What caught my eye at CHA

*Warning!  Photo heavy post!*

It has been on my to do list for a while now and I finally got to do it.  I went to the Mecca of crafting events - the Crafts and Hobby Association show.  It was amazing and I'm so glad I made the effort (and spent the money to go).  I have to give a huge thanks to my amazing friend, Michelle Woerner, who prompted me to go and was my roomie.  I likely won't have a chance to go again for a few years so I'm glad I took advantage of this opportunity.

Walking in the first day is totally overwhelming... there are so many things to see. It's hard to be linear in your path.  If you plotted my route the first day, I'm sure it looks like some spastic ant was walking around.  I'm glad I had three days to take everything in.

I've had some friends ask me to do a post of favourites.  I've decided to show them by using some 'unique' categories.  Hope you enjoy my run down.

1. Companies that I normally wouldn't by from but will now.

As with most crafters, I have my favourite vendors.  The great thing about CHA was I could see things from so many vendors.  I had three days to wander around and I saw almost everything.  The first one is Teresa Collins and her Far and Away Collection.  You know my love of everything travel and this is no exception.  In addition, it has a bunch of red in it so it makes it an instant 'must have' with me.

You may have also noticed my love of wood veneers.  I discovered that Prima is coming out with a line of wood veneers that I absolutely love.  Mushrooms?  Cameras?  Airplanes?  Houses? Swoon...

2. Companies that I never really paid attention to before but will be now.

I've only recently become acquainted with Glitz and I immediately fell in love with their Uncharted Waters collection. Ocean + great colours + a bit of travel = love.  Must.have.it.

 

Carta Bella is a sister company to Echo Park.  I'm quite familiar with Echo Park but didn't really pay attention to this new company.  With the release of Well Travelled, I will definitely be paying attention in the future.  Really, a red travel line?  Hard for me not to notice. ;)

3. Companies that I normally buy from and will continue to.

Two companies that I've come to love in the last few years did not disappoint at this show.  The first is Basic Grey with their Hipster line.  I'm not one for pink usually but this combination of coral, orange and brown in trendy patterns is perfect.

 

The other one is Studio Calico.  I love their veneers, their papers, their flair and they've come out with some great new stuff including the Here & There line.

 

4. Embellishments that I will buy and hoard.

Hoarding is not an unusual thing for me (and for a few other crafters I know) and what I saw at this show makes me realize that is something that will continue.

These canvas brads from Cosmo Cricket are just amazing.  I wanted to rip them out of the package and pet them. (Yes, I have to touch everything).  They had a fabulous range of new embellishments, including some chipboard banners.

I love cork and Little Yellow Bicycle has come out with some great cork tags and other die cuts.

5. Ladies I love and (now) know who design their own stamps.

Two ladies whom I hold in very high regard were present at CHA and I got to meet them (lucky me).  The first is Kim Hughes.  I was fortunate enough to spend a term on her Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge team and was absolutely thrilled to finally meet her.  She is absolutely genuine and so much fun to hang out with.  She's just released some new dies and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

Love these two amazing ladies - Carole Burrage & Kim Hughes

The next is Teri Anderson.  She recently came out with a line of stamps through Technique Tuesday. I was so thrilled to meet her.  She is so down-to-earth and humble.  Her great sense of humour and outlook on life comes out in her fabulous stamps.

6. Products that were amazing but I would never use or know what to do with.

Every colour of the rainbow could be found at Bottle Cap Inc.  Their booth display shows it all.  I love them but would never know what to do with them.  I would likely just buy them and hoard them (see above).

I love the look of quilling but would never have the patience to do it.  Check out the amazing creations from Quilled Creations.  Wow, I was in awe.

7. Product I missed seeing (not sure how - must have be stunned & overwhelmed by everything) but will definitely be purchasing.

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch board.  Speechless.  Wow. Can't believe I didn't see this or try it out.

Note: If I missed this, I may have missed other things.  I may be adding to this part of the post!  

8. Trends I noticed

I'm not usually a trend watcher but definitely noticed a few things at this show.

• Most of the stamp companies are coming out with dies to match their stamps.  This trend has been growing recently and I really noticed it in full force at the show.
• More and more paper companies are coming out with clear stamps and washi tape that coordinate with their new collections.  Washi tape is everywhere now (lucky me).
• Chevrons (Kimberly Crawford reminded me of that one), flair buttons, travel themes and cameras have been popular lately and that shows no sign of stopping.
• The colour combinations of navy & pink and orange, coral & brown were prevalent.  Also, there were a lot of bright colours (hooray - right up my alley).  Not sure if that is a trend but they definitely caught my eye.
• More companies are doing wood veneers and the variety in size and design is amazing.
• A lot of companies are coming out with their own version of Project Life or they are designing things that fit into Project Life.

Oh, Snap from Echo Park

Washi Tape from My Mind's Eye

Flair and clear stamps from Simple Stories Sn@p

Jillibean Soup's new clear stamps with their new Chilled Cucumber line

Much as I loved seeing all of these new products, the best part was meeting everyone that I used to just know online.  We are in a fantastic industry full of talented and amazing people.  I met so many amazing crafters and made some lasting friendships. I must give special shout outs to Michele Gross, Cammie King, Carole Burrage and Deb Anton. *winks to them*

Oh, and I was lucky enough to see one of my favourite people too... the wonderful Jill Grace.  I sure wish we lived closer.  Couldn't resist having a cocktail when we got together (surprise, surprise) (pictures below courtesy of Jill).

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hope you enjoyed my highlight reel from CHA.

Glenda

The view as I walked out of the Convention Centre.