New DecoArt Stencil Release

Created using the Fossil and Distressed Digits stencils

Better a little late than never, here are my brand new stencil designs for DecoArt. The new line was released last week at CHA and I am pleased to say I got a great response.

Three new 12"x 3" stencils - Time Warp, Bubbles and Distressed Digits.

Four new 8"x 8" stencils - Halftone, Creativity, Fossil and Typeface.

If you tuned into the live CHA Blab you'll already have had a sneak peek at these stencils on the canvas that Tracy and I created collaboratively. You can see the Distressed Digits stencil around the edges, the Bubbles stencil subtly in the background using modeling paste, and the Creativity stencil has been used for the title (I really like that shattered text effect).

Hopefully the new releases will hit the UK soon. Let me know which is your favourite.

Andy

CHA Round Up

I'm finally back in the UK (via Madrid but that's for another post) from CHA in Anaheim. The show was full on from start to finish and but it was lots of fun and I got chance to catch up with lots of colleagues, friends, and my Partner in Crime Tracy Weinzapfel.

I arrived after a marathon eighteen-hour journey and headed straight to The Cheesecake Factory to meet the DecoArt team for dinner; it felt great to meet up with them all again and we had a few laughs and a few drinks before the hard work began.

DecoArt Booth Tour

From then on it was all hands on deck for the final day of set-up at the DecoArt booth - we had a large booth this year so lots of work to do. 

On Friday I helped out with Tracy Weinzapfel's workshop at which 'bobble head Andy' made his debut appearance (the first of many as it happened - he kept cropping up everywhere!). I am already plotting my revenge and it will be sweet..... hope she has eyes in the back of her head at the next show.

One of the highlights of the show for me was my workshop on Saturday evening - we were sold out to a crowd of 50 enthusiastic participants. The project was an altered book entitled 'The Mindful Eye' and of course plenty of paint was spilled in the process. Everyone who came along got goodies to take away and a link to the workshop video so they can refresh themselves on what they learned once they get home.

Copper Patina Technique

Vintage Picture Frame

Above are a couple of videos of my demos. I was demoing pretty much all day every day from when we opened on Saturday morning, for either DecoArt or Stampendous. I've already shared my new stamps here and will be sharing my stencils soon. There are also several new Media launches - Clear Modeling Paste, Heavy Gel Medium Gloss, Texure Paste and Black Crackle Paint.

On Monday Tracy and I broadcast our fourth Dare to Create live from the show - we had a few teething problems but it was the first time we'd attempted anything like this from a show venue and all things considered it went pretty well. We created a collaborative piece of art between us - you can clearly see a bit of both of our styles in the finished piece.

All in all a great show - except for the panic stations early on when I realised one of my suitcases had gone missing - and with it ALL my samples and demo stuff. Quite a bit of scrounging later I had some bits and pieces to demo with thanks to some very kind souls! It still hasn't turned up....

And after a whirlwind three days which went past in the blink of an eye it was time to pack the booth down again and head back via Madrid for a brief few days of much-needed rest.

Next stop - PaperWorld in Germany!

Andy

CHA New Release - Stampendous

Greetings from Anaheim, where it's the first official opening day of CHA. I've got three new Stampendous stamp sets being released at the show this year - I've had them in hand for ages so it feels great to finally be able to share them. 

Drumroll please.............

Curiosity Set
A very eclectic mix of images with an overall vintage feel.

Artwork using Curiosity Set

Toxic Set

Two must-have texture stamps combined with some dangerously cool label stamps.

Tag using the Toxic set

Shabby Set
Detailed images styled around old French labels with a shabby chic feel.

Artwork using Shabby set

Worn Vintage Box using Shabby set

I'd love to know what you think and which is your favourite.

More news from CHA soon!

Andy

Dare to Create LIVE!

Our next Dare to Create adventure is coming to you LIVE - yes LIVE - from CHA, Anaheim.

We invite you to join us LIVE from the DecoArt Booth #1701, 1801, 1805
When:  Monday, January 11th  6:00pm - 8:00pm GMT (10:00am - 12:00noon PST)

Where:  https://blab.im/tracy-weinzapfel-dare-to-create-4-live-from-cha-with-andy-skinner-and-tracy-weinzapfel

We'll be chatting you through the new product releases and making a collaborative piece of art live on air. Join us to ask any questions you like about CHA, DecoArt product, or our Dare to Create Challenge.

To take part in the chat all you need is a Twitter account (you can view without one but remember you cannot participate in the chat). We hope you can join us for the fun - it's almost as good as being there.

And did I mention it's live? Anything could happen......!

Andy

CHA Workshops - Registrations are now open!

Last year I held my first workshop at The CHA Mega Show and it was an amazing experience!
I am very excited to be teaching a workshop at CHA on behalf of DecoArt again this year, registrations for places open today (16th September) and you can book HERE 

My workshop is on January 9th at 6pm and is a two hour altered book project using DecoArt Media products. It's suitable for all and will feature lots and lots of cool techniques.

Two of my amazing DecoArt colleagues - Tracy Weinzapfel and Marjie Kemper - are also offering classes so there are lots of different DecoArt experiences to choose from. We hope you will join us!

I will also be spending quite a bit of time at the DecoArt booth throughout the show, so you can also catch up with me there,

Hope to see you at there! It's going be a great show for the 75th Anniversary.
Andy