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 is what’s new and fresh! First up: Chalkboard. Yep. Chalkboard is still here and it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. This trend is now spreading to washi tape, pre-designed frame-able art work, and lines of chalkboard paint from every major craft company. These are some of the examples of the chalkboard trend that jumped out at me:

Multiple patterns on a single roll of washi tape from American Crafts

Pre-cut chalkboard banner panels from American Crafts

Erasable chalkboard craft paint from Plaid

Colored chalkboard paints from American Crafts

Colored chalkboard paints from Martha Stewart Crafts and Plaid

Next: Wood Veneer.

Every single scrapbooking company has incorporated a product using wood veneer in one way or another. From albums to embellishments to 12×12 scrapbook “paper,” wood veneer has definitely claimed a strong foothold in the papercrafting market right now.

12×12 wood veneer sheet from Dear Lizzy

Wood veneer embroidery kits from Bucilla

And this is their large display…adorable, right?!?

Wood veneer embellishments from BoBunny

Last: Glitter.

Glitter has a polarizing effect: you either love or you hate it. Either you embrace the sparkly goodness and the risk of looking like Glinda the Good Witch for the rest of your days or you avoid the stuff like the plague for fear that you’ll have that one offending speck of glitter stuck to your face for weeks to come. So many of the companies that I visited these pat couple of days have figured out ways to create a happy medium. There are countless ways you can use glitter in your projects *without* the typical mess. Suh-weet!