CHA DAY TWO

Cool stuff everywhere. Seriously. Right now I am in the airport in Chicago reflecting back over all the cool things I want to incorporate into my work. Lots and lots of great products - the show just seems to ooze creativity.

EDITED: In case you are wondering about when these things will show up in stores near you it really varies. Some manufacturers are ready to ship immediately (as in on Monday when they get home) and others have products that may not be released until September. I know that most of Heidi's is ready to ship now.

So here's a few more things that totally "did it" for me:

HEIDI SWAPP: First off, Heidi took a break from this show since she is about ready to have a baby any time now (good for you girl :)). So in addition to her awesome team she had a BIG flat screen TV in the booth that had a running video of her giving commentary on her new products. It was totally cool to just stand there and watch her sitting in a chair on the beach talking about stuff like the journaling spots :). She rocks.

Some of my favorite things in her booth included ledger chip board letters, ghost clocks, new journaling spots, and outlined rub ons (seen above).

FISKARS: This was one of the coolest things I saw at the show. I love it when the manufacturers work to solve a problem, or to make things easier for the consumer. Fisars new punches totally do this. What you see below is a circle punch. The hole on these punches is up, rather than down, allowing you to see where you are punching. And the grips make it super easy as well to squeeze rather than have to push down in order to punch.

MIMI: Love this new bag that Mimi debuted - geared towards digital scrapbookers (and crazy travelers like me) it holds a laptop and other goodies and looks totally cool. It includes a mesh bags for all your cords (for me that includes my lap top, ipod, blackberry, camera cords - sheesh), a spot for disks, business cards, and pens. The black bag (my personal fav) comes with a cool new blue interior. The bags also come in green, pink, and purple (I think purple).

AMERICAN CRAFTS: Love, love the colors here. Just happy, cool designs. Also really excited to see smaller verisons of their rub ons (and letter stickers) and the addition of another couple fonts to their rub ons. Very cool.

HAMBLY STUDIOS: I am so excited to see more stuff from Hambly. Two of my favorites included the silk-screened transparency lines/frames/etc. and the addition of rub ons to their line (continuing with their super hip designs). Can't wait to get a chance to play with these. Send thanks to designer Kristina Contes for her sweet ideas...

7gypsies: One of the biggest treats for me each show is going into the 7gypsies booth. If you ever have the chance to attend a show you have to go there - the products rock, but the samples are SERIOUSLY AWESOME. Getting to touch all the goodies, see all the amazing things their designers have put together is so very inspiring. One of my favorite products are those self-inking circle stamps. I pretty much want every single product they offer :).

More from FONTWERKS. Have to love these lined stamps. Perfectly simple for adding a bit of journaling to a layout. Super excited to come home with these in my possession.

I also loved the new stuff from FANCY PANTS. They have new 12x12 chipboard sheets with tons of cool shapes and such (tons of product included). Their new papers are also beautiful.

Also, My Mind's Eye Bohemia collection. You can see a video of me showing their cool new stuff on the CK site here.

And then just have to show you one of my favorite photos - me and Kristina from Two Peas. Missing her big time.

I am sure there is more I will think of later on today. Met tons of new people again. Looking forward to heading home...