Nearly every industry has a new product introduction season. For clothes, it happens four times a year, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. For the auto industry, typically, its fall. For the crafting and art world, its the first few months of the new year, January through March.
New products are demo’d and released at Creativation, the biggest trade show of the year for art and craft products. For those of us unable to attend Creativation, we spend the third week in January glued to You Tube searching and waiting for live feeds and demonstration videos. We make lists of what we must have and new products we can’t wait to try. And then, the shopping begins. By early March, my crafting/art budget is in shambles. I’m broke and I find products that I just have to have. How can I justify buying just one more thing? I can’t. BUT, if I can find contests to enter with gift certificates for prizes …
Here’s my entry for a fun little 5 x 7 canvas I created for monthly challenge on The Frilly and Funkie blog. The challenge, Pass the Tissues, Please! must include tissue paper in some form.
Easy peasy for me. I love using tissue paper as the first layer on many of my canvases, journal pages, and greeting cards. To get really great texture as the first layer, all you have to do is take a sheet of tissue paper (the kind you use in gift bags), wad it up in a ball, then smooth it back out and adhere to your paper or canvas. Don’t be too aggressive with smoothing or you’ll smooth out all those great wrinkles and tear your paper.
Got some use out of new products as well. I molded the angel wings and star using Prima molds and modeling material. The shine and color on the wings are Prima Art Alchemy Waxes. The music themed, printed tissue paper came from the wrapping paper aisle.
New products challenge me and get my creative juices flowing. If I’m really lucky, I’ll win a gift certificate which I can use to buy more art supplies.
Thanks for looking.