Everyone is born with creativity. But those people who appear to be super creative have a secret. They know that creativity has to be developed and exercised to come easily. I am on a quest to immerse myself in creativity of all kinds. I hope you will join me!

 It's official. Leaving my camera battery charger at home when I go to the CHA show is now a tradition.  So, only grainy phone pics, but here we go.... I am happily working in the Blumenthal Lansing booth at the show. The folks there are great, the buttons are great, it is all great. Buttons are always a draw to crafters and some non crafters as well.  Maybe the reason is that we remember, as I do, playing in Grandma's button box when we were young.

Here are just a couple pics from the booth of the fab buttons there this week.

 These bright resin flower buttons have had me drooling for a couple months.

 Faux stone buttons........

 Fabric covered buttons. They are gorgeous. Click to enlarge the pic so you can see them up close...

Glitter buttons.  Click on this one too.  I am taking this canvas home in my suitcase with me.  Don't tell Helen.

I directed a make it take it project each day for the last three days. That means I have a tableful of women sitting, making a project. They are a captive audience, and I can ask them any question I want, listen to the their stories, or even sing to them.  They won't leave till they are finished with their project.

In the years I have worked in the craft industry, I have learned that some of the most genuine people on earth are crafters.  And, also some of the least explainable.

Genuine:
- One shop owner told me that she has taught a class in her shop for years that she calls Naughty Knickers. Women bring their own underwear to class and she helps them add embellishments. She said she has offered it for years and it always fills up. Oh, I cannot even repeat what she said about thongs.
- Women leave my table, go out to other booths and bring me back presents. Sometimes it is something from their own company. Sometimes they heard me mention a product and they go talk a company out of it and bring it to me.
- The table of Texans who told me that the hills in east Texas were formed by burying Yankees. With twinkles in their eyes, they laughed while they called me Yankee.
- The amazing woman who did our project, then taught us her own project. It was an origami tea bag holder that is just darling.  We all made one with her and then she opened her bag and gave us each one that she had made.
- Several women who came to play with me all three days, called me by name, and chatted with me like we have known each other all of our lives.

The unexplainable:
- The woman who ate strings of hot glue while she worked on her project. I am not fibbing.  She did.

Crafters.  Love 'em!
Take your vitamin C!