And the lucky winners are….

The winner of Package #1 is Becky J (MplsBetty), who posted:

Just saw these at Michael’s. Love it.

The winner of Package #2 is Heather Beasley, who posted:

I am lovin’ all the new Jolees. These are going to be a hit!

Congratulations to Heather and Becky! You will get an email in a moment with instructions on collecting your prize! Thanks for reading Scrapbook Update!

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been long enough since CHA in January that we are starting to see announcements about mid-release collections. This week brought a whole new stack of releases that will be hitting store shelves soon, as well as a few other fun bits and pieces!

Teresa Collins made several big announcements this week! The first announcement was a mid-release line for spring called Sweet Afternoon. In contrast to the bold colors in most of her recent lines, this new release is created in delicate pastels.

Featuring lots of trendy text and ledger elements and highlighting hip botanical elements, this collection may prove to be the hottest thing that the always reliable Teresa Collins has designed to date. To see some beautiful sample projects with the new collection, visit Teresa’s blog.

The other announcement was also good news for Teresa Collins Design. Due to growth at the company, they are expanding their staff. Former Creative Assistant & Design Team Coordinator Sesil Cratin is now employed by the company as Director of Social Media & Marketing. Cheri Piles and Julie Jacobs are now co-Design Team Coordinators, and the team is adding a new member – Suzanne Sergi – as well.

Simple Stories also announced a new mid-release collection this week. Summer Fresh is full of bright colors, denim, and summery florals with a slightly vintage 70′s feel to the design.

In addition to the company’s usual paper sheets and cut-apart pocket cards, this release also includes journal pages and pockets for the company’s popular new Mix & Match 6×8 Album. Summer Fresh will be shipping to retailers at the end of April 2012. To see all the elements in the collection, visit the Simple Stories blog.

Rounding out the flood of new releases this week, My Mind’s Eye announced not one but three new mid release collections.

Indie Chic is bohemian and bright My Mind’s Eye mega collection. It contains four different sub-collections. Ginger (pictured below) and Citron have been unveiled so far in part one of the reveal.

Most notable in the Indie Chic collection is the debut of decorative tape as an embellishment for My Mind’s Eye. Each color scheme will have five different types (sets?) of tape that come three rolls to a package.

The other two new My Minds Eye collections are much smaller (just 9 patterned papers and assorted embellishments) and are very heavy on yellow tones.

Nostalgia

On The Sunny Side

Staples is running some great promotions on their exclusive Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery line of products that contain a wide range of products, including labels and organizers, that are  great for scrapbooking. Through tomorrow, a coupon is available in their ad (printable from their website) for $2 off all labels, tags and bands from the collection. Starting Sunday, Staples will be running a coupon promotion for $3 off any $10 purchase from the collection. (That coupon is also printable now via Staples’ weekly ad preview.)

If you aren’t familiar with the Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery collection that is available exclusively at Staples, check out the Paperclipping Roundtable episode where it was discussed in the weekly picks!

One of the most hotly anticipated items from CHA Winter 2012 is finally showing up on store shelves! The new French General collection from Jolee’s Boutique by EK Success is showing up in both local stores and online stores like Simon Says Stamp.

Have something new & noteworthy to share in our weekly noteworthy column? To be considered for next week’s column, email nanally@scrapbookupdate.com with a link or press release.

Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest scrapbook news?

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!

Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest scrapbook news?

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.

Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest scrapbook news?

Echo Park Paper unveiled their newest collection on facebook this week. “Times and Seasons” has a distinct antique flair and a great balance of muted colors and patterns. Perfect for a number of subjects, the paper line manages to be timeless and trendy all at the same time. Times & Seasons begins shipping to stores October 6th, so watch for it coming to a scrapbook store (or site) near you soon!

EK Success announced that they are partnering with Operation Christmas Cards, hoping to contribute 9,000 of the 175,000 cards the organization hopes to send to US and Canadian troops deployed overseas. According to the announcement, for approximately half of the card recipients this will be the only holiday correspondence they will get:

All of EK Success Brands’ four office locations—Chicago, Clifton, NJ, Kansas City and Wyomissing, PA—will host office events for employees to take part in the card making, as well as sponsoring a local school in each city with supplies to create and collect cards.

Ready to jump in and help? We have a FREE, self-paced online class available NOW if you want to learn a few new techniques in card making or just get some inspiration

The free class is through spottedcanary.com, and according to the site you will learn several techniques and is video-based broken down into short segments. You can read the whole EK Success post here, and you can check out Operation Christmas Card directly at their facebook page.

I see a lot of tutorials, and it’s rare when one really impresses me. This week, however, I’m happy to share this one with you that did. Earlier this week, Marcy Penner shared her technique for creating a large chevron pattern as a background out of patterned paper this week on the October Afternoon blog. The tutorial is simple: all you need is scissors and patterned paper (sewing is optional). I can’t wait to try this out! It may be one of the coolest tutorials I’ve seen in quite a while!

Wendy Vecchi, known for her Studio 490 stamps and Art Parts product designs as well as her exceptionally detailed style was full of announcements this week! First, she revealed that she will be releasing a series of ‘kits for art’ that may especially appeal to stores wishing to have classes, or consumers wanting a complete step-by-step project:

Each “kit for art” will contain all the art parts & Clearly for Art needed to complete the project. Also included in the kit are complete instructions, a supply list & some step out photos.

To read her entire post visit Wendy’s blog here. The first kit is ready and shipping to stores now, with more project kits coming in the near future.

Just a few days later, Wendy also announced that not only is Blossom Bucket licensing her art for gift industry items, but they will also be partnering with her to create her own signature line of embellishments. The line will debut in just a few months at the CHA Winter 2012 show in Anaheim, CA.

My Little Shoebox has teased us with a sneak peek at their new winter line. Arriving in stores in late October, it looks to be a soft palette with blues and pinks. I’m seeing a lot of pale blues and pinks coming this winter – it seems like it’s the big trend for winter lines. Will it work? Do you love or hate it?

Big Picture Notes: My final Big Picture Classes workshop of 2011, “Double Take“, began yesterday – a course all about double page layouts with my co-instructor Nic Howard. Amy Tan’s new workshop called “The Good Life” also began at Big Picture yesterday.

“Noteworthy” is a weekly column  here at Scrapbook Update. Have something new & noteworthy to share? Feel free to leave a comment, or if you have something you would like considered for next week’s column, email may@scrapbookupdate.com with a link or press release.

Want to stay up-to-date on all the latest scrapbook news?