CHA report

I spent a day at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) show walking the floor. That means I didn't have to work at the company booth and instead spent my time checking out all the new products.

Perhaps seeing all the sneak peaks at LifetimeMoments jaded me (note: I think LM has the best sneak peaks on the net). Or maybe I didn't really enjoy myself because exhibitors get treated like crap since we don't buy anything. I'm upfront with who/what I am. I'm an avid scrapbooker who happens to be working for an exhibitor. Or it could be I've been to too many tradeshows. After all, I was just at Memory Trends a couple months ago.

In any case, there weren't many sneak peaks that made me seek out the manufacturers' booths. I'm sure I have a different perspective since I'm not a buyer for a store. The show was about 3/4 scrapbooking and 1/4 other crafts. There was hardly any woodworking or metal crafts and very little fabric or yarn. Quite a change from three years ago.

I didn't notice as much bling as at Memory Trends. There were lots of bird themes, swirls, and border prints. I hate border prints. The paper isn't as versatile; I think of them as "moments" paper. I'm not a moments scrapper. Swirls/flourishes are still big. You can get them in stamps, chipboard, the aforementioned border prints, and even new dies for the QuicKutz Revolution.

Clear stamps are still big or should I say bigger than ever. I'm not really a stamper, though you would think I am with all the supplies I have. There are even more cute journaling stamps available. But, I think they encourage notes, rather than stories, so I have mixed feelings about them.

More boy stuff and not cutesy little boy stuff. Good for all my friends with sons and me with my nephews.

Bazzill has a new Smoothies line of cardstock. It is thinner than their usual stuff. I feel like they're going full circle. I remember when the majority of their line was smooth. Me, I don't need the texture. But everyone else seems to like it. Actually, in an ideal world, I'd like every Bazzill color to be available in textured and smooth CS. And I'd like the textured CS to be textured the same on both sides.

There were even more die cutting machines. ProvoCraft has a 12-inch wide machine and QuicKutz has something that is rumored to be an OEM version of the CraftRobo. I think they'll do well because QK has a good reputation in the industry so people who were hesitant to buy a cutter before will buy one because of the name.

There was one item that really excited me, but I don't know if any stores I know will carry it. It was a little machine that punched squares for wire binding. It was perfect for making your own mini books ala 7 gypsies. You can see it at Bind-it-All. If you find someone who's selling this, let me know.

(edited 2/4) I forgot to add the other item that I wanted. I walked over to the OTT light booth to give them a suggestion: I've spent the past year looking for a portable battery operated task light with no luck. It turns out, they are releasing a battery operated model in April. Woo hoo! It is definitely going on my shopping list.

I saw one celeb, Heidi Swapp, but that's it. I heard there were a lot more on other show days.

I did a couple of make and takes. They were just okay. The really good ones all had huge lines and I didn't want to waste time in line.

Glad I had a chance to walk the floor. Wish I could have walked it with friends rather than by myself. After all, isn't scrapbooking a social activity?