CHA Whirlwind Trip!

Whew!  Kristin and I just returned from the 69th annual Craft & Hobby Association convention.  What a trip!  We managed to accomplish a lot within a very short period of time.  We always start the convention thinking,  How in the world are we going to fit everything in?'  Somehow, it all works out in the end!

We attended manufacturer receptions, met with reps, spent time with some of our digital designers and bought a TON of the greatest products released this season!

Stephanie Hunt of Bella Blvd and Heidi(ACOT)

I'm sure you've all seen the sneak peeks of the newest product lines out there.  If not, be sure to check out our CHA-Winter Preview section posted on our Message Board.  The prevalent themes this season?  Butterflies, bright colors and of course BLING!!!  Everything is still sparkly and glittery only done bigger and better!  

We were excited to see lovely lines from well established manufacturers like Basic Grey, Making Memories, My Mind's Eye and Fancy Pants!  But we're also thrilled with those companies like Bella Boulevard and Jillibean Soup who are just beginning to showcase their bright talent!  The paper crafting industry NEEDS fresh designers and start ups to breathe new inspiration into our projects!  We're happy to be able to bring new lines to you!

Heidi(ACOT) and designer Tim Holtz

Sus and Cindy of the Creative Team helped keep our Message Board hopping while we were away!  Kristin and I had a blast giving stuff away on our ACOT Facebook page and Twitter!  Thank you all for playing along with us!  We hope you had fun!  We have many other exciting things planned for you this year!  If you haven't already, be sure to use the links to the right to follow us on Twitter or find us on Facebook!  We've posted more pictures on Facebook as well!

Expect new products to begin arriving soon!

Win It Before You Can Buy It!

WIN a $20 Gift Certificate for the newest products from some of your favorite companies!

Kristin and I will be hopping a plane heading to the Craft & Hobby show this weekend!  While we're busy shopping and playing with all of the newest goodies, we thought it'd be fun to give some of it away even before we get back home!


$20 Gift Certificates will be given away for specific lines like Basic Grey, Bo-Bunny, Prima, Fancy Pants, MME and MORE...


Win it before you can buy it!!!


We'll be Tweeting and posting on Facebook all of the different lines we're buying in REAL TIME!  We'll be selecting random daily winners from those of you who reply to our Facebook posts OR Re-tweet our tweets!  If you do both - your chances of winning increases!

 

Thank you for your continued support & please tell your friends about ACOT!

A Cherry on Top will be donating a portion of our sales this week to the Red Cross to help those in need in Haiti.

Sketchapalooza Day Three!

Page Map Sketch

Designer:  Becky Fleck

Today's free sketch comes from Designer Becky Fleck!  I completely loved the layout of this sketch the moment I saw it!  Jess, Beth, Sarah and Sus tackle this project with focuses on themes like adult woman, baby, holiday and boy.

'Christmas Magic' by SarahA

'Aunt Lynn' by Beth

Sus' 'Best Buds' and Jess' 'Your Sweet Face'

Beautiful job, ladies!  View all of this week's sketch reveals HERE.

More to come next week!  

Sketchapalooza Day Two!

Sarah, Sus and Beth inspire us in Day #2 of our Spectacular Sketchapalooza!

Today's sketch comes from Kazan and Laura of 2sketches4you.blogspot.com where new sketches are offered weekly.   A big thank you to the 2sketches4you team!

 

Happy Valentine's Day Card by Beth-W

Sus, Beth-W and SarahA grab inspiration from the sketch to design beautiful cards.  Scrapbooking products used include lines from Pink Paislee, Basic Grey and SEI.

View Day Two of our Spectacular Sketchapalooza HERE!

Making A Scrapbooking Sketch Your Own

Sketch by Heather (Scrappininak) from the Message Board

Sus, Sarah and Beth place their own take a great scrapbooking layout sketch by Heather.  This mini 'Spectacular Sketchapalooza' will feature four different sketches being scrapped using various themes.  This week's themes include boy, women and Christmas!

 

Sus' 'Death Star' layout

See Sarah and Beth's ideas by checking out the complete Reveal HERE.  Be sure to check back for the next installation in this mini series!

  

 

KaiserCraft & My Mind's Eye CHA Winter Sneak Peeks!

We're loving all of the little sneak peeks the manufacturers are releasing right now!  CHA Winter is 9 days away.  We'll be sure to keep updating our CHA Sneak Peek forum as new information becomes available!  Here's a mini look at some new lines from KaiserCraft and My Mind's Eye!

KaiserCraft's 'Shaken Not Stirred'

My Mind's Eye's 'Lush Basics'

My Mind's Eye's 'Lil Robots'

Kaiser and MME both have a lot more to show us at the CHA Show!  Hopefully, Kristin and I will be able to continue to update our shopping spree as we go along.  Until then, be sure to take a look at our CHA Sneak Peek forum on our Message Board!

Digital Scrapbooking: Our CT Tackles Patterned Papers!

Advice:  Happiness by FairyMouseMom (Egle)

We're all familiar with using one piece of patterned paper along with maybe a coordinating cardstock or matching embellies.  But occasionally it's nice to mix it up by using a lot of patterned papers on one layout or project.  


In this reveal, our Digital Creative Team shows us how easy it can be to use several papers to create a stunning creation!

The Wright Stuff by Art_Teacher (Laura)

Check out the 9 other CT Creations in our 'Plenty of Patterns' Digi Reveal!  Whether you're a traditional or digital scrapbooker, you'll be sure to find inspiration and maybe some encouragement to use more patterns on your next project!

Great job, team!

CHA Sneak Peeks!

The Craft & Hobby Show Winter 2010 is quickly approaching!  Soon Kristin and I will hop on a plane heading for (hopefully) sunny California!  Here are just a couple 'Sneak Peeks' from Creative Imaginations and LYB!

 Creative Imagination's 'Birthday Bliss' 

Litte Yellow Bicycle's 'Fresh Print Clothesline'

Little Yellow Bicycle's 'Lucky Me' Collection

We're excited to see all of the newest releases that will soon fill our warehouse!  Our Creative Team is busy hunting down tons of other Sneak Peeks from all of your favorite manufacturers.  Be sure to check the CHA Preview forum on our Message Board often for all of the latest news! 

Meet January's Guest Paper CT Member!

A BIG Welcome to ACOT's December Guest Paper Creative Team Member - ScrapTag (aka: Teri)!  Teri has a degree in German and has lived in Austria.  She remembers making her first picture album at the age of ten.  A friend got her hooked on scrapbooking by attending crops.  Here's a glimpse at her Q&A:

What's your favorite scrapping tool to use when scrapbooking?  I couldn’t possibly have a favorite.  They are all so loved.  My scissors, my adhesive, my chalk, my stickles, my stamps and my Cricut!  I couldn’t do it without them.

What's the one thing you must have readily available when you sit down to scrap?I really need two, my adhesive and my trimmer.  I just couldn’t do it with out them.  But what I should say is, “my computer turned off”, because otherwise I just won’t get off the message board.

Favorite thing to do with your family?  Go on vacation.  It’s a time of the year when I don’t have to threaten them to get them to do something.  We are all relaxed and having a great time and the world is our oyster!

Teri worked with K&Company's 'Evergreen' line.  View Teri's complete interview and product reveal HERE!  Welcome Teri!

The Votes Have Been Tallied!

In December, Sus asked which challenge you'd like to see posted to kick off your New Year!  Well, the votes are in:

Resolution (must use items that spell out word):  8% voter response

Let's Hear It For 20-10! (a layout stating a personal goal):  23% voter response

Out With The Old-In With The New (use 2 older items & 2 newer items):  30% voter response

Black & White (layout using only Black & White):  40% voter response

If there are 30 entries then all of the below prizes will be awarded:
Overall Winner will receive a 25.00 GC to the ACOT store.
Paper runner up will receive a 10.00 GC to the ACOT store
Digital runner up will receive a digital designer prize pack or gc to the designers store.

The Black & White Challenge is now if full swing!  Click HERE for complete challenge details. 

We can't wait to see your submissions!  Winners to be announced February 2, 2010.

GOOD LUCK!

Happy New Year!

From all of us at ACOT, Happy New Year!