BC's Craft Show And How I'm Eating Crow Because Of It

This year BC's Craft Show Expo was at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre.  I went with my boyfriend on Friday after work to check out some of the latest tools and toys. 

I was making my way through the aisles checking out all the fun things available this year, I turnaround and who do I see? Tacye from Scrapbook Warehouse! (See last post). I was so excited I shouted to her "Hey! It's the Scrapbook Warehouse celeb!!" She laughed and started telling me the story of how quickly that segement was filmed and how little time she had to prepare. Because of that it seems like there are a few things that may have been left out of the tv show and it is these things that I criticized her for in my last post. Mmmm, crow is tastey, isn't it? 

Tacye and I had a great conversation about the importance of knowing what you scrapbook (cards? pages? projects?) before you make purchase decisions. I was happy to hear her say that. I think in the end we both believe in the same thing. Knowing how you're going to scrapbook and getting advice from someone who can help you through the process.

I had a great time with Tacye.  She was showing me a new tool, The Big Shot, which looks pretty cool I must admit. (Possible Christmas present?) The great thing about this is that it's a tool that does die cuts or dry embossing using templates from Sizzix, Cuttlebug and Quickutz! It's so versatile which is what really got my attention. Plus, it's big enough that it can cut large dies for window cards and envelopes. Tacye was having so much fun showing off the tool in a bit of an infomercial kind of way. We had a good laugh.

The other thing that left a huge impression was a booth for the Local King Rubber Stamp. Lisa was doing some demos of how to make multicoloured stamps. The pictures she was producing were amazing! It's such a simple concept, but she blew my mind. She would take markers (non-alcoholic, dye based) and colour about 3-5 different markers on one stamp going from lightest to darkest, then stamp. It's amazing what she would produce. The catch for me was that she was using rubber stamps and I have built a collection of acrylic stamps (the clear ones). I'm going to have to test this one out and see if I can replicate what she did. Look at the hydrangea below, isn't that gorgeous!?! 

All in all, I'm so glad I went to the craft show, even if it meant I had to eat crow because of my last post :)

Oh! And one suggestion to the organizers of the BC's Craft Show Expo, make a man-friendly spot...possibly a kid-friendly one too. Thankgoodness my boyfriend had his blackberry or I probably would have been pulled out of there sooner :)

Let's Watch TV...
I just found out about this really cool segment on a CBC show called “Living Vancouver”. They have a section on hobbies and there was one segment about scrapbooking. If you’re just starting out, or looking for tips to keep it simple, take a look at the show.

Click here to go to the website and select “living segments” on the right and choose “live and learn”. You’ll see “hobbies” listed, click on it and scroll to the third page of the hobbies for the segment called “scrapbooking”.

Kudos to Tacye McLagan from Scrapbook Warehouse. She gives a good definition of this fine hobby.

“Scrapbooking is about using photos and putting them into acid free safe environment and putting the stories behind them so you can enjoy them for years to come. How much or how little you do is up to you.”

That last part is so key, isn’t it? There is so much you CAN do with scrapbooking but it depends how much you want to do.

Tacye lists some of the key things you need to get started, but I’m not sure I completely agree with her list. She says you need: an album that lies flat, a paper trimmer, a coluzzle (a template to create circles, ovals and rectangles by using a swivel exacto knife), acid free paper, acid free adhesive, and an archival pen.

What kind of scrapbooker are you? Do you want to make cards? Do you want to do altered projects? Do you want to scrapbook family photos? I think it’s important to have a vague answer to that question before you can know what tools you need.

That being said, I do think it’s important to start with a paper trimmer, paper and adhesive. If you want to create a scrapbook album, I don’t think a coluzzle or an archival pen is necessary. I know many scrapbookers who don’t like journaling so they would never use an archival pen. Some scrapbookers I know do journal on their layouts but they would never write themselves, they’ll type something out on the computer and adhere it to the page.

One good point Tacye makes is that you should try out products before you buy them. There are so many products on the market, you can’t possibly buy them all so focus on the ones you know you like, or know you’ll use.

And since you asked for my advice (well, you didn’t, but I’ll give it to you anyway, just cuz I like ya!), if you’re just starting out find someone who can walk you through the first few steps. Start with a small project you can do together so that you get comfortable with the tools and how to put a project together. Personally, I love helping newbies out because at the end of the day you get to see the fabulous finished project! It’s so gratifying!