CHA Round Up

Well, I can't believe that I am already back from CHA. It was such a whirlwind of workshops, seminars and floor walking to find the latest and greatest products and the newest trends we can expect to see this year. Today's report will only be on the paper front. So here's some of my favourites: Firstly, I just couldn't go past Graphic 45 - a beautiful range of double-sided vintage papers in muted tones. This was such an eye catching display that I just couldn't leave this booth without photographing the old telephone box (with permission, of course!) This is a range that is sure to be popular this year - they had run out of catalogues early on day 3! Another which took my eye was " Wild Things " from Imaginisce. This is a cute range of coordinating papers, stickers and rubber stamps featuring lions, tigers, elephants, pandas and more. What I loved most about this range was the matching stamps and stickers..... so very, very cute!! I also fell in love with......

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Winter CHA 2009 is coming!

I'll madly preparing for CHA (the giant US craft trade show) at the end of this week. It is truly a crafter's paradise - 4 exhibition halls packed with the latest and greatest craft products to hit the market..... I'm so excited! One of the really cool things about this show is the excellent workshops that are held over 4 days - some taught by really well known crafters and others by not so well-known crafters but each is an expert teacher. I always look forward to this part of the show as I get to be the student for a change and learn how to use some of the new products. One of the hardest parts though, is that it's a trade show so you can't just buy the latest tool that you just saw demonstrated or that perfect piece of paper or embellishment to finish off the project you've been working on..... you have to wait until it's available at your local retail outlet to get your hands on it. Still, it's great to have a heads up on what will be heading to our......

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Friendly Plastic Challenge Entries

A while back I posted an entry about Amaco's 90th birthday and their Friendly Plastic Challenge. Well, the entries are now all in and are ready for judging. Want some Friendly Plastic eye candy to keep you going until the judging has taken place? Then check out the AMACO website . Friendly Plastic is set to explode onto the craft scene this year. Some of you might remember when it was around many, many years ago but to many crafters (me included) it is a new medium to play with. I promise you it's a really fun material to use and it's very addictive. It's one of those products which can be used in a range of crafts, from papercrafting, to off the page pieces, jewellery design and even textile work. And I'm sure that there are more ideas out there just waiting to be discovered. So keep your eyes out for those pretty metallic sticks as more and more retailers begin to stock this fabulous product in the coming months....

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