CHA 2012

Robin, Kathie, Georgia and Sally

(missing are Jackie and Kat)

Monday, January 30, 2012, I picked up my friend's Kathie and Robin and off we went to CHA. Jackie had been so kind to include us in her The Art In You as her assistants!

After parking as far away as we could (not on purpose and not really necessary), we were off. It was a piece of cake getting our badges. CHA and the Anaheim Convention Center have this down to a science.

We had gotten there in plenty and time and while waiting to go in a long lost friend approached me, Lindsay Ostrom. Lindsay also has at blog. Click here. I met Lindsay when she was just starting out with her wonderful store in Montrose, CA called Paper Rabbit. She is also famous for her doodling and alphabet books. She is special in my heart because she came and did my daughter Kari's 5 year old birthday party at my home (Kari is 33 currently). She now lives in northern CA with her family and is still working in the Arts & Craft field.

I also saw Michelle from one of my two favorite Scrapbook/Stamp stores in the San Diego area - Paper Tales in Point Loma. If you haven't been there, you must stop in and see her wonderful little store. She is moving to a larger location right across the street in the next couple of months. Very exciting. Can't wait to see what she purchased for her store.

I also saw Claire from my other favorite Scrapbook/Stamp store - Stamping Details in Poway. Diane is the owner but missed her and Vickie and any of her other worker bees that were that on Monday. And what purchase orders did she fill out for us to find new in her store?

Ranger's Make 'n Take

Once the doors were open, we made a bee-line for Ranger's and Tim Holtz's booth. We wanted to see what the make 'n take would be there and to see Tim Holtz demo-ing his new Distress Pens. The line for the make 'n take looked about almost 2 hrs so we just got the kit and took pixs so we could make it at home. Thanks for letting us doing that, Ranger.

Tim's "Body Works"

Wendy Vecchi''s

Then I inquire as to which of the 4 corner tables Ranger's thought Tim would be demo-ing and was told that the table where Wendy Vecchi was demonstrating would be it. So, Robin and I went over to that table and met Wendy and took notes. Robin told her that she follows her blog and was totally aware of who she was.

Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi

wearing my necklace

(thanks Suze Weinberg for the photo)

As she was cleaning up, Wendy noticed me and my necklace I was wearing and commented on how much she liked it. I said, it is for sale and that I have another one in my purse. She asked to see them and inquired how much. When I told her, she rushed off and brought me cash and took the necklace right off my neck that I was wearing - Yea! Only one left now and then I can start making new ones. I love making theses necklaces.

Garden motif necklace Wendy purchased

When Tim came and we were watching and taking notes, Tim commented on Robin's beautiful bracelet she was wearing. He said he really liked it - kudos to Robin! We were both thrilled.

OMG - I'm just adding this news: Kathie just called me to tell me to go to Wendy's blog and at the end of her blog she mentions me and my jewelry and has a picture of the necklace she purchased.

Dyan Reaveley's page

One of the other tables at Ranger's booth had a wonderful artist from England demo-ing her products, stamps and method. Some of Dyan's altered book pages are reminiscent of Teesha Moore's style which I absolutely love. Her display altered book was so beautiful. Robin and I wish she lived so much closer. We loved everything we saw that she did. Dyan Reaveley is her full name.

What else did we do and see? Well, for our next stop I wanted to go to Prima's booth where I took lots and lots of photos. I love their display at CHA and their products. Here are just a few of the photos I took at Prima's booth.

During the day we got to some book signings and then we missed some other's. We missed Traci Bautista's and Lisa Pace but got to see Lisa demo-ing at the Maya Road booth. I took a photo of what she was wearing - all things she had created. Loved everything! Will purchase her new book for sure!

Part of Lisa Pace's necklace

While waiting in line for Joanne Fink to sign her new book, Zenspirations Letters & Patterning, there was a woman who looked so familiar to me. I finally got a good look at her and her badge and was thrilled to see it was one of my most favorite artist/teachers, Lisa Engelbrecht. I have her Modern Mark Making from Classic Calligraphy to Hip Hand-Lettering book. Debi Harvey and I had taken a class from her a couple of years ago at Art Unraveled in Phoenix. This particular day, the air-conditioning had gone out in the room Lisa was teaching. What a trooper she was and we were. She is an excellent teacher and so very generous. Found out she will be teaching in November in San Diego. Told all my friends this a.m. Yea!

We were at May Flaum's new book signing - Scrapbook Workshop, The Best Techniques from your favorite Scrapbook Bloggers. Love this book with artist's scrapbook pages and references to their blogs!

Another favorite booth for me was eksuccess booth. I loved everything there but particularly the new to me Dimensions needlecraft kits. There website, I just noticed, doesn't have the photos of the new kits up yet so I scanned the cover of their brochure for you to see. They were so hand made looking.

At Plaid's Booth we met Cathie and Steve of TV fame. I loved Cathie's necklace and learned that it was Modge Podge's "Make 'n Take." We rushed over there to make our own. We started with one of their acrylic birds. Kathie picked an acrylic crown to work with. You could either apply the collage to the front or the back. Then we covered our collage with some sparking Modge Podge and then again with some Dimensional Magic Modge Podge.

Cathie's Necklace

We finally met up with Jackie, our leader, and Kat and Georgia. They had taken a room Sunday night and were staying until Tuesday. Kathie, Robin and I were starving and it was getting late in the afternoon. When we got to the food concession stands, they were already closing up shop. That is just nuts. It was only 2:30 or 3 pm and all the booths would be open until 6 pm. There were some men waiting in line who weren't very happy either. Bag of chips and a coke was all I got.

At 6 pm, Robin had asks us if we could stay for a Designer's open house up stairs where tables were set up for designers to display some of their "stuff." (one of my most favorite words when not sure what the correct word should or would be. . .) I saw my friend Jennifer Priest's display and also met a really interesting person, Cathe Holden - Designer, crafter, writer, speaker. Click here for her other website Just something I Made. Enjoyed talking to her. She lives in Petaluma, CA, where the man of my dreams, Leo Laporte of TWIT.TV has his new studios in downtown Petaluma. Leo broadcasts daily his many Podcaste shows around anything computer/cell phone associated like iPad Today, All About Android, Google, Mac Break Weekly, etc.

Finally saw Elena from Scrapbook Royalty ablaze with all her worker bees and her wings. I had heard from her at her birthday breakfast that she was going to be doing a flash mob. She did it at the opening of CHA on Sunday.

The end to a perfect day was when we were leaving and walking the length of the convention center to where our car was parked and out from the floor of the convention center came Wendy Vicchi with about 6 or 7 friends, one who happened to be Bernie Berlin. Wendy shouted upon seeing me, "there's the person who made the necklace I'm wearing," and rushed towards me with her friends. She said they had all asked if she had gotten my name or a business card because they all loved my necklace. I was surprised, pleased, over-whelmed etc. as I dug in to my purse and handed out my cards. Yea! I can now make more of theses necklaces and have faith that I will sell them somewhere unexpected again! Woo hoo. . .