how steph works: 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...