Tim Holtz

crazy busy...

hi bloggers - well we're back home and in the studio crazy busy and i love it!  i was so excited to return to see lots of book orders for a signed copy of "a compendium of curiosities" volume 2.  thanks for those of you who ordered your copy, i am busy signing books to start shipping them out right away.  if you want more info on the books, you can click here...

i'm also busy finalizing the details for my first ever online workshop "creative chemistry 101" with onlinecardclasses.com.  the class begins march 19 so check out the details on their website here and sign up to join the fun! (more info coming soon)

then of course i have to say i'm thrilled at the participation with this month's "12 tags of 2012".  you still have a couple more days to post your project to the gallery and winners will be posted on march 1st along with the march tag.  (*remember, winners will only be selected from the uploaded project gallery) 

well, just wanted to check in - time to get back to work...t!m

visit to norway - then back to the uk...

hello bloggers!  well we've sure been busy on this journey and i have lots to catch you up on.  our crew (alain, dyan, mario, and myself) took an early morning flight on thursday to very snowy and cold olso, norway.  this was my first visit ever to norway for a visit to a wonderful shop called bikuben.  this shop has been on my waiting list for years, and this year everything finally worked out.  when we arrived, we were greeted by ellen the owner of the shop, and one of her staff hege (aka "jenny") and took a ride into downtown oslo for a quick afternoon of sightseeing, shopping, and food.  we stopped at a local bakery for some cappuccino, pastries, preserves, and try a taste of the local "brown cheese" before heading to our amazing countryside bed & breakfast to check in for our stay...

qvc-uk what a day...

hello again bloggers!  well, the past 24 hours have been busy to say the least.  we headed straight to the qvc-uk studios from the stitches trade show monday to get set up for the midnight launch.  we had an amazing show, lots of energy and excitement.  dy was on air with me providing "creative backup" as we chatted with her throughout the hours (while she seemed to be busy altering her own copy of my new book).  then we were back to the hotel for a few hours sleep before heading back to the studios for 3 more full hours of shows yesterday.  we had some amazing kits on air and they seemed to be selling out faster than i could demo them!  thanks to the great team at qvc-uk, to jayne, mario, alain, and dy for their help throughout the tireless schedule.  as you can see from some of the pics we definitely remembered to have fun through it all.  my sincere thanks to all of you who watched, tweeted, and supported the show - i appreciated it all.  we're off for a day of shopping in london today before flying out to norway tomorrow...t!m

stitches trade show...

well bloggers today was a great day at the stitches trade show.  it was a busy crowd with lots of excitement, and they definitely wanted to see the new distress markers in action.  it's always awesome to be part of the creative buzz.  so after a long day of demoing, we headed to our annual tradition for dinner at the wing-wah chinese buffet.  always such fun, lots of laughs, and great meeting new friends.  tomorrow is a bit longer day with a 10am demo time at stitches following a 3 hour drive down to london for a midnight launch on qvc-uk. so much to do...t!m

greetings from the uk...

hi bloggers from (not so sunny) uk!  we arrived after a 15+ hour travel day from arizona to london - you can tell i don't pack light for such a long travel day.  we met up with my boss alain from ranger at the airport in heathrow and hit the road for another 4+ hour drive up to birmingham.   we arrived at the convention center and met our hosts jayne and kathy from personal impressions (one of our uk distributors) and started setting up for our workshops.  of course we also met up with dyan reaveley and worked a few hours getting everything ready to go for our workshops together.  so today we taught 2 back to back workshops packed with 130 eager retailers ready to learn and get inky.  it was a great day filled with education and creativity - what can be better?   well i also got to finally meet the wonderful kaz from the uk.  she is such a kind and talented person and it was great to spend the day together as she helped in our workshops.  then after the workshops we spent a few hours setting up the booth for the trade show starting tomorrow.  tonight we all headed into birmingham for some amazing indian food at shimla pinks where we all toasted a few beers to a job well done.  now it's off to sleep to get rested up for a full day of demoing tomorrow- this adventure has just begun...t!m

journey across the pond...

well bloggers we are sleeping in the clouds tonight on our journey across the pond to the uk!  this annual trip is always filled with great adventures.  i look forward to demoing at the stitches trade show this weekend, teaching some workshops to retailers, and then heading back into london to be a guest on qvc-uk on tuesday.  then we're off to norway for the first time ever to demo at a store bikuben there.  i'll be posting photos of our journey right here on the blog so stay tuned.  thanks for all of the positive comments about the new 12 tags, makes me happy to know i did the right thing...t!m

12 tags of 2012 - february...

hey there bloggers!  well this is going to be a rather long post, so grab a coffee, sit back, and read on... 

one thing about my creative journey in this industry is that i'm always looking for ways to think differently, to change my perspective, and to be open to change.  after returning from cha, my mind has been spinning with ideas from the many conversations i've had with store owners, and other crafters about the impact of the 12 tags of christmas.  there is no doubt there is a creative surge during that time of year, but there are challenges for everyone including having the time to create during such an already busy time of year.  not only that, but i also feel that there are so many other great products, stamps, dies, ink colors, papers, embellishments, etc. that i don't seem to have the time to create with throughout the year.  so what to do???

busy weekend...

hi bloggers...  wow, thanks again for the overwhelming response to the etsy kits - sold out in just 3 minutes!  i sure hope those of you who were able to get your hands on them enjoy making them, it's a great project.  we will continue to try to create various project kits throughout the year and i will always post on the blog the day before they go like just like i did for this kit...

new etsy kits...

hey bloggers!  we've been busy in the studio working on new kits to post in my etsy shop tomorrow at 12noonPST.  here are the details - thanks...t!m
UPDATE: the kits have sold out - thank you so much!

embark on a creative journey with this unique "journey journal" kit.  there's no need to pack your bags since we've already filled this cool little suitcase (i found years ago) with everything you need to make this clever mini book.  sized at just 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" it's a perfect project to capture your moments from the journey.  the kit includes clear pockets for photos and pocket pages for gathering the little things that matter most.  best of all, the cutting, folding, and punching for this book kit has already been done for you.  when they said good things come in small packages, they must have been talking about this little journey journal...

wow...thank you...

i'm speechless bloggers!  i mean seriously, over 2600 comments and it seems you all share the same excitement i do for the new release products from cha.  thank you so much - i think it's going to be an amazingly creative year.  to kick things off, i'll be adding some kits to my etsy store on friday, can't wait...t!m

sharing the fun...

hey bloggers!  well we're all unpacked here and had the weekend to catch up.  i appreciate all of the kind comments about the cha recap video, always amazing to see it all from that perspective after the show is over...very humbling.  so today i wanted to share a few of my favorite pics from the show that mario took - be sure to check out his cha facebook album to see many more (i have to say it's awesome that he is there to capture the moments).  we also managed to get our hands on some products from the show and want to share it with you guys, see anything there you want!?  just leave a comment on today's blog and we'll pick some random winners and post them here on the blog wednesday.  just our way of saying thanks again for sharing in the journey...

since i always try to share something creative with you too, this is something i'm sure you'll enjoy.  my friend may flaum is teaching her first online class for 2012 in just a few days (starting feb.9) there is  no doubt lots of great ideas and techniques will be shared.  check out may flaum's "the curious scrapbooker's field guide" here to sign up, and she's agreed to let me give a couple of spots away too on the blog so i'll be selected 2 winners for that too from the comments.  so much fun to share, love it...t!m

cha-winter 2012 - the video blog...

well i'm back bloggers!  wow, it seems like it's only been a few days since i went to cha but in fact it's been over a week.  i'm telling you time flies for me at these shows - so much to prep, so many people to see, and so much to do, and it's all over in the blink of an eye - but i wouldn't change a thing.  i love the vibe of the show and seeing all of the new products this creative industry has to offer.  i think these shows are a great opportunity to share lots of education and ideas with so many people from all over the world.  even though it is a trade show, there are some amazing people that work hard to share the latest and greatest right from the show floor and my first appointment every year is with paperclipping.com (check out their website for a cool video on the new distress markers and much more from other great products at cha).  here's my glimpse at cha - i'm off to unpack so i can start playing in the studio before heading out again.  see you monday...t!m