CHA Goodness

Hi everyone! I am back from CHA. I had so much fun and big part of it because I got some awesome roommates. These girls, Latisha Yoast, Aj Otto, and Emily Branch totally rock! They make me laugh and I learn so much from them.

I think the best part of CHA is getting to know the people that you previously only known online. And, when they turn out to be goofy, kind, and flat out crazy (but in a good way) it's even better. Warning, lots of pictures on this post. :)

I arrived on Friday afternoon and was shocked at how cold it was! You know, when you  go to California you tend to expect nice weather. Not freezing your bum kind of weather. Anyway, I met up with the girls and then we head out  to Downtown Disney and get together with the Paper Crafts crew for a yummy dinner at Naples.

And, it turned out that Kimberly Crawford and Amber Kemp-Gerstel also stayed at the same hotel. Needless to say that on our first night, we chatted a lot and didn't go to bed till 1 a.m. (that's 3 a.m Houston time) and I was whooped. I laughed my head off so much that night and if you follow me on Instagram you might have seen one or two crazy picture. ;)

Now, of course I drool over many fabulous goodies, which I am sure many of you already seen on FB, blog land, etc. So, for today how about I share some pics of the girls that I get to hang out with or meet for the 1st time.

Met with Nina Yang who was doing make & take on GCD booth.

The fun part of CHA in my opinion is when you spotted someone you know or someone that you'been chatting online with for a long time and finally get to meet them in person.

At Paper Smooches booth, with Julie Campbell, Kim Hughes,
and the super sweet Kalyn Kepner.

Of course I have to stop by Paper Smooches booth. I get to see all the new stamps and dies that are coming out, and oh my word. Let me just say my wish list for their dies is a mile long. And, I also get to meet Kalyn Kepner for  the 1st time. She's such a sweetie.

With Annette Allen & Amy Tsuruta

These 2 girls are always so supportive and are so good at cheering on others. Annette remember my love of pug and now & then she'd pointing out cute pug stuff for me just because she knows I'd love them. How sweet is that? And she has the prettiest smile, too.

Her new Dear Lizzy collection is FABULOUS.

Can you believe it that I have been to CHA several times and this is the 1st time I actually chatted with Elizabeth Kartchner? She is very nice and I love her new collection. Must have!

3 of my favorite girls.

Getting to know these girls been the highlight of my trip. They are goofy and they taught me so many things. I consider them as my mentor. And honestly they are so fun to hang out with.

I love Cammie's works. Unfortunately I haven't really get a chance to hang out much with her. But we're able to chat a bit here and there. And, Holly Anderson, she is such a cutie, isn't she?

If I have to pick just 1 scrapbooker who continue to inspire me
that would be Ali Edwards.

Pardon the daze look on my face on this pic. By day 3 I was so tired, I have to chug 3 cups of coffee to keep me going.

So, what do you like to see from CHA? Do you want to see products pics at all? What do you want to know about CHA? Post your question or suggestion and if I can do it, I'll do it. I want my blog to be more interactive to make it more fun. So ask away...

I'll be back tomorrow with card post. By today I finally feel a bit normal and can function. So, hoping to be creative tonight. 

CHA Part 2

Hi there. Sorry, for delay on my post for CHA. Thursday night, I had another cyst burst that pretty much put me in so much pain that all I can do just laid down on the sofa. And, I didn't have my post ready or scheduled. Luckily, when I was incapacitate I have this warm puppy that like to snuggle with me. Except when he wants to play! He is light, but when he bounced and landed on my stomach, he kind of took my breath away. :)

Let's get on with the CHA report, shall we. Now, there are tons and tons of booths to cover and I did take tons of pictures, but I am sure many of you already seen lots of sneak peek from other site. So, I'll just  highlight my favorite collections.

First up,  This & That and Note To Self collection from Echo Park. Gorgeous papers! You can click on any of the pics to view it in larger size.

I love, love, love Ali Edwards stamps for Technique Tuesday. Love her unique style and the stamps aimed at both card makers and scrapbookers. 

The layovers from Hambly are so cool! On my wish list.

My Mind's Eye 6x6 paper pads and fab stamps. Love that their stamps only cost $5.99 a set. Gorgeous + reasonably priced = awesomess!!

Cute display at Paper Smooches.

Pebbles.

Beautiful paper pad from Studio Calico Take Note collection. Gorgeous overload! Right underneath it are some layout samples that were on display at their booth.

Card samples display at Penny Black booth, where I met the lovely & talented Elizabeth Allan who designs for Penny Black.

This one pic, I just had to share! This beautiful peacock was on display at DCWV booth and yes, people, it made of papers!! It's my favorite booth for their awesome display. They also have parrot, toucan, etc. Even the tree was made of paper leaves. Simply gorgeous!!

Fancy Pants collection.

Now, I know many people love Basic Grey and I wasn't one of them. Until.... I saw their newest collection. This one below is from their Konnichiwa collection. Gorgeousness!!

Basic Grey Konnichiwa stamps.

Basic Grey Pb&j collection. 

So, which one is your favorite? All that I shown here... I like them all. Hard to choose. Now that I have enable you and make your wish list longer, let me share some more fun pics of the lovely peeps I met. BTW, Tori Spelling & Vanna White was there, too and I completely miss them. Things a bit crazy on the last day, so I totally missed Tori. 

From top left: With Kelly Purkey, Elizabeth Allan, Kim Kesti, Kelly from Paper Crafts, at Paper Crafts meet & greet with Teri, Stephanie Washburn, Laurel Beard & Michelle Gross, Windy  Robinson, & Heidi Van Laar.

I would do more comprehensive report, but Ii kind of short of time. I still have tons of things to do for my Indonesia trip. Hopefully these pics help satisfy your CHA curiosity and I hope next time I can meet many  more of my online friends. Thank you all so much for stopping by here. Come back tomorrow for Some Odd Girls latest releases. Cheers.....

CHA Part 1

Are you ready for a long post with tons of pics?? Hah! That's what happened when you go to CHA. You took tons of pics. :)

But, I sure am glad to be back home. I have 6 more days home before I go to Bali for my brother's wedding. Am trying to savor my moment with hubby, Ollie, and Eli. Hubby is so good  to me. Every day while I was at CHA, he sent me pics and videos of Eli, our bouncy puppy.

Anyway, the trip was such a whirlwind. It was fun to be able to see all the new products that coming out soon. Lots of yummy goodness added to my wish list. But, of course the most fun is seeing old friends, meeting new friends, and getting to know those you only have met online before.

First night, I had dinner with with miss Lawn Fawn, Kelly Marie and her hubby, Mike, Laurel Beard, Ayana Posadas, Chari Moss, Jenny Suchin, and Nancy Krueger. I gave Nancy extra  hugs from Barb when I saw her. Nancy and Barb supported me since the very beginning when I started blogging. 

And, I was so thrilled to finally meet Laurel and Ayana my Lawnscaping team mates. Laurel is my enabler, the one who persuade me to go when I want to cancel on going. I have known both of them for quite a while, but this is the first time that we finally get to meet in person and I just love them! I called them my twins, lol, cause we're all shorty and we totally click. Laurel is just the cutest and Ayana is simply adorable. And she's like me like to touch things. :)

Here's a line up of pics for today and I'll share more tomorrow including some of my favorite products.

At Lawn Fawn booth with Laurel B and Ayana.

With my Some Odd Girl team mates, Kristy Delman, Melissa Andrew,
and Leah L'Orange. I am so lucky to be in their team.

With my Cards That Care partner, the cutest mom-to-be Jennifer McGuire.
BTW, love her dress. :)

Me, Ayana, Susan Opel, Tenia Nelson, Kim Wilson, & Maile Belles.

This group... I am so psyched to see them. Susan always so bubbly and full of energy. And Tenia, Kim, & Maile are just the sweetest. When it comes to Papertrey Ink, Maile's stamps are some of my favorites!! And, Tenia... look how stylish this new mom. Yes, she just had a baby a few months ago and look how tiny her waist already. Kim is sweet & adorable. Seriously, this pic filled with so much sweetness from these girls.

Yay... finally get to meet Michelle in person. Fab girl.

I adore Michelle. I was with her on a DT a while back and she's so supportive & thoughtful. Love her! She's the owner of CAS-ual Friday challenge, which is an awesome challenge site.

At Paper Smooches booth with Kim Hughes.

Adore Paper Smooches stamps very much and Kim is so sweet. Love seeing their upcoming stamps! Cuteness overload. :)

At Market Street Stamp booth with Angelica Suarez, Stephanie
Washburn,  & Jenny Suchin.

My favorite pic, at Doodlebug booth. They have uber cute booth!

Ayana is so adorable. Had so much fun walking around with her. Love, love, love spending time with her.

With Jill Foster, who is the sweetest!
She has a smile that can brighten a whole room instantly.

Now, how about a peek at one of the product that I thought was just so cool? Join the revolution with Inkadinkado. I was just recording it with my i-phone. No sound, just want to show you how their new gear works.

So, what do you think of this new gear? I was super excited when I saw how it works. However we have to  wait for a while before we can get our hands on this handy gear. They're shipping in August!!

Okay, be back with more people pics and products pics later. Get your wish list ready! Have a great Friday everyone. Cheers....

CHA Time

This morning as this post go up, I'll be on my way to CHA! My heart kind of split in two places right now. I love going to CHA and meet up with all my crafty friends, but oh... how I will miss my little guy, Eli. He had his first shot yesterday and he's such a doll. Didn't even flinch when he got the shot. Of course, the fact that the vet helper holding a cheese whiz on a stick that he's so intently licking on has nothing to do with the shot. ;)

Yep, Eli was the center of attention at the vet. Everybody loves him. He sat quietly and just kept tilting his head watching everybody and absorbing what's going on around him.

I am excited for CHA as well. This is my first time attending winter CHA and everyone say it's bigger than the summer one, so I am excited for that. For the first night, I'll be having dinner with Laurel Beard, Kelly Marie, Ayana Posadas, Nancy Krueger, Jenny Suchin, and Chari Moss.

I'll be taking tons of pictures of course and sharing the pics as soon as I can. And, since I'll be out looking at new stuff, I thought I should at least try to use up some of my scrap papers. I am making this card for Moxie Fab die-cutting challenge and Lily Pad pattern paper challenge.

I layered the scrap papers directly on the card base, then cut the deer shape out of white cardstock and using the negative space adhere it on top of the scrap papers. I love the way this card turn out and will definitely make more using this technique.

Thank you all so much for stopping by here and hopefully I'll meet many of you at CHA. Have a blessed weekend!

CHA 2011 Final Report

 While at CHA, I did manage to take 3 classes. I took Copic, ZIG, and book binding with Echo Park. Have to say, book binding is not my thing. I'll stick to scrapbooking & card making. I have enough stuff in my craft room and for me those small books are clutters. It  just me, though.

At the ZIG class, I did find some more fun stuff to use for coloring. They have this new Clean Brushable pens, that works kind of like coloring pencil. Your can brush your stamp with it, then using watercolor brush brush along the lines to pull or spread the colors for watercolor effect. Super cool. I ordered a 12 set and  they gave me some samples as well. Will make a post for this technique as soon as I can.

They also have alcohol ink and the price are definitely more reasonable than Copic, but since I already have a Copic collection, I'll stick with Copic.

Then, let's see, more fun pics. LOL, are you tired yet looking at tons of pics? Well, today is my last CHA post. First up, is the Amy Tangerine collection at American Crafts booth. So fun & lots of pretty texture.

Amy Tangerine collection for American Crafts. Yummie-licious.

I don't share many scrapbook layouts on my blog here, but I do love scrapbooking. I have quite a few scrapbooking idols. One of  them is the fabulous Kelly Purkey. I love her fun style and not only that, I also love following her travel adventures. She also has moved States more often than anybody I know and I admire that. I often want to try living in other States, but so far hasn't been able to do so. So thrilled that I finally get to meet her.

With Kelly Purkey.

Kelly is also has very good taste in fashion 9if you follow her blog, you know what I am talking about) and I was so honored when she commented on how she loves my outfit. The rare occasion I wear a skirt and being all stylish. Later she even repeat the compliment on FB because she couldn't remember whether she mentioned that to me or not. Hah... sorry, I am gushing here..., but seriously to be complimented on my fashion choice by Kelly is a big deal. :)

Well, there I went all over the place. Earth to Vera, back to CHA. While I was at Studio Calico booth chatting with Kelly, I also took quite a few pic of layouts that they have One of my favorite is this one, made by the talented Susan Weinroth.

Layout sample at Studio Calico booth by Susan Weinroth. I adore that blue pattern paper.

Next, I found La-La Land Crafts booth. I recognize some of their images, but I am not too familiar with this line. They do have cute stamps, though.

Samples galore at La-La land Crafts booth. Cute stamps!

 What I love about  meeting blog friends is that even though you don't see them often, when you do it's like you see each other all the time. I met Lynette last year at CHA Super Show. She's a member of Lawn Fawn DT and Lawnscaping DT. So happy I get to catch up with her again and to work with her on Lawnscaping.
  

With my Lawnscaping team mate, the fabulous Lynette

On the last day, I actually ended up working at Love My Tapes booth. The owner remembered me from last year Super Show and asked me if I could help out working on the booth on the last day. Since I do use their products and pretty familiar with their stuff, I thought why not. Brush up on my sales skill here. :) And, silly me, I forgot to take pics of the booth. This is the only pic I manage to get, with Shemaine (she on My Little Show Box) who also used to work for Love My Tapes.

With Shemaine whom I met through Gallery Idol 2010.

I also manage to swing by to CHA Super show for an hour. it was nothing like last year super show at all. I only stop by to say hi to Paulina at Denami booth and got a few dies from My Favorite Things. CHA was lots of fun, but by Friday, I was ready to go home to hubby and my babies. When I arrived in Chicago I was greeted by heat wave and when I was ready to go home, it was pouring cats and dogs. My flight was delayed for over 3 hours. At least, I was grateful that the flight didn't get cancelled.

Anyway, now that we are through with CHA, it's time to go back to card making. I can't remember whether I have shared this card or not, but here's my card for today. :)

 And, I have a fun announcement next week. Can't share it yet, but let just say I have a fun new adventure waiting. There will be lots of cuteness and it makes me practice coloring even more. Stay tune and stay cool!

CHA 2011 Report Part 2

I am still trying to to catch up with stuff on my end here. It's amazing how a few days off can get you behind. Anyway, let's continue with our CHA report.

This CHA was my first one and I have to say I was a bit overwhelmed at first. Me... surrounded by pretty papers and stamps, just like kids in candy store. Then some people said that the winter CHA is like 4-5 times bigger than this one. Needless to say, I want to go to the winter one. Cross fingers that if everything goes smoothly I can go to  that one. :)

On the first day, Paper Crafts booth held their meet & greet event, which was  lots of fun as I get to meet up and catchup with some blogging friends. I cannot believe that I missed a couple people that I've been wanting to meet. I missed Valerie Mangan and Christina Kowalczyk. Christina emailed me that she was there, but I didn't get the email till way late.

 Kelly, me, my team mate at May Arts Latrice Murphy, 

& PC go-to-gal Windy Robinson. Yep, I'm the shortest one. :)

 Find my match in being vertically challenge in the talented 

Julie Renae. She's so sweet!

Next, are some of my favorite products. When it comes to paper, I love Bella Blvd, Jillibean Soup, and October Afternoon.

I just love, love, love Bella Blvd collection. So pretty.

 

From Jillibean Soup, I love this kraft set. 
The wood grain on kraft, must have.

Another Jillibean Soup collection. Love those cute penguins.

Now, how pretty is this! From October Afternoon.

One of the highlight of my trip was definitely meeting the super talented and super sweet Jennifer McGuire. She's so warm & friendly. Really, one of my favorite people! I had follow her works since way back when Creating Keepsakes just started, when she did mainly scrapbooking, and I just love her work and continue admiring her works as she does more and more card making. And when you meet her, you can't help but love her personality. And, that cutie patootie she's holding is Latrice's baby Kaeden. He's sooo adorable & such a sweet baby.

With Jennifer & baby Kaeden.

With Shari Carroll.

Besides Jennifer, at the Hero Arts booth I also get to meet Shari Carroll. She's just awesome. Love her! I know I said that a lot. But, seriously this industry is filled with  lots of nice peeps. And, of course, the super fun Lisa Spangler, my fellow Texans. When I started chatted with her, we just keep going on and on. Love, love, love her! My favorite company + my favorite people = awesome!! :)

My fellow Texans, Lisa Spangler.

Well, that's it for today. I have tons of things to do today. Will come back tomorrow to share more CHA pics. Thank you so much for stopping by and for sharing my excitement over my trip. :)