Sheila, I do think that some of the companies are collaborating on the booths to save money on the rental costs for their booths. I am sure it is a huge cost to them. That Stamping Village (with hero arts and lawn fawn and others) I think is one of the major ones to do this.
In my craft group, most of the people who go there are scrapbookers, so I think that all the booths with the paper collections would maybe appeal to all of them, and maybe they really outnumber the stampers? The paper collections rarely excite me, even if I really like them.
I didn’t notice the yarn booths!
Stampendous’ new line of stamps to go with her educational watercoloring series is what most interests me. I do plan to buy some of the stuff to play along (although you still have a week to comment on her recent videos to hopefully win some of the supplies). I am really impressed with her videos and she does seem to be marketing to some people who have not stamped or made cards before. I think that is what the companies really need to be trying to reach out to that group.
That Tim Holtz bulb is so silly, the more I think about it, but I am sure he is going to sell a bunch to his personal fans. I wonder if he thought about that most of the crafters are women with a bit smaller hands than him.