CHA 2012 Overview!!

Here is a super brief overview of my time at CHA in Anaheim last week!!  It was near unto impossible to try to fit in 2 full days and thousands of booths into 60 seconds or less, but I think I squeezed in MOST of my favourites (plus the token Tim Holtz appearance for those of you who insist on seeing what he's up to... and what new gadget he's demoing... and what he's wearing)!!

Others and MORE will be shown on my upcoming...

 TV segment this MONDAY, FEB. 6, 2012

on Breakfast Television starting at 6am through to 9am!!  We will be on-site shooting from the Scrapbooker's Paradise store in Calgary showing and demoing some of our favourite NEW products, tools and companies :)

My Top Picks include:

Tropical Travelogue line from Graphic 45... I could NOT keep my eyes off of this beautiful line and all the eye candy in the booth!!!!  They really do set the bar high for CHA shows!!!  And they're coming to Calgary in April!!!  Can NOT wait!!!  

Bo Bunny is ALWAYS a hit with everyone (including me!) but this year I had trouble picking my favourite NEW line... not because they didn't have good ones, but because they are all a little different... kind of like one for each mood I might be in!!!!!  I like them ALL!!

Basic Grey is also a go-to line and they had some super fun ideas (and some super fun ladies... the top picture we are all "The Allison's"... yup 3 Allison's all with the correct spelling!!) and a photo of their new canvases... pretty cool!!!

Meanwhile, Christy and I ran into Donna Downey... she is HILARIOUS!!!  And don't forget she's coming to Alberta this month (I get to teach with her!!!) and you can take her classes!!!  Check out Cropaganza for more info!!!

Onto some home decor stuff...

Canvas Corp is a company I am anxious to better acquaint myself with (FYI they just bought Tattered Angels and also own 7 Gypsies so watch for this powerhouse of companies to bring out some amazing things!!!)  Of course I just LOVED their beach line!!!

There were NOT a lot of new tools, but a "Stamping Gear" from Inkadoo helped create this beautiful canvas... sure had Christy's creative juices flowing!!!

And although it's not a "Tool", this new to me company (Unikeep) has some super funky ideas for travel albums!!!  Has mine and Christy's creative juices flowing too for our 

Crop and Cruise Scrapbooking Cruise to HAWAII!!!

So this guy had us smiling with this innovative gadget called "Action Wobble Springs"... to see it in action, you need to watch the video, but we thought it was FANTASTIC especially for kids cards and animation!!

Another super HOT thing at CHA is jewelry and my favourite "design-it-do-it-yourself" line was from Vintaj!!!  Check out this hot tropical looking necklace (how can you tell where my mind is)!!!!

And last, but definitely not least, was one of my personal favourites from the whole show...

I know it's still new technology, but the QR codes are beginning to appear everywhere and allow you to instantly visit a companies website, get info, etc. Sizzix, however, has figured out a super great way to bring them into the crafting world through "Talking Tags"... you purchase your own labels that have QR codes that you can record a one minute personal message onto and then you can glue or sew it to a special project or layout and it will be there to listen to for years every time you scan it!!!!  How cool is that????!!!!!  I can just imagine taping my kids' giggles or nana's voice and having it permanently recorded on a special quilt or card or layout or????  Just imagine!!!

Okay, enough from CHA...

Meanwhile, here is some of the trouble... er I mean FUN we got into while in LA!!!  It all started with the "economy car" I rented... my fiery red FIAT car!!!!  They kept asking me if I wanted one with more leg room... um... do I look like I need more leg room????  Besides, I get to play "JLO in LA"!!

I have to say that I mostly managed to stay out of trouble this time, but trouble still followed!!  This time it was Christy!!!!  It all started our first night when we were at a reception for vendors and we were at the bar getting drinks... Christy was trying to order me a drink with no alcohol, but the guy just wasn't getting it!!!  And after we thought he finally understood, he still began to pour Vodka into my Cranberry juice and before she could think about what she was doing, Christy shoved her hand overtop of my glass and he proceeded to pour Vodka all over her!!!  The look on both their faces was PRICELESS!!!  Yup... a true friend takes a "hit of Vodka" for you!!!

Continuing on the theme of drinks... on our flight home, we were just settling into our seats after take-off when suddenly Christy and I heard a "pop" and were suddenly being showered with liquid!!!  We looked up and to our horror the ceiling of the plane was "leaking" a brown liquid all over us (mostly Christy... I had just moved to the aisle seat)!!  This is NOT a good thing on a plane!!  So after a moment of panic, the flight attendant came running to discover that two rows up a mother had given her little boy a baby bottle filled with Coke and it had exploded!!!  Now I've heard of moms giving their little ones, Gravol to keep them calm on a flight, but COKE???  Who does that???!!!!

Anyways, one of the highlights of our time in LA was renting a bus with all the other "Canucks" and touring the town!!!  Below is a collage of our adventures including our "Star Gazing" in Hollywood... we went to the "Chateau Marmont" where numerous stars were in attendance following the SAG awards that night!!  We got to see Glee stars, Modern Family stars, and Jesus!!!!

Alrighty!!  Be sure to watch Breakfast Television on Monday morning for even more fun and eye candy from CHA and meanwhile, enter to WIN some goodies!!!  You can enter on my CHA posts and on Christy Riopel's site as well and we will pick a winner later next week!!

Question #3:  Which of the CHA products above (or in the video) are you most excited about?

Crop for Mexico & Final CHA picks and Giveaway!

Before I pick up again with the final CHA reveal, I have a most exciting invitation for YOU!!!

If you would like to be part of something truly important AND have tons of creative fun at the same time, I'd love to have you attend our Crop For Mexico event!!!!

We have 2 super fun things going on April 2 here in Calgary...  

1. A crop event where 100% of your cost goes towards building homes in Mexico for needy families!  We have special guest instructors and you get to choose a class from one of them as part of your registration (see link for more info and class photos) PLUS you get lunch, supper and tons of goodies!!!!

2.  A "Garage Sale" of new and gently used craft items where 100% is again donated to our Mexico homes!!!  You do NOT need to attend the crop to come SHOP at the Garage Sale!!!

Registration for Crop For Mexico opens TODAY!!!

Now back to some eye candy from CHA!!!

One of my all-time fav companies is Basic Grey and Christy Riopel showed you a peek at some of their fantastic new lines, but here is what caught my eye!!!  Ribbon Doilies!!!!

And still in partnership with Basic Grey... Core'dinations has sandable cardstock that coordinates with Basic Grey!!!!!!!!!!  Just check out their scrumptious patterns and colours!!!!

And YEAH for Canadian companies like MyStamp Box!!!!  Here is a fantastic new set of stamps that has HUGE potential!!!  If you want to see some layouts, check out my good friend Jill Hildebrand's amazing work as she designs for MyStamp Box!!!

Now this got my attention!!  I'm not actually familiar with the Vintage Street Market company, but I'm in love with this Tinted Tape product and it's potential!!!

Looks like you can add a fun edge to your papers and of course I'm thinking of photos!!!!!!!  It comes in a variety of styles like the "soot" one above and the "aged" one below.  Definitely going to be checking out this company!!!!

And I'm always on the look out for new tools and this one from We R Memory Keepers caught my eye as it can help me "sew" or at least look like I've sewn on my layouts with ease!!!  Hence the name "SewEasy"...

And not sure if this is a new release or just newer to me, but I got to see this Distressing tool by Zutter called the "Distrezz-it-all" in action a couple weekends ago at a retreat I was at and the local store sold out of them once we saw it work!!!!  I distressed an entire layout with a ton of assorted pieces in a matter of minutes!!!  It was a beautiful thing :)

Okay... I know there is so much more, but this will do it for our recap for this Winter CHA 2011 event!!!  I must say I missed seeing all the goodies up close and personal and really missed catching up with some of my friends in the industry (and our Crazy Canuck dinner we always do), but I've been busy with some pretty important "LIFE" stuff so I don't regret my decision for a moment!!!

Final question you can enter to win (remember that we will pick a winner on Monday... VALENTINE'S DAY between all entries from all days on my blog below and on Christy's blog!)

If money were no object, what "creative experience", event, tool, product, etc. would you splurge on?

Becky Fleck, Page Maps and Basic Grey!

I had so much fun doing this TV segment with Becky Fleck (she was a tad nervous as this was her first time doing TV, but I was the one that trashed the table display midstream sending things flying... nothing like live TV to make things interesting!!) You can watch it all here...

Becky is a gem and a true fan of Calgary and comes here LOTS to fly-fish the Bow River! Her PageMaps books were flying off the shelves at Scrapbooker's Paradise, but you can also see a regular article in each issue of Memory Makers magazine and find free monthly sketches online at www.PageMaps.com.

AND... Basic Grey..... LOVE IT ALL!!!! I got to play with their Porcelain and Marrakech lines... this layout of my little girl is a new favourite!!!

This Crop and Cruise layout is the one I did on air in about 3 minutes!!! Pretty easy when you have a Page Map, coordinating supplies and Becky herself guiding you through!!!And this one I simply played with at home... the colours are so inspiring!!So a huge THANKS to Becky for being such a great sport and don't forget that there is a blog giveaway running right now on the Crop and Cruise Blog for some Basic Grey goodness!!

And now if only we could somehow get Becky AND Basic Grey on our next Crop and Cruise vacation in the Fall of 2010.... hmmmmmmmmm....More Camp Croppin' coverage and photos coming soon!!