Trend | Buttons

It’s hard to call buttons a trend, as they’ve been a staple for many years in scrapbooking. What I will say is that buttons were going new creative places and popping up in all kinds of interesting ways at this CHA show. Today I am going to take a look at some of the exciting new offerings that were seen at CHA.

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. [Read more...]

Trend | Mason Jars

Mason jars have become a hot trend for weddings as both glasses to hold drinks and vases for flowers. They are popping up in stores like Anthropologie as snow globes, seen for so many uses around trendy blogs and websites, and now we are seeing them enter the scrapbooking world. At CHA this week, several companies featured new releases with Mason jars and today I will take a closer look at this emerging trend.

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.

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New & Noteworthy: Amy Tangerine

To celebrate the start of a new year, and highlight some of the latest and greatest products now hitting shelves, I’m launching a new mini-series that is a spin-off (and will temporarily replace) my Noteworthy column. “New & Noteworthy” will showcase a different brand new product or line each week, looking at its possible uses and sharing a new project created with it as well.

One of the most anticipated debuts at CHA this summer was Amy Tan’s signature line with American Crafts. The Amy Tangerine line proved itself not just pretty to look at, but very useful as well. From travel to everyday moments, a trip to the zoo to random shots of my daughters, I’ve created more than a dozen projects with this line already – which is a lot for me from one line! Indeed, I’ve found myself using it so much I’ve purchased seconds of several products. [Read more...]

Noteworthy | 12.9.2011

CHA might not be for seven more weeks, but manufacturers are not waiting for the show to release exciting new products and debut new lines. In fact, the current trend is to release product year-round instead now! I’m not complaining – I am enjoying a more steady stream of new products. This week, Noteworthy features three new product line announcements, as well as some creative ideas that took me by surprise.

With the beautiful bold patterns and designs, many crafters struggle to figure out where to cut it or how to use Webster’s Pages patterned paper. They are beautiful and over the last few years have definitely been among my favorites, but their surprising new announcement has me excited, and I believe other scrapbookers will feel the same. Webster’s announced this week that they are creating something new – Clean & Simple papers will be “dedicated to a cleaner, simpler version of Webster’s Pages.”

And no, this isn’t a one-time deal. ALL of our new collections will have a corresponding Clean & Simple paper line, the perfect complement to Classic Webster’s. So instead of having 6 papers per collection…we’re now having 12 papers per collection {6 papers Classic Webster + 6 papers Clean & Simple}

I do not think it is only clean & simple style scrapbookers who will enjoy and appreciate this addition to their lines. This takes out a lot of the intimidation factor of Webster’s Pages’ papers, stretches the usefulness of their lines, and gives crafters more options. I look forward to seeing their new release (Sunday Picnic) which should arrive in stores in January, as well as how this new development adds to their future lines. [Read more...]

Noteworthy | 12.2.2011

Whether you’re recovering from a recent shopping spree or gearing up for the holidays (or both), there is no question that the internet is filled with inspiration these days. I’m already having fun with Tim’s 12 tags and Ali’s December Daily, and really getting into the holiday creative spirit. Last week, I focused on many of the great online holiday events in my Noteworthy column (link), if you’re looking for a class or series to check out.

This week I’m back to rounding up the best announcements, tutorials, and information in general, so let’s get December started:

Pink Paislee has begun their annual 12 days of Christmas series on thier blog, this year re-named “Winter Wonderland” to fit in with their winter themed Snow Day product line that is in stores now. It  promises to be as fun filled as ever:

 Each day we will post a new project from our creative team that includes step by step tips and tricks so you can create along with us; and we will also provide FREE printables and host daily blog giveaways so we can give out secret scrappy gift boxes filled to the brim!

The event takes place through December 12 on the Pink Paislee blog. With the free printables, prizes, not to mention tutorials for projects I am really looking forward to this.

Thousands check out the Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas posts, of course, but also worth watching is the Ranger blog, which promises a daily prize drawing for a box filled with holiday inspired Ranger products during Tim’s 12 tags event. Some of the Ranger staff will also be creating tags inspired by Tim’s daily tag and posting those as well. [Read more...]