Wow, how time flies!  I meant to put this post together within days of Part One and before you know it another weekend has come and gone. So, without further ado, here is part two of my adventures at the Craft and Hobby Association 2013 Winter Conference and Trade show (CHA).

On my second day at CHA, which was a Tuesday, it was the very last day of the Conference and the show floor was a little empty. I think that many of the scrapbook store owners had returned home to run their stores and plan all of the fabulous classes they could teach with all of the amazing products they found at CHA. Because it was slow, I got to venture out of the Charity Wings booth for a little bit longer and had the opportunity to take more pictures of more yummy art and craft supplies and scrapbook papers and projects!

My first stop was to Bo Bunny to see their colorful scrapbooking papers. Turquoise is one of my favorite colors, so seeing the Love Letters collection made me really happy! Next, I stopped by the Copic marker booth just to swoon over all of the beautiful colors of markers and plot out my strategy for which ones I need next. Then, over to Crate Paper and all I can say is, WOW!  I adore their booth because it was absolutely full of gorgeous projects that gave me all kinds of inspiration. With colorful patterns, bunting and garlands, birds and vintage-inspired embellishments, Crate Paper is right on trend. I’m addicted to love and their Fourteen collection, inspired by retro valentine designs, delivered some serious sweet and cute. Next, I checked out the new pretties from Amy Tangerine in the American Crafts booth. Colorful and quirky are words that Amy uses to describe her line and I have to agree. But quirky in a good and fun way, not in a weird or awkward way!

One of my favorite booths and products was from a relatively new company, Lawn Fawn. They had an adorable booth, full of super fun photopolymer clear stamps and the sweetest little projects showing off their lines. I can’t wait til these new products come out so I can get my hands on them!

My other favorite products came from Authentique and again, I’m in love with love so I silently squeaked when I saw their Valentine’s Day line of scrapbooking papers and die cuts called the Lovely Collection. I’m a garland girl so I had to take pics of the charming Lovely heart and Winter Wonderland spool garlands so that I can use them for future inspiration in my own projects.

As a fan of Tim Holtz, I was excited to see the Stampers Anonymous booth full of vintage and steampunk details and drawings of Tim’s artwork for his stamp line. The other line of products I love that feature vintage and steampunk inspiration is from 7 Gypsies and they consistently deliver incredible embellishments and details to create amazing projects.

Color was the big news at CHA this year and the Sweet Girl line by Lori Whitlock for Echo Park was bursting with fresh colors like pink, turquoise and red and is just so yummy. I love all things doll house and this line features so many of my favorite things on one sheet that I think I must have it. Garlands, rosettes, a sweet doll, a vintage camera?  How can so much cute fit on one sheet? Not to mention hot air balloons, pinwheels, and butterflies!

Next, I saw a dreamy wedding dress made entirely out of cut, folded and sculpted paper and it stopped me in my tracks! The designers at Bella Blvd created a beautiful confection out of white paper and adorned it with delicate pink paper flowers. It was truly incredible!

My next stop was to the Sizzix booth and let me just say that their new releases are going to be the best ever!  From swans, to delicate slippers to dancers to tea cups, the Brenda Walton collection took my breath away. So girly and perfect, I was completely swooning.

I found some new favorite Tim Holtz dies that will have to be added to my collection, as well. And, designer Eileen Hull has created an adorable collection of dies featuring Ball jars, birdhouses and gardening-themed pretties. Too much cute!

I got lucky in front of the Melissa Frances booth and convinced Tim Holtz and Dyan Reavley to take a pic with me. I think they soon regretted being nice because they soon learned what a nut I am about how pictures of me are taken. For whatever reason, the poor soul taking the picture wanted to hold the camera way down low, like three feet off the ground. That doesn’t work, since I have at least 13 chins from that angle. So, Tim and Dyan politely laughed while I art directed and requested the unfortunate picture taker to “please hold the camera upright instead of sideways, since I always appear thinner that way and can you hold the camera higher, that way I don’t have so many chins? Alright, can we just take one more shot, just in case?” What great sports Tim and Dyan were, eh? I’m so glad I was wearing a badge with the name Ginamarie on it!  Apologies to Ginamarie, you might want to avoid Tim and Dyan in the future, k?

Anyways, this post is a lot longer than I intended but I really want to share all the great stuff with you! My next stop was to the Melissa Frances booth full of dreamy shabby chic  products and projects (officially known as samples in the crafting world). It’s hard to pick a favorite product from Melissa Frances, but the Putz houses, also called Glitter Houses, are sure to be a hit with crafters.

If you’re a fan of making jewelry, the Nunn Design booth had some incredible jewelry featuring interchangeable pieces.

So that’s it for my brief recap of CHA. What did you find interesting?  See any products that you just have to have?  Let me know in the comments section!

My next post will be on the amazing weekend event, The Art of Craft, that I went to at French General in Los Angeles. I’m looking forward to sharing that with you!