Colorful photos from the 2012 Craft and Hobby Association Winter Show

I only had a couple of hours of free time to walk the Craft and Hobby Association show.  Most of my time was spent in the iLoveToCreate Bloggers' Lounge. Click here to see the recaps I did for the iLoveToCreate blog of our booth! I was able to capture a lot of eye candy while there.  When I was away from the booth; however, I didn't have much time to really dive into each booth, I just took photos that were bright, colorful and instantly caught my eye like the quote art above from Me and My Big Ideas.  I love it so! Here's some more crafty captures I caught around the show floor...I try to attribute each, but admittedly, I didn't get the names of each of the booths.  I'll have to be better about that next time!


Glittery bullesye from the Art Glitter Booth created by Barbara Trombley. It was so pretty and sparkly!

And these pillows and trims just make me swoon!
You can't go wrong with zippers and flowers and this wall art display by Maya Road was just fabulous! I found a bigger picture here.

Lion Brand Yarn always has a lot on visual display. I loved this circle sculpture art and...

Back from the 2012 Craft and Hobby Association Show

Hey guys! I'm back from Anaheim, CA after a week of fun times at the iLoveToCreate booth at the 2012 Craft and Hobby Association tradeshow. I had a blast connecting with all of the crafty bloggers in the bloggers lounge and getting to see friends I really only get to see once a year. Yep, we're an odd, yet awesome bunch :) Here's a super cute video from Threadbanger's Corinne Leigh showcasing all the cool happenings in our booth. You will even spot me and my alter ego (you'll see it when you get to it). Corinne's absolutely adorable and fun! I love how the video turned out. Such eye candy!

I'll bring some more eye candy from the show tomorrow! Head over to the iLoveToCreate blog and see some of the photo action. A lot of the photos are also on the iLoveToCreate FB page (cough, cough...they were taken by yours truly). Here's just one photo I took that I love, some pretty crystal pumps by my friend Pattiewack using our new Tulip Deluxe Crystals!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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I'm a part of the iLoveToCreate Bloggers' Lounge!

From Sunday of this week til Wednesday of next week, I'll be a part of the iLoveToCreate® Bloggers' Lounge at the 2012 Craft and Hobby Association Show  in Anaheim, California! I'm really excited, because I've been working for the past 3 months at bringing this lounge to life...everything from recruiting the bloggers and connecting with them to making the graphics (I did the one above) and working on the little details. The Bloggers' Lounge (booth #1818) is going to be the coolest spot at the show...we are offering up a fun and crafty badge make and take with some of the hottest bloggers in the craft and DIY industry!  I'll be there as mainly as host, making sure everything is running smoothly! There will also be super crafty refreshments (with super quote cute straws, I might add) and recharging stations for attendees to charge up their phones and tech gadgets! I'll be sure to share some pics next week after my return!

Here's the lineup of the bloggers who are attending!

Sunday, January 29th
10:30AM - 12PM Alisa Burke, Reinvent Creativity
12PM – 1:30 PM Heather Mann of Dollar Store Crafts, Crafterminds
1:30PM – 3PM Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter, Craft.You.
3 PM – 4:30PM Kathy Cano-Murillo, The Crafty Chica
4:30PM – 6PM Corinne Leigh, Threadbanger, Craftovision

Monday, January 30th
10:30AM - 12PM Ashley Hackshaw, Lil Blue Boo
12PM – 1:30PM Angela Daniels, Guilty Crafter
1:30PM – 3PM Kristen Turner, Glitter ‘N Glue
3PM – 4:30PM Traci Bautista, Creativity Unleashed

Tuesday, January 30th
10:30AM - 12 PM Jennifer Hadfield, TaterTots & Jello
12PM – 1:30PM Tiffany Windsor, Cool2Craft
1:30PM – 3PM Pattie Wilkinson, Pattiewack blog
3:30PM – 4:30 PM Valerie Marderosian, iLoveToCreate Senior Vice President & Chief Creative Officer, iLoveToCreate®, a Duncan Enterprises Company
4:30PM – 6 PM Alexa Westerfield, The Swell Life, FontCrafts


I'll be working for  iLoveToCreate during the show, so look for the fun updates on the iLoveToCreate blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and Youtube pages throughout the show so you can stay connected with what I'm up to even if you're not physically at the show.

I hope you will check it out!

Adventures in Smoothiemaking

For those who know me, you know that I'm a sweetaholic! I know I don't always make the healthiest choices and that's not good at all. I just have to figure out solutions that work for me and my lifestyle...the lifestyle of wanting something fast and easy!!

So today, I was inspired by an Instagram by Elsie Larson (@elsiecake on Instagram) of a Beautiful Mess. She shared a photo of fresh veggies and goodies going into a blender, and asked for suggestions from her fans for making other smoothies. There were so many ideas on the comments of her blog...everything from blackberry and blueberry smoothies to kale and carrot smoothies! I thought I'd give it a go too and I infused some super healthy ingredients. I'm really proud of myself and I felt good about my dinner choice!

Here's what I put in my smoothie (it made 2 servings)...

– 1 cup fresh kale
– 1 banana
– 1/2 mango
– 4 ice cubes
– 1/2 cup Almond milk
– 1 whole apple

I blended it up (with William's help), my 1970's olive-colored blender didn't take to the apples very well! The result was delicious! YAY! I'm so excited about having a healthier dinner and breakfast option. I'm going to try my hand at other creations too. I can't wait. I might even try to get up early enough to make them before work. Smoothies really do fill you up for a while!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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I'm a homeowner now!

I haven't been blogging for a while as you've probably noticed.  The main reason?  I bought a house!  I moved in last weekend.  I currently don't have internet, so no blogging/online action has been taking place.  It's probably best, since I have been busy unpacking and don't need the distraction.  I'm going to have a lot of projects to work on to make it a home. I can't wait to share with you what I have up my sleeve.  It has a lot of cute character!  I love all the little details. Check back in the next few days and I'll show some "before" photos of what it looked like before we moved in. I It reminds me a lot of my grandmothers home and that makes me very happy.  I  miss her very much and think about her often now.

Oh, and I totally know the yard is a sight for sore eyes!!  It needs some major work and William has already started killing off the weeds.  He plans to roto-till soon. I know it will be looking much better for spring!

Anyway, hope you are having a great January so far.  I'll try to keep better in touch in bloglandia!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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I'm kinda addicted to Instagram

Lately, I've been taking a lot of photos on Instagram and am starting to become a little bit obsessive! I wanted to share with you a few of my photos that I've altered. In Instagram, you can shoot using your iPhone or you can import your photos from your professional camera and add vintagy old-time effects (like I did with my super cute niece Ava above). I love what you can do with it. It's a fun little place to gather and mingle on your iPhone too...you can like and comment on other photos from Instagram users too! Unfortunately, you must have an iPhone to join in on the fun. Sorry Android users.

The ceramic circles on the facade outside my work by Stan Bitters.

Thread from my mom's collection.

Wear your slippers to work day at iLoveToCreate.

William after a long plane trip home; waiting to be picked up at the Fresno airport.

Cute soda mugs from Street Scene in Lexington.

Carey's curls.

If you're on Instagram, let's connect. My user name is @swelldesigner. I'll follow you back if you follow me :)

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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Fun at the Wig Wam Village - Cave City, KY

I wanted to share with you a fun experience on my recent trip home to Kentucky with my boyfriend William! We were driving back from Louisville, and since I was in the vicinity off of Interstate 65, I had to stop for a peek at the Wig Wam Village in Cave City, KY! Now, you would think that I had been there before, considering I lived about an hour away from it for 30 years of my life, but I hadn't. I had to move all the way to California to enjoy Kentucky, who would have thought? Anyway here are some cute pics of our time there. I enjoyed visiting, but I don't know that I would be up for staying in one. I hear that they aren't the fanciest digs, but hey, they might just be the kitschiest!

So if you're looking for a little slice of 50's Americana and your in the Cave City, KY area, I suggest you stop by and take a peek.  They are pretty amazing little time capsules from our recent past!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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