This year at CHA 2014, Spellbinders debuted their new line with A Gilded Life. We caught up with A Gilded Life desiner, Shea Fragoso, at CHA 2014 where she demonstrated a make-and-take for us, creating a gorgeous necklace in mere minutes! I was very excited to see the new acrylic covers that come with all of the bezels; now you don’t need to wait overnight for resin to set, you can just glue a quick cover on and you’ve completed […]
CHA 2014 New Product: Amazing Tape
As I was strolling through the new product section at CHA, I came across a product that I’ve seen in my Local Quilt Shop, but might be new to lots of crafters: Amazing Tape. What’s so amazing about Amazing Tape? First: it isn’t tape. That’s right, it has no adhesive at all. It is best described as “cling wrap on steriods”. Quilters have been using Amazing Tape for years to secure thread onto spools. It can be used just as […]
CHA 2014 Trends: Things are Getting Sticky
After a long weekend at CHA, I had an even longer drive home (about 7 hours), and I thought about all the things I’d seen in my 2.5-ish days at the show. And there was a lot. Lots of lots. But I kept coming back to one thing. Sticky. There was a lot of sticking going on at CHA 2014. Many of the brands I was talking to either were already involved in, and expanding, their line of adhesives. Others […]
CHA 2014: Recap of New (& Improved) Product Highlights
I love scouting the show floor for new products at CHA- sometimes they are not necessarily “brand new”- but tweaks/ improvements on existing products. So let me show you some of the highlights I found! Impress Art has developed new soft-strike metal jewelry blanks that look like sterling but a fraction of the cost. And easier to use, too. This new DecoDen product caught my eye in the Jesse James Beads booth. I’ve actually got this product in hand to […]
CHA 2014: 3Doodler Printing Pen
I have been intrigued by 3 D printing machines ever since I first heard from them. However, with a price tag of over 2K, it’s not really in my budget. But this little gizmo I spotted might be a fun fill-in (forgive the pun) until the price goes down: the 3Doodler. I had to stop and get a little demo of it in action!
CHA 2014: Collage Clay Demo from Plaid
Can I just admit flat-out that I adore Cathie Filian and Steve Piacenza? In addition to creating fun & inspiring videos AND being some of the nicest people on the planet, they also create spectacular new craft products. This year they are adding to their Mod Melts line and are debuting Collage Clay! If you are already familiar with Decoden you are going to be excited- and if not, this video will help you out! I think this is so […]
Jenny’s Picks from #CHAshow: Spellbinders Tool-in-One
As I mentioned earlier, I often have folks ask me what my CHA show favorites are. Sometimes it’s a wowzer new machine like the Brother Scan-N-Cut, but sometimes its a simple thing that makes life easier. Enter the new Spellbinder Tool-In-One. This cute little gizmo features a rolling brush and a little tool kit to help you separate your detail thin-rule dies from your paper without tearing. It will also eject the little paper bits from your dies easily. And […]
CHA 2014: Three Top Trends in Paper Crafting
I’ve been up and down the oodles of aisles at CHA hunting for the latest and greatest products and it’s been no easy feat! It can be overwhelming to search out the best of the best, but I’ve narrowed down everything I’ve looked at into the Three Top Trends in Paper Crafting for 2014. Now here’s the thing: the top three trends I’ve found have been around for awhile; they really aren’t that new. How they’re being incorporated and used […]
CHA 2014 – Art Anthology – Video Paint Demo with Jen Starr
Greetings from CHA, Craft Test Dummies! I was so happy to find Jen Starr at the Art Anthology booth and see all of the amazing paints available from the velvet dimensional paint to the color sprays in amazing colors. It is so cool to see just how versatile these paints are and watching Jen demonstrate them was even more of a treat! I hope you all enjoyed this video from Art Anthology at CHA 2014! Please let […]
CHA Hot 20 Pick: Chameleon Color Tones Pens
I constantly get the question “What did you see at CHA show that impressed you?” The Chameleon Color Tones Pens impressed me as a great way to get lots of colors in a marker without buying a ga-jillon markers! Here’s a preview: I stopped by the booth and filmed this quick video: And here’s a peek at the color chart: Now, if you are already “sold” on them you can buy them on Amazon.com now with this handy affiliate […]
CHA 2014 Video Demo – Ranger Ink – Dyan Reaveley – Dylusions White Ink Spray Pad Technique –
Hello Crafters! We are at CHA 2014 and here is Ranger Signature Designer Dyan Reaveley showing us a FAB technique using her Dylusions Ink Spray Pad with Ranger Ink and how to get the perfect white ink pad in conjunction with her White Linen ink spray! Finding that perfect white ink pad can prove to be difficult for us stampers, paper crafters and art journaling enthusiasts and Dyan has solved that problem for us using her products in the Ranger […]
CHA Show Winter 2014: Lion Brand Yarn Booth Love
CHA Show is such an amazing event- the new products are a given. But really the BOOTHS are one of my favorite things! This year, the Lion Brand Yarn Booth wins for my personal favorite. They re-created monuments and geographic icons in YARN. The theme was Yarn of the World. Check this out! Stonehenge. Check the the texture! The Mayan ruins were depicted in the colorful hues of Mexico, while the details on the Taj Mahal were stunning. And the […]
CHA Mega Show 2014 – Designer Sneak Peek
One of the newer events that CHA (Craft and Hobby Association) has been sponsoring is the CHA Designer Sneak Peek. It’s a chance for the designer members to see some of the newest products available for the show and talk to the creators and manufacturers one-on-one. Sometime it is difficult as a designer to speak with manufacturers about their products on the busy show floor and this gives us all a chance to ask questions. I […]
CHA Bound 2014 (and What Is CHA, anyway?)
Hello, crafty friends! As you read this, I will be flying out to Anaheim California to attend the Craft And Hobby Association Conference and Tradeshow. For those of you who might be new-er here, or are asking “What is CHA, anyway???” the CHA show (as we call it) is an amazing event in which the best brands in the business (and those who hope to be) converge with retailers, designers, wholesalers to nurture and grow the craft industry. We’ll see […]
CHA Summer 2013: Tools for Custom Fiber and Fabric Projects
One of the things I love most about DIY is the opportunity for each maker to customize new projects in a way that incorporates her/his own personal style. And, since I’m a fabric and fiber crafter who’s pretty particular about shapes, color, and design, I always keep a special eye out for fun fabric and fiber customization tools and products while I’m walking the show floor. So, in my final CHA Summer 2013 post, I’ll give you a quick look […]
CHA Summer 2013 – Tim Holtz Alterations Stamp and Die Packs
This Summer at CHA Tim Holtz revelaed he has an exciting collaboration with Stampers Anonymous and Sizzix in the form of Stamp and Die packs! These fabulous packs include a set of rubber stamps and multiple thin-ruled dies for each stamp so you can layer these images to your heart’s desire! These were created with the crafter’s in mind that do not own the Sizzix eClips but still wanted to die-cut around your favorite Tim Holtz stamps and images. Take […]
CHA Summer 2013 – Ranger Ink – Dyan Reaveley Ink Spray Pad Demos – Part TWO
Dyan Reavely was sharing so many ideas for her Ink Spray Pad that we had to make TWO videos! We stopped back to capture her brilliant ideas and techniques for our crafty friends- YOU! What do you think? Would you use those techniques? PS- Don’t miss the FIRST part of her spray ink demo here!
#CHAshow surprise: Carolina’s Favorite
This week I attended the semi-annual Craft and Hobby Association trade show. I’m not a newbie to CHA, but this was the first time I’d been able to attend the summer show and it was the first time I’ve been able to attend in my own backyard – they had the summer show in Las Vegas this year! There was lots to see, and more that I will share, but the thing that thrilled me to the bottom of my […]
CHA Summer 2013 – Ranger Ink – Dyan Reaveley Ink Spray Pad Demos – Part ONE
Hello Crafters! It was hustling and bustling around Dyan Reaveley‘s table at the Ranger Ink booth at this Summer’s CHA; Everyone wanted to see what Dyan was going to be doing with her brand new Ink Spray pad. Below is the first of two videos of Dyan showing off some incredible and fun techniques using this new and versatile product! Dyan was kind enough to autograph one of the tags she made in the above video for us to giveaway […]
#CHAshow Mixed Media – Vicki’s Favorites
The scrapbooking industry has been going through some changes the past couple of CHA shows and focusing on new products with more of a mixed media spin. While I’m not a scrapbooker I am a mixed media junkie from way back. This show certainly didn’t disappoint in new products for mixed media art. Here are some of my favorite projects I found at the CHA show this summer. Faber-Castell has added mixed media books that promise not […]
