Write. Click. Scrapbook.

Welcome to CHA Armchair Attendee Week!

Welcome

Welcome to CHA Armchair Attendee Week! I'm Vivian, and I will be your host this week. As most of you know, the Craft and Hobby Association’s winter trade show is taking place this week in Anaheim, CA. Companies that manufacture craft products  -- including our beloved papercrafting products -- show their new releases in booths visited by retailers, who place orders for the new products. Lots of other folks figure into the mix as well, as craft publishers are represented, design team members help to staff booths, and celebrities usually figure into the mix. (I still have my piece of Paris Hilton scrapbook paper, signed when I met none other than Paris herself at CHA a few years back. Rumor has it that our own Marnie Flores may cross paths with Tori Spelling this time around.) 

I’m not at CHA this year, but have been having a lot of fun following all of the hoopla online and am excited to share some of that fun with you this week. Here’s the plan for this week:

 Monday: Introduction and Trends, Part I: Patterns and Motifs

Tuesday: Trends, Part II: Themes

Wednesday: Trends, Part III: Products

Thursday: CHA give.away.day. (yes, that’s right, as in goodies straight from the show floor!)

Friday: Write.Click.Scrapbook. team members’ “must haves” from CHA

 

Introduction

Getting on with our introduction…some of you may be wondering what it means to be an “armchair attendee.” How can you “attend” the show if you’re not there? Well, here’s my process.

• In the weeks ahead of the show, I regularly frequent websites that compile manufacturers’ sneak peeks. Most manufacturers “sneak” their new releases prior to the show via their company’s blog/website, Facebook, Twitter, etc. and that can be exhausting to follow without the aid of websites that do the work of compiling sneaks for you. Three good websites for this are Scrapbook & Cards Today, Scrapbook Update and The Scrap Review. Each presents the sneaks a little bit differently: Scrapbook & Cards Today provides clickable links by manufacturer, Scrapbook Update provides a clickable list by date of sneaks, and The Scrap Review blogs sneaks as they appear.

• As I look at sneaks, I make sure to check out both official product images as well as any projects showcasing the new products. Often a line or a product that doesn’t grab me at first looks different when I see it on a layout or a card.

• Once the show starts, I watch online for photos and videos from the CHA show floor. Not all companies do sneak peeks or extensive sneak peeks and seeing new products together with projects made with them in the booth can inspire. You can try searching #CHAshow on Twitter, check magazines' and manufacturers' Twitter feeds/Facebook pages/blogs, or follow targeted CHA forums (like the CHA Winter 2012 forum at Two Peas in a Bucket or Studio Calico's CHA forum).

• Most important, I make my wishlist! That was made much easier this year by Pinterest. I started a CHA Winter 2012 board and every time I looked at sneaks I pinned ones that grabbed my attention. (Don't worry, I won't buy it all!)

 

Trends, Part I

Now let’s take a look at trends in patterns and motifs. I am not going to attempt to be comprehensive here, but have selected three trends that have caught my eye and will share those with you. Beware, lots of images forthcoming!

The first trend I want to share with you is chevron. Chevron patterns started appearing recently in scrapbook products, but they have really taken off with this show. While chevron up until now has been primarily a single color chevron stripe paired with a neutral, this time around it seems to be “chevron with a twist.” Let me show you some examples.

This paper from Lily Bee's Buttercup line features a text-print chevron pattern:

This paper from My Mind's Eye On the Bright Side line features a fun multi-colored chevron pattern:

How cool is this quilted chevron from Pink Paislee's Prairie Hill line? When I first saw this sneak I had to stare at it for a bit to figure out all that was going on here!
Let's move on to look at another trend: clouds. I don't know about you, but cloud patterns just make me happy. I'm seeing a lot of patterned clouds this year.

This fun paper from GCD Studios' Oh Happy Day line features chevron clouds.

This sticker sheet from Echo Park's Hello Summer line features three different patterned clouds - one with a text print and the other two with different grids:

This piece of paper from Bella Blvd's Sunshine & Happiness line combines polka dot and chevron clouds with solid clouds, some with tiny hearts:

This paper, from My Little Shoebox's Happy Go Lucky line, features polka dot clouds, clouds with a doodle swirl pattern, and, while it's hard to tell from the sneak image (one of the limits of being an armchair attendee!), I think some of the clouds have text:

One more pattern/motif trend that is popping up all over the place: honeycomb/hexagon.

I first noticed this trend with these two stunning papers from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart collections (note that these papers also follow the quilted trend that we saw earlier in the Pink Paislee chevron pattern):

Another interesting take on this trend are the Jenni Bowlin Quilted Stickers, which come in four different designs:

Hambly also has an interesting take on the honeycomb/hexagon trend (and more chevron!) with one of their patterned cardstocks:

 

I could continue commenting on pattern/motif trends and pasting examples here for days, but hopefully this will give you a taste of what's out there and coming to stores soon.We'd love to hear from our readers - which of these three trends is your favorite? What other patterns and motifs are you seeing across sneaks?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Trends, Part II, which will focus on product line themes seen across companies.

Sunday Photo + Words

{Photo: Lisa Ottosson}

In Review

What a great month we have had! Join me as we take our final stroll through the January gallery and then put it all together for one last layout!

Francine: I love this layout for its groupings. Francine is a master of the collection. I love, too, how the photos seem perfectly placed. Like a well set table.

Karen:  I love how her layouts make me feel. She made use of my happy colors which tells me immediately that the title is not a mournful one, but cheerful. This layout reminds me to take pictures of things (and not just people and food) that make me happy. I have notes that have touched my heart that truly belong in my scrapbook. You, too?

Aly: The first time I saw this layout, I immediately wanted to rewind time to a time a few years' back when we were loaded in the car off to somewhere. Nigel, my oldest, never went in the car, unless we had a big destination. He had the luxury of staying inside. My littlest? She has been hauled about since she was small. At three weeks we started out to tennis in the cold midwestern winter, and we have not stopped since. Aly's layout made me realize I haven't take pictures of some of the more mundane activities. Add it to the checklist!

Celeste: I remember a winter as a child where the snow went halfway up our back door. We had to shove and shove to get the screen door open. But of course, there are no pictures. Celeste's layout is a reminder to me to keep my camera handy and take photos of those weather-related memories.

Marnie: Do you know that I purposefully took my camera along one day on our adventures knowing that I had this layout due? Do you that I am so glad that I did? I love to be a good student, and scrapbooking assignments help me to stretch just like school ones used to.

Erin: I love Erin's honesty. Sharing with us that her photos were taken for the Week in the Life album that never was. And how she didn't let them go to waste. Have you photos leftover from a particular purpose that might fit on a page of a different kind? Let Erin's example be your permission to get them on a layout!

Christa: Military wives are such an amazing lot to me. I am always impressed by how they roll with the punches, even when the changes are huge. And moving around the globe seems pretty huge to me. Wow.

Alexandra: Alexandra can take the simplest things and make them look beautiful. Have you taken a minute to finish up your December daily album? It's nearly February. Perhaps this weekend you could get it out and finish it up before the memories run cold?

Lisa: I love the linear beauty of Lisa's layout. And the little grouping of three at the bottom? Awesome! You know that our eye loves threes and fives best right?

Lisa: If you were to sit down and create a layout about today, what would a recounting of your schedule tell you? The changes in my own schedule over the past few years have been significant and annual. Join me in a pact to promise to record this before the memory of the madness fades?

Amy: For the past few years, Costco has offered free calendars with their holiday cards. I recognized this one, and think this is a magnificent use of one! Amy is so clever.

Marnie: I used to be so good at taking headshot pictures of my kids. Now we all seem too busy. So I was happy to find this one amidst my white balance practice photos. Plain headshots like these are permission to journal whatever I want. I love that.

Vivian: Do you ever read people's journaling and realize just how amazing they are? I loved reading Vivian's journaling. And I love how she introduced her daughter to this opportunity to serve our world. And you know what? It taught me that Vivian is a thoughtful person who is aware of others. And now I love her even more, not just for her great pages. Scrapbooking. It is so much more than paper and glue.

Ann: This photo will be a family treasure forever. When I used to teach at CKCs we would take polls on how many photos people took over a Disney vacation. 5000 was not unheard of. How does one begin to scrapbook that many? One at a time. Choose a favorite, just like Ann did. And what a favorite this one is.

Paula: This is your reminder. Get your family together and take a picture of all of you and then create a layout about today. I love how Paula's journaling becomes the vertical column. Clean and easy and purposeful. Perfect.

Celeste: One of my favorite features of Celeste's layout is the thick'ish black borders around the photos. It really helps ground them. And then I seem to notice each of them, rather than just a group of photos. Celeste's pages have such a definitive style, too. Don't you agree?

Celeste: Did you notice how Celeste makes use of a visual triangle on this page? But there is a bit more magic than just the triangle. The photo cluster on the left is the same width as the journaling space on the right. This makes it look like a missing puzzle piece, thereby adding an additional sense of cohesion. It is subtle design elements like these that can transform your pages.

Kelly: Kelly is becoming a hybrid master! With her date doing double duty as the title, the scene is already set for the photos and story. 12.26 conjures a sense of calm and laze for many of us. Choosing to have so much subtext in a title helps to strengthen the message of a page.

Marie: Speaking of dates, how does one not love the date 1.1.11? and to have a baby born on that date? Well, that is pretty special. As a design tip, study Marie's choice of placement for her photos. When you are creating mosaics, make sure you don't have lopped off limbs leading into other limbs, and other such follies. Keep moving things around until they look right. You will know it when you see it.

Donna: I love the celebration of the everyday in Donna's layout. When I saw this, I wanted to run around my whole house and snap photos of all the clutter piles. And then I realized I didn't have hard space enough to record them all!! Teasing. Though I am not teasing about how much you will look back on photos like these and love how transported you will feel into times' past. Please remember to add these pictures to your list!

Celeste: Do you have a lazy day at your house? Or perhaps you have a day that has a regular routine? Have you captured it? Your photos don't need to be display worthy, remember you just want them to remind you of these days that are passing us by. If you do go on a photo field trip, perhaps keep your camera the same angle (up or sideways) for all the pictures as a means of linear bliss.

Keshet: I remember when Nigel was little and I wanted a photo to tell the whole story. And I couldn't figure out how. Well, silly, just add a blackboard! This is such a clever idea. If you check our Pinterest board you will see other examples of blackboards being put to good use, too.

Emily: Favorite part of this layout? The armchairs. Don't they just tell us a little bit about the story? Do you try to reach for embellishments that are purposeful? Don't you find when you do that you love them on your page? Me, too.

Marnie: This silly layout could have not been done and my children's lives would have been perfectly represented. But this page represents my love of learning and my efforts to continue to learn and grow and become every day better at something. And that is a page worth having.

 

The theme this month, Today, offered much inspiration for journaling, and photography, and our gallery was ripe with inspirational design. I took the challenge to document my right now with a new kid photo, stretched the journaling theme of everyday messes to include a messy photo, and added in one of the pieces of the printables page. Putting it all together, I came up with this. My new favorite layout.

I hope you felt inspired to make a new favorite as well!

We {heart} Adults

Happy Friday! I'm back for one more day to talk a bit more about scrapbooking the adults in your life.

Isn't that a great photo of my hubby and me? We had them taken this autumn, along with some of our whole family. It had been a long time since we had any photos taken of just the two of us - three kids will do that to you! So as I thought about including more "adult" layouts to my albums, I got right to work:

I collected a handful of photos that span the fifteen years we have been together, and made this double-pager. I was in a Valentine mood when I put it together. Here's a close-up photo:

How about some more "lovely" layouts?

Here's a nice, clean layout from Lisa. I love her use of white space that puts the focus on her sweet photo.

 

Here's a great one from Celeste:

I totally agree with her that it is the friendship that carries us through the rough spots in any relationship. Love this journaling!

 

Christa tells the story of how she fell in love on this fun page. What's your story?

 

How about the relationships you have with other adults in your life? Who do you hang out with? Who have you met through your hobbies, your work, your adventures? I was thinking about this when I ran across photos of my Ragnar Relay team from last spring. If you have never spent two days in a van with five other runners, you are missing out on one of life's great adventures. We ran, we ate, we laughed, and we pretended to sleep. It was a crazy weekend! Here's the layout:

And yes, I even talked my hubby into running on my team! He says we are retired...we'll see!

 

Here are a few more layouts about friends, loves, and cherished adults in our lives:

I'm not sure what "Ninja Palooza" is, but I want to go! We'll have to ask Celeste if we can join her.

 

And if you read the journaling on this page from Christa about her amazing mother-in-law, I know you will want to meet both of them:

 

This one is a bit of a cheat, because it does have some kids in the photos, but it features two families we are close to in our neighborhood. We all went on a trip together last summer, and it was a nice change to have other adults to hang out with on a family vacation!



Now it's your turn! Get to work creating some pages and layouts that are a bit more "adult!" I have to share just one more before I go, because I love the photo on it. My pop has always had a great eye for photography, and he snapped this of my mom and me when I was just a baby.

I've had a great week - thanks for all your comments! Have a fabulous creative weekend!

and the giveaway goes to . . .

Thank you, Kelly, for helping inspire us to not forget about the big people in our lives! Look like we all have someone(s) who need a bit more stage-time!

Aliza, please send us an email to writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com to claim your lucky number!

Thank you!