Reflections from a CHA Newbie — CHA 2013

Here I am a survivor of my very first CHA.  It was a whirlwind weekend of fun, laughs, inspiration, and (believe it or not) work.  Right before I exited to hop on the plane home, I took a picture with Glossy.  Everyone needs a picture of themselves with an extra large Mod Podge bottle don’t ya think?  I mean you do only live once.

My CHA experience began with a view from my hotel window that was breathtaking.  I have not been to California since I was 4 years old.  So yes even the scenery was new to me.  The surprise here was that California was a chilly 35 degrees at night.  So I left my warm TN home for a chilly surprise right off the plane.

Saturday morning the show floor opened bright and early.  Team CTD walked to the convention center together with plenty of large bags for pamphlets and goodies.

After registration I picked up the map for the show floor.  The picture below is only  half of the map.  Only half.  Now you can picture me being overwhelmed.  Deep breaths and one step at a time was all I could muster.  After a few hours, I felt a little less overwhelmed.  But the show is a lot to take in for a newbie like me.

Not only were there tons of booths but tons of people as well.  All the crafty and blogging celebrities you ever wanted to meet all packed into a convention center.  Below is Beckie with Infarrantly Creative doing a demonstration at the Plaid booth.

The surprising (or maybe not so surprising) part is that they are all super nice and approachable.  I met so many people and they were all amazing.  You can even play a little game in the picture below….try to name the blogger.  Or you can play “Where’s Angie?”…you know like Where’s Waldo.

Cathie and Steve were even in the Mod Podge booth.  They were one of the many crafty celebrities at that show.  I had met them briefly one night.  Again so nice and approachable!  Just regular people.  I love that — don’t you?  I always say crafty peeps are the best peeps.

The other surprising (or not so surprising) aspect of CHA to me was how many brands knew Craft Test Dummies right off.  They love this site, what we do for them, and how we do it.  Now if that is not a compliment I don’t know what is.  Check out the Elmer’s booth below where they were even sporting a CTD logo.

The final aspect of CHA that I loved was the inspiration.  My head is once again swirling with ideas of things to make, products to try, and projects to show to my readers.  Not only did the manufacturers show off their new products but they showed off examples of how to use those products as well.  There were tons of gorgeous art made by designers and crafts of all types.  I even got to hang out with Jenny while we admired the wonderful Carmex lid art of Lisa Pavelka.  Absolutely amazing.

All in all it was a whirlwind of a weekend but so well worth it.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.  I am so happy to have had the opportunity to go, so grateful for Team CTD for showing me a great time, and so inspired by all the crafty goodness I absorbed in three wonderful days.