We interrupt your regularly scheduled blogging for a mixed-media news bulletin—or at least a teaser: Collage artist extraordinaire Claudine Hellmuth (author of Collage Discovery Workshop and Collage Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected) is preparing to launch a new line of products with Ranger in July. After my recent fascination with Tim Holtz’s Grungeboard, I have to admit I’m dying of suspense to see what Ranger will think of next. (I'm not alone, by the way. Check out The Impatient Beader/Blogger Ms. Margot Potter's recent experimentation with Grungeboard here.) You can read all about Claudine's recent trip (including meeting with chemists… how scientific is THAT?) to the Ranger offices on her blog. I keep checking back regularly hoping she’ll give us a sneak peek, or at least a hint. (I think some people call this blog stalking, but in this case, I like to think of it as Ranger Roving.)

What new products have got you itching to get your hands messy?

Happy Monday,
Jessica

As mixed-media artists, I think I can safely say that we've all purchased supplies that we were incredibly inspired to try out at the time and then left them unopened and unexplored for months on end. Sometimes it's because we're unsure how to use what we've bought and sometimes we just get stuck in a rut, and stick to our tried-and-true standbys. With our challenge this month being that of using personal imagery in our artwork--something that many of us are not accustomed to--I'd like to suggest that this might be the perfect time to also dig out those unopened supplies and give them a try!

And if you need some help getting started, check out the March Monthly Challenge discussion from the message board on the MyCraftivity home page. To find it, click on Message Board from the red navigation bar, then click on Mixed Media, and then March Monthly Challenge. I'll report back to you soon on my own progress.

Having now fully recovered from the hustle and bustle of CHA (and from the travel mishaps Tonia eluded to last week, which I just can’t seem to stop referring to as “Jessica and Tonia’s Excellent Adventure”—and if you’d seen the look on her face when her car didn’t start after 11 hours of trains, planes and automobiles, you’d understand why), I am happy to report that the show was a success on all levels. It’s really difficult to explain what it’s like to have so many products on display—and so many talented artists and crafters gathered—in one place. You almost have to see it to believe it, and photos really don’t do the scale of it justice. The show is bigger and busier than you could imagine—in the two full days I spent there, I just barely managed to stop by every booth on the floor! And CHA is a trade show for the craft industry not open to the general public. Imagine how big it would be if they ever decided to host a consumer show!

It’s always fun to see demonstrations of new products, or of products that I knew about but didn’t quite realize the full potential of. My favorite at this show was Grungeboard. While stopping by to pay a visit to Tim Holtz, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to speak with him about this new material and all it can do. (If you’ve ever seen the crowds that form around this craft-world superstar everywhere he goes, you can appreciate how lucky I really was!) The photo here shows my make-and-take project, a Grungeboard cuff bracelet I painted, sanded, inked and punched during just a short two-minute demo. In your hands, Grungeboard feels like a cross between chipboard and leather. But it’s more flexible and versatile than you would believe—while it’s soft enough to rip and distress it without any tools at all, it’s also sturdy enough to sew onto your favorite pair of jeans and run through the washer and drier!

Click here for a video Grungeboard tutorial by Tim Holtz himself. Soon your mind will be reeling with all the possibilities offered by this fun new medium.

What’s your current favorite material or tool that you can’t live without? Be sure to stop by the Media Tips + Tricks Discussion in this group’s forum to share the love!

Happy Tuesday,
Jessica