CHA Summer 2009, Part II: Review THIS!

Okay, so there's a lot of stuff out there and it's coming out in the near future. I didn't get to see it all, I didn't get to play with even half of it, and I only got samples of a fraction of it, but I did get enough information to talk to you about them, so here I go. Please remember this is not an a sales pitch or a lynching party. There are products I liked, products I disliked, and a handful of things I loved. Art, regardless of the medium, is extremely subjective and personal, and this is just my taste, my preferences, and my opinions!

A Few Things I Liked:

*Jillibean Soup: This company was new to me up until a few months ago, and when I got into their booth, I saw two lines that I really liked. The first was by far my favorite, "Alphabet Soup," and is a school-themed line, but although there are distinctly thematic papers, there are also more generic patterns that could be used for anything. I love that kind of thing, because normally I won't use one line to do multiple layouts of one theme, so I could use the school houses, the report cards (my absolute favorite!) and the letters for school layouts, and then the other sides for anything from boy pages to heritage and anything in between! A+


My second favorite was called "Talk Soup," and although it's definitely not as colorful or thematic, it caught my attention because it wasn't any of those things, but it wasn't boring either. I also liked the owls, because that's the mascot of my son's new elementary school, but the more I looked at it, the more uses I found for it, and as you can see in the picture, their samples are pretty variable too!

*Scrap Within Reach: I don't know much about this company, but really like how they are both subtle and overt at the same time. "Carnival Ride" is young and busy, but the colors are a little softer, so the circles and stripes and ferris wheel designs don't scream out; instead, they kind of gently nudge you to look at them. My favorite line is probably "Paper Boy," with a navy blue, sage green, mustard yellow and white color scheme. Really cute stuff.

*Upsy Daisy: Another one of those companies that has suddenly caught my eye, I was introduced to them in my AC Bailey Kit of the Month club package for July with their "Man About Town" line. Great masculine papers that can also be used for heritage, wedding, and many other things depending on color scheme. My current love is a line called "Vroom" that is all boy, no doubt, but cute as heck!

*Graphic45: This company is, in their own words, for "unique papercrafting." Although a lot of their stuff is heritage-esque, whimsical and even over-the-top old-fashioned, I just love some of it. From cards to layouts, there's a lot you can do with this stuff. I got a few interesting samples that I'm going to work with, and when I do, I'll post them here!

*7Gypsies' Binderie: This is one of those products that I liked a lot, really, but not enough to say I LOVE it. It's cute as a button, works very well, and is extremely accurate and easy to use! Unfortunately, for something that basically punches some symmetrical holes, it's expensive ($39.95) and I'm not sure how much I would use it. They were using them just this past weekend at Archiver's for make n takes, and although everyone thought they were very convenient, I didn't see or hear anyone interested in buying it for that price. It DOES match my office/scrap room decor (red and black) so I might have to have it, but I will definitely wait for a coupon! In general, though, there's always something interesting from this company, and I was incredibly inspired by their products and the new "Victoria" display pictured below...


A Few Things I Didn't Like That Much...

*October Afternoon: Bo-ring... they only had a couple of new lines, and one of them didn't even arrive until part way through the show! I have loved this company in the past, but the summer/fall releases weren't all that special. I was disappointed, and am hoping for more next time!

*Karen Foster: I'm a big fan, but this time, she had very little to offer. It was a disappointment for scrapbookers, although her catalog has some interesting Canning and Gift Label Kits... maybe January 2010 will be more exciting!

*Chatterbox: After their incredible "Fabulous" line, I was expecting a lot, and obviously I was disappointed. I really didn't see anything else that was new or interesting in the least. They had their own "brad maker" but weren't really pushing it or demonstrating, so I'm guessing either it's not selling or something else is going on because I don't think they're competing with the i-Top.

*My Mind's Eye. Before I talk about the negative, let me make it clear that I normally LOVE this company! They are always coming out with something cool, and their summer "Breaking Free" release was all that AND the bag of chips! Unfortunately, that came out BEFORE CHA so the magic was already gone, and the other stuff, like "Penny Lane," "Abbey Road" and the seasonal stuff was just not that exciting. "Ooh La La" is cute enough, but honestly, how many pages like that can one company possibly come out with? "Free Bird" and "Maggie May" aren't bad, by any means, but again, except for color scheme, it's all starting to look the same to me. "Spider's Web" (pictured below) is probably the only line I may buy, but there's so much competition for Halloween products, I'm not even sure about that. I do like the muted color scheme (bright orange gets old sometimes), though.


A Lot of Things I Loved:

*Craf-T Products' new Metallic Rub-ons kits! These little paint-like products are awesome; they come in sets of 7 colors each, are incredibly versatile and dry quickly! You can use them with an applicator or your finger, with stencils or freehand, and on a large variety of surfaces! Just dab them on for a layer of color on its own, or let it dry (which is almost instantly) and then edge it, layer it, emboss it, glaze it and more for another color! Really easy to use for someone like me who's not all that artistic when I'm working freehand, and the colors, texture and variety is impressive. Can't wait to use these on some upcoming projects!

*Laser engraved 12x12 Albums by Harmonie. Oh my gosh, I LOVE LOVE LOVE these albums! In fact, I love so many things by this company, I should probably buy stock in it and get it over with! Holy guacamole, I wish they weren't in Canada (which means it's going to be hard to get retailers here in the U.S. to deal with the tax and shipping issues) because I want some of this stuff NOW! Their Christmas and Halloween lines are to die for, and frankly, if I was a serious rubber stamper, I would be in stamp heaven!

*ClearScraps: This company just has so many fun little things, it's hard to choose just one! The picture below was one of their display walls with just a sample of the great stuff to come--how cute is a stocking-shaped acrylic album?! So many things to choose from, I dont' know how I'm going to come up with classes for my customers!

*Quick Quotes: Holy projects, Batman! This company is so friggin' cool I don't know what to talk about first! Seriously, people, if you go to conventions anywhere in the country, you've got to take one of their classes to see what the fuss is all about! Just looking at the projects on display was enough to get my gears spinning for class ideas, and I am so excited because they are working on a deal with AC Bailey to distribute certain products--and that just rocks! I also have become interested in working with canvas, which I never really thought about before. Now that I've used it with a make-n-take, I see just how unlimited the possibilities are, and I'm about to move into new territory... the pictures below are just a tiny sample:

This 8x8 Canvas Flip-Flop Book is going to be a cute little project!

How pretty is this?! Large canvas done up scrapbook style... wow!

* Little Yellow Bicycle: Yeah, I know, I sound like a broken record, but this is by far the best new company to come out in a LONG time! Not since Basic Grey have I seen a company come out with better products each and every time. Not everything is my personal taste, but you can't say anything bad about the quality, selection and price! I just want some of everything... for now, though, I'll stick to talking about "Autumn Bliss." This line is starting to show up now, and the pictures honestly don't do it justice. In person, it's elegant, catchy and simply gorgeous. My favorite paper in the line is called Pumpkin Patch, and it's "thermographed," or embossed, if you want it simply stated... what do you think?

I don't expect to see blues in a Fall papers/colors, but this works, and when you see the foil-like parts of the paper, you will be absolutely entranced. Trust me on this--run, don't walk, to buy this line!

Their Christmas line will blow you away, too, but I'll save something for another day!

*Helmar: Adhesive isn't that exciting, we all know it, but when you find some that works, is versatile, and rubs right off of your hands with no mess, you have to take a second look. After all, without adhesive, none of our projects would be very good, right? So I'm always interesting in new stuff, like Helmar 450 Stainless Adhesive and the Helmar Gemstone Glue. The 450 is liquid that dries clear on all sorts of materials--from fabric to cork!--and doesn't bleed through. It also dries really quickly, which is a bonus when you're working on mini-albums or projects that have a lot of different pieces. The Gemstone Glue is also really great because you can use it on clear buttons or other see-through products and it dries 100% clear!

Here I am at CHA with Helmar's Design Team Coordinator, Tracy Weinzapfel Burgos and the AC Bailey Girls! Left to right: Dee (standing), Julianne, Gail, Tracy, Erica and me (standing).

There are a handful of products on which the jury is still out because I haven't really had a chance to use and/or watch them in action. I like the Unibind PhotoBookCreator. You buy a machine that will make those bound books that have been all the rage in the last year or two. There are size, color, and even sound options, so it seems like it might be on the cutting edge, but I'm not sure about costs and ease of use, so I'll reserve judgment for now.

Hot off the Press has some interesting CDs--1000 Card Quotes, 11,000 Alphabet Tiles and 500 Ephemera Art Pieces--for just $14.99. I didn't see the actual contents, so again I'm waiting until I see more, but that's a great price for so much ready-to-print artwork!

GlueArts has the latest in Glue Gliders, a smaller one than the trendy ATGs that everyone seemed to need last year (myself not included). I have one on order, because it looked like it might be something I can use all the time, with mindless cartridge changes, so I'll let you know if it lives up to its reputation! I also got a sample of their Wall Art Adhesive, but haven't had a chance to try it yet, so I'll keep you updated on that as well.

So that's it for now... I have a few other things that I'm going to talk about in more detail, along with samples and other information, but for now, you're going to have to wait! I have lots of surprises planned for you, including a giveaway, but I'm going to make you work for it, so stay tuned!

Happy Scrappin'!
--Kathy