CHA for me, was a bit disappointing this go-round, from the standpoint of new paper to drool over. I found a few stellar stand-outs fortunately, but by and large the majority of the offerings were a disappointment. For one, there was no new offering from Autumn Leaves' Foofala line, and though they did have a new selection of lovely papers from fabric designer Heather Bailey, the lack of new Foofala was a sore disappointment, quite frankly. Fortunately, the new line of papers from Jenni Bowlin, Tangerine Dream, made up for it in part, as did Sassafras Lass' new lines from their Life is Beautiful Brand -- Pocketful of Rosies and My Dearest, the latter of which is utterly gorgeous. (see the starring pattern from that line above!) You will see a project kit with some of the new Sass Lass mixed in with some Tangerine Dream from Jenni Bowlin, coming shortly! Sassafras Lass, in my opinion, was the star of the show. They're one of the few companies that is always leading the pack in terms of design innovation. There are companies that are bigger and with more financial muscle (not naming names) but whose offerings at this show were take-offs of Sass Lass papers from a previous CHA.
Jenni Bowlin had a gorgeous booth and the Tangerine Dream papers were lovely. I look forward to seeing what else she has up her sleeve! Melissa Frances and Anna Griffin offered some gorgeous, vintage styled papers and embellishments as well. I loved the new resin embellies from Melissa Frances and the vintage embellishments from Anna Griffin: brads with heads shaped like vintage cabochons, millinery styled reproductions (velvet leaves and florals) etc.
Maya Road had some lovely new chipboard of course, including a darling Tree Shaped Chipboard Album and some label shaped albums as well. Trees were everywhere - on patterned papers from October Afternoon, Love Elsie and more. Seven Gypsies offered their usual enviable array of Old World, European styled goodies with patterned paper from their new Notting Hill Collection, to boot - so I picked up plenty there as well. KI Memories is offering a new vintage brand, (the name escapes me at the moment) - the papers were pretty but can't be purchased singularly -- they must be purchased in a pre-kitted collection.
The new vintagey goodies from Tim Holtz's Ideaology brand are must haves. Lovely trinket pins, sprocket gears, metal numbers, and more. Heidi Swapp's chandelier crystals were lovely. I also loved the new thickers offerings from American Crafts.
Of course, I can't mention CHA without mentioning Basic Grey. My favorite paper collection from Basic Grey was the new Cupcake line. Very bright and colorful but with a vintage twist. It occurred to me that some might find the clown images that feature heavily in this line disturbing. I happen to associate clowns with a few very happy birthday parties from childhood, so for me, the clowns are no big deal. But the big surprise from BG for me was not even the paper --- it was the RUB-ON tool. And apparently, I have been living under a rock -- because it was released at a previous show - and I had no idea how awesome it is. It's a tool that is shaped like a pen with a triangular plastic piece at one end. The pointy side is a rolling ball which you apply to the rubon. It's fantastic because the pen never leaves the rubon sheet - making it impossible for the rubon to slide around on you while transferring the image. AND you don't have to cut the rubon out -- you can use it directly on the sheet. The triangular side is then rubbed onto the rubon sheet after transferring the design to smooth it and adhere it well. High five to the genius who thought this one up. I loved it. 
Some of you may have heard me mention that I'll be doing a Provence kit as well. The papers for that kit will come from My Mind's Eye, K & Company's new Blue Awning and a bit of Notting Hill from Seven Gypsies. It's a gorgeous palette of ivory, french blue, violet, terra cotta and sunny yellow. Can't wait for you to see that.
Bazzill also came out with some ingenious strips of edged papers - so you don't have to buy the entire 12x12 sheet to get the single scalloped edge - another high five to the person who thought that one up!
And then of course -- Making Memories' next installment of their Noteworthy line was scrumptious. I can't wait for that to come out as well. MM's new Slice cutting tool looked interesting but I didn't stay around long enough to get a good look at what it does. The other tool that I found to be a must have is the new Crop-O-Dile - looking forward to getting my hands on that as well. I also ordered some more gorgeous hand made papers (remember the Brown Eyed Girl Project Kit?)
Oh -- and Prima. Prima was so beautiful as usual. I think I wanted nearly everything in that booth!
Other than that, I did get to meet and chat with some wonderful people, sweet Sara Winnick and Mary Grace at the Fontwerks booth, the talented Hope Wallace of Paper Relics, Tricia Canonico from Cocoa Daisy and the uber talented Jenni Bowlin and her crew. I'd love to hear your highlights and what of the new releases you're excited about!
It's hard to tell from the cover but if you happen to catch it up close at your local bookstore - take a look at it -- there are lots of layers in the clothing and I love the blending of the bright pastel palette against the muted background, and the chartreuse title. It's very spring-y. It certainly caught my eye. Not a look I'd be sporting myself -- but I would definitely draw creative inspiration from this color palette.
