Tim Holtz

it's a shopping kind of weekend...

it's the weekend bloggers and i have been hearing some good news!  i've received emails from many of you sharing your excitement that my new alterations dies and stampers anonymous stamps are hitting the shelves of your local stamp and scrapbook stores.  how cool is that?  it's always exciting when the new stuff finally gets out there (patience is not one of my specialties).  if you don't have a local store, here's a good online source for alterations, and for my new stamps.  so i hope if you're out and about this weekend you'll treat yourself to a little retail therapy.  i spent yesterday rummaging through downtown prescott and my favorite antique shops - inspiration is everywhere.  gotta love that...t!m

good morning sunshine...

well bloggers all i can say is it's good to be home...  spent yesterday resting and trying to get my body back to this time zone.  woke up this morning to blue skies and beaming sunshine and feel like a new person.  i stepped outside and snapped this pic from my front porch - hello arizona!   i hope all of my east coast friends are staying safe and warm, the weather this year has been crazy and i see you've been getting pounded with storm after storm.  sounds like good crafting weather to me anyways...

i can't tell you how genuinely humbled and grateful i am to everyone across the world for sharing their excitement for my new book.  i'm just a bit overwhelmed from it all and can't wait for those of you waiting for it, to have it in your hands soon.  so this weekend i'll be unpacking, working on new class samples, and setting up some dates for store visits in 2010.  i'll be posting new events and workshop details on my website calendar starting next week and will continue to be adding new store visits as they are confirmed.  in addition to teaching at stores, i'll be at a few venues doing workshops and free demos for stampers anonymous this year and i'm really looking forward to that.  i hope to see many of you throughout the year...t!m

a book UPDATE...

Hey bloggers! i'm overwhelmed by your excitement for my new "compendium of curiosities" book...

UPDATE:  The FREE Limited Edition Apron offer is now SOLD OUT!

thank you to everyone for their support, but it was only a very limited quantity.  all orders placed by 10:30am (MST) have received the FREE limited apron.  you can still order your personalized and signed book from the site, but the apron will not be included.  thanks again...t!m

a long day day at QVC-UK...

Well bloggers what fun it's been since midnight last night here at QVC-UK. So happy to be part of the TSV (today's special value) and offering a great kit to my crafting friends in the UK. Thanks to all of you who are watching, learning, and of course shopping! More great shows coming up today. Back to the set...t!m

QVC-UK tonight...

Well bloggers tonight's the night for QVC-UK. I'll be on with my good friend Dawn Bibby at midnight london time to kick off an all day craft event starting with a TSV (today's special value). I've put together some amazing product assortments for this and the TSV is over the top! I'll be back througout the day as well to share even more product kits - I'm just so excited. So for many of you who have been asking to please not making you wait for product in the UK, now is your chance to get it.... here's my schedule: 12:00 midnight - London time 4pm PST, 5pm MST, 6pm CST, 7pm EST (TSV launch & Tim Holtz hour) 2:00pm - London time (Ranger hour with suze & claudine) 8:00pm - London time (Tim Holtz hour) Of course you should watch the whole day if you can as I'll be stopping in to see dawn throughout. It's all very exciting and I hope you'll tune in. For my bloggers in the US you can watch by going to www.qvcuk.com and click watch QVC live too so don't miss it! See you then...t!m 

another day in the uk...

well bloggers here we are again, the latest update from the uk.  today was filled with fun, demos, and of course lots of laughs.  where to begin???  how about early in the morning at about 6:00am when people should still be sleeping?  not us...  we woke this morning to a blanket of white stuff - seriously?  can winter be on it's way already?  please???  nevertheless it's a calming sight and we had our wonderful breakfast by the fire before heading off to the NEC for the stitches trade show.
 

the day was spent demoing and sharing ideas with the wonderful shop owners and attendees of the show.  i do love the uk! 


of course the day was filled with comedy as our good friend dy from art from the heart has been spending the days with us.  i just love being with her - makes you smile from the inside, such a genuine and loving friend.  she (along with mario) have been there to make sure everything has gone perfectly from our workshops yesterday, to making sure our demos are all ready to go! 

after a long day at the show, we headed out to the wing-wah which is the ultimate in chinese buffet.  this place has become an annual tradition with our incredible uk distributors personal impressions.  we've stopped here for the past 5 years to eat, drink, laugh, catching up, and the annual birthday person  (of course it's usually not anyone's birthday at the time). 

 
this year, claudine got the birthday nod as the wing-wah does it up right complete with ice sculptured swan, flaming sparkler, and piles of ice cream.  everybody gets into the joke and celebrates with full honors. 

jayne from PI is such a joy and her and we have the most laughs throughout the night over just about anything - i simply adore jayne! 

our night ended with a drink from the bar with great friends and the perfect ending to a wonderful day in the uk.

so tomorrow bloggers, check back from some exciting details on my QVC-UK appearance - until then...t!m

from england...

hey bloggers!  quite honestly i don't have a clue what time it is in the us (and that's probably a good thing)...  today was our first full day in the uk after landing yesterday.  i thought sharing this blog journal was a great way to keep you up to date on all that's going on.  this is such an exciting trip with so much to do in just a few days...

we arrived in london heathrow yesterday and luckily all of our luggage made it to with us which is a good thing since it had all of the class kits, demo supplies, and samples for the journey...

of course our first stop was for coffee (unfortunately no starbucks at the airport to be found) but it was much needed.  we made our way by car to meridan which is about 3 hours outside of london to check into our pub. 

along the way was one of the first times i think i've seen sunshine during any of my trips to the uk - it was great. 


we stopped at a rest area to grab a quick bite and of course i had to check out the candy stash in the store.  well as you see not exactly the normal confection choices i mean fried eggs & white mice?  who would want that?  anyways, some chocolate is always a good back up plan so we loaded up and continued on our way. 

one of the funniest things about this stop was finding parking... caravan parking?!  since mario and i met up with alain from ranger at the airport, and then we were to meet suze, claudine, and dyan, alain rented a mini bus things... well i guess you could call it a bus.  this has to be the biggest vehicle we've ever rented in the uk, but with all of us and our luggage, we had no choice.  let me just say it's been fun!  so today was our first full day and we had an early morning...a very early morning! 

we met for a wonderful breakfast at the pub before making our way to the NEC to teach a full day of ranger workshops. 

i was teaching with ranger designer's suze and claudine in a two, 3 hour ranger-on the road workshops.  we all 3 had a part to teach in the class educating on our signature product lines. 

the students learned a variety of techniques and walked away with this finished mirror. 

after a full day of teaching 105 students, we ended the day by setting up our demo areas on the trade show floor to get all ready for tomorrow when stitches begin.  more to share tomorrow - for now it's off to bed... t!m

across the pond...

here we are again bloggers!  checking in at the airport heading to philly for our connection to fly to london heathrow tonight.  we land tomorrow morning and meet up with alain, suze and claudine from ranger to start our UK adventures.  i'm really excited for this trip, but quite honestly we've been working like mad to get the class kits, demo supplies, and samples ready during our short week at home.  i'm exhausted and looking forward to sleep on the plane.  at least while we're gone, michele and her friends will be busy away in the studio getting everything put back together and start prepping for the store classes i have planned for 2010 so i won't come back to craziness (i hope).  i'll be announcing my 2010 store visits and events on my website calendar in march - it's going to be a busy year and i hope to see many of you sometime throughout my travels!

good news - i'll be blogging from this trip each day so be sure to check daily.  i know where we're staying this trip and it has great internet!  the most exciting part of this adventure for me is my appearance on QVC-UK with my friend dawn bibby.  i've been visiting dawn on QVC-UK for the past 3 years and this year we have BIG things planned and i mean BIG!  i'll actually be on tuesday 2/23 with dawn as well as suze and claudine, and we will be sharing some great ranger and idea-ology kits throughout the day.  i'll post the times when i get them confirmed and post them here on the blog.  remember you can watch LIVE via the website by clicking watch QVC live.  many of you from across the pond have been emailing me asking for details on what we'll be selling - i can't give any details but let me just say i'm sure it will satisfy your "curiosities"...(hint-hint)...t!m

randomness...

hey bloggers!  well today is one of those days when i sit here ready to blog and way too many random thoughts keep whizzing through my head...  the studio is a mess today as i am finally unpacking from cha and repacking for the next trip across the pond.  the walls of my studio are filled with pendulum clocks ticking away - and trust me there are lots of them!  most people would find the constant ticking annoying, but quite the opposite for me, i find it inspiring to keep pressing along and get things done.

i've received many random questions - some of them emailed to me, and others posted as comments on the blog.  so i thought today would be a good day to answer some of those, here goes:

"can i use the new alterations dies and folders in other machines - if so, which ones?"-
yes you can!  my alterations dies and embossing folders will work on all sizzix "big" machines (the big kick, big shot, and big shot express), they will also work on a cuttlebug machine.  for more info on plate configurations for each machine, refer to that manufacturer's suggestions for sizzix dies (most of this info can be found online with a simple google search).  i know this is good news for many of you who already own a machine or two (or three, or four!...)

"when is all the new cha stuff shipping?"-
well that's a hard question to answer with one specific date, but here's what i do know...
*new distress inks have already been shipping from ranger - woo hoo!
*new stamps from stampers anonymous have already been shipping - awesome!
*new idea-ology started shipping monday 2/15 and more to ship at the beginning of march - so far so good!
*new alterations from sizzix will be shipping by the end of this month and through april - i had some last minute art changes to a few things so most will be shipping now, but some won't be until later (you know how us creative types are!)

"are you going to be doing more demo videos on the new stuff?"-
you bet i am!  i am waiting until i am finished with my extensive international travel schedule and more importantly until the stores have the new products in stock.  teasing you with sneak peeks is one thing, but torturing you with video demos when you can't get the product yet is too much to handle!

"what's up with the whole facebook/twitter thing?"-
to be completely honest, i haven't a clue.  i believe technology has unlimited potential of communication, but that doesn't mean it all makes sense.  i know some people follow my blog by simply clicking on it, others by subscribing to a feed, and others via facebook and even some via twitter.  whatever way works for you, i have everything linked up so no matter how you choose to follow, you can and i appreciate that...

facebook:  when i blog, it shows up on facebook providing a link on my wall.   i have recently discovered though, that i am at my max of 5000 friends on facebook -who knew??? and thank you all!! so...i have now linked up my fan page to my blog so all posts will go there as well.  the fan page has unlimited followers so from now on, please click the link on my blog to become a fan since i can't add anymore friends.  confused yet?  i am, but that's okay, i don't need to understand facebook since i don't use it as much as others do.

twitter:  okay, i like twitter i admit!  i know many of you are overwhelmed with this techno stuff, but twitter is easy to follow and fun to read the random bits people tweet.  i follow many of my friends in the industry as well as other people i enjoy reading like ellen, ashton kutcher, ryan seacrest, and yes even the president.  so follow me on twitter if you wish, and another one to follow is mario who is also big on tweeting, and i mean BIG!  he tweets several times a day with all of the going's on and behind the scenes around the studio and throughout our travels.  it's fun to follow and you don't have to do a thing except sign up. 

of course, if you're just enjoying reading the blog and can't be bothered by all of this other stuff, no worries, i'm happy you're here!  so there you have it, some answers to random stuff.  time to get back to work here in the studio...t!m

a book update...

it's already monday bloggers?  where did the weekend go?  well no matter, today is a great day since i have book news to share!  my new book "a compendium of curiosities" started shipping today so it will be in stores soon...  i also know that many of you have been emailing me asking if i will be selling signed copies of my book on my website?  the answer is yes...  however, i will not be selling them until i return from my trip to the uk which will be on 2/24.  so, if you can wait until then, there will be a button on the top right of the blog as well as a button on the products section on the website that will go live on 2/24.  you can buy a personalized and signed copy and we'll ship them out the following day.  of course if you're like me, and not really good at waiting, check your local stores to find out when their shipment is due in.  i am so excited for this book to get out into the world.  it's filled with about every technique i had in my head and lots & lots of ideas - i'm very proud of it and loved how it turned out!

i also want to thank so many of you for continuing to leave comments daily.  it's such fun to read them and just reassures me that yes, many of you enjoy reading my daily ramblings and share in the excitement of creativity.  of course another benefit is you never know when i just might give something away - that's always a bonus!  so congrats to 2 winners from this weekend's valentine blog post...

just for posting a comment, your names were randomly chosen to receive a set of my "love struck" stamps from stampers anonymous.  how cool is that?  this set has so many uses not just for valentines (which you'll see throughout the year, trust me).  please email me your contact info and we'll get your stamps sent out to you.  enjoy today...t!m

love it, love you I mean love your work and stuff
Posted by: dbj | February 13, 2010 at 07:43 PM

Thanks for the valentine! As usual, just
beautiful....you are such an inspiration
to each of us.......Thank you
Posted by: Janice Williams | February 14, 2010 at 04:02 PM

a little valentine something...

hey bloggers with valentine's day just one day away, i know that many of you, enjoy the challenge of creating that hand-made "something" just in time (don't we all???).  well, if you're looking for a valentine idea, or even a clever use for claudine hellmuth's sticky back canvas and distress to create some rolled roses, then check out this project i did for the ranger website.  share the love...t!m

back from germany & the netherlands...

hey bloggers!  long time no blog - too long actually.  i've been home trying to get everything caught up from being gone so long since cha.  yesterday i spent some time trying to upload my video blog from germany only to get an error in the file and then....GONE!  ugh!  it's hopeless, the video file just vanished, back-up or not, just vanished...  oh well, i can still share the highlights of my trip with you and a few photos i captured.  at least i managed to post a couple of times from germany so that's a good thing...

the trip was good, very long, lots to do, very cold, minimal sleep, but still an adventure!  i'm happy to be home for a week before heading out for another international journey.  last year was definitely filled with great international travels, but for the rest of 2010 it's one canada trip, and many, many US trips, workshops, store visits, and a few surprise appearances at some events i've never done before - definitely a year of new possibilities.  i'm still trying to take in all of the great opportunities and excitement from cha.  it always seems to go by in a blur!  i always wish i had more time to walk the show, visit with industry friends, but the minutes just vanish...

just want to thank all of the wonderful people i got to meet during my travels at the paperworld show, kkd, and the store visits i had the opportunity to make in germany and the netherlands.  thank you all for sharing your excitement, kindness, and creative spirits.  also thanks again to blanche for the fun qvc stop - seriously, it was filled with lots of great fun and memorable laughs (the streisand moment will remain a classic).  the visit to the castle was another highlight for me, wow to think i was at the very castle that inspired my inspiration...walt disney...the visit had more meaning than i ever imagined!  

okay an admission of guilty pleasure whenever i travel there is an app on my iphone called shazam!  the most amazing piece of iphone technology ever.  you simply launch the app wherever you are whenever a song plays on the radio, in a store, anyplace you hear a song that you want to know what it is and who sings it.  within seconds the phone listens to a few notes of the song and tells you the title and artist - I LOVE IT!  i shazammed in japan, and yes i shazammed in germany.  i think the tunes in europe are so cool and yes, they are available here but don't get much airplay.  so here were my shazam's for this trip:
-james morrison "broken strings"
-the coverband "fight for this love"
-nik kershaw "wouldn't it be good" (yes this is an old 80's tune i totally forgot about)
-jay sean "do you remember"
-jason derulo "in my head"
-iyaz "replay" (this song it stuck in my head right now - sad but true...)

well it's back to work getting everything put back together in the studio.  samples everywhere, supplies scattered around, and boxes to still open.  happy to be back blogging...t!m





 

QVC-Germany...

well bloggers, another adventure to report!  tonight i was on QVC-Germany for the first time.  as many of you know, i'm no stranger to QVC.  i've been on QVC in the US, the UK, and now in Germany.  of course this one was a bit more difficult considering i don't speak or understand a word of german.  nevertheless, the show was a blast!  it was scheduled for 2 full hours of stamping fun with the talented and famous "blanche" the QVC-Germany celeb and owner of La Blanche who makes incredible craft and stamping products here in Germany.  she is so genuine, smart, creative, and passionate about the art of crafting, and she sure has an eye for decorating.  she provided the samples, created the sets on QVC, and designed the kits.  everything in the show sold out so fast that our 2 hour show, ended after only 1 1/2 hours.  i did my best to stamp, ink, and distress as fast as i could while Blanche and our wonderful QVC host talked about every kit (in german of course), while i was getting a live english translation in my ear.  talk about too much for my brain to process!  between hearing german in one ear, listening to english in the other, watching the monitors for the upcoming kits, and working with the current kit, it all seemed to go off pretty darn good (i hope).  we all had great fun and lots of laughs especially when i was referred to as the "barbara streisand of crafts"...seriously?  i couldn't stop laughing - i simply stopped what i was doing, interrupted the host because i asked, "couldn't i be compared to someone else-like elvis maybe?"  i guess trying to explain to their viewers who didn't know who i was, seemed a bit of a challenge, but we all enjoyed ourselves laughing throughout the entire show over that one.  so thanks again to all of you who watched it live via the web in the US, to mario for sharing the behind the scenes via tiwtter, and thank you also to the many viewers and shoppers in Germany, to QVC, and of course my wonderful friend Blanche - i look forward to next time (whenever that may be)...  tomorrow we're off to visit 2 stamp and scrapbook stores on our way to holland for the next trade show event.  what a day, time to get some much needed sleep...t!m

greetings from germany...

hello bloggers!  well to say my schedule has been hectic since cha is an understatement.  with just a few hours home between cha and heading back to the airport to fly to germany, once we landed in germany we hit the ground running.  i spent the last 4 days demonstrating at paperworld (germany's largest papercraft trade show) from one of our distributors.  between my demo times we managed to walk much of the show.  lots and lots to see, but nothing new unfortunately to blow me away.  it's been snowing every day since we arrived here and it has been cold!  so yesterday we had a free day so we drove 4 hours down to visit this amazing castle...

the neuschwanstein castle was built in the 1800's and only reached a third of the way completed before the king died and construction of the castle stopped.  just 6 weeks after his death, they opened the castle to public visits.  we were able to tour the massive and very cold castle, but no cameras were allowed inside (bummer).  i have to say though, it was truly breathtaking, magnificent, and artistically inspiring.  in fact, my desire to go to visit this was because this was the very castle that walt disney was inspired by to create sleeping beauty's castle!  how cool is that?  my photos are all on my iphone so i couldn't upload them to post, but i found this pic online to show you the castle - we saw it covered in snow of course...

we headed north late last night and drove another 5 hours to be north of frankfurt for my appearance on QVC-Germany tomorrow night (friday 2/5 at 8pm germany time).  it's going to be exciting and definitely different since i don't speak german and the show isn't in english?  either way, creativity is the universal language i think!  if you'd like to watch online, click the link here to view it via the web and click QVC live-tv.  the US times would be 11am PST, 12noon MST, 1pm CST, and 2pm EST.  so today we're off to check out the studio, work on a few samples, and get ready for the show...

on saturday we drive to holland with a couple of stops at a scrapbook store in germany and one in holland for a book signing.  then we head to do another trade event in holland that includes a day of demos and another of workshops.  it's busy, busy, busy.  then it's back to the airport for an early morning flight back to the US, spend a week at home, and then off again to the UK for yet another trade show and QVC-UK appearance.  what a whirlwind!  i'll be sure to post photos and a video when i get home, until then, it's back to work...t!m