CHA Fun

When I was with Paper Crafts magazine we went to the industry's tradeshow (Craft and Hobby Association - CHA) twice a year. Since I switched to the Events team, I haven't been to the show. But this last Saturday and Sunday I attended the CHA Winter show in Los Angeles. It was so fun!!!

What made it so fun? Several things.

1. Catching up with people I haven't seen for several years. Some are connected with manufacturers and some designers.
2. Meeting people in person that I've only known through Facebook.
3. Seeing all the new product.

My plan had been to take pictures of things, but it's amazing how few I managed to take :) My brain seems to have left me in the excitement of everything. So I'll share the few photos I took and then borrow from others.

Creating Keepsakes celebrates their 15 birthday this year and they had a celebration on Sunday afternoon. They provided an adorable cut out that you could take your picture in. Here's Todd and Brooke (co-workers) taking advantage of a photo op.

Todd hamming it up!

Brooke appreciating the beautiful cake she's holding! :)

As for the products, there were tons!!! Too many to list them all, so here are a few that stuck in my brain (which means they made an impression of some sort). Listed in no particular order.

Glubers from Cosmo Cricket get their name from being uber glue dots. The smallest is two inches in size. They are also available in two and a half and three inch sizes. What do you use these for? Flowers!!! I'm sure there will be other uses, but flowers are the reason for the inspiration. Check out the link included here to see the possibilities.

Hambly Screen Prints has new Washi Tapes that have their beautiful designs on them. Can't wait to try them out. (Thanks Paper Crafts for posting this picture that I'm sharing the link to).

Nikki Sivils product is adorable! I love her product lines, plus she's a dog lover - do I need to say more? (Thanks again to Cath from Paper Crafts for providing the image.)

I mentioned Crate Paper in my blog surfing earlier, but seeing the product in person, well let's just say I love it!! (Thanks again Cath for the photo.)

I'm a little slow catching on to the banner mania, but I really like making them. There are several companies with wonderful bases and Fancy Pants Designs came out with some great options. And this picture is one I took - amazing!

Love the variety of shapes!

Technique Tuesday not only released wonderful stamps, but several new paper lines. I love the ones that coordinate with the Paris stamp line - the colors are gorgeous! Of course I think my favorite stamp set is Who Let the Dogs Out? And why wouldn't I??? The sayings are so cute and I love the images. And I think I could really make good use of their Chit Chat stamps. (Thanks to TwoPeasInABucket for the link.)

The last product is from K & Company and is called Smash. It's a book made to catch all your stuff. Such a fun idea!!! And the bases are really neat - they have quotes and backgrounds and all kinds of stuff. the come in a variety of sizes and designs. (the video clip comes from Smash's blog.) I have a little sample they gave me and I can't wait to play with it.

Well that about covers it, or at least what I can remember. Like I said, it was a wonderful weekend and I'm so glad I was able to go. I'm leaving you with a picture of the Hollywood sign that I took while we toured the LA hot spots - we saw Rodeo Drive, the Kodak theater, the Hollywood sign, Santa Monica pier, and more as we drove through the night. The picture isn't the greatest since it was night, but it was so fun to be so close to the sign (a major winding drive up the mountain on narrow streets).