In addition to hanging out with our very own Jennifer Perkins over at the Duncan booth at CHA, I was geeked about some new things Duncan had hanging there on the wall….Crafty Chica was in the house! For many scrapbookers, Kathy Cano-Murillo may not be one of those immediately recognizable names but, for those involved in any of the Craft Mafias or from the Phoenix area, you know and love her crafty glittery self. Kathy has a warm contagious smile and, is a crafter through and through. Her product line is designed for folks wanting to really enjoy themselves and have fun making things. Obviously, there is a strong Hispanic influence in her product line which adds to the overall cool vibe but, it’s the vibrancy and colors that make me want to just be carefree in creating and enjoy the moment. Her line truly has introduced the fun and playfulness back into making random things and I will tell you folks, that cute little chihuahua is a MUST have for any creative workspace! In terms of things you can use on your pages, GLITTER, GLITTER and more GLITTER. I was instantly smitten with the colors of glitter…..my personal favorite being the Bollywood Blue although, those pinks had me at hello as well. I am really proud of Duncan; they had a welcoming booth with really cool make n takes and fun people.

Another loverlie that folks would not normally associate with scrapbooking was Claudine Hellmuth over in the Ranger booth. Now, being a mixed media artist by trade, I have followed Claudine’s career for some time. Leave it to her to introduce her line of gel mediums and acrylic paints coupled with wonderful canvas paper to make it all the easier for scrapping folks to take their art to the next level. Of course I loved her fresh and versatile color palette but, it was actually the canvas paper with the adhesive backing that caught my eye. I could instantly see the applications for those desiring to add texture and another dimension to their pages and projects. Canvas in general is one of those materials that can withstand a lot of rough handling and many layers and surface treatments. It is also more natural in it’s composition which makes me feel better about my scrapping choices as well. This was the first time in a while that Ranger came out with something that really was designed to equip the consumer, take their creative process up a notch and inspire their muse. Having referred many of my students to Claudine to take classes, not only is she a professional in every sense of the word, she truly loves to teach and it shows in the way she designed this line.

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I think my first post alluded to the fact that folks are using scrapbooking materials in untraditional ways and well, making them their own. My friend Sarah Moore has a wonderful site called Craft Critique and she pointed out 2 of the many things that I totally went nuts over at CHA… I think for similar reasons…

Ed Roth at Stencil 1 totally caught my eye (read Sarah’s posts to see him in action….). I love the fresh and innovative look Ed brings to the table. He has a real urban and raw feel to his work and the many applications and versatility of his stencils is really something worthwhile to look into. Not only can these images be sprayed on a variety of surfaces, they can be used as reusable masks (simply spray repositionable adhesive on the back and you are good to go) in connection with all sorts of projects. I truly thought this company deserved a second and third look.

Next, Tinkering Ink saw a need and created a solution. I think as more folks give themselves permission to be daring and think outside of the box, we will collectively see more interesting innovation from scrappy DIY types in the future…. So, what did they do….they made rub ons that look just as wonderful from the backside as they do on the front- finally a solution for all those backsides of clear acrylic surfaces. Personally, I think they were BRILLIANT!!!

I guess, the point of this installment is, if it were not for the alternative surfaces people are choosing to create on, wonderful innovation like dual side colored rub-ons or urban graffiti style stencils would not have a place in scrapbooking nor would the necessity for new products like them to enter the marketplace.

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I spent a lot of time talking with the folks who created and designed the products as well as everyday customers, like ourselves here, about what they thought. The first thing that struck me was the fact that Scrapbooking *is* indeed being redefined. I think Papercrafting with a memory/documentary emphasis would be a better term. The demographic is still holding…us 20-40 somethings drive the industry and folks under 30 tend to not only embrace the digital aspect but, they are more likely to get all those wonderful gadgets and techie type toys as well.

The evolution in the typical “scrapbooker” has taken on a huge number of offshoots that has left the industry scratching it’s head and wondering exactly what to make of it. I will use Prima as a prime example. I stood in the Prima booth, looking over the loverlie flowers and such and met a wonderful gentleman who was just SMITTEN with the mini acrylic binders (I admit it here…. I was too- they were just so cool…..) He had absolutely no interest in scrapping a typical 12 x 12 album page or even using paper- none. He wanted to use paint, scraps of found items, Copic markers, and glitter to create his masterpiece. I asked him about his thoughts on “scrapbooking” and he said that he did not believe that he was a scrapbooker at all and most likely would never be…he was an archivist of the everyday. Fascinating. After meeting this gentleman, I decided that scoping out products would not be my mission, afterall, I had seen many of them already in sneak peeks (or at the Winter CHA show in Anaheim) and the whole “walking the show floor” was in many ways anti-climatic because I knew what to expect…this gentleman and his response on the other hand, were totally unexpected.

So, my question to you is, how do you define Scrapbooking? My guess is that your answer will not be as clear as these little binders….. As a “documentor of memories”, there is so much available to us to creatively express ourselves however, without a clear idea of what it is you would like to accomplish, finding the right materials to tell your story is part of the adventure I suppose.

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Graphic 45 has a really cool eco vibe going on… I expect that we will see a lot of “green” type papers and embellishments this Summer show I was really smitten when I saw this lay-out

And here are some more eco themed papers from Webster Pages

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I got a peek at Samantha Walker’s new line called Soldier Boy from Creative Imaginations and showed my 7 and 6 year old boys…..they just *LOVED* it. They cannot wait to create their own “army boxes” to house their soldiers and Lego creations.

Another sneak peek over at Creative Imaginations that caught my eye was the Halloween loverlies…although, I can think of so many other wonderful uses for that haunted castle….

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People are scurrying and hurrying with new loverlies to be unfurled

Paper, ribbon, sticker and glittery glue

So much to see, so much to want, so much *have* to have, what will you do?

So, I am not a poet but, there *IS* just something special about CHA that that makes everyday people do silly things. Here are a few more of the things I will seeking out to see in person when I get there.

Tinkering Ink is going Eco-friendly

Hambly Screen Prints has some new loverlies

And these from Luxe

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I received an email giving me the heads up on a new line from Bo Bunny called Beau Jardin. ( Check It Out Here). The weird thing was, I had another email announcing a line by the same name coming from Tinkering Ink but, no pictures. At that point, I figured that there was a typo somewhere. In all the hustle and bustle before CHA, there is a lot of information to process and sort through. That’s when I noticed the full page ad in Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine that featured the Bo Bunny line and announced their arrival at the upcoming CHA convention. There was no typo. There are two companies both unveiling distinct lines at CHA in a few days with the same name. Usually, when these things happen, the manufacturers will discover the duplicate at the convention and one or the other will change the name….so, the jury is still out on this one folks. Either way, I am liking them both and looking forward to seeing them in real life in Chicago!

This is Bo Bunny’s new line called Beau Jardin. I really like the contrast between the two sides and the edgy vibe they have going on. I showed some of the teenagers I work with these pictures and they LOVED them.

Here’s the Tinkering Ink’s version of the Beau Jardin line highlighted on the Memories a la Mode blog I really like the fresh and airy feel as well as the clean lines. I can totally see using these designs in a variety of ways both inside and outside of the album.

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Today I stumbled upon a lovely blog called Method Playground that was just so cool. Not only does it have wonderful challenges that spark your creativity and tickle that muse of yours, it tests the boundaries and redefines scrapbooking as a whole. This last challenge involved adding fiber to your pages….AMAZING!!! If you’d like to emulate this look and perhaps haven’t the foggiest idea as to where to start, we have incredible folks right here on Craft Gossip to help. The amazing Vickie Howell can not only help you learn how to knit but, gives you valuable insight and loads of inspiration! JD Wolfe will help you master crochet and provide you with wonderful tidbits to take your art to the next level. Crafting knows no boundaries really. It’s about finding new ways to spin your own yarns and telling those amazing stories in your world and, it starts with defining your own voice and following your passion.

Here, look at the close up….these pages were crocheted

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