CHA 2014: Adventures of a Newbie at Scrapbooking’s Biggest Event (Quick Look Part 1)

So now that I’ve done the INTRO POST, today I want to say, “CHA: Day One”.

But.
There was only
one day
for me.

Sooooo . . . “CHA: First Part of THE Day.” See? Doesn’t sound as impressive. Oh well. Here we go.

On CHA Day, I woke up at 3:30am. It was like I was 8 and it was Christmas morning. I did need to get up early but that was RUH-DIK. I left my house at 5:20, prepped with a full tank of gas and a large coffee. There were some very good omens that signaled a great day. When I turned my car on in the morning, the radio was playing the beginning of a Journey song. Dude. So awesome. {If you’re new here, I’m obsessed with JOURNEY}. And I got to watch the sun rise over Santa Barbara.

Later, as I drove through Hollywood, on the other side of the freeway there was a cascade of bougainvillea hanging over the tall cement wall, like these.

And they were in a heart shape :) {I’m so obsessed with HEARTS, they also have their own Pinterest board}.

Yeah, I felt like it was going to be a very good day indeed.

I arrived in Anaheim around 9:30. The convention center is right by Disneyland and normally I would’ve been SO sad that I couldn’t join all the people going there. But, hey, I was going to Scrapbooking Disneyland and that’s even better! I was so excited that I totally forgot which direction the parking lot lady said to go so I went straight and it all worked out. Phew! After parking (again, still so excited I forgot to note which section I was in = regret later), I asked the guy entering the stairwell before me, “Which way do we go, up or down?” and he said, “I always just follow the light so that means up.” I thought that was a good match for my feelings of the day: I was going toward the light. {The sound of angels singing}. I was about to enter scrappy heaven!

The conference center lobby is huge so I just followed people who looked like craftsy types, LOL. Lots of people had brought rolling tote bags, which is wicked smart. I only had my purse and, like a dummy, I had even downsized it so it would be lighter. {I would later regret this, too}. I checked in which you don’t even have to talk to a real person for! The week before CHA, they e-mail you a QR entry code and, using the CHA app, you just hold it up to the machine. I got my badge, checked out the big board, loving how everything was so bright and cheerful and the scene was buzzing!

Note: I’m apologizing now. Most of my photos were taken with my iPhone because I was having camera problems. The photo quality is not great; I realize that and I’m sorry! But like I said in my LAST ENTRY, there are TONS of great CHA photos and videos online. My goal is to share photos that illustrate my day and so I can reference scrapbook products I’m commenting on. I hope that’s not too much of a bummer!

I stopped to take a few pics as I walked into CHA for the very first (and hopefully not last) time! And who was there, front and center??? MARTHA, of course! It’s always Martha, Martha, Martha!

First, I decided to take a cruise around and get the lay of the land, and note the booths I wanted to go back to.

Okay, I’m going to stop photos here for now. As you can see, the place is massive. All these scrapbooking companies are interspersed with other crafts – beads, sewing, yarn, paints, etc. You get a workout, that’s for sure! I made use of that charging station area because my iPhone died and, as I was counting on it to be my camera, that was NOT acceptable, LOL! There were plenty of food vendors right in the CHA area; I got a fruit cup for $5 but they had lots of good-looking hot food, too. I got an Aquafina from a vending machine for $2.50 (just giving you an idea of prices for when YOU go :). I was surprised that the Fancy Pants booth was so small but it was cute!

Okay, I’ll have more “quick look” photos next time, then we’ll start getting in depth with specific companies in the posts after that. Talk soon!