brainstorming

Sorry for being a little late...what a whirlwind week this has been! I've been on the road for the past eight days and have been reminded of what makes this industry tick - and I'm so inspired!

I spent last weekend in Chicago for Summer CHA - talk about an overload of fantabulousness!! CHA is the industry trade show for all things craft...scrapbooking, quilting, jewelry making, stamping, needlecraft, framing, paper crafting...it is HEAVEN for people like us who just can't get enough patterned paper and pretty ribbons and fun new tools! Of course I forgot to bring along my camera cord so I could show you some photos ;) but it is always so interesting to see what new products are out there and what the new trends seem to be for the upcoming season. Summer CHA is also when companies release their holiday lines - so there were Fall and Halloween and Christmas products GALORE! It's enough to put a girl in the mood for winter...especially in the 100 degree heat!! My favorite thing about CHA is seeing friends from other companies and getting to spend some time enjoying each other's company. It is like a high school reunion - except you don't have to diet beforehand! :)

From Chicago I headed to Scottsdale, AZ (where it was 106 degrees yesterday!!) for a week of brainstorming at Xyron. It is SO exciting to get a bunch of creative minds together to talk about the industry and come up with new product ideas...and we were TICKLED to have the chance to invite a handful of IRW girls to join us in Scottsdale for the week to participate. They really brought a breath of fresh air and a new perspective to the process - and it didn't hurt that we LOVE them and were happy just to get to spend time with them!! They are headed home this morning and I am off to shoot a whole gaggle of Xyron videos for the website. If you have never checked it out - Xyron has some DARLING projects and product tutorials available on their website (I am the tall goofy looking one with the short blond hair ;)):

http://www.xyron.com/enUS/CampaignsHome/Inspiration_In_Motion.html

I am reshooting the product tutorials today and adding some new projects - so check back in a few weeks to see what we've come up with!

Have a wonderful week everybody...hope you are enjoying those last few weeks of summer!!