what is hot and what is not?

Have you been looking at the vast array of recent scrapbook papers and embellishments and wondering how you were going to fit all that cool stuff in your already overstuffed workspace? Have you noticed how many new companies appeared at CHA this February? And how many others have either disappeared or have been bought out by larger companies? Some of this has to do with creating and following trends. Those who stay in front of the trends are more able to compete. But what about us who are expected to follow? Will our kids really understand our fixation with putting owls around all their photos during that trend?

There are some trends that are pretty obvious and easy to like, such as die cut paper edges and anything "office" -- from ledger paper to page tabs. Then there are others that call to us but are harder to use successfully, such as transparencies. As you approach your next layouts and projects, think about whether you notice the market trends and which ones you enjoy using the most. Although I am only a follower of "what is hot and what is not" in the market, I have rounded up a list of a dozen trends that are fun for me to use:

1. Die cut paper edges used inside a layout
2. Lots of bird and butterfly embellishments
3. Embellishments clustered and layered to add focus and weight
4. Embellishments with texture and dimension (chipboard, felt,
distressed edges, layered flowers)
5. Bold paper patterns used in smaller blocks
6. Energetic mixing of pattern papers
7. Office look (ledger paper, graph paper, die cut journaling blocks,
tabs, clips, torn notebook edges)
8. Rounded corners and scalloped edges
9. Shapes cut from patterned paper (die cut or hand cut)
10. Rub-ons and other embellishments like bling used on top of photos
11. Acrylic alphabet stamping mixed with other alphabets
12. Sewing notions (fabric blocks, stitching, pompom trims, buttons, ric rac)

There are so many more . . . Tell us which are your favorites (and which aren't!).
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