Guest Blogger Nichole: My CHA Experience

When the Flamingo Scraps girls asked me and Deb if we would like to go to CHA-Chicago for them to be their “eyes and ears“ of the show, we felt so fortunate and agreed right away! Neither one of us had been to a CHA show, so we were on cloud nine when opening day finally arrived. As we walked from the parking lot across the sky bridge to the conference center where CHA was being held, we both admitted to each other that due to the excitement of it all, we hadn’t been able to get a lot of sleep the night before.

Summer CHA Show Floor

Upon walking in, we  were amazed at all of the companies that were there that we recognized and loved! We had expected that it would be a big show with a lot of products to see and projects to “make and take”, but we were glad for the guidance of our map that we received right at check-in. We didn’t want to miss a thing! While browsing through the booths and down the aisles, we were pleasantly surprised by how many actual designers there were in attendance at CHA! All of the designers that we spoke with were so nice! They were so hands-on with everyone with the projects and were so attentive and willing to answer questions. What an exceptional experience it was to meet and talk to many of the designers as well as the wonderful contacts and reps in the companies that love Flamingo Scraps!

L-R Deb, Brandin O'Neill from Webster's Pages and Nichole

 Since we had only a few hours, we tried to visit and look through as many booths as possible. The booths were all so unique and artistic! Browsing through the products at CHA, we saw a lot of holiday themes, cute children/baby themes, practical/everyday themes, felt embellishments, rich and vivid colors and papers, and new fantastic trends like “steampunk”.

Display at Graphic 45 Booth

 We also were pleased to see some of our well-loved favorites like Stickles and Glimmer Mist. We loved the new Glimmer Glam and Glimmer Glaze products from Tattered Angels.  The list would be too long if we included everything! 

New Glimmer Glam from Tattered Angels

One of our many enjoyable booth visits was with Prima. Not only did I get to meet Julie Fei-Fan Balzer, but I also got a big hug from Marion Smith while she was live-streaming her CHA “make and take” on the website! Flamingo Scraps got a big “shout out” from her live and online! I also have to add that not only were we impressed with the booths and their gorgeous originality, we were impressed with the colors and designs of all of the new releases. Added to that were all of the projects, layouts, and crafts that used all of the products! Stunning! CHA was overflowing with creativity!

Nichole and Julie Fei-Fan Balzer

Marion Smith teaching a Make and Take at Prima

Overall, visiting CHA was a wonderful experience! More than a few leisure hours immersed in the world of scrapbooking is time well spent, in my opinion! Not only were we inspired by all that we saw there but we felt such a sense of community among everyone there, knowing that they loved what they were creating and then sharing it with others. A big “THANK YOU” to Flamingo Scraps for sending us to CHA-Chicago! It was an amazing experience….and yes, I am going to use my memories and pictures to scrap all about it!