News from CHA...

Sorry gang, Long time no Blog.

It has been a while. You know how it goes, life gets busy and before you know it weeks have passed and you haven't created anything even though new products have accumulated on your work surface (and every other surface of your/my house!) LOL

I am just back from CHA which was held in Orlando Florida this year. Too hot and humid but that is Florida in the middle of summer. Good thing I was at the show for the better part of the day checking out all the latest and greatest products and meeting up with many of the vendors. It was such a blast and I came home with tons of ideas all using the new products. This certainly is the year for exceptional Halloween product but my favourite just might be Basic Grey's new Eerie line. Of course, Halloween is my favourite holiday so I am biased in that regard.

Here is a small list of a few of my show favourites, excluding Halloween. These are what I think may be the HOT new products this season.

• Kaiser Crafts new advent calendar/frame. Not the best picture sorry but good enough hopefully for you to get the idea. Remember last years Karen Foster advent calendar? Well if you liked that one you will LOVE this one. If you are not familiar with Kaiser Craft's Beyond the Page products well it is definitely time to check them out. They are made out of a thin MDF not chipboard and sell for a very reasonable price. This particular piece does have chipboard drawers though. The rest is all wood. Their new Christmas papers and embellishments are excellent too. They are so new and hot off the press that they are not up on their website yet but watch for them soon.

• 
  I must say that I love many of the Kaiser Craft products. While you are searching out the Christmas goodies, go to the Craft section of their website and check out their new storage system. ALL of their new embellishments, rub-ons, stamps etc are packaged in reusable zip lock storage pockets that go in to their binder. This is the best idea for packaging as not only does it make storage of your bits and pieces super easy, they are all reusable! There is even storage for your 12x12 paper. Best yet, they can all fit into the same binder as these storage pockets all have a two hole system. http://www.kaisercraft.net/general-craft I must say that the gang from Kaiser Craft are all exceptional as well. See me here with Mick having some fun at their booth. Crazy Canadian gal meets crazy Australian guy.

• 
  Next on my list is the Sizzix Big Shot Pro. This tool will cut every die out on the market pretty much. All the old Sizzix dies, all the new ones and pretty much all the competitors dies as well. Even Accucut dies. Best yet, it is the first tool with a 13" opening! I highly recommend this great tool for retailers and serious scrappers alike to have in their studios. It is far more affordable than the commercial systems so easy for stores to add to their collection of studio tools. Not too out there for those of us who must have all the latest and greatest tools either. At $350.00 USD it is a bit of an investment but one well worth making. There are 17 new extra big dies that are being released with this tool and many more to come. My favourite is the tabbed album, partly because I requested it and the awesome Julianna (Sizzix Goddess) made my wish come true. There are so many ways I want to use this die. I can't wait to get my hands on it and therefore the new machine as well. Like all their previous tools, this is not just a paper crafting tool. You can use it to cut fabric and so much more as well.

For those of you who are not interested in a manual machine because you have one of the many electronic machines but would like an affordable embossing machine, Sizzix has you covered there as well. It will accept all embossing folders out there including all the great Sizzix ones and those made by CuttleBug and Quickutz too. This is a must have for card makers!

• I must mention stamps. My latest weakness. Some gals can't help themselves when it comes to shoes, for me it is stamps. It is definitely hard to say which company is my top pick since there are many that I absolutely must have. Yes that is MUST HAVE. Inkadinkado just released a ton of Halloween and Holiday stamps although they were not at the show. Hero Arts as usual has another great release and so does Penny Black. If you are liking Tim Holtz and Stamper's Anonymous then you must check out his new stamps. I think I need 7 of the 13 new sets! (It is my attempt at being conservative). Don't ask me how many Inkadinkado stamps I have picked up and/or have on order. I am telling you is is a sickness of which I believe some of you have as well. Now for those of you who are not really card makers or mini album creators and want BIG stamps for your layouts, then you must check out Tattered Angels. These stamps are super cool and have these companion stencil things that take stamping to a whole new level. You will need to check out their websites for images.

I think this is all for now. I have goofed off most of the day and need to do something. Probably housework but well, it can wait. Maybe I will go and move some of my sCrap so I can play with some of those new goodies I mentioned earlier.