So here it is... 11:30 a.m. on the Friday after CHA (Jan 30). ~That is when I started this post anyways...lol! ~ I am still in my jammies because I got home very late last night and have decided that this is going to be a LAZY day! I am looking around my house and there are probably a million and one other things I should be doing seeing as though I was gone for a week, but I KNOW this mess is not going anywhere (unless I clean it...lol!) so I have decided to blog instead:)
I am sure many of you have already heard and seen many of the happennings at what I consider to be the "GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH" but I am going to give my spin on it. If you are interested, grabba cuppa java and read along... it's going to be a long post! But I have a lot of pics to share to go along with some of the fabulous times we had!
What you will not find here really are pics showing the latest and greatest from all of the different companies. I did not take any of those photos (I am sure you can search those out elsewhere!). But what I do have is a whole bunch of pics of some of my fabulous pals in this industry that I feel so fortunate to be a part of!
Okay... so I have seriously contemplated where I want to go in the next year (do I continue teaching on this scale, etc). The economy is tough and this industry is being hit HARD! What I personally have decided this time around is that there are so many SMALL businesses that NEED our support in these hard economic times in order to survive. Many of these companies that we love and adore are owned by individuals who have put their hearts and souls (not to mention a tonne of their own money) to persue their dreams and if there is a way I can help, I want to do so! Sometimes putting a face behind the name helps so that is what I want to do where possible:) When thinking about where you want to go with all of the fabulous choices available on the market today... remember these names in your travels and know that your support truly makes a difference! It's not to say that the big names take a back seat... heck no! It's just I personally will be making a conscious effort to incorporate some of these smaller companies products into projects wherever possible to give them the exposure needed to make a go of it in this industry! Everyone has to start somewhere, right?!
One of these small companies is Black River Designs... Christine is the owner of this company (from New Brunswick so it's Canadian too!). She is sponsoring one of my classes at Scrapfest and she has some fabulous new papers and embellishments. She debuted at CHA so I am sure you will be seeing her products in a lss near you soon:) You must check them out... gorgeous stuff!
Two of my FAVOURITE people in this entire scrapbook world are Ben and Kara Anderson, owners of Riff Raff Designs. I have been their biggest cheerleader for the past year as they have worked very hard to develop a name for their amazing chipboard embellishments. Many of you know that I am now their Educator and spread the Riff Raff love wherever I can. Without a doubt, we are always able to find the perfect piece to compliment ANY project. Be sure to check them out and give it a try! I am pretty certain they will become a household name very soon!!!They are also sponsoring some of my upcoming events, like Crop and Cruise. All lucky ladies on board will be blown away with their generosity and will love playing with their goodies:)
I was also very lucky to have spent a night with these 2 in California as we went on a little tour of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We all had a great night on Wednesday exploring the sites and walking what seemed like miles and miles! Thanks Ben and Kara for letting Brenda and I come along:) I had too much fun and that Mexican restaurant had the yummiest Churros and fried ice cream:) Not that my butt needed it but it sure was good for my soul...lol! I hope I didn't snore when I fell asleep in the car on the way back to Anaheim...lol!
Okay... time to get back on track with my recap... sooooooooo... where do I start? Hmmmmm... well, I arrived in California last Friday. My dear friend (and fellow PrimaDonna, Liz Hicks) picked me up at the airport.
We had a quick pit stop at the most amazing fabric store (which I never did make it back to... aaaargh!!! Liz... I may have to send you $$$ and have you do my shopping....lol). A quick lunch on the run and she dropped me off at the convention center so I could get in there to help set up the Prima booth. As we are pulling up... who do I see but my buddy KC from My Mind's Eye! What a nice way to start the day!!!
Anyways, in I go with all of my luggage etc to get things ready for the show. I had a tonne of samples to go up as well as our Build-A-Books to display in the Prima booth. I managed to get everything looking pretty good over there and then it was time to set off in search of all of the different people I needed to see prior to the show to drop samples off to as well. I had brought stuff down for fellow scrappers that had samples go in various booths so that was accomplished with relative ease! I chatted a bit with the Tattered Angel Crew (last minute clas prep stuff, etc). I love this group of ladies and their new releases are TO DIE FOR!!! Be sure to check out their website/ blog for all their new goodies... especially their GIGANTIC Pink Craft Mat! Oh yeah baby... you are going to LOVE it!Anyways, I then headed over to see Jody at MME and gave the My Mind's Eye guys their fix of Tim Horton's Hot Chocolate and Nanaimo Bars (Thanks Tracy... they were a hit!!!). Lucky me, I even got to meet the 2 creative masterminds at My Mind's Eye (they designed the Bella Bella and the majority of other recent collections)... super sweet gals~ not to mention talented!
Here is a pic of Jody and I (see below)... we have worked together at MME for the past year getting the class thing going. He has been fabulous and I will miss him when he moves on to some other fun stuff in the near future:) Without a doubt though, he'll still be "around" in the industry and many of us will still have the opportunity to keep in touch.
It was then time to head back to the hotel... I hung out with my dear friend Michelle.. we had dinner and cocktails and totally chilled out! We also ran into our friend Diane from Beacon Adhesives (My FabriTak gal)... y'all know how much I LOVE FabriTak!!! The uber talented Lauren and her friend Jen also joined us for a simple evening of good times!
Seeing as the Prima booth was pretty much set up Friday, saturday was a day off for the Prima team before the BIG day. Liz was sooooooooo sweet and she came to take Vicki Boutin and I to the Prima warehouse. Can I tell you how much of a DREAM COME TRUE this was for me!!! Imagine and ENTIRE warehouse full of fabulous Prima goodness! OMG!!! I was giddy with excitement and having the opportunity to shop there, well!!! Let me say that I have NO IDEA how I managed to restrain myself so well:) I still bought a tonne but not as much as I thought I would have:) My hubby will be happy to hear that...lol!
Aiale after aisle jampacked with Prima goodness... be still my heart! Flowers and bling among other good things... it was just too much!!!!!!!!!
Vicki is an absolute hoot! I love spending time with this girl and she totally cracks me up!!! I am looking forward to our time together in April at Scrapfest in Kitchener... there is no one else like her. So genuine and so flippin' funny!!!!
Saturday night, Michelle and I taught our Tattered Angels class to retailers at CHA. It was a pretty full house and I am pretty certain that most had a darn good time getting all glimmerry and shimmerry! I LOVE to teach large crowds. It becomes a little bit of a "show" and we tend to feed off of the group. There were lots of techniques that were taught and a fun project (mini album) showcasing some of these techniques was created. Remember, if you are a retailer that was in attendance and want larger photos of the project, please drop me an email I can get those out to you! My email is: trisha.lado@gmail.com. It was a late night getting out of there so we just went back to the hotel for dinner and drinks before calling it a night.
CHA started Sunday morning and ran for 4 days. Each morning, I did did a simple make and take for my friends at Acme United/ Westcott. It was a simple Gift card enclosure tag featuring some fabulous products from My Mind's Eye, Tattered Angels, Beacon Adhesives, Prima and even a bit of Riff Raff Designs on the last day. Participants had the chance to play with some cool tools from Westcott and walked away with a great lil make and take:)
Each afternoon, I worked the Prima booth promoting the Build-A-Books (of course!) and helping retailers make the decisions as to what yumminess to bring in. What I was mostly amazed about this time around is how well thought out many of the retailers purchases were this time. Again, with the economy the way it is, I think many had to have a plan. Many were on a misssion and I think that is pretty cool, not to mention a necessity for many!
I ran into some retailers from around the continent that I have taught for over the past year or so. I also made a few new friends with retailers where I will be teaching int he upcoming year so stay tuned for details!!!
One of my favourite out of town stores has become Just Scrap It in Saksatoon, SK. Deb and Ralna are great gals with whom I always have a good time with. Rumour is I will be coming back real soon for another Fun Filled Weekend... what do you think Saskatoon ladies, are you up for it? What we have in mind this time will totally BLOW YOUR MIND!!! Stay tuned for the details...
The evenings are always the most fun for me though:) Being the social butterfly that I am, I love catching up with everyone. There never seems to be enough time to see everyone that you want to but it's nice to try! Sunday was dinner with the Prima crew at California Pizza Kitchen. Great times were had and Donna and I laughed until we cried... it was great!
Monday was the greatly anticipated PrimaDonna Dinner. Again, Prima was the wonderful host for this dinner where I had the privilege and honour of meeting so many of my fellow PrimaDonnas. Such amazing ladies with so many great ideas for teaching amazing scrapbook in classes!!! We went to this AWESOME mexican restaurant and I could have just eaten the homemade salsa with a spoon for dinner and been happy... it was SCRUMPTIOUS!!!
Afterwards, we popped into the FiskaTeers Bash at the Double Tree. Did you know I was one of the first Fiskateers? Yup... proud to say that I am Fiskateer #464 and love to spread the crafting love!!! Too much fun I tell ya! They too were amazing hosts and so extremely generous:) I had a great time there as well:)
Afterwards, my friends (Mari, May Lis and Trude) from when I taught in Norway this past fall came to meet us for a visit. We had been trying to hook up all week and it was not working, but it finally did and we laughed until it hurt!!!!! I eventually fell asleep (not cuz they were boring but because they had exhausted me with their making me laugh) and I am just happy that they did not paint my face or anything...lol! Why oh why do they have to live on the other side of the world??? They were so much fun and I do not think I have laughed like that in years!!!!!!! I miss them already!
Tuesday was the night I always look forward to most... our Crazy Canuck Night. YUP! This is becoming somewhat of a tradition as for the past few CHA's we try to plan a get together for as many of the Crazy Canucks as we can. Each time, more and more people continue to join us and it is wonderful getting to know people from coast to coast. We went to one of my favourite all time restuarants "buca di Beppos" for some amazing Italian food. Great times were had by all and we look forward to seeing everyone again at the next CHA in Orlando this summer!!!
Nancy, Christy and Allison... these crazy gals were soooooooo much fun! I totally have to make a trip down to Calgary just to hang with them for a weekend!
Katharina and Jackie from Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine... undoubtedly 2 of the coolest chicks I know not to mention the goofiest (Just my style and I think we are going to have a dangerous amount of fun in a couple of weeks on the ship! YUP!!!)
After dinner, we (Brenda and I) headed back to the Marriot and the Hilton and hung out with as many different people as we could! Lots of laughs were had by all and it's sad to see that this is all over for yet another year:( Oh well... check out my pics if you are into it and be sure to send me a link to any pics that you may have (I would love to see them)!!!
Sooooo... there you have it! My CHA adventure in a nutshell. I am back at home with the next big adventure being Crop and Cruise!!! So much to do... so little time:) I am looking forward to seeing many people I know on board and making plenty of new friends!!! Gotta run and get some work done... Sorry I didn't link up to everyone in this post (I think most of them mentioned are in my sidebar anyways). Have a fabulous day and I would love to see your thoughts and comments about the show:)
