Good Times at CHA

Every January I look forward to going to CHA. It's huge craft and hobby trade show that was held in Anaheim this year. I've also been to the summer show in Chicago a couple of times. It's a couple of days full of exploring the latest scrapbooking products, meeting people I know from the cyber world and spending time with friends.

This year, Jennie, Diana and I drove over to Anaheim. We all agreed that this was the best show yet. SInce we've all been to CHA several times, we know what to expect and found the perfect balance of work and play.

We were able to design 6 Scrapbook Circle kits while we were there! We also did several projects at the booths and managed to squeeze in some time to eat good food.

We ran into Stacy Julian, Rhonna Farrer and Janet Hopkins. This was my first time to meet Stacy. I have followed her blog, Simple Scrapbooks magainze, and Big Picture Scrapbooking for years and it was nice to finally meet her.
We loved the new lines from The Girls' Paperie designed by Margie Romney-AslettIt was fun to chat with her a while.The show did not have nearly as many attendees this year which worked out great for us. Less lines and crowds was a good thing. (CHA usually gives each company 10 badges and this year is was only 4 badges, so less people were able to get in.)

One of the sweetest people I meet was Elizabeth Kartchner. She has a new line with American Crafts and we loved her products. You will definitely be seeing her things in a Scrapbook Circle kit in the near future.
One of the big trends was jewelry making. We enjoyed making necklaces at three different booths (Making Memories, Tim Holtz and Hero Arts.) I love making jewelry, so it was fun to get to do both paper and jewelry projects.

A huge thanks to Jennie and Diana for coming with me on this fun adventure. Can't wait until we go again next time!