Around here: August 2018 (a full GenCon report!)

Around here things are wild as we prepare for back to school! It’s been busy with work and travel – and Bandit is ready with his new Tshirt.

He gained the title security when my cousin came to visit and he shoved his head right into her purse to inspect. He hurts nothing – he just has to check it all out! Security indeed.

Speaking of – I was so thrilled to attend a totally new to me convention called GenCon in Indianapolis this past week as a representative for Brother. This event of thousands (70,000 ish?!)  takes over the entire downtown from the convention center to the hotel meeting space -and even Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts play!

This is the stadium – I walked down on the field it was so cool! This was 6:30 AM prior to my shift in the craft room so it was pretty empty but this runs 24/7 with games and events!

Speaking of games and events- I can’t tell you how inspired I am by the creativity! From the game pieces and custom designs to the jewelry to costumes to accessories – wow just wow!

I saw maybe 1/2 of the show floor – since I only had brief moments to run about and check it out. SO vast!

When I wasn’t trying to catch a glimpse of the 17,000+ events offered I was either in the craft room or helping in a classroom.

Joe Rotella (pictured below) and his crew had 3 classes going at a time – some of which featured the ScanNCut like you see above. If you watch Make it Artsy you probably know Joe- he’s got so many creative ideas and such a wide range of creativity.  Here’s a link to one of my favorites. 

Then back to the craft room! So the open craft room at GenCon is awesome. At any given time during the day you will find creatives of all types doing costume repairs, making something new, learning, or just getting some quiet time away from the hustle of the show. Brother had a few sewing machines & ScanNCut machines set up for use – so nice!

The bulk of my time was spent showing people how to use the ScanNCut! Each day I had an outfit inspired by a favorite character and decked out with ScanNCut made bits – you’ll see all of those tutorials here over time!

Above is me with the booth, and below in front of the craft room. I can’t say enough about all of the people I met. SO NICE! From teaching me new crafty tricks to explaining various games and specifics of the event any time I had a question if I just asked outloud someone was there to help me.

One of my favorite moments was seeing the costume contest (sponsored by Brother) – talk about crafting goals! Most costumes were hand made by the wearer and some were so amazing I just couldn’t believe someone had made them a reality.

While my style tended more towards “cosplay LITE” like my rainbow belt (seen below) – I truly admire these costume makers.

I can’t say enough about the people I met or how lovely everyone was. Going to a show like this was super overwhelming and I just love that instead of feeling left out or outside everyone welcomed me right in. I was also delighted by how many forms of crafting and how inspired I left this event so full of creativity in all forms. It really reminded me that we’re all unique in our own ways, but all welcome to join in one big creative community – no need for labels!

Now I’m back home as the girls and I craft up a few final summer goodies & projects – what a whirlwind it’s been!

What are you up to in August? Do tell! I’d love to hear from you.

3 thoughts on “Around here: August 2018 (a full GenCon report!)”

  1. Haha – love BAndit’s shirt!! My friend’s cat is always fascinated by my handbag!! The conference looked amazing and you look so cute!! What are those things the girls are holding???

  2. I can see how Bandit would be the security go-to guy! Looks like you had fun at the convention, and now the costume accessories make sense. Love the strawberries and hope we’ll be seeing more of them.

  3. Love your hair and you looked fabulous in the bright blue dress! Joe is one of my favorite people in the whole world. He told me about gencon years ago. Taking one of his classes there is on my bucket list. I need to check and see if he’s done some cool Dr.Who stuff for the scan-n-cut. Doggie hugs for all your fur babies.

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