Blog: Craft and Hobby

Photos of the CHA 2016 Winter Show – or …Nat goes Anaheim

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At the beginning of the month I flew out to the CHA Winter Show. CHA –  organized by the Craft and Hobby Association – is a trade show showing the latest craft industry trends and forecasts. It is also a yearly meeting point to network and attend seminars and workshops and a lot of Craft and Hobby Retailers are traveling from all over the world to come and check out whats new.

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The Winter Show took place in Anaheim (as it has been the previous years) and it started off with a nice outside party (alas…it was pretty pretty cold in Anaheim this year)

Besides all the work and lot’s of meetings – the best part of CHA is meeting old and new friends :)

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Here is my sweet friend Cat Scanlon (one of our Creative JumpStarters!) , Marjie Kemper and Jonathan Fong. We had a fun talk and evening together. I love hanging out with creative people :) I also had a wonderful breakfast with JumpStarter Joe Rotella, but wow- we forgot to take a picture …you know..the food was just more important ;)

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Speaking of JumpStarters – here is Suze Weinberg– love her so much! It was just too short this time!

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and then there was this crazy bunch – LOL. Nothing better than seeing my bestie Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and her mom and Dina Wakley – just keep a distance- lol- we are nuts…and we do not know how to take selfies ;)

We actually took this picture after our DVD signing for F+W (Art Journaling Live 2)  – that was a lot of fun …despite the fact that Julie and Dina were stealing the best pens all the time ;)

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Here we are with my sweet Dutch friends from The Craftorij – where I taught last summer. So good to see those girls again and I am glad we also got to spent some more time together later.

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I actually had a bit of time to walk the floor and to check out some new/newish stuff. This watercolor brush by Kuretake which is extra long and can keep more water made me happy and was one of the first things I saw. Yep …I know…weird things can make you happy as an artist :)

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I am dreaming of this paper by Hemptique – it is hemp paper and it was so wonderful and pliable and oh man i want to have it and paint on it!

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I loved seeing Seth Apter and his amazing new dies with Spellbinder. He said his goal for this year is to get me use dies again …I am very tempted with his amazing designs!

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I was also super excited to see my wonderful friend’s Birgit Koopsen new stamps and artwork with Carabelle – and I made those guys pose for a photo for her ;) – I just wish they would have flown her in- I miss my room mate at CHA – I actually just miss her period ;)

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I loved seeing my friend Limor Webber – look at her beautiful smile and love that she visited me while I was demoing my new stamps at the Stampendous booth.

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Love the new Neon Graffiti Set she came out with Lindy’s Stampgang- I love those spray paints.

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I fell in love with this Marbling Set by Atelier de Paris – I hope I can find where to purchase it  as you do not need any chemicals – you do the marbling in water with those colors- oh man – yeah

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Spent more time with my friend Cat at the ArtC booth.

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And got crazy excited about these amazing PrimaTek Watercolors  by Daniel Smith – I cannot wait to play with those. They are made with authentic mineral pigments and create just the most amazing effects.

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As mentioned I also worked and demoed at the Stampendous booth to show my new stamp sets and their possibilities :)

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Apparently I have funny facial expressions when talking to other people…lol

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Loved seeing those wonderful samples by the Stampendous Design Team using my sets :)

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I also loved seeing my sweet friend Mou Saha at the Faber-Castell booth. We had a great time many years ago when she, Julie Fei-Fan Balzer and I were teaching in France…and Mou at that time actually saw snow for the first time. Since Mou now lives in NJ- I am sure she is done with snow by now ;)

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I was excited to see that the Faber-Castell girls were using my stamps from the last release. Thank you so much!!!!

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I also ran into Jamie Dougherty and Traci Bautista – so much fun those girls!

 

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Something else that caught my eyes – Real Wood by Arc Crafts -omg- so cool! And wood sheets

 

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I can see so many possibilities with this- can’t wait to play with this either :)

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Oh and here is a picture of Julie, me and the amazing Rachel Greig from Darkroom Door. Rachel is going to host us for our Mixed Media Circus Art Journal Adventure Workshop in the Sydney area in Australia in April this year. We soooo cannot wait :)

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And that was it from CHA in Anaheim. Next year for the first time the show will be in Phoenix, Arizona and I am actually quite happy about the change of scenery. Hope you enjoyed this little trip :)

 

Comments (14)

  • jyippeedom

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    What a blast! So many fun things to see (and people). Thank you for sharing. Glad to hear it will be in Phoenix next year…I’ll be there! (maybe you’ll do a workshop while in town???)

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I would love to janet, if there is a place and enough people to join. IF you have a source, place, let me know!

      Reply

  • Rae Missigman

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    This looks like so much fun! It was like going on field trip! Looking forward to the time I can go and just stroll around! Maybe next year as I have family in Phoenix! Thank for sharing! xo

    Reply

  • sunmoongal

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    I love seeing CHA posts. Yours is great. When you get that paper I want to see it! Looks like a great time.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I will def. let you know about the paper – it was really so cool- It felt like leather …and the texture- nom nom!

      Reply

  • linda-faber

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    Thanks for the photo tour of CHA…looks like so much fun…always wondered what that would be like.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Linda, it is fun – but it is also a lot of work. It is inspiring to see the new ideas and products but really the best of the show is meeting people.

      Reply

  • Joi@RR

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    Hehehehhe – this was sooooooooooooooooo fun to see Nat. Loved every inch of reading this and seeing the wonderful pictures. Highlight of my week. Thank you so so so much for sharing this. Hugs. j.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      thank you joi :) glad you enjoyed this! Have a wonderful day, hugs,nat

      Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    Wood tape…white birch…must get some!
    Thanks for sharing your CHA adventure and Arizona does sound nice for a change.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Yeah – I am all up for Arizona next year. And yes- the wood tape looked really great as well as the wood paper.

      Reply

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Have You Seen Anything Exciting at CHA? or … What about Surfaces/Substrates?

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I just came back from six days at the CHA Show in Anaheim, California. CHA is the Craft and Hobby Association and holds a big Trade Show for the latest and greatest regarding Craft and Hobby every January.

The most asked question between Designers, Artists, Crafters and Educators this year was “Have you seen anything exciting at CHA where you think I should head right over to?” This wasn’t an easy question to answer. My friend Seth Apter did a great job listing the Trends to Watch and some thoughts on his blog – and I agree with everything fully .

SURFACES/Substrates: 

I personally was on the hunt for Surfaces/Substrates at CHA whenever I had a bit time between meetings, and demoing (I will post some photos of that later ;) ). As most of you know I am working with my dream paint company right now and I am always on the look out for some wonderful surfaces that I can incorporate in my artwork or in my Mixed Media Workshops.

Mixed Media is still a hot and climbing trend in the Craft and Hobby Sector and it was EVERYWHERE but it was really hard to find something that made me excited to work on regarding as a surface. Most paper crafting manufacturers seem to venture into producing paints and media that already exist. I was a bit surprised by that. Wouldn’t it would be so much more innovative and successful to come up with something unique that works with the products a paper craft company already manufactures but also supports other media? Oh well….

Here are my top 5 surface products I found by Craft Manufacturers:

Relics and Artifacts by Susan Evertson for Prima Marketing

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These resins excited me! They were unique and not main stream- they can be used in Mixed Media – Assemblages, Canvases but also for Scrapbooking and Card Project. For me a great idea and I love the unique designs !

Mixed Media Albums by Graphic 45

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Nice and sturdy cardboard albums, in different color schemes, with nice and thick paper inserts – different designs as with pockets and tabs. Graphic45 came out with some great paper lines and embellishments to go with those books to make them into calendars or recipe books- but they also can be altered and used with paints – I cannot wait to play with one and make an Mixed Media-photo-album out of one of those.

Mixed Media Boxes by Graphic 45

 

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I know… Boxes – but- I liked those- nice quality boxes – with so many possibilities. Alter them with Scrapbooking Paper, make recipe boxes, make shadowboxes, home decor items- with photos – use them for a Mixed Media project …you see –  endless possibilities and a good fit with their already existing paper products!

Just Add Watercolors by Cosmo Cricket

 

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Cosmo Cricket did it for me this year in coming up with great surface ideas for the craft and hobby industry!! I love their Watercolor paper, cards, tags and blocks printed with gold and clear foil resist. You can not only add watercolor, but also acrylic inks and make some easy yet artsy looking cards etc. I think this is a great gateway into experimenting with Mixed Media for people that want to get a tiny bit messy but are still clean paper crafters !

Gallery Blocks by Cosmo Cricket

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This one was my favorite! These are  canvases with a wooden back. You can use them either kind of like a shadowbox or paint on the wooden surface- which is fun too – as you will have a frame then already. BUT even cooler, if you want to wrap it in fabric, they added super strong adhesive on the edges and every block comes with thumb tacks for reinforcing the corners. this means you can add any painted fabric – duck canvas, stained and painted canvas or fabric on top of  it- in an easy peasy way. GREAT idea!!!

That was the result of my Surface and Substrate hunt . Oh wait, speaking of Mixed Media Surfaces ….looksie what I found in the Ice Resin Booth ;) That is the suitcase that Jen Cushman made for her Creative JumpStart Video- if you are signed up – you will recognize it :)

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If you were at CHA- let me know your thoughts- and if you weren’t let me know your thoughts about surfaces or substrates you personally would love to see !

 

Comments (10)

  • Sandra Evertson

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    Thank you so much for including my RELICS & ARTIFACTS resin craft blanks by Sandra Evertson/Prima Marketing Inc. in your top five picks for CHA 2015!! I’d like to invite you to the Prima Marketing Inc booth this Winter 2016 CHA, we are going to introduce an even more fabulous companion line to mix and match!! Thanks again! And hope to see you there!
    Sandra Evertson

    Reply

  • Seth

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    Hey Nat. Great seeing you at the show. Thanks so much for including my link in the post. And for sharing these product favorites. Somehow I missed a few of them at the show.

    Reply

  • Zandra Cudney

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    It was so nice to see you and Suze in front of the Prima Finnabair demo. Missed you at Art Venture this year.

    Reply

  • ljfsyd

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    Wasn’t there but so glad you shared …. Love the canvases w
    Itch wood back. Also would like to see uses with all the wood embellishments I saw here and in retail and some ideas.

    Reply

  • Sue Clarke

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    I am very interested in the mixed media albums. I tend to love Graphic 45 products. Resin relics…yeah.

    Reply

  • Kim reed

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    I wasn’t at CHA, but watched quite a bit of the action on YouTube. I about pooped my pants when I saw Sandra Evertson’s new line with Prima because I am already a big fan of her stamp line. However, I had no clue about that Cosmo Cricket line, so the gallery blocks are going right to my wish list. I’m looking forward to your new stamp release as well! And I totally agree with you about the paper companies invading the paint territory, they just need to get off that bandwagon already. Thanks for sharing this info!!

    Reply

  • Ursula

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    Hallo Nat – mein Neid ist mit dir ;)) Ich denke, ich werde mir all die neuen Dinge mal die nächsten Tage am Compi anschauen – aber das GraphicAlbum sieht schon mal seeeeeeeeehr vielversprechend aus – auch wenn ich ja nicht so der “Matscher” bin ;)) LG Ursula

    Reply

  • Laura S.

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    Love all your choices. The Prima Relics are too cool. Need to play with them for sure!

    Reply

  • Francine G

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    Hi Nathalie

    Like you I love those resin artifacts…. I just hope that I will find some? Also the Graphic 45 albums are awesome… And the canvas with wooden back what a cool idea with so many possibilities…
    I was not at CHA but I was able to follow with all the posts of the différent company…
    I appreciate your overview you’re the expert!

    Hugs

    Reply

  • jackiepn

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    I’m digging the relics and the gallery blocks you’ve posted! and no I was not at CHA , but home viewing from my computer “( waaahh
    I do however ADORE that luggage that Jen painted on CJS!!! And I have a huge supply of vintage ones- just asking for paint!!
    I think you need to design a cool substrate Nat!! hint hint!
    thanks for your insight! hugs xo

    Reply

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