LensCap). Congrats!!!

Details of the Giveaway:
This giveaway will be open to US, Canadian, and European residents. (I'm not charging for the shipping fees - so I can't go crazy on that cost - sorry)
This Giveaway will be open from today, Monday February 6, 2012 10:00pm EST until Saturday Feb 11, 2012 11:59pm EST. Winner will be notified by email on the following Monday. You will have 24 hours to respond with the info so I can ship out your prize, or a new winner will be chosen.

If you win:
The winner will have to supply me (in a personal email after you have been notified as the winner) with your Full Name, Mailing Address, Phone Number & Email Address.


To Enter:
If you want a chance to win - you MUST leave A comment below (WITH your email address. Please understand that I really don't have time to go hunting for a way to contact you) If you forget and leave another comment with only your email address, in the hopes that will count as two -  only your first comment will count).


For additional chances to win:

• You can tweet about it with a link - you must include my twitter handle "@kidgiddy" (leave a comment here so it counts that you did)
• You can visit my Kid Giddy Pinterest page and re-pin anyone of my Kid Giddy Designs Pins. Only the Kid Giddy Design Pins will be counted. (leave a comment here for it to count)

One last thing before you go...be sure to check out all of the other Designer Crafts Connection blog hop members to see more eye candy from the 2012 CHA Winter show! Good night!

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CHA - ReCap...Day 3

Wow - This recap has been taking me so long because there were so many awesome moments to include! This was my first day out on the showroom floor! There was so much to see and take in. It was rather overwhelming - but like any kid in a candy store...you just dive right in and enjoy it while you can...blisters and all!

This was my first Make & Take of the day, with Melony Bradley in the Marvy Uchida Booth! I've got Gnomes in my brain!

I asked to take this picture of the American Girl Crafts Booth by ekSuccess Brands - for my girls! I'd love to design crafts for the American Girl line! Wouldn't that be so cool?!

My first Celebrity photo op...that's me and Cat in the Hat...who else would it be? This was for my girls too!

Second sighting - "The Crochet Dude" in the Simplicity booth!

This is Suede from Project Runway in the Simplicity booth! I got to talk to him too! Nice guy!

Yep - another Shirley Temple at Wolfgang Puck for Lunch!

I don't have a picture of our yummy lunch, because we ate it so fast, so I took a picture of the sign instead!

This was another Make & Take with Cloud Clay - I made some cupcake earrings with Helen!

I won an iPad at the Westcott booth! Here I'm celebrating in disbelief, with Marisa Pawelko and Wendy Russell!

Oh my lovely Anna Griffin booth! The flowers were just as amazing as everything else!

As you can see...October Afternoon booth - LOVE their collections! And I don't scrap or paper anything - LOVED it!

Took this picture for my sister...Totally her style - this is the Melissa Frances booth.

This is another section of the Melissa Frances booth.

Again - not sure who's booth this was - but I loved the Flower garland/bunting/banners!

After a very long day, my friend Vicki and I went out on the town...Cool lights - but too bright for the full blur effect!

We stopped at the Grammy Museum that was closing in 30 minutes! Took this pic for my hubby!

This is me and my long time friend Vicki. I've known her now for - wow - 15 years? She just got married in January! She's a blast - I wish she lived out east still.

This mural in the Grammy Museum lobby was painted on Friday night while the museum was closed. Friday day when I walked by there was only pencil drawings and they were laying the tarps down to get started.

This is Cricut going about the town...winning a Grammy!

After we left the Grammy Museum, we went to dinner at Rosa Mexicano!

I totally wanted this bike. So cool! But since I couldn't - I was willing to settle for the "postcard" photograph!

This was the inside of the restaurant. I took pics of our food - but you can't really see it. So I'm not posting it! But the dessert was totally amazing!

If you'd like to read my CHA experience from the beginning, check out Day 1 and Day 2!

I will at some point post the remainder of my trip, and hopefully sooner rather than later so I don't forget it all!