Happy Thanksgiving!

I wanted to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I'm very thankful to have the ability to share my crafts and dogs with all of you...  having the time, resources, and good physical and mental health to continue to run agility, and be creative, and then be able to share that with you, is truly a blessing.  I know I am very, very lucky, and grateful.  If you have the time off, enjoy it!  If you have to work, be grateful you have a job, and hope you have the time off later to enjoy (while we work!). 

I will be at a local agility trial this weekend, grateful to have the time to spend with Tesla, in the sunshine and warmth of Southern California...  I know many of my east coast friends will be hunkered down in a winter storm.  Take care, be safe, and be well. 

-Dayle

Copic Collection Apps YouTube Video by Crafts By Two

If you haven't seen the Crafts by Two guys videos on YouTube, you NEED to check out these two wonderful guys!  They are the funniest crafty dudes on the web...  They concentrate on demonstrating Cricut products, but they do share other very interesting projects and ideas.  For example, one of their latest videos shows us two Copic collection applications for our smart phones.  Check it out here:

Crafts by Two Copic Collection Apps Video

They do keep reminding you that since they created the video, the application is now fully in English and reflect the North American market as well (not just in Japanese for the Japan market).   And it is also now available for the Android market.

I am grabbing my phone to download these apps RIGHT NOW!  So cool...  put your collection on your phone and you will NEVER purchase a duplicate pen color again!

The Crafts by Two guys also provide free of charge some SVG files of Sweet Stamp Shop stamps!  If you love the Sweet Stamp Shop stamps, here is a link to their website with the SVG files.  Remember, if you own a Silhouette, you need the Designer version of the software package to open SVG files.

Crafts by Two Sweet Stamp Shop SVGs

They also have a video on how to turn stamps into cutting files.  You can do this easily with the new Silhouette PicScan mat.

Have fun crafting with George and Ken of Crafts by Two!
-Dayle

Update:  I have been playing with the Copic_Collection app for Android by Too Corp.  I LOVE it!!!  So easy to add my collection, and so easy to view which colors I have and, *urm*, need....  I absolutely LOVE the complementary colors option...  shows me which complementary colors would go really well with the selected color!  And shows me more colors to buy (hee hee).   The only downfall I see (and the two guys mention), is that it doesn't save your collection colors to the cloud...  I will download the other app and play with it next week.  Have fun with them!  Let me know what you think of these apps. --dys
 

UDAC NADAC November 14-16 2014 Trial

Tesla, Alva and I had a lovely time at the local Valley Center, CA trial...  Alva ran in the Veterans on Parade, and had a great time entertaining everyone.  He didn't Q all weekend, but he had a blast playing agility with me again, and he didn't injure himself, and that is what is most important.  He even took a far tunnel entrance (he was supposed to take the closer one) in Chances, and that made me so happy...  look at my distance-challenged deaf dog go 40 feet away to a far tunnel entrance!!!  Whoo hoo!

It was Tesla's first foray into half Novice, half Intro level courses, so it was a good test as to whether she was ready to move up completely into Novice.  I think she is ready, but we do still need loads of work on weaves, entry and speed.  I'm not worried, though... she has the basics down, just needs to see them more in a trial setting.  This was only her third trial seeing weaves, so she's still figuring out how to slow down (WHAT???  Slow down????) to enter them properly without shutting down completely (it's all or nothing with her).  Here is her first NOVICE Weavers run, where she has to do the weaves 3 times on a course.  And this one was very tricky, as there were loads of tunnels to keep her running fast.  She only had problems with the first one, and then she kinda shut down on the last one because she just didn't know how to slow down yet...  and I think she was telling me "AGAIN???  ugh..."  but she did them!

And here is her Novice Jumpers run.  It is her first Novice Jumpers Q, and it was a very nice run at that.  She had problems for many trials with jumps, mainly because she preferred running straight and fast and not slow down to jump, so she ran past them.  The last 3-4 trials, though, she has learned to recognize them as NOT OPTIONAL, and has begun to look for them as obstacles.  This one involved many casual turns, so she couldn't speed up like she'd like, but still, she kept her speed and her connection with me.  Very good girl!

And, just to be fair, I need to present our official Train Wreck of the weekend...  Novice Tunnelers on Sunday!  I forgot where we were going, so I completely messed this up, but Tes had no idea I messed up, so I kept going and kept it fun for her.  She even had a switch into the second to last tunnel, and that is hard for us to execute!  Very nice ending to a train wreck... 

I had a beginner handler come to me after the run and say "I felt better after watching you have fun with your dog even though you messed up!  It made me feel better about my messed up runs!"  Yup, and really, the whole point of us being out there is to have fun with our dogs.  Period.  Make cookies out of squishy dough, and have a good time :-) 

-Dayle

Tesla's first Weaver's Q (qualifier)

We are recovering from a great weekend of NADAC trialing...  PAC (Palomar Agility Club) just had their Deja Vu games trial, where we run the same course twice.  Tesla was entered in Intro in EVERYTHING, including her first trialing experience with weaves.  I've been hesitant to send her out to do weaves in a trial... it is one of the hardest obstacles for a dog to wrap their heads around, and trust me, my girl is no different.  She nails the weaves at home, but runs past them in class the first time, but once she figures out what they are, she "gets" it, again...  I was expecting the same thing at the trial.  And what's great about the Deja Vu format, when she messed up the first run, she nailed the second run because she had just seen it.  It was a great way to reinforce the weaves in a trial setting.  Here is her second Intro weaver's run...  don't blink, it goes fast!

She had a great weekend...  we earned a bunch of titles!  She earned her Intro Weavers and Touch n Go titles, as well as Outstanding Intro Barrelers, Gaters, and Tunnelers titles!  She really has come a long way, but as our EGC runs prove, we have a LONG way to go (quite humbling, no matter how "successful" our weekend seemed).

We'll continue to work on finding entrances and independent weaves, but I was very proud of my girl... it's tough to do weaves in the first place, so to have her do them well in a crazy fast trial environment was great! 

We are progressing quite well...  she is starting to feel "pressure", and we're working on verbal commands.  I'm constantly working on timing and speed (for myself, not her!).  We'll get there eventually...  just enjoying the wild ride now!
-Dayle

Prescott AZ Trial

Tesla and I had a blast at the NADAC Turns 'N' Wraps trial August 29-31, 2014.  Met many new friends, and had so much fun at a very nice baseball field venue.  It was laid back and very GREEN (it's Monsoon season in AZ...  they've had more precipitation in two months than San Diego has had ALL year!).  Here is a picture I took of the view on my way to the trial site.  I believe it is called Willow Lake Reserve.
 

And here is a link to a video of a montage of dogs at the trial created by Patricia French.  Tesla is featured twice in the video.  The first time is at the 51-56 second spot, and the next time she "closes the show" as the last dog featured on the video starting at the 3:29 minute spot.  The last run was her Jumpers run that she Qed in, a first for her!  It was a very nice run which included a nice switch at the end (you can kinda see the beginning of the switch in the video at the end of the run).

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Prescott.   It is a nice little city in the AZ mountains, so there are warm days and cool evenings.  And like I said earlier...  very GREEN!  That's all I kept thinking as I was driving the area...  we are in the middle of a desert, and it is GREEN!  If we ever get another chance, we'll return to Prescott to visit, and I'll bring the rest of my family along.  

-Dayle

And though she be but little...

She is FIERCE!  That is a quote from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" that describes my Tesla perfectly!!!  Look for a T-shirt with that quote and a picture of Tes on it soon...  :-)   Inspiration can come from the past as well as the present.

-Dayle

Tesla's Tunneler's run from PDT, Mira Mesa, CA

Tesla had her second Intro Q (qualifier) in Tunnelers at the PDT, August 10, 2014 NADAC Trial.  Here is a link to her run.  Sorry that I don't have it directly here, but the video I have is HUGE, and it wouldn't upload to the blogger site very well, and I'm not sure how to make it smaller.

It was much better handling on my part than her first Q, and she stayed away from the off course tunnel at the end... very proud of my girl!

More recently:  We had a nice time in Mammoth again last weekend.  We hiked at Convict Lake, and enjoyed a relaxing trial.  Tesla earned another Q in Intro Tunnelers to earn her first Intro title!  We have no videos from the weekend, but it was once again a beautiful trial.  Hutch and Tesla and I had a blast! 

She is having fear issues in the ring involving contacts, so we are going to take it a little slow and help her realize they aren't scary.  Our next trial is in Prescott, AZ.  I am trying to get her used to traveling and new trial locations, and that she needs to behave regardless of where she is...  Wish us much luck...
-Dayle

Tesla's First Trial

Wow... my baby puppy papillon is growing up!  This past weekend, July 25-27, 2014, at Performance Dog Training's NADAC trial, Tesla competed in her first trial as a very baby-brained 18 month old.  We competed in the new Intro level, which is just right for where we are in training.  It gives her experience in a competition environment, but the courses are simple and short, just long enough for her attention span.  She was SOOOOO GOOD!  We only had one Q, but that was icing on the cake.  I really wanted good start line waits, and she was PERFECT!!!!  even in front of very enticing tunnels!  And, I wanted good contact behavior (uh, that needs more work!).  We didn't Q most times because she is still learning to seek out obstacles, and MOM (um, yeah, me) needs to learn to be faster so that I am in the proper position to path her properly through the obstacles.  I was worried she would have zoomies in every run, but she stayed relatively focused throughout, only having issues with the judge (once), and the jump setters (a few times).   She did have issues with Dan's dog walk that she thought was our trainer's teeter, which threw off all of her contact behaviors.  But that is a baby dog thing, and we'll work through those issues...

We even survived a big-time THUNDER and LIGHTNING storm on Sunday right overhead (and yes, it was very loud and scary, and not just by SoCal standards!).  The storm was so bad that people got hurt from a lightning strike north of us in Venice Beach.  Tesla was scared when a BIG crackling boomer went off near us (less than a mile away), and she shook the entire time the storm traveled over us, but was fine once it left the region and was farther away.  I'm grateful she is so resilient...  I'm also grateful Hutch wasn't there that day... he would have been a mess, and I probably would never be able to get him out of the house ever again.

Even after all that, she performed like a champ!  I was very, very happy with her!   For our first trial, we did very, very well...  Here is her Q run, the last run of the weekend, Tunnelers.  I was amazed I made the front cross (and if you listen hard enough, you can hear the judge think so as well :-D  lol).  She almost had a 5+ yards/second run, very, very fast!  Don't blink... it goes by quickly.  It isn't the greatest angle, but beggars can't be choosers...  I'm just grateful to have a record of it at all!  Thank you, Shira!

I also have her Jumpers run from earlier in the day as the rain started, just before the boomers began.  We missed a jump, but overall, she followed my signals, and even had a nice switch at the end:

She is going to try my handling abilities... she is so much faster than Alva, and very much her own girl!  When she gets more confidence (oh, lordy!), she is going to be faster still...  Mom, you better get your stuff together!!!!

I'm proud of her, nonetheless...  I hope you enjoyed watching my girl strut her stuff.  If I get more videos from the weekend, I will post them.

-Dayle

So Cal Shop Hop 2014

First of all, apologies for being MIA these last few months.  I have been very busy getting ready for the SoCal Shop Hop!  This year's theme is Books, and I chose for our store, Cool Scrapbook Stuff, "Around the World in 80 Days" by Jules Verne.  Every store needs to create a 6"x6" layout that will hold wallet sized photo(s), and decorate their store based on their chosen theme.  I wanted the decorations and theme for the store to stay true to the BOOK, as opposed to the movie versions, which took major liberties with the modes of travel our group of adventurers took, so I kept it Victorian and vintage-y.  

The Take n' Makes I created for the Shop Hop used Authentique's Abroad line, which was released early this year, and a train from Carta Bella's Well Traveled line.  All other embellishments on the Take n' Makes I created using my Silhouette, or were stamps by Magenta.  Here is a picture of the main page:

I created the suitcase, suitcase handle and corners, and the canvas print and cut center using my Silhouette.  I also cut out the "80" in the middle of the canvas to give a little more dimension.  The suitcase opens from the top (attached by a tiny piece of velcro), to reveal an empty suitcase perfect for photos and journaling.  And yes, I made the wire "steam"...  try making hundreds of those!  Ugh, my fingers will never forgive me!  We were also very happy to find the Magenta clock stamp...  it was ideal for this page!  I think the page turned out great!!! 

Here is a picture of the secondary page (which is optional, but our store always does one):

This time I used the "book" theme, and created a book (with pages and corners) and the compass print and cut (by Lori Whitlock from the Silhouette store).  The Magenta stamp worked perfectly for this page, and the Shop Hop theme!  All of the pictures (ship and book cover) came from Authentique.  I do believe this page works very well with the first page, but is still a good stand alone page as well.  I was quite proud of how these turned out. 

In the next few days, I will take pictures of the store and everything I cut out for the decorations, and post them here.  I do believe it was one of our best Shop Hop decorating accomplishments, and I'm quite happy with the end results. 

There is one more weekend of Shop Hop, so if you haven't done so, please drop by the store and see for yourself everything we did!  The ladies all worked hard to make it a success, so we'd be happy if you saw it before it all comes down.

Until next time, keep cool, keep traveling, keep reading...
-Dayle

Silhouette Studio Ver. 3 update: Stamp of Approval!

Just a quick note that I now feel the Silhouette Studio program is stable enough to approve downloading and using it.  Test cut works again, many print and cuts work again.  It still doesn't do auto registration with their canvas, but with the reinstatement of manual registration, it now at least works that way.  The file uploading and saving issues have been resolved.  Many of the "disappearing" cursors and indicators have also seemed to be fixed. 

There will undoubtedly be more updates, but the current version is usable enough, and not frustrating enough, that it is worthwhile to start playing with it, if you haven't already. 

Some of the new features I *LOVE* are:  ability to cut by line color; creating polygons (any number of sides!); creating perfect arcs; and, the overcut feature.  If you haven't played with any of these yet, do so!  They are fun, practical, and oh so useful!  After my next class, I will discuss some projects using these new features!

Enjoy it!
-Dayle

Silhouette Studio version 3 update

Just FYI, 
There is a latest update for version 3 that was just released today, May 27, 2014.  It includes fixes to MANY of the bugs I've fought with since the last update, most importantly, test cut.  I am hoping that this latest release will have fixed most of the major issues I've had with version 3.  I will play with it this week and give you an update on how I feel about it.  If most of the issues are REALLY fixed, I will give my blessing to all of you to safely update to version 3.  It really does have nice new features... if only they didn't mess with the stuff that worked BEFORE!!!  Keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed...
-Dayle

Graduation Gift Card Box

I had to create a fast make and take for Cool's free Make 'n Take Wednesdays...  luckily, we just got in a super cute graduation line from doodlebug design called 'the graduates'. 

Doodlebug has quickly become one of my FAVORITE scrapbooking companies, for both their cute designs and bright colors!  I was inspired!  I went home last night to contemplate what I could make...  I decided it would be easiest to just cut stuff out of my Silhouette Cameo, and then let the public assemble it.  I also figured it would be useful to make a gift card holder, since every graduate appreciates the gift of plastic!

Since I was pinched for time, I went to the Silhouette Online Store to find a suitable gift card holder design.  I found the perfect one, by Jamie Cripps, called 3D gift card star gift box.  The star design exemplified how I feel about graduates... they are all-stars for their achievements!

I used black cardstock for the box, and being thrifty, I used the cover packaging from the 12x12 paper pack to create the box cover design.  I also used one of the sheets of owls from 'the graduates' and fussy cut one of them out.  For the stars, I used a gold metallic vinyl sheet from SRM that matched the graduates gold, and a POW! silver glitter cardstock from American Crafts.  The gift card box turned out really cute, if I do say so myself...

Hope you were able to drop by the store to create the make 'n take.  If we have leftover supplies, we might have a Happy Redux day next week!  Give us a call at the store (858) 679-9100 next week to see if are or not!  High school graduations don't take place in San Diego until June, so there is plenty of time to get the perfect plastic, and make the perfect gift card holder, for that super achiever!

-Dayle

Dogs, and Weddings, and Version 3, OH MY!

Okay, okay.... yes, it has been FOREVER (well, 3 months) since I last wrote anything into my blog.  It's not that there hasn't been anything interesting to blog, it's just that there has been TOO much going on!  I've taught 2 days of Silhouette classes (with 2 different projects to design), had NATCH poles to make, a wedding to attend (with a card to design), and a bunch of dog issues to deal with (more on that later).

And to top it all, Silhouette America has updated to a new (and VERY buggy) Version 3 (v3), which has been the bane of my existence the last month or so since it's release.  I recommend to anyone who has NOT updated, to WAIT until the new version's bugs have completely been worked through.  Print and Cut is quite buggy, some people are still experiencing Library problems, Test Cut is non-functional (and not usable for Portrait owners!) and there are other functions that are still "not quite right".  Version 2 (they call it Legacy) is available on the download page if you have already updated.  Uninstall v3, then download and install Legacy.  It will save you a bunch of headaches until they've worked all of the bugs out of v3.  Trust me, you don't want to deal with the v3 headaches right now...

In the next few days, I'll post pictures of the projects I've worked on in the last three months, and more details about the wedding :-)  And yes, I promise!  I've said that before...  but I'm determined to get caught up!

And now about the dog issues...  Alva, my heart dog, my deaf agility dog wonder, is injured.  He had not wanted to weave for awhile, and at his last trial at the end March, he didn't even want to run.  I knew then that he was in a lot of pain, somewhere.  His chiropractor diagnosed a stress fracture in his right hind foot (which I think just put things over the top for him).  Also, after many doctor visits, he has been diagnosed with medial shoulder instability in his left shoulder, as well.  The doctor wants to have a scope done to determine how much tissue damage is in his shoulder, then a rehab/ strengthening regimen will be established.  The only "cure" would be reconstructive shoulder surgery, but at his age (9.5 yrs young), I really don't want to do anything that major.  If we can "retire" him, and do rehab/strengthening to make him comfortable for the rest of his life, then that is my preferable choice for him.  Of course, that means he (and I) are grounded from agility for awhile, maybe forever...  I was told I can't make him worse right now.  After 2 months of rest, he's a basket case, and feeling REALLY GOOD.  My guess is, the stress fracture has healed and the shoulder inflammation has gone down.  I'm going to run him in a few ground games at the next NADAC trial (no weaves, no jumps, no contacts) until I can get an appointment for a scope scheduled.  At that point, he's going to be in recovery, wearing a hobble restraint (a contraption that keeps his shoulders square, so he can't extend the joint in any funky way) for at least 3-5 months.  It will probably be longer.  I'm quite sad that I've lost my agility partner, but I also feel very good that he'll finally start healing for real, and be pain-free.

In the meantime, Tesla has been developing into a very fast, but crazy, agility dog.  She has her OWN ideas about what the course design SHOULD be :-p    It also doesn't help that her mom is too slow to keep up with her so that she gets timely handling cues so she does stay on course.  When we disconnect, she is off to the races!!!  It's funny, yes, but she really does need to learn that we run agility as TEAM, not as a "I know where I'm going, you aren't stopping me!" BRAT...  at least I know SHE isn't a velcro dog!  She is quite confident in going 10-25 ft. away from me taking whatever she sees in front of her!  Unfortunately, those obstacles aren't part of the course...  she is going to be blast to run, regardless of how things are SUPPOSED to go...  but she is soooooo not ready for prime time!

Hutch is doing as well as Hutch can... he had some very nice runs at our last trial in Ramona, in an indoor horse arena.  It surprised me how well he did... Here is one of his runs from that weekend, EGC Hoopers, Novice:

I have some hope that he may someday progress to the point of actually doing more than 2 runs a day.  But he will never go past Novice, nor will I push him.  He will progress as far as his fears allow him, and he has come so far already.  I'm quite proud of him, actually.  In the above video, he gave me his "POP" behavior at the end of the run, which he only does when he is happy and comfortable.  Conquering his fears has been his greatest accomplishment, and he has many more fears to work through, but so far, he has been a champ, in my eyes.

Look for more posts in the next few days with projects I've done...   PINKY SWEAR!!!
-Dayle

MEDALS!!!

Sorry about being MIA these past few months...  been very, very busy with life, as usual.  I do have a new Silhouette project I will be posting soon, and here is some news about Alva, my agility dog.

I had a pleasant surprise at the PDT NADAC trial a few weekends ago...  my friend Ronni brought back NADAC awards earned through 2012 for most people in the Southern California area.  They are in the form of medals, different styles and sizes depending on what you've earned!  Alva got 6 awards, most of them in the Novice level, and one Open award.  Here's a picture of them all:

Aren't they PRETTY???!!!  I'm particularly thrilled with Alva's Novice All-Around award.  It is the big one :-).  It means he earned Superior titles in everything:  100 points (minimal 10 Qs) in ALL of the games (Chances, Jumpers, Touch n' Go, Weavers, Tunnelers, and Hoopers) and 200 points in Regular Agility.  Most people do not go for Superior titles.  Most earn their title (30 points) or at most their Outstanding title (60 pts in the games, 100 pts in Regular) and move up to a higher level.  We stayed in Novice to get better...  and we stayed in Open to prepare for Elite.  Yes, it takes longer, and includes many, many expensive trials, but it was worth it, because we are so much better as a team.  I will do this with every one of my agility dogs.  And look at the cool, shiny, pretty medal we earned!  I'm thrilled...  Alva couldn't care less, but it makes me happy.  Bling always does!
-Dayle

Tesla is a 1 year old puppy today!

Yup... hard to believe how quickly time flies!  Tesla is now a 1 year old puppy...  she has grown and learned so much this past year!  She has so much more to learn, but her agility class is going well, and she has now been introduced to the weave barrels.  It takes just one try for her to "get" the basics, but it takes longer for her to adjust to slight variations on the theme... like me standing in a different position, sending her from a bit of a distance, a different entrance angle...  all in time.  She learns so fast that I have no problem with her playing around trying to figure it out.  She eventually does.

She is has come out her moody heat, and is back to her gung-ho self, so yay!  Unfortunately, that also means she is starting to get into trouble, again.  Her chewing created a nice big BLUE ink spot on our futon from a roller pen that was ever so tasty...  luckily, we can replace the cover :-o. What was strange was that she had no trace of ink on her, anywhere.  Such a tidy girl :-(

Here are pictures I just took of her today after waking Her Highness from her nap...  notice she was none too pleased!

Yes, she can be grumpy with the best of them!  Must get it from her mommy :-D

Hug your puppies...  nothing brightens a day better than a puppy snuggle!  And, toast a very happy birthday to Her Highness!!!
-Dayle

C-ATCH-2 ALVA

On January 5, 2014, almost 6 months to the day Alva earned his C-ATCH (CPE Agility Title Champion), he earned his C-ATCH-2 (the next champion title) with a not-so pretty Standard Level 5 run.  He needed all 3 Standard Qs (qualifiers) that weekend to earn his C-ATCH-2.  I was not optimistic, but after two very nice Standard runs on Friday, a day off on Saturday, it left Sunday's Standard run for the big title!  Here is the run, commentated so sweetly by my friend, Mary:

He knocked a bar (probably my fault for pulling him into the serpentine so sharply), and we spent an ETERNITY in the corner with the wrap (yes, we do NOT do wraps...  dude hates them) that I had to be sure he made time before celebrating.  We easily made time since he was decently fast the rest of the course, but that corner wrap had me worried...

Alva can now happily run CPE as a Specialist, jumping 8" like he does in NADAC.  He is 9 years old, and is really feeling some aches and pains.  He loves to play agility, but he doesn't need the pounding that it takes on his body.  I'm especially ecstatic by this...  he really needed to move down a year ago, but he was so close to his major titles that I hated to do it.  Now he can play however he wants.  I have no more goals for him in CPE...  just play.  I have goals for him in NADAC so we'll use CPE to practice distance handling and endurance, and just plain have fun.  That's what agility is all about... having fun with your dogs. 
-Dayle

CHA 2014 - Focus on Silhouette products

My co-worker Bonnie and I went to CHA's (Craft and Hobby Association) winter convention in Anaheim, CA yesterday.  We were completely overwhelmed with all of the new craft products we discovered!  We were able to help order some Silhouette products for the store (see below).  We also got to help find new product lines from Authentique, Bo-Bunny, Echo Park, Graphic 45, along with so many other brands.  We can't wait for them to arrive at the store!

My main focus was Silhouette products, and finding other products we can cut with it!  I was a bit disappointed by the minimal winter release of products by Silhouette America, as there weren't many in number.

I was excited by the new Corrugated cardstock (it comes in both white and kraft in one package of 3 sheets each).  The corrugation is flatter than what you'd see in a box, and of course, pristine!  I can't wait to get some!  I'm also really excited by the new Washi pack they are releasing!  Many cute patterns in a single package, all having the translucent washi tape characteristic we all love!

Also, there will be new LIGHT sticky cutting mats (in both 12x12 and 8.5x12 sizes) for adhering lighter weight materials, as well as minimizing curling when removing product from the mats.  Available soon is cuttable vellum (a thicker variety of plain vellum), but the staff didn't know if it was printable.  I'll let you know when I get my hands on them, but I don't know if will work any better than any of the vellums I already have in my stash.  Other new products include a new Cameo tote (same design as the old tote, except with a sturdier tweed and leather construction), new stencil material for fabric printing, and a black and white sketch pen pack.

Also being pushed was their new Silhouette Connect software.  It allows users of Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw to send projects created on these platforms directly to their Silhouette for cutting, without any need of converting them to the Silhouette Studio format.  I do not use either product, but I know how useful this conversion program would be for these users.  It is available now.

I also spoke with the owners of SRM, sellers of very nice stickers, clear party boxes, treat bags, and Twinery twine.  Their company is releasing 12x24 sheets of vinyl in many, many colors and styles!  I can't wait for the store to get some in...  glitter vinyl (!!!) (very, very cool looking!), metallic vinyls (the brushed pewter and brushed red metallic are REALLY neat!), as well as a rainbow of colors!  It will be fun to start creating with the different vinyl products.

Serendipitously (like so much of what happens on the exhibitor floor of a convention!), I also encountered a Canadian fabric company called Camelot.  Amongst other fabrics, they produce felts for crafting!  Normally, I tell people that they cannot easily cut felt on their Silhouette... Felt is a product that is not woven, so the felting material would stick to their mats and ruin it, as well as the fact that soft felt (most felts sold in craft stores) are so loose that they would shift while cutting, thus making for a not-so crisp cut (if at all).

However, Camelot makes a HARD felt (stiffened) that is still fuzzy, but has body enough to cut!  I tried some of their felt products today, and found that currently, their adhesive-backed felts worked okay, both hard and soft felt, but the hard felt with NO adhesive backing worked like a charm!  I used my old mats that still had some stick to them, but old enough that it wouldn't grip any of the loose fibers.  I cut a simple scalloped heart frame to see if it would cut something with a little intricacy, but not too detailed or simple. 

The soft adhesive-backed felt surprisingly cut well, but still left a soft edge (like I guess you'd want with felt, anyways).  The hard adhesive-backed felt did not cut very well.  I think it was the very thin plastic backing they used on it...  it adhered to the mat, but the felt itself did not cut all the way through, either.  The hard felt, no adhesive, gave the crispest cut of all, did NOT leave any felt residue on my old mat (surprise!  but still was held to the mat well), and cut all the way through on a lower blade setting.  It is still a little fuzzy (not soft, but still looks like felt), unlike the adhesive backed hard felt (which looked more like canvas).  It left me wanting more!!!  Gena, my boss at the store, was able to get them to give me more samples to play with.  I gave Camelot some feedback about how their product cut, and what I would change to make it worthwhile for Silhouette users.  Hoping they succeed in selling the felt for manufacturing.  But right now, I want more of their hard felt....  and I want it now!  *sigh*...  oh well.  Hopefully I will be able to get some, but for now, the samples will have to do.

I will get more CHA info to you once my brain settles...  it was a very long and overwhelming day, but soooo much fun!  We really needed two days, at least...

Happy Crafting, and drooling :-)
-Dayle