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Monday 31 January 2011

CHA Day 2

Gosh, this is exhausting work - the halls at CHA are huge, I haven't even scratched the surface yet. It is surprisingly quiet and calm to wander around, you are not jammed up with a crowd of people. The booths of the big companies are huge, and so beautifully laid out - more of that tomorrow. I came across this delightful husband and wife team, her name is Kelly Panacci and I loved her story. She used to design for Sandylion, who of course have ceased to trade. Without a lot of hope or expectations, they submitted some of her designs to K & Company, and she was accepted. Her new Valentine stack is her first one for them. They were clearly so delighted to be designing for one of the biggest crafting companies, it was quite heartwarming, and they were just lovely. Her stack is in the stores now, here are a few of the samples to inspire you - I have the range, and love it. Not just for Valentines...











Here's a shot of all the Tim Holtz Alterations dies, there are a couple of new ones on there for CHA, but I am not sure which ones they are



Then we headed over to the Provocraft stand to look at the brand new Cricut Expression 2, which they are calling the Anniversary edition. According to the chap I was talking to, it will be released in very limited numbers in April, and when those are gone, he was not sure when they would be in production again........why? I haven't a clue. Could be a clever marketing strategy to whip up a buyers frenzy.
Basically, as you can see, you will no longer need overlays, it is all touch screen operation. It will take the Imagine cartridges, as well as all the existing regular cartridges. The retail price point is $399.
I thought it was a neat machine, I did think that the moulded touch screen was a design flaw, it would look so much more streamlined if that flipped down when not in use. In the photo, it looks as if they have reverted to the more sturdy metal blade housing, but when we raised this specific point, he said that it was in fact plastic, the metal one was in just for the show. You can see in the photo, a regular cartridge slotted in on the left, and an imagine cartridge on the right. It has WiFi capability, so we assumed that this meant that if you were designing on your computer with the new Craft Room software (more about that tomorrow), you could cut with the Expression2 without hooking up to the computer. This was just an assumption, I will try and find out tomorrow. There is a light by the blade, which really helped to see exactly where on the mat you were cutting - useful with centre point I would have thought



Every day, they have events on the stand. You are given a ticket, which has to be stamped by a member of staff when you have completed certain demos and make-and-takes. They then hold a draw every afternoon, where all the completed, signed tickets are thrown into a revolving drum and names pulled out. These people are then invited to spin the wheel (behind Jinger), and if they are really really lucky, they get to win the prize against the pointer when the wheel stops spinning. One lucky person won an Imagine, there were lots of magazine subscriptions, and if you were really unlucky, you just got a high five from the large green acrylic animal to the left of the photo.


Talking of large green acrylic animals, here I am with my new bedtime buddy, which was in the goody bag from the gala - a lot of you wanted to know what was in the bags - well here he is, and a tee shirt, and cartridge - I think this will become my avatar photo, me and Cricky having a good time












27 comments:

  1. Wow, Enfys, your creations are so wonderful, I'm speekless.
    Hugs
    Melodie

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  2. Lots of nice things there Enfys, loving the makes with the gorgeous heart papers. Wow to that new machine, what will they come up with next! Loving your new photo lol.

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  3. Thank you so much for sharing some of the CHA excitement with all of us at home!

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  4. Hi Enfys I do envy you looking around that CHA exhibition what fun and lots of lovely goodies to view. Have a wonderful time. With love and hugs Shirleyxxxx

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  5. Great stuff Enfys. Would love to learn more about this Craftroom program. Enjoy.
    Marcie

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  6. Oh it looks like a lot of fun. I love the paper and your new picture is wonderful. Thanks for the update.

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  7. Thanks for the updates! It looks like you're having an awesome time, now that you've finally made it there. Didn't know you were taking a trip to Houston when you left, did you - lol! Hope you have better luck getting home.

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  8. The new papers from Kelly are beautiful. I agree about the screen being able to lay down when not in use but other than that the new machine sounds awesome.

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  9. Sounds like you are having a ball Enfys.
    hugs
    Marion

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  10. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful finds, I hope you are having fun. Love the picture of you and the bug. ~Diane

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  11. I bought that paper pad this week! So cute. My daughter made paper mugs for friends out of it today and took them to school. Thanks for the inspiration. I'm going to make valentines with it.

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  12. Thanks for posting. That big Cricut looks like a cutie pie!

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  13. Looks like you're having lots of fun and getting lots of info! Enjoy!
    Denise

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  14. Great photo Envys! What cartridge did they give in the bags? Yes you are right, nosey me! lol I'm with you on the screen, it should fold down. I don't think I like the touch screen idea, too many things to go wrong. I'd rather everything be mechanical, so there isn't so much to fix, if it breaks.
    I'm glad you're having a good time! Hugs, Jess

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  15. loving your CHA posts Enfys, can't wait for more! hugs Debx

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  16. Love oyour new bedtime buddy... and I'm also wondering why "limited quantity: of CE2???

    Interesting!!

    Have fun and thanks for keeping us updated!!!

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  17. wish I was with you. Not sure what to think of the new Cricut. Guess I'd be happy just to have time to play with the one I have. LOL

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  18. You have a beautiful smile. I am glad that you got to go to CHA and share it with us!
    oh...scrap

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  19. So glad you and Crickey are haveinf so much fun and learning so much about all the new have to haves. Looking forward to hearing more.

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  20. Great info! Sounds like you're having a great time, seeing wonderful new products etc. My question about the new Cricut is, if it doesn't need an overlay, what about those of us who need one? Will the new carts still come with one? I sure hope so, because us average Jo's can just go buying a new machine every year or two. will be interesting to see what they are doing with it.

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  21. Have a great time and pass on info when you get a chance!
    Blessings, Donna
    grandma4five

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  22. WOW, I am jealous, wish I was there too. Love the papers and projects. I think I love the new cricut but if I am going to spend that much I might as well buy an Imagine (except is isn't wifi enabled). Looking forward to hearing more about the Craft Room. Does that take the place of Design Studio???
    Your brain must be in overload.

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  23. Hi Enfys, Looks like a great time at CHA hope to find out more about the Cricut Craft Room, any info please would be welcome. Thanks Linda A

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  24. Hi Enfys any info on the new cricut Craft Room yet?
    Linda A

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  25. Wonderful creations and it certainly sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Love your new bed partner not quite sure what Mike will think of him though lol.
    Kim xXx

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  26. Such a cute pic of you and your bug!

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I love reading your comments, thank you for taking the time
Enfys x