Saturday, July 28, 2007

What Memorytrends said...

Here's what Beth Hess, editor of Memorytrends Magazine, reported as trends and hot products from CHA summer (my notes in orange):
The Craft & Hobby Association Summer Show provided an array of new product collections for crafters of all kinds. New yarn textures and colors are likely to inspire papercrafters. So, too, are artist materials. One of the hottest new scrapbooking products of the show is the IOD Paintables collection from Prima. These 12"x12" sheets of cardstock feature outlines of swirls, flowers, and more and are designed to be colored in with paints, markers, color pencils, chalks, or any other color medium. Co-creator Josie Celio says, "I forget how much fun coloring is until I started with this line. It's a form of expression many of us haven't used in a long time." Judging by the crowds watching the demos and placing their orders, others agree scrapbookers are ready to incorporate more of their artistic self and products they already own, like ink pads and pens, in this way. (Watch for more about artistry in journaling and scrapbooks in the September issue of Memorytrends Magazine.)

Other Products that stood out:
Other Trends Spotted:
  • Birds, Trees flocks of owls, bird-shaped chipboard mini-albums from Piggy Tales & Maya Road, penguin Christmas paper from Imaginisce
  • Swirls, Paisley
  • Calendar projects Karen Foster, Flair, and others; getting ready for Christmas gifts
  • Unique shapes in mini albums, board books, spiral journals, etc.
  • Storage, storage, storage - this category just keeps growing (and becoming more fashion-forward and in-line with today's decorating trends) I'm guessing that this product line offers a high return for both manufacturers and retailers, hence the flood

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Cards with Piggy Tales

Loving the Piggy Tales double-sided cardstock! Makes it uber easy to make cards!




Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Hot products to warm up our winter

Here are some of the products and trends I think will be hot coming out of CHA-S. What do you think?
  • More of the warm, rich colors from January's CHA plus brighter blues (mentioned here)
  • Texture and more texture - flocked, glitter, embroidered, stuff that screams "touch me!"
  • More felt, velvet and lace, especially in rolls and ribbons, but also in flowers. Look for it from Queen & Co., Prima, Maya Road and others
  • More interactive projects - see-through pages, flip books, hide & seek flap book and barn doors from Piggy Tales
  • Anything transparent, like acetate, film, acrylic - the digital layered look goes beyond paper
  • Home printers and multiple ways to use them - think hybrid and transparencies
  • Glue Arts' Glue Glider Pro, which won the Art Materials Magazine Most Innovative Product Award - this is a must-have for serious scrappers
  • Prima - with a special eye on the new Printables - something very different for scrapbooking (let's cross over to the art material aisle and grab some water brushes for our distress inks!)
Come back for more as I add to the list!

Monday, July 2, 2007

The Mother and Child Reunion

This Simon & Garfunkel song has been going through my mind all weekend. Today my DS and I are reunited after his two weeks+ at summer camp. Of course he had a wonderful time, and I enjoyed my break, but we both are anxious to be together again...at least until I have to remind him of his chores :-)

I have a layout already designed in my mind. I think I'll get him to help me on it.