Creativation 2019 - Make and Takes

One of my favorite parts of Creativation is trying out new (or new-to-me) products. Watching demonstrations is great, but until I have something actually in my hand, I can't know for sure how it's going to work for me. I want to test that tools are comfortable and work as well in my left hand as in the right hands they were designed to fit. I want to feel the amount of pressure needed to dispense adhesive, and the appropriate speed for specialty pens. I need to feel paper texture and ink juiciness to learn whether they're a brand I want to use. Make-and-takes are fantastic for trying out projects with the bonus that you get to bring your completed artwork home. Today I wanted to share some of my favorites from the show. There are affiliate links in this post.

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AdTech

Trying out AdTech's new drip-less glue gun was a high priority for me. Not only did I love the glue gun, but the projects I made are so cool! After rubbing the tiniest bit of hand lotion onto the bottom of a glass platter, I added a glob of hot glue, waited for it to dry, peeled it up, then added a jump ring and clasp. I'll add color to this eventually.

Check out the gummy bears I made! They're made of hot glue also. Just squeeze hot glue into a silicone mold, add jump rings (or not), let them dry, then pop them out and color them. I used alcohol markers here. 

Rapidfuse

Rapidfuse had another of my favorite make-and-takes. But before I get to that, look at their awesome booth sign. Each letter has all sorts of stuff glued to it and sprayed white. The dimension was awesome. 

I love Scrabble tiles and the idea of turning them into coasters really appealed to me.  

Unfortunately, they'd cut the cork too small to fix six letters, so I had to improvise and made a "EAT -DRINK - PLAY" coaster because I couldn't think of anything else on the spot. Of course, now that I'm home, I can think of a bunch of things! Anyway, the make-and-take did its job because I was really impressed with the Rapidfuse and will be using it for all sorts of projects in the future. 

Waffle Flower

I already told you how excited everyone was about Waffle Flower's Media Mat. I jumped at the chance to try it out and make a stamped card. 

Not only do I love the mat, but I like the card too!

Sakura

I own a lot of Sakura pens, but had never tried some of their specialty gel pens, like Moonlight or Stardust. I sketched a quick desert scene on the front of a card base and colored it in using all their different pen styles. I'm in love with how the colors pop against the midnight blue background.

Hero Arts

When I first saw people making this card at the Hero Arts booth, I thought it was done with foil. Nope!

It's actually strips of colored paper, glued together, then adhered behind the die-cut hello sentiment. So clever! 

Satin Ice

I can't stay away from the Edible Arts pavilion for more than an hour or two before I'm back to make sure I'm not missing an awesome make-and-take. I learned how to marble their delicious fondant and create roses. 

Deflecto

I made this super-cute mini album using a Deflecto base. I went rogue and changed up the design a little. I'll be adding photos of Trouble to all of the tags. 

 

Testors

Marbling and paint pouring are really trendy right now and I was thrilled for the chance to try it out with someone else in charge of cleaning up my mess! Testors is one of many brands that makes ready-to-go marbling paints. I took pictures of someone else making one before doing my own. Pretty!

Here's mine, drying on a paper plate. I did a lot more smaller pours than the other woman did. 

ArtBin

I decorated this cool container at the ArtBin booth. I wanted to go for a ritzy black/white with silver sparkles look, but the only washi narrow enough to fit around the rim of the bin was this one. We had a big debate at the booth about what animal it is. #TeamHedgehog

  

 

Plaid

The painting class at Plaid was my favorite of all the make-and-takes, if indeed it counts as a make-and-take. It was a 90 minute free class on the show floor, which makes it sort of like a workshop and sort of like a make-and-take. Anyway, I loved it. 

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I made a handful of other things, but these are my favorites. Do any of the projects inspire you to create? I hope so!