Welcome to part 2 of my tour of CHA this year!!!! I made a list of over 40 awesome things from CHA Mega Show 2015 to inspire you and share the show with you in a different way than just touring every booth. I also did a video tour of some of the booths here:
#1-21 Click here: 40 Awesome Things From CHA Mega Show 2015 – Part One
22. Block Printing.
Blockwallah was at the show with traditional carved wood blocks for block printing fabric. PLAID released resin replica block printing blocks along with a link of fabric inks to use them with. Clearsnap had a new line of foam and rubber stamps for fabric.
23. Electronics and Circuits.
Chibitronics and Liteseeds by Jill MacKay both had LED light kits to teach about circuits as well as to create cool lighting effects on crafts. I thought these were really cool because they're bringing tech into craft and can be used to teach kids (and adults) about electricity and conductivity, Chibitronics' kit has a book inside that teaches about building all kinds of circuits in a fun, inspiring way. I need one of those!!!
24. Stencils.
Stencils are still HUGE and that means they are getting bigger and coming in more shapes and patterns. Stencil1 made a great showing but Plaid also had some fab stencils in their new Donna Dewberry line.
25. Inkpads.
Everyone has an inkpad now! My Favorite Things and Teresa Collins both licensed ink with Clearsnap's ColorBox line.
26. Unicorns.
From unicorns in the Eye Connect Crafts (hey, go LIKE their Facebook Page and show them some love!) booth to unicorn dies from Marisa Pawelko in her Modern Surrealist line for Sizzix to unicorn stamps!!
27. Feathers, Arrows, and Tribal still in.
Arrow Papers at DecoArt + stencils in these motifs by Plaid and by Stencil1.
28. Fabric finishes & Fabric.
Plaid had a fabric ink for block printing. Ilovetocreate has great new opaque fabric markers. Clearsnap added more colors to the ColorBox Crafter's Ink line. Krylon was sharing how to use spray paint on burlap in their booth. Everyone was working with fabric in some way. Linnie Blooms was a new company sharing handmade canvas components for crafting.
29. Unfinished materials.
Linnie Blooms is a new company with canvas components for crafting. Eye Connect Crafts was in the new vendor area as well, selling loose pieces for jointed and laced chipboard pieces. Smoothfoam was offering fun new shapes like photo frames to finish.
30. Planners
Everyone has a planner now but my faves were in the Webster's pages booth. Heidi Swapp also has a planner and many of the new paper lines had planner-like uses and looks.
31. Watercolor.
Papers, fabrics, and techniques were focused on watercolor looks, ranging from bright colors to softer pastels. From Ken Oliver's new papers to Amy Tangerine's 8th line with American Crafts to Wesbter's Pages new papers, there was watercolor in almost every paper booth.
32. Bling.
Bling was big at this show. Duck Brand had new adhesive gems with glitter inside as well as shaped bling stips and strips of glitter tape. Crystal Ninja presented with a new tool, the Crystal Kubaton, to compliment their super popular Crystal Katana. Marvy Uchida had a new tool for dispensing and applying Swarovski crystals with applications for papercraft and fabric – Easy Crystal Applicator. Marisa Pawelko (modersurrealist.com) came out with a line of licensed printed patterned bling sheets with the Buckle Boutique.
33. Wire.
Be it chicken wire in the MD Hobby and Craft to wire jigs from Beadalon to Twisteez wire masks and kits (click the link to LIKE their Facebook Page!!), there was wire in use alot more on the show floor.
34. Metal
There were alot of metal projects, especially in the MD Hobby and Craft Booth. ICE Resin once again has Iced Enamels, a product for enameling metal. There were metal home decor pieces by Carol Roeda. Faux Metal Marquee Letters (cardboard) from Heidi Swapp.
35. Thin Papers.
DecoArt and Hazel & Ruby both had thin papers that were great for decoupage or other home decor and altered projects.
36. Spray Paints.
From the sugar-based aerosol spray paints from Ironlak to both Krylon and Rustoleum being at the show, spray paint was in the house!
37. Ethnic and Cultural
From Block Printing, Crafty Chica, to Stencil1, there were ethnic and tribal motifs in many booths. It's nice to see more cultures than just “Mainstream” being embraced!!
38. Wood.
Wood papers that could be diecut in the ARC Crafts booth. Kyrlon was sharing ways to finish wood in their booth as was Plaid.
39. Molds and Moldables.
Cathie and Steve have even more Mod Melts molds at the Plaid Booth with an improved Mod Melts tool (I will be trying it out here soon!!). ComposiMold was back at the show with their reuseable mold making material. ICE Resin had their mold making material for use with ICE Resin. Clearsnap repackaged Magic Stamp, a moldable foam for making your own stamps.
40. Yarn.
There was another fashion show in the Lion Brand yarn booth with Vanna White and I missed it!! Here are some other posts about it. Spinrite had a great “Yarnia” display based on Narnia.
41. Licensing with outsiders.
The best exampe of this was the KellyCraft booth who licensed a line of stamps with the guys from Duck Dynasty! It's hilarious but totally smart. Companies are partnering with people who will being non-crafters into crafting.
42. Office Products.
Deflecto had what would usually be office products reimagined and repurposed for craft storage and display.
43. Opaque Things.
I already talked about opaque fabric paint markers from Plaid but Sakura of America had Pen-Touch Opaque Paint Markers in Colors and Metallics as well as new Permapaque opauqe pigment markers.
44. Cork.
A photo posted by Jennie Garcia (@jenniegarcian) on
Duck Brand had cork stickers and adhesive backed items. Tombow did a mini cork board make n take in their booth. And someone (gosh I can't remember!!) had cork sheeting!! It's not just for your platform shoes anymore…
Here are some other awesome recaps from CHA!!
Marisa Pawelko Modern Surrrealist CHA Recap
Crafty Lady Abby (2 parts)
Summer Fullerton: So There I Was
The Crafty Scrapper CHA Recap (4 Parts)
CraftTestDummies.com Recap (multiple parts)
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