Classes at CHA

There is no question that attending the Craft and Hobby Association trade show is a lot of fun, but it is just as much about the education as it is playing with all the latest and greatest products. There are classes geared specifically toward retailers, bloggers or designers, as well as many that are suitable for a broad audience.

Most of the lecture-style classes are included as part of the conference fee (which, incidentally, is exactly $0 for CHA members). Hands-on classes range in cost, but are usually $35 and include a lot of product to take home. Since the classes are so affordable, there's a powerful incentive to take as many as you can squeeze into your schedule!

Here are the classes I attended and what I got out of each:

Your Perfect Social Media Fit

This one-hour class was taught by Christian Kratsas from SnapRetail. He talked about the importance of defining a target audience, establishing marketing goals, knowing the demographics, and then selecting which two social media platforms are most suitable for your business. (He recommended doing two platforms well instead of trying to be everywhere, which is pretty much impossible.) He broke down the statistics of Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter users to help us see which fit best for our own needs.

While this class was advertised as suitable for all attendees, it did have a stronger emphasis toward store owners vs. designers or bloggers. Christian frequently referred to advertising a sale or promoting new product that's on the shelves, neither of which are applicable to me. Still, it gave me a lot to think about. There's no question that Pinterest is where I should be putting more of my efforts. A huge percentage of my blog traffic comes from Pinterest despite my barely using it. There is so much more I could (and should) be doing.

I also realized that I need to be doing a much better job with branding. I don't have a logo or use a consistent style for watermarking photos. My business cards coordinate with my original blog design, not the current one. I use different photos of myself on different social media platforms. This is all something I want to fix in the near future. 

Strategic Planning for Solopreneurs

This one-hour class was taught by Sara Naumann of Studio SN. Sara started by saying that planning means you're proactive, not reactive. A strategic business plan ensures that you maximize your time and talents and put your efforts where they will be the most productive. She emphasized how important it is to define for yourself what success as a solopreneur will look like.  

Sara walked us through a series of questions, giving us just a few seconds to write down the first thoughts or phrases that popped into our minds. We wrote about our own history as a solopreneur, then moved on to our mission statement. My scrawled notes read, "Creativity fuels me. I love to write, love to share, love to teach. My work is a way to earn money and be creative while still being a SAHM first." It's not the most eloquent mission statement ever written, but it was the first time I wrote down what my mission actually is. 

We moved on to vision. This was hard. There are a lot of directions I can take my crafting career. Do I want to teach classes, either in person or online? Do I want a regular gig as a designer? Do I see myself writing a book? Where do I want to go from here? Or, am I satisfied with the status quo? I'm not sure. Lots to think about.

Next, Sara talked about our unique selling points, customers, competition, weaknesses and strengths. Those were much easier for me than the mission and vision! We moved on to environment, resources, external opportunities, threats, and critical success factors. We defined success in our own terms, created a 12 month strategy and talked about when and how to plan. Again, so much I need to mull over. 

This was an outstanding class. Looking back at my notes, I can't believe we covered all that in an hour! I learned so much in this class, but as is often the case when faced with a new topic, I also learned that I have SO much more to learn... 

How to Monetize Your Blog through Affiliate Marketing 

This one-hour class was taught by Sarah Crosby from CJ Affiliate by Conversant. 

Over the past year or so, I've done quite a bit of research about affiliate marketing and, other than setting up an Amazon Affiliates account, I have never followed through with actually putting something in place. It seems very overwhelming and I have a hard time doing anything other than letting it sink to the bottom of my to-do list.

This class was very informative and made me see how affiliate marketing may indeed be a good fit for my blog. However, the class solidified for me that actually doing the legwork myself is not a good fit for me. I'm mulling over some possibilities in my brain regarding this....



Making the Most of Instagram

This one-hour class was taught by Theresa Cifali of The Altered Canvas.

My regular readers will recall that I didn't start using Instagram until last summer and I was immediately completely overwhelmed. I'm not a tech person AT ALL and didn't even know how to use the camera on my phone. I'm semi-competent now when it comes to Instagram, but I don't use it often and am certainly not making the most of it.

Theresa emphasized that Instagram is the fastest-growing social media network in the world and that it is a great fit for us creative types because our work is visual. She gave some very specific tips and hints and I learned a lot. Some of it was very basic (I didn't know you could double-tap to show "like") while other suggestions were geared toward integrating Instagram with our businesses (showing craft room behind-the-scenes or works-in-progress, for example). I left with the following items on my to-do list:

• rewrite bio to be more complete and more informative  
• search hashtags related to my name and business name
• change profile photo to be consistent with other social media

Creative Blogging

There are so many great classes to take at CHA that it can be a struggle to decide which would be the most beneficial. I went back and forth on whether to attend Sarah Hurley's one-hour class on creative blogging, or if my time would be better spent at one of the other classes offered at the same time. I actually know what I'm doing when it comes to blogging; would I get more out of a class on an unfamiliar topic? As it turns out, I am so glad I attended this class.

Sarah started by asking us to reflect on our blogs - is your blog personal or impersonal? Focused on one topic or more diverse? Very organized, chaotic, or somewhere in between? What draws people to it? Who is the audience? What are your boundaries and what is off-limits? What do you have to offer that no one else can? It was very helpful to think about the answers.

Even though this was probably the class I actually needed the least, it was my favorite of all. Sarah was straight-forward and specific. She told us flat out not to apologize in blog posts ("Sorry it's been so long since I blogged, guys. But I've been sick/injured/busy/abducted by aliens....!") because no one wants to hear it. She said to avoid negativity, as no one likes a whiner or a complainer ("Unlike SOME bloggers, I ________"). She said not to feed the trolls because a mean comment says so much about them and absolutely nothing about you.

Sarah also talked a lot about SEO. I do search engine optimization for both my Fun Family Crafts and Scrapbook.com jobs, so this is a very familiar topic to me, but Sarah's tips were still helpful. I hadn't thought about renaming images to help with SEO, nor did I know that descriptive titles for posts are as important as they are.

All in all, it was a great class. As a bonus, I met a lot of fellow creative bloggers and exchanged business cards! It's been a lot of fun checking out their blogs.



EnviroTex Jewelry Resin

The one and only paid workshop I attended was this one, sponsored by Environmental Technology Inc and taught by Myléne Hillam. It was a 90 minute class. After a brief introduction to the supplies and a preview of what we'd be making, we jumped right in. We taped painted Klik Metal Complex bezels to a foam backing. Then we heated Fantasy Film and crumpled it lightly before cutting out circles and tiny bits. Then we mixed the resin.

Here I am layering resin, the circle, more resin, and the bits. Each bezel holds only one color of Fantasy Film. You'd never guess that the predominantly-blue bezel on the left has only pink film in it! 

I'd never done anything like this, so it was great to try something completely new. As a bonus, the results were beautiful!

I transported my bezels home still attached to their bases. There was a mix-up with Klik, so the bracelet that these bezels snap into is being mailed to us at home. Once it arrives, I'll remove the bezels from the foam backing and use them to complete the bracelet. I can't wait to wear it!

The Rabbits of CHA

I'll be back on Monday to share more from my time at the Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show, but in the meantime, let me present....

The Rabbits of CHA!

Love the flowers as cottontails!

Can't go wrong with a cute bunny sticker.

Rabbit brads that are the same color as Trouble?! Yes, please!

Another cute Perler bead rabbit!

I can't decide which rabbit I prefer.

Love the idea of using Wikki Stix to make an egg bunny! 

I really want a Proggy rabbit. But in grey.

The backside of bunnies (just like the backside of water on the Jungle Cruise...)

Everything here is made of yarn. LOVE these rabbits. 

There were many more, especially for Easter- or spring-themed papers or stamp sets. But with as many non-Easter rabbits as I saw, maybe I should have declared rabbits to be a trend!

Trendspotting at CHA

So, ready to hear about the trends I saw at the Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show?! 

First, let me say that, while I did see some of the same color palettes, images, or product types across manufacturers, I actually felt that there was a great deal of diversity. I'd gone in thinking that I'd be seeing planners, the color gold, and journaling cards in just about every papercrafting booth. Based on sneak peeks, I knew they'd be huge. Those were definitely there, but they weren't quite as dominant as I expected. No matter what your style or taste or preferred media, it was probably represented at the show. 

That said, let's look at what else I saw over and over.

Rainbows

If I had to pick one trend that transcended all craft genres and kept appearing over and over, it would be rainbows. From patterns on papers to stamps to displays to entire booths, rainbows were everywhere! There was even a rainbow make-and-take that I'll share in a future post. 

Metallics / Foil

There's no question that gold is huge. Many manufacturers have paired it with some combination of mint, pink, ivory and navy, like this display by Martha Stewart Crafts. 

But the other metals were well-represented as well. Numerous companies were showing metallic papers, inks, embellishments and more. A lot were gold, but not all. Many companies were showing foils in a large variety of bright colors.  

Diamonds

Diamonds (as in the gemstone) are still hot, hot, hot. They appeared on papers, as stamps, and in embellishment packs. 

Triangles

Diamonds are big, but triangles were just as well-represented. Many manufacturers were showing papers with a triangle motif or border.

Wood

Wood is still going strong. Woodgrain is appearing in many different colors and wood embellishments are as big as ever. I was very impressed with the BARC Wood products by Arc Crafts. 

Enamel Shapes

Enamel dots have been popular for awhile as a versatile embellishment for both scrapbookers and cardmakers. Enamel is moving beyond dots into other shapes, letters, and even words. There was a lot of buzz about the cute enamel words that Chickaniddy Crafts showed. 

Cupcakes

Cupcakes may be old news in the culinary scene, but they're still popular in the papercrafting world. It makes sense, as cupcakes are timeless symbols of birthdays and celebrations. Cupcakes were everywhere, from papers to stamps to make-and-takes to booth displays. 

Party Supplies

There's been a growing trend of scrapbook manufacturers showing how their products can be used for party decor, whether it's banners or trims for a cupcake stand. More and more manufacturers are showing items like cupcake toppers, straws, and other supplies to craft a perfectly coordinated party.

Transparencies

Printed transparencies or overlays were big about 7 years ago. They never totally went away, but this year's version are more colorful than ever.

Mushrooms

I never would have thought mushrooms were trendy, but after I'd noticed them in 3 or 4 booths I made a point to look and they were all over the place... and always red with polka dots.

Hot Air Balloons

We saw these a few years ago when steampunk burst onto the scene, but now they're appearing in a more basic form.

Owls

Owls certainly aren't new, but there's no question they're as hot as ever in 2015. 

(Another mushroom!)

Chalkboard

Chalkboard paint, chalkboard markers... chalkboard anything is still going strong. I did two fun make-and-takes using this marker by Marvy Uchida.

So what else is still going strong? Stencils, mixed-media, ready-to-frame wall art, burlap and canvas aren't going away any time soon.

........

Anything catch your eye? Any must-haves? Did I miss any major trends for 2015? Let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

How I Spent My Time at the CHA Mega Show

As promised, I have many posts in the works about the Craft and Hobby Association Mega Show that just ended in Anaheim, California. I wanted to start by giving you an overview of how exactly I spent my time there.

Friday, January 9

Steve, Trevor and I left home at 9:00 am to begin the drive south. We stopped once for food, once for gas, and more than once for L.A. traffic. My goal was to arrive early enough that I could check in to the conference before registration closed for the day at 5:00 pm. We pulled into the Hilton at 4:51. I sprinted out of the car with my paperwork to head to the Convention Center next door. I made it (whew!) and got my badge, my class tickets, and the tote holding the show directory, my lanyard, and some random goodies.

Meanwhile, Steve and Trevor checked into our hotel. I'd let Steve talk me into staying at the Hilton; I'd been pushing for a less-expensive hotel a block away. But he was 100% correct about pushing the Hilton. The extra cost (which really wasn't that much) was well-worth the convenience of being so close to the Convention Center and to many of the extra activities and meet-ups that occurred. Now that I've stayed there, I would never consider staying farther away unless it were completely unavoidable.

Steve, Trevor and I spent the next two hours walking around and exploring the hotel and the surrounding area. At 7:00, they dropped me off at the Mega Block Party, located outside the Hilton.

There was an awesome band, food trucks, bars, and crafts. I used chalk pens and stencils to make this cool notebook. Thanks, Michaels!

I stayed at the party for around 2 hours before heading to the room to unpack and get to sleep.

Saturday, January 10

I started my day at the 9:00 am Keynote, given by Rachel Shechtman, the founder of STORY. It was awesome. So inspirational and such a great way to begin the day.

As soon as the Keynote ended, the show floor opened! 

I spent the next seven hours exploring cool booths, like Spellbinders...

... doing lots of Make and Takes, like this one using Allure Dimensional Design Adhesive Paint...

... and checking out all of the nominees for the Hot Product Awards.

There was so much to see and do! It was incredible and I had so much fun. To get a sense of what it was like, check out this cool Hyperlapse Show Floor Tour by Christine of Scrap Time.

As soon as the show floor closed at 5:00 pm, I headed to the lobby of the Hilton to meet up with a group of friends who met through the now-defunct Fiskateers program. Some of us were there for CHA and others were locals. I haven't gotten a copy of the group photo yet, so you'll have to imagine about 20 fabulous ladies and one equally-fabulous man all laughing and having a blast!

At 6:45, I headed to the FaveCrafts Blogger Networking Event, which was also held at the Hilton. (Are you beginning to see why Steve was right that staying at the Hilton would be best?) The event was incredible. There were representatives from numerous companies who are interested in partnering with craft bloggers. It was set up like speed dating; each blogger went from table to table, spending a few minutes chatting to learn about the company, to share what we do, and see if there was a good match between us. I'm really excited about the possibilities.

Here I am with at the Blogger Networking Event with my awesome Fun Family Crafts boss, Amanda Formaro. On her left is the also-awesome Jen Hadfield of Tatertots & Jello.

I left the event on Cloud 9. It was an INCREDIBLE day.


Sunday, January 11

I was absolutely euphoric after the fantastic day I'd had. This is what I posted on Facebook at 7:36 am:

I had class from 8:00 to 9:00 called "Finding Your Perfect Social Media Fit" and then another from 10:00 to 11:00 called "Strategic Planning for Solopreneurs." Both were very informative and gave me a lot to think about.

At 11:00, I headed down to the show floor. I did a bunch more Make and Takes, checked out the latest in kids' crafts...

... stopped to learn more about cake decorating tools...

... and watched the annual Lion Brand Fashion Show, co-hosted by Vanna White.

I also sat down with Amanda for a nice, long chat.

I left the show floor at 4:00 to join Steve and Trevor at Disneyland. They offer a twilight ticket for conference attendees that is about half the price of regular admission. 

My #1 priority was getting a Dole Whip. (What exactly does that say about me?)

The crowds were very light, so we were able to walk on to almost all of my favorite rides.

It was a great way to end another incredible day.

Monday, January 12

I started my day with an 8:00 am class "How to Monetize Your Blog through Affiliate Marketing." At 9:00, I attended "Making the Most of Instagram." At 10:00, I went to "Creative Blogging." Again, so much great information and so much to consider. I'll share details in a future post.

At 11:00, I went to the show floor wearing my Marsala shirt. I spent six straight hours visiting every booth  to see if they were showing products featuring Pantone's Color of the Year. It was great fun. The reactions I got to my quest were hilarious. I'll be blogging about the results later, but here's a hint of what's to come:

While going from booth to booth, I stopped in to congratulate all the Hot Product winners. Here's Fox Chapel Publishing, the winner in the kids' category.

I also posed for some photos. A few of you might recognize this guy.

When the show floor closed at 5:00, I grabbed food and dashed off this blog post. Then I headed upstairs for my final class at CHA 2015 featuring Envirotex Jewelry Resin. It was a lot of fun and I made three really pretty bezels. 

I made it back to the hotel room before Steve and Trevor returned from Disneyland, so I had some time to start packing my monstrous pile of make and takes, freebies, literature, magazines, business cards, etc. It's incredible how much stuff you bring home from CHA!

Tuesday, January 13

All good things must come to an end. As soon as the show floor opened at 9:00, I made a quick stop to pick up a few things and say some goodbyes. This is the last picture I took before leaving. I've already marked January 8-12, 2016 on my calendar. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

We were on the road by 10:30. I'd set aside a few car-appropriate craft samples for Trevor when I was packing. As you can see by the monorail in the background, we hadn't even left Harbor Blvd. before he'd pulled them out and got started.

We had a very nice drive home with no problems or significant traffic and got home at 5:30. It was the perfect end to a perfect trip.

More CHA posts to come!

The Secret Revealed...

Here is the secret message that Trevor decoded:

Steve and I had decided that if my CHA membership was approved and I was able to attend the trade show in Anaheim, Steve and Trevor would come along. With my random blindness and accompanying panic, I'm not comfortable traveling alone yet. Not to mention, if we're going to be paying for a hotel within walking distance of Disneyland, we might as well take advantage of that!

It was so much fun watching Trevor decode the message! He was so excited when he was finally able to read it. I'm impressed that we managed to keep it a secret! This was a really fun way to share special news.