I spent this past week at the annual Craft and Hobby Association MEGA SHOW in Anaheim, California. This is my 8th year attending the show, and boy, has it changed! Even so, 8 years in and I still learn alot, see alot, and experience alot. Everyone really enjoyed my “100 Things I Learned at SNAP” post so I thought I would do a “bunch of things” post for CHA Mega Show 2015.
1. Gold foil is “in”.
From Heidi Swapp's new Minc machine to foiled papers and more, gold foil was everywhere in papercrafting. Yana Smakula did a great job of getting around the show so I'm sharing her excellent video here!
2. Chalkboard is still in.
Marvy Uchida came out with FAT chalk markers, Krylon has CLEAR spray paint that makes any surface into a chalkboard, and traditional black chalkboard was still very present.
3. Chalky Finish and Chalk Paints are still In.
Krylon has a new spray paint with chalky finish as well as waxes. DecoArt and Plaid both had Chalky finish lines, including Plaid's Martha Stewart Chalk Paints with waxes.
4. Dry Erase.
Krlyon had new dry erase spray paints to make any surface dry-erase ready!
5. High Gloss
The Anti-Chalky Finish. PLAID has a whole line of new high gloss, self-leveling paints!
6. Smart Storage.
I met a new company based here in San Diego, California called Stick With It. They make cases with a sticky inside that you can use to store beads, crystals, tools, and other items you're working on. One artists was using it as a paint palette! I will be reviewing that here soon and I have one to give away!! The owner met up with Kellie from Crystal Ninja and they products worked pretty well together. Also, ArtBin was there promoting more cool storage. Creative Options released two new patterns in their fabric craft storage.
7. Project Life.
We R Memory Keepers came out with a hot tool for creating your own divided page protectors (hey, you can totally do the same thing with the Creative VersaTool from Walnut Hollow). Becky Higgins had her own Project Life booth. Every paper company seemed to be doing some project life compatible release.
8. Sewing.
Westcott finally released new AMAZING pinking shears! Kunin Felt had new felt called ShaggyFelt that is shaggy and loopy that I MUST have!!! Clover released mini Wonder Clips for quilting and working with small items.
9. Smart Tools.
Fold-Ease was a great new tool for folding paper with a thimble device that has rollers on the end.
10. Cross Stitch and embroidery.
There were embroidery based make n takes, like several at the Kunin booth. Plaid came out with new kits under their Bucilla line and had some new large wood stitching kits through their Handmade Charlotte collection.
11. Cross over.
There was more mixing of crafts. Plaid came out with mini cross-stitch necklace kits.
12. Decorative Painting.
The Society of Decorative Painters was at the show and many of the booths had gorgeous decorative painting displays, like this one in the Plaid booth (above).
13. Sweets.
Sweets are still a big motif. In the Plaid booth, Cathie and Steve showed how people were using their decoden materials to create faux cakes. The MD Hobby Craft booth showed how to make “coasters” for sweets out of their metal sheets. In our Westcott workshop, “Party Time with Westcott”, Wendy Russell taught how to make a cupcake throne and cupcake stand using Rowlux and the Buckle Boutique Adhesive Rhinestone Sheets.
14. Holster Brands Glue Gun Holster.
I had seen this on instagram but they now have other versions for heatguns and more. After getting burned badly by my glue gun before the show, I totally need one of these!
15. Flowers are still HUGE!
And by that I mean they are getting big. Richard Garay's Celeb'rations line with Spellbinders included a gorgeous tree and floral display in the booth but also flowers that you could make with the ides. Little B came out with kits called Pull Flowers where you just pull a string to make gorgeous flowers with no die and no cutting needed.
16. Fringe is still hot.
Spellbinders had fringe dies and there were lots of flower-making dies that made fringe.
17. Colored Cutting Pads.
Sizzix came out with colored cutting pads for the Big Shot machine. If you've ever misplaced your clear cutting pads, you'll love these! Available in pink, purple, and teal.
18. SUPER Strong Adhesive.
Tombow released more additions to their Xtreme line of adhesives, which are typically 6 times stronger than average adhesive. MD Hobby Craft has new construction grade adhesives for working with metal products. Ilovetocreate was showing off their Quick Dry Fabric Fusion glue, a super strong glue for fabric projects.
19. Embroidery Hoops.
Crafty Chica's make n take at ilovetocreate was in an embroidery hoop. The make n take I taught at Kunin felt was in an embroidery hoop. And some of the display items in the Plaid booth's Martha Stewart section were embroidery hoops. When in doubt, hoop it!
20. Painting on glass.
Clearsnap had a make n take on how to color glass with Izink acrylic pigment ink. In the Plaid booth, Martha Stewart's design team showed how to paint on glass plates. Krylon released new glass finishes, such as their Sea Glass paint in various colors. The samples in the Hazel & Ruby booth showed how to use their stencils and masks to make painted windows.
21. Doodling and Drawing.
Everyone was showing how to draw and doodle with their pens and markers. We learned how to blend colors with Sakura Gelly Roll pens in a make n take led by Joanne Fink of zenspirations.com
Click here to see part 2 of my recap.
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