If you can’t see the flash gallery, please click here to view it on Flickr

I am excited to share some snapshots from my recent CHA experience. I have attended these shows since 2007 and I can easily say that CHA 2012 Winter Show was the best year yet!

As a part of being at the event, I exhibited my 3-D art licensing illustration and design portfolio in the Designer Showcase. I was privileged to meet up hundreds of creative people walking the show floor and taking valuable classes. This year I got more time to test many new products and techniques through the make-n-takes which is what the whole craft industry is about!

The day before the show started I took classes from 8am-10pm at night and then more classes peppered through out the other show days. To me education is a very valuable part of my CHA experience and I learned so many new ideas about marketing, business, retail and even a couple classes on the legal side of things. I look forward to implementing what I  learned into my art business the coming year and I am eager to share this knowledge with my students and manufacturing and publishing clients as well!

Also, if you missed the opening day “She’s Crafty” flash mob, this is for you!

That is where it starts. However, I recently I came across this article that both explains Pinterest and gives some practical business tips for using it to promote your art, products, publications or whatever visually engaging images you want to share with the world. Of course, it should go without saying that you need to apply the 80/20 rule and keep the promotion to a minimum and keep the sharing other valuable content that relates to a maximum.

via Entrepreneur.com.

Move over Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Another social media site is stepping up as a valuable marketing tool for businesses.

Pinterest, an online bulletin board for your favorite images, launched in 2010 and is already experiencing wild growth. The site registered more than 7 million unique visitors in December, up from 1.6 million in September. And it’s driving more traffic to company websites and blogs than YouTube, Google+ and LinkedIn combined, according to a recent report from Cambridge, Mass.-based content-sharing site Shareaholic.

Read the rest of the article here.

Related articles:

• Pinterest: A Beginner’s Guide to the Hot New Social Network
• Pinterest: 13 Tips and Tricks for Cutting Edge Users

Also, you are invited to check out all the fun on Pinterest itself and see what I am pinning here.

Last fall I was honored to be accepted into the iThemes Education Program as a higher education instructor, teaching web design and marketing. It is a pleasure to teach my senior illustration students at Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design who are wide-eyed and enthusiastic about the possibilities of today’s technology. Since 2008, I have been teaching there about 2–3 classes a semester. I have learned many things about what works well in the classroom and how to improve on areas of common difficulty. When you think about the history of mankind, the Internet is still an infant and there is still so much to learn and teach one another. This ebook was a wonderful place to share some of my knowledge and experiences. iThemes professionally organized all the information from several contributors into an easy to reference handbook of best practices.

I just want to say thanks to iThemes for giving me the scholarship to their educators program for helping me continue to do my best as a teacher in the world of this changing technology. I also want to say thanks for asking me to contribute to this ebook which will certainly be the first step in assisting many more teachers work together as we tackle the exciting new world of web design.

Here is a sneak-peak of what you will find on my “Valentine’s Day to Cherish” board for decorating your home, office, classroom or making some goodies for your loved ones. Put on your cupid winds and fly over to Pinterest soon!

You are invited to follow my board “Valentine’s Day to Cherish”  and don’t forget to search Pinterest for all the latest posts on “Valentine’s Day.“

Happy pinning!

Knitting a blanket or hat for a baby in Afghanistan CURE hospital is something to cherish.
Show some love to these little fragile little ones and their hurting families.

Click here to find out how you can participate, whether you knit or not.

My husband Benjamin Hummel and I enjoy working on children’s book projects together in a style we lovingly call “Been Cherished.” To see our unique combined style and learn more about our story, we invite you to check out www.BeenCherished.com.

This is what I shared:

As a life long student of the arts, I have come to value the role of both quality and quantity. I don’t think it is easy nor wise to simply pick between the two.

Quality is definitely my primary goal, but it can’t be achieved without creating in quantity. Both are certainly expected in my area of expertise.

When I am exploring an idea or practicing a new technique, quantity is what makes me a better artist each time. As they say, “practice makes perfect.” However, if you are seeking quality, it isn’t helpful to just keep going and going without stopping every now and then to evaluate the work and the process. This process becomes our teacher and shows us more about quality.

There is also a secret that lies underneath the power of quantity and that is there are many unexpected discoveries that will happen along the way. Artists often start out on a project with one direction or idea and may completely change direction several times as they work it out. These little discoveries are the wonderful creative sparks that lead us on to further creation and to push the envelope of possibility.

To see how other artists and crafters responded to this query, click here. Also, you can read my response to the question: Are You a Self-Taught Crafter?

Well, there are many articles on the subject from different countries and cultures (here is one from eHow), but this is the sum of what the PEAR represents:

• longevity
• justice
• strength
• salvation
• fruitfulness

Not, bad. Definitely all things I aspire to in my illustration career, especially when it comes to making art and helping my clients. So, I think I will keep it around for a while.

To find out what my Directory of Illustration ad ended up looking like, feel free to check it out here.