Well, here it is Monday already, I have a ton to do, and I barely got anything done over the weekend. I was really hoping with all the crops I attended, that I would at least finish a few scrapbook pages, but noooooo…the best I could do was start two different layouts and tinker with a little of this and a little of that. I should have known my plans would be thwarted from the get-go.

It all started on Monday with an impromptu trip out of town on business at a local scrapbooking store…a scrapbook store that just happened to be hosting a garage sale this week. So of course, I had to look. I found a Scrap Rack for $50 and I grabbed it. I had been eye-balling the Scrap Rack storage system for quite some time now, but it has never been at a price I could afford. So when I saw it for $50, of course I had to have it!

I also happened to have company in town all week -- a dear friend I hadn't seen in close to 15 years. She stayed with me through Thursday, and we spent our time chatting away with her sewing while I was preparing embellishment kits and flyers for 75 participants of the Croppin’ for Cops benefit. In the mean time, I’m also fielding calls and emails about the cruise, Pam’s Pals, and our garage sale next weekend. So I really didn’t have time to pack for my crops, much less load up the Scrap Rack. I wound up just shoving everything into some totes and rolling them out the door.

At the first crop on Saturday night (Dallas Crafters Marathon), after spending and hour and a half on the phone with business, I started unpacking my stuff only to find that I left my tool caddy at home. I did not have a single pair of scissors, no adhesive, no nothing! I was not about to drive all the way home to get it, especially since I was already an hour late getting there before I had the phone calls. It was 9:30 and the crop ended at midnight. So I dug out some of the parts for the Scrap Rack and spent my time sorting through my supplies and visiting with the other crafters and croppers.

I was late to my Saturday crop, too. This one was the Croppin’ for Cops event to benefit the Dallas Assist the Officer Foundation. This is a great organization that helps police officers that have been injured or have an illness or other tragic event. I believe there were around 75 croppers and they raised about $5000.

While I was there, I started working on my smash book a little. It took me a long time to unload and set up my supplies, so I didn’t get much done before it was time for lunch. After lunch, I started to work on my cruise album that’s been in progress since 2007, but I realized I left some of my completed pages at home and needed to have them on hand to see where I left off. (What is it with me and leaving supplies behind?) Luckily, I thought to bring the supplies to work on my Pam’s Pals pages, so I started one of those in time for dinner. After dinner, I worked on it some more, but was interrupted by the prize drawings (I won a scarf vest made by our very own Pam Wilemon via her JWay Desinz – it will be perfect for wearing on the cruise in September!). Needless to say, I did not get much of anything else done, either, and I didn’t even finish the one scrapbook layout that I started because I couldn’t find a bag of flowers that I know I had the night before.

Sunday was no different. I just left all my supplies in the car over-night and went back to the Dallas Crafters Marathon on Sunday. I was tempted just to stay home because I knew I wouldn’t get much work done, but I needed to deliver some flyers to the organizers so they could take them to Grapevine for the Heirloom Stamp Convention on July 14 and 15^th. I spent most of my time chatting with other crafters and working on one cruise layout that I also didn’t finish. I had a great time.

All in all, it was a very productive weekend. How can I say that, you might ask, considering that I did not finish even one scrapbook page. My answer is simple – because crafting groups and scrapbook crops are not just about getting massive quantities of scrapbooking done in one sitting. It’s about networking with other crafters, learning from each other, sharing ideas, promoting our individual businesses, and just finding out what crafters want and expect from such an event. It’s also about visiting with friends and just relaxing and having fun so that the playful and creative side of all of us has the freedom to come out and play. I needed a weekend like that. And I can’t imagine a better group of ladies with whom to share it.

In the process of my non-productive crop weekend, I learned how to set-up and use my ScrapRack from a friend, I booked two cabins for our scrapbooking cruise (and talked to two more ladies about joining us), I discussed booking a Cricut workshop here at the Crafty Neighbor Studios, and met the owner of Priceless Memories retreat (a recent sponsor of our National Scrapbook Day crop). On Saturday, I watched our crafty friend Pam make the cutest scrapbook out of a plastic placemat, picked up some great organization tips from the Croppin’ for Cops event, and met a ton of scrapbookers. Our Pam’s Pals donations solicitor, Deb Watkins, demonstrated the Sizzix Eclipse machine with some Tim Holtz dies and stamps. On Sunday, I met more fellow scrapbookers and signed up more croppers for Pam’s Pals.

So yeah, I think it was a productive weekend. Who cares if I now have to work twice as hard to get these scrapbook pages done? Sometimes going to a crop is less about getting pages done and more about having a good time with fellow scrapbookers and leaving all our worries at home. And if I really want to get some pages done, maybe I just need to go back to the Layout A Day method – I was really making some progress then.

Speaking of LOAD, here’s two more layouts for you to enjoy:

Day 27: Sketchy Sunday

This LOAD challenge fell on the Sunday before Memorial Day – traditionally, a house party for the Murray family. I knew I wouldn’t have time to work on my layout later, so I actually did a really quick on early in the morning. It’s a very simple page, but again, not every page has to be a work of art. And since it was Sketchy Sunday, I of course, had to work from (and alter) a sketch.

Day 28: Manic Monday

Lain’s challenge for today was speed. She prompted us to grab the first picture that caught our imagination, flip through a magazine or gallery for the first layout design that caught our eye, and quickly choose paper and embellishments to go with it. My photo was one I took on my cell phone of my husband and son running through our local park. I have long wanted to do a page about them running together. My inspiration came from fellow LOAD-ster, “SassyScrapper2010”, and I chose to do banners across the top because they are so popular right now and I’ve been dying to do some! I made the banners using the Stampin’ Up punch of that design; it is very easy to work with, and I have used it over and over again in different combinations. I believe the paper is from the Cosmo Cricket “Boyfriend” collection. I really didn’t put too much thought into this page at all, but I think it turned out great. Oh, and hubby pointed out that I’ve already used this picture once – on the Day 8 layout “This is My Life”, which also features (you guessed it) banners!

Here's my layout:

And here's the layout that inspired me (posted with permission):

One final word about my productive/non-productive weekend…if you have read this blog for any length of time at all, you have probably made a guess about my crafting and business philosophy:

Any time spent crafting is a good time.
Crafting with others is always preferrable to crafting alone.
We learn from each other, and if you only craft at home you are missing out on valuable sources of knowledge and inspirattion.
Local scrapbook stores and organizations are the best sources of product knowledge and expert advice.
The scrapbooking industry is going to fail unless we all work together to support it.

Along those lines, later this week, we will look at competition and cooperatives, and what I think the scrapbooking industry needs to do to survive.