Jenni Bowlin

She debuted new Black Bingo Cards (same as the cream ones, but in Black) and MINI Bingo cards. As always, she rocked the vintage look!

Mini chipboard albums with lined pages. We already have several kit ideas using these mini books. Look for that coming at a later date. (Photobucket is acting up and won't let me rotate this one.)

There were also some new stickers - apothacary stickers.

You can't go wrong with Jenni Bowlin. Her new paper line is perfect for spring, summer AND fall. Even weddings!

October Afternoon

We were very impressed with their 3 new lines. We even saw the full size and samples using the Hometown Line. Every line has the same products as before. Double sided papers, rubons, stamps, rubber charms and diecuts. And to add to the cuteness, they came up with chipboard embellishments similar to the Basic Grey ones.

We think you're going to like it too.

Here are some of the new lines.

Night Light - lots of monsters! Very cute.

Hometown

Weathervane

Good Cheer (Holiday Line)

Day 1

ETA: Since the post is pretty much buried now, don't forget about our CHA special. Enter code CHA08 during checkout to save an extra 10% off our sale prices. There are some can't miss deals and some items are low inventory. Once they're gone, they're gone!!

Brief summary:

Toured downtown Chicago

Attended SEI and CI preview parties

Dinner at Giordanos Pizza

Met Christine Middlecamp

I'll start from the beginning. If you want to see product previews, scroll past the Chicago pictures. (There will be a folder in the Gallery with ALL of the pictures taken and descriptions of the product when we return from CHA.)

Had some free time this morning so I took the train into Chicago. Loved seeing some of the cute little neighborhoods along the way. Sorry, but this SoCal girl isn't used to seeing something other than stucco and palm trees. I'm a sucker for a brownstone and a tree-lined street!

Spent my day at Navy Pier. Shopped, had lunch and did the architectural boat tour. You know, like the tours in the movie 'The Breakup'? Loved it. I saw a lot of cute restuarants that I MUST visit the next time I'm in town. Lots of waterfront places that would be so much fun to just sit and relax at.

Headed back to Rosemont for the Creative Imaginations and SEI preview parties. I have some goodies to give away, but more on that later.

Ordered a bunch of product. Sorry, but the SEI stuff was VERY hard to get pictures of. People were crowding around. I'll get better pictures in the booth tomorrow.

Met some friends for dinner at Giordano's pizza. I have to admit, being part of an Italian family, I tend to be picky when it comes to pasta sauce. This was some gooooood sauce. The best part about it? They ship pizzas. I might be ordering one of these for the family when I get home. Hey, I've had cheesecakes shipped from New York to CA before - why not Chicago pizza?

And finally, I met someone I've been wanting to meet. Christine Middlecamp. She's been on the Design Team for Studio Calico and now October Afternoon, Prima and Crate Paper. I love the detail she puts into her work. Just an awesome person - and she has the cutest Minnesotan accent!!

Okay, I'm tired. I have a VERY long day tomorrow and lots of product to see. We will be updating the blog again tomorrow night.

We're here!

Our flight landed late last night into Chicago, but we're here.

A tempting picture for you.

And I just have to say, I love this hotel. Its the little touches.

Off to see the city before we start shopping for new product!

Almost ready

We're almost ready to leave.

For Chicago.

For CHA.

To see the new stuff.

Yeah!

Our bags are packed, the camera is charged and the laptop is ready!

The next time we update the blog, we will be in Chicago. Chi-town.

And just for our wonderful customers that read the blog, here's a special discount for you.

From 7/16/08 through 7/20/08, enter code CHA08 during checkout to save an additional 10% off your order. What a bargain - combine that with our huge selection of clearance items!

This code is only good through the end of the show!

All orders placed between 7/16/08 and 7/20/08 will not ship until we return.

ALMOST EVERYTHING

Almost Everything.

Thats whats on sale in the store right now. Its time for our CHA clearance event so we've marked down just about every item in the store.

Its our Semi-Annual clearance event before the big show. We need to make room for all of the new stuff that will be rolling in starting next week!!! Items are 25% off or MORE!

To see everything, check out the SALE section.

Make sure you check out the maufacturer blog links on the sidebar for Sneak Peeks of their latest releases. We've seen some amazing things!

Sonoma

We've been busy stalking the blogs and websites of our favorite manufacturers trying to bring you the CHA peeks!

Today, we finally get another look at the next FULL line from Scenic Route - Sonoma.

I love this line. And because its a full line, you're going to get kraft cardstock, stamps and more!

Love the colors in this line. And the designs on the Kraft papers are amazing!

Check it out on Layles' Blog.

Have you been checking the Pink Paislee Blog?

Check THIS out!!

I'm going to try and figure out a way to get some samples of this at CHA!!! I see giveaway potential!

What about Prima? Can't wait for that red and green line of papers!

Long Weekends

I love them. You can get so much done.

More time with family and more time to be creative. Just one extra 'off' day every week would be nice.

How was your holiday? We took Friday off to celebrate the 4th of July and then it was back to work filling orders! A lot of you took advantage of the sale this weekend.

If you missed it, don't worry. We're working on the CHA Summer Sale. Its time to clear out the old stuff and make room for the new.

If you haven't seen some of the Sneak Peeks from the manufacturers, you can find link to our favorites on the sidebar. We'll be adding more as the weeks go by and definitely after CHA. We're bringing in more new companies to the store after this show. Very excited to expand again.

Some of our favorite sneaks would be from October Afternoon, Pink Paislee and American Crafts. Did you hear about the fabric Thickers? Sounds like another must have!

So many new things coming. We've seen a lot of holiday lines coming up. Even though its only July, the holidays are right around the corner and that means projects, cards and more! I'm sure we'll see some amazing samples at the show and we'll be sure to update you.

We'll be checking in each day to show you everything we've seen and done!

I've added some ideas to my Gallery. And of course, the Design Team is amazing as always. Lots of different projects, layouts etc. A different aspect from each of the girls!

Don't forget the October Afternoon contest. Post a layout using any of their paper lines (or embellishments etc) for a chance to win their NEW line - Hometown. This will be shipping mid-month but to give them time to actually ship it, we'll end this contest on 7/27/08. The prize will include the entire line of papers, embellishments and rubons!!

I'll leave you with some pictures from the 4th:

4th of July Savings

Just a quick note before we head out to celebrate:

Save 15% off your entire order when you enter coupon code FREEDOM during checkout.

Code expires 7/6/08.

SHOP NOW!

Have you seen the Gallery?

Our Design Team just uploaded a bunch of goodies!

Christy - she put the Rusty Pickle Chipboard and KI Lace cardstock to good use!

Beatriz - Awesome cards! And she rocked the KI Lace cardstock!!

Mandy - Always love her mini-albums! Speaking of mini albums, did you see her Scenic Route Mini Book?

Emeline - I gave her a chance to work with something different since she really can't use the Red, White and Blue. So she did an awesome job with the Fancy Pants and some of the new Prima.

Erica - I used the Jenni Bowlin chipboard banners and Scenic Route Liberty papers. I also threw some quick travel layouts together to start my Baltric trip album. I used the new MM Travel papers. Really loving the patterns on these and they look great with the colors from my photos. Look for more travel layouts this week!!

CHA Summer 08 is right around the corner! We're so excited to bring in the new products!
Pre-orders have been placed and previews will be posted through the month of July. We've started adding links to manufacturers blogs and websites for you. Several of them already started posting sneak peeks!! Pink Paislee is doing a Sneak Party from 7/1 through 7/11. So cute!!

And we've already shown you the new October Afternoon line called Hometown. That will ship mid to late August. Check out the Gallery contest for a chance to win the ENTIRE line! That includes papers, rubons and stamps - the entire line! And, rumor has it that there will be an ADDITIONAL 3 lines debuting at CHA.

I'm very excited with the things I've seen so far and can't wait to see it all in person! The show is always exciting and just overflowing with ideas.