CHA Day 1

For this post I am going to focus on Day 1 of the show itself and then the next couple days I will share the "make and takes" and Day 2!  This was my first ever trip to a CHA!

I only went for the floor show part of the convention, no workshops etc.  The workshops that I would have liked to attend we're sold out pretty early on.  That is okay though, for my first time at a show like this I was happy to just take in the actual floor show.  I am going to just talk about highlights...otherwise I could write a book :).

I started the morning in line waiting for the doors to open and excitedly recognizing people all around me.  Once the doors opened I went in and just started wandering.  I met Amy Tan right off the bat, I have had really good luck getting cards published using pieces from her lines, so I was thrilled to have the chance to meet and chat with her!  Her new line looks awesome!

 I wanted to survey the whole place before doing anything else.  At the back of the room I found the Heidi Swapp/Pink Paislee booth.  My friend Kimberly aka Scrap it Girl was working there and encouraged me not to be reserved and just to jump in and chat and create.  I needed that encouragement!  Heidi was doing a make and take and the line was short, so I jumped in to try it.  She was amazing and friendly, definitely makes a consumer want to buy more of her stuff.  And she is a mom to five, which was very encouraging to me heading into baby #4!  I got to play with her new "Color Shine" mist...it is very user friendly and has gorgeous shimmer to it.  I also love the color choices she had...will be adding some of this to my collection!

I headed over to the Bella Blvd booth next.  I love their stuff, aside from my loyalties to Momenta and Quick Quotes, no company is higher on my list.  I have followed stephanienon Facebook and her blog for a long while so I was thrilled to see her there.  It is not my norm to walk up to a person I don't know and introduce myself...but I did and we chatted a bit.  I even got a pic with her too! Last winter they came out with a baby boy line and a baby girl line, my friend Kerri joked that I only got pregnant so I could use those...I shared that funny with Stephanie!  She is as nice of a person as could be and the booth itself was amazing, I could copy everything I saw there!  

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I was so excited to connect with some of the owners from Quick Quotes and my design team leader and a fellow designer!

Jillibean Soup is another favorite of mine and I have to say that after meeting several members from their team, I like them even more.  I met Kimber, Jill, and Patty and they were so friendly and chatty.  It made me feel like I already knew these gals!  They really know how to put their best foot forward with a tremendous front line in that booth!  I can't wait to get their new releases and start creating!  Just like Bella Blvd, their booth was full of awesome projects!

I spent most of the rest of the first day just  angering and soaking it all up.  I did lots of make and takes, trying out a wide variety of products.  Not every company offers a make and take but I tried to take advantage of any I was interested in.  By the end of the day my body was exhausted, note to self...bags get way heavy, roller bags are definitely a must next time!  My hubby and I stayed the night in Chicago so I could head back the next morning.  I definitely needed that extra time!  You could get thru it all in a day but knowing I would have more time allowed me to soak things up and not rush.  Day two post will come soon, for now It is time to rest :)