Charity Wings

Charity Wings at CHA January 2012.

Once again, I volunteered to help Charity Wings at CHA. It really is a lot of fun. The best part of it all – the other Charity Wings volunteers. There is a lot of work involved in setting up a booth, helping the video productions run smoothly (and happen at all),

and participating in the activities that promote awareness - the make and takes with Westcott, the raffle of all the fabulous donated art we had at CHA’s member carnival party, and “manning” the booth.

Of course, the craft flash mob we participated in, She’s Crafty for Charity Wings, staged in the lobby at the opening of CHA was a highlight, maybe we could say “the highlight” of the convention. 

We, volunteers, did have meals and social events together too; so, it’s not all work.

 The camaraderie, whether it was work or play, and you can see it was often hard to tell the difference, was terrific! A huge thank you to all the volunteers and donors who help Charity Wings do the good work it does.

Our booth was tiny but amazing with beautiful wing garlands made from Spellbinders wing dies – truly, they are spectacular! 

The dies and the gorgeous Unity stamps at our “Fishing for Wings” raffle were very well- loved prizes. 

The wing art from all the wonderful supportive artists that Charity Wings displayed in the booth drew much interest. So many folk wanted the art pieces, and though we had to say no to those requests, we were so happy to direct the visitors to the artists’ websites.

The Charity Wings’ booth was in the middle of CHA, in a charming spot for us and all the other CHA sponsored charities. The carpet was designed as a roadway with a central green town square with benches, chairs and tables for folk to meet and rest - just like any village square. CHA really is a community and I think the message that it is a caring community was well expressed there.

It truly is fun to see the beautiful products the manufacturers bring to the show each time. As volunteers we do get some free time to explore and those who participated on-line got to experience in depth some of that discovery, too. This season was no exception to beauty and excitement. We hope that many of these products make it to your local stores for they are truly wonderful.

What trends did we see at CHA? It is hard to summarize since there is truly diversity and something to meet the needs of most crafters but a few things stood out.

A vintage antique theme, especially French inspired, was prominent. There was a fabric trend as well with hexagons, herringbones, chevrons and quilt patterns showing up in a number of collections and some manufacturers continue to make the fabric papers. Images that appeared frequently included: deer, VW Beetle cars, toadstools, clouds, and bicycles; while butterflies and music paper remained strong. Travel themes are popular ones in many collections.

Freestyle scrapbooking with alternatives to the standard 12 x 12 and 8.5 x 11 were everywhere, not that the standards were abandoned.  Mixed media books, folder scrapbooks, sketchbooks and smash journals are only some of the options. Shaped minis continue strong and so many of the companies had smaller paper pads. Alterable products were everywhere – not just paper but letters and metal embellishments, too. So many different textures, material (even tyvec), and colors for embellishments were apparent. Washi tape, colored twine and stencils of every sort were featured products. Of course we delighted in all the new versions of items like stamps and rub-ons. Clips, tabs, envelopes and transparencies of all sorts are being made and will contribute to inventive and interactive pages.

Manufacturers are making so many handy new tools – we love Westcott’s scissor mouse!

So many inventions and improvements on the tools and consumables (paint, glitter, mists etc.) that we know and love are now available. Being a crafter promises to be ever more enjoyable with all of these new and improved products.

Yes, CHA is an adventure and a good place to further the aims of Charity Wings, as it is a unique opportunity for crafters and artists to raise money and awareness for charity.  We were able to bring awareness to CHA members of Charity Wings as a resource for the craft community.

We had a lot of fun, too!

submitted by - Karen Poirier-Brode (Ladydoc)