Archive for February, 2007
Posted by juliehrr in : Uncategorized : 13 Comments
She sure can! (wink!) Bwah ha haaaaaaaa!!! She’s got MORE CHA stuff to drivel about! I had to take Sunday off and spend some time with the family (and the laundry). snort!
Lizzie Anne Designs debuted at CHA. To read more about how these 2 friends started their company, please visit their link at left, under New Friends.
They may have had a tiny booth (literally), but their product line packed a cute and fun wollop! There was such a crush of retailers ordering, that we had a hard time getting close enough to take pics of their booth, so with their permission, I am sharing some from their website here.
Their stamp set designs, called Little Bits, are cute, simple, and clean in style! UM rubber on a vinyl cling system, and easily stored in CD jewel cases. I really loved their Simple Bits, too, which are an image and a separate, but, coordinated sentiment! FUN!
We had the pleasure of chatting with Diane Beckman, fellow SCSer, who was helping out in the Pinecone Press Booth (I actually own a few of their fun books for paper crafters). My camera batteries were dying at the time, so I was glad she got this shot and emailed it to me! Thanks so much, Diane!
The card displays at Penny Black were positively breathtaking; I think my jaw hit the floor! I’ve always been a tremendous fan of Penny Black, and they had their samples down low enough, and so well lit, that it was very easy to get some great shots of their designs. Primarily known for their gorgeous wood mount stamps, and diverse styles, they are becoming equally famous for their drop-dead sticker line (bottom photo), and beautiful papers. They are also introducing a line of clear stamps, including fun alphabets (top photo)!
What I really enchanted me about their sticker line, is the quality, detail and rich color! And, they’re designed to work so well with their stamps, too! If you’re short on time, you can STILL make a scrumptious and elegant card in mere minutes by combining their stickers and stamps! *Uber* cool!
I loved talking with Shaida, the owner, of the company. A beautiful lady, with such vision, and dedication . . . I literally “felt” her passion and commitment to making beautiful stamps, and how much she appreciated stampers like myself, who have loved her company’s images for years . . .
Upsy Daisy Designs is a fun new little company that features yummy scrapbook papers, rustic, bold, –of course, the name caught my attention right away ‘cuz I soooo love daisies, and they, too, have a line of clear stamps.
I’ve checked my files and don’t think I have any more photos and info to share– I’ve finally tapped ‘em out . . . it’s such a *big* show, and I just went through my looooooong list of places I had HOPED to get around to, and, unfortunately, never did . . . so many booths, so little time (and such achey feet by the end of the each day).
I hope you got an inside view of what the SCS adventures were like, and even tho we couldn’t cover “everything”, it felt a little bit like you were there with us!
{{{{{{{{{{{SCS Community}}}}}}}}}}}}
Posted by juliehrr in : Uncategorized : 16 Comments
Before I get goin’ again today, I just wanted to let you know that we’ve tried to include links to everybody we’ve talked about here on the blog, right over there on the side bar menu to the right, under “New Friends”. Be sure to visit their links for more information!
Some of the manufacturers have indeed updated their websites to include products that debuted at CHA 2007; but, in some cases, there are those that prefer to wait to showcase them on their website, because the products won’t be available for shipping out to retailers until May! That’s understandable as we’re only in the month of February right now . . . (wink!)
There are also smaller manufacturers who have very limited personnel, and all their energy was channeled into preparing for this show, and they may still be recovering (to say exhibiting at CHA is a TON of work is an understatement).
OK, on with the dish:
Our very own SCSer EllenH was demonstrating and doing a make & take at the Create-A-Cut Booth! This guillotine style cutter uses a variety of decorative blades and, unlike using decorative scissors, can cut in a perfectly straight line in one fell swoop.
Ellen created numerous samples for their booth, and those shown above examplify some of the great effects that can be achieved.
Alcohol based Copic Markers are revered as the Cadillac of coloring instruments by professional illustrators and artists. These amazing markers come in a phenomenal array of colors, the tips are designed to last for years and years of use, and they can be refilled!
While I’ve never used them personally, Linda Carnell, owner of A Muse Art Stamps, absolutely swears by them for their ability to color without leaving any lines whatsoever, noting that she’s also never had any bleeding issues, when using them with her favorite ink pads, such as Versafine.
I had to stop and gawk over them for a few minutes, astounded at the huge selection of colors.
This fashionable crafter’s tote by Creative Options had me positively riveted–it comes in several gorgeous colors of micro suede fabric including my favorite: CELERY!!! I believe they mentioned they should be ready for shipping out to retail stores in May.
Creative Options had a great array of craft/scrapbook totes and storage systems, as you can see. When Daven mentioned it was my birthday, these kind folks floored me by gifting me with this remarkable celery and teal craft cart!!! It’s made of a durable, lightweight yet flexible plastic. The upper compartment has a nice area for putting all kinds of tools, like your heat gun and punches, and the mid-section has these nifty shallow drawers just perfect for stamps and ink pads. The bottom compartment can hold 12 x 12″ paper, and is roomy enough for a personal die cutting machine, like the Cuttlebug or possibly the Big Shot. There’s even a cup-holder, if you close the lid on the very top of the cart, and, yes, it has wheels.
While I didn’t even make it to Prima, these silk flowers by Petaloo caught my eye and I had to stop and check ‘em out. I loved the large daisies, and the polka dot ones are really fun! I also noticed they had a lot of fun blank items for customizing and decorating–boxes, accordian albums, and such.
Their booth was situated on a carpet of silk petals–like walking on a blanket of roses!
One of the things I particularly enjoyed seeing at CHA this year, was art stamping and paper crafting being incorporated even more so in home decor. In addition to shadow box frames for showcasing scrapbook pages, were stamped fabric pillows, and wall art:
The above piece was on display in a special gallery that showcased crafts used in home decor. Gorgeous papers, even hand-stamped papers, appeared to have been mounted onto thick press-board tiles, strategically positioned inside a circular tray at varying heights in a collage fashion, and then coated with Envirotex Lite. This clear epoxy coating closely resembles a high gloss tile finish, and the effect is unbelievable! I had a hard time taking my eyes off this piece. WOW!
These (clear) stamps by Michelle Ward for Stampington are full of wonderful detail, and I had to stand and ogle them for a few minutes. Stampington produces some of the most stunning publications in the industry including Somerset Studio (Mixed Media Art), Legacy (Scrapbooking), Belle Armoire (Wearable Art), Art Doll Quarterly, and more. Many stampers are familiar with Take Ten (Cards designed to take 10 minutes max to make) and the Stamper’s Sampler, which both focus predominantly on stamped cards. In addition to their publications, they also have their own line of stamps, and a spectacular online shop.
I actually did a double take at their booth because the one and only time my work has ever made it on the cover of a magazine, they had that particular issue on display in a ginormous poster format:
“Look, Mom!!! My card made the cover of Take Ten!” (Mine’s the one on the lower left of Take Ten, featuring the boxer shorts clipped to a clothesline)
I was a little excited about this, and, with a slap-happy grin on my face, grabbed my suitcase by the handle and moved on. Eventually, as I was snappin’ pics, I turned to pull my cell phone out of my purse to check the time . . . it was getting late, and I was sure the show would be closing down for the night very shortly.
To my horror (yes, HORROR!!!) and disbelief, I discovered the suitcase I had been hauling around was not my own.
I had unwittingly snagged SOMEONE ELSE’S suitcase at some point and mine was nowhere to be found.
. . . You know that sick feeling you get when something like this happens? The one where you seriously believe you are gonna toss your cookies???!!!
Yeah. (insert total state of panic)
I began to run frantically down the aisles, shrieking out to Daven and Sara about what I had done, and trying to re-trace my steps. Daven and Sara split up, doing the same–’cept they weren’t shrieking. I think Daven might even have been laughing at me!
He finally recalled that he thought he had seen it last at Stampington’s booth, so I rushed back there, to find they had set my suitcase and purse behind their counter area for safe-keeping, and they had the cell # of the lady whose suitcase I had walked away with.
Positively mortified, I stood there turning several shades of crimson, stuttering my apologies . . .
Yeah.
A pitcher full of appletinis sounded like a rather good idea at that point . . .
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One of the newest little companies, exhibiting for the 1st time at CHA, that impressed me, was Mema Designs. They don’t have a ginormous product line, but, what they do have is very enchanting! Their book kits are just darling and I fell in love with their “Purse-abilities” and accordian flag book kits. They took all the guess-work and fussing out of book making with these kit blanks! I like that! Quite muchly!
Storage and organization. We all need it. Desperately. Gentlemen, here’s an answer to the chaos that is strewn all over dining room tables around the world: The Original Scrap Box (For more details and a cool video clip where you see how it opens, visit their link over there in the side bar to the right, under New Friends). It comes with all the collapsible mesh/canvas drawers you see, and several different wood finishes.
The ingenious guy who designed it was fed up with seeing his wife’s scrap crap EVERYWHERE, and while standing at his refrigerator, it dawned on him that she needed an armoire that functioned in the same fashion. The thing is absolutely incredible, with a table work surface that drops down like a Murphy Bed once both doors are opened.
It also has wheels.
…………………………THUD!
I dunno about ya’all, but, I get a serious drool goin’ on every time I look at this fabby thing! Imagine being able to FIND all your scrap crap . . .
Uh huh! (head bobbin’ up and down vigorously) Dat’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout!!!
If you don’t own your own personal die cutting system, you will probably enjoy these new white chipboard shapes by Bazzill–a lot of companies make the grey chipboard (I know; virtually *every* scrapbook company has chipboard), but I prefer white–so easy to tint with ink and get true color results. Bazzill introduced more of their scalloped edge papers in even more colors. You know me; total sucker for scallops! (rolling eyeballs)
If you’re a fan of Magenta, well, I must tell you that their display boards were nothing short of magnificent. Long renowned for their images and some of the most incredibly gifted designers, their line of WM, clear stamps, and metallic stickers made my heart stop. Their color techniques are outstanding, and their line of “Peel Off” stickers make it easy to achieve a thermal embossed look without a single grain of embossing powder!
Fancy Pants Designs is new for me, having only stumbled onto their papers a few months ago at my LSS. They are just lovely, and I ’bout PIMP’d when I saw they were releasing their own line of stamps (yes, clear). They’re actually famous for their gorgeous papers, and BIG chipboard; they’ll be even more famous for their BIG clear stamp sets, which measured 12 x 12″! They also had some delightful smaller sized sets, ideal for card making, as you can see above. They were also introducing ribbon cards that had scads of pretty lace–they’re taking the Bohemian style to new heights, I think!
I had to stop and look at Shindo, a company based out of Japan, that makes beautiful ribbon–they had tied their overhead canopy rungs with ribbon everywhere! I’m kicking myself I didn’t take a pic of it now . . . It was quite fun and colorful! They had some A Muse Art Stamps card samples on display and do you see that delightful one onthe left? Well, it was designed by none other than our very own SCSer Scoopy! Hi, Emily! I’m waving to you!!!
I couldn’t have been more delighted than to have the good fortune to run into fellow Addict-a-Bella Niki–oh, dang, I can’t remember if that’s also her screen name over on SCS or not. I so enjoyed chatting with her for a few moments!
Well, there’s more to share, and I will, but for now, I must take a break. See ya’ soon!