CHA 2012

Wow. What an amazing day I've had. *Up at 330am to make it to the starting line of the Tinkerbell half marathon. *Through the 13.1 mile course (Such a great time! I will blog about this later). *Dashing as quickly as possible from the finish line over to the lobby of the Anaheim convention center for...wait for it...a FLASH MOB! (It's been on my bucket list and I was thrilled to find out that there was one through Charity Wings in conjunction with CHA. Check!) *Then off to shower and eat (Which I desperately needed after that morning!) *Back to the convention center where I met a scrap idol of mine, Suzy Plantamura (she is a CK Dream Team Member and one of the friendliest people. ever. I have a big scrap crush on her) *Then off to a seminar (learning to be a pro). *More trade show time on my weary legs. (I wanted to seek out the Heidi Swapp booth).....ok. ok. photos. I must show photos....

 I'll start with Heidi Swapp... I took these photos on my iphone to post to instagram. I plan to go back and take better ones with my real camera so you can see it all...

because, let me tell you...you will WANT IT ALL! Her new products are Be-YOND amazing. Stunning, really. I feel like they are the perfect blend of original, inspiring designs with just enough popular trends mixed in. The lines are versatile, clever, geared toward the consumer, and can easily pair with other manufacturers products (although, I am so utterly in love with the Heidi Swapp goodies I just may use them together over and over again.)

Here is another photo of her booth. And, can I just say... I was brave enough to introduce myself to her and she was so friendly and sweet. What a genuinely wonderful person. So cool to meet her. I am crossing my fingers and wishing upon a star that one day I will be able to work for her. (More excuses to play with all of these ga-ga-gorgous products! Sign me up!)

 I spotted these lovely little friends in the October Afternoon booth. I have to get my hands on that far right blue one, called "Spring." STAT. oooooh and now that I am looking closer I see several more...oh, what the heck, I may just get them all! I love Sprinklers because they splatter so well. The best.

Something I was really excited to see was the American Crafts booth. I will tell you, it did not disappoint. I was in patterned paper heaven. Epic. I will have to go back and take a closer look at everything so I can give you the play by play. So much to see! I wanted to introduce myself to Paige Evans and Amy Tangerine in person...but they were so busy, and I didn't want to interrupt. Tomorrow. tomorrow, for sure.

 Look at these pretty flowers from the gcd booth. They are made out of tissue paper.... 

How about this tree?!

Yes, those are paper butterflies, ornaments with jewelry in them and beads galore. W.O.W.

Today's to-conquer list didn't allow me enough time to walk around the entire show floor. (My dogs were barking and I was jones-ing for a burger.) Not to worry, I have two more days to take a look around and share here. So come back soon for updates (and better photos, I promise!).