DIY Uprising

Part 2 of CHA thoughts….

I think my first post alluded to the fact that folks are using scrapbooking materials in untraditional ways and well, making them their own. My friend Sarah Moore has a wonderful site called Craft Critique and she pointed out 2 of the many things that I totally went nuts over at CHA… I think for similar reasons…

Ed Roth at Stencil 1 totally caught my eye (read Sarah’s posts to see him in action….). I love the fresh and innovative look Ed brings to the table. He has a real urban and raw feel to his work and the many applications and versatility of his stencils is really something worthwhile to look into. Not only can these images be sprayed on a variety of surfaces, they can be used as reusable masks (simply spray repositionable adhesive on the back and you are good to go) in connection with all sorts of projects. I truly thought this company deserved a second and third look.

Next, Tinkering Ink saw a need and created a solution. I think as more folks give themselves permission to be daring and think outside of the box, we will collectively see more interesting innovation from scrappy DIY types in the future…. So, what did they do….they made rub ons that look just as wonderful from the backside as they do on the front- finally a solution for all those backsides of clear acrylic surfaces. Personally, I think they were BRILLIANT!!!

I guess, the point of this installment is, if it were not for the alternative surfaces people are choosing to create on, wonderful innovation like dual side colored rub-ons or urban graffiti style stencils would not have a place in scrapbooking nor would the necessity for new products like them to enter the marketplace.