Kid in a Candy Store

I'm back home and it feels soooo good - I missed the comforts and my puppies. Waiting for me was an AMAZING package from my friend, Jeanne. It was so incredibly cute and such a nice surprise. It's all PURPLE - flowers, ink, brads, sharpie, ribbon - you name it - it's in there. She is just the best! I was in Anaheim for... CHA.

CHA is everything you think it would be... just amazing and fun and tiring (like any convention). When you love scrapbook products as much as I do - you are literally a kid in a candy store. You are so hyped up when you see all the beautiful product - it's hard to contain yourself. They place the first time vendors downstairs, which is pretty smart. There were a couple of stand outs but mostly I liked Luxe Designs - they have two lines available: Cashmere Sweater and Classic Black (ready to ship Feb 3) and both of the designs stood out. They're located in Dallas and I think they will be one of the new players. I have one other new favorite but I'm saving it for later...

From the big boys, some of my personal favorites are: Anna Griffin's new LuLu collection, Karen Russell's Wildberry, all of Delish, 7 Gypsies Hudson Valley, SEI Morning Meadow and all of their velvet paper, Bo Bunny Beauty, Prima MDF projects - all of them! Heidi Swapp has more acrylic stamps with a nice big font and more masks! Yes, the bird mask from Capri's room. I think she said it ships February 19th.

I'll be back in a bit to update... need to get some vegetables in the oven to roast!

Had a great Italian dinner with my CJ friend, Patsy from CE - it was so nice to visit with her, get to know her better and exchange ideas! Whew... I don't think there was a moment of silence, except when they brought out garlic bread with lots of slivers of garlic! Yum. Patsy was working at the UHU booth, along with Tasra Dawson, who wrote this book, Real Women Scrap. I had a chance to start it on the flight home and I'm enjoying it immensely. My favorite so far is the thought of "cropping" out what's not working in your life, just like you do a photo. I wish I had the chance to spend more time visiting with her - she's very down to earth and approachable. But of course, when you read her book - that's what she's all about!

At the end of dinner, I realized Claudine Hellmuth was across the way. She will be in Vancouver for the Artistry 2007 workshop, that a bunch of us from CE will be attending in March. She did the cutest puppy puppet in Craft Lab a few weeks ago. She was dining with Christina Lazar Schuler. Ali Edwards & Donna Downey are also teaching. I was so happy when I got home to get an email from Charleen (another CE alum) - she made her plane reservations and will be going also. How awesome is that! I am just amazed that this great group of women are willing to travel and attend fun workshops. Too cool!

I enjoyed Martha's keynote speech, just because I like Martha for the most part. The logo for her new EK Success products (to be carried by Michaels) is a beautiful blue and chocolate - my bedroom colors! She didn't give much insight to the product lines so we'll just have to wait.

Also visited with Debbie Schuh from Anna Griffin - she is so gracious and friendly. I enjoyed hearing about her plans for Germany in April - just hope she's back in May at Moments in Time.
Guess I should go snuggle with the pups and watch all my taped shows: The View, Oprah, and Decorating Cents. Work tomorrow... need to scratch more coin for the next trip!