I am venturing a bit outside of the usual Tricky Tuesday theme today but I think I will get your creative juices going nonetheless. I have been at the craft industry’s premier trade show, CHA in Anaheim, California. This is where all of the different companies debut their new products for Spring. All the big companies are here and there are buyers (in suits, of course) from Michael’s, Joannes, Hobby Lobby, QVC and HSN walking the floor to find great, new products.
Usually I am busy working in our Pazzles’ booth but this year I got to walk the floor. I have been on the lookout for new products that would work with our cutter and seeing what trends there are in the industry. I could have waited until next week’s Breakfast Topic but I just can’t seem to keep this stuff to myself for that long!
The economy definitely had an effect here, as it has everywhere. The show floor is smaller but it made it easier for me to cover everything in the 2 days I have been allotted. Even then it seemed like I ran out of time. For me, this is like taking a kid to Toys R Us and telling them they have 20 minutes to see everything. I just could not get enough and every aisle brought something new.
Glitz, glitter, rhinestones, pearls and glam are all still really big. Swirls show up in a lot of designs and dark, shabby chic (distressed and inked) looks are in a lot of the paper lines I saw. Also, papers that take their cues from vintage fabrics and wallpapers seemed to be popular. I saw anything from 1800’s wallpaper prints to the ‘Leave It to Beaver’ look (think 50’s and 60’s colors and prints) to funky 70’s pop art designs. Dimensionals are also big. There were boxes, purses, and other 3-D objects everywhere.
I found a lot of products I have to try with the cutter! Top of my list is a new paper by 3M that has Post-it note sticky over the entire back surface. I have been using post-it notes for years to cut masks for stamping but this is way better! It can be embossed, cut and……you can sprinkle glitter on the sticky side. Think about the possibilities. Bazzil has some beautiful new papers. Their glazed papers are absolutely gorgeous with prints like vines and flowers glazed on the surface of the paper. It is like embossed paper but the raised up part is actually a glaze on the surface. Speaking of embossed, Bazzil also has a new line of embossed papers.
Going beyond conventional paper to other cut-able media, I found a printable shrink plastic from Grafix. They also have colored shrink plastic to make cute bracelet charms etc. Next, I have finally found real wood in 12 x 12 sheets in two thicknesses by Creative Imaginations. I cannot tell you how long I have been trying to find a readily available source. I really hope it does well so that Creative Imaginations can keep it in their line. A company called Strueter has a foil that has glue on the back of it. After you cut and/or emboss it you use a heat source like an iron or embossing gun to adhere to your project.
In the glitz and glam department, Sparkle and Sprinkle has come up with a combined flock powder and glitter. I can see a lot of potential in using it in conjunction with our pen tool and glue pen. You could also put it on a shape cut out of the Post-it note paper. A lot of you like the dew drops from Robin’s Nest. They have come out with new diamond and tear drop shapes. Use your needle piercing tool and the equidistant point function for creating a gluing guide for dew drops, pearls and rhinestones. Speaking of tools, Imaginisce has a new Rhinestone tool coming out in May that looks promising. Their rhinestones have adhesive on the back. The jewel fits on the tip of the tool and it heats up the rhinestone to melt the adhesive. It looks like it will make applying rhinestones really quick and easy.
Finally, a company called Jacquard actually had an Inspiration in their booth to demo their screen printing inks. They were cutting screen print masks from vellum on the Inspiration. They said the masks could be used several times over. The process was so simple compared to other screen printing programs. There was no need for a fancy machine and you didn’t have to buy someone’s expensive masks. The Inspiration made it something much more affordable. I have always wanted to do screen printing but it looked so complicated and the machines are expensive. This looked so simple that I may have to try it myself.
Going to a show like this one causes me to be firmly convinced that our cutter is the best there is. Not only is it a paper cutter but it is a “crafting” cutter.
Now, can I please stay and play some more? Please? I don’t want to go home!
Thanks for sharing your inspiration from the show with all of us who were unable to attend. It is great to hear about the new products that we can use in conjunction with our cutters! Your walking the CHA floor has saved us lots of steps!
I miss you already. BTW, in the testing of cutting everything, I am THRILLED with the results of the REAL wood paper. There are two different thicknesses and they BOTH cut…I see so many new projects in my future…*grin.
I was starting to test cut some of the other stuff last night and thought I’d close my eyes for ‘just a second’ 12 hours later I woke up, I THINK, I may have been tired after doing the Craft Super Show, Disney and CHA. But I’m heading back to CHA to check out the art area today and see what I can find.
Wow thanks Klo and Amanda for all the info. Love to get the low down on CHA. So looking forward to all the neat projects you girls will come up with! Thanks again and may the soles of your shoes feel like clouds today!!!!
oops sorry, meant Christine…somehow my fingers just had a mind of their own and typed Amanda 🙂
Hey, if I could look as good as Amanda just by being called by her name…I’d be all for it!!