Well, I can't believe that I am already back from CHA. It was such a whirlwind of workshops, seminars and floor walking to find the latest and greatest products and the newest trends we can expect to see this year. Today's report will only be on the paper front. So here's some of my favourites: Firstly, I just couldn't go past Graphic 45 - a beautiful range of double-sided vintage papers in muted tones. This was such an eye catching display that I just couldn't leave this booth without photographing the old telephone box (with permission, of course!) This is a range that is sure to be popular this year - they had run out of catalogues early on day 3! Another which took my eye was " Wild Things " from Imaginisce. This is a cute range of coordinating papers, stickers and rubber stamps featuring lions, tigers, elephants, pandas and more. What I loved most about this range was the matching stamps and stickers..... so very, very cute!! I also fell in love with...

I'll madly preparing for CHA (the giant US craft trade show) at the end of this week. It is truly a crafter's paradise - 4 exhibition halls packed with the latest and greatest craft products to hit the market..... I'm so excited! One of the really cool things about this show is the excellent workshops that are held over 4 days - some taught by really well known crafters and others by not so well-known crafters but each is an expert teacher. I always look forward to this part of the show as I get to be the student for a change and learn how to use some of the new products. One of the hardest parts though, is that it's a trade show so you can't just buy the latest tool that you just saw demonstrated or that perfect piece of paper or embellishment to finish off the project you've been working on..... you have to wait until it's available at your local retail outlet to get your hands on it. Still, it's great to have a heads up on what will be heading to our...

A while back I posted an entry about Amaco's 90th birthday and their Friendly Plastic Challenge. Well, the entries are now all in and are ready for judging. Want some Friendly Plastic eye candy to keep you going until the judging has taken place? Then check out the AMACO website . Friendly Plastic is set to explode onto the craft scene this year. Some of you might remember when it was around many, many years ago but to many crafters (me included) it is a new medium to play with. I promise you it's a really fun material to use and it's very addictive. It's one of those products which can be used in a range of crafts, from papercrafting, to off the page pieces, jewellery design and even textile work. And I'm sure that there are more ideas out there just waiting to be discovered. So keep your eyes out for those pretty metallic sticks as more and more retailers begin to stock this fabulous product in the coming months....

How quickly the Christmas break came and went! We saw the New Year in with a bang.... we were like little kids and let off a whole bag of those little poppers with the pretty streamers inside - we popped the lot! We also popped a couple of champagne corks because bubbles are just plain fun! And what better way to ring in the New Year than with fun and laughter. Unfortunately that also signalled the end of the holidays and we were back to work a couple of days later. But I put those last couple of days to good use and had fun casting resin bangles and rings. Firstly, a fluoro yellow Geo bangle and a wide flat ring. What a fun colour! I've buffed this one to a high polish to show off its translucence but it also made the bubbles more noticeable (argh!..... contamination!). But WOW, how the colour pops?!! Here's the second bangle and ring I poured - a turquoise cuff and matching ring. I just LOVE this colour. The photo hasn't quite picked up the true colour of the turquois...

After the hectic Christmas period, I've found some time in the last few days to play around with resin again. I really love making these bangles and I have a couple of new moulds that I've been busting to use - a flat bangle and a flat ring. I've been wanting to create some pastel coloured pieces for a while so that's where I started..... a lovely shade of mint green using the flat bangle and matching ring mould. The marbling I'd been hoping for didn't quite happen but I love the little bit of marbling that did occur.... such a pretty shade of mint! Here are the others I finished this week: Pretty pastel pink and translucent red. A spotted translucent orange which has a lovely golden glow. And this, my last piece for 2008. I decided to have a little fun with this photo and used a prop to add some colour.... love the effect. The bangle is actually clear and is filled with gold leaf but I love the pink glow from the LEDs in the base of the glass - a fun look for N...