Back from CHA - OH MY!!!

Hey all!

Didn't get back home till late last night so I slept in this a.m.... All I can say is OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!! It was really cool ~ saw LOTS of new goodies ~ paper, stamps, and stuff that is must have.

I met lots of great people, saw some friends and took LOADS of photos... Did you know it's possible to kill brand new lithium batteries in less than a day??? It is ;) I didn't even make it through the whole show which should tell you how many pics I actually did take - LOL!!

I haven't had a chance to sort through all of the cards or other materials I got but off the top of my head here are a few of the things that impressed me...

First and foremost for all you fellow Tim / Ranger lovers...

I already got to play with the metallic crackle paints so I knew those were way cool.

Tim's new stamps are great as well ~ LOVE the Halloween images ~ Bones is just so cool looking (the skeleton stamp) - he is full of character! Tim actually made me a stamp using that stamp collection. I'll share it with you when I get all of the pics uploaded.

Another new goodie from Tim's Advantus collection is his Masks!!!! ~ those are definitely on my must have list. What makes these masks different you're thinking? Well, the images are very cool but the best part - they are clear! This means you can see what colors are under the masks but you are also able to see how that looks in relation to the inks you have added around the masks! No more guessing!! You know how hard it is to reposition a mask after you've already pulled it up and found out you don't have enough ink. No more....just think of it as clear embossing for a batik effect with out the all the business of stamping, embossing, then ironing to remove the embossing....WAY COOL!!

He also has some great new Grunge Board shapes (must have's of course!), metal trinkets and new Fragment shapes but I'll get to those another time.

One of the things that impressed me the most is the new Distressed Stickles!!!!!!!!! This stuff is AMAZING!!! It is another twilight zone moment though ~ (ask Phinny about our twilight zone moments lately - lol!!) I have had a renewed love of mica lately and have been using it quite a lot on various projects for dt's, the blog and other goodies. Well, the new Stickles has a mica "like" particle which just gives the Distressed Stickles a beautiful finish. It's pretty when it's wet but after it dries it looks and feels just like colored sugar particles and/or glass glitter!!! another OMG moment! This stuff rocks! Chalk up another bulls-eye for Tim!

Sorry, no pic with him though ~ he was way busy doing demos so I didn't want to bother him but I did take a few shots of him in action. He liked my business card btw (I believe everyone I gave one to was impressed ~ I'm so happy with how they turned out)... he also said some really great things about my blog and art in front of his "crowd" (blush - I don't do compliments well) but that was so sweet of him. He's such a great friend.

There was of course more to the show than Ranger & Tim...

I don't have my top 10 compiled yet but here are some previews....(I will be doing features on all of these companies in the near future!)

Molly & Mac - GREAT new company...got to meet the creators behind it all and they are so sweet. Their paper designs are amazing!! They even had a "gum wrapper" garland made from their papers at their display. A couple of really fun ladies I know you're just going to love!

Graphic 45 - Simply amazing!!! If you like vintage you are going to LOVE this stuff. I of course do love anything old & tattered so it's perfect :) I was immediately drawn to their booth...old doors to hang art work on, old watering cans, wood boxes and containers, a vintage stroller...you get the idea.

Websters Pages - even better than the previews! Beautiful colors & patterns.

Crafty Secrets - OH MY!!! They didn't disappoint with their new line of stamps. They have a super new set which is called "Support the Girls". For ever set sold $1.00 is donated to the Susan Koman Foundation to support breast cancer research.

Stampers Anonymous, lots of cool stuff as always!

Fiskars - Had an awesome time meeting several Fisk-A-Teer sisters :) I was lucky enough to participate in a fun little Fisk-a-teer pep rally and group photo before we left! Hi ladies!!!

Little Yellow Bicycle - more cool stuff...

Gosh the list just goes on and on.

I also got to meet the Craft Critique ladies :) They stopped by the Streuter booth while I was there...filmed a little demo of the Glue Foil for their site.

Met some really great folks from England (cards & other fun stuff), Germany (Greman Scraps), Australia/Canada (Darkroom Door & Stamp It), etc.

Be sure to check back later for all the fun pics :)