CHA 2016 Archives - Scrapbook OBSESSION Blog.com

CHA 2016, Part 13: Wrap Up

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016

This is the last post in a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

Well, this is the end of my CHA blog series. Is it bad to end it with Unlucky 13?

I just wanted to wrap up my experience there this year with some final thoughts and impressions. And add anything I forgot to say :) ‘Cuz I’m a straggler like that.

State of the Scrapbooking Industry?

As I was taking photos, I overheard a conversation amongst those working in a booth. They were saying how this year it seemed like the crowds were definitely thinner; one estimated there was about 1/3 as many shoppers as usual. I wasn’t there last year but from 2 years ago, I would agree the attendance was down a bit. Not 1/3 the amount of people but maybe 2/3 as many. I’m no math major but I think our estimates differ by quite a bit, LOL. I wonder if the attendee numbers are available? Hmm…

One thing I noticed was that in many of the scrapbook vendor booths I visited, company reps were talking to Spanish-speaking women placing orders. I thought that was encouraging about the scrapbook market in Spanish-speaking countries; is it booming? Hope so!

In fact, I heard people speaking languages from all over the world, not just in scrapbooking areas but all over the CHA show floor. Again, I took comfort in that and was pleased by it. #craftingisinternational

Who Was and Wasn’t at CHA 2016

Paperclipping wasn’t there doing videos; online someone said they lost their sponsorship and someone else said their child had something going on but since Phoenix is their home turf, they’ll probably be there next year. I haven’t kept up with the Paperclipping podcast or their message boards so I’m not sure what’s correct. If you know, please leave a comment!

I thought perhaps Nancy Nally from Scrapbook Update wasn’t there but I see now from her recent blog post that she was at CHA. Boo! I missed her this time.

Basic Grey was noticably absent :( They were my favorite booth to visit last time, mainly because of the lovely conversation I had with owner Rachel Brenchly.

Big Change to CHA in 2017

Next year, CHA will move to Phoenix and will be 3 days instead of 4. I mentioned it to several people I talked to and the consensus was that Phoenix is more geographically desirable to many scrapbook companies, but everyone will miss going to Disneyland.

Free Classes

I attended a free 15-minute class about e-mail marketing called “Create the Perfect Subject Line to Get Your Emails Opened.” As someone who handles social media for companies as a living, I see a lot of mistakes being made with this in the scrapbooking industry. I wish there’d been more of an audience for this class.

VENDORS I Visited but HAVE No Photos

Echo Park/Carta Bella

The booth was very busy. I wasn’t able to get photos of the lines displayed because there were staff and customers standing in front of them. It seemed like they were taking several orders and that’s a great sign.

Pink Fresh Studio

They had one of the smaller booths and didn’t have a ton of product displayed but I believe they’re fairly new. Someone with a nice video camera was waiting to interview them so I stayed on the outskirts :) I love their products and wish I’d remembered to look for the “Life Noted” acrylic letters I Pinned that included “Meh” – dang, wanted to see those in person!

Random Photos

The Spellbinders wall with some amazing paper garlands!

Create and Craft TV

Remember when I talked about them here? Well, they film live shows at CHA which is pretty cool.

DSCN6914

DSCN6913 Hey, that’s Teresa Collins!

Speaking of Scrapbook “Celebs”

Here’s who-all I saw at CHA this time, whether I spoke to them or just lurked, LOL:

Becky Higgins
Teresa Collins
Ali Edwards
Shimelle Laine
Julie McGuffee
Layle Koncar
Vicki Boutin
Amy Tangerine
Paige Evans
Cathy Zielske

All Good Days Must Come to an End

I knew it was a long shot but I wanted to see if there were any scrapbook stores in Anaheim that I could slip into before leaving town. Here is the sad return I got for my search :(

I had to drive through downtown LA because of some traffic on my usual route …. only to sit in more traffic. But, hey, it’s LA. Plus it was Golden Globes night. I tried to just enjoy the view.

Catalogs and Such

When I got home and had time to look in my CHA tote, this is what I had. Some came with and others were handed to me in booths I visited.

So that was my CHA 2016 experience! I hope you enjoyed being along for the ride and that I didn’t inundate you with too many posts.

Any favorites from what you saw?

scrapbook blogs scrapbook organization scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 12: Couture Creations

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

I have to admit I haven’t heard of Couture Creations before but they had an impressive booth. I looked them up when I got home and guess what? They’re another company from Australia. Woot!

DSCN6922

Love this twist on a “leather” D-ring album.

Amazing displays and projects!

Cool tools . . .

Cute totes. Mine is basic black and not this big so these really caught my eye.

DSCN6915

Here’s their 2016 Product catalog if you’d like to see more of their lines! (You have to sit through an annoying 30-second ad to get to it; hope they fix that soon).

scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 11: American Crafts

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

Next on the agenda was the American Crafts … area. I can’t even say booth because there was so much area covered.

DSCN6944

I saw Amy Tangerine and Shimelle at the American Crafts booths but didn’t see Lizzy Karcher (aka Dear Lizzy). However, I saw her in some CHA videos so she was there, I must’ve just had bad timing.

I didn’t talk to Amy this time, as she was busy chatting.

DSCN6954

I did briefly speak with Shimelle. I told her welcome back, that she was missed, and that all the scrapbooking peeps are happy about her new line and the return of Glitter Girl! She said even though it seemed like she was gone for a while, she actually hadn’t missed any shows and continued to release her products on schedule. Wow, she’s amazing!

When I asked if I could take a photo in front of her new line, she grabbed the basket. I had to make sure and get her sweet silver shoes in the photo too :)

DSCN6960

Okay, for the rest of these photos, you’re on your own. There’s SO much goodness. I can’t even.

PINK PAISLEE

PEBBLES

You can see all the new lines from American Crafts on their site HERE.

Project Life scrapbook blogs scrapbook organization scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 10: We R Memory Keepers (WRMK)

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 25, 2016January 25, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

The WRMK booth is fun to visit because it’s huge and has such a wide variety of products from albums to paper to tools.

DSCN6979

The person I spoke to in the WRMK booth was Chasity. She was very nice, easy to talk to, and answered my plethora of questions :) Hey, inquiring minds!!

Here are some of their new lines:

Love this silver metallic dot clear paper! It came in gold too but who cares? LOL

The popular Fuse tool was shown off – pretty cool how you can add fold-out photo pockets to your layouts.

This hexagon page was done with the Fuse; those are all separate pockets, yo.

There’s even a way to organize your Fuse pages and accessories.

Speaking of organization, here are some clear plastic paper trays. And the washi tape holders in cute shapes like a doggie and a rhino.

I think this was my favorite new product from WRMK: ombre albums!!

I was telling Chasity how a lot of us scrappers have certain colors designated for certain topics (like I have Kiwi for family albums, aqua for Project Life, black for weddings, etc.). I love how they look all lined up on my shelves – but I may have to “ruin” the look for these ombre albums, especially that teal one. I have a thing for ombre. Wonder if they’ll come out with more colors?

I was so tired from running around the CHA floor, it was really tempting to curl up in this teepee and take a lil’ nap :)

CHA 2016, Part 9: Doodlebug Design

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 25, 2016January 24, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

Guess where I went next?

I think Doodlebug’s booth is the happiest-looking place in all of CHA :) I think I’ll just let you take it all in, then I’ll do most of my talking at the bottom.

Cute calendar system. I haven’t seen one like this before!

I didn’t know Doodlebug had so many colors of cardstock either.

I asked what their most popular line was and she thought probably this one – Under the Sea. I can “sea” why! Har har … Thanks folks! I’m here ’til Sunday. Try the veal!

LOVE the hearts layout!

The nice lady I talked to was a sister of the owner. Her other sister designed the layout I admired above with the hearts.

So it turns out that Doodlebug Designs is a total family affair! In addition to the owner’s two sisters being part of the biz, her son works in the warehouse, his girlfriend works there (she handed me a catalog when I walked in), another son was working the booth, and an aunt just retired from Doodlebug. Isn’t that cool?

Check out their BLOG for another look at their happy products!

scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 8: My Mind’s Eye (MME)

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 24, 2016January 24, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

My Minds Eye had a large and very pretty booth. They were crowded every time I walked by so I assume biz is good!

Here are some of their lines:

I didn’t talk to anyone in the booth as they were all busy taking orders. Who am I to interrupt scrapbooking commerce??

You can see these new collections up close on their website HERE.

planners Project Life scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 7: Project Life

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 24, 2016January 24, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, please click HERE.

Here’s the Project Life booth – yes, that’s Becky hidden back there!

Becky was busy talking the whole time I was visiting so I didn’t bug her. I was lucky enough to speak with her when I was at CHA 2 years ago. She’s as lovely as you think she is.

I did get to talk with Molly who was amazing. She’s worked with Becky for I think less than a year and absolutely loves it. {I told her she has “our” dream job!}.

We joked about how we buy lots of the Project Life kits, then have been so busy with work it’s hard to find the time to use them up. I’ll bet we aren’t alone, are we girls?

DSCN6940

DSCN6948

Here’s a closer look at the “Inspire” Theme Kit with the rows of hearts {above, third from left}. Love the stitching!

DSCN6947

I asked if they had any planner products other than the ones I’d bought way back when. She showed me some planner items that I wasn’t aware of, although they weren’t new for CHA.

DSCN6939 She was most excited about their new Instax line with albums, page protectors, Instax lenses you can pop on, etc. {Look over her right shoulder!} Molly said that when someone asks her about planner supplies, she directs them toward the Instax line because the items can be used for both – little embellishments, washi tape strips, acrylic embellishments, etc.

DSCN6943

I just realized Molly’s outfit totally matched the green with black and white polka dots planner in the photo above. Hmm, coincidence or savvy dressing?? Love it.

They had mostly Project Life core kits in the booth that had already been released except for this one called “Currently.”

DSCN6941

“Explore” has been out for a bit.

DSCN6945 All the products including the Instax page protectors, 6×8 album protectors, planner supplies – everything works in everything except for the tiny Instax album. Everything else is interchangable from album to album. See the tiny little Instax pink and blue albums up top? Stinkin’ cute.

DSCN6938

I told Molly that my Project Life storage Pin is my most popular Pin of over 2,200 of ’em I have and she wanted to see it and to follow my Pinterest. She looked it up while we were talking; made me feel special :).

I leave you with more pretties from the Project Life booth.

Here’s the Project Life CHA 2016 catalog if you want to browse away. Lots of goodness in there . . .

planners scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 6: Notions

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 24, 2016January 15, 2016

First of all, what is Notions? They’re “the world’s largest creative arts distributor.” Companies like Notions are kind of a “one stop shop” for scrapbook stores where they can order products from multiple companies at once – as opposed to placing a separate order with each manufacturer.

For instance, a scrapbook store could get the new lines from 4 different companies at one time as opposed to placing separate orders with those 4 companies.

Here are some of the scrapbooking items they carry.

I visited the booth and spoke to Jim Spicer, Sales Account Representative. He told me about Notions and how they’re a benefit to scrapbook retailers.

I asked him how business was going and he said that Notions is expanding their warehouse space. They’ve been in business for over 75 years and currently have over 150,000 products in stock. Keeping in mind that Notions serves all creative arts, not just scrapbooking, I think it still bodes well for our industry, don’t you?

Jim was kind enough to pose in front of another scrapbooking display :)

We had a great conversation about the crafting industry, including trends, diversification, etc. He said one of their most popular items for all markets is adult coloring books.

I asked Jim if he felt the scrapbooking industry was still declining or if it had leveled out. He said he doesn’t see the industry decreasing, just diversifying and spreading out into more areas – like coloring books, planners, art journaling, Bible journaling, etc. For example, we talked about the “Illustrated Faith” line by Bella Blvd.

It was great speaking with someone who has such a wide view of all the crafting industries and beyond.

Memory Works planners scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites

CHA 2016, Part 5: Simple Stories

Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 15, 2016January 14, 2016

This is one of my favorite scrapbooking companies so I was looking forward to visiting their booth.

I have the Carpe Diem planner (#TeamAqua) and some of the embellishments so I already knew I liked it. But seeing it in person was great.

I was also excited to see Simple Stories’ new travel line, the one Layle has been teasing us with. Looks great for tropical vacations, hangin’ by the pool layouts, etc.

With great timing for their own 5th birthday, Simple Stories came out with a new birthday line that’s so fun.

Loved this cute sample album to keep track of birthdays of family and friends.

Their existing winter/snow and love lines were even nicer in person.

One of Simple Stories’ brand new lines called “Hope.”

I’d hoped to say hi to Simple Stories’ owners Kevin and Amber who I got to meet at CHA 2 years ago. They also owned Memory Works where I was a scrapbooking consultant for several years. Unfortunately, they weren’t at the booth when I went by the first time {I’d seen them over talking to the My Minds Eye peeps a few minutes earlier}.

When I tried again, I spotted Layle Koncar and gabbed with her for a while – about planners, A5 punches, kit clubs, and other fun stuff. She’s such a neat person to talk to. Then Kevin and Amber came back but Kevin was with a customer and Amber was talking for quite a while to …. Cathy Zielske!

At one point, I kind of whispered to Layle, “That’s Cathy Z right behind you” ‘cuz I’m like freaking out but they’re old friends and have worked together a lot. It looked like Cathy was really digging the Carpe Diem planner items Amber was showing her :)

Then Vicki Boutin walked up and joined our conversation. She’s #TeamPlatinum. Another super nice person, easy to talk to.

So that was my visit to the Simple Stories booth at CHA 2016.

READ THE POST

planners scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites
CHA 2016, Part 4: Heidi Swapp
Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 14, 2016January 14, 2016

Next stop was Heidi Swapp. (Next stop was Heidi Swapp, Next stop was Heidi Swapp . . . that is SO going in my scrapbook rap video!)

It’s Heidi so of course there was glitter.

Embellishments and some existing Marquee Love

On the right, looks like some new Marquee Love

New embellishment words in Heidi’s famous handwriting, with gold on the top and colors on the edges. See the pink?

Lovin’ these ocean colored words. On the wish list! I hope they show up at Michaels.

Demo of the Minc machine

More glitter and gold

My favorite thing from from Heidi Swapp was the awesome Lightbox! You can personalize the message and design. Can’t wait to see these in person. Again, “C’monnnnn, Michaels. I’m counting on you!”

More pretties . . .

What did you like best this time from Ms. Heidi?

READ THE POST

scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping
CHA 2016, Part 3: Fab Scraps
Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 14, 2016January 14, 2016

To be honest, I’d never heard of FabScraps until I saw them at CHA this time.

Here is what their website says:

We are celebrating our 10 year anniversary!
FabScraps was established in 2005 and is celebrating 10 years of manufacturing in South Africa and spreading creativity to the rest of the world!

FabScraps has over 3000 product lines which include papers, canvases, die-cuts, stickers, stencils, card kits, journals, embellishments and so much more. We are excited about adding stunning fabric collections to our diverse range of products. We are now truly Africa’s largest craft manufacturer, producing over 60 new products a month!

I didn’t speak to anyone in the FabScraps booth but was intrigued by their papers and projects. Here are some photos for your viewing pleasure.

What do you think?

READ THE POST

scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites
CHA 2016, Part 2: Kaisercraft
Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 12, 2016January 12, 2016

This is part of a series about the scrapbooking booths I visited at CHA 2016. If you’d like to see all the posts in the series, click HERE.

Disclaimer about my photos: The lighting at CHA is HORRIBLE for amateur phototaking. It’s held in a dimly lit and huge exhibit hall with spotlights here and there. If you don’t use your flash, you get what I got. If you DO use your flash, you get glare from all the packaging not to mention disturbing the crowd of people in the booth. I wish I had better photos but I did the best I could with editing them. I hope you can at least get an idea of what the products are like! (95% taken with Nikon Coolpix P100 and 5% with iPhone 6+)

Kaisercraft

My next stop was Kaisercraft where I didn’t really know what to expect. I don’t own but a few pieces, mainly because I haven’t been exposed to the brand very much. They’re based out of Australia and I’m in the US so . . .

I thought most of their lines looked like this, very antiqued with lots of browns:

When in fact, it’s quite varied with loads of beautiful colors and more modern designs than I imagined.

“True Love” line

#me collection

This line full of teals, whites, and greys was my absolute favorite. Swoon!

I like how they have the release date of each line on the shelving it’s housed on. Wicked smart.

I didn’t catch her name, sadly, but the person I spoke to in the Kaisercraft booth was supermodel beautiful and had that lovely Aussie accent.

I asked what their most popular items were and she said their line of adult coloring books (this becomes a theme) and this beach line. Which I love, and told her I live near the beach and we go there a lot, though it’s not summer. And she pointed out that it IS summer in Australia :D

Aren’t these projects beautiful?! I love the paper that looks like fishing net.

This album is going on my CHA 2016 Wish List for sure. I love the color and the quote!

These albums were pushed more back into the shelf so I slid them out to get a better photo. Unbeknownst to me, a woman was standing behind me waiting to also take a photo of them and I’m pretty sure it was Julie McGuffee from Scrapbook Soup!

As I turned around from pushing them back into the shelf, she said, “Aw, you put them back” and smiled. I immediately pulled them BACK out so she could take a photo and she told me I was sweet :) So that was a fun exchange.

You know that column in “Us” magazine called “Stars – They’re Just Like Us”? It reminded me of that. My mind is bumbling over this ‘scrapbook star’ and she’s just taking a photo like a normal person, LOL.

Kaisercraft has quite a line of mists!

Here’s one of their outer walls, which I assume alludes to their coloring book line. (I may be dumb but I’m not blonde!) (Ummm, wait a minute … I don’t think I said that right).

I asked if the majority of Kaisercraft’s market was in Australia and she estimated about 60% was, with about 20% in America and 20% elsewhere.

Thank you for enlightening me to your product lines, Kaisercraft! Loved your booth.

I took over 200 photos at CHA (in 5 hours, wow!). I couldn’t post close-ups of everything but if there are items you’d like a closer look at, please leave a Comment on this post and I’ll edit the photo(s) so you can see better :) Just another service provided by your friends at Scrapbook Obsession. Okay, well, it’s just me but I wanted to sound important.

READ THE POST

scrapbook blogs scrapbook shopping scrapbook websites
CHA Mega Conference and Trade Show 2016: I Got to Go! (for one day)
Scrapbook ObsessionUpdated on January 11, 2016January 12, 2016

Am I Really … Aw, No Wait … But Still Can I?

As a working wife and mama, I never get my heart set on doing things that are just for fun. Like actually scrapbooking (not just writing about it), blogging (har har), or attending CHA in Anaheim each January. I was able to attend for the first time 2 years ago, then last year something else came up and I couldn’t go.

So it wasn’t until I was actually in the car at 6:30 am driving south for 4 hours that I let myself believe I was attending CHA! Trippy dude.

Just me, the open road, some jackrabbits, and Adele.

For part of the ride, I was in the middle of a military convoy, out in the middle of the lost hills. But I felt safe.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere There’s Signs

Do you believe in signs? I do. And 88 is one of my lucky numbers. Well, what should I see when I sat down at Carls Jr. for a quick bite (3 chicken taquitos, if you must know) before attacking 6 hours of scrapbook vendor booth stalking (SVBS):

Not only was my total $3.88 but my table number was 88. “I saw the sign. And it opened up my eyes. I saw the sign.” Anyhoo, it made me feel good about how the day would go.

And the taquitos were YUM so there’s that.

The Anaheim Convention Center is literally right next door to Disneyland so parking is, shall we say, challenging. And the parking entrance had changed since 2 years ago so I was LATE. I lost a precious 20 minutes on the show floor and I think only YOU can understand how upset I was.

So much for 88.

It’s Time for the Show

I parked, walked (what seemed like) a mile, checked in at the press counter, and got my free tote full of catalogs, the show catalog, and a schmancy lanyard!

Lanyard. Lanyard. Lanyard. That’s going on my list of fun words to say, along with bubbly, specious, and helicopter (which one of my kids used to say as “heelio-co-bobter” and therefore how I actually say it now). Yes, out loud. Yes, in front of other people. Sheesh. They know what I mean.

Where I walked in to the show floor, I soon came across this cool chalkboard.

Take your time. Take it in. It’s magical.

I’m Just a Blogger

Attending CHA as media vs as a vendor, I always feel like I’m kind of tiptoeing around the ‘real’ attendees, the scrapbook stores. “No, it’s okay. I’m media.” “No worries. I’m just a blogger.”

I know the purpose of the vendors being at CHA is to get orders. It’s their bread and butter. The fact that they’re all so gracious, taking time to speak with me and letting me take so many photos is lovely. Not once in 2 CHAs has anyone made me feel “less than” and for that I’m grateful.

So that was getting to CHA. The first scrapbooking booth I stopped into was MAMBI. More on that next time :)

READ THE POST