Every January Finders Keepers attends the CHA Mega Show. This year, the Craft & Hobby Association became the Association for Creative Industries (AFCI) and the CHA Mega Show became Creativation and the Anaheim Convention Center became the Phoenix Convention Center! So, yeah, tons of changes.

We were super excited. We really plan our entire year around this crazy, creative event. Check out our State of the Paper Address (where we talk about our upcoming trip to Phoenix) here.

But one thing was the same–it was loaded, top to bottom, right to left, with booths that overflowed with all things crafty. There were all the vendors we have come to know and love (Becky Higgins, Heidi Swapp, Bo Bunny), as well as some new (to us) companies, like My Colors, Lawn Fawn and Concord & 9th. We had 5 days to see everything, set up accounts and place orders for the year and it took every minute to get it done.

It was some serious fun and some really serious work (walking the floor all day and then staying up late in our hotel room planning out this year’s offerings). There was so much to choose from, it was all a bit overwhelming. And now we would like to share with you this year’s Finders Keepers Creativation Top “Ten” (which is actually 15–we just couldn’t narrow it down!)

So, here it is, this year’s…

Finders Keepers’ Creativation Top “Ten” (actually 15):

	Allton’s confetti tubes. We love the Go Washi line and so we stopped by the Allton booth to visit with James and his peeps. Well, we came for the washi, but stayed for the confetti! Check this out: little tubes of shiney bits. It’s not glitter and it’s not sequins. But whatever it is, we LOVE it.
	Silhouette’s Curio. It’s no secret that we love our Silhouettes. Nary a day goes by that we aren’t setting up the ol’ Cameo for a cutting session. In fact, cutting bits of paper into smaller bits of paper is one of our greatest joys. Enter the Curio. The Curio is an etching machine that can take any design you can come up with (or download) and etch it into aluminium, copper, brass, leather, foam and foils, to name a few. It can etch, stipple, cut, emboss and score. In short, it’s awesome and we love it. Aaaannnnd…we got our logo etched into black aluminium. So. Yeah.
	It’s a Deer Made of Yarn Sooooo….every year we love to check out the yarn displays because they are always over the top. And this year did not disappoint. Seriously. Bernat knitted a lodge.
	Bo Bunny’s Balls by Pentart We know. That sounds strange. But check out the terrific effect of mixing these balls with acrylic paint! They are super easy to work with and, really, create endless possibilities for those of us who enjoy multi media projects. In fact, all of the Pentart products are pretty wonderful. If you get the chance, please check them out! You will not regret it. That Bunny’s got balls! Check out our visit with Bo Bunny here.
	100 lb Cardstock by My Colors Here’s how we found My Colors. We were goofing off on the escalator and this lady we had never met before just jumped right in and joined in the fun. That’s how we met Julie, who turned out to be the sales rep for this really great company with the most yummy cardstock. Check out our offerings this year–especially the card making bundles–and see if you can feel the difference. We bet you will.
	Tiny Office Dies by Maya Road It’s no secret that we love office supplies. And tiny things. And tiny office supplies. So Maya Road went and did it–they created some dies that make itsy bitsy file folders and whatnot. We almost lost our minds when we saw these. Look for them in our shop and featured in several of our upcoming kits. Check out our visit with Maya Road here.
	Highlighter Gelatos by Faber Castel Speaking of office supplies, Faber Castel has jumped on board the planner train with this new collection of gelatos, inspired by the hues of your favorite highlighter pens. They look terrific on the page and will make your calendar a work of art.
	Confetti/sequin/bead mix from Buttons Galore We have been looking for something special to accent our kits, and when we stumbled into the Buttons Galore booth (which we literally did–almost took out an entire display), it was like we had come home. This is the product that we never knew we always wanted. And we just know you’ll love it, too.
	This Cake Stand by Sweet Tooth Fairy Whether your baking leans more toward Tollhouse cookies, or thematic cupcakes decorated with complete abandon, this is the stand for you. Stores like a dream, comes together in seconds, super functional. You can see the cake stand come together in this video.
	Chameleon Pens This booth was one of our last stops. (We actually went there because there was a coupon for a free pen in our loot bag and who’s to argue with that?) But once we got there, we were forever trapped in their web of inkiness. These pens are crazy cool. There is this blending tip that “kisses” the ink nib and then, as you color, it blends a light to dark version of that ink. This is dark magic, people. And you will want to check out these pens. See out demo video here.
	Molly and Kari at Project Life We just love these people. We have kind of a papercrafting “same time next year” thing going on with them. They are a really wonderful group of people working for a terrific company. This year, they have come up with a new Project 52 core kit (which comes in both physical cards and digital ones), called Fresh. And it is.
	Domestic Bliss by Simple Stories Simple Stories has a terrific knack for taking a simple idea and developing it with wit and grace into a line of products. Domestic Bliss is a line of papers and stickers that celebrates the every day of homemaking. We love the “Messy Bun and Getting It Done” cards and the houseplant doodles. The colors are really playful and the graphics are clever and fun.
	The Planner Punch Board by We R Memory Keepers Okay. Check this out. It is a punch board that can punch paper for your planner, no matter what kind you have. That’s right. You can punch for spiral, disc or ring bound planners. It’s so easy to use and comes with the punches for the ring bound planner. The other punches are sold separately to keep the price reasonable. See it here.
	Heidi Swapp’s Letter Board Leave it to Heidi Swapp to come up with another fabulous, useful, versatile and beautiful product for the home. These letter boards are just so charming, it was kind of agonizing trying to choose just one. And then there’s the alphabets that go with them. And we had to choose a style and color. So we got, like, six. We know. Excessive. But wait until you see our beautiful displays!
	And here it is: (drum roll please) Hedgehugs by Lawn Fawn Lawn Fawn has been around for something like 7 years, so it’s not exactly new, but we kind of rediscovered it this year. And just check out this stamp set, please. First of all, hedgehogs. Then, look at what you can do with it! We love this stamp set so much, we are creating a whole new line of offerings for our store. Stay posted, because this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship! Check out our visit with Lawn Fawn here.

	Bonus Faves: We met two fairly new companies that are worth a mention:
	Concord & 9th is a stamp company that really shines. Their sentiments are beautiful, their stamp sets are super versatile and their fonts are absolutely dreamy. Check out their Sophisticated Script Alphabet here. The letters can link. And that, my friends, is Finders Keepers Cool.
	1 Canoe 2 is partnering with American Crafts to bring their line of scrapbook papers, stickers and ephemera to market. Their Hazelwood collection brings together vintage butterflies with classic, modern colors to create something really unique and truly beautiful.

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