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!