CHA

Okay, I promised some details on CHA, so here we go:

First I want to thank Kevin and Kelley for letting me tag along for the show. I am so lucky to be a part of The Scrapbook Zone team and appreciate the opportunity to grow with the store. A special thanks to Sue and Kim also for letting me ride and room with you. We had so much fun. Love you guys!

Okay, more on the show:

Thursday we arrived in Chicago and took a dinner cruise sponsored by Xyron that was awesome! We left just before sunset and were able to see the skyline at night on the lake. With dinner, music, and a little (more like a lot) of luck missing the rain storm not too far from us, it was absolutely perfect!

Friday we met with Kevin for breakfast and headed for the show. Kim and I hit the new companies, while Kevin and Sue hit some of the usual favorites (Basic Grey etc..). We first saw the booth for imaginisce, which is a new company with lots of cool papers and embellies. Oh yeah, Kelley ordered IT ALL! We also saw Luci, a new photo copy center and printer that can scan and print photos to large pages (including your 12X12's!). K&K are seriously contemplating ordering this baby and it ROCKS! You can even create digital layouts using pre-existing templates in the software. It was super easy to use too. I have to say that I love it! Also hit the Autumn Leaves booth which was full of celebrities and cool new stamps, idea books and lines of paper and embellies. Loved it all.

Only saw about 1/3 of the show floor all day. Lots and lots to see. Celebrities everywhere!:)

Friday night we attended the 2peas (non)dinner and ate dinner at the hotel (after a silly game of cards in our room~ had a blast with Kim and Sue!).

Saturday we headed back to the show and started with a make-n-take project with one of my favorite page artists, Amy Howe, at the Basic Grey booth. Cute little box with their new "gypsy" papers (you will love them!). Headed over to the CK booth to try and get a signed copy of Elsie's new book "52 Scrapbooking Challenges", and she gave us one free copy for getting there way early. We also got to chat a bit with Ali there too. She's so fun!:) Saw so many new things and great samples. Took lots of photos! My favorite booth was from 7 gypsies. Their projects are the best! Saw many more that I liked as well, like Maya Road, Doodlebug, Basic Grey, Making Memoreis, just to name a few.

Saturday night, after the show ended at 5 and we had a little rest, we took off for downtown Chicago for dinner and a little shopping. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory which was insanely busy, but the food was good just the same.

Sunday I went back to the show to take some more photos and hit a few other booths that I missed. Saw two of my layouts in the Stewart Superior booth (Memories inks). Pretty good considering they had a whole team of people and only 6 total layouts. Talked to them a bit and hit the Rusty Pickle booth. Loved their samples too. Soooo many booths, such achy feet and legs!

We hit downtown Chicago again before leaving to go home. Had lunch and got the kids a couple of goodies from the Rainforest Cafe. Love that place!:)

Here is a list of my favorites from the show:

7 gypsies- awesome products, booth, and samples. They ROCK! (by the way, K&K ordered it ALL!
Maya Road- cool new books coming from them. Loved their samples too!
Doodlebug- cute, cute stuff. always.
Autumn Leaves- need I say more?
Art Warehouse Danelle Johnson clear stamps- these are fabulous!
My Mind's Eye- new Bohemia lines are just awesome. Check them out and then run to the Zone to get them when =they come in!
Heidi Swapp- very cool stuff. I was drooling....
KandCompany- very cool stuff, with lots of bling.
Fontwerks- loved their two new paper lines and many of their stamps. All ordered for your pleasure!

Oh my, so many more that I can't even flippin' believe it! All I have to say is that we are so very lucky to have a great store such as The Scrapbook Zone available to us. They ordered everything cool at the show, and I mean EVERYTHING COOL! You can expect to see all of the goodies that I mentioned, and more at the store in the upcoming months. Check out the online store at The Scrapbook Zone. There are many preorders available so you can get the goods as soon as they arrive. Don't miss out!

I could really go on and on about the show, but it is getting late and I need to visit with the family. I will post pics tomorrow (Tuesday). These will be even better than all of my rambling anyway~

See you then!:)