Best in Show….

I know there are a jazillion blog posts out there about what was awesome about CHA. I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents. Here are my submissions for best in show:

• Tim Holtz Adiorndack Distress Stains by Ranger. I can't wait to get my hands on these babies. It's essentially Distress ink in a bottle, so it has all the qualities of Distress…blendable, reactive with water, etc. The difference is that it is in a bottle with an applicator top, so you can easily color in large areas without having to do lots of direct-to-paper pressing with your pads. What can I say, I'm a slave to all things Ranger.

• My good friend Dyan Reaveley has released stamps…so cool! I love the "On the Edge" set especially, and the houses.
• Tim's release is great, and I really fell in love with the kraft glassine, the tissue tape, and the embossed & printed kraft papers.
• Everything 7Gypsies came out with, especially the ticket holder and the Lille line…swoon.
• I liked the new Sass (must get that feather paper!!), and the new Starters are exceptional. I seriously think I could use 25 sheets of each type! Great stuff. Cute new finishes on the little alphas, too.
• Hambly Washi tape….le sigh. I really love the birds on a wire print, too. I will share my layouts in another post…I forgot to photograph them before I left, so I took pics in the booth.
• JBS inks and daubers and stamps and the hodgepodge mini and oh, geez, it's all fab.
• Maya Road mini canvas pennants, too cool! I'm a sucker for anything canvas.
• Lily Bee has a Stationary line that is a great basic…colorful and a graph print on one side.
• Crafter's Workshop new stencils…especially the tree! Oh, the tree! It's not up on their website yet, but trust me, it's cool.
• Studio Calico has added some new inks to their line…I especially love the green, orange, and yellow.
• Ice Resin by Susan Lenart Kazmer. Can you believe I own some of this stuff and haven't even opened it yet? Bad me! Her booth is pure eye candy, and I want to buy her book.

Really, there was lots of cute stuff…much of it vintagey and girly (because I'm sure that sells better than inky and boyish). The other "best in show" for me is being with awesome friends, like kl. Love her. And we have big plans…I'm putting that out in the universe so we're held accountable. lol. And I love seeing other friends in the industry, networking, and encouraging each other. Love it!