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so where do i begin to share all of the incredible moments and memories of this past weekend at creative escape? the new friends, the amazing talents of the teachers i got to share this experience with, the generous students who took time out of their lives to share in this event - so many things... creative escape is truly that, an escape from it all. a place to release your creative inhibitions with other people in the world who have this passion in common. i just want to thank heidi swapp for asking me to be part of this event again this year...
after arriving down in phoenix on wednesday night we checked in and went right to sleep (well tried to anyway) to get some much needed rest for the event packed weekend ahead. thursday morning was set up for the trunk show where all of the teachers set out a sampling of their creations on a table and have a chance to meet each of the 500+ attendees personally. this is such a great part of the event as everyone is excited to meet each other, and as teachers, we get the rare chance to see each others personal works of art and connect with that common bond we all share. here are some pics of the table displays from this years teachers - so cool... (in the following order: heidi swapp, marah johnson, debby schuh, heather bailey, carol wingert,debbie crouse & paula cheney, lynette carroll, and myself)
the next 2 days (friday and saturday) were filled with classes as each of the attendees get to experience all 8 of the workshops throughout the weekend - we taught 4 groups of students each day. the venue is simply amazing at the wild horse pass resort surrounded by arizona's unique landscape - the setting couldn't be more perfect. my class project was all about exploring your imagination and remembering the moments from the journey. we made this little mini book (2 1/2" x 3 1/2") complete with pockets, clear pouches, and journaling tickets that tucked into this mini suitcase - it was a fun project to teach...
the last night of the event was definitely one of the most memorable and heartfelt experiences - one i will never forget. we all gather for our final formal sit down dinner illuminated by candlelight and complete with a creative escape tradition to "eat dessert first". that's right, we actually are served dessert first! our meal concluded with a photo slide show of some of the weekends highlights, and lot's and lot's of raffle prizes. so many generous sponsors of this event gave away some pretty cool gifts to some very lucky winners! each year, creative escape selects a charity to raise money for - this year the charity was for the leukemia and lymphoma society and each of the creative escape teachers (and some teachers from previous years) all created lamps in our own personal style to donate to this cause. students were able to purchase raffle tickets throughout the weekend and then the winners were selected. in addition to this raffle, a live auction was held for heidi's lamp as well as mine. live auctions always create such excitement and when it's for such a great charity it's filled with emotion as well. all of the lamps created raised a significant amount of money for the charity, and i think everyone in that room had their hearts filled with a generous spirit that was truly in itself a priceless moment. thank you to the winner of my lamp nicole, for your genuine words and gracious giving to such a great cause; thank you to melanie wellman for a touching and perfect keynote presentation to end the night; and a final thank you again to everyone who shared in this incredible weekend, these memorable moments will last a lifetime, and i hope that throughout it you took the time to explore your imagination, and experience your own creative escape....
that's right bloggers i'm off to escape, but not back to disneyland - this time i'm in the car heading down to teach at creative escape this weekend! i can't believe i'll be teaching there again this year, i'm so excited they asked me back. this is a cool event and i'm looking forward to all of the surprises, classes, and creative fun - that's what this escape is all about! i'll be sharing highlights of the event throughout the weekend so stay tuned! (i have to say, it's so nice to NOT have to get on an airplane - woohoo!)...t!m
thank you, thank you, thank you bloggers! all of your kind comments and excitement of the new rock candy makes doing these videos worth while. i'm glad to know i'm not the only one who enjoys learning what there is to know about products - it sure makes using them much more fun! we have some winners of the "rocking" sets from monday's blog post - congrats to the following: (please email me your contact info)
Oooooo! totally awesome!!! i know exactly how i will use this. i'm making a small book for my daughter (28 y.o.) who is trying to figure out just who she was created to be. i'm pulling out picutres of her from the beginning to now and will use the rock candy stickles to accentuate the photos that show her the way she truly sparkles! the crackle will appear too -- but i'm not typically a planner of details; mostly need to have the tools at hand so as the piece takes form, i can go with whatever the flow seems to want. i'm going to love these two items a lot!!!! Posted by: Cyndy Rogers | August 24, 2009 at 07:52 PM
Hey Tim, I really must have Rock Candy Paint ASAP, and I'll need Rock Candy Distress Stickles as well. It's impossible to choose. There's a million, no make that bazillion uses for these, journals, altered photos, scrapbooking, greeting cards (both handmade and embellished store bought), mixed media applications, etc. Please pick me so I can host a family Labor Day weekend crafting palooza! Cheers, Ruth Posted by: Ruth | August 24, 2009 at 10:32 PM
OMG!!! I am the queen of glitz, glitter and sparkle. I love to accent my creations. I have been hearing all about "Rock Candy" since the CHA show in Orlando and now that I see it in action, I can't wait to get it. Of course the wait is the worst. I know I will have to buy this stuff by the case. I will be using it on my cards and my mini albums and even for accenting the corner of pictures that I hand color from a black and white. This stuff is going to change the way my products look for the better, because it won't be your "everday" glitter, it looks like sanding sugar and I love it!!!! And the stamp you used is marvelous. I have been debating on getting that particular one and now that I see it, I must have it. It actually looks like a tattoo!!! Love Love Love it!!!!! My husband never see's me anymore, he ask's "what are you doing"? and I tell him, "Im creating with Tim". You have changed my life. Thank you! Posted by: Tammy Hall | August 25, 2009 at 07:26 AM
I want CANDY!!! I am a huge fan of Crackle Accents and Distress paint. I can not wait to try some Rock Candy Distress paint on photos and chipboard. p.s. the grungier the better on the tags. Posted by: Kelly Karas | August 25, 2009 at 02:04 PM
I would love to find out what it is like to win one of your giveaways. But you have SO MANY fans (and with good reason) that I don't feel like I will EVER win! So ....... scrapbook.com here I come!!!!!!!! Rock Candy is going to be used on EVERYTHING I get my hands on in the next few months. Posted by: Angi Smith | August 25, 2009 at 04:59 PM
hey bloggers! well i guess "officially" it's still monday - right? sorry for the late post, but honestly i've been waiting for youtube to finally upload this video since this morning - ugh! yep, a new technique video had made it's way to the blog and this time it's all about rock candy. i've received so many e-mails about this latest product release from ranger and the newest addition to the distress line of products. hopefully this video will answer many of your questions about what it is, how to use it, what's it look like, and what makes it different - i have to say, it's so cool to use and will definitely "rock" your world...
how about a giveaway to get the rock candy ideas going? just post a comment on this blog post about your favorite rock candy product and what you would use in on. i'll pick 5 winners on wednesday morning and post them on the blog before i head off to creative escape. the winners will each get 1 of each rock candy (distress stickles and crackle paint) plus the rockstar stamp set i used in the video - nice huh? don't forget there are more technique videos on my website under demos - so take a little time to check them out too. now get rocking...t!m
hey bloggers! well i'm back from the happiest place on earth and feeling....well simply happy! we had a great 3 day escape from it all and i'm back and definitely recharged. i've said it before and i'll say it again - there is simply something magical about disneyland for me, just being there does something to me that words cannot describe. i went with friends, had lots of laughs, great food, took a few photos with my iphone and toy camera app (love that!), fun rides, amazing fireworks, shared stories, a few drinks, definitely more laughs, and just a genuine great time. so now i'm home for a few days before heading out again and i'm already working away in my studio on a few creative ideas - i love this feeling. stay tuned for more on monday...t!m
hey bloggers! what an amazing time we had at the queen's inkthis past weekend. so it all starts off arriving a day early for setting up the classroom space. patti and her team worked tirelessly to turn a vacant space in the vintage shopping mill where her store is located into this perfect weekend art studio. then the next morning we set out for a little antique shopping as we scoured through this amazing restoration warehouse called second chance salvage which was building after building of vintage furniture, doors, windows, tin ceiling tiles, doorknobs, and hardware galore. talk about cha-ching! of course i was not one to walk away empty handed. then we checked out a couple of local thrift shops to round out the day and then we were headed back to do the final prep for saturday's first class.
the workshops were bustling! we had 72 students in 3 of the 4 workshops and maxed the special "curio" class at 50 students, so it was definitely a full house both days. the classes including a break for lunch went from 9am to about 8pm so the days were long but fun! i always get inspired by what everyone creates in the workshops - no doubt they're all using the same supplies, but it's the artistic spin everyone puts into the project to make it their own. a huge shout out to all of the talented students who attended the workshops, it was a great time sharing the creativity for using lots and lots of cool ranger and idea-ology products. if you ever get a chance to visit the queen's ink in savage, maryland, i would highly recommend it. so after the busy weekend it was time to get everything packed up for a brief 4 hours of sleep and then off to the airport to fly home.
i spent the last day and a half at home taking care of last minute deadlines and a few meetings for new products - it just never stops (and that's a good thing!). so i've decided to take a little "tim" time for the next couple of days, and if you're a blog follower you know just where i am going to escape from it all. i'll be back on friday so share some of my adventures, but for now we're off to a place i can recharge, be inspired, embrace my dreams, and feel the magic...t!m
hey bloggers! well it's another early morning drive down to the airport to head out to maryland to teach this weekend and the queen's ink. i have to say that after 6 years of full time travel on the road, i'm used to the 2 hour drive to and from the airport each and every time. i'm lucky i'm not the one driving though so i can get things done on the road, but it's still more hours spent on the road than i would care to, but that's the trade off for not living in a big city - i wouldn't change a thing. i'm excited to see the students this weekend and looking forward to the store - i've been to the queen's ink before and it's an incredible place, definitely one of a kind.
thanks for the comments from yesterday's post - lots of curiosity for this new project so i figured i would share the pics now that the project for "curio of creativity" is finally finished, kitted, and all packed up! i'm happy with how it turned out - this project was clearly inspired by the project i did for the ten seconds studio event, but really completely different. there are so may techniques to fit into 4 hours, but it's going to be a blast! i'm also teaching 3 of my other favorite workshops from this year: "patchwork pandemonium", "idea-ology intrigue", and "nostalgic metal memoirs" - it's definitely going to be a fun weekend...t!m
ever had those moments when life throws you a curve ball? well join the club! it's inevitable right? things have been busy here around the studio as always and we've been kitting up for my next stop at the queen's ink in maryland. i was planning on teaching the last bird workshop when "bam" something changes and you have lots of figuring out to do and no time to do it. have i told you i work well under pressure though? i believe that everything happens for a reason and it's simply matter of moving your point of view around until you see (sounds like a good stamp to have right?). well, i needed to come up with another class idea and fast! i have to say, that this workshop that i have planned for the queen's ink has to be one of the best yet. not tooting my own horn or anything like that, but i love it when everything comes together and creates artistic harmony - you know when you finish a project and sit back to look at it as you hear angels singing in the background? okay, so maybe not THAT amazing, but still i think this workshop has more techniques and artistic goodness than the other class ever had to offer anyways. so all is good and i'm so excited to teach it this weekend...
so we have vintage trinkets kitted up in bags, antique ephemera stuffed into bags, and lots of these distressed utee hearts i have pictured above (60 to be exact) - what's distressed utee? well i love to start with clear utee and then pour in distress embossing powders to colorize it - the result is this granite-like deep colorization with little specks of distress powders that give the finished piece the look of tumbled stone. so cool! and oh yes and there's mini canvas, beeswax, and multi-medium collage techniques in store as well as layered fragments, grungeboard, and idea-ology galore! sounds pretty fun huh? so that's what's been going on around here. finishing up the kits today that i will pack in my suitcase to bring tomorrow - nothing like down to the wire huh? oh well, all's fun in the world of art. enjoy today...t!m
well bloggers i'm back from the last cku, the final-final, the end - what a journey it's been. cku has been going strong since 2001 and ranger has sponsored me to teach at them since 2004 so the past 5 years of teaching at these events has sure been filled with lots of incredible memories. i've made great friends through this event, met some incredible people, and have honestly had the time of my life! so to cku, and everyone who has shared in these memories - thank you! we had such a great time this weekend too of course, lots of laughs, new friends, and more memories to capture. well i'm just getting home and getting everything unpacked and repacked to head out again on thursday to maryland to teach at the queens ink! happy times....t!m a trio of trouble (margie, me, and debby schuh) a new friend to the mix (margie, debby schuh, and meet gladys) even mario got into the cku spirit (with some help from debby schuh)
well were on the road this morning heading down to the airport to fly out to utah for cku-provo. i have to say that after doing the cku events since 2004 it's sure going to be the end of an era for many. these events are such a great way to share lots of techniques and info about new products, and let's face it - they're just fun! of course i get to see my friends there too so i'm sure we're in for a weekend of good times and fond memories. i'll be checking in when i can...t!m
so i just wanted to share a couple of great moments that happened while we were in florida for cha, but not necessarily at cha. my favorite thing about going to a show is getting to see friends that you don't get to see on a regular basis - one of my most treasured friends is carol duvall. she truly means so much to me and i respect her so much as one of the industries top icons. i remember being a guest many times on her show on hgtv "the carol duvall show" - man how i miss that show - good craft television if you ask me. well we got to have dinner together one night during the show and it was great fun - lots of laughs, sharing stories and memories, just good genuine conversation. there's nothing quite like an evening with friends...
and speaking of friends, we also got a chance to hang out with some other friends - chuck and michelle. i met michelle through the industry as well a few years ago and as we got to talking more and more my love for disney came up - imagine that? turns out that michelle's husband chuck works for disney and has for over 20 years! can you believe it? talk about my dream job! well michelle and i get to see each other during cha and we keep in touch occasionally via email in between the shows. i got to meet chuck during last cha anaheim when he came out to california to check out disneyland since he works at disneyworld and they mentioned that when cha is in orlando we should get together for dinner...
well plans were made, the date was set, and we met up with them on sunday night after the first night of set up for the show which also happened to be mario's birthday - perfect! they picked us up around 6:00 it was myself, mario, and our friend wendy too - we had dinner reservations for 8:45 - what to do for a couple of hours huh? we made our way to and were told that chuck had a "little something" planned for us. as we parked at the mgm lot we had several conversations during the drive about chuck's job, favorite attractions, etc. well if you're a disney nut like i am one of the best disney attractions at mgm is the tower of terror. sure disneyland has this ride as well, but trust me when i say it's totally different at disneyworld! anyways, we went to the ticket booth for mario to get his birthday button and of course he get's in free for his birthday - what a great thing for disney to do this year! then we were through the gates and into the park and headed straight for the tower. michelle had this look in her eyes that something cool was about to happen... oh my gosh i can barely keep up with my fingers on this.... so we walked right past the line to get on to tower - yes, we walked in through the exit. i figured this was a cast member thing so right away, i was psyched! but then...down the hallway...stood 3 cast members waiting for us! my heart was beating out of my chest as i could only imagine what was in store for us? our own elevator car ride perhaps? or maybe the front row seating - like priority fast pass? nope...beyond all of that...BEYOND!
we were invited to get a behind the scenes look at the tower of terror! the ride, how it operates, the "tower control" room where they actually operate the ride, see everything on camera, the works - i was speechless! so without even a moment to let it sink in we were whisked away and through an unmarked door we went and then through another into the control room filled with monitors, a lit panel of buttons and switches and our journey began. we were told no photos or video of course, but trust me, i have played this moment back in my head so many times already! we are shown how the ride operates, explained the logistics and layout of this attraction and got to watch as many disney guests experienced the ride, it was so cool. of course i had so many questions about what made this one so different than disneyland and how this particular one seemed to move through the hotel - that's because it does! it actually loads from the back of the tower, goes up, moves forward through the hotel on a floor they call the 5th dimension, and then drops down the front of the tower - incredible! we were also told that there are 4 different ride experiences that are randomly selected by the computer as far as drop sequence, etc. so basically you can ride it may times and experience something totally different. truly disney magic! then we got to go on a tour throughout the tower, inside the "belly of the beast" so to speak and travel down the hallways, check out the cast member breakroom (trust me, it was so cool for me!) and then we actually got to go outside the building along a catwalk as we made our way back downstairs to the font of the building. then, the most incredible experience of all for me was about to happen...
as the door opened i think i stopped breathing, i mean i was literally holding my breath when i stepped through the door and realized we were actually inside the front lobby of the tower hotel - we're talking totally inside the lobby BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE! you know, the lobby you wait in when you're in line for the ride! the lobby that is adorned with antiques and timeless nostalgia from the 1930's! the lobby that's strewn with cobwebs, stacked suitcases, and other elements of the past! we heard the stories of these artifacts and how so many of them were actually vintage. the detail disney put into this tower hotel lobby is unsurpassed in providing the ultimate experience for the guest. and then, there i was standing at the front desk, the check in desk, in the lobby of the tower hotel inside disneyworld - again BEHIND THE VELVET ROPE - where nobody is allowed! unreal, just a lifetime of memorable unrealness... as we made our way around the lobby, we then stepped back behind a door, down more hallways, through other doors, and then we were at the elevator to actually go on the ride. seriously there were so many twist and turns, hallways and doors throughout that building one could get lost for days inside there - luckily we had a cast member with us the entire time - oh yes, and chuck knew it all like the back of his hand! okay, we be boarded the ride, all of us, even reluctant wendy who doesn't do rides - i told her she couldn't possibly see all we saw and not even experience what this ride was all about. and experience she did! mario's bruises prove it! she screamed the entire time - what a hoot! so as we stepped off and said our goodbyes, i just needed one more peek at the control room after our tour - all of which made a little more sense now, but honestly not much. i still don't understand how it all works, and the thrill and magic for me was not affected at all. so we were off to dinner but not before another quick ride on the rockin' roller coaster (wendy chose not to ride - shocker!). then we were off to dinner...
for those of you who don't know the tower of terror, here's something from youtube!
so of course after what we just experienced i was in a disney daze and who could think it could get any better! well chuck and michelle did. we went to dinner at ohana at the polynesian resort in disney for a wonderful hawaiian bbq meal. out table was right in font of this enormous glass window overlooking sheer darkness. the restaurant had a fun hawaiian theme and we enjoyed our meals and dessert of course! and then, as if chuck's watch was synced to disney time, he said to me "should be about now".... and in that instance the hawaiian music piped through the restaurant was soon replaced by a familiar tune to my ears - the sounds of disney's fireworks! no sooner did my ears perk up when the panels of glass right in front of us and the skies around us lit up with spectacular pyrotechnics and even more disney magic! that's right, our table was the prime spot to watch the fireworks ignite over disneyworld's castle in fantasyland - just amazing! seriously, no detail of our evening was overlooked, no hint of the magic we had in store each moment was even spoken of, and no better people to share it with than the birthday boy himself, wendy, and our friends who took the time out of their lives to share an incredibly special evening with us. thank you once again my friends...t!m
hey bloggers! thanks for all of your great comments over the weekend. i hope you had fun going through all of the new release products and trying to choose a favorite. i'm with most of you that it's pretty tough to pick just one! a big shout out CONGRATS to the 10 winners! please email me your contact info so i can get your assortment of brand NEW products sent out to you. i'll be posting more CHA stories later today - in the meantime, check out this catalyst i did for creative therapy oh the memories...t!m
