Inside: A craft industry fangirl shares Creativation 2019 new product highlights for paper collections, stamping, die-cutting, DIY, crafting tools, and more.
No matter how I’ve attended Creativation over the years -– as a magazine editor, a book author, or a craft blogger — this remains the same: I always geek out over the new products, cool technology, and inspiring people.
Like a fanboy at Comicon, this crafting fangirl was stoked to hit the show floor at Creativation 2019. An entire show dedicated to makers? Yaass!
The products I’m still geeking out about weeks after the show stood out to me because of their innovative concepts and eye-catching designs. Most products are available now, so I’m adding them all to my supply stash and you can too!
What’s Creativation? Creativation is the annual trade show presented by the Association for Creative Industries (AFCI) every January in Phoenix. Creativation brings together arts-and-crafts professionals: retailers, designers, manufacturers, and content creators. The show is an opportunity to network with peers, view and order the latest products, and attend educational seminars and workshops.
In this post:
Designer Collections
Jane Davenport for Spellbinders
The extensive line of dies, stamps, stencils, and colorants by Australian artist Jane Davenport was a designer stand-out for me. Jane’s whimsical, painterly approach is a refreshing departure from Spellbinders’ often traditional style.
The stamps and dies let you co-op Jane’s distinctive illustration style, then personalize the images with your own coloring techniques. I’m crushing on the Relaxed Narwhal clear polymer set with its charming polka-dotted narwhal and hand-lettered sentiment.
The stencil sets empower your own take on Jane’s feminine faces. Even if you don’t think you can draw, the stencils provide an easy foundation to build and customize your own lovely faces. You can also combine the stencils with products like the Tin of Glances, which contains six sets of hand-drawn eyes, etched in wood-mounted red rubber. These pairs of peepers are scaled to work with the stencils or can be used on their own.
Jane’s Making Faces colorants are housed in distinctive makeup-inspired packaging. Think pastel pans in eyeshadow cases and gel crayons in lipstick tubes.
Simon Hurley for Ranger
At age 16, Simon is a high-school wunderkind of the stamping world. The YouTube crafting star looked right at home demonstrating his debut line of stamps, stencils, and inks alongside industry vets like Tim Holtz.
I was impressed by Simon’s humble self-assurance and genuine friendliness. With young people like Simon representing the next generation of makers, the future is in good hands.
Simon’s designs include playful line drawings and plenty of youthful enthusiasm. His products are designed with Simon’s favorite techniques in mind, such as ink blending, stenciled backgrounds, and creating scenes with masking. His stamp sets are perfect for making upbeat cards for friends and will appeal to crafters of all ages.
Tools
Foil Quill by We R Memory Keepers
My ingenious award goes to WRM for the Foil Quill. The Foil Quill hot-pen tip will work with most electronic cutting machines. Set up the foil pen in the blade holder of your Cricut or Silhouette, then plug it into an electrical outlet. Using heat transfer, the foil pen draws your digital design onto paper (or other materials) using decorative foil sheets. The results have exquisite details and fine lines not possible with other foiling methods.
Gel Press
Curious to try out the Gel Press mono-printing products, I attended both of the Gel Press workshops at Creativation. Mono-printing is a form of printmaking in which each print is a one-of-a-kind image. Gel plates make mono-printing easy and fun because of their unique characteristics:
- Unique prints can be made at home without printing-press equipment
- A variety of color media, papers, and tools can be used
- Textures from soft tools, such as rubber stamps, stencils, and bubble wrap, can be built up right on the sensitive gel plate surface
- The gel plates are durable and reusable
In the workshops, students learned a range of techniques for gel printing plates. We played with acrylic paint, alcohol ink, stencils, and the Carabelle Studio stamps designed especially for Gel Press. I found working with the Gel Press to be a kind of transcendental creative practice, a hands-on exercise of going with the flow and finding joy in the unexpected (and beautiful) results.
Water Media Mat by Waffle Flower
Working with watercolors and markers can be messy. Waffle Flower answers this challenge with their new Water Media Mat with its many thoughtful features:
- The mat’s non-stick painting surface works with a range of wet media, including watercolors, inks or markers
- Made of silicone, it stays put on your craft table but then peels right up to be easy-cleaned with soap and water
- The indented work area is large enough to accommodate papers up to 9 x 12” in size
- Mix colors directly on the work area or in the palette wells, sized to fit a mini ink cube. Just smoosh in some ink and paint!
Pocket Punch Board by We R Memory Keepers
Create different sized pockets to hold gift cards, journaling tags, and more with the Pocket Punch Board:
- Create 100 different pocket sizes with one tool
- Make pockets with flap or tab closures
- Ditch dozens of dies and templates for this one handy tool
Now That’s a Jig! by Brenda Schweder
Intrigued by the imaginative necklaces on display, I stopped by the Now That’s a Jig booth. After chatting with its inventor, Brenda Schweder, I did a make-&-take on the jig. Wow! I made my first pair of hand-wired earrings in just a few minutes!
- To create a wire piece, set the threaded pegs into the jig’s holes (follow a template or make your own design)
- Weave and wrap the wire around the pegs
- Slide the finished wire design off the pegs
The jig works as an extra set of hands when wire-working, and couldn’t we all use that?
As a maker interested in expanding my jewelry-crafting skills, I was smitten by the potential of the jig for creating DIY jewelry findings. The solid-state aluminum tool is an investment, but I’ll be saving up my nickels to get one.
Paint & Adhesive
Dragonfly Glaze by Folk Art/Plaid
The moody, dichroic lamp bases on a display at the Plaid booth caught my eye. Turns out, those lamps get their striking finish from Dragonfly Glaze, an iridescent color-shifting overcoat. Paint one of the glaze’s six hues over a solid-colored undercoat. For the most dramatic results, use the glaze over dark colors. I predict this cool product will show up on many DIY decorating blogs this year.
Mod Podge Ultra by Plaid
Everyone’s favorite all-in-one decoupage glue and sealer is now available in a spray! Easy to use, super strong, and cleans up with soap and water—what’s not to love about this new Mod Podge format? Available in matte and glossy finishes.
DIY & Decor
Wood Letter Board Kit by Jillibean Soup
The Mix the Media collection at Jillibean Soup has a wide selection of wooden plank pieces. Crafters can use these blank slates to create custom farmhouse décor. Notable is the Wood Letter Board Kit, with Scrabble-style letter tiles that slide into grooves on the wooden board. This rustic twist on the letter-board trend would fit perfectly into Joanna Gaines’ home, and perhaps yours, too.
Acrylic Pouring Medium by DecoArt
Acrylic pour continues to be a huge trend. As a pouring virgin, I’m hooked after a make-&-take at the DecoArt booth. I made a mini canvas using the new acrylic pouring medium. Mix the pouring medium with any acrylic paint (even the $1-a-bottle kind). Then choose a technique: dirty drip or dirty flip. I chose a direct pour and got beautiful radial patterns and marbling on my first try.
To do paint pour, you need to mix the acrylic paint with a pouring medium to help it flow across your project’s surface and create cool effects. This can be done with products from the home improvement store, like Floetrol and oil lubricant, but these toxic chemicals can be challenging to mix, need special handling, and can cause yellowing and cracking.
DecoArt Pouring Medium to the rescue! This product is non-toxic, reduces yellowing and cracking, and takes all the guesswork out of mixing the pour. DecoArt Pouring Medium makes paint pour so easy, I tried it recently with a group of kids! Read this post to see how it turned out (COMING SOON).
Papercrafting Collections
Kaleidoscope by Graphic 45
This collection marks a bold departure from the subdued colors and vintage prints usually associated with Graphic 45. Kaleidoscope dramatically layers black animal prints and images over a rainbow-bright color scheme. Take your zoo, adventure and wild child pages to the vibrant side of vintage.
Wolf Pack by Heidi Swapp
Simplified graphics and smoky tones in grey, blue, and teal give this nature-themed collection versatility and a modern rustic appeal. Camping, outdoor and masculine layouts are a given. But it could work equally well for friendship, family, and teen pages.
Saturday Afternoon by 1Canoe2
Known for its bold yet cozy, hand-drawn style, 1Canoe2 continues their signature look. Saturday Afternoon’s “country cottage in the summer” vibe features grassy fields, ice cream cones, and Adirondack chairs. With its deep coral, verdant green, dusty blues and goldenrod colors, this collection is suited to documenting lazy summer days and idyllic rural memories.
Color Kaleidoscope by Vicki Boutin
Commemorate the happy side of life with the rainbows, hearts, and vivacious hues of Color Kaleidoscope. Vicki combines trendy motifs, like birds and cameras, with mellowed brights, such as kelly green, fuchsia, chartreuse, and turquoise. Use the new iridescent glitter texture paste to complement the holographic foil accents on the papers and stickers.
The first image in this post is a card I made at the make-and-take booth in the Stamping Village using Pinkfresh Studio stamps and liquid watercolors. Looking at that card again reminds me of the adventure of Creativation: trying out new products, meeting new people, soaking up the creative trends. I always come back from Creativation with a slight case of sensory overload, but tons of inspiration as well. I’ve got lots of ideas for using these new products buzzing around my brainpan, so stay tuned!