Wow.
Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 12:30PM So. I was at the CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) convention earlier this week. It was my first time attending (they happen twice a year). It was awesome. (Yes, I know I've heard that show attendance may have been down due to the economy and all that; but, for me, it was still pretty dang fantastic.)
So much to say...I think first I'll do a quick run-down of my time there and then post my list of favorites, okay? Okay. Bear with me. ;)
- Sunday morning...woke to discover snow (had been hoping it would have waited a few hours, as it's waited this long already, right?)...hurried to get ready and get to the airport despite low visibility and a windshield that wouldn't fully defrost. Made it to the airport with just enough time to park in the garage (having opted to forego the economy lot as I was wearing a skirt and didn't feel like hiking through the snow), run inside (literally, but at least it kept me warm), get through security, use the bathroom and board the plane. Whew.
- Sat on the plane for almost an hour while we waited for the plane to be de-iced. Fun times...so glad I was so rushed to get on the plane in the first place. :)
- Finally made it to LAX (which must be one of the most confusing airports...very poor signage, thank goodness for cell phones!) and met up with Brian Tippetts (CK Editor in Chief), who was picking up me, Erin Bayless (CK Creative Art Director...at least I think that's her title, lol), and Mandy Douglass (CK's 2008 Scrapbooker of the Year).
- Grabbed some lunch at Quiznos then headed for the hotel, where Mandy and I stashed our stuff in Erin's kid suite (complete with bunk beds, LOL) while we got ready to head over to the convention center (a short walk away)...our rooms weren't ready yet to check into.
- Made it to CHA! Brian and I did our scheduled book signings...me for Month By Month Scrapbooking and Brian for Get Creative With Type (though, unfortunately, Brian's book didn't get shipped correctly so he was taking names and addresses and will mail folks copies). (BTW, Brian's book is stinkin' awesome! I have some pieces in there as well!) Oh, and apparently while we were signing books we missed out on Paris Hilton's big appearance. She has a new scrapbook product line that let's just say I'll not be buying. :)
- After that, I walked the floor with Maurianne (one of the CK editors), gathering information. Fun stuff!
- The show ended for the day and our CKMedia group headed out to a scrumptious dinner at Tortilla Joe's in Downtown Disney. Yum!! Loved the stories shared!
- Back to the hotel but then back out to Denny's for some late night dessert with the Prism design team...awesome to meet everyone in person finally!
- Finally got to sleep around 1 am PST, having been up since just before 5 am MST that morning. Yeah. Wiped. ;)
- Monday was gorgeous (so much better than snow and ice!) as we ate breakfast and headed over to the convention center. Brian and I had more book signing time at the booth, had a lovely CK contributor lunch and got to put more names and faces together, and did more walking of the floor with both Maurianne and Lori Fairbanks (another CK editor, in charge of the Hot Spot and similar cool stuff). Oh! And I saw (from a slight distance but definitely within a few yards) both Jane Seymour (who was there promoting some paint products I believe) and Vanna White (who was there with Lion Brand Yarn). Cool.
- Memorable cab ride to Downtown Disney where the driver freely shared his opinion of palm trees...did dinner at Downtown Disney again, this time at House of Blues...where the key lime pie will change your life. :) (See Mandy's blog post...) Maurianne, Erin, Lori and Mandy were kind enough to put up with me while I stopped at the Lego store to get some goodies to take home to the boys (who obviously do NOT need more legos, LOL!).
- Made it back to the hotel earlier than the night before and had a leisurely evening of packing and watching tv and planning which booths I wanted to make sure to get to before leaving.
- Tuesday morning was a bit windier than previously but still sunny. :) Officially checked out and said goodbye to Mandy (who rocks!) and did a quick group picture:
(Borrowed from Mandy's blog since I didn't take a camera with me, lol. Me...Megan (CK Creative Editor and freakin' hilarious gal!), Maurianne, Lori, Erin and Mandy up front.)
- Tuesday I mostly wandered the show on my own, hitting the booths I really wanted to see and even getting to help my LSS owner do a wee bit of shopping at the Prima booth...yay!!
- Belatedly realized the time and said my goodbyes, hurried back to the hotel, caught my shuttle to the airport and then hung out for a bit before catching my flight home. Except for a bit of turbulence that I could have done without, it was an uneventful flight. Landed, collected my bags and drove the hour home in time to put the boys to bed around midnight. Whew.
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Since being home, I've been trying to catch up on emails, keep the boys on track with school work and stuff like that. :) Now. My top picks from CHA...(not specifically in any order)...
- Little Yellow Bicycle. Dude. Their new Traveler line rocks! Absolutely in love with it all and particularly loving their new journaling tablets and clear cuts. I also am thrilled that this travel line isn't full of airplanes or cruise ships...very versatile! If I'd had a camera, this is a booth where I'd have been taking lots of pics of their samples, as they were outstanding.
- K&Co. To be honest, K&Co isn't normally my style, but their new Actopus to Zelephant line is fabulous!! I'm pretty sure I'll be needing it all. :)
- Graphic 45. Again, I'm not usually as vintage-y as this company tends to be, but I'm in love with their new Communique and Transatlantique lines. Love the bright colors of the Transatlantique and the awesome graphic-ness of Communique.
- Prima. Wow. Prima has totally gone beyond flowers. I was drooling over their new Donna Downey canvas line, stitched mulberry papers (which is perfect for those of us who don't have the patience or courage to actually stitch on our own layouts...this is done already for you!), cute little clear stamps, laundry line felt and coordinating papers, Flirty Little Secret flocked papers (such rich colors!), glitter star sprigs (yay for stars!), and flocked and glittered transparencies. Yeah. Lots of good stuff!
- Fiskars. Somehow I very much appreciate that this company has decided to go back to its roots and concentrate on tools. Because I so love their tools! Their new border punches are fantastic (I'm particularly in love with Upper Crest) and I'm a big fan of their squeeze punches which work well not only for scrapbooking but for kids crafts. :)
- Anna Griffin. Oh my goodness. Their new Riley and Darcey lines are terrific! Riley is this adorable circus line and Darcey is very graphic and gorgeous! Love all the new embellishments they came out with as well! (Can't seem to find a better link where you can see more of the products...trust me, okay?)
- Fancy Pants. F.U.N. Loved their new mixed media albums (so cool! and they come in four shapes so you can mix and match...the samples were awesome!), their journaling notebooks (unique in that the pages are all different shapes and sizes...very cool and I think there's one for each new line), the Summer Soiree line (great colors!), their Kraft Kuts (particularly the half-bracket shaped papers) and their new frame things for home decor (instead of glass, the frames have clear acrylic of some sort that's easier to alter and I hear they're planning to sell insert refills so you can change out your frame pretty easily).
- Chatterbox. Their Fabulous Collection is, well, fabulous. Love the blues and the texture of everything. They also are coming out with these way cool album stands (for mini albums to hang from) that I can definitely see on my mantle as well as cute little canvas and denim 6x6 albums.
- Making Memories. I always love Making Memories' stuff. This time was no exception. Their Great Escape travel line was awesome...love the spiral journaling book, bamboo alpha, travel tabs, texture brads, and epoxy clips that came with the line. They also have a great Wedding line I may have to look at more.
- Daisy Bucket. Two things in particular stood out for me with Daisy Bucket. First, I loved their new really big chipboard pieces...so many possibilities there! If their make and take that used one of these would have fit in my suitcase, I'd have made one. :) Second, I fell in love with their little monster stamps.
- Jillibean Soup. This is a new company and I'm hoping they do really well. All of their papers were recycled...they had a great graphic feel to them...and they also had these fun little journaling "sprouts" that are so cute.
- Hambly. Sigh. I admit it. I'm a Hambly collector. I find their stuff so fun and beautiful I do tend to hoard it rather than use it. :) New for this show were lots of great things...three that stood out to me were these awesome little whimsical animal rub-ons (designs were taken from stickers they did years ago and they're stinkin' cute), new kraft cardstock stickers (I particularly liked the trees one), and rub-ons using their popular woodgrain design (formerly only a transparency/paper but now a run-on as well). I also loved the little moustaches that actually came out last show. :)
- Piggy Tales. While Piggy Tales has some new paper lines that were very cute (I especially noticed the Billy Goats Gruff collection that has tricycles and such and the It's Raining, It's Pouring line that has boy colored rain boots and umbrellas), I was most drawn to their interactive items. Their drawbridge album, pig tails, sliding books and hide & seek books are great (thinking I'll make a slide book for Micah for his birthday this year). They've also added sliding doors (like the slide book but as a stand alone accent to be embellished) and flower presses (exactly how it sounds but with so many more possibilities...made from acrylic so it's not heavy like glass but looks just as you'd imagine...great for flowers (obviously) as well as locks of hair or pretty much anything else you can think of).
- GCD. These paper collections come in a pad. The cool thing is that they've added all sorts of awesome textures...flocking, gloss and glitter...within each pad. And the collections are fantastic. I'm definitely thinking I'll need Provence, Debonair, Paris Nights and Bright Skies.
- Sassafras Lass. Okay, the new Bungle Jungle collection is adorable! I have really no idea what to use it for, but see myself buying it all the same! Beyond the paper with those fabulous edges, Sassafras has new embellishments this time round that are great...loved the felties, journaling cards (especially the Anthem line "retro deck") and the clear stamps in particular.
- Basic Grey. Basic Grey never fails. I seem to buy their stuff every time I go shopping. :) Their Lime Rickey collection is going to be a staple...I can already see this. The colors are so fabulously bright while still maintaining the Basic Grey "feel" kwim? Happy sigh.
- October Afternoon. Not sure if you heard, but sadly, October Afternoon's booth didn't make it to CHA. I don't have more details than that but do know that I love their products and would hate for them to not be listed simply because I didn't see stuff in person. I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for their Cherry Hill collection!
Whew. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something but hope this will help in your own shopping endeavors as these new products become available in stores... ;) What do you think? Do you have a favorite that I didn't mention? Would love to hear your take on the new lines that are coming out as I prepare my upcoming columns!
Reader Comments (5)
It sounds like such a fun trip!!! I am so happy you were able to go. Can't wait to get my hands on the new products (except Paris' - LOL). I am looking foward to hearing all about it from you!
WOW...sounds like you had a busy yet very fun trip. I would have loved to be there and help with the Moxxie booth (I'm on the DT) and meet tons of new people and the inspiration floating around there must have been just amazing!! TFS all the links...fabulous products!!
-Sarah
whew! i am just amazed each time of all the new products available. can it get any bigger than this? the business is amazing and i never thought scrapbooking was this enormous! i love paper and i have to admit, i am a papaer hoarder. i am breaking out of my shell to start using the paper. i love the animals and the kid's theme. i would love to see more products and projects for teenagers. i love making stuff for my daughter's friends for the holidays and her team players (volleyball and basketball). please pass that along to get more "teenager" stuff available and projects!!!! much mahalos!
Thank you for the review. I'm glad to hear that there are so many masculine lines that are coming out. Just like you, I have a boy and I'm always on the look-out for non-girlish lines.
Great review Amanda! I see many "must haves"!