Laura Vegas

CHA happened a few weeks ago, in Phoenix, Arizona, and for the first time in five years, I was able to attend the show. Mendi Yoshikawa started Sunny Studio Stamps, her very own stamp company, a little over a year ago. I've known Mendi for several years, and was totally up for it when she asked if I, along with Becki Adams, wanted to come out and help her in her booth. This was her first time having a booth at CHA, and she did such an awesome job with it. It's hard to see all of the booth, in this photo, as we're blocking some of it. But Mendi created every single card in the booth! I was seriously impressed! 

Becki and I were able to sneak out of the booth here and there, to walk the floor a bit. In all of the previous years I attended CHA, I was never good at taking photos at the show. So I made sure to get lots of photos this time.

  

I made sure to stop at the Heidi Swapp booth, as I wanted to make sure to finally meet Kim Jeffress. We've been fans of each other's work for years, and she was even on the Bella team one year, but we never ended up at the show at the same time. It was so nice to finally meet my Australian friend in person after all these years.

It was also nice to meet Jen Evans, who was just the sweetest. I wish I had gotten some pictures with the rest of Heidi's team, as a few of them are designers that were either on the Bella team, or on Kerri Bradford's team with me. 

  

We had to stop by and see Vicki Boutin, as she was there with her brand new mixed media collection thru American Crafts. Vicki is so full of energy, and she's always been a blast to talk to and hang out with. And I loved seeing her excitement for her new products. She might even convince me to get a little "messy".

We had to stop by and see Shimelle, as she's got the cutest new collection with American Crafts. I want to say that it was one of my top two picks at the show, actually. I already have it all here, and I need to find some time to play with it soon.

So good to see the lovely ladies from Scrapbook & Cards Today. I've met Catherine before, and she is just the sweetest thing. Megan and I go way back to my Creating Keepsakes days, and I have worked a ton with her over the years, including teaching at CKU's together. She's just awesome.

And I was excited to finally meet Nicole Nowosad, after our years together at Scrapbook & Cards Today, and her year on the Bella team. She's got the absolute cutest accent, and I could listen to her talk all day.

  

Amy Tangerine and Liz Kartchner are always stops for me. They are both so genuinely nice, and it's always nice to chat with them and check out their new collections. I know I've said this in the past, but I can't remember if it was on my blog or on Instagram. When I sit down to scrap, with no guidelines and the freedom to use whatever I want to use – I've noticed that the majority of the time, I turn to their collections first. Always a fan of their designs.

  

Maggie Holmes and I go way back too. From our years together on the Making Memories design team, as well as our years together on the Creating Keepsakes Dream Team. She is amazingly talented, and super sweet.

It was also fun to see Jen Gallacher again, as it's been several years since I've seen her. I've always enjoyed chatting with her, as she's super knowledgeable about the industry, and always has good tidbits to share.

The Jillibean Soup girls! I just love them. Jill, Summer, and Kimber. I spent two years on the Jillibean Soup design team, shortly after they came into the industry, and I just loved it. I have always said that a stop by the Jillibean booth felt like "home" to me. I just always feel welcome when I'm there, and it's comfortable. And they're just all super cool chicks.

  

It was so fun to see everyone stop by Mendi's booth, and show her their support. Jennifer McQuire, along with Kathy Rac and Kristina Werner, came by and I just knew my BFF Deneen would be super jealous to see me with them in this photo (Deneen is a HUGE fan of these amazing stampers). It was also fun to see Diana Waite, who was a familiar face I would see every year I attended CHA. 

  

So glad I got to meet Patricia Roebuck, as I've been a big fan of her work for years and have worked with her here and there thru Bella Blvd. It's always fun to hear what everyone is up too, and I loved chatting with Patricia about her new adventures.

And Becki. I just love Becki, and she's truly one of my closest friends. She was on the Bella team for four years with me, and we became really good friends over those years. It was so awesome to finally meet her in person, and get to hang out together for a few days. 

I'd like to thank Mendi for the opportunity to travel to the show, and help out in her booth. It was such a fun experience, and I just loved being surrounded in the creative industry again. It's always something to be amongst such talented designers, surrounded by new products and creative projects using those new products. It's inspiring, to say the least. And just what I needed, as it reminded me that I miss being a part of the industry. Not sure what I'll do about that, but I do miss it.