Creative Inspiration at CHA 2013!

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This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending the ginormous Craft & Hobby Association trade show, better known as “CHA”, in Anaheim, California! It was a veritable who’s who from the creative industries– companies, craft products, designers, celebrities, bloggers, and inspiration galore! Getting to spend the weekend with some of your favorite bloggy friends surrounded by all kinds of creative inspiration is super awesome! CHA 2013That’s me with Amy of Positively Splendid and Bev of Flamingo Toes! So fun!

I was there (as were SO many other awesome creative bloggers) at the invitation of Plaid and had the pleasure of demonstrating a fun make & take craft (stay tuned for more on how to make that soon). My little table was crazy busy for 3 straight hours! Took me back to my teaching days! 🙂 We used some new Mod Podge formulas coming out this year, as well as some new light-weight Mod Podge papers. The new extreme glitter formula (coming out this summer) is SO fun! And, the Mod Podge melts that will be coming out this year (see them in the V Spot Blog’s CHA post) are really cool too!Mod Podge Make & TakeAfter my demo work, I had some time to explore. The convention center floor itself was insane! Craft products & creative inspiration galore! There was no shortage of washi tapes around. A big crowd favorite was the washi tape covered bike from My Mind’s Eye. And, I must get my hands on that red & black tape set. Love it!! Washi TapeOne highlight was stopping by the Project Life booth! I’ve met Becky before and am a big believer in her message! In fact, I finally got my very first Project Life binder as a sweet Christmas present from Mr. Mom Endeavors! 😉 So excited to get started! And, the new lines coming out this spring/summer?! Swoon! The Midnight version?! In love!!  Project LifeAnother highlight was meeting the fabulous Amy of Living Locurto and I Heart Faces! She is so stinkin’ talented! And, to add to that, she was there debuting her new product line at the pebbles,inc booth. The line of products is sooooo cute! Bright, fun colors! And, I happened to really love the boy stuff! 🙂 Living Locurto LineIt was a popular stop! While we were there, we ran into a whole bunch of other creative bloggers. Needless to say, there was lots of chatting! But, I’m so glad we stopped to take a group photo! 🙂 Recognize anyone?!Creative bloggers at CHAIn the picture, we’ve got Melissa from No. 2 Pencil, Viv from the V Spot Blog, Me :), Katie from Sweet Rose Studio, Amy from Positively Splendid, Jen from Tatertos & Jello, Amy from Living Locurto, Karen the Graphics Fairy, Tauni from SNAP!, Mique from Thirty Handmade Days, Heather from Dollar Store Crafts, Angie from the Country Chic Cottage, and Bev from Flamingo Toes! Whew! And, just think, there were at least another 10 awesome bloggers at the show who are missing from this photo! So fun!

Between all those creative minds and all the creative products, my brain has been swirling with creative ideas. Plus, I have new products on my wish list. In addition to the ones above, there are a few more that I am excited about!  After attending a breakfast with the Flora Craft company, I’ve got my eye on some heat foam cutting tools! The fabulous Candie Cooper did a demonstration on ways to cut foam and I was hooked. I also got to see Candie Cooper show off some of the jewelry she made at the Craft Attitude booth. Absolutely amazing stuff! I’ve already tried the Scrapbooking Attitude to make some DIY photo canvases, but now I’m really eager to try some other surfaces! The Tim Holtz booth was also incredible and there are some awesome new distress paints coming out (check out the Tim Holtz post on Craft Test Dummies for more info). There was also an fun new cork foam board from Elmer’s and football Duck Tape! I have a feeling there will be some team projects shown this coming fall with some college football Duck tape! 😉 Football Duck TapeNeedless to say, the whole experience was amazing. I came home exhausted and to a bit of a sick household. But, after some days of recovery, I need to get busy crafting now that I have a brain full of ideas and creative inspiration!

Have YOU ever been to CHA (or something similar)? What’s your favorite thing about attending?

Disclosure: I received some complimentary items as part of my attendance, but was not asked nor paid to talk about anything I saw! 🙂 I just wanted to share about all the fun with you!

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welcome!

I’m Sara, a mom to three adorable boys living in the Arizona desert. As a former teacher, I love sharing my passions with others. So, have a look around for creative inspiration about cooking, creating, celebrating, traveling with kids, and more everyday mom endeavors!

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5 Responses

  1. Too Much Fun. Wish I could have tagged along! Your head must be swimming with ideas! Can’t wait to see what you make. 🙂

  2. I’m green with envy! That looks like so much fun. Something like this hasn’t been offered in New Orleans, that I’m aware of. How nice that you had such an opportunity. Love that bike, by the way.

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