So, in no particular order…here’s the Scrapbook Update CHA Winter 2012 Top Ten Hot Picks!

Amy Tangerine Sketchbook from American Crafts

This may have been the most buzzed-about line at the entire show. Every conversation about what was hot at the show inevitably seemed to include this line eventually. To generate this level of excitement with a sequel to Amy Tan’s red-hot debut at CHA Summer 2011, is a real accomplishment.

Amy Tangerine Sketchbook Album (photo by Melissa Stinson)

This album was one of the most talked-about items in the line. Many, many people seemed eager to use it for Project Life albums, an indicator of how people are now integrating their favorite product lines into their Project Life creativity.

Amy Tangerine Day Books (photo by Melissa Stinson)

These day books were almost as popular among CHA attendees as the camera album. They will offer some serious competition in the market as an alternative to K & Company’s Smash book line.

Amy Tangerine Sketchbook (photo by Melissa Stinson)

The colors in this line will make it a perfect spring line, and that fits with its ship date, which isn’t until March. I predict this line with fly off of store shelves.

Tim Holtz Distress Markers for Ranger

Another item that there was almost universal excitement about was Tim Holtz’s new Distress Markers for Ranger. For fans of the blockbuster Distress ink pads, these markers – available in all 36 Distress colors, plus Picket Fence (white) – are a natural extension of the Distress ink line.

The Distress Markers have the essential tips for stampers and scrapbookers: brush and fine points. With the new abilities that they bring to Distress such as convenient coloring of images through applying color directly to stamps, and easy blending of colors, these are sure to be must-haves for any Distress ink fan!

Jolee’s Boutique French General Collection from EK Success

Jolle's Boutique French General Collection (photo by May Flaum)

EK Success is known more for solid, middle of the road products than for huge buzz generating releases, but the French General collection from Jolee’s Boutique is certainly breaking that mould. The show floor was buzzing about this signature Jolee’s collection from the Los Angeles craft store that specializes in amazing quality vintage styled goods. The French General line will include some things rarely seen from Jolee’s, such as ribbon and tags, in addition to the more usual adhesive embellishments.

French General is certainly a breath of fresh air into the Jolee’s line, and will bring it plenty of new consumers. I predict this line will be not only a huge hit, but also scarce and difficult to find on store shelves as demand, especially for specific items, will outpace supply.

Clever Handmade by Heidi Grace Kress

Known to many as the creator of the Heidi Grace signature line (currently owned by Colorbok), Heidi Grace Kress was back at CHA after some time away from the industry. This time she’s out on her own creating products for her new company, Clever Handmade. Her unique signature style and some attention-getting new product ideas made sure that her line grabbed the attention of CHA Winter 2012 attendees.

One of the most attention-getting products of the new lines was Kress’s rub-ons that are intended to serve as patterns to be stitched over for hand stitching designs on paper crafts items. On the layout below, a rub-on pattern was used to create the cloud design:

Kress’s return to the papercrafts market seemed to be welcomed with open arms by CHA attendees and I’d expect to see her distinctive designs showing up on the shelves of many local scrapbook stores very soon.

Fabrications by Teresa Collins Designs

Collins’ signature look has always been very distinctive: black and white, with very little color in the mix. I’ve often described her work as “the White House Black Market of the scrapbook industry.” So it was nothing short of stunning to see sneak peeks released of CHA Winter 2012 designs for Teresa Collins designs that featured color – and lots of it!

Adding color to Collins’ elegant design style is sure to attract attention from a whole new segment of consumers who would have not been interested in her previous signature color palette. Fabrications, in particular, with its palette of very friendly bright colors,  should open Collins to a whole new market of consumers. It’s hard to think of an established brand as being a break-out hit, but I predict that this release will bring Collins to the attention of a much wider – and larger – market.

Heidi Swapp

Swapp didn’t just generate buzz at CHA Winter 2012 for being a big name returning with her own new signature line after a long break.  It was the way she returned that generated buzz – by capitalizing on a major trend sweeping the industry right now and giving it her own interpretation.

A certain segment of the papercrafts market consumer is tiring of the traditional 12×12 page format, and in response we are seeing the growth of formats such as mini albums and Project Life. Swapp’s new product line, which is being distributed through Pink Paislee, interpreted “off the page” scrapbooking in her own way, with a system she calls “Memory Files“.

Heidi Swapp Memory File (photo by Melissa Stinson)

The decorative file folders essentially serve as mini albums that are then stored in their own file box:

Heidi Swapp Memory File Folder (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Heidi Swapp Memory File Box (photo by Melissa Stinson)

This system  definitely is in sync with the current trend away from traditional page scrapping, and was much-discussed at the show. Consumers are hungry for something new. For many of them, this system may be part of their search for new and different ways to experience their craft.

Lindy’s Stamp Gang

I always like to throw a wild card into this list – something few people I talked to seemed to know about at the show but that I think they will hear about in the near future. At CHA Winter 2012, I think that company was Lindy’s Stamp Gang. Although I didn’t hear much buzz about this company, their booth was jammed when I visited it – always the truest sign that a company is having a successful show.

Lindy’s Stamp Gang certainly isn’t new, having been around since 1996, but products of theirs could be poised to grab consumers’ imaginations. The company offers paints, spray inks and stains that are two-toned, and some that use Mica to lend an iridescent quality to the medium. Papercrafters are fascinated with color mediums right now, but always want something new, and these products don’t generate repeat sales after a crafter builds up a basic color stash unless something new and innovative is offered up. The Lindy’s Stamp Gang products have the potential to grab the attention of consumers who are looking for something new and different from the spray inks they’ve already been using for awhile.

Their Starbursts two-tone inks are available in spray bottles, stain applicator bottles, and a “shot” jar for painting applications.

Lindy’s Stamp Gang’s Moon Shadow inks have a walnut ink undertone with a brighter color as an overtone. They are available in a 2 oz mist or a 2 oz jar.

Hambly Screen Prints

This company has always been popular among the trend-conscious scrapbooking set, but transparencies are becoming extra hot right now thanks to a few Project Lifers such as Ali Edwards using them in high-profile ways. Hambly is well-positioned to take advantage of this trend, since they are the most well-known producer of transparency products for scrapbooking, and also produce  products in designs and colors that coordinate well with Project Life’s core kits.

Hambly Hexagon Transparencies (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Hambly Transparencies (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Washi tape is also hugely trendy at the moment and Hambly was one of the first companies to bring that to the scrapbook mass market. They produce designs that coordinate with their transparencies and paper, creating a unified graphic look available in all the hottest embellishment mediums for Project Life.

Hambly Screen Prints Washi Tape (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Hambly has always been the domain of the “graphic design” style consumers. Recent industry trends, however, are going to make their products more mass market as we move forward.

Follow Your Heart by Rhonna Farrer for My Mind’s Eye

Heidi Swapp wasn’t the only former member of House of 3 that debuted a hot new line at CHA Winter 2013. Rhonna Farrer also unveiled a new collection with My Mind’s Eye that had show attendees declaring was “classic Rhonna”.

“Follow Your Heart” is a perfect match for My Mind’s Eye – elegant, frilly and heavily detailed with vintage touches, in Rhonna’s signature style.

Rhonna Farrer Follow Your Heart paper (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Follow Your Heart is loaded with trendy icons of the moment: butterflies, hexagons, bicycles, music, birds, maps and text. The color palette is also up-to-the minute, featuring blues and yellows, and a coral tone of pink that is very hot as well.

Rhonna Farrer Follow Your Heart Buttons (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Rhonna Farrer Follow Your Heart Brads (photo by Melissa Stinson)

Even the collection’s embellishments are the current trendy essentials – buttons, brads, bling, and baker’s twine. This collection is already shipping to retailers and I predict some elements of it will sell out fast!

Hero Arts

Stamping is hot, and so is Hero Arts. That they were hot was no surprise – we even included them in May’s pre-show “new and noteworthy” series.

The buzz around Hero Arts recently has been amplified thanks to high profile partnerships with Basic Grey, Studio Calico, and Sizzix.

The distinctive styling of the Studio Calico licensed stamps are especially getting attention (pictured above: Weekdays, from the Take Note collection, and Roma, from the Abroad collection), and the latest release has the broadest appeal yet. Some of these designs have the potential to become perennial favorites for many stampers, regardless of whether they use the rest of Studio Calico’s products.

So that is it – the Scrapbook Update list of the Top Ten hottest products at CHA Winter 2012! A few companies managed to repeat, and a few companies made the list for the first time…but I guarantee that all of these companies are ones you will be hearing a lot about in the next few months!

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First up, you can find my highlights in My CHA Winter 2012 Favorites on my website The Nally Notes. How does this differ from the Hot Picks list that I’ll be posting soon? The Hot Picks list is intended to be a predictor of what the market in general is going to love, and what I heard buzz and excitement about at the show. My favorites list is simply an expression of my own taste – my personal wishlist of what I know that I want to play with that was on display at that show.

May and Melissa had an even harder time than I did narrowing down what they liked. They needed entire categories on their sites to show off what they thought about what they saw! You can find their pieces by browsing through the articles in the categories on their website:

• May: http://mayflaum.com/category/cha-project/
• Melissa: http://www.scrappyjedi.com/search/label/cha%20winter%202012

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Studio Calico | Abroad

“Abroad” is filled with great useful patterned papers, but they go above and beyond with garlands, fabrips, letter stickers, and shaped stickers that utilize map print. They also have die cuts and wood veneers of each state (USA), stamps, and more. The blues, greens, and neutral colors will be so versatile and would mix well with other brands as well as perfectly coordinate with existing Studio Calico products.

Tim Coffey for K&Co | Travel 2012

Focusing on tropical seaside paradise, this Tim Coffey collection is heavy on creams and brown, accented with coral, blues, and green. Postage stamps, sea life, shells, and palm trees are heavily featured in this line. Whether a day at the beach or a vacation to somewhere oceanside, this line will be fantastic for all things nautical. It manages to have a vintage flair but not over do it.

Janet Hopkins for Bazzill | Wayfarer

Janet Hopkins has released a new line of twelve papers (also available in a paper pad in 12×12 and 6×6 size) and a sticker sheet called Wayfarer. The line mixes trendy design elements with classic travel motifs and fairly neutral colors.

Webster’s Pages | Palm Beach

Whether you’re heading to sunny Florida or any tropical destination, this new line from Webster’s Pages will be amazing for your travel pages. Some of the patterns could be used for non-beach projects if the subject was wearing something that coordinated with the coral, blues, and greens in this line. I especially love the coordinating cameos being offered, which are so unique and beautifully themed to this line that I can’t wait to try them out.

Glitz Design | Happy Travels

Filled with color, florals, and plenty of airplanes, Happy Travels stood out from the crowd as being a travel line that is a bit unusual. A lot of the elements stood out and would work on their own, and many of the papers could easily work for layouts that had nothing to do with traveling. I really like the purple compass paper and the stickers and embellishments as well.

Heidi Swapp | No Limits

Listed as coming soon to Scrapbook.com, no limits was one of the lines that Heidi Swapp released in her new line of products through Pink Paislee. It features map-heavy designs and really great accents like dimensional stickers in Heidi’s signature font and great paper trim (both shown above). I like the general feel of this line, as well as how easily it could be used on general pages as well.

Tim Holtz Idea-ology | Destinations

Released in both a paper pad and stickers, Destinations is the new travel themed product from Tim Holtz. Many of his embellishments, die cuts, and stamps (both new and past) also coordinate with these offerings. I have worked extensively with this product to create CHA show samples (for Tim Holtz) featuring this line, and I have a layout to share with you here to show the line at work.

This line does offer some USA-themed parts, but overall is very flexible. I especially liked the tiny white and kraft stickers that are useful in both travel or general themed layouts.

There is definitely a map-heavy trend going on, something I like because it has a general explore feel to it without being too specific. Neutrals blues and greens rule, the addition of coral in several lines doesn’t surprise me as that is an emerging trendy color that we’ve been noticing. (Note: watch for Melissa’s article on that coming soon!)

Another emerging trend is the use of cameras – from Amy Tangerine’s new album covered with cameras to Echo Park’s paper filled with vintage inspired cameras, and die cuts, stickers, and more from other companies. Whether it’s travel specific or just used randomly, the camera is a very popular image these days.

There are other travel lines already out now including the Tropical Travelogue by Graphic 45 (already in stores), and I believe we will continue to see travel, journey, and other themed product that continues to balance between being useful for vacation scrapbooking and being able to be used for other themes and subjects as well.

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The photo above is from the Crate Paper booth, a company that is known for their amazingly detailed and beautiful offerings, and they’ve added some new designs into their mix this show as well.

Here are four new fantastic neutral button sets. Clockwise from top left we have Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 for Blossom Bucket, We R Memory Keepers, Jillibean Soup, and Basic Grey. I really like the unique textures and designs of each set, as well as the fact that they are neutral so they will work with any colors.

Now let’s look up close at a line that is filled with a lot of notions and button embellishments: French General for Jolee’s Boutique from EK Success. I really like that the line is organized by color, and how useful these pieces will be with the French General papers, or with any other brand as well.

Here is a close up shot of the new Dear Lizzy Neapolatin line buttons for American Crafts – I really like the wood buttons and I think it brings a fun texture to the offering.

October Afternoon has some buttons that are solid color, but done in such fantastic colors and with some great floral detail as well which will make them useful for all kinds of projects – and they’ll work with many other brands of papers as well.

Speaking of color, here are some more fun new choices: (left to right, above) Teresa Collins, Doodlebug, and Fancy Pants. All three mix great colors and a good variety of sizes as well in their offerings.

One of the cutest lines on the show floor – and some of the most unique buttons – are from Rhonna Farrer’s “Follow Your Heart” line for My Minds Eye shown above. I really like the trendy patterns and unique shapes used.

We are seeing buttons mixed in with other shapes and embellishments as well. Above is a new dimensional embellishment that in addition to birds also features adhesive-backed buttons with stitching.

Finally, let’s take a look at Buttons Galore & More [photos by Melissa Stinson]  - a long time manufacturer of buttons (and a Scrapbook Update sponsor). They have really great solid and basic buttons in a wide variety of styles. They also have some unique sets and shaped buttons as well.

Overall with a continued focus on vintage, rustic, and whimsical styles in paper crafting products that buttons go so very well with, I believe they will continue to be a popular item. There are some really interesting designs and types becoming available from painted to wood to other materials as well.

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In the Dear Lizzy line at American Crafts, Mason jars can be found on her paper, stickers, and a stamp as well as in the booth decor.

In Wendy Vecchi’s Studio 490 line for Stamper’s Anonymous, she has a Mason jar stamp and Art Part (chipboard-like material) available.

Here you can see the Art Part jar and stamp (which is the perfect size to stamp on top of it) in use together. The jar is layered in two pieces for dimension, and the back piece is cut out in the middle so that you can actually tuck things into your jar. I love this detail!

Vecchi also has a jar embellishment in her new line with Blossom Bucket as well. It is flat on the back so it can be adhered to any project easily, and it has a hole in the top that allows you to tuck in flower stems (or anything else you’d like) to fill it.

Crate Paper’s new Pretty Party line has a cute mason jar in the chipboard embellishment sheet.

Last but not least, let’s take a look at Jillibean Soup and their offerings.

This cute wreath made from Mason jar lids was displayed in their booth showing off some new papers. They also have paper featuring jars – many with cute tops and sayings on them.

Their Coconut Lime Soup line also has a coordinating stamp set (available through Unity Stamp Co.). Here is a project sample from the booth showing the stamps in action:

Overall I like the idea of Mason jars in crafting. It adds to the homemade, handcrafted movement that is so strong right now and works perfectly with the current trends of vintage, country chic, quilted elements, stitching, and more. I believe when the summer show comes around we may see even more of this shape in paper crafting lines and booth displays.

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