Day 7 -- Las Vegas

Wednesday, Feb. 1st

Well, this will be another short post. Why? Because I can't give away too much again. Also, Wednesday was a *very* strange day. The moment I arrived at the convention center, I could tell immediately that it was not half as busy as it had been on Tuesday. Whereas on Tuesday there was no room to walk or breathe, on Wednesday, the place felt like a ghost town. I can only imagine what it was like on Thursday. Was anyone there on Thursday? I'm waiting for pictures before I believe it!

I walked the show room floor for a while before I went to the press room for lunch. I wanted desperately to find the SugarVeil booth again. They weren't listed on the map or in the show guide book, so it wasn't easy... and in fact, I never found it again. I'll have to call or email the owner if I want to talk to her again, and I *do* want to talk to her again. I'm still convinced that there are scrappers out there who would love her product; they just need to see how it connects to papercrafting. I hope she finds a designer to create those illustrative models for the next trade show!

I did go to the press room early for lunch -- Monday and Tuesday were learning experiences, and I knew that they would run out of food early. (Especially Diet Pepsi!!!!) I went upstairs around 11:00 for lunch, and I had a great roast beef sandwich yet again. It's nice to be a freelancer!

Also, I found some great info sitting on one of the tables that time -- and I spent my lunch time reading about some interesting companies in the New Exhibitors area. Woo hoo! New stuff to drool over!

But after the busy-ness of Tuesday, Wednesday was a little lonely. Sniffle! I missed my ringing phone and all those meetings from Tuesday!

When I went downstairs, I found Kathi almost immediately. Let me just say this: Kathi is a *great* person to tour a showroom floor with. She has phenomenal taste and style, and she doesn't hesitate to share her opinion. After talking for a while -- and I gave her some replacement Blister Band-Aids for the ones she gave me Tuesday -- we went inside and headed for the New Exhibitors area.

And oh! What a glorious day we had!!!!!

I can't tell you *too* much, but my All-Time Favorite Find was the KeenCut booth.

People who know me well know that the one paper trimmer I have always wanted the most was the big, honkin', counter-mounted, paper-trimming *monster* at Kinko's. OMG. Have you ever used that thing? It's *magnificent*. It's a *machine*. It cuts paper like nobody's business, and it is *always* absolutely *perfect*. Long have I extolled the virtues of that massive paper-trimmer....

And much to my delight, KeenCut is finally going to be marketing to CONSUMERS!!!!!!!!

YAY, US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think the sales guy to whom I spoke understood that I was already a fan of his machine. He was really looking for buyers, not writers. But I got his card and a catalog, and I got a price -- the 15" KeenCut trimmer is... $225!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's put this in perspective: The KeenCut blades last six months at your average Kinko's.

Can you try to imagine how long such a blade would last in *regular* crafter's conditions???? We're talking... LIFETIME!!!!!!!!!!!

I am very excited.

Kathi and I also stopped at the Carson-Dellosa booth again -- ROFL -- actually, one of the girls was gesturing to me in a psychic way. When I went over and asked her what she was doing, she said I didn't buy anything the day before! That's when I broke the bad news to her -- I'm not a buyer; I'm a writer! She was really sweet, anyway, and she gave me a used copy of the new "Memorabilia Matters" book from their shelves. Eeeeeeeeee! Antuanette didn't even have a copy yet; but I did!!!!! The photos are pictured above! You can get your own copy at many sellers; the cover price is only $16.99 U.S. -- quite a nice price for an idea book.

During my time in the New Exhibitors area, I ran into Erikia (eeeee!) and Melissa Inman and Jodi Amidei. It was lovely to see people I recognized, and I can only hope they were as ecstatic as I to find the KeenCut booth. Also, Erikia complimented on my top. Tee hee!

See, on Wednesday, I wore my new outfit -- a camisole with a cover-up. All day long, strangers were complimenting me on my clothes. I had surely been irritated by the line at Lane Bryant the night before, but I surely was glad I bought that top once I got to the show on Wednesday. That top was an attention-getter! I felt gorgeous all day long.

Back in the scrapbooking room, I still couldn't find SugarVeil, but I stopped by the Karen Foster booth to say thank you. Last year when I was writing a tool review, several people were really helpful in the research department, and I wanted to let them know that I appreciated 'em. I found Stacy in the Flair booth, and she was a sweetheart. I said goodbye and hugged her.

Later in the afternoon, I watched Erikia start her demo at the Ranger booth. She is so good! Before she started, she asked me what I would be doing that night, and I told her that Amy and I still needed to go to the Tropicana to do dinner at the coffee shop and the Titanic display.

Whereupon -- OK, this may be too outdated a comment. But my mother used to say, "Someone unplugged her iron lung." Do you have any idea what I'm talking about? Erikia sucked in her breath dramatically and said, "Oh! I would love to see that!!!!!!!"

I cannot resist Erikia. She is such a dear girl. I heard her squeal and invited her to come with me and Amy to the Titanic exhibit. She said she had been invited to hang out with some other designers at the New York New York casino, and I said that the Tropicana was a short walk from there (they're on opposite corners). So we made plans to meet that evening for a ride to the Trop and the Titanic exhibit.

I watched Erikia start her demo with the Sea Shells inks, and then went on trying to find the SugarVeil people. I called Kathi's phone several times -- by now, we had been separated -- but no one answered. I finally went to the AccuCut booth.

Tammy had been instrumental in my tools article last year, so I was determined to meet her, and I was so glad that I finally did get to meet her in person. She was a sweetheart!!!!!!!! I love AccuCut. I know that AccuCut isn't the current darling of the scrapbooking industry, but I do believe it should be. They are consistent and reliable, and their machines are good. Tammy is also an absolute dream to work with when you need good info. I was just really happy to finally meet her!!!! I showed her the layout in the Memorabilia Matters book, too, which was a nice little cap to the meeting. She was a sweetheart!!!!!!!!

Then I dashed by the F&W booth for the last time. Every time I had been by there, I hadn't recognized a soul, which was disheartening, considering how many articles I'd written for Memory Makers in the past. I was stopped by two authors of books on interesting topics, one of which was an art journal book, but they were out of that. However, they still had bites of cake left, and I had a bite and it was FABULOUS!! I'm not sure what the book is or who they were, but dang if I don't want that cake recipe. While I was chatting with them, I noticed Debbie Mock talking with someone, and I waited long enough to talk to her.

Debbie was everything I'd ever heard she was and more -- a really lovely lady, and so gracious and kind, even though it was obvious that she was exhausted. I'm sure that people like Debbie had to be more tired than I was, and I was worn out. Debbie and I talked for a few minutes -- she also was bummed that she had not heard about the Titanic exhibit at the Tropicana -- and we talked a little about what we had seen at the show so far, and that it was all literally overwhelming. Then we said goodbye, and I left the convention center.

To be continued....