Friday, January 29, 2010

CHA CHA CHA



Wow - CHA has come to a close.... I was amazed at all of the new products. You never know with the economy!!! I had a great time on my trip!!! We always make sure we have time to play on our trip and we did that!! We hit California Adventure and Disneyland too :)

I thought i would highlight some companies (in alphabetical order):

American Crafts - They had a few things I liked (besides their thickers which I always love). They came out with a few paperlines that were nice - Letterbox and the Heat Wave line http://americancrafts.typepad.com/studio/2010/01/cha-sneak-peek-heat-wave.html (perfect for summer pictures). they have gorgeous embroidered albums that are set at a great price! I also loved some of the embellishments of the Dear Lizzy line. American Crafts now owns Pebbles inc and there were a few cute alphabets and embellishments there too! I thought the I do line was boring :)

Basic Grey - Basic Grey is a great company but to be honest there have been a lot of lines over the past few years that I have NOT liked! As i walked around with Layle at the booth, I realized what a huge release of produc this was! There were definitely a few lines that I liked (and a few I didn't). I also liked their new Basics collection. I know they will come in handy for future kits! They also have studs (bling for boys). One thing that Basic Grey had was GORGEOUS sample layouts - makes you like all of the lines!

Bella Boulevard - I really liked the lines "All Inclusive" and "Man of the House". There are only 4 papers per collection so they are pretty small. I was surprised at their prices - definitely on the high end! I would love to maybe use them as add-on sometime!

Bo Bunny - Bo Bunny had a huge realease this show. Nothing absolutely jumped out at me but I could see scrapbooking with several of the lines. They have a fun and bright summer one.

Cosmo Cricket - Always fun to visit their booth :) I liked the colors in Garden Variety and Material Girl. I was disappointed in JoyRide. The patterns are really fun but I didn't like the color palette. They have some new chipboard alphabets and i would love to try the little letters sometime.

Crate Paper - I really liked Brook and Paper Doll in person. As usual they have super cute embellishments to match! Be on the look out for some future add-ons :)

Fancy Pants - Fancy Pants had a great release too. Rusted Sun is gorgeous and perfect for summer! The Family line is a great one too. I can see being able to easily scrapbook with these papers. I also like that they now have an alphabet to match each line :)

My Minds Eye - My Minds Eye had gorgeous papers. I like several of the lines and they have some new fun embellishments. I even liked their Robot line. Their booth is always fun too - friendly! Be on the lookout for some My Minds Eye.

October Afternoon - Unfortunately they did not have all the new papers in their booth when i stopped by (twice). They have 2 new lines and they are nice but feel like the same thing that they have done before. I was slightly disappointed.

Pink Paislee - I really liked their new lines! Especialyly 365 - fun colors and easy patterns to scrap with! They have a cute little magazine now too.
SEI - They had a cute birthday line with cupcakes that was fun! Overall nothing usually jumps out at me to use in a kit but there are always a few papers I like :)

This is just a quick preview off the top of my head. Overall, there was lots of good stuff!! I wish embellishments were cheaper!!! There are some awesome (but expensive) ones!

Sunday, January 3, 2010

January Kit Guest Designer...

Welcome 2010!

We are so excited to have Melanie C. guest design for us this month! She does a fanastic job on her layouts! I am always inspired after seeing her work! Thank you Mel (and you are on the front page of PersonalScrapper this month!). Here is a little bio from her:

I am so excited to be the guest designer for January! I loved this kit! I even pulled out a photo with my sisters and I as kids because I loved the pink snowflake paper and had to use it.


I joined PS in December 2006, right after my oldest son was born, but I didn't join the message board until over a year ago. I wish I joined sooner....I love hearing what my online friends are doing, all the challenges, and page ideas. I love the kits and can't wait for them each month!


I married my high school sweetie 11 years ago...it was the classic high school love story. I was leaving dance class, he was on his way to art class, we walked passed each other, I smiled, he said hi, and the rest is history. We have the most adorable and funny two little boys...I'm not biased at all :). I work part time as a pharmacist...I loved chemistry in college...doesn't everyone??? For fun, I like watching warm and fuzzy chick flicks, quilting, taking photos of my boys, and scrapbooking of course!


Melanie