I had the pleasure of spending last week in Toronto at the Creativ Festival where I represented American Crafts and demo’ed We R Memory Keepers tools in the Michael’s booth. I had never been to Toronto before, and I love the energy of trade show floors, so I was so excited and grateful for the opportunity to go!
I left early in the morning on Wednesday, and arrived in Toronto in the afternoon. My favorite part of the flight was coming into Toronto and seeing the gorgeous fall colored leaves surrounding the city with Lake Ontario as a backdrop. Amazing!
I was met by sweet Catherine Tachdjian from Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine at the airport. We drove into the city and enjoyed a lovely dinner together while listening to cheering Blue Jays fans. Then Catherine took me to the Hilton where I stayed for the next four nights. And yes, she made it out of the city before the chaos began.
It turned out I had arrived during the tie breaking game of the ALDS between the Blue Jays and the Rangers. It was a fun and exciting time to be in the city, especially since the Blue Jays won for the first time in over 20 years. I loved hearing the celebrations in the streets below my hotel room. The Rogers Centre was just around the corner, and the view from my room was amazing!
The next morning the show began, and I enjoyed the routine of walking a few short blocks down to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, with a little stop for muffins and juice at Starbucks on the way. This gorgeous view greeted us each morning as we rounded the corner to the MTCC. Classic Toronto!
My booth buddy for the show was the adorable Lindsay Bateman from Heidi Swapp’s media team. We hit it off immediately, and I’m so glad I got to meet this talented and sweet girl! She is beautiful inside and out. We made some wonderful memories, and had some great late night dinners together.
She demo’ed the Minc foil applicator and accessories, while I showed our booth visitors how awesome the We R Memory Keepers Punch Boards are. It was priceless to see crafters’ reactions when they saw what the possibilities were with all of these amazing tools. I wish I had a dollar for every ooh, ahh, and gasp! We sent many happy crafters home with fun new tools to play with. Yay!
The people we met from the Michael’s team were wonderful to work with, and seemed truly grateful to have us there with them. They were so accommodating and helpful!
Another highlight of the trip was meeting Kathryn Gibson, a Michael’s instructor and awesome crafter who just happens to be the niece of a wonderful friend that lives just a few blocks away from me. What are the odds? She was so sweet, talented, and helpful during our time at the Michael’s booth, and I know it was no coincidence that we ended up in the same place at the same time so far away from my home.
Our last night, Lindsay and I splurged and ate dinner at the Tundra in the Hilton where we were staying. The waiter brought our plates and we both had to take photos–the presentation was amazing, and so was the cooking!
My favorite was the ginger maple pumpkin cheesecake. Yum yum, and oh-so-pretty! Wouldn’t be surprised if this beautiful design ended up as inspiration for a paper craft project soon. Love!
I left early the next morning, and while I had the best time, I was so glad to be back in my favorite place with my very favorite people in the world. So very grateful for crafty adventures, and for coming back to the greatest place of all–home!