I think I have FINALLY caught up on sleep from my FUN trip to CHA, so I’m ready to share some of my fun with you.  I am sad to say that I didn’t take as many pictures as I thought I did.  Apparently, my new reading glasses don’t take photos… oh, some day… This is going to be a long blog post, so I hope you stay with me until the end of it, and check back tomorrow for even more… In any event, let’s get started!

Coming from Chicagoland to supposedly sunny California, I was quite dismayed by the week’s forecast…

I mean, seriously!  It was warmer at home on Friday than it was in Anaheim… c’mon, Cali!!!  Luckily, I had brought layers with me, so it wasn’t too bad. But, next year, Anaheim, you need to do better than this!

It was quite a gorgeous view when the sun was shining and the snowy mountains in the background…

My exploration of Anaheim on my arrival day, I racked up quite a few steps, according to my Fitbit…

Nothing much to see, except the fabulous California landscape on travel day, but the first day of CHA was going to prove to be AWESOME!  Day 1 is education day, so there are LOTS of seminars and workshops to get those creative juices flowing and make you think about your business.

I was lucky enough to begin my day with Mr. Tim Holtz… oh yes!!!  But, first, I needed COFFEE!!! This is what Starbucks had for me at 5:45AM.  Oh no, they don’t open until 6AM.  What is that noise?! I have to wait until 6AM for my latte??!!

Alas, I overcame, and was able to get my latte and move on to…

I got to play with the NEW Distress Paint and make those fun (and easy) burlap boards.  Here is Ms. Wendy Vecchi showing a larger version of the final product… isn’t she adorable?!

From this workshop, I spent a lot of time in classes on things like Pinterest, Design Teams, and Creating Online Videos, all of which you should benefit from in the coming months…

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, poor Latte is pouting that Momma is gone…

And my Fitbit said I needed to not sit so much today…

Don’t worry, Fitbit, I’ve got a LOT of steps for you to count tomorrow!

The day began with a GORGEOUS view from the 3rd floor of the convention center.  You can’t get much better than this!

And then, we had a FUN Flash Mob, courtesy of Charity Wings…  As soon as You Tube cooperates, I’ll post the link to the whole thing!

And then, it was time for the craziness to begin!  The trade show floor opened today:

You can see TONS of folks lined up to swarm the floor.  I was actually fairly close to the front of the line here; it was PACKED at the entrance!  You can feel the anticipation, and it never fails to deliver!

My first stop was to meet Mr. Mark Montano and get an autographed copy of his NEW book!

Oh yeah, you read the title correctly!  I also got to play with a NEW spray adhesive you can see in the background by Eclectic Adhesives.  This stuff really works! And better yet, it cleans up VERY easily!  This will be in the store once it’s available.  Speaking of adhesive, Copic also has NEW adhesives, as well, but my reading glasses camera failed me here…

Next up, I went to meet Ms. Leeza Gibbons and get her inspirational book, but alas, the books did not arrive in time.  I did manage to talk with her about some FUN new things, like her new scrapbook (shown below) and her new lines. She also gave me some advice on a hybrid Mixed Media kit that will be coming in March to the store.

Also at the Prima booth, I found some FUN new things for the store… these fun camera wood pieces will be a part of the first mixed media kit coming in March. The full set will also be available in the store separately, as soon as they become available the middle of next month.

This canvas album has a resist cover (not sure if you can see it in the photo) that I’m SUPER excited to play with!  The album measures 5.5″x7.5″, which is a manageable size for me.  It also will be available the middle of next month.

What else does Prima have, you ask???  How about a Coffee Cup shaped canvas album?!?!?  The best part of this is that you can have it NOW!

More from the Prima booth tomorrow…

The Zig Marker booth had a fabulous mural that artists were coloring during the whole show.  I meant to go back and get a final photo, but alas, the reading glasses camera didn’t come through again!  But, you can probably color it in your own mind…

I played a LOT a the Canvas Corp booth. Canvas Corp now includes 7Gypsies and Tattered Angels, as well… talk about a FUN booth!!!  There are some FUN things that will be coming to the store from this booth, to include file folders in 3 different sizes…

This is probably my favorite piece of artwork from the show:

The tissue used to make the heart will also be coming to the store shortly in two FUN prints – brocade and script!  You can see another way to use it here in this tissue flower:

Here’s a fun way to use the Canvas Corp Flowers here (a couple more colors of these will be coming to the store VERY soon):

With all the walking I’d done, it was SO nice of my husband to send me a fabulous sports car to drive at night:

OH HOW I WISH!!!! That would’ve been a FUN car to drive… looks like I had my choice of white or black, too… dream….

Ok, back to reality… And what a FUN reality it was!

I took the FABULOUS Faber-Castell class to close out my day.  I really think they should rename the company to Fabulous-Castell.  I got to play with the NEW gelatos that will be used in the March mixed media kit.  More on those tomorrow…

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Latte is getting even more upset at the lack of Momma…

And my Fitbit was a little more happy with me today…

I know I wouldn’t want to read anymore on a blog post, so I will stop here for today’s post.  Check back tomorrow for even more fun!