Write. Click. Scrapbook.

CHA Armchair Attendee Week: Write. Click. Scrapbook. Team Members' "Must Haves"

Welcome to the last day of CHA Armchair Attendee Week! I hope you've enjoyed our week this week - I had a lot of fun checking out all of the sneak peeks, pics and video from the CHA show floor, and sorting through all of that to find the key trends I shared earlier this week.

For today's post, I (Vivian) asked Write. Click. Scrapbook. team members to tell me what their top "must have" is from this set of CHA releases. The only parameter I set was that they had to choose a product from a manufacturer whose design team they are not on. Some team members had an easy time doing this and were able to instantly name a favorite. Others took some time to think it over. Some of us had a really hard time and listed more than one product since our top "must have" was, in fact, a tie amongst several "must haves." Some are still thinking about it. Some lines were pretty popular amongst the team, as you will see below.

Without further ado, here, in alphabetical order by team members' last names, are our "must have" products:

Francine Clouden: Studio Calico Abroad Thickers and Alpha Stickers

Paula Gilarde: Crate Paper Storyteller Collection (especially the chipboard)

Donna Januzzi: Simple Stories Documented Mix & Match 6" X 8" Album

Vivian Masket: Dear Lizzy Neapolitan Date Stamp and Echo Park This & That Charming Collection

Lisa Ottosson: Pink Paislee Prairie Hill Collection (12 x 12 papers)

Christa Paustenbaugh: Crate Paper Storyteller Collection and Dear Lizzy Neapolitan Collection

  
Diane Payne: American Crafts Amy Tangerine Sketchbook Collection, in particular, the Remarks Pigment Stickers (the set at the far right)

Katrina Simeck: Lily Bee Double Dutch Collection

Celeste Smith: Studio Calico Abroad Collection (the papers, in particular)

Amy Sorensen: Bella Blvd Sopisticates Collection High Five Alphas

Emily Spahn: Heidi Swapp Instaframes and Bella Blvd Designer Tape

Keshet Starr: October Afternoon 9 to 5 Collection and Studio Calico Take Note Collection

Erin Sweeney: Studio Calico Classic Calico Vol 2 (especially the chevron mask and the washi tape) and Take Note Collections and the Crate Paper Storyteller Collection

 

Feel free to share your "must haves" in the comments below - we want to know what's caught your eye, particularly if we've missed seeing it!

I hope you've enjoyed CHA Armchair Attendee Week here at Write. Click. Scrapbook. this week! I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait until some of this new product hits stores!

CHA Armchair Attendee Week: Trends, Part III

Vivian here, welcoming you to Part III of the CHA trends report. Today we're going to take a closer look at trends in the types of products offered. (If you missed Monday's and Tuesday's posts, Monday's focus was on pattern and motif trends, and Tuesday's focus was on theme trends.) A reminder that I'm not aiming to be comprehensive in these posts; instead, I've chosen to comment on a few big trends to give you a taste of what's being released at this show. Today I'm going to focus on just two trends.

Our first product trend is one that I thought had already reached its apex, but I have clearly been proven wrong. Banners, flags, pennants, and garlands are everywhere! As I've done the last two days, I am going to share with you where I'm seeing the unique takes on this popular trend.

First up is Epiphany Crafts' Pennant Shape Studio Tool, which creates epoxy pennant shapes (click here to see a video of it in action):

Bella Blvd's new flag embellishments, which come in a huge variety of themes, are another fun take on this trend:

If you are interested in decorating your own flags, Maya Road's Kraft Flag Pins offer a great blank canvas option:

Another twist on this trend is the ready-to-go garland, like these two from the American Crafts Dear Lizzy Neapolitan line:

 

One more for this trend that I feel compelled to share...pennant buttons from the My Mind's Eye Follow Your Heart collections (look at the bottom row of buttons in each set):

On to the second trend for today: washi tape. Wow. There's a lot of it out there. A lot.

Let's start with Queen & Co's six different sets of Trendy Tape, which I feel safe in saying offers something for everyone:

Aly sent me a photo showing the fun way these tapes were displayed in the Queen & Co booth:

Bella Blvd's Designer Tape comes in two different widths:

Crate Paper is offering Decorative Tape as part of both its Storyteller and Pretty Party lines:

October Afternoon is also offering washi tape, like these tapes that are part of the 9 to 5 collection:

I could go on and on here, as there's lots more washi tape out there, but hopefully the images above give you a good sense of the variety of tape that's being released at this show.

What do you think of these product trends? What other product trends are you noticing? Leave a comment and let us know.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for our weekly give.away.day. I'll be back with you on Friday to share write. click. scrapbook. team members' "must haves" from the CHA show.

CHA Armchair Attendee Week: Trends, Part II

Ready for more trends today? Vivian here with the second installment of CHA Armchair Attendee Week. Today we're going to be taking a look at trends in product themes. (Yesterday's post provided an introduction and included Trends, Part I, with a focus on patterns and motifs, so you might want to start there if you missed it.)

There are some pretty consistent trends that happen, with spring, summer, and travel lines typically released at the winter show in anticipation of the upcoming months, and winter, holiday, and Valentine's collections released at the summer show for the same reason, but there are always new ideas and twists on old ideas. A reminder that I am not trying to be comprehensive in my armchair attendance this week, but am trying to give you a taste of some of the things that have caught my eye, or the eye of Write.Click.Scrapbook. team members on the show floor.

Speaking of team members, look at how much fun Donna and Marnie are having at the show!

Marnie continued to have even more fun, along with Aly, when they confirmed yesterday's rumor and met Tori Spelling, who released a DIY jewelry line with Darice:

One theme trend I noticed that Marnie and Aly confirmed from the show floor (once they'd gotten over the excitement of having met Tori, of course!): office-themed products and collections. There are so many different takes on this - I'll share some favorites.

I instantly fell in love with these clean and colorful Index Journaling Cards from Lily Bee's Handmade Collection:

October Afternoon's 9 to 5 collection features a retro office vibe and lots of fun office supply images:

This next line is not as traditionally office-y, but I don't quite know what else to call it. I think I'm going to coin a new term: office eclectic. It's the This & That Charming Collection from Echo Park which combines receipts, rulers, fans, cameras, globes, ledger paper, numbers and many, many other patterns and motifs:

Last up in the office theme category are the Paper Clips from Studio Calico's Take Note line. Note the description on the package - these are paper clips with fabric. I think this is most definitely a new take on the office theme!

Another trend that seems to have exploded this year is the travel theme. There have typically been a few travel lines released, but there are so many more than usual this year, and there are a ton of really unique twists. I'm going to focus on those twists in the examples here.

Bazzill Basics Paper, typically known for cardstock, has been slowly making its way into the world of patterned paper. One of their new releases is the Wayfarer line, which I'm highlighting because of the chevron-print paper with map-print chevron stripes:

Studio Calico's Abroad line provides another interesting take on the travel theme. There's a lot that's unique with this line, but what I found most unique were the U.S. states wood veneer shapes and die cut shapes:

Another fun twist on the travel theme is this pattern-within-a-pattern (again, the quilt trend I mentioned yesterday) airplane paper from Glitz Design's Happy Travels line:

I'll share one more twist on travel, Basic Grey's What's Up line. I love the unusual color palette here and the fun hot air balloons (trust me, I'm not showing you more examples of this, but the hot air balloon is a trend-within-a-trend this year - they are popping up everywhere!):

Let's move on to our last theme trend: East-Asian-inspired.Think paper lanterns, cherry blossoms, koi, etc.

First up is My Little Shoebox's Aiko line. The sticker sheet image below shows several of the colorful motifs included throughout the line:

Next up is Bo Bunny's Serenity line, which includes many of the same motifs seen in the My Little Shoebox Aiko line (above) but adds others, including characters and symbols:

A final take on the East-Asian-inspired theme trend is Basic Grey's Konnichiwa collection, which features gorgeous colors:

So, what do you think of these theme trends? Do you have a favorite? Are you noticing other theme trends that you want to share with our readers in the comments below?

I'll be back tomorrow for Trends, Part III, where we'll take a look at trends in the types of products being released at CHA this week.

Happy armchair attending!

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.

CHA Chicago July 2011

Hi! It's Marnie. In lieu of today's Sunday Photo & Words, I have prepared for you a summary of the things that caught my eye while I was in Chicago this past week at the Craft & Hobby Show.

 
As a little background, CHA is held in July, most often in Chicago. The manufacturers bring their new releases so that the stores can send their buyers to place orders for product for the next 6 months. With the decline in the industry and the increases in digital abilities, the show is smaller than it once was, but still remains a fantastic place to see what is coming. And to build relationship and reconnect with industry peers.

 

Overall, the show was a tremendous success. Every company, without exception, with whom I spoke was pleased to have attended and pleased with the purchasing. This is good for us, as consumers, as it means that those companies that remain standing should be here another year, and that the scrapbooking industry has found its foothold in this new economy.

 

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TRENDS

The first time I went to a show, as I tried to watch for trends, I realized that I was too giddy from all the product to notice anything but the speed of my heartbeat and the saliva drooling down my chin. Silly, huh? But to this day, it still happens, so now I go slow and don't try to notice trends as much as I let them reveal themselves to me.

 

Overall Trends

Generally, I noticed that most brands have clearly established their identities and their new products were true to our sense of their brands. No one tried to be anyone else, and no one tried to step too far outside their zone. I do not mean to say that there is nothing fun coming, not at all! Rather, that everyone produced a message consistent with their history and purpose. For example, Jillibean, Bella Blvd, October Afternoon, and Doodlebug remained true to their color palettes. Imaginisce, Jenni Bowlin, Studio Calico and Webster's Pages held true to their design aesthetic. American Crafts and Maya Road offered up patterns and items that we have come to love and appreciate (and maybe even expect?! teehee!) from each of them.

Repeating Elements

As for repeating elements, there were rulers, cameos/silhouettes, and carnival monograms in full supply. I tried to photograph them as I saw them. Banners are still plentiful as are owls, penguins, and twine. Misting is steadily growing. Tool advances were best seen, again, in the punches.

 

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EXHIBITORS

IMAGINISCE

Having established themselves as a veritable tool maker, Imaginisce wins again with a new giant i-top,  colored foam tape, little snippers, and a rotating punch that reminds me of a leather punch. (But pink, of course!)

They have four new lines: a school line, a fall line, a grown up travel line, and a Christmas line. All produced with the colors, icons, and whimsy that we know and love from Imaginisce. Just look that little Christmas tree person. So sweet. Just like I want from my Imaginisce.

 

 

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CONNIE CRYSTAL

was up next. And while not a scrapbook site, there was no way to not admire the creativity here.

and Cinderella has definitely misplaced this shoe!

 

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TONIC STUDIOS

Even though not new, the petal punches deserve a call out for their ingenuity. Advances in punches are still arriving. Petal punches layer:

 

And these punches make fancy cuts and trims.

It's always interesting to me to see how dimension sneaks into punches. And to see how far punches have come.

 

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NIKKI SIVILS

 

Nikki's new lines include germs, monsters, and school schtuff. (If you look closely you will see new Unity stamps and also some awesome burlap buttons!!)

 

One of my favorite things about coming to the show is seeing how well the design teams showcase the products. Like this monster killing spray bottle, and this tipped acrylic photo frame made into teacher's gift.

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BELLA BOULEVARD

Bella was busy! They have such a way with patterns, color, and embellishments. After taking a year off, they are back with a Christmas line again.

The colors are great and include unexpected by well placed bits of yellow. They also have cardstock alphies but numbers (numberies?). A brilliant strategy for those who like to make December dailies, with loads of 0s, 1s, and 2s.

Bella also has new Unity stamps to coordinate with each of their lines. They were only one of several companies to have outsourced their stamps to Unity.

Their fall line maintains last year's color scheme which seems brilliant to me. It allows the two lines to intermingle, as well as allowing to create new home decor projects that will coordinate perfectly with those from last year.

 

Also new is a sports line which might very well be the most understated sports line ever made. I love it. So very smart. And this layout took my breath away.

 

The Halloween line wins twice with sweet little ghoulies and clouds with lightning bolts. Love love love this paper line.

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JILLIBEAN SOUP

This year, like every year, the Jillibean booth was hopping! And for good reason! Great colors, great patterns, and some fun new features.

Jill reformatted the letter sticker page, so that it now includes the mini alphas as well as the large.

The fall line rocks a perfect color palette, yummy buttons, and the most adorable gnome you could imagine.

As part of the Christmas line, while Jill worked on a penguin, her daughter, sitting across the table worked on a penguin family. Guess whose penguins made it onto the paper?

Proof that creativity must be genetic! :)

 

For other new products, Jillibean has new twine colors, new labels,

and a great new sewing line.

And one paper has carnival monograms, something we saw in quite a few booths this year.

 

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 LOVE MY TAPES

We all love tape these days. But how about some lace tape? Genius. Want some. Might even be a need.

 

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COSMO CRICKET

Cosmo showcased three lines this show with the colors that we love them for.

The butterflies in the Clementine are delicious; I liked the stark black additions to the Christmas line;  and the dreamy pastel brights of Odds and Ends are interestingly juxtaposed against the green apple.

 

I missed getting a shot of the new big glubers. Fun stuff. And the picture is too small to properly show the new Tiny Text sheets. They remind me of the old text sheets from Making Memories. And I can't remember where, but I did see them at a couple of other booths as well.

 

Notice their carnival monograms. Trend trend trend.

 

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 FELT!

Again, not a scrapbooking company, but their rolled little felt balls are amazing.

Look at what they do with them. Delightful!

And look how cute Paula and Emily are as they do their make and take!!

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MAYA ROAD

I spy Karen!!

Oooh, her projects are even more lovely in real life. I wish you could be here with me to see them.

 

Maya Road is filled with new stuff. Some giant woolly blooms

and many others that were much smaller. Of those, my favorite was the velvet resin flowers (which will absorb mist!!)(Sorry for the blurry photo.)

More of the quiet but firm trend, rulers...

 
And the trims. Oooh, the trims... 

 

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SRM STICKERS

Susan, owner and genius behind SRM is kind, sweet, and incredibly devoted to her product. Their stickers are nearly invisible making them perfect additions for any projects. And coming up for next year are mini calendars

and new additions to their cardmaking sheets. Would you like to see another blog swap? hmm....

 

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AUTHENTIQUE

This company is new but the founders are anything but. Longtime industry biggies who have just sat out a non-compete clause, Authentique burst onto the market with six lines. Four are color based (yellow, blue, pink, and multi-colored), and two holiday lines (Halloween and Christmas). Something unique to this line is a bi-fold paper.

When we asked about it, they explained that every line needs good foundation papers, but they are sort of boring to see on the shelf so they put all four foundation papers into one sheet, freeing up shelf space and letting the patterns take center stage. Clever!

 

And speaking of clever, all the little bits have a patterned backside. Ooh, perfect for our mini albums.

And I might have spied more rulers...

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SIMPLE STORIES

A new'ish company, their booth was giant and their releases huge! Stepping in to the kraft/weathered/vintage market, they will certainly fill a niche. And the owners were so nice. So very very nice.

Oh, and do I spy a ruler?

 

I might have been so beguiled by this next one that I forgot to take more pictures! But we will make up for it in with the August giveaway calendar... ::wink wink::

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LILYBEE

 

Lilybee has tremendous new product coming. The colors are scrumptious.

 

They have included mini paper pads (as do many companies this year, come to think of it...)

But my favorite new Lilybee item? This full page alphas sticker sheet, that will retail for just $4.99.

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CRAFTER'S WORKSHOP

The Crafter's Workshop sells stencils. And to help you understand how fun they are, they set up a whole table of creative mediums, a stack of tags, and instructions by Julie Balzar. A very very good idea for helping us realize the benefit and versatility of stencils.

And a great excuse to get our hands dirty. Literally.

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MY MIND'S EYE

Such love. Always such love. Two Christmas lines, one Halloween. New Lost and Found.

Glitter accents on the paper that don't fall off. And, what is that we see? More rulers?

 

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AMERICAN CRAFTS

Oh how we adore thee. There was terrific buzz around Amy Tan's new line. We couldn't be more excited for her. The colors are current without being too trendy, and the textures are amazing. Fabric, tapes, buttons, and funky paperclips are just part of the fun. And did we mention fabric Thickers?

One of not-just-our favorites was her mini album--an eclectic gathering of papers and tags, with a stitched binding. So very Amy, so very fun. And a great price at $7.99.

 

A very traditional Christmas line with candy cane stripes on the Thickers, tinsel in the trims, and elves to help Santa.

 

Daydreams is classic American Crafts. Again, a company staying very true to their brand.

 

A Fall-oween line with a new vanilla background paper, very thin puffy Thickers, and blackboard labels and paper. Curious and cool.

 

Garden Cafe, a fall'ish line with houses and embellies like fanned flowers, and cafe foods. (Notice the small patterns of paper creeping onto the embellies?)

 

A cutting mat that is not only thick but boasts white lines on one side, black on the other.

 

A new trimmer that seems safe. (But will it be straight?? Jury hopes so...)

 

Knockout punches are shipping soon.

 

Their first stint into the assorted pen package.

(With a retail value of $19.99--woohoo!)

 

And a value pack of cardstock (100 sheets!!) for $19.99. Did I just hear you shout woohoo? Thought so.

 

Glittery ribbon, tinsel-y ribbon.

 

And lastly, microbeads are seeing their comeback. Whodathunkit?

All in all, a really strong showing for American Crafts. Such a stable industry powerhouse. And the nicest family.

 

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PEBBLES

 

Still flourishing under the American Crafts umbrella, Pebbles has expanded their immensely popular baby line with new papers and embellishments.

 

They also have a new line boasting subdued primary hues. (Happily, this color scheme was noticeably present in more than a few booths.)

 

The Pebbles' Christmas line is also very traditional in color and pattern.

We are so glad that AC scooped up Pebbles so that Brenda could continue creating such fun products.

 

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OCTOBER AFTERNOON

First, I must confess that October Afternoon makes some of my favorite paper lines. So I went in looking for love. And was not disappointed.

Sasparilla is filled with iconic and cartoon images. Not usually combined in the same line, it somehow works. The colors are vintage OA hues with some uncharacteristic, but not unpleasing, larger scale images of wood and denim.

A cartoon page was very eye catching, as was the clouds paper. Oh, clouds, how I love thee. (You may also notice a variation on the carnival monogram theme. Trend alert!)

 

Each new line comes complete with a shaped mini album, trim, buttons, and flair.

 

Sasparilla also includes toothpicks and flags. So cute!! but not as cute as my girl singing cowboy poetry at the campfire...

 

Boarding pass is their new travel line. But before I saw the papers I saw Marcy!

Or at least Marcy's son's feet! The album for this line is a camera. Which reminds me of an old KI Elsie camera album. (Not a bad thing.)

 

Farmhouse is so perfectly me that I turned to Kim, the owner and designer, and begged her to come a decorate my house. In those exact colors. Sigh...

And how could one not fall in love with eyelet lace trim and an armoire mini?

Hey, look! It's more rulers! and monograms.

and my perfect paper.

 

Sidewalk. Another tdf line for me. (Sorry. I try to be thoughtful of your needs, too, but I have such a hard time looking past my own pleasures in this booth...)

More Marcy - oooh, Sidewalk + Marcy = TLF.

And this mini album is a conversation bubble, and the trim has twine. I am weak in the knees.

And now back to regularly scheduled programming wherein Marnie regains a little drool control...

 

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CANVAS HOME BASICS

This booth was huge and a sight to behold. Everywhere you looked there was something fun to see.

The trinkets were stellar with wooden and painted (black mostly) clothespins of all sizes, spools, packaging, boxes, etc etc etc. It went on and on. Delightfully. But in great measure. Think of it as the Martha Stewart decorating line in rough farmhouse style.

One thing that caught my eye were frames wrapped in burlap and denim.

And they had paper for babies, and the holidays. Logical pairings for packaging and celebration.

But to me the greatest thing is still their canvas bits.

 

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GLITZ

Glitz released three lines with colors and textures true to their unique style.

Winking at us were more silhouettes and carnival monograms. (no rulers this time, though!!)

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MY LITTLE SHOEBOX

MLS has five new lines!! (Somehow I missed getting photo of their Halloween line.)

Each has five double-sided patterned papers, one diecut paper, one sheet of tags/journaling squares, two full size alphas (with sealed in  glitter!), three mini-alphies, a sticker sheet, AND newly added, Unity stamps, a coordinating diecut die, and a sheet with punch out roll up flowers. Whew!

With papers with kites, darling little girls, flowers large enough for fussy cutting, and vespas, there is something for everyone to love. And Helen and Erin are not only talented but extremely kind and lovely. Such a lovely company.

 

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EK SUCCESS

Every year, Tara from New Jersey gives me my EK tour. But sadly, this year, there was no Tara from Jersey. Another lovely salesrep showed me around the booth. She was helpful but I was disappointed to not hear Tara from Jersey's lovely accent.

On to more important things...

First, up, new punches. There are now punches that pull all the way apart so you can punch in the very middle of the page, if you would like.

There are also punches that make garlands. The shapes are two sizes and work together to create a line of punched shapes. Think hanging monkey lines. Pretty cool. (And the last show had spiders. How fun would that be?)

And lastly, there are fancy, detailed punches.

 

Martha's party line has expanded. So many do it yourself items from decor to food packaging to invitations. It's all there.

 

The Smash Box line has a few new items, but many more items are scheduled to preview in January!!

 

In their do-it-yourself-accessories line, there are new pre-assembled items, component parts awaiting your creative assembly, and a new line by Jule Comstock, owner of Cosmo Cricket.

There were also new stamps, new stickers, and some cool cross-stitch kits. Oh, if only there were more hours in the day.

 

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WEBSTER'S PAGES

Webster's pages debuted four new lines. The party line had a very lovely color scheme. The hues on the pastel brights were perfectly comprised of lights and brights.

There was a traditional Christmas, and one for people with no snow. Unique. Smart.

And a western theme. With hanging petticoats.

And every new line has feathered flowers, and a plastic mini cd holder filled with journaling papers and cards.

Rulers, anyone?

Cameo pin toppers, thin (hooray!) crocheted embellies, and trims. Bestill my beribboned heart.

Did you happen to notice the raw edged lace?

Sigh... pure love.

All so we can make lovelies like this one.

And lastly, Webster's has created a new program called NovelTree, for printing photo books. (You know how very very happy this one makes me!) With thick matte pages and a cover with a gorgeous matte finish, the pages lay perfectly flat and had beautiful designs. Hopefully there will be more on this soon. 

 

...............................................................

 

JENNI BOWLIN

The new Jenni Bowlin includes an addition to their original red and black line. With pen nibs as the graphic anchor to the line, it is sure to please JBS fans.

She has a new cigar box out. Ooh, the possibilities...

And stamps that scream out, I belong to Jenni!

Oooh, what's this? A ruler? :)

And a booth filled with vintage loveliness and whimsical treasures.

 

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FISKARS

was not at this show, but they did have two Fiskateers browsing in paper dresses with new Fiskars paper. And someone to help sew them in and out of their dresses (hopefully potty breaks were minimal... :) ). That's dedication.

 

...............................................................

 

DOODLEBUG

The only surprise in that Doodlebug won the booth award is that it hadn't happened before. Each year the booth is a visual wonder: colorful, balanced, amazingly well-merchandised, and in every way set up to help you fall in love with their product.

With five new lines, Doodlebug holds true to their roots, with sweet images, whimsical delights. and all sorts of ways to help you make cards and quicker albums.

Debuting their own twine, it is not only very reasonably priced, but the holiday twines are actually three color. And did I mention the twine alphabet stickers?

This year they added dimensional elements to add to their cards. Such magic and only $1.49. Woohoo!

And their albums and page protectors have some great features like 6x12 inserts. Fun!

Congrats to Tonya, Cynthea and team. We are so thrilled for you!! And thank you for an elf with glasses! she was my fave...

Oooh, and in other very exciting Doodlebug news, Riley Blake fabric will be creating a line of Doodlebug fabric, due out in November. And there will be oilcloth! I can't wait!

 

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PINK PAISLEE

Hello Karen!!! Oh, how I do love your layouts!!

Remember how last year, Pink Paislee showed off their new paper with a resist that meant you could do all sorts of cool things with it? And remember how it didn't really resonate with me? and maybe not with you either? Oh, no! We were so misguided. It is awesome. Check out these tags and bits.

Many of them are misted resist paper. Oh, I think I have fallen in love with a new technique and product. So can't wait to try more.

And look at the new lines.

Pink Paislee always does Halloween so well. So very well. (Oh, and did you notice the silhouette? trendy trendy... :) )

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CRATE PAPER

How much fun is it to just have hanging papers floating all aournd you?

While Crate Paper scaled down its booth, there was nothing scaled down about the team examples--they were amazing. With three new lines, Farmhouse, Random (how awesome is that name?) and Peppermint, Crate will surely maintain their share of consumer love.

Can you see the little bits of yellow in the Christmas line? (does two sightings make a minitrend?)

Mini paper pads and cool trinkets for every line. Can't wait to get some.

And again, some rulers...

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STUDIO CALICO

Studio Calico released three lines. They are easily my favorite SC lines ever,

though Calico Classics is my favorite of the favorites. Those colors. Mmm, good.

 

I have a not-so-mini crush on the new mini albums.

 

And the new mini paper pads!

 

April and her team always do such a terrific job with their booth and samples. And getting to see Kelly P in the booth was the cherry on top! She is simply adorable. And so, so, so very talented.

 

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So that's it. There were many many many more booths, but never enough time. We found some great items for giveaways and some new understanding of how important it is to know how to use products!! As with each each, we tried to help spread the news of our site, so that we can stick around and help provide you with amazing content.

We are looking forward to a terrific autumn and holiday season of amazing new products and techniques!

give.away.day. CHA STYLE!

 
There's me again with another one of our colletive members, Keshet Starr at the Doodlebug Design booth.  So glad she's part of our team. =)  Have you liked what you've seen so far this week?  Are you anxious to see some of these products hit the stores?  Well, guess what?  You may not have to wait, because we have in our hot little hands some of the brand-spankin'-new, hot-off-the-presses, not-available-in-stores-yet products to give away to you, our loyal write.click.scrapbook. readers today. 

Let's start off with Creative Options.  We have one Double-Sided Craft N Go storage container.  Perfect for storing buttons, brads, and other small embellishments or stickers.  Plus, if you like to attend crops, all you have to do is grab your Craft N Go by the handle and bring it with you!

 

Next we have, from Echo Park Paper Co., the For The Record line.  This collection kit includes 12 12x12 double-sided patterned papers (including borders and noteworthy cards), plus one alpha sticker sheet, and one elements sticker sheet.  (One of my personal faves from the show.)

Nikki Sivils, Scrapbooker released 6 adorable new lines this winter.  And she has generously donated not one, not two, but FIVE of them to give away to you today!  Each prize pack contains one die cut patterned paper, five double-sided patterned papers, and one cardstock sticker sheet including alphas and die cut stickers.  The lines included in our giveaway today are: It's Raining, It's Pouring (rainy day/spring theme), Max & Mollie (inspired by twin "stinkers", great for family/friend themes or generic pages as well), It's Your Day (birthday/celebration line), Summer (are you ready for the warm weather yet?), and Beatrice (adorable late summer/early fall line with cute critters and trees).

 

If you'd like to be considered for one of these giveaways, please leave a comment before 8:00 pm PST  tonight telling us what you like most from the new releases you've seen so far.  Lucky numbers will be drawn at random and posted tomorrow morning. Please remember it is your responsibility to claim your lucky number by emailing your full name and address to us at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com before midnight Saturday!

The products - our picks

What would a report about CHA be if we didn't mention product. We’re going to wrap up our week of posting with out top 5 picks from the show. Here’s Paula's list in no particular order:

Bo Bunny’s Whoo-ligans. How cute is that name for Halloween papers? I really liked the cute patterns but what appealed to me even more is that only one side was theme-related – the B sides had more geometric patterns and could be used for any theme. I also really liked that they introduced blue into a Halloween color palette. Such a fun line.

Bella Blvd’s One Fall Day. Loved the color palette here too – I especially love the teal. As in my previous pick – I could see myself using the geometric patterned b-sides a lot. 

Jillibean Soup’s Pasta Fagioli: I’ll admit that I have a bias here, because I got to play with this line before the show but the colors and patterns of this line are so versatile. The red script and hounds-tooth  are perfect for Christmas layouts and cards (speaking of which, I didn’t see any Christmas line that blew me away this year). Thanks to Summer Fullerton for the photo:

Studio Calico’s Documentary line – what’s not to love? Great colors, subtle patterns (map paper) – I am definitely going to use this for scrapping my summer travels this year. Thanks to Marnie for the photo:

Crate Paper: The Restoration line was very pretty, subtle patterns –beautiful stuff and the booth layouts were stunning. Snow Day was cute, cute, cute and my favorite Christmassy line at the show.

But wait, there’s more! I have to also mention American Crafts City Park and the KI memories Sew Happy papers. Maybe I should have gone with a top 10 list! I didn't even get to mention some of the cool tools that I saw, in particular WeR Memory Keepers Sew Easy. Even though it was a small show there was plenty there to keep me interested!

Emily: Paula covered most of my favorite lines (both of Studio Calico's showings, the Crate Restoration line, One Fall Day from Bella, and Jillibean Soup's Pasta Fagioli line), so I'll add some of the other things I fell in love with at the show:

The Jenni Bowlin mini school alphas: Give me a Jenni Bowlin alpha and I'm happy. Give me a mini Jenni Bowlin alpha and I'm giddy. Give me a whole bunch, and well, I'm over the moon. Talking to Jenni's husband Jared, he said he wasn't sure why they didn't do them earlier, the larger ones had been such a huge success. I can only say I'm just glad they did them.

KI Pockets and Sew-Cute Calendars: KI has returned to it's roots and I am thrilled. I started scrapping when they released their Grateful line. I loved the Grateful Stripe. When it was discontinued I bought the last 10 sheets my on-line store had. I still have 6 or 7 :) I loved KI. Then things changed up a bit and I struggled to love. But this new release, Over the Rainbow is awesome. I love it. But I really love the cute new pockets and the Sew-Cute calendar paper is fabulous. Best part? The other side looks just like the calendar side, sans calendar. VERY good idea.


These MM flowers are just happy.


You love punches? You're in trouble. EK Success has put out a bunch of new ones, the punched areas are about an inch in size, so dang cool. I love the scallop w/ the circle. My overflowing punch basket is in trouble.


My favorite paper of the entire show? Well it would be this one from the BG Wander line. It's called Metropolis and it's very whimsical. BG really hit it out of the park with the Wander line, I love some of the Jovial pieces as well. Go BG!


and my final pick ( I know, I went over...) but how cute are these pink felt flowers from Pebbles?


Like Paula said, the show was small, but over all the manufacturers really gave us some great things to drool over. Every time I go to a show I think they won't top themselves. 9 times out of 10, they do.

We hoped you enjoyed our reports from CHA. We're off to catch up on some sleep!

  and

We Are Kids in a Candy Store

There's a lot of fuss around the internet this time of year. People are all a-buzz about CHA (pronounced C.H.A, never cha) and you might be wondering what is CHA, and why should I care?

CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association - it's a craft industry trade association made up of both suppliers and buyers. CHA's members include manufacturers, publishers, wholesale distributors, service providers, retail stores, institutional buyers, professional crafters, designers, teacher/educators manufacturer representatives - note: these are all people related to the craft industry. CHA hosts a convention and trade show twice a year. The 2010 Summer show is being held this week in Rosemont, IL. There's two parts to the show - the trade show for CHA members (people involved in the industry) and the super show which is geared towards the general public. This is the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center where the show is this summer.

The convention and trade show has an education program as well as the manufacturer exhibition portion which is the part most people have heard about. The trade show is where manufacturers showcase their latest and greatest products. Buyers from retail stores and kit clubs can see the merchandise before they place orders, they can often do make and takes and bring home samples. Unfortunately, it's mostly for looking and you'll have to wait in order to bring product home with you.

We are Paula and Emily, or Emily and Paula, if you want to be in order of our pictures up there, and we are at the show this week and will be blogging from Chicago to give you an insider's view. We have our new video camera (hopefully we can figure out how to upload video...), and will be showing you different aspects of the show. We won't be covering specific products, more the gist of the show, so you feel like you're there. We arranged with some of the exhibitors to show you some of the booth set up - a little preview of what goes into putting on this show. Today the convention center is a crazy mess. The exhibitors are opening up crates and setting up displays. The floors are covered with cardboard and plastic wrap. There are fork lifts driving up and down the aisles. That's a little of what we'll show you tomorrow. Then Wednesday we'll show you the finished product. The transformation is truly amazing.

You might be wondering how we get into the trade show if it's not open to the public. Paula's going to be doing some reporting for The Scrap Review, she also works for Jillibean Soup and Coredinations Cardstock. Some manufacturers will use their designers to help out at the show. Some don't. It just depends. Emily is working for Studio Calico, doing make and takes to demonstrate some of their new products this show. She's also wearing her editor hat and looking for trends for Scrapbook and Cards Today.

So come with us as we spend the next four days in Chicago, kids in a candy store. We welcome any questions you might have for us to explore at the show.

and

Ten Notable Trends at CHA

As I fought off the sleepies at LAX yesterday while waiting for my plane to board, I started a list of things that really stuck in my mind from CHA. I'm convinced that it's impossible to see everything on the floor even if one has a strict schedule and route, but half the fun is building in some wandering time anyway. I like lists of ten, so I worked on my list until I had ten items on it and then I took a little nap. I'm not too proud to sleep in public. : )

Without further delay, here is my list.

1. Hello, Pennant Banners. 

I love pennant banners, so it was especially serendipitous that I saw approximately 8 billion of them at the show. OK, OK, so maybe not that many, but it was exciting all the same.

 

October Afternoon, Making Memories, The Girls' Paperie, American Crafts, AdornIt, Jenni Bowlin, Studio Calico, Canvas Home Basics, Maya Road, Karen Foster, We R Memory Keepers

This is just a sampling. Is there a meeting where everyone gets together and decides this kind of thing?

2. Ohayo Gozaimasu, Nihon. (Read: Good morning, Japan.)

Japanese cute has reached the CHA floor. Are you familiar with the zakka movement? Part of its charm can be found in things that are two parts cute and one part kitsch. A good example of what I'm talking about can be found in the book Cute Stuff by Aranzi Aronzo. Or, in some of these photos.

K & Company, Doodlbug, October Afternoon, Little Yellow Bicycle, We R Memory Makers, EK Success

3. Tools, Reinvented.

The show had a back-to-basics feel to me in a lot of ways, but not in a boring, humdrum kind of way. More in a "what can we do to stretch the functionality of x product or make it more exciting again" kind of way. One such example we found of this? The many new punches offered by EK Success. Just when you thought you'd figured out all the ways to punch paper, they've figured out some more.

This doesn't really do a good job representing how many punches were on this wall, but it gives you an idea. All the miniature lanterns are made out of punched paper.

4. Tools, Improved. 

Another trend we noticed was to take existing tools and make them better. (Well, maybe this isn't really a trend as much as normal business practice. But you know what I meant.) The most noticeable example of this was the new and improved hands free Slice cutting system by Making Memories.

I don't personally own a cutting system, though I have to say I was awfully jealous when Marnie WON one. I might have to get one, too, one of these days. The Slice does some really cool things:

This giant mobile was made with a Slice. I have visions of someone at Making Memories being chained to a desk while they sliced all these butterflies. I have a very active imagination. : )

5. Fabric For All

A number of scrapbooking companies (Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket are the first to come to mind) are turning their delightful patterned papers into licensed fabric lines these days. We saw evidence that this isn't the only crossover on the horizon between the worlds of People Who Use Paper and People Who Use Fabric. Fabric was everywhere we looked—and we liked it.

Little Yellow Bicycle, My Mind's Eye, K & Company, Canvas Home Basics, Claudine Hellmuth's adorable sticky-back canvas purse, American Crafts

6. The Influence of Etsy

There were a few instances where I had the glorious feeling that if I closed my eyes for a minute and opened them up again, I'd be standing inside an Etsy shop. Companies are paying attention to the handmade movement and bringing elements of it to the scrapbooking world. EK Success seems to have really tapped into this phenomena (doesn't hurt to have Martha on your team) but there were other places that are seamlessly bridging the two worlds.

EK Success, Pebbles, and more EK Success. 

7. Staying Home

If I hear one more person start a sentence with "In the current economy" my head might explode. But in this instance, there's only one way to say it: In the current economy, people are staying home more. I saw a handful of travel lines (Making Memories always does this well) but there were far more new products devoted to or inspired by the time we spend at home. Interesting to see how current events shows up in chipboard and stickers.

Cosmo Cricket, Little Yellow Bicycle, a laundry decor sign from AdornIt Carolee's Creations (Marnie is trying to look stern about the laundry rules, not mad that I was taking her picture), EK Success, and a little more AdornIt.

8. Made in the U.S.A.

This was completely an after-the-fact observation, but I had three very interesting conversations with people about how their companies manufacture their products in the U.S. I don't know if this is a trend or not, but it was fun to learn more.

I had a great time chatting with company co-owner Ewunike Jackson and design team member Simone Pursiful of Clear & Simple Stamps. Their stamps are manufactured in the U.S. out of clear photopolymer, and they offer a huge product line. They're a relatively new and small company, but definitely one to watch. Another made-in-the-U.S.A. outfit is AdornIt Carolee's Creations; that's me with my fellow Big Picture Scrapbooking teacher Georgana Hall, the president of the company. It's a family operation—even Georgana's dad is involved; he cut the beautiful metal scrollwork that graced their booth. Finally, I learned from Studio Calico co-owner Greg Foster that their new lines of paper are printed down the road from their office. 

9. Haiti's Presence

It was heartening to see people wearing Craft Hope for Haiti logos on their nametags and lapels, and even more so when we learned that Lark Books is currently editing a book about the organization Craft Hope and was able to rush a chapter about the efforts to help Haiti through their special Etsy store (which, by the way, has raised over $27,000 since the earthquake to donate to Doctors Without Borders). 

We had a wonderful conversation with Nicole from Lark Books, who told us more about the book and showed us a preview (it will be out in August). 

We also spotted a sign at the booth of My Little Shoebox that pledged a donation of every order placed at CHA. Every little bit helps!

10. Friendly Faces and Friendly Atmosphere

Tina, Marnie and I really noticed a friendly atmosphere present at the show this year. Scrapbooking—and hobbies in general—have been shaken up a bit in the past year or two, but we saw example after example of good, solid customer service and old-fashioned friendliness. The people who love scrapbooking and aren't in it just for the money (though of course the money is important, too) are landing on their feet with a thousand ideas of how to continue introducing innovation and injecting creativity into everything they offer. That's the best trend of all, don't you think?

Stay tuned tomorrow for Marnie's wrap-up! Thanks for reading this week.

CHA Eye Candy, Day Three

Hello again from Anaheim! Today is day three and our last day here.  We've had a very busy and productive three days - talking with manufacturers and seeing many friends.  It's always a very full day and we're exhausted, but also very satisfied that we've done what we came to do. 

So, without further ado, below are our ten favorites from today. Sort of like a Ten on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, and maybe more like 11 or 12:

 

We loved these birds cut from patterned paper in the EK Success booth. We've noticed that so many booths have displayed projects and ideas that are do-able and cute and very Etsy-esque. 

And they are releasing a new line of decorating paper sheets for lining drawers or tea trays or shelves. Very vintage-y and a great way to add color to a room.

We had a great time talking with Layle Koncar at Basic Grey and catching glimpses of Kelly Goree doing her make-and-take magic. We loved the Basics line at Basic Grey:

 

Lovely neutral-ish papers in white, cream and kraft. Love the lines and graphs! And this was Elizabeth's favorite paper from today from BG's new Green at Heart line:

 

Doodlebug is one of my favorite companies (my obsession with their Frills is still very strong) and we loved their Feeling Groovy line with all the rainbows:

 
 
We loved meeting with the Studio Calico group in their new booth and the sneak peek at their new Anthology line. Their products are so unique and inspired and their design team knows how to work it:

 

 

And then right next door to the SC people was this tiny booth with a totally awesome product:

Japanese tapes in a variety of colors, patterns and widths. Very delish.

We came across a newer company with a great line of canvas and burlap products for scrapbooking and home decor, Canvas Home Basics:

 
  

(Marnie is our adorable model here. I still can't believe we're finally all here and that our time together is almost up. Trying not to be too sad about that just yet.)

And then we headed back over to the Making Memories booth to make a necklace make-and-take and found out that...

...Marnie won a Slice!  Yeah Marnie!

Then we saw this adorable Advent pennant project at the Maya Road booth and some adorable pennant stamps.  Have we mentioned how much we're loving all the pennant and garland products and projects we've seen at this show? So cute.

Then we saw the adorable Claudine Helmuth at her booth demonstrating some of her mediums and paint products:

 

She also has these packs of sticky-back canvas material that she used to make this purse. She is so creative:

We've had been such a great time here at the show and Marnie, Elizabeth and I have thoroughly enjoyed our time together. We've got a lot to do in the next several months and we're so excited about what's to come.  Here's wishing them both safe travels tomorrow as they head back to their families and catch up on their sleep.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Giveaway Day and for a CHA wrap-up from Elizabeth on Friday.

Cheers!