Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that long ago or even quite that far away, but there was no denying that at CHA Winter 2012, the hexagons were back! I’m not quite ready to call this trend a staple yet – it’ll take at least one more show to tell – but scrapbooking manufacturers of all styles have certainly embraced this shape and put their own spin on it. If you want to see examples from last summer’s show be sure to check out my Trend Watch article on Hexagons, Honeycombs, and Lattices from last October, but right now I want to take a look at some photos from the CHA Winter 2012 show floor and look at just what this trend had to offer this time around.

I have to admit that the Jenni Bowlin booth was one of the last places I would have expected to see hexagons at CHA Winter 2012, but she totally surprised me by putting her own signature (and lovely!) vintage spin on the shape. The hexagon paper (from the Magpie collection) and Quilted Stickers shown below are perfect examples of how a company can be trendy and still stay true to their roots.

Ever trendy Hambly showed up at CHA Winter 2012 bearing hexagons aplenty. They took the shape and filled it with trendy patterns such as chevrons and quatrefoils in both their new printed paper line and their new honeycomb screen print.

Heidi Swapp’s triumphant return to the scrapbooking industry was one of the biggest stories in Anaheim in January. I want to take a close-up look at just one paper right now, though. See the print at the bottom right of the Color Magic display? Yes, those are indeed hexagons, ready and waiting to be misted, inked, and colored to your heart’s content!

Lily Bee’s paper lines always feature small, tight, almost quilt-like patterns, so hexagons are a natural fit for this company’s style. Their just-shipped Victoria Park collection includes a multi-colored, multi-layered honeycomb pattern.

Hexagons were all over The Crafter’s Workshop’s new releases. Some of them were in the form of these chicken wire templates, which are available in both positive and negative images in either 12×12 or 6×6 sizes. Julie Fei-Fan Balzer also released a new multi-patterned background template that includes a hexagon pattern among its designs.

Authentique put a fun spin on the honeycomb pattern with one of the prints from their Loyal collection. They left some of the shape’s sides open to create joins between the centers – quite the cool effect!

Rhonna Farrer’s Follow Your Heart line for My Mind’s Eye includes vintage ephemera and pattern inlaid hexagons on some sheets while other prints in the collection feature a more subtle honeycomb design. Even the stamps in this line have honeycombs!

In Spellbinders’ new collections, I discovered this fun hexagon patterned M-Bossabilities folder. This particular folder is called So Trendy because it features another hot design on its reverse side – chevrons!

Little Yellow Bicycle has put hexagons right inside some of the fish on this paper from their Splash collection.

Webster’s Pages new sports-themed line, Game On, includes plaid and checkered patterned hexagons on one of the patterned sheets.

The hexagon paper in Basic Grey’s Plumeria collection is unfortunately right at the very right edge of my photo, but you can definitely spot the trendy pattern!

Echo Park’s new Note To Self line includes a shape that, while not exactly a hexagon, is definitely hexagon influenced. The geometric print below features a six-sided shape with the added twist of having two of the sides elongated.

Tim Holtz also caught on to the hexagon trend and included it not only in one of his Stamper’s Anonymous background stamps, but also in one of his new Texture Fades embossing folders from Sizzix! Unfortunately the folder was a bit hard to photograph in the booth, but you can catch a closer look at it here in my pre-show picks article.

I’ll end our look at hexagons with Studio Calico. Their latest addition to the Classic Calico line, Classic Calico Vol. 2, includes hexagon prints not only on some of the papers, but on one of the washi tapes, as well!

I, for one, am happy to see the abundance of hexagons in the latest round of industry releases. As a scrapper who has trouble working with the more free-form look of circles, hexagons give structure and definition without being completely…well…square! They have a slightly funky vibe that keeps things interesting, and I’m hoping that at CHA Summer 2012 we’ll see that this trend has indeed moved into staple-hood.

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With versatility like this, it’s no wonder that coral made an appearance in one form or another in almost every paper manufacturer’s booth on the CHA show floor. In fact, the color was so popular that I had to narrow down the list of collections to feature here to those that prominently used coral in their color scheme. In reality, there were many more lines that I could have shared that used coral as an accent color, but the range of images and styles shown here should give you a pretty good taste of what’s to come (and is in some cases already available!) from the new crop of collections.

Die Cuts with a View (also known as DCWV) made the color the focus of one of their newest paper stacks. Coral Couture pairs both the orange and pink versions of coral with aqua and yellow to create a sophisticated color palette. The addition of large floral and butterfly motifs give the line a vintage feel. For more on this line, you can visit my blog here, where I spotlight this new paper stack, and May Flaum also took it for a test drive in a post on her blog.

Cosmo Cricket infused two of their newest lines with shades of coral. The sultry and sassy Evangeline collection shows off coral’s pink side with lovely florals, while the funky, fresh Twenty Three pairs up a more muted shade with oranges and yellows.

The always on-trend Pink Paislee included a full spectrum of coral shades in the House of Three licensed Spring Jubilee line. Here again we see butterflies and florals in a coral-dominated line – it’s like the entire industry has spring blooms on the brain!

Hambly Screen Prints mixed up a brand new coral ink to add to their existing color palette. You can see an example of it below in one of their trendy new hexagon prints, and a brighter, pinker version in their new line of printed cardstock.

Two of Echo Park’s new lines - This & That: Graceful and Hello Summer - make use of coral, but in very different ways. This & That: Graceful sports a deeper, pinker shade, while Hello Summer’s version is more vibrant and leans toward the orange side of the spectrum.

Little Yellow Bicycle popped bits of coral into several pieces of their new Hello Spring! collection. Here coral is more of an accent color, but I wanted to include it since it shows up in so many of the line’s embellishments as well as the papers.

Fancy Pants brought two summer themed lines to CHA, and one of them – Summer Soul - is packed full of pinky-coral tones. The shade is just perfect for this summer/beach themed line!

Speaking of beach collections, Webster’s Pages’ new Palm Beach line is also packed with shades of coral, along with bright aquas and oranges.

That wasn’t the only place that coral was to be found in the Webster’s booth, though. Sunday Picnic also includes punches of the trendy color, especially in the omnipresent floral motifs.

Basic Grey’s Konnichiwa collection had me at “cherry blossoms,” and I love how they’ve paired up delicate, ethereal yoshino blooms with vibrant shades of coral.

I spotted a pairing of cherry blossoms and coral again at the My Little Shoebox booth, where the Aiko collection fuses the shade with sky blue for an airy look.

Coral was everywhere in the Prima booth – especially in their copious embellishment flowers – but nowhere was it more apparent than in the upcoming mid-release line, Doodle Deux. Here coral is coupled with a much warmer yellow than seen anywhere else in the show, which really amps up the punch factor.

Both Rhonna Farrer and Jen Allyson debuted new lines with My Mind’s Eye, and both designers made abundant use of coral in their collections. Rhonna’s Follow Your Heart: Be Happy line teams up coral and light aqua with yet more florals, and Jen’s Miss Caroline mega-collection also pairs up those same colors and motifs, but in a more vibrant and varied style.

It didn’t take long to spot the coral influence in the Teresa Collins booth! Spring Fling also makes use of the popular aqua/coral pairing. Though it also uses floral and butterfly images as many of the other lines we’ve looked at so far do, Teresa’s are a much more graphic style than we’ve seen so far.

Elizabeth Kartchner’s latest addition to her Dear Lizzy line with American Crafts, Neapolitan, was perhaps the poster child for coral at CHA Winter 2012. Filled with sweet pinks, yellow, oranges, and pale aquas to offset the lively bits of coral, Neapolitan was one of the biggest hits of the show.

Take Note by Studio Calico (one of their latest collaborations with the owners of former superstar company Sassafras) takes the vintage, eclectic flair that Studio Calico is known for and infuses just a touch of coral in the floral print as well as the journaling card sheet.

October Afternoon brought two coral-heavy lines to the show. Woodland Park teams coral up with peacock blue and animal icons, while the festive Cakewalk collection combines it with greenish-aqua and yellow.

I found coral all over the EK Success booth, as well, including in two new additions to the K&Company brand – Tim Coffey’s travel line and Bloomscape both show off coral’s versatility and range.

Graphic 45 is another company that came bearing coral in more than one collection. Tropical Travelogue, a mid-release collection that was actually available before the show, is a place you’d expect to find coral hidden amongst the tropical and beach themed prints.

What you might not expect, though, is to also find coral in a baby line! Little Darlings for the most part eschews pale pink in favor of a light shade of peachy coral.

Pebbles shows that coral works well in both floral and party themed lines. In fact, they brought one of each to the show in the form of Hip Hip Hooray and Country Picnic.

Popular stamp company Lawn Fawn debuted a new paper line at CHA Winter 2012 and showed that they definitely have their eye on trends. Coral is a major player here amongst the chevrons and touches of hombre.

Simple Stories shows how fabulous coral can be in their aptly named new collection…Fabulous! This collection is the more “girly” of the new Simple Stories collections, so the shade of coral used here is definitely on the bright pink side of things.

Janet Hopkins has returned to paper designs, and her newest collection from Bazzill Basics Paper, Wayfarer, literally puts coral on the map.

The last stop on our coral tour of CHA Winter 2012 brings us to a booth that has something to tie everything we’ve seen previously together. Petaloo manufactures embellishment flowers in every color imaginable, and their collections at this show were designed to coordinate with the top 20 paper lines being displayed on the show floor. With that kind of range, you know there’s a coral shade in there! Indeed, you can find it in the Hyacinth colorway of the Spring Darjeeling collection.

Did anything in that massive dose of eye candy catch your eye? Do you see yourself using coral in any projects in the near future? Chime in and let us know what you think of this new trend!

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Yes, I did say upside down Christmas tree!

This tree and the others in the booth were covered in the most gorgeous paper decorations, made from both old and new DCWV lines.

Die Cuts with a View introduced a new line of personal stationery and decorative office items at the CHA Summer 2011 show.

“‘Tis the Season” and “Midnight Spell” (partially cut off in the photo) are two of DCWV’s back-catalog items on display.

My time at Glitz Designs was short, but I found so many lovely things in the short time I was there.

The “Beautiful Dreamer” line is a lovely pink-dominated collection with a sweet floral motif.

I simply adore Glitz’s “Teeny Alpha” stickers!!

These ephemera packs are from the “Vintage Blue” collection, as are the handmade flowers in the photo below them.

Australian company Grant Studios displayed two main product lines at the show – a range of children’s craft projects and some lovely papers by designer Grace Taylor.

Some of the designs in their lines are really lovely, such as this yellow sheet with a white doily print.

Many of Grant Studios’ papers are available individually, but they also produce 100 sheet paper pads with many of the same patterns.

This grey and black print was quite lovely and sophisticated.

Grant Studios offers a range of packaged die cuts, as well.

Shortly before leaving for CHA, I asked Scrapbook Update readers to chime in and let me know what they were most interested in seeing at the show. Several readers specifically requested to see Little Yellow Bicycle’s “Winter Twig” line.

I have to stop here for a moment and give a quick shout-out to Judy at SEI (the next booth on our tour). She gave me a wonderful overview of the new product lines!

SEI’s fall line, “Homestead,” features a rich orange, yellow and brown color scheme with an abundance of foil accents.

SEI’s Valentine’s Day line, “Promise Me”, is set to release in November 2011.

“Holiday Cheer” has one of the brightest color schemes of any of the Christmas releases that I saw at the show and is full of festive fun!

Cool blues and soothing browns are the hallmarks of SEI’s winter themed line, “Silver Valley”.

SEI’s “White Elegance” collection is a back catalog item, but totally worth mentioning here for its unique resist effects. It doesn’t completely resist the ink, but instead the glossy and non-glossy portions of the paper absorb ink at different rates yielding a two-tone effect.

SEI also had their line of wearable art items on display including their “Tumble Dye” mists. Papercrafters may be interested in these for home decor and party projects- just look at those gorgeous misted tissue paper flowers!

There’s just one more post left in Scrapbook Update’s CHA booth coverage! We’ll be back soon to bring you the rest of what we saw at the show.

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Has that changed for me? No way! I still love scrapbooking trips both big and small, and what I really appreciate is how the industry has gone from intensely themed and brightly colored product to more useful product, and to items that can cross over into other pages and subjects as well. While I utilize a great many items in my vacation scrapbooks that are not themed, I also am always on the lookout for the best of travel and vacation products available.

And from cruises to road trips, time at the beach to camping,  and just general travel, journey, and trip products…there is definitely a lot available. Here are six collections I think are fantastically useful, cool, and otherwise great buys:

• Bo Bunny Press “Paradise”  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
• Creative Imaginations “Oceana”  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
• Little Yellow Bicycle “Pack your Bags”  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
• Making Memories “Panorama” Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
• Studio Calico “Documentary”  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
• The Girls’ Paperie “On Holiday”  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com

I particularly appreciate the value in the Girls’ Paperie sticker book (just $4.99 for seven sheets of stickers!) Scrapbook.com | Two Peas

Looking for a great accent for your next travel or journey page? Try these tags from 7 gypsies.  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com

I also like this transparency from Teresa Collins Travel line. It could be such fun to mark on, paint, spray, and otherwise alter to suit my travels.

One stand out line this season that I mentioned above is Making Memories Panorama line. I love the tropical feel of the product, and that the colors are not too bright, and that any number of layouts could be lovely with the product – not just travel.

I created this layout about a vacation at our home – and I loved how easily it all came together.

Patterned Paper (die cut):  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
Patterned Paper (background): Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
Making Memories Title Letters  Two Peas | Scrapbook.com
Making Memories Tickets Two Peas
Making Memories Journaling Card  Scrapbook.com
Making Memories die cut shapes Two Peas
Making Memories Wordfetti Two Peas

Evalicious flowers with buttons www.shopevalicious.com
other: white thread, rhinestones, black pen

I like vacation products that put me in a relaxed state of mind. I like products that have a style that I’d normally choose to use, and that can be used for all kinds of subjects. Words like laughter, good times, journey, and so many others that can be found in these products can be creatively put to use for anything! Palm trees and ocean waves don’t have to mean that you’re on a cruise – they can represent a summer’s day, or just a relaxing time.

What adventure will be next in my scrapbooking? I’ve got a few ideas, and you can be sure that I’ll be taking some of these fantastic products along with me to create and enjoy. Before I end this article here are a few more fun items to consider:

Canvas flip flops mini book by Quick Quotes: Scrapbook.com

Martha Stewart Border Punch: Scrapbook.com

Karen Foster metal decorative plates are so fun – perfect if you’re traveling or on a road trip in the USA.  Scrapbook.com

I could go all day! Bella Blvd has a great new camping line. EK Success continues to produce travel-themed Jolee’s Boutique stickers. By getting specific with what kind of vacation you’re having when you use search terms, you can find even more inspiration and fun. I hope you’ve enjoyed my look at some current picks for great vacation products.

[Disclosure: May is a member of the design team at The Girls Paperie, some of whose products appear in this article.]

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As I surf the internet and manufacturer websites I’ve been gathering some of my favorites. I shared an article before the show with some of my sneak peek favorites, and now I’m back with more. It certainly wasn’t easy to narrow down.  There are a lot of great things! A few I’m especially loving are Tattered Angels, Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, Bella Blvd, October Afternoon, and Crate Paper. They all have fantastic looking product coming out.

This article contains a few of my top picks. Oh yes – I have a whole new list of must-have items that are soon to be available. (And I hope it’s sooner than later!)

Jenni Bowlin has been a favorite of mine since discovering her years ago. Guess what? This release is no exception. Her products build on past releases and work well together to help breathe new life into older products and inspire with new amazing cuteness. I am smitten with these star stickers!

I have seen samples with these Hambly rub-ons where designers have partially filled the images with buttons and rhinestones, as if the jars are filled with the treats. I love that idea, and I adore this sheet of rub-ons! I think they’ll be a whole lot of fun.

Kaiser Craft has a lot of great stuff coming out, and I especially love their ‘beyond the page’ line of alterable items. This wreath is so lovely – I simply must have it. I have visions of a Christmas wreath for it, and I hope to find one of these in a store soon.

Making Memories, a company I’ve used and enjoyed for years has a bunch of must-haves this go around. Their Paper Reverie line really works for me. It’s got sparkle and vintage charm, and is fairly neutral, so I see it having a long shelf life in my stash. The pieces shown above are my favorites.

The Je t’Adore line from Making Memories has a lot of great stuff. This cute box of creative ‘chocolate’ has some interesting bits and pieces as well as being presented in fun packaging.

Studio Calico continues to grow and delight me. I am currently envisioning misting and enjoying playing with these notions. I wouldn’t have thought flowers would be so exciting, but I can not wait to get my hands on these unique ones. They also have a great paper line, some mists, and wood veneer stuff that I am anxious to get in my eager hands.

I am really excited about the “Freestyle” and “Celebrate” lines from Teresa Collins. I like the infusion of more color into her collections while still maintaining the style and look she’s known for. This argyle patterned paper will be perfect for scrapbooking about my girls.

If I were doing an article entitled “I want everything ___ company put out” then Webster’s Pages would certainly be in it. Their new “Sweet Season” line really captured my attention. I love the fusion of color and sweet treats in a winter line like this.

One more pick from Webster’s – I simply can’t live without these trims. I don’t know how they do it, but they bring out more vintage inspired trims each show and each time they are exquisite!

I must add Pink Paislee to the list of companies who had a “want every piece” release. I am so impressed with all they’ve come out with, from the line with the House of 3 to this line called “Sweetness”. I want every single item! They’ve come out with fresh ideas and new products with their signature flair and sensibility for useful but trendy product.

Before you faint with shock, yes that’s me (the ‘no die cuts’ lady) picking a die as a favorite. I’ll talk about that more some other time. For now, just know that Tim Holtz ROCKED the summer show with die cuts and texture fades and all kinds of other awesome goodies for his Sizzix line.

Tim’s idea-ology line is packed full (as are his stamps, and everything else he came out with) of amazing possibility. These trimmings are a must-have. Ink, spray, or paint them – heck, stamp on them, too! I just love everything about this line. The designs are great and I love them all. Just call me a crazy fan girl – I want it ALL!

[Editor's Note: Crazy Tim Holtz fan girl May became crazy Tim Holtz design team girl last week after she wrote this article but before it was edited & scheduled for publication. Our sincerest congratulations to May on getting her dream gig, and to Tim on getting a talented designer that I know from personal experience is as passionate about his products as he is.]

Cupcake Love is a new collection from Little Yellow Bicycle that is over the top girly, and frosted in pink. I love it! These layered felt ribbon sliders are my favorite piece.

Claudine Hellmuth released some stamps with Ranger that are intriguing. There are both foam and acrylic stamps that can be layered as shown above. She has several sets and I’m really excited about this look. I think it would be great on her canvas paper, with stitching or other elements added, and for all kinds of projects from cards to layouts and so much more. I look forward to seeing more of these.

As you can see my shopping basket is quickly filling, and this has been a fantastic show for new and exciting products. I haven’t gotten into the seasonal releases like the amazing Christmas and Halloween goods coming from the Girls’ Paperie [whose design team May also just joined recently - Editor] I can’t stress it enough – this show was FULL of good stuff!

I can’t wait to stop dreaming and start creating! What are you looking forward to working with? What are your favorites?

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