Below are only some of the Instructors who will be teaching at our FALL Show
See Classes & Workshops for a complete list.
Cheryl Mezzetti is an accomplished designer and artist who has been working in the paper arts industry for several years. She has been frequently published in scrapbooking and paper crafting magazines including Scrapbook Trends, Paper Trends, Correspondence Art, Scrapbooking & Beyond, Paper Creations, Paper Works, Better Homes & Gardens and Paper Art. Her designs have also been featured in idea books from Making Memories and Paperhouse Productions. She is the current Design Team Coordinator for Creative Imaginations, a former design team member for Scenic Route Paper Company, and a product designer for Magistical Memories. As in instructor, she has taught at many conventions and scrapbook stores both in the United States and overseas.
Cheryl is a versatile crafter who has made a name for herself as an altered artist. She turns flea market finds into breathtaking works of art using a variety of media, but often incorporating patterned papers and scrapbooking embellishments. Says Cheryl: “I believe that each of us has a passion and dream that is unique and the best way to succeed is to discover what we love and share it with others. My dream is to inspire those around me through teaching and designing using the art of scrapbooking and paper craftingâ€.
Cheryl and her husband Stephen live in Massachusetts and have four sons. Keep up with Cheryl's work, adventures and travels on her blog: http://www.cherylmezzetti.typepad.com/
Tim Holtz™ is the Designer and Education Director for Ranger Industries. Tim travels internationally to trade shows and stores to educate and introduce people to his world of inks and so much more. As a well known Designer, Tim has been a frequent guest on HGTV's The Carol Duvall Show, and his projects can been seen regularly in books, stamping and scrap booking magazines. To find out more about Tim, go to timholtz.com
TheCollinsGroup
Fall Education & Trade Show
I am first and foremost a passionate (hello, can we say obsessive?) stamper. I’ve always enjoyed expressing myself through some artistic medium, but with stamps and ink, I found my creative home! Crafting something from scratch, from the initial idea, to the execution of that idea into a finished card or project, is a delightful feeling, and one I love to share with others. I am a certified Copic instructor, a published card artist, and clear art stamp company owner by trade, but a passionate crafter at heart!
JOEY OTLO
As a previous scrapbook store owner and mother of 2, Joey has over 12 years experience in the scrapbook industry and has called Bazzill her "home away from home" for the past 5+ years. Her inspiration comes from her interest in photography, home decor and home improvement, infusing her own personal style into every page she creates. She sees herself as a "simple scrapbooker" sharing the stories of those who live in her photos.
MITRA FRIANT
A crafter from childhood, Mitra went to a stamping home party in 1998 and instantly became hooked on stamping. Six short months later she started her own manufacturing company as a part-time job after she finished her day as a high school math teacher. Ten years later Impression Obsession has grown into her full time (and then some!) profession. She wears many hats at Impression Obsession, designer, graphic artist, production manager, customer service, you name it! She has been published in many magazines, has appeared on the Carol Duvall show and has developed many stamping techniques. In her rare spare time she life in Williamsburg, Virginia with her husband Chris.
ADRIENNE KENNEDY
Adrienne Kennedy has been the Artist in residence for My Sentiments Exactly! for almost seven years. Adrienne has been creating cards and projects for MSE! as well as teaching and creating classes for retailers and consumers. Adrienne also creates art materials for magazines and several craft books. She began stamping as a teenager when her mom Amy, first started MSE! in 1995. Her creative love is scrapbooking, so she enjoys being able to blend card making and scrapbooking together. Adrienne also prides herself on having an eye for photography. She now uses all her own photos in all her art work. Adrienne’s artwork has been published in leading craft industry magazines and books including Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers, Scrapbook and Cards Today, Paper Crafts, Design Originals, Take Ten, Stampers Sampler, and many others.
Recently Adrienne began designing new product for MSE! and is ecstatic to be contributing to the success of MSE! She is very proud to be involved with a company who has been providing the craft industry worldwide with All The Words You Want To Stamp!
LEESA CRUTCHER
What started as an innocent rubber stamp hobby more than 15 years ago has now turned into a lifestyle for Leesa. Her hobby quickly turned into a passion as she started working at Creative Impressions' retail store in Colorado Springs, CO in 1995. Many paychecks were spent on the newest & greatest arrivals before she ever had an opportunity to cash them. You can find a small retail store in her craft room at home. Leesa loved teaching at Creative Impressions and the students loved her enthusiasm - which was contagious. Many "addicts" have Leesa to thank for their love of papercrafting. Leesa's style can be described as endless - there is no technique she has not tried - and a rare tool she does not own. In addition to rubber stamping, Leesa dabbles in calligraphy and with the help of her blender, can make beautiful paper out of just about anything. Today, when Leesa is not working at the Creative Impressions warehouse, you can find her teaching across the country at various stores and rep shows, sharing ideas at stamp club, scrapbooking her two adorable grandsons, playing with her newly acquired rubber stamp line or bringing a smile to the faces of all the lives she touches.
PAM SIVAGE
I have been scrapbooking since 1996 and still love this hobby.
I am fortunate enough to have been published in the major scrapbooking magazines, had a layout featured on the Carol Duvall show, and a layout featured on a PBS show.
My passion is mini albums and I have been teaching classes for 3 years. I love to see quick results of a finished mini album and try to incorporate new techniques in each class I teach.
KRISTI FERRO
Hello! I want to give you a little bit of background about me and Hanna Stamps! I was an ER/Trama nurse here in the suburbs of Detroit Michigam for over 10 years. I have always been a "crafty" person.. I love making cards, paper items, stain glass and so on. About 6 or 7 years ago my Aunt Jo asked me to go to a stamp party...right from the start, I was hooked! I fell in love with making cards, designing paper projects, making Hanna's school class goodie bags, etc. After making cards with everyone ele's stamps, I thought how great it would be to create my own stamps.
I decided to name my company after my daughter Hanna - HANNA STAMPS!!! So I quick my nursing job to pursue my dream of owning my own stamp comany. Hanna is very excited to have a line of stamps names after her too. The images and logo are a sketch of the real Hanna Ferro. That is another reason why this line is so near and dear to my heart.
JAMIE HARKER
Jamie Harker has been scrapbooking in one form or another for the past 11 years when she was introduced to it by the mom of a good friend. She has always had a zest for taking pictures and this was the perfect outlet for her to be creative and store ALL THOSE PHOTOS! Jamie has worked with Prism Papers since moving to Salt Lake City nearly 5 years ago and loves being able to travel and teach classes and mingle with the store owners that she talks to everyday! In addition to scrapbooking, Jamie loves snowboarding in winter, mountain biking in summer, attending concerts, photography and travel.
ALMA DE LA ROSA
Once upon a time, there was a little girl who thought money was to pay for things. Like food. Or clothing. Or shelter. All those things we were taught to believe were the necessities of life. So that little girl took a job in the ad world, where she logged nearly 20 years as a designer and art director, creating work that other people liked, to pay for those things other people said were necessities.
Then she discovered rubber stamping and learned what money was really meant for. To buy more stamps.
So she left the ad world behind and started a rubber stamp company to create things that she liked. And she hasn't looked back since.
That little girl is currently creating in San Francisco, California.
MONA GETTMANN
Mona is Education Coordinator for Creative Imaginations in Huntington Beach, California. Her job includes coordination and creation of projects for trade shows, and special events. She works closely with their design team and artists, taking care of their requests for products, show samples and class needs. She also teaches classes for CI locally, at special events and internationally (in France).
Her previous employment includes: Stampington & Company as an Associate Editor for 4 years and then Editor of Stampers’ Sampler, Inspirations and Take Ten Magazines for 1 year. She was also published frequently in these publications. She also created many of Stampington & Company’s weekly web site samples for their online store during her employment with them. If you Google her name many of her projects are still posted on their website. She also worked for Stampendous Rubber Stamps for 6 years, creating catalog projects and artwork for their advertisements, along with coordinating Make & Takes and classes for Trade Shows and other events.
She has been in the Rubberstamp and Craft industry for approximately 15 years.
She has a wide range of skills and styles depending on the projects and products she is using for events and teaching.
PATTY FLETCHER
I have always loved food, recipes, and cooking. In my childhood diary, while some kids my age were probably writing about their future hopes and dreams, I was recording what I had for dinner. It was no surprise when I went to college that I majored in "Food and Nutrition-Dietetics" and spent the first 30 of my working years as an RD (registered dietitian). About 6 years ago I was introduced to scrapbooking and loved it so much that my husband and I purchased a small scrapbook store to work in together as our "second careers". My love for cooking combined with my love for scrapbooking became a perfect match in scrapbooking recipes as treasured family memories. As many say, the kitchen is the heart of the home. Recipe scrapbooking quickly became my favorite way to share special family moments with my wonderful son and daughter and their families. Our Cookbookin'™ line lets us help you preserve your family's recipe heritage, too!
PRISM
SHARON LAAKKONEN
"Scrapbooking is my passion and sharing that passion with others is a dream come true! My classes will include fresh designs, cool techniques and a guarantee that you will not only learn, but have fun doing it! "
Sharon recently celebrated her 24th anniversary to her high school sweetheart, Bill. They are the parents of seven children (and a recently acquired son-in-law!) Sharon has been involved in the scrapping world for about 6 years. Her designs have been showcased in most of the scrap and crafts magazines (Scrapbooks, Etc., Creating Keepsakes, Memory Makers Magazine, PaperCrafts, Scrapbook Trends, Cards, etc.) and she has had the wonderful opportunity to contribute artwork to several books. Even though the whole publishing side is fun and exciting; teaching and working with others is even more fulfilling for her.
Sharon currently teaches classes for Prima in both the United States and internationally. She wears a multitude of hats for Prima, her favorite being the Design Team coordinator!
CATHY ARNOLD
Cathy has been active in the scrapbook industry since 1995. As editor of Graceful Bee Online Scrapbook Magazine, the first-ever Internet scrapbook magazine, she wrote Memories to Capture, along with hundreds of articles on every aspect of scrapbooking. Cathy designed the first published scrapbook room for Creating Keepsakes Magazine (Dec99/Jan00 issue) “Building the Ultimate Scrapsite” and also coordinated the corresponding contest that awarded over $10,000 in prizes in 2000. Cathy (and her scrapbook room) was also featured on the Carol Duvall Show. Cathy has worked with Creative Imaginations on numerous projects and designed “The Scrapbook Queen” collection with Mary Engelbreit and recently designed the “Cathy Caddy” for their ‘be’ line. Cathy has been published many times including Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul. Over the past 14 years she has coordinated and hosted major fundraisers and crop parties, and taught thousands of scrapbookers. Currently she is a Sales Rep for The Collins Group and loves to share her passion for paper crafting.
SUSAN (SUE) TURCHICK
Sue Turchick is the President of Crafters Home, a retailers’ group committed to strengthening the independent scrapbooking channel and its individual member stores. She also owns Scrapbooks Too in Bloomington , Minnesota , one of the largest and longest standing independent scrapbook stores in the Upper Midwest . Her own experience with closing one store, and bringing another back from the edge of financial disaster have made her passionate about the need to share what she has learned with other store owners.
Prior to taking the plunge into entrepreneurship, Sue worked for 16 years in various management roles in the financial services industry. Sue is also a Certified Public Accountant. Sue, her husband Ed and her son Phillip live in Apple Valley MN .
CHRISTINE MEIER
Christine began her career in crafts at the age of 16 and have been a part of the industry for the past 25 years as a buyer, wholesaler and a retail owner. Her love for the craft industry and her need to create product was the inspiration for her first company, DMD Industries, The Paper Reflections Line, which she founded with husband Randy. She created this line of blank paper products that soon became a mainstay in the industry. After the company was purchased by Creativity Inc, Christine began developing Canvas Home Basics for their new company Canvas Corp. The line offers a full range of creative products for the home. Christine is focused on the creative home décor trend and bringing products, techniques and inspiration for spaces in the home, the perfect gift, fun holiday décor and more.
