Successful Weekend at CHA

On Sunday, I returned from another successful trip to the annual crafting industry trade show. I traveled with Diana and Jennie from our team and met up with Tessa and Heather in Anaheim.

After flying in, our first stop was lunch at Mama D's in Newport Beach. It was super delicious although I think a local Gilbert Italian restaurant, La Calabria, is slightly better. We decided to explore some shops in Newport Beach and scouted out some hippo sugar cookies at Dad's Donut and Bakery Shop which came is bright colors and were quite delicious.

That night we were off to Disneyland! We had a twilight pass that were good from 4:00 - 11:00pm and we spent every minute of that in the part. We made great use of fast passes and ever took some time out at Jolly Holiday for some grilled cheese and tomato soup. My favorites were Indiana Jones and Thunder Mountain Railroad.  We stopped for a snack break in New Orleans for some Mickey shaped beignets. So much fun!

We had a packed two days scouting our the best new products to add to our upcoming Scrapbook Circle kits. We loved getting to try out new products and techniques.

That night we took a much needed break and enjoyed dinner at Sambroso! A few of us even had cactus on our dinner plates.

Then it was back to the hotel where we pored through catalogs and samples for hours and figured out products for the next few kits. I love doing this!

The next day we finished filling out order forms and headed back to the show.

Once again, I'm so grateful for our amazing Scrapbook Circle team and the time we got to spend together. We are all very excited about what we have planned and can't wait to share soon.

Want to take a look at a few of my past CHA trips? 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 This was my 9th or 10th trip to CHA, but looks like I haven't blogged about each trip.

CHA Recap

Last weekend I had the fun opportunity to go to CHA in Anaheim. CHA is always a highlight of the fun things I get to do each year. What could be better than being surrounded by aisles and aisles of scrapbook supplies? Plus, I get to see it all with friends and meet other people who love preserving memories as much as I do.

Jennie, Diana and I decided to drive this year and at the last minute my sister Michelle decided to join us too. Michelle didn't go to CHA, but she did get to spend her birthday weekend at Disneyland.  We meet up with Tessa and Heather on Friday night for a night at California Adventure. Touring around the park without kids is a different experience and we had a great time!

It was so cold that night. I've never been so cold at Disney. But we layered up and endured! A highlight was riding on the sliding cars on the Ferris Wheel. I'm pretty sure a couple of the girls (who shall remain unnamed!) thought we were sliding off the ferris wheel to out death. I had a similar "near death" experience last time I rode the ferris wheel with Max. I'm thinking this is a must ride with all new friends who come with us to California Adventure. 

Saturday morning we were up and ready to hit the floor at CHA. (Rebecca joined us at our hotel late on Friday night.)

Our first stop was the Elle's Studio booth. Several of us in our group have been on Elle's design team in the past and it was really fun to meet her. So sweet and friendly! It was cool to see that she had added patterned paper to her mix of offering. We may have ordered a few sheets.

Meeting Ali Edwards was a highlight of the day. She was so personable and friendly. She always inspires me with the projects and ideas.

It was also cool to see three of my layouts up in the Glitz Designs booth. I've been on the Glitz team for almost three years and love that I have the opportunity to work with such talented people and fun products.

The majority of the time at CHA we are walking into manufacturer booths to check out the new product. I loved the Webster's Pages booth design for the new Alison Kreft lines. I think I need that heart in my house!

I am so thankful for the group we had scouting out all of the new goods for the upcoming Scrapbook Circle kits. Each one of them is so kind, generous and creative! How did I get so lucky to have such great friends who love creating as much as I do?

Another one of my favorite things about CHA is the samples. Yes, I now have a huge pile of samples waiting to be used. The samples definitely help us decide what to order, so hopefully our favorites will be the favorites of others in our kits!

Stop by the Scrapbook Circle blog for more photos from our CHA adventure!