Newest Products in Scrapbooking Alicia Bull March 4, 2005 Every year scrapbookers anxiously await February in anticipation of the new product release that occurs within the industry. Most major product releases occur all in one single month. Talk about product overload from a consumer’s point of view. How do we even begin to figure out what new products we really need (or even like)? To help us all out, I traveled to Atlanta for CHA’s (Craft and Hobby Association) 64th Convention Tradeshow in February. There were around 1,100 craft vendors there with the latest and the greatest. I took pen and paper and cruised the convention floor searching for the new companies that caught my eye and the old companies that were flashing a new look. My first observation from the convention is that a trend is occurring in style. For a few years running darker colors, aged products, a weathered and tapered look was in. I still saw that style a bit here and there but for the most part a new fresh, clean and bright look is dominating the industry. COLOR—it is all about strong bright color with a lot of geometric shapes intertwined. Circles are everywhere. Fibers are an element holding strong with a huge emphasis on ribbon and a newly released line from Gin-X that incorporates torn strips of fabric to be used in place of fibers. People are incorporating some type of fiber or material onto almost every layout published. One of my favorite products is paper that really isn’t paper. Basically, lines that have turned fabric, canvas, cotton, metal and other materials into paper for scrapbooking. These materials really draw my interest. You can achieve a realistic look on your scrapbook pages with these special products. The companies have catered to our need for thinking outside of the box on our scrapbook pages yet keeping it safe for our photos. Some of my favorite companies that have those types of products are www.fibermark.com, www.cottoncrops.com and www.grafixarts.com. New tools are everywhere but my personal favorite is the Creative Cutter (www.pazzles.com). It allows you to create words, titles or shapes on your computer that this machine will then cut out. The machine is an expensive toy but its capabilities are seemingly endless. It has the ability to not just cut but to engrave, draw, emboss and punch holes. I think retail stores will be moving toward a more advanced system like this so that they can offer customers personalized die cuts. If you are looking for some fun new paper lines I was really impressed with a new company called Fancy Pants (www.fancypantsdesigns.com ). Her line has soft pastels to trendy brights. She incorporates circles and stripes to make an adorable line of matching papers. Some other paper companies I was impressed with were Scenic Route (www.scenicroutepaper.com), Center City Design (www.blockheadstamps.com/paper-center-city.html) and Basic Grey (www.basicgrey.com). As always, SEI (www.shopsei.com) had an amazing line of products. They are one of the most senior companies in the industry yet they continue to release beautiful products over and over again. I hope you enjoy the new products out on the market and enjoy the new bright choices you are given. It is an ever-changing industry and I am thrilled with the new fresh look of my own pages as a result! Next month we will talk about scrapbook techniques. How do they do that? I’ll fill you in!

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Jeff Radel, CRS 'Make a Smart Move' House of Brokers Realty, Inc. 1515 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 Phone: 573-446-6529 Fax: 573-446-5408 jefrealtor@aol.com Website			Donna Adams, GRI, ABR 'Make A Smart Move!!!' House of Brokers Realty, Inc. 1515 Chapel Hill Rd. Columbia, MO 65203 Phone: 573-446-6530 Fax: 573-446-5408 dadams@houseofbrokers.com Website