The Craft And Hobby Association’s (CHA) Winter Trade Show is the largest of its kind. Manufacturers from all over the globe gather to unveil their new releases for the year and also showcase all the old favorites. It’s a product lover’s dream come true.

I always enjoy seeing all the upcoming delights and wanted to share a few of my favorite things from the show. Here’s my list of top new craft products for 2010:

1. The Provo Craft Cricut Cake™ Personal Electronic Cutter is specifically designed for decorating professional-looking cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and confections in no time at all. Just choose a shape, a size, and press CUT. Decorating like a professional has never been faster or easier. Bon Appetit!

2. The new hands-free Slice from Making Memories is a multitasker’s dream-come-true!  The Hands-Free Kit includes a magnetized collar that slips around any existing Slice, as well as a complementary 12” x 12” magnetized mat that accommodates digital cutting blades, drawing tips or glue tips on one side, and embossing tips on the other. The strong magnets attract one another on the board, enabling you to select your design, push a button, and be free.



3. Everything old is new again! Ranger is introducing a colorful new collection of Tim Holtz® Distress Inks! The 12 colors were selected to complement our original line of Inks–expanding the Distress palette to an exciting 36 colors.



4. Decorate your digital world! BasicGrey is introducing their hottest, most original and innovate venture to date – the new, dynamic digital elements! They are releasing over 150 digital items – a vibrant variety of patterns, brushes, quick pages, blog templates, wallpapers, and much more.



5. New from American Crafts, Dear Lizzy is a fun and fanciful spring-themed line, inspired by the concept of an outdoor tea party. This collection features new and unique products like fabric paper, crocheted flowers and multi-color Thickers accents along with favorites like patterned paper, rub-on sheets, stickers, layered embellishments, stamps and assorted Elements.



6. While everyone went wild over all things Webster’s Pages, I was most impressed with their unique trims. Delicious blooms of floral trim, dainty laces and delicate satin scallops made my mouth water. I’m also very much in love with the new lines but it was the tactile reaction from the trims that made my fingers yearn for more.



7. Printed paper tape never looked so good! Pink Paislee’s new artisan tape rolls can be used to create a border, secure photo corners, seal a love letter, wrap a gift and more. It is hard to think of all the ways these fun designs can be used. Each tape roll includes five meters of 3/4″ wide tape. The best part is they fit on any standard tape dispenser so you can sprinkle them around the office too!



8. A rich new addition to the 7gypsies lineup, stationery so beautiful you'll want to go back to the days when a handwritten letter was the most treasured method of sharing one's thoughts. Each of the delectable sets comes with coordinating double sided papers, labels, tags and envelopes. You'll flip when you open the envelopes and find a vintage-inspired pattern inside.



9. Altering the crafting world is the newest officially licensed product line for Sizzix from none other than Tim Holtz. Tim's revolutionary Alterations line for Sizzix includes his On the Edge Die releases for cutting eye-popping edges for cards, scrapbook pages, mini books and more. Tim’s Texture Fades Embossing Folders are genuinely grunge-inspired and emboss in such a way that select areas of the image appear perfectly faded and distressed.



10. BasicGrey’s on-going solution to everyday scrapbooking is the new Basics line:

It’s the talk of the town, the cat’s pajamas. Beige is the new black. That’s because Basic is definitely not boring when it’s the Basic Kraft collection, a cool gathering of neutral shades guaranteed to spice up your next project. 

 Check your local stores and get your requests in early. I have a feeling these are going to go fast. Here’s list of retailers near you http://scrapbooking.com/directory/. You can take a coupon along and save yourself a few bucks. Penny pinchers click here, http://scrapbooking.com/cgi-bin/Phase_2/coupons.pl for valuable coupons from our Premiere Stores.

 Don’t forget all the great ideas and products that are stuffed into our February issue. Look no further for Valentine’s ideas and love layouts. But if public displays of affection make you gag, there is plenty of everything for your inspiration. Enjoy!

Jami Petersen
Editor in Chief
jpetersen@a-z.com