Stampaway 25

Seems like only days ago... Oh, wait, it was only days ago I was in Cincinnati at Stampaway USA, year 25 for this excellent convention.  There are many things to love about it, but number one on my list is merely taking a road trip with my best friend, who I almost never get to see anymore, and seeing old friends from far and wide.  Being able to shop with favorite vendors, great class offerings, seeing awesome demos by nationally known teachers, and checking out the latest products is icing on the cake!

We knew in advance there was major bridge construction on the bridge from Kentucky to Ohio.  You had to decide pretty early if you wanted to take the detour.  We took our chances on the bridge.  It was early afternoon on a Thursday plus the sign said trucks were prohibited.  We figured there would be less traffic and no trucks, so even if it was slow, we'd still be okay.

Okay, so the truckers ignored the signs.  Soon the Cincinnati skyline became more visible against the brilliant blue sky.  Traffic was slow enough that I got to take a few pictures.  Bridge traffic was a little slow, but about normal from other times when there was no bridge construction. (If you are traveling that direction, the Brent Spence Bridge has its own website with updates and apps to keep  you informed.)

This year we stayed at the brand new Hyatt hotel that was built adjacent to the convention center.  It really was nice being mere steps away from the classrooms and only a few more steps to the convention later.  Hyatt and the convention center share parking too, so that was convenient.

The hotel lobby had a map of Cincinnati, or at least that's what they said it was.  It's not marked, so use this map at your own risk!  Pretty cool, though.

Gaye taught her first class Thursday night.  It was a backgrounds class, and the students learned great techniques and put their samples in a little book Gaye provided.   Thanks to Lisa for standing on a chair and taking this shot of Gaye during a demo (okay, she was already up on the chair and I handed her my phone.)

Gaye's second class, Friday morning, was this great little planner.  So much attention to detail and supplies provided to the students.  Gaye's classes never disappoint.

The theme of the Friday night preview was pajamas.  This was by far my favorite two attendees who went all out with a cat ladies in pj's theme.

Great demos as usual..  Dyan Reaveley is always friendly and has great demos...

What can I say about Mary Beth Shaw, aka Stencil Girl.  I could watch her for hours, and she never seems to get tired of demoing for the masses.

I always get inspired by her journal pages.  

There was also some guy named Tim demonstrating.  :)

Big kudos to Connie Williams, who started Stampaway 25 years ago, and received roses during the convention.  Stampaway remains a highlight event for those of us in the eastern part of the U.S., and it is very special to all of us.

Colors and Shapes

First Saturday in March = road trip to Indianapolis...I shoveled snow off and on for two days to clear out enough of a path to get my car from point A (garage) to point B (the road)!  The kind people at the county road department kept gifting me with Mt. Everest at the end of my driveway (mounds of rock hard frozen snow every time the snow plow went by), but I eventually felt comfortable that I had cleared enough that I could get out for the road trip.

Had no trouble getting to Gaye's once I got out of my driveway.  The interstate was pretty clear, but as I drove by abandoned cars, covered in snow, I kept thinking about all the people that were stranded there for 24 hours in their cars only a few days before.  We just don't get that kind of snow, and it came in fast, too fast for the plows to keep the interstates clear.  It brought out the best in people, in most cases, with fellow travelers checking on each other, sharing food and water.  I hope we don't see that kind of weather again anytime soon.  The first day of spring is only days away, after all.

I didn't spend a lot at the Heirloom Rubber Stamp Show.  I bought ink pads and stencils.  I am gravitating more and more to Archival ink pads, and I wanted more colors of those.  I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning and stamped out every color I bought plus the ones I already had.  I also bought a StazOn mini pad to try out.  I didn't know they made the mini size like that.

I started having trouble remembering the other colors I had considered getting but didn't.  So I went online to check what was available from Ranger.  While there, I printed out these color labels they had, ran them through the Xyron, and attached them to the stamp pads.  When I do art, I am very, very messy and work in a messy environment.  But the other side of my brain really like to have some order and organization. 

They didn't have labels to print for the Wendy Vecchi colors.  Too bad, as those are the ones I like the best and have been adding to my stash.

And as long as I was hanging out with my new supplies, I took the stencils I had bought and tested them all out on a page in a journal.  It already had yellow paint on the page, paint that was left over from something else and got brushed on the page.

I really like the ATC sized stencils I bought.  The company was new to me, Sweet Stamps.  I don't know why no one thought of ATC size stencils before.  Of course, you could use a regular stencil on an ATC, but I like the fact that the design itself is smaller in proportion. 

So, good day overall and a good trip as always.  I only took one picture, and that was of the dinosaurs at a museum next to where we stopped for gas.   Good thing I didn't take any once-in-a-lifetime pictures, because once again, my camera card was in my computer at home and not in my camera (I hate that about my new computer.. the card slot is hard to see and I constantly forget to take the card out).