A glimpse inside CHA Anaheim 2016 and Stampington

Hi I'm back!  My stay in California not only included several days at CHA but also a month long visit with my 90 year old mother.  I stayed after CHA to take care of her and allow my siblings a well deserved rest.  So my visit was very busy and I didn't have my computer with me hence my long silence.

I wanted to share some photos of what it's like being inside CHA, a couple of the classes taught there and also a quick side trip to Stampington in Laguna Hills.

First I picked up my friend Marjie Kemper at CHA and we drove south to Stampington to visit editor Devon Warren.  Here is a photo of Devon, on the left, and her sister who also works at Stampington.

It was pouring rain that day and we had trouble locating the offices, which is comical since I used to work almost directly across the street about 30 years ago.  Here's the outside of the office.

We couldn't take many photos inside to share since most of it is top secret and hasn't been published yet.  Over the weekend I had the privilege of meeting many more editors and the CEO of Stampington, Kellene Giloff, which quite frankly blew my mind.  I met up with my friend, the highly published Tenia Nelson, and together we visited the Stampington booth at CHA.  It was a terrific experience to hear some of their ideas for next year.

Marjie taught a class sharing a lot of mixed media ideas, it is obvious by the smiling faces that it was a success.  I was fortunate that she had my daughter and me assist her during the class.  We benefited by hearing the class and getting to hang out with Marjie and other great artists.

DecoArt teachers Dianne Bush, Tracy Weinzapfel and Marjie Kemper

The lull before the storm

Students from all around the world attended Marjie's class

I met Tracy Weinzapfel through Marjie and this resulted in being asked to assist her with her class the next day!  Who would say no to that, not me.  Fun, fun, fun!

More about that in the next blog post.  Here are a few of the other artists that are readily available at CHA and teach techniques throughout the day.

Seth is a lovely person, he was doing a demo for Spellbinders.

It was so fun to capture John's expression when he looked up and saw me in the audience.  Surprise!

For an artist CHA is a complete sensory overload experience!  So much to see and so many things to do at this event.  It goes on for days and yet it seems impossible to see everything.  All the new products are being demonstrated every step of the way.  Ranger had all of their Signature Designers there such as:  Tim Holtz, Dyan Reaveley and Dina Wakley.  It is amazing to be able to just watch these designers create and discuss their techniques in such a relaxed atmosphere.

I hope you enjoyed the few photos that I had on my camera to post.  There are many more on my iPhone but I'll spare you from having to look at all of those too.

I will share with you more about Tracy's class in a couple of days.  Thanks so much for stopping by, it is so good to be home, back in my studio and online again.  I missed you all more than you know.  Hugs ~ Renee

My word for the year 2016

I can't believe it is 2016 already!  The year has flown by with many changes that have required a lot of adapting.  My word for this year is a simple one:  Happiness.  I also have included a symbol on my canvas, that of an arrow.  An arrow has to be pulled backwards on the bow in order to be launched forward into the unknown.  Isn't life like that?  A few steps backwards and then suddenly a huge leap into the future.

I wish you all happiness for 2016 and beyond.  I'll be heading off to California tomorrow and hope to photograph a few of the highlights at CHA in Anaheim while I'm there visiting family.  I also plan on seeing my dear friend Marjie Kemper while there.  Hopefully there will be lots of pictures.  :-)))))

Thanks for stopping by, I always appreciate your visits and comments.  Take care, hugs ~ Renee

CHA here I come!

One last little sneak peak at what I've been working on for my next Calendar class.  It is still a work in progress and I hope to find some interesting embellishments to add to it while I'm at CHA.  I'll try to keep all of you updated with CHA new releases and photos along the way. 

Thanks for stopping by, I'll talk with you soon!