Write. Click. Scrapbook.

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!

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The People

Apologies for the late start. We're both back in our respective homes now after our whirlwind trip. One of the best parts of being at CHA is the people. If you haven't yet, don't check yesterday's post for Marnie's interview with manufacturer Greg Foster of Studio Calico. Not only is it the video for give.away.day, it's also a bit of information on a manufacturer that you may not know as much about yet.

We had the opportunity to speak to a buyer for an online kit club to see how she works figures out what to do about all the new products at the show. Thanks to Stacy for the insight.

We also had Marnie interview a couple of fellows from a {gasp!} NON SCRAPBOOKING booth. She thought you might be interested to see that there are other kinds of exhibitors at the show. It is the Craft and Hobby Association, after all. We scrappers tend to forget that there are other hobbies out there. This show had fewer exhibitors in general, typically that convention lumps the differnet groups together, but this time, scrappers were next to knitters were next to beaders were next to big box were next to magazines. It was definitely something different we noticed.

Occasionally we get into run into a WCS friend, Alexandra was at the show doing make and takes for Little Yellow Bicycle, and it was such a treat to have her pop into the Basic Grey booth to say a quick hello.

And there you have it, a couple of different views of the show. Thank you all so much for your sweet comments. Until tomorrow!

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and the giveaway goes to . . .

Thank you to everyone for taking the time to share your inspiration with us. And for clarification, Elementary is Studio Calico's newest line, but Documentary is their newest line on current release. My memory is failing me on Elementary's release date, but I believe it might be September.

Thank you, Studio Calico, for generously providing our giveaway this week. How many of you clicked and purchased the new kit? I am so tempted by all those pinks and oranges and yellows. The colors of my soul. And did you notice that our very own Jamie was the guest designer this month?? Go Jamie! Your layouts were lovely. Simply lovely.

And now for the big announcement...notice that it was the second to last comment! How fun is that!

Ami, please email your mailing address to us at writeclickscrapbook at gmail dot com so that we may get you your Documentary line! Congratulations!

Hang tight... Emily and Paula are coming back in just a minute....

give.away.day. featuring STUDIO CALICO

Hello! Marnie here, interrupting Emily and Paula. We will pick back up with their CHA reporting and antics tomorrow as today is Thursday which means just one thing...

Our giveaway today comes from our original sponsor,

Today, one lucky reader will have a chance to receive the newest Studio Calico line, Documentary.

Documentary is the third release by Studio Calico and it draws upon travel for its inspiration. With colors pulled from those found in an atlas, it is a pleasing line for preserving all your stories. And as I am Chicago at the same time as Studio Calico, I am lucky enough to get to see it in person!

And for those who prefer watching to reading, here is a short little funterview (fun interview - teehee!) with Greg Foster, one of the Studio Calico owners.

And while Autumn and Celeste didn't get to come to Chicago this year, they did each receive a sampling of the line, and both worked their magic. It's going to make you want it....

Isn't it inspiring? Just wait til you see it in person! You will fall in love as I did.

Speaking of "in person", I wish you all could have been in Chicago with us to see the new products and feel the new products, and even more importantly, be rejuvenated by gathering together. I love the sisterhood and friendships that renew when we come to CHA. I love reconnecting with people who understand why I work so hard to promote and educate and inspire a silly little thing called scrapbooking. And selfishly, I love renewing my own creative spirit. Seeing the booths, the layouts, and the new products puts the fire back in me.

How about you? What renews your creative scrapbooking spirit? Is it seeing something beautiful? Capturing that one great moment with your camera? Or perhaps just a piece of paper? Leave us a comment and tell us. And then let's document that integral part of your creative process with some delicious new Studio Calico paper and extras! While you are there, you may want to check out the new August kit, too. Just released! Act fast! You know they don't last long!!

Comments will remain open until 8:00 pm PST and one lucky number will be chosen at random and posted tomorrow. Please remember to check back before midnight Saturday to see if you are the lucky one! And join us again tomorrow for more cha-cha-cha-cha-cha-ing! (oops, don't tell them I called it cha and not C-H-A! )

Today we are featuring displays that caught our eye at the show. The first display we'd like to show you is a CHA tradition. Before each show, the manufacturers are treated with a Scottish bagpipe parade, while the buyers anxiously wait outside. The entire hall rings with the sounds of bagpipes and the booth occupants stop preparations to watch the spectacular live display.

photo courtesy of Kimber McGray

Moving inside, we were greeting with many beautiful creations. EK Success decked out a beautiful mantle with their new vintage Christmas line. Across the aisle at the Kaisercraft we were treated to beautiful wreath. Keeping with the wreath motif, we found another pretty display at the Cosmo Cricket booth. We were amazed at the creative uses designers have found for their products. At the Jillibean booth we found this cute monster house, and a paper pie at My Little Shoebox! Dear Lizzy at the American Crafts did not disappoint with a beautiful chandelier-inspired mobile. On of my favorite booths for displays was the Pink Paislee booth with a creative use of branches, banners and flowers.

And we leave you with a video clip of one display that can't be captured on film, the acrylic butterflies and iridescent shapes shimmer and need to be seen from multiple angles.

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In the beginning...

Before the pretty displays and fancy booths, there are crates and boxes and forklifts. And you don't get to see them, because Emily missed her flight! And Emily had the video camera (which you'll also hear in the video). Luckily, Paula did not miss her flight and took a few photos of the Jillibean Soup booth so you can see what a typical vendor's booth looks like in the beginning.

Emily did finally make it to Chicago, so we headed over to the convention center to show you a little of the after set up festivities. Emily explains what it is, then we do a mini tour of the event. Please see the video for more information.

We will be back on Wednesday, we promise with a much more interesting post and video to share. We apologize for the slow day, learning curve on the editing software was steep, it was late, and we were tired. Now we're off to the show!

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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.

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Countdown

Christmas in July :: Thank You, Thank You, Thank You & December Daily

My heartfelt thanks to you all for your kind and encouraging comments. I read each and every one of them and they are all appreciated by this first time blog host, I assure you. 

What secret to reveal about myself today? Hmmm. Well, I have two actually, but they're kind of related. Secret #1: There are some Christmas carols I don't know all the words to in English. My Mom is German, so I learned the carols in both German and English and to this day I sometimes mix a little German in with my English while singing. If I catch myself doing that, I try just to hum along so as not to embarrass myself. But I'm not a very good singer so let's just say that I embarrass myself while singing. Period. 

Which brings me to Secret #2: I find it very difficult to sing Silent Night without being overcome with emotion. The song, the sentiments, the tempo, the music...they all just fill me with emotion and bring tears to my eyes. For me, it is one of the most beautiful songs ever. 

What are a few secrets shared among friends?

Now, to make your Mama proud, another download to add to your collection of Christmas in July goodies!

 Download Wcs_thankyounotes_monikawright

There are two notecards. One is for your munchkins to write thank you notes to the aunts, uncles, grandparents and family friends for the goodies they were gifted. The other note is for you to sent to the aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents and family friends for the kindness they showed your family. We are a big thank-you-note-writing family {blame my German Mom!}. Well, let's put it this way, you don't write the note...you don't get to keep the gift. 

If you're not sure you can get holiday photo cards sent out this year, use this note as a chance to include a photo! Instead of folding the card with the printed sentiment on the outside, here I added a photo to the front and let the sentiment be the inside of the card. There's still plenty of room for the kids to write a short note, which they will appreciate, let me tell you! Since this one was printed as a black & white sample, I used a color envelope to add a dash of color and you could let the kids use markers or crayons for color, too.

These notecards were printed in color and look equally charming with either a white or red envelope. Embellish them with a heart button and embroidery thread or a chipboard shape for an easy and fun note card. Older kids could even help with this project!

I used one of my favorite stamps to embellish the inside of my notecard and an epoxy sticker to take the notecard one step further.

Although I didn't share any layouts with you this week as I thought I might, I will share with you a few of my 2009 December Daily pages. 

These are 3" binder rings. Silly me didn't think that she would ever utilize the full 3", but you can see that they are almost overwhelmed by the number of pages I included!  I began the album on Thanksgiving Day and documented through to New Year's Day. Whew, that's a lot of layouts in 38 days! 

This flip-open page utilized a template to include several of our homemade ornaments, which happens to be one of our advent calendar activities...making the annual homemade ornament. And we always have 4. One ornament that each child makes for their own family tree one day and one for our family tree so that we can look back and smile.

December Daily Thoughts: this year I am thinking of designing a hybrid version to force myself to try something new, learn something new and become more comfortable with digital! Don't hold me to that, though. Looking through this album as I was posting photos makes me realize how much fun I have playing with paper!

And in the spirit of being prepared for the holidays, my last secret? I pre-made most of my pages so that after adding photos and journaling, very little else is needed to make my December Daily album complete. 

I included notes that coordinated with Advent Calendar activities, family plans and holiday projects so that it would make it easier for me to remember {and also in case I lost the calendar page I had printed out with my Master Plan}!

Here's to wishing you all the jolliest of times in preparing for the holidays!

"I don't remember, that's why I scrapbook."

 

Christmas in July :: Holiday Tags & Handprints

With Christmas just around the corner, are you already making your lists? If so, why not take a moment to look at the right sidebar of our blog? Do you see that "our sponsors" tab? Those lovely people believe in reason #1 of our mission statement: telling stories. And they all have products, tools and ideas to help you in your own personal mission to tell the stories that define you and your life. 

See there, we've made it possible for you to do your holiday shopping without even getting in the car! Leave it to write.click.scrapbook. to have the answers for you.

Want me to let you in on a little secret? I don't have a Christmas list, haven't purchased a single gift and wouldn't have all these tags and toppers made if it weren't for my hosting gig this week!

OKAY, NOT SUCH A BIG SURPRISE, IS IT? But, I wanted to keep it real for you. I am organized and efficient, yes, but not that organized!

 

Download Wcs_gifttags_monikawright

Let me share with you just a few ideas for using these gift tags, which coordinate with the rest of the downloads I've designed for you this week...all using the same font each day.

It's always good to have tags prepared and ready to go. Using this punch from Stampin' Up makes threading the ribbon through so easy. 

Using your Crop-o-Dile and some baker's twine gives you yet another option in Tag-Making 101! I've been using my Round-it-All by Zutter for all the tags. It rounds corners in anything!  

You could even use your kids' school supplies to embellish your tags. These green stickers are page reinforcements from the office supply store! 

I used a punch from EK Success, some cardstock and a little glue to make my own hole reinforcements for the tags here. 

After using my sewing machine to make some simple straight lines...

 

...I folded it over to resemble a book. I used my Crop-o-Dile to adhere the gift tag and keep the book closed. {I'll use this as a teacher gift.}

You could even use the tags as journaling spots in your December Daily albums.

I'd like to share two gift ideas that involve paint and handprints, and probably a little bit of a mess. But, it will be worth it when you see the Oma's, Nana's, Mamaw's, Meme's and Grandmothers open their gift!

The handprints of the Kindergartener that made this adorable wreath graduated in June, but each Christmas season, this still hangs on the door of the bathroom the kids use, and it will continue to do so until I can't make my own decisions anymore!

These bags are so handy, our girls use their handprint bags as Library Book Bags. I used this same idea to make similar bags for the Grandmothers for their Mother's Day gift. I think you could use these as a gift for any occasion and they would be a hit. Mine is used to carry coupons to the grocery store, my to do list and a pen with an extra pair of reading glasses, just in case.  

I'd love to see what you've been up to this week. Has anyone printed out the downloads and started creating their own labels, toppers and tags? Leave a link to your projects in the comments or post your photos to the WCS Flickr group!

One more free download is in store for you tomorrow, and it will make your Mama proud! Did I give it away?

"I don't remember, that's why I scrapbook."