Drooling Around the Prima Booth

Photos of CHA will be posted later this weekend.

Yes, Drooling Around the Prima Booth was not chosen as a title by Izzy for the last Paperclipping Roundtable broadcast; so, I’m using it here. I saw lots of folk taking unauthorized photos and i-pad videos around the Prima booth. However, I asked politely, as I always do, and was denied permission to take photos. While I saw oodles of items to drool over, including their Ruby Violet line, no photos to show you of Prima. The little white acrylic and white metal embellishments that can be colored if you wish were delightful. Intricate dtails, elegant designs. Of course, the entire booth was full of new stuff and it was a large booth. They had an entire small booth just for the new Ruby Violet line. Pretty bright yellow, blues and pinks in that line with a fresh whimsical look to the designs. Check out the Charity Wings videos (should be on i-tunes soon) or Prima’s web site http://www.primamarketinginc.com/ and http://prima.typepad.com/prima/2011/07/ruby-violet-is-here.htmlfor more details and photos.

My favorite paper line of the show is crate paper’s ‘Random’. http://crate.typepad.com/cratepaper/2011/07/my-entry-2.html The teal, plum pink, mustard yellow just drew me in and there was a middle east/eastern feel to this collection.  Since I was all about teal this show, I loved Lily Bee’s Head Over Heels  which is a teal, orange and plum pink double sided paper line. Lily Bee has two other lines I found that are very flexible designs despite one having the name Jingle. Great for the holidays but not restrictive. Memorandum is another. http://www.lilybeedesign.com/paper/4.html I also loved the monochromatic teal of Little Yellow Bicycle’s winter theme line ‘Winter Twig’. http://www.mylyb.com/winter_twig They have an 11.75 x 5.75 paper pad in addition to the 12 x 12 in this line with a nice assortment of tags and embellishments.

Not all my favorites were the bolder colors and tiny prints. Pink Paislee’s ‘Nantucket’, a soft pastel beach theme line, was so much prettier in person than on line. Very useable and versatile for more than summer layouts. http://www.pinkpaislee.com/home.php?cat=79 The Mistables line had the document prints I love and was another winner for me. http://www.pinkpaislee.com/home.php?cat=78

SEI always has some simply gorgeous classic lines and this show did not disappoint. I love Silver Valley. Not just silver but cream, browns, grays and muted winter red used in this seasonal collection. Their White Elegance was perfect for both weddings, winter, and other classic ideas. http://www.shopsei.com/main.cfm?heading=1&categoryoid=12&productoid=430 The Holiday Cheer line at SEI was bright and bold and more Xmas specific - definitely fun.

On Paperclipping Roundtable, we discussed how the major names in scrapbook paper manufacturers (those that advertise heavily to consumers)  do not necessarily market themed papers. Sugar Tree http://www.sugartreescrapbook.com/ has a huge variety of realistic photo textures, objects and scenes to suit every theme specific taste. Buffalo, noodles, strawberries, corks, cityscapes, peanuts in shells, sports and family word themes are but a sprinkling of what they had to offer. I'm not sure who carries their products. The link currently on their site went to a company no longer on the web.

Now, how could I a lover of bright color and patterned paper like me fall in love with Canvas Corp? http://canvascorp.com/home/  Their lovely booth just drew me in. I could really find a love for kraft after visiting them. They do have patterned paper lines, too. The burlap, kraft and canvas looks, though, were beautifully presented and look fun to use. ‘Chalkstock’ is still my product pick.http://canvascorp.com/home/?p=2140 I like this paper that works like a real chalk board and I love that there are tags and shapes available in this product. Claudine Hellmuth’s black gesso http://www.rangerink.com/products/prod_medium_CHstudiogesso-black.htm would be my next pick for chalkboard effect and American Crafts chalkboard papers a third. Claudine’s paint is a good dark gesso base and great for mixed media work. The AC paper is shiny with a very textured finish. It works well with the paint pens I tried and does have some decorative borders that are a plus. I could not find the paper on the AC site but did locate it here. http://www.stopandscrap.com/american-crafts-nightfall.aspx

Everything Glitz is gorgeous.http://www.glitzitnow.com/glitz-meet.php  I love using their lines and the ones at the show do not disappoint. The three lines at CHA were Vintage Blue, Beautiful Dreamer and Dance in Sunshine. They were very happy to let me take photos.

Other than paper lines the CHA event showed that stickers remain an eternal element of card and scrapbook design. There were several lines of bling, ribbons, cards, jewelry and stamps at the show so we’ll have plenty available to choose from if the shops and distributers are buying.

Tombow has a Stamp Runner adhesive that I like. Not a lot (40 ft) of runner length but the ability to quickly add a stamp of adhesive was a real plus. Not that it is so difficult to pull off a dot of adhesive but the ease of this applicator and the versatility were a real plus. Being able to try it really sold me on this. http://www.tombowusa.com/CraftDetail.aspx?sku=62162 I also like how easy it was to remove the backing of their new foam squares. This is a fairly new product so the longevity is not clear yet. I have had bad experiences with foam adhesive in the past so I’ll need to keep my eye on this one that comes in tiny and regular size squares. http://www.tombowusa.com/CraftDetail.aspx?sku=52129

Scrapbook Adhesives remains a favorite and their personalize able dispenser is a plus. Their new fine adhesive in their EZ Runner goes on nice and thin which is ideal in a lot of applications and seems to have a good hold. It should be great for vellum for it goes on opaque and turns clear over time. http://www.scrapbook-adhesives.com/products

Scrapbands has a great variety of  elastic strapping covers to which you can add your personality. These straps can be used to hold those big bulky albums together or to identify the spine of the album. http://www.scrapbands.com/default.asp

I loved Alvin’s Stow & Go storage. http://www.alvinco.com/shopping/family_sale_0_familyid_11808_cat_956 The metal rack holds 6 plastic cases (the handled translucent storage boxes ideal for up to 12 x 12 product or works in progress). I really like this. It takes little more room than I currently use with a stack of plastic cases. Unlike my stack the whole column of cases will not topple when I grab the bottom one. 

This is a long blog post and I want to get it posted. I started it yesterday, got homesick and caught a late plane out of O’Hare to get home to California. My great guy picked me up at the airport late, well past his bedtime. Love that guy.

Promise photos and more details in another post.
Here are some photos of products from CHA.
Glitz