CHA Winter 2013: trends and must haves

Here's take-two of trying to post the trends I noticed at CHA and the products I loved and want to get. Hopefully SAVE will work this time.

Trends

This project by Basic Grey is filled with many of the trends I noticed:

Here's what I saw a lot of:

1. Mustaches

Teresa Collins had a nice line that would work for both men and women called He Said She Said. On the left side you can see a sheet of paper with a 'stache of fun! (Sorry, couldn't help myself.) Lots of designers had mustache products. I know people have mixed feelings about mustache designs, so this trend could be a little hairy for some of you, but I think it will grow on you. Hee!

2. Arrows

These too were everywhere. Stamps, wood veneer, papers, and so on. Sorry if you don't like arrows, because it seems like they'll be on many, many lines this year. Since I'm a mother of boys, I'm OK with them--they're a nice accent for them.

3. Little bags

I saw these at a few places--these by Crate and in Webster's Pages too. Not sure what they are--glassine envelope-like bags with cute patterns.

4. Ombre

Not sure if this is the right term, but there were several places I noticed Ombre patterns, subtle gradations of hue. Like here with the Amy Tangerine latter stickers:

And these Thickers and stickers from the Studio Calico Sundrifter line:

And this line by Cosmo Cricket:

When used on a page like this:

The gradated color seems to add a hint of distressing, just achieved in a significantly less messy way than by misting or inking.

5. Speech bubbles

This is another trend that you either love or hate. Lots of companies had speech bubble patterns on their papers, in their stamps, in their dies. I like them--they are nice as a base for a title or  embellishment cluster. This page by BoBunny has sweet and not-so-sweet phrases to use when scrapping all areas of your life.

6. Instagram/polaroid frames

Many companies--American Crafts, Jillibean Soup, Crate Paper--had papers or products with vintage-type frames on them, especially Polaroid and  Instagram-ish filters. Fun.

7. Wood veneer

Studio Calico has had nice, unpainted Wood Veneer for a while; this time I also liked seeing it at Basic Grey and Prima. Also: note the arrows and speech bubbles. This year we will all be going places and talking on the way.

8. Acetate/acrylic

People were talking about Pink Paislee/ Heidi Swapp's return to the acrylic letters; I also saw this clear trend in other places, like Crate Paper and Basic Grey. I'm glad I never got rid of my vellum adhesive.

9. Project Life as an industry standard

I don't do Project Life, but after having visited the Project Life booth and checking out the lovely kits (hello, Jade), I admittedly found myself succumbing to the Siren-call of Project Life. Most companies must have heard the call too because they seems to size everything to fit those cards--the 4x3 size is standard for die cuts, mini-frames, page protectors, stamps, dies, and so on. In addition, companies like We R Memory Keepers and BoBunny have come out with smaller and cheaper Project Life-like kits. The WRMK set on the left has half the cards as PL but cost $10; the Misc Me line from BoBunny can see a wonderfully decked out smaller album for around $26.

Must-Have Products

1. 2-page page protectors

Lots of interesting combinations of page protectors, but this one, showed to me by Donna Januzzi, is clever: it's a two-page on by WRMK. Stitched together on the left side, it  keeps your two-page layouts together even in 3-ring binders. Here it is in action:

2. EK Success Doily punch

As a mother of boys, I don't have much use for doilies, but I do love circles, and this punch by EK Success/ Martha Stewart was super easy, allowing you to punch various sizes. Can you picture this as the base for a wedding centerpiece?

3. 3x4 punch

This punch by WRMK is really perfect. True, you can size photos to 4x3, or you can use your trimmer, but a punch is quicker and easier. This is a prototype; it's expected in June, which should be just in time for when the new PL official kits arrive (heh).

4. Teresa Collins mini-albums and portable adhesive kits

 

Teresa Collins makes  nice products, but it's not a line I tend to frequent, mainly because I think it tends toward the feminine. Someone told me I should check out the booth before I left, and I'm so glad I did. Lots of cool embellishments and unique products like these two mini albums and this portable adhesive kit:

 I thought it would be cool to pack a mini in this sturdy box and take it with me the next time I travel.

 5. Jenni Bowlin Punches

I know that some people think punches are dead since the Cameo is so convenient, and ubiquitous, but punches can go everywhere and are quicker and easier to use. I cannot wait to get the two-tab ones on the lower left and upper right.

6. Trimmer

How much would you pay for a trimmer that never dulls and always cuts straight? It's an interesting question about to become not-so-philosophical. This Fiskars ProCision Rotary Bypass Trimmer can do both, and it costs about $120. If my current Sure-Cut trimmer dies again (no pun intended), I might need to save up.

So this concludes my picks from CHA! What are you excited about? How do you feel about Project life? And how much would you spend for a trimmer that never dulls and always cuts straight?

CHA Winter 2013: More inspiring products and projects

I spent another exciting day at CHA yesterday; today I'll hang out for an hour or two, then I'll head home. I wanted to post more inspiring projects, then late tomorrow or Wednesday I'll post about trends and exciting products that we all need but they may not be visible in the gorgeous layouts in the booths.

Here's the first:

 

Paper Smooches sells adorable stamps and coordinated dies. I love to be reminded of ways I can use both on my pages, and this layout does that. The booth was filled with adorable cards. Check out this one that made me chuckle:

I love it.

Next was Technique Tuesday:

The layouts on the booth were 8x8, a size I rarely scrap, but how lovely it is. The above page is from Ali Edwards, and this one from Linda Barber.

Love how it uses the white space of the photo to stamp on.

Next was Jillibean Soup, which I almost missed and am so glad I didn't:

Their collections were among the best, in my opinion. Every one was gorgeous, and the company does a terrific job of using the B-side of the pages to create usable themed papers. Not all collections were themed. The Placemats--die cut 12x12 paper--were inspiring. The above layout trimmed down the circle paper, and the next one:

This one cut apart the photo frames paper. It also used the die cut stickers (everyday) and the typical adorable Jillibean Soup stickers  and papers to embellish.

(Note: Project Life, which is something I don't do, has become an industry standard when it comes to sizing. 4x3 sized cards and cards-within-12x12-paper fit perfectly for those who do Project Life.)

Doodlebug had their usual bright, fun products and pages:

I liked the colored washi, which serves as the background here.

GCD Studios also had some amazing collections and pages. This one shows off Heidi Sonboul's new line Special Delivery.

Prima...I have to admit I tend not to go in that booth because it is not my style, but I did check it out with Donna Januzzi, just to see how the other half (mothers who scrap girls) live. Here's one project I really liked:

Not too dimensional, and nice use of several photos. Prima did have nice collections of wood veneer; you can see the plane here.

Jenni Bowlin also tends to be a style that for me tends towards the feminine, but the collections were very usable for masculine pages, perfectly demonstrated by Lisa Dickenson's amazing pages. Here's one that uses feathers and her new papers:

Lovely, and not girly at all. I may have to get those feathers.

Little Yellow Bicycle was one of the only booths that had some two page designs. Their Vintage Summer collection was USA-patriotic in its colors, but the patterns were more versatile.

Glitz had some of my favorite collections. This one shows their summer collection Uncharted Waters. Absolutely gorgeous.

Finally, the big section that was American Crafts and its satellites contained lots of inspiring projects. Here's some from Crate:

 

Maggie Holmes' collection had a lot of buzz. It is gorgeous. I love that cloudy-dreamy background paper. I'm not so keen on the glitter thickers--Dear Lizzy had some clear glitter thickers that were nice, but these are just too much bling for me. I love the die cut collection--it's smaller, so easier to cluster.

Though Maggie's collection had more buzz, I love the DIY Shop collection:

 

Again, smaller die cuts, and the papers were fun. There was one that was sort of like a rainbow-ish TTV frame. Sigh.

And from AC Dear Lizzy, Lucky Charm:

Notice the navy blue. Dear Lizzy has always had gorgeous product and patterns, but this one, with its navy touches, feels more masculine to me, but still playful, so perfect for scrapping boys as well as girls. I like that companies like Fancy Pants, American Crafts, and Jillibean Soup are making die cut papers. Not everyone has a Cameo.

Thanks for reading about my second day--I'll share some of my favorite products that you might not have heard about tomorrow.

What are you excited to get that you've heard about so far?