CHA | 2013

Another CHA (Craft & Hobby Association trade show) has come and gone.

Many (probably most) people go to check out all the new products.

I go to see all that stuff but I also really go for the people. Handshakes and hugs and smiles and laughter.

There are so many good people in this industry. Some of them are long-time friends and others have become friends in the last few years. I'm thankful everyday for the friendships I've made.

One of my most favorite parts this year was bringing Katie along for her first craft trade show experience. She's a natural.

She and I and my friend/tech guy Aaron flew down on Friday for the express purpose of hitting Disneyland before the show started on Saturday.

We ended up closing the park down. Tower of Terror x2. California Screamin x2. Dancing at the Mad Hatter Tea Party. So fun.

First stop at the show was to say hi to my very dear friend Tim Holtz and Mario Rossi.

I loved finally meeting Liz Tamanaha who designed the new Project Life Midnight kit.

It's not really a secret that I love it (Liz has a fabulous design aesthetic) and can totally see it working with Seafoam later in the year (the new kits will be available in May at a retailer near you).

And speaking of Seafoam, having dinner with Elise Blaha Cripe and Stephanie Howell was a highlight.

Stephanie Howell was there working for My Mind's Eye.

Maggie Holmes new line for American Crafts is awesome.

Elizabeth Kartchner. Always love her style.

Amy Tan. She's got all kinds of cool stuff including some letter stickers that remind me of my old vellum favorites.

Getting the chance to see Becky Higgins everyday for three days was also a big highlight. We've been friends for a number of years now and getting to chat in person is always a treat. One of my favorite memories from the show was when I got to sit down with her and show her my Project Life album (album #3 for 2012 - photo at the top of this post). I actually cried talking about how much I love it and how special this project is to me. I know she gets it. It's my life in those pockets - my everyday, my ups, my downs, my people, my story. There's something so very special about the project and I can't thank her enough for establishing it as a concept. I think it's such an awesome entry point for people who want to document their lives.

As for favorite products at the show, here are a few things we saw that are on our wishlist:

A really cute interchangeable calendar stamp from Amy Tangarine's new line Yes, Please.

Sundrifter Wood Veneer Phrases from Studio Calico.

Sundrifters Circles Mask from Studio Calico.

Allison Kreft's new line for Webster's Pages - includes transparencies.

Dear Lizzy Rolling Phrase Stamp.

Distress Paint by Tim Holtz. Love the marbling and love that when it dries you can add new layers of color and it won't turn to brown.

Alpha Parts Numeric from Tim Holtz.

New tabbed journal cards from Elle's Studio.

Acrylic binder album from Clear Scraps. Thinking about using this for an upcoming album.

Precision Paper Trimmer from Fiskars. Watched a demo of this and it's definitely on my wish-list. You can see a video on Scrapbook.com here.

Heidi Swapp has some great see-through things - including alphabets (long live the see-through plastic alphabets) and tags.

Stitching templates from Amy Tangerine. Super cute.

Midnight Project life Kit designed by Liz Tamanaha.

I'm also excited about a bunch of different products from Simple Stories - lots of good stuff for Project Life in there too.

So cool. Seeing all the products makes me excited for creating. Looking forward to getting work done!

And a big thanks to everyone who stopped by the Technique Tuesday booth to say hello. So many kind words and friendly faces. You can also check out a video overview of my stamps filmed by Paperclipping.com over on my projects blog here.