CHA Winter 2014 Conference & Trade Show, Day Two

Today we saw some really neat products — and we got to see Vanna White.  Vanna was in Lion Brands Yarn’s booth for a fashion show. It was standing room only, but we had a pretty good spot to watch.  After the show ended, several people went up to have their picture taken with Vanna.  There was a large group of men and women from Michaels (all wearing red shirts) posing for pictures.

Vanna

After the crowd started thinning out, Erin was able to take some pics of the displays around the stage.  They were very impressive — all made from yarn.   The display was titled, “The 7 Wonders of the Yarn World” and featured 7 yarn sculptures.

Lion2

Lion3

Soon after we left Lions booth, I spotted a banner for a 3D printer and we headed right there.  It was Klic-N-Kut’s booth and they were doing a demo on the printer.  We watched as it made a mini goblet.  Both Erin and I (and lots of other people) were fascinated by the printer.  The printer is $1300.  You have to have a software program that enables you to draw 3D objects, then you bring that file into the printer’s software program and from there it prints out the object.

3D

We visited Bo Bunny’s booth again because I wanted to look at the two buildings that Laura Denison (of Following the Paper Trail) created.  Erin took more pictures and this time got some pics of the back of the Winter Fairy House.  It opens up and has space to hold a mini album.

LauraFairyHouse

And here is another pictured of Laura’s Pet Shoppe.

LauraPetShoppe

There is plenty of bling on the other half of the showroom floor, too.  We found 3 more blinged out projects in glass cases along the front walkway.  They are all eye catching, but the Kitchen Aid mixer covered in rhinestones is really a knock out.

Bling

Bling2

We spent a little time in the We R Memory Keepers booth.  We watched a demonstration of the Lifestyle Crafts Letterpress.  When the man finished with the demo, he showed us a prototype of a new die cutting/embossing machine.  It reminded me a little of my Cuttlebug, but it has a lot of different features.  One is a button that you turn and it raises or lowers the bed.  You need only one set of plates — no more sandwiches.  It also has an optional motor that slips over where the handle attaches — so you can have a motorized version, when you want it.

WeR

Once again it is getting late, so I am just going to add the rest of the pictures with short captions.

7Gyp

7 Gypsies

 

7 Gypsies

7 Gypsies – I love how they did the banner on this layout. The banners are on small hangers that are hung on a chain.

 

7 Gypsies

7 Gypsies

We got to see the new Brother ScanNCut.  It was impressive to watch — the demonstrator stamped an image and cut it out.  Erin came up with a very good point.  So many stamp companies are now selling dies to coordinate with some of their stamps so you don’t have to fussy cut around the images.  Why not take the money you would invest in dies and buy this machine?  That way you don’t have to store the dies and you will be able to cut around any stamped image.  As you can see, it cuts around the fine details.

ScanNCut from Brother cutting out a stamped image.

ScanNCut from Brother cutting out a stamped image.

 

Removing the cut from Brother's ScanNCut.

Removing the cut from Brother’s ScanNCut.

 

Bro3

Decorated cell phone cases.

Decorated cell phone cases.

 

More cell phone cases.

More cell phone cases.

 

Fabscraps

Fabscraps

 

Crows in the Kaisercraft booth.

Crows in the Kaisercraft booth.

 

Lindy's Stamp Gang

Lindy’s Stamp Gang

 

Lindy's Stamp Gang

Lindy’s Stamp Gang

 

The Modge Podge mascot -- she was kind enough to pose for us.

The Modge Podge mascot — she was kind enough to pose for us.

 

Displays in the Plaid booth.

Displays in the Plaid booth.

 

Prima

Prima

 

Prima

Prima

 

Prima

Prima

 

Prima

Prima

 

SEI

SEI

 

Stampendous

Stampendous

 

Stampendous

Stampendous

 

Stampendous

Stampendous

 

Stampendous

Stampendous

 

Teresa Collins

Teresa Collins

 

Teresa Collins -- the bottom picture shows an album that doesn't look like much in the package.  But you pull the tab on the one end and it flips through the pages.

Teresa Collins — the bottom picture shows an album that doesn’t look like much in the package. But you pull the tab on the one end and it flips through the pages.

 

Tim Holtz demonstrating his new spritzer.

Tim Holtz demonstrating his new spritzer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHA Winter 2014 Conference & Trade Show, Day One

 

Erin and I attended the opening day of the CHA Conference & Trade Show held in Anaheim, CA.  We arrived about an hour after it opened — we were a little late because Erin had to drive up from San Diego.  We stayed until about an hour before it closed and managed to walk a little over 1/3 of the show.  We will be back tomorrow when it opens.

Erin took a lot of pictures and I am sharing quite a few.  I would post more but I am just too tired and I need to get to bed so we can get up and do it all over again tomorrow.  We plan on going all four days.  So, here are some of the highlights from today.

Some of the displays in the lobby.

Some of the displays in the lobby.

 

Lanterns hanging in the lobby.

Lanterns hanging in the lobby.

 

Brother's new Scan & Cut machine, laser die cuts, Pop-It-Up dies, and Spellbinders Tool In One (used to clean up those hard-to-get-out pieces from intricate dies).

In the New Showcase area: Brother’s new Scan & Cut machine, laser die cuts, Pop It Up dies, and Spellbinders Tool in One (to clean up those hard-to-get-out pieces from intricate dies).

 

New Tim Holtz products - a Spritzer to use with Distress Markers and some mini Distress Inks and Ink Blending Tool.

New Tim Holtz products – a Spritzer to use with Distress Markers and some Mini Distress Inks and Ink Blending Tool.

 

Crystals

Lots of bling at the show. Even Swarovski is there — we haven’t made it to the Swarovski Elements booth yet.

 

Die Cuts With a View always has fantastic displays.  This year their booth has walls and they have gorgeous framed paper art hanging on the sides.

Die Cuts With a View always has fantastic displays. This year their booth has walls and they have gorgeous framed paper art hanging on the outside.

 

More DCWV

More DCWV

 

Bo Bunny's booth features two beautiful projects -- a Winter Fairy House and a the Happy Tails Pet Shoppe, both created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

Bo Bunny’s booth features two beautiful projects — a Winter Fairy House and the Happy Tails Pet Shoppe, both created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

 

The kits Erin & I received at the Bo Bunny booth for giving them a business card.

The kits Erin & I received at the Bo Bunny booth for giving them a business card.

 

The Graphic 45 booth -- always a popular location.

The Graphic 45 booth — always a popular location.

 

More Graphic 45.  The Tea Shoppe is gorgeous.  It was also created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

More Graphic 45. The Tea Shoppe is gorgeous. It was also created by Laura Denison of Following the Paper Trail.

Cute paper and stickers from Scrapbook Customs.

Cute paper and stickers from Scrapbook Customs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter 2012 – 2nd Day of Exhibition

 

The show was a little more crowded today than it was on Saturday, but it was still easy to navigate through the aisles.   Our first stop was at a booth where a line of people had formed.  I figured there was either a really cool demo going on or a celebrity was in the booth.

The booth was Electic Products and they are the makers of E6000 Craft Adhesive.  They are introducing a new spray version of E6000 that has no odor.  In their booth was author, designer and TV host Mark Montano signing and giving away copies of his newest book, The Big-Ass Book of Bling.  Of course hubby and I had to stand in line, and we both got an autographed copy.

Mark

Mark2

Book

It was funny because when Steve (hubby) first found out what we were standing in line for, he grumbled a tad.  But while we were in line, they handed out some sample tubes of E6000.  Steve started talking to the representatives about their various products and asked if they make any industrial adhesives.  He found they may have an adhesive that will work for his latest project at work.  Then he was a happy camper.

I went  back to Jinger Adams’ booth to get some more information on her Over-the-Door Armoire.  Her booth was pretty busy this morning.  I found out the retail price — it is going to be $250.

I also asked where it will be available for sale.  Kristy told me tthat the initial plans are to sell it first on HSN and then have it available in stores.  She said to keep an eye on Jinger’s Facebook page and blog because they will make an announcement when they know for sure.

I found a couple of cool new tools today that I am excited about.  The first one I found at Craftwell’s booth.  I wanted to try their new eBosser machine and they had several out to demo.  The nice thing about the eBosser is that it is automatic — no handles to crank.  I got to run some cardstock through it with one of their embossing folders.  The machine makes a nice, deep impression.  Since the embossing folder I used makes a card, you can also see it makes the score line to fold it.

Card

 

Here’s a picture of the eBosser and some felt flowers that were cut with the machine using a die:

eBosser

After I did the demo with the eBosser, the lady showed me a prototype of Craftwell’s latest goodie — it’s an airbrush system for crafters, the eBrush.  The nice thing about this is that the air compressor is the base of the unit — and it’s very compact.  There is a spot in the top to hold the airbrush.  It will take up little space on your work area.  She mentioned a fun use for it — using food-safe colors to decorate cakes.

AirBrush

AirBrush2

My second fun discovery was in the Zutter booth — they make the Bind-it-All, among many other products.  They are introducing the Bow-it-All, a nifty tool to make bows of many styles and sizes.   It is a board with metal pegs that you move around to make the sizes and shapes.  The extra pegs and tools store in the sides of the board and it comes in a pink bag.

Here are 3 photos of the large display showing the Bow-it-All and many of the bows it makes.

BowItAll

Board

Board2

Stacy, the lady who did the demo, is also the designer of this neat tool and I’m sorry to say I didn’t get her face in the photo.  She is working with a black one —  the pink version is what is going to be for sale and it will come with a pink case.  The board measures 8″x 13″ and it comes with what she calls “helping hand” pegs.  They are for holding the piece of ribbon in the back, if you are going to wrap it around a card or scrapbook page.  There are little clips that go around the two “helping hand” pegs to secure the ribbon while you make your bow.

Oh, and the way you tie the bow off — Stacy said it forms a “C” shape in the back — ensures that the bow will not come untied.  You can tug on the tails and the bow stays tied.  That is a great feature.

Demo2

PinkBIA

BIACase

Stacy made two bows while I was there, a small one and a larger double loop one.  She made the small one with seam binding and it measures about 3/4″ — look at how pretty that tiny bow turned out.  She did not put the extra piece of ribbon in the back of this bow — you will notice on the larger bow that it has the extra piece to wrap around. The ribbon on the large bow is 1 1/2″ wide and the bow is about 3 1/4″ wide.  I got to bring both bows home with me so I photographed them on a piece of floral cardstock.

SmBow2

DoubleBow

The suggested price on the Bow-it-All is $24.95 and they will be available in the spring.  This is going to be another must-have tool for me.  I love pretty bows and while I think I do a decent job of tying a single bow, the ability to make such a variety really appeals to me.  And to be able to make such nice, tiny bows — that is exciting.  My arthritic hands won’t be struggling with tiny loops.

We ended our day back at Craftwell’s booth.  They were having drawing and were giving away an eBosser.  They started by giving away four embossing folders first.  These are large folders, 8 1/2″ x 11″.  The lady standing in front of me asked me what would a person do with the folder if they don’t have the machine and we both chuckled.  Then her name was called as a winner of a folder and my name was called next!  It must be a sign that I need to purchase an eBosser at some point.

CHA 2011: New Craft Supershows

 

I spotted this poster while eating lunch one day at CHA and asked Erin to take a picture so I can share it here.  It looks like there are going to be three shows in 2011, one at Rosemont (Chicago), IL, another at Charlotte, NC and the third one at Orlando, FL.  It says the shows have new producers. 

The shows are being added to other shows, which range from jewelry and fashion shows to women’s shows.  It says the “streamlined” supershows will offer:  

  • 50-100 craft vendors
  • Make-n-takes
  • Demonstrations
  • Techniques
  • Product for sale

I am curious to know how the “streamlined” shows will compare to previous shows.  I read on another site, valleynewslive.com,  that the new format means the new shows will be a section within another show rather than being a show in itself.  It also said that instead of having separate classes, teaching will now take place within the booths.