CHA review by Michele!

As some of you may know, I'm the newest addition to the crew at Scrapaganza. I was VERY fortunate to attend the Craft and Hobby Tradeshow this summer! I had SO much fun! I also got to attend the invitation-only launch party for ProvoCraft's newest Cricut machine, the Imagine. And just for attending, I GET AN IMAGINE! I arrived at the hotel in Chicago just 1 hour before the party started. Here was the line to get in!

Here's a look at the Imagine - it prints AND cuts. Keep an eye out... when I get my machine I want to have a little party with a make and take!

Alisa took me under her wing and we "did the show" on wednesday together. I had a little list of all the manufacturers I wanted to visit, plus Alisa had her recommendations. But we were silly! Instead of making a plan or just walking up and down every aisle, we zig zagged back and forth around that building and probably walked 3 times more than we needed to! Too FUNNY!

Alisa is a fan of this gal, but I forgot her name! Alisa, comment with her name! lol

We did the make and take at the Tattered Angels booth - love the new mist colors!

I am a HUGE fan of Graphic 45, and they have a new line coming out called Steampunk Debutante. Steampunk is an art and costume sub-culture, you may hear Tim Holtz speak of it occasionally. I myself have been dabbling... and now there's a paper line for me! muahahaha! So yeah, we spent some time in the Graphic45 booth!

I managed to do the whole "NOOBIE embarrasing moment" thing but Rhonna Farrer and Heidi Swapp were very nice about it and let us take a picture with them.

Of course I HAD to see Tim Holtz!  AWESOME stuff coming to the store from Tim's brands, keep an eye out!!!

Maya Road had some CUTE stuff!

Wonderful stuff to see at the Stampers Anonymous booth (Wendy Vecchi stuff!!!)

And for my final photo, I will leave you with a glimpse of the strange hotel room art from our room. The hotel had this whole "modern art" theme but this... Pikachu art? LOL!

I had a ton of fun at CHA, and I cannot WAIT to go again! Next time I will have a PLAN so I can see and do more!  My final impression though? I have to say that I was most impressed by the smaller companies, breaking in with fresh color palletts and designs, packing a big punch in a smaller offering. Like Echo Park for one. I was also majorly impressed with Westcott, the cutting tools company that Penny mentioned. I definitely hope to get my hands on more of their products!

Happy Scrapping!