Two Peas in a Bucket

Kristina's CHA Winter '13 Diaries: Day 3

Project Life continues to dominate our market and industry. As predicted, it continues to grow as more and more people find this process of documenting their lives easier as their lives grow more busy. What a marvelous invention this has been. Thank you Becky Higgins! With this, there are products all over the place that bleed into that program. Page protectors and mini books, etc. So many die cut journaling card packages, label stickers, date stamps, pockets and folders and so much more. There is at least one paper in almost every collection with a sheet of 3x4 journaling cards on it. Perfect for pocket page protector style scrapbooking!  American Crafts has picked up the Project Life brand and Two Peas will be carrying this product this spring! We are very excited! 

My Minds Eye is so consistently good. They consistently release great journaling cards and embellishments with each of their collections that have such great impact for any project. They always coordinate so well, but are so easy to use in every day projects aside from their own products. I love the Hello My Name is journaling cards and little label stickers, and how they change each year, adding a new bit of trend in their design. Arrows and hearts and icons and trendy colors. I love the addition of the deco pins and washi tapes to their collections. As always, the embellishments are so good.

Echo Park has some really great everyday collections that go in their Photo Freedom line (their pocket page protector style scrapbook system).

The colors are great, one very pantone colors of the year, the other more primary-rainbow, both with strong design elements. Simple, everyday and very broad appealing. I think the boy collections are also very strong. Great designs and colors. Their boy collections have always seemed to appeal to everyone. Can't wait for these to arrive.

 

Kristina's CHA Winter '13 Diaries: Day 2

I knew what to expect. I knew what it was going to be like here in Anaheim, I had looked at the weather before leaving home. But still. I was hoping that 30s-50s in Southern California would be warmer than the 30s-50s we get back in Wisconsin. Surprise. It's the same. Cold.
Especially when the sun goes down, and the wind picks up. Disneyland is cold at night when it's 37 with whippy wind. I kinda wish I had long underwear along.....

The CHA show started yesterday; we were not there at open and missed the grand march of bagpipes. We entered with an agenda, a short list of things we needed to see and with a good sense of excitement for seeing the new products. 

 
It's rather quiet at the show. There really isn't anything we have to wait to see or anyone we have to wait in line to speak to. We did get a chance to talk with Leeza Gibbons, who has a collection with Prima. That was an interesting experience, as it was more like her interviewing us rather than us asking about her collection or about her charitable organization with which she incorporates scrapbooking. Her collection has quite a few "everyday" elements with it-tab stickers, little pockets, envelopes and folders for putting tags and other journaling. 

 
Prima has all kinds of new embellishments this release. Wood shapes in small divided boxes. Shaped paper clips--cameras, keys, birds and more. Tapes, fabric and washi; wood stamps---some that look like washi tapes. A lot of little clear stamps that are not only usable and versatile, but also a great price! 

Elle's Studio has 3 great new collections---including papers! The You & Me collection is my favorite. It's my favorite colors and full of hearts and love. 

The new partnership with Allison Kreft and Webster's Pages is exciting! Allison used to design for Hambly and some of that previous style is easily recognized in the new collections. There are 2, both very lovely and complete with unique items and embellishments. Though Allison brings a strong style, there are signs of Webster's usual style in there as well. There are some lovely overlays, airplanes, 3x4 journaling cards and chevrons. Great woodgrains, maps, cameras, chevrons, typewriters and stripes on papers.  Washi tapes, paper bags, trims, folders and cards. I love it. I can't wait to get these new collections in my hands! 

Pink Paislee has a new metallic collection called Luxe that should do really well with the sparkle, gold and silver trends carrying over from the last few months of 2012. Everyone loves gold and we see it all over in fashion and other design related places. The foil chipboards and metallic glitter alphabets should be really received! 

Heidi Swapp continues to bring out strongly designed products and in great colors. The Memory File system has so many great pieces that are easily brought into all aspects of your paper crafting. Labels, little pockets, die cut cards, tabs and acrylic alphas--- all completely wonderful and lovely. Very Heidi.

Kristina's CHA Winter '13 Diaries: American Crafts

I think American Crafts has been releasing some of the most exciting and trendy designs in our industry for the last couple of shows…. having great designers like Elizabeth Kartchner and Amy Tan and brands like Studio Calico, Crate Paper and Pebbles under their umbrella is so exciting. 

They don't disappoint with this show's line of up new collections! They have done a great job of putting out unique new product types within some of these collections. I love that. We as paper crafters love that. We love having some new material or a new spin to gravitate towards. American Crafts is consistently helping us move along on this path. 

The new Dear Lizzy and Amy Tangerine collections are wonderful. The colors in the Dear Lizzy collection are very pantone color of the year, the icons being very hip on the blogasphere as well as in fashion. Anchors! Horses! There are here. 

The Amy Tangerine Yes Please collection is beautiful and sketchy and consistent with the Amy Tangerine brand with her ever present cameras, clouds, skylines and hearts. Trendy chevron, woodgrains, arrows also make an appearance. I love the new unique to Amy pieces in this collection, especially the stitch templates that allow you to add some of your hand sewn elements to your projects --- something Amy is known for. 

Crate Paper has a new collection design designed with Maggie Holmes that is doily-licious and full of beautiful imagery like Maggie herself.  Everything with Crate is very antiquey and vintage in style. Their big new product is washi tape PAPER. A whole sheet of washi sticker paper. In strips. 

Studio Calico has added a bunch of new chipboard sticker shapes, wood veneer shapes and embellishments. They have some wonderful new paper collections, with great designs that fit perfectly with Project Life type projects.

 

My favorite pieces from these:

Crate Paper's DIY Shop photo overlays that can take any photo and add an instagram filter style without the technology. No Smart phone, No Problem!

Amy Tangerine's Yes Please rub ons--- they look like pencil drawings. Love the camera in this collection this time. The puffy stickers are excellent. Just love the colors and patterns of this the papers in this collection. They are very me.

Dear Lizzy, the Astrology circle chart paper. I Die. The overlays. The colors (navy!), the chevrons, the perforated die cut booklet.

Studio Calico Snippets chevrons/arrow heads, thickers, the stickers, well, about everything in this collection. 

American Crafts themselves have some very lovely little pieces within the My Girl collection. I adore it. 

And Pebbles Love You More is this release's Seen and Noted. Lots of great little journaling bits and pieces. I like the clean simple easy feeling that this collection has. So great for documenting children's lives.

Looking for more of our CHA Winter festivities?  Check out our event page.