Awesome time at CHA.

Just a couple of crazy ladies chilling in Vegas! Being silly and checking out all the amazing stuff out there...and having coffee of course.

Made it home safe and sound after another adventure...this time in Vegas for the Craft & Hobby Association Winter Show. This is the mega trade show for scrapbooking, as well as categories that fall under the title of craft & hobby. So many things to see, so many people to connect with, so much inspiration to bring home.

[ The "a" over to the left was created for Ranger using some of their super cool products. They had an amazing A to Z display of altered letters. So cool. ]

People:

• One of the highlights for me was meeting Claudine Hellmuth. She has a new line of Poppets scrapbooking producst, brought to us by Lazar Studio Werx and she is the author of my favorite collage book: Collage Discovery Workshop. I remember reading this book the first time and being so inspired - she really teaches some totally cool techniques. If you are interested in learning more about the art of collage this book is totally it. And you guys will laugh...I went up to her, introduced myself and told her  that I am a HUGE FAN! The girls in the Fontwerks booth across the way were dying laughing. She was adorable. So excited to meet her and gush.

• Over the four days I got to walk the show with some of my favorite people Cathy & Donna & Danelle,  then with Tracy White, and then with Emily Falconbridge and Liz Eaton. Loved having the chance to just hang with Emily and Liz near the end of the show. This was my first time meeting Emily - I already knew that I loved Liz - getting to know Emily a bit in real life was really, really cool. Both these ladies are super inspiring to me.

• Love catching up with the CK Editorial team and talking trends and new products and life and such. We went together to see Blue Man Group which was TOTALLY COOL and bizarre.

• Meeting Rachel at Basic Grey was also a highlight. Love putting faces & voices with names & creativity. Amazing products in her booth - especially the rub ons!

• Chatting with all the ladies in the Fontwerks booth - awesome stamps coming out (especially the one I love potentially called naked George) - including acrylics! And the ladies at the Autumn Leaves booth. The new books they have coming out look absolutely amazing.

And the good stuff:

• So excited to see some new designs from Anna Griffin. In addition to the paper sets she is offering very cool 12x12 file folder storage boxes. Lovely and elegant enough to have on your desk or out in the open. Can't wait to get my hands on some of those.

• Rebecca Sower's new line for EK Success called Bookworks. Colors. I love the colors.

• Heidi Grace. Love the girl. Another from the Pacific Northwest. Love the papers. Love it all.

• Strano Ribbon. Sigh. We learned that each of the ribbons has a name - a person's name - this is how Jennifer Strano remembers each one. Totally cool. They all have a little story. Bringing life into business - love that.

• Scenic Route (forgive the shadows on here). A seriously cool new collection of papers, including paper that comes in strips of different patterns all on one sheet. Beautiful. Fun. Can't wait to play.

• Robin Johnson has a new line of organizational products called Memory Dock. Amazing stuff. Including a planner that is the perfect marriage of function and creativity.

• Loved this little stamp storage solution from MIMI. Four mini mounted stamps can fit in each of those squares. A larger stamp from Hero Arts would fit within one square. Thought this was a cool idea.

• K&Company had TONS of cool stuff in their booth. Lots purple and green papers that were lovely. A new line of jewelry coming out later in the year. These great little sticker/rub on/transparency packs - love the tabs. Tracy White and I walked around the booth and just kept getting so excited at the things we were seeing. No new Danny O...come back Danny - make some more cool stuff!

• Ranger Embossing Ink.
I love Tim Holtz and I am excited to test out this new embossing ink -
I have always used Versamark, but it will be fun to test out something
new...and support Tim.

• KI Memories - lovely, lovely, lovely. Very modern-classy prints, somewhat monochromatic, and sticker sheets that I can not wait to use.

• Met the ladies from Delish Designs - a pair of wonderful Australian women with a big time passion. They had beautiful papers, large chipboard tags, adorable paints in little round containers. Lots of buzz about them during the show.

• Teresa Collins new line for Junkitz is also a favorite. I kept going back to their booth - fun stuff in there from all the designers.

• And 7gypsies...I think they are simply the best. I pretty much want to get my hands on one of each thing in their booth. Papers. Rub ons. Sticker sheets. Wax seals. I am all over their products.

I know there is a ton more that was cool...this will wet your appetite just a bit. Can't wait to get playing with so many of these new products. For now, it is back to work!