~ Oprah
Thanks to all of you who sent comments for the Sweet Talk giveaway. I’m truly overwhelmed by your response!
Congratulations to our lucky winner, Fran Heupel. I hope you enjoy the Sweet Talk goodies that are coming your way.
One of my favorite local gift and home décor shops, Fleuri, recently hosted its annual Bastille Day sale and Paris Flea Market. This is one sale that is not to be missed by anyone in Northern California! Attended by lovers of all things vintage and charming, this celebration extends from the sunny parking lot throughout the shop.
At the break of dawn, the parking lot began to fill up with antique vendors from far and wide, setting up their wares under festive tents and umbrellas, for this fabulous one-day sale.
When Terry, Leslie, Linda, Judy and I arrived shortly the sun came up, we quickly found wonderful vintage treasures to be discovered at every turn: sparkling chandeliers, unique furniture items and colorful linens from Paris. Oooohlala!
My Francofile friend Linda found a lovely hand-hooked rug for only $20 - an inspiration to all bargain-hunters!
Linda also found these sweet little doll legs, which will showcase her vast collection of French millinery flowers.
Inside the heart of Fleuri, we found even more irresistible Parisian-inspired delights:
If you’re in the Carmichael, California area on Sunday, September 28, 2008, you are cordially invited to attend Fleuri’s End of Summer Paris Flea Market! For more info, call 916.973.9848.
Even before the happiness and romance of Valentine's Day 2008 was over, our studio began developing K&Company's new Valentine Collection for 2009. "Sweet Talk" is a cheerful and sassy line of glittery patterned papers, unique kits and dimensional embellishments sure to delight scrapbookers and papercrafters. Making its debut at Summer CHA in Chicago, here’s a very quick glimpse of this extensive line.
"Sweet Talk" will be available later this year at Michaels and other craft retailers nationwide.
Thanks to all of you who sent comments on recent posts, especially regarding the Mira Collection. It's very satisfying to know that crafters have as much fun using these products as I have creating them.
Congratulations to the lucky winner of our Mira Giveaway, Maura J. Zimmer!! I hope you enjoy all the Mira goodies that are coming your way.
The weather was dreary with a high probability of showers at yesterday’s Marché aux Puces, the Paris flea market…which meant sunny skies for shoppers. If you are a seasoned flea marketer, you know the old axiom that shoppers often get the best bargains when the weather is gloomy.
The brocante (sale of bric-a-brac) held every weekend in Porte de Vanves, features vendors from all over the region surrounding Paris, who offer a tremendous variety of vintage treasures, including original oil paintings, engravings, postcards, china and silverware, French linens, fabrics, buttons, and Victorian children’s books and games. Although sometimes items are worn, cracked, torn and otherwise previously loved, (not quite on the level of a fine antique) their imperfections frequently make them all the more charming!
I got a great deal on a huge basket full of these vintage millinery flowers at a nearby brocante shop…what a lucky find! They’ll be great for gift wrapping and papercrafting projects, for years to come!
You never quite know what you’re going to find at these sales, and that's why it's worth the effort to get up early! This unmounted, original oil painting of a cow was created by an accomplished amateur and cost only 10 euros (that’s about $15!). It has lots of little holes and touched up areas, meaning loads of charm and character!
I have been busy collecting vintage postcards from the early 20th century and elegantly handwritten letters, receipts and documents from the 18th and 19th centuries, to scan and use in my journals and collages. It helps to know a little French, in order to negotiate for the best price. Most vendors are happy to try to speak some English in order to make a sale.
Some of the originals letters I’ve come across are beautiful enough for framing. I love to study them and imagine the lives of the people who penned them. With their torn edges and water stains, these papers inspire the imagination with stories waiting to be told.
To read more of the series of travel posts I am writing during my trip to England and France, click here.
Our newest K&Co collection, Peppermint Twist, recently debuted at the Summer CHA Show in Chicago. CHA is one of the largest shows for the scrapbooking and crafting industry, and is attended by retailers and the craft industry press from all over the world.
I am happy to report that Peppermint Twist was very well received!
Inspired by nostalgic holiday ephermera from my childhood, Peppermint Twist combines the distinctive icons and whimsy of the 50s with a bright, contemporary color palette . . . and lots of sparkle.
Peppermint Twist includes 38 distinctive holiday-themed products including an ornament paper crafting pad; a 12x12 album; embellished Grand Adhesions; flat, foil and embossed papers; glittered chipboard letters; Rub on Magic, and glittered stickers.
Peppermint Twist provides everything you'll need to create beautiful holiday ornaments, extraordinary centerpieces, and scrapbook pages celebrating your holiday memories with a personal magical twist.
See the entire Peppermint Twist Collection.
See projects crafted from Peppermint Twist.
Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day and join me on Saturday, May 5, for two very special appearances on QVC. I'll be featuring my very newest products for scrapbooking and papercrafting, and you won't want to miss it!
Segment times are between 5 and 7pm EST.
My newest K&Co collection, Small Wonders, debuted in late January at the Craft and Hobby Association Show in sunny and warm Anaheim, California. Attended by craft retailers and reps from all over the globe, CHA attendees are the first to preview the newest craft products on the market.
For me, CHA is a rare opportunity to mingle with the people who use and promote my products, and to thank them...in person...for supporting my creative efforts!
Small Wonders has been in development and production for the last nine months. It's a large collection of albums, decorative papers, and everything proud parents need to celebrate the arrival of a bouncing baby boy or gorgeous girl. The embellishments are really special and unique, with embossed metal stickers and glittered chipboard alphabets. Accented with soft flocking and glittery sprinkles, it's a very special collection for your little darling.
Small Wonders is my first baby collection for K&Co, and I loved every minute of the creative process! It's been 26 years since I was a new mom, and it was really fun to revisit the wonder and delight of being a new parent!
Kay Stanley (above left) is the brilliant mind behind K&Company. Together with husband Curt Seymour, she founded K&Company only ten years ago! It has flourished into one of the most well-respected and well-known names in the scrapbooking industry. I have tremendous respect for Kay, as a person and as an artist. Sheila Herrin (right), is my agent and good friend. She is also my constant traveling companion, business consultant, wardrobe advisor and muse. If I ever look well-dressed, it is because of her!
As a way of acquainting store owners with our new products, K&Co hosts "Make-It-Take-It"s during trade show hours and longer classes in the evenings. I love to chat with retailers and reps and to hear their feedback about products and designs, and about their great ideas for future products. To me, retailers are the real experts in what crafters need and want because they listen to crafters (their customers) everyday.
On that note, I love hearing directly from scrapbookers and paper crafters who use my products. Please feel free to email me (info@brendawalton.com) or to post comments!
If you are a papercrafter (and I imagine you are!), you won't want to miss QVC's first Craft Fair of 2007. I'll be presenting some of my newest collections during Papercrafting with Brenda Walton on Tuesday, February 6th, from 1-2pm EST. Several of the kits to be presented were created just for QVC, so you won't find them anywhere else.
Air time on QVC is a great opportunity for me to demonstrate some of my most recent products manufactured by K&Company. I will also share some fun ideas for papercrafting and scrapbooking.
So, set your video recorder, and join me!
ps. Since I will also have a second one hour show during the over-night hours (early Tuesday mornng), check the Program Guide at qvc.com for local listings.
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
|
 |
|
||
Recent Comments