CHA recap, part 2

Aside from all of the new yummy products on display, CHA also gives me the chance to catch up with lots of friends from all over country... not to mention my own bff's from SoCal!  We all get so busy throughout the holiday season, CHA seems to serve as a great excuse to spend time together... and wow, do we make the most of every moment.  Not sure that I actually got 8 hours of sleep total over the course of those 4 days!

We started this year's experience with the CHA Super Show on Saturday - which was so crowded that Dana & I literally did one quick loop of the show floor, said a quick hello to friends & headed out the door... with the exception of the Scarlet Lime booth (where we both had to exercise extreme wallet discipline), there really wasn't much we hadn't seen (or purchased) before.

Next, we hit the World's Largest Crop Attempt, hosted by the Scrapbook Royalty team... we had such a great time... and a lucky one at that!  Several of us won Silent Auction prizes... but it was Dana & Lori who would walk away with the biggest wins of the night!  Both of them won Provo Craft's special raffle - with Lori winning a My Story, and Dana winning not one, but TWO Cuttlebug machines!!  She gifted me with one of them within seconds (such a great friend!!) - and set herself up with great Scrap Karma for twenty-ten!

Before it got too late, we headed downstairs to the CHA Kickoff event, where we met up with the Quick Quotes team (love them!) and had a glass of wine & some food.

We also met up with girls from our 2008 SoCal 2  Provo CKU Bus Tour mates:

(Steph, Jen, Lori, Dana, Susan & Elizabeth...Erin was MIA!)

Sunday & Monday were all about the show - but the best part really was experiencing it with my friends... all the while running into old friends (some that I hadn't seen in years!).  We started with a group breakfast on Sunday and then headed to the convention center for the opening ceremonies... as soon as the doors opened, we dashed to Teresa Collins', followed by Little Yellow Bicycle & Provo Craft (to see Erin in her cute Cricut Cake uniform!):

Then we headed a few halls over to see Maya Road, October Afternoon, My Mind's Eye, Cosmo Cricket, American Crafts + Dear Lizzie (!), Tattered Angels and so many more! Lori is our Slice queen, so a trip to Making Memories was near the top of our list... we all got caught up in their new jewelry line & posed for pictures with their super cute aprons & Vespas... Dana even won a Slice!!

We made jewelry, used the best new trimmer EVER, distressed it all, got our hands dirty, and learned several flower-making techniques... all the while checking out the incredible displays & products!  We barely paused to eat or drink - managed to come home very hungry & tired...

(Trish & Dana making jewelry @ Making Memories)

(Dana, Lori, Judy, Sandy & Trish @ LYB)

CHA Recap

Yes, I realize it's been about a month since the amazing CHA trade show in Anaheim... however, now that I've had a month to digest & actually start working with the new products, some of my intital impressions have evolved into much more informed opinions! :)

This was my thrid year attending - and without a doubt, the most exciting show yet.  The innovations, designs, demos & displays were great - which made each night all the more challenging as we poured over catalogs  - comparing & contrasting product lines.  I truly love walking the floor and discovering the latest and greatest - and learning new techniques (this year I even conquered my fear of jump rings!).  Top trends included canvas, anything sewing related and jewelry!

In no particular order, here are a few of my favorite new products from this year's show:

1. Teresa Collins' Welcome Home, Mr. & Mrs and Bebe Chic lines
2. Prima/Donna Downey's canvas line (love her blue album too!)
3. Making Memories new jewelry line
4. Studio Callico's Anthology (love the fabric strips!)
5. The Girls' Paperie - loved it all

And here are a few of my favorite projects:

not much of a start...

wow - worst start to a blog ever... talk about setting the bar really low - at this rate I'm avaeraging one post per month... totally unacceptable! i promise that from this moment on - i will average at least two posts per month... baby steps! :)

Seriously though, it's been a very busy month & I can't believe it's nearly March already... well, before we get too far into twenty-ten - I wanted to share a few of my favorite projects from 2009:

I made this Advent calendar for one of my co-workers using a few of my favorite products - Scenic Route paper & Marshmallow Glimmer Mist. I was inspired to create this when one day @ the office, my co-worker was lamenting about how her 2 yr. old son was still too young to really understand & experience the holiday season in a meaningful way. She mentioned that they didn’t have any decorations, and I took that opportunity to share that it’s not about the decorations (as much I love them & own nearly enough to require a separate storage area to house them) – but it’s about traditions. Suffice to say, she (& her sone Sinjin) loved their advent calendar and it was a great tool for him to learn about the true meaning of the holiday season.

One last thing to note – I opted to use a brush to apply acrylic paint… thanks to my brilliant friend Erin, if I ever make one of these kinds of projects again, I will absolutely use spray paint instead… I strongly encourage everyone else to adopt that method as well! Gotta love trial & error…