Winter CHA 2010

I've got photos to share from my time spent at the Craft & Hobby Association Convention! Suzy West of My Little Shoebox was so kind to have me join in the fun. A big thanks to Helen, Suzy, and the talented Design Team!

Day One: The Setup

I was expecting an early morning wake up, followed by lots of hard labor. I was very lucky to start at 10am. With eight women, we were able to set up in just a few hours of work, with lots of goofiness thrown in for good measure. Pattie & I were given curtain duty due to our height. I now boast curtain hanging capabilities in my resume. ;) I have not been to CHA from the Exhibitor side and it was a different experience.

Helen had our lunch brought to us and it was delish! The spread included several types of salads, chicken, beef, and pizza. I assumed we would have to fend for ourselves and consume the grotesque convention food. We were happy to avoid it on Saturday.

The ladies working on the displays:

Pattie Beltrain, Erin Yamabe, and I at the finished booth (Photo by Suzy West):Erin & Helen (owner& designer of MLS) at the end of a very productive day:

We did roam around on our lunch break to see what the other creative companies were doing. It was really different to see everyone setting up before hand.

Once we finished up, I rushed over to the CHA Craft SuperShow. Dan & Zena had arrived at this point so I walked quickly through the 6 rows of products. I did get a few glimpses of the new American Crafts stuff at one booth. I was completely shocked to see they already had it for sale. I picked up my very first Maya Mist-sunflower yellow and my very coveted Fiskars Apron lace border punch. I have been looking for that one for months!

Day Two: CHA!
I met Kelly and some of the talented ladies from Scrap Gal on Monday morning. It was so great to see Chez. Unfortunately, I didn't spent much time hanging out with them. Kelly & I broke off from the group to do the make & take rounds.

Kelly is so awesome, she knew that Hambly's make n take was #1 on my list. Allison had a big group of people around her making beautiful altered bangles. I layered the white & then the turquoise Doily rub ons. To seal it, they supplied Diamond Glaze from Judi Kins. While they were drying, we looked around their beautiful booth.

I'm in love with their new releases and can't wait to get them!
Layouts by Dina Wakley:
Don't you just adore all of the doilies? Some great examples using their product:
One of my highlights of the day was when Rose & the rest of Hambly realized that I almost didn't get to come, they asked why I didn't call them! The Hambly family is the sweetest. I adore the calendar I got:
We waited in line for kits at Teresa Collins & My Little Bicycle as well. After that, we stopped by the myStamp Box booth to visit Nathalie and see the new designs. Photo by Kelly Feldman.Nathalie showing some beautiful artwork she created:
I met the owner Bettina and she has started this sweet idea called The Creative Sisterhood of the Traveling Stamp Box. The idea is to pass along the stamps to another person once you have used them on a project of your own. Nathalie gave me the cute No Place Like Home stamp set for me to pass along. Keep your eyes open for that in the coming month or so!We ran into Suzy as we were walking a round and she told us that we had to check out this new company, Punky Sprouts. Their stuff seems pretty cool. They do mixed albums with acrylic, chipboard, and canvas pages. I hope they do well since its such a fun idea!

One of the lines I was most excited about to see this release was Dear Lizzy that Elizabeth Kartchner designed for American Crafts. Although I don't have a kid, I think this product line can be rocked in many other ways. I was super excited to meet Amy Tan(gerine). Photo by Kelly Feldman.
They even had a pink bike at the booth (propped up against the wall behind them).
I worked at the My Little Shoebox booth in the afternoon with so many great people.We took a lot of photo and had great quick convos between customers. Robyn Weatherspoon is such a ray of sunshine. She made me giggle constantly. Photo by Heather Brown.
I felt like I had known Heather Brown for years after just meeting her for a few hours. She is the sweetest and has the cutest kids to scrapbook! Photo by Robyn Weatherspoon.

And the end of a long, but wonderful day (photo by Norma):

I ran around the last 15 minutes of the show to see Cosmo Cricket, Maya Road, and Tattered Angels. Nathalie told me she would be teaching but I was disappointed to find that she wasn't, that Heidi Swapp was there. I was about to keep looking for Nat when I saw her sitting next to Heidi. I spent my remaining time watching Nathalie demo and have a great understanding of more cool things that you can go with the Glimmer Mist line. I'm super excited about their chalkboard release!

Since I was there with an exhibitor and I was traveling light, I didn't pick up a whole lot of free stuff. Here is a picture of the stuff I did grab while at the show:Kristi has some great photos from when she went to the show on Sunday. Be sure to check out many more details and examples here. I'll be back later this week with my top faves and pictures from Disneyland!