Back from CHA

CHA always leaves me feeling like I need a vacation from vacation but that was especially true this time around.  I got to meet some of the most awesome, fun chicks and spend four days in the crazy heat wave temps of Chicago while we drank, saw the latest scrap products, drank, laughed… and did I mention the drinking??

Meanwhile, back at the Pink Paislee booth I got fawned over and generally completely embarrassed by the attention I got for one of the projects I designed for them as a 2011 Guest Design Team member.  I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming and that those projects up in the booth were really MY work.  Thanks to Pink Paislee (and their ROCKING booth chicas!) for making me feel like a supahstah. 

Photo courtesy of scrapbookupdate.com

My “wish list” from this show is pretty dang long but here is a quick rundown of my top five six picks (because I just couldn’t narrow down to five!)

1. Everything from Lily Bee, but especially Memorandum.  Lily Bee is back and better than ever with some fun new collections with trendy colors and KILLER tiny alpha sticker sheets that have *8* colors of alphas on them.  This line looks super versatile to me.

2. Studio Calico Classic Calico.  I am a fan of Studio Calicos sophisticated but fun prints but this collection really pushes me over the edge for being neutrals done right.  I will need multiples of these paper and tons of the alphas, stickers, and the FabRips too!

3. October Afternoon Farmhouse.  This theme seemed to be a popular one for 2011.  I love October Afternoon’s take on it for walking the line between great country (but not TOO country) A-sides and their signature more subdued B-sides.  OA almost always makes my list!

4. My Mind’s Eye Lost and Found 2. I am still hoarding my papers from the first Lost and Found collection so this pick was a no-brainer for me.  I DIED for the yellow and gray Sunshine sub-line in this collection! Must. Own. All. Of. It.

5. Pink Paislee.  Yeah, ALL of it, of course!  But special shout-0uts to the Mistables, Nantucket, and Wood Shop (just say YES to wood alphas!)  As usual it will take a bank loan to pay for how much PP I will be ordering.  :-/

6. Crate Paper Random. These aren’t even my usual colors and I have NO idea what I will do with that pink but I have to have it.  It is fresh and unique and that is hard to come by in scrapbooking products. 

And there you have it!  Trust me, I saw about eleventy billion other things that will be joining my stash but these are the first to jump into my shopping cart.

Naturally I had a blast at the show and hanging out with my peeps but I am VERY happy to be home and have July pretty much behind me.  It was a rough month for me, with all the pre-show preparations and what felt like ALL of my assignments due at the same time so I am looking forward to a somewhat more laid back August.  And getting back to blogging because I have missed all your sunshiny “faces”!

Greetings From Chicago!

I am a terrible blogger! I have abandoned you all and somehow July has just flown by. I have been a busy little bee, though, and I can't wait to get you all up to speed.

But first I have to survive the Summer CHA show here in Chicago! I sure am going to have fun this week amidst piles of new scrapbooking products. I already have some favorites but there is nothing like seeing things in person... which is what I will be doing tomorrow.

Have you been checking out the sneaks online? What are you interested in seeing? I'll report back my findings this week. But first things first... party time with the A Cherry on Top girls!

Blackmail!

I really did not take nearly enough photos of the Cherry gals in Chicago! "Lucky" for me there are a ton of blackmail photos sitting on everyone's computers. ;-) Here are a few from the ACOT get together and a dinner on our last night there.

A Kristin sandwich!

Heidi and Sus

Hmm, a theme here? Janet, Juliana, and Jules

Leslie being very ladylike...

Janet, Juliana, and Jules

Sus, Pam, Jules, and Heidi

Janet and Sarah

LOOT!

It is probably a little wrong of me to begin my CHA/Chicago blogging with the free stuff I got but we all know that's what you want to see anyway! ;-)

There is no doubt that one of the awesome things about going to the CHA shows is the make and takes and freebies. I'm not one to look a gift horse (or embellishment) in the mouth so I made sure to leave plenty of room in my suitcase for this. Good thing I did!!

Here's the majority of the loot I came home with:

We R Memory Keepers water bottle


Signed book!

Tattered Angels misted mini album

October Afternoon

Mists and paint

My class from Melissa Frances (with binders from WRMK, Ranger Mini Misters, and Zip Dry)

Maya Road bingo chips, chipboard, canvas banner, and acrylic

Echo Park paper

Fancy Pants Designs Christmas ornament

Making Memories vintage groove necklace and tote bag

Jillibean Soup T-shirt

Scotch adhesives

Zutter Distrezz-It-All for $15 at the end of the show!!


And of course my favorite, Pink Paislee!
I was stoked to get to do this make and take necklace when ACOT ordered the new Parisian Anthology collection. I heart my cherry girls for letting me play!!

And I may have picked up a few other goodies along the way that could become RAKS soon so stay tuned! Next up: posts on the fantastic CT gals' shenanigans and what the family got up to in Chi-town!

1,2,... CHA CHA CHA!

Holy smokes, where did the time go?? It feels like I was just getting ready to head to sunny California for the annual winter CHA show and now we are already back in the frozen tundra dealing with snow and reality. Why is vacation time so much faster than regular time?

The show was a blast. I had such a great time meeting some of the ACOT gals and seeing all the amazing new products. I can't wait to get my hands on new Pink Paislee, Jillibean Soup (new company!), Maya Road, and of course some new American Crafts Thickers! The make and takes were fun too... check out this adorable Love banner I did at the Melissa Frances booth:

We had a few days of fun with the ACOT gals and got silly... ask me about biffing it on the show floor or my string of unaturally colored bar drinks. ;-) Here is the crew in one of many group photos:

Ryan and I also got a few days to hit the sights of Cali. We went to Hollywood, Huntington Beach, and the San Diego Zoo. Fun times! See you again next year, Anaheim!