Candi's CHA Review

Wow... those were the fastest SIX days!! We really couldn't have packed any more into the days! I will try and keep everything really simple and short here... (since I have soooo much to say!) Also, Penny's review is below...

We had the opportunity to meet some AMAZING people...

Now on to the products... I have linked as many of the company's websites as I could so you can check them out. Be sure to COMMENT on what you love... so we can get it in! Some of these companies are brand new, and some are older with great products. Please leave feedback! (Click on the pictures to see them larger and the company name to go to their website!)

(IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)

Heidi Swapp--

She has paper again!!! There are three new lines... and they are ALL fabulous!! There are jewels, transparencies, all kinds of goodies!!! (you know if I had the option I would have one of everything!)

Glitz Designs--

They have the girly, blingy, fun stuff! I have loved them since last CHA... they are bright and exciting. Just check out their website! FUN or what?!?!

Maya Road--

It is all so cute... I can't pick just one thing! Check out some these chipboard books... people, trees, castles, houses, so much! And the metal flowers on the tree are so cute! Also, some of you might already that these journaling circles... CUPCAKES... what a cute idea! I would never have thought of that... but now I am totally going to do it.

My Pages Talk--

These are so cool! They are a 30 second recordable device that is paper coated so you can ink, stamp, paint whatever to add to your page. You can record greetings, songs, kids, ultrasound heartbeats, whatever you want to remember! I got two to make... one of my daughter, Hallie saying the Pledge of Allegance and the other for my daughter, Reese just giggling!! I hope we get some of these in... 'cause sometimes don't ya wish your pages could talk??

Cosmo Cricket--

The robots are cool... don't really know that it is something I would use... but the Get Happy line is bright and fresh, and I can't wait to use it!

Dream Street--

They had great lines! The cool thing about this company is the paper size. They come premade for a minibook if you choose! Hmmmm.... class idea?

Heidi Grace--

Of course she always has something cute a sweet! This time she uses little houses, birds and flowers!! So sweet!

Making Memories--

They have some great albums! They are neat shapes & basic...so you can alter them if you want. We didn't play with the Slice... but there was an awful lot of screaming going on over there!!

Tim Holtz--

The grungeboard now comes in tiny ones (about the size of a quarter). They also added a ton of metals! I love the gears, and "tags", and keys, and ... EVERYTHING!!! I have a class idea for this too!!

Teresa Collins--

This designer is new to me... but I instantly fell in love with her stuff!! They are basic... to go with other products... it kind of reminds me of Heidi Swapp meets Making Memories??? :)

Jenni Bowlin--

As you all know from the few things we got in at the store... she is great!! We hope to see lots more coming in soon!!

October Afternoon-- (their website is not current, sorry no link)

We loved this line last CHA... and it only got bigger and better! They have great paper, stamps... and "finger" rub-ons" (just use your finger!!) This has been ordered and will be in sometime in the next few months.

Fancy Pants--

Umm.... can I just have one of everything???? The new lines are soooo good!! I love the new albums, chipboard, paper, overlays, & felt! (I am sure I missing something) More or less... if they make it I love it!! {they are moving towards my favorite company... fast!!}

There were also two NEW companies that we found that I really liked...

Paper Trunk!! They use recycled paper, vegetable based inks, and their packaging is recycled paper bags. Thanks for being GREEN!! The designs are really great, too! Check out this CUTE chipboard "spinner" book.

GCD Studios-- These designs are very "sophisticated", "elegant", clean, & simple. There is just something about them I love.

Of course, I had so many other things I "can't live without"... but these are the TOP PICKS! What a fun adventure... can't wait to share our product with all of you, and get to working on the next release for Memories Complete!

Penny's CHA perspective!

I am pleased to share with you my experiences at CHA, now that I have a internet connection that doesn't take 2 hours to upload a picture!
Let me tell you, this is my second CHA, and I can say, it is SO much fun!
New product, make and takes, FUN people... the energy and being immersed in scrapbooking supplies-heaven!

Of course, I was there with Memories Complete, who gave myself (and in turn Candi) a wonderful opppurtunity when they hired rookie designers-that had fire and enthusiasm!! We were thrilled to get to touch and feel real product that we designed! (We saw it for the first time last Friday night!) Of course I nit-pick it but overall, it is more than I had expected! I wasn't even sure we would make deadline and have it at CHA, so that in itself is rewarding!
Thank you Mike and Mary!
We hope the orders will flood in, and that future contacts will reap big rewards (and new lines!!) :)

I hope Tanner has a safe and wonderful delivery! Keep us updated!


AND at the core-Scrapaganza!
I was blessed to be at CHA presenting my first design lines, but I wasn't a "designer" until I worked for Scrapaganza! I have taken my gumption to a new level, and I am enjoying the ride!

Thank you Kelly and Beth for the ammunition, inspiration and INCREDIBLE support!!

OK-enough mush. :)

WAIT, thank you to all the CUSTOMERS at Scrapaganza that have showed their support and cheered me on!! It is SO appreciated! I always say it is like "Cheers" at the store, but it means so much to me that you take an interest!

Thank you all my scrappy friends!!
Your comments on my blog and emails are so appreciated!

OK-BACK TO CHA! :)

I think it would be fun and prudent to list my favorites.

I have HUGE Slide shows, so that I don't have a mile long blog entry!

My show favorites:

Paper: This is easy, kinda. I have two...
October Afternoon
"Detour"
(click for a closer look!)

and
Dream Street
"Birdie Bits"


I cannot WAIT to get my hand on these! Which, if I can announce, have both been ordered by Scrapaganza! YAY!
October Afternoon will ship in April, Dream Street is due this next month.

EMBELLISHMENT:
Of COURSE all we designed for Memories Complete!!
And I REALLY like our alphabets sheets! They are 12x12 and have TONS of letters! They come in 3 fonts, two colors each AND they have fun whimsy shipping labels top and bottom! Guess what? I get to send these (by request) to Ali Edwards! AHHHHHH!!!!!

OK, so maybe she wouldn't have known about them if I hadn't emailed her. :)
But she wants them, and that is what counts! Ali, she is the NICEST person, and very genuine! WOW! Can't say enough! I am thinking about driving them there! LOL! Just kidding!

If I had to pick another favorite (since that one was a little obvious!) I would have to pick...

DARN it! This is VERY hard!! I really loved so many things!

Let's break it down more!! (Cheater!!)

Rub-ons: The winner is... GLITZ DESIGNS! OK, you see the images on their website and blog, and you think "cute". Then you see them in person! WOW! They are HUGE!
Check out this picture I took of Candi with one!
Can you say BIG AS YOUR HEAD! LOL!
FUN!


Chipboard: This is hard to too... chipboard is EVERWHERE! But does anyone do chipboard like Maya Road?
They continue to be cutting edge for shapes and embellishments!
There new shapes are not on their site, but they ARE in my slide below!

Die Cut Papers: OK, Pop Culture ROCKS die cut papers, but let me tell you, Maya Road is giving them a run for their money!! (see slide below!)
BUT because of the colors, and variety of designs, KI Memories wins! Click here to check out the new die designs!!

3-D Stickers: Autumn Leaves. They have some really cute stuff!! See the slide below!

Transparencies: Transparencies are croppin' up as fast as stamps with scrapbooking companies! Almost everyone has them! Heidi Swapp, (of course Hambly) Prima... but the winner is... Fancy Pants! They have glitter transparencies!! And Scrapaganza will have them first! JD (MR. Fancy Pants) promised! :)


Speaking of "transparent"... these are awesome, and deserve a look too!
Three sheets a package, these clear yummies will be FUN to work with! AND the set with mini-book pages... FUN!!
Can you say "ORDERED"!!

Anything innovative? Piggy Tales has made little "springs"! Can you imagine?? What fun they would be on layouts and projects!!


TOOLS:
My pick? We R Memory Keepers Big Bite. Now granted. I didn't get to see Making Memories Slice... but I think it may be the "hole punch in the middle of the page" phenomenon. :)


Stamps:
This again is very hard. Everyone is doing stamps. Little companies and big companies. Who has anything new? I loved Prima's stamps. I always love Inque Boutique's stamps, and they would probably win, but since I knew we were ordering soon, I didn't stop at the booth (remember-I was suppose to be working! LOL!)
I was looking for something new at each booth... especially the smaller companies.
Also, at Scrapaganza, we want to buy what you can't get at your local "mega store". We want to save you money, and for you to see it, touch it, and use it right after you visit our store!
ANYWAY, who's stamps would I say I liked the best?? It's hard.
Honestly, I like stamp companies that were not at CHA too... like Purple Onion.
But I am giving my CHA vote to October Afternoon!
The bummer? I didn't take a picture of the stamps board, and they don't have their new stamp images on their site! :( We are expecting a couple stamps when the new line comes in, so buy them up, and I am sure we'll buy more! They are fun and whimsical! Useful and fresh!

But can I say, check out the slide, cuz Paper Trunks stamps have great packaging AND fun borders! I can't wait to see what they come up with next at Paper Trunk!

Bling:
Since I am pretty sure that Candi is going to pick Heidi for this.... if she is crazy and gets this detailed... I will give this to Prima. I loved Glitz Designs bling too, but Prima wins from shear volume! See several designs below in the slide! YUM!

Everything else... Totes have so many more prints and sizes... Felt is very present still. But Prima and Fancy Pants rule the day with their felt designs, but Queen & Co. had some fresh fun finds. This layout has baseball felt that was stitched that the lace holes. They said you could just back with red for a red lace too... Fun!

Recylced papers and ribbons are cropping up! I appreciate that! As long as the colors can still be vibrant, go for it! Make it "green"!

Check out the slideshow for images of my favorite products!!

Famous Faces and Fabulous People:
Before I knew it, and everywhere I looked, there were the famous faces from the scrapbooking industry!
Stacy Julian (didn't get her picture-darn!) Ali Edwards, Tim Holtz...
Here are the fabulous scrappers I met in the slide below!

(Note: Yes. There are several pictures of myself and Heidi Swapp... Once Candi started "New Outfit, new picture" {with Heidi}, how could I not participate?? :) )

If it says SISTv... that is Scrap In Style TV. My favorite Message Board and gallery!
The Fashionista's are members of their Design Team. Several of which have been published, and all offer much inspiration within their community.

One other favorite of mine that I missed was Kristina Contes-but hey, I got my picture with her at CHA last summer... :)

Some are "famous", some are company owners with personality to spare, or product I love!

Pass the mouse over the picture to identify the personality! I think a couple must be on Candi's camera (like a day of Heidi... wouldn't want to miss that! LOL!) but you get the idea! Famous Faces Everywhere!!

Ask me about "Chandler" and about Jenni... if ya want to hear a couple funny stories!

I had a wonderful time! I hope to be fortunate to be going back in July for Summer-either for Scrapaganza, Memories Complete, or another venture on the horizon!! {I'm not tellin'!! Yet. :) }

Thanks for checkin' it out!!

Hope to see ya soon at Scrapaganza!!

Look for my favorite layouts posted soon at my blogspot:
www.artfullyembellished.blogspot.com

Headed home

Penny and I are headed back home. We are very excited to share with everyone the new product line we designed... that will be in the store next week!! We are also excited about the new product we ordered today that will be coming in shortly. (I will post some "coming soon" pictures when we get back.

We have had a great time and can't wait to share with you all of the things we saw, found, did and learned. The computer connection is so slow here so it is very hard to upload all of our pictures... so we will add more when we get back. In the meantime please stop by our personal blogs (links on the right) to see some more pictures.

See you all soon!!

Hello from California!!

Penny and Candi reporting live from California!! We hear that it is like 2 degrees in Iowa.
THAT'S a bummer! It's about 65 degrees here! :)

We are in scrapbookers heaven!! WOW! It is always fun seeing all the new product, but since we are at the booth most of the time, we have only got to see a few of our favorites so far...

Speaking of which, Memories Complete! It is SO very exiting to see our designs "in person"! We didn't get our hands on the product until late on Friday night, and thanks to Candi's "scrapbook store on wheels" (truley the Scrapbooking Emergency Mobile Unit-one of her two bags were scrapbooking supplies) we scrapped the 12 layouts needed for the booth in one day! Talk about scrapbooking under pressure! But we are happy with the results, and excited to be working with the product!


Here I am, all excited to get the first looks at the product!! I am VERY happy to see it!






So far we have had MUCH positive feedback, and boy we were hoppin' during the make and takes!


Here is the booth before we got started:

Here I am busy teaching the make and take (2-6x12 layouts and a 6x6 layout!)

Candi got to meet her scrapbooking hero-twice now(Heidi Swapp). I am SURE we will have a lunch date tomoorow! Ok-maybe not, but she is VERY sweet, and her new product is VERY yummy!! Candi vows, new outfit, new picture with Heidi.

There will be a restraining order requested soon, I am sure! ;)

Ali Edwards is the NICEST lady EVER! I had the best time talking with her! OK-she gave some BIG hugs! DANG! I was already a fan, but I have new respect for her-SO nice!! And she had the COOLEST shoes-sorry, that picture will have to come later-it's on my other camera. :(

Candi with Donna Dawney...

We certianly had a big day of meeting the scrapbook "celebrities"!!

Thank you Scrapaganza for an awesome "home base"! We can't wait to get home and scrapbook our week, and share with all of you our awesome adventure!

Tomorrow is my (Penny) Birthday. We work until lunch, hit out favorite manufacturers, and then off to Newport Beach and a cupcake at "Sprinkles"!

We'll try to get back to you before our journey's end!!

Blog Challenge Winner & Feb. Challenge

Thanks for starting the year off great! We had fabulous entries!! You all did great!! To thank you for that... all of you ladies can stop in and pick up your $10 store credit. As always, I had to pick a winner.... (seriously... this was really tough this month!!!)

Congratulations to Mindy! She did great! I love all of the different pattern paper, the sewing, the bling and the journaling is great. You did a great job telling the story.

Here are our other entries. (click on them to make them larger)

Thanks again for entering! Here is your next challenge, should you choose to accept it :)

Scrapbook {SOMETHING} important to you. {SOMETHING} you love, {SOMETHING} that you can't live without.

*did you notice the SOMETHING??? That means... no people, no pets, nothing living. SOMETHING....

Have fun!! Be sure to e-mail your entires by Feb 29th!! (you get an extra day this year!!)

To help you all get thinking... starting with the March challenge I will be posting some examples from our designers with each challenge!!! Happy February.... can't wait to see your entires :)