COVID-Safe Craft Getaways

What’s the one thing you miss most while we’re going through this pandemic? Is it movie theaters? House parties? Vacations? Happy hour with friends from the office? For me, I think I would probably have to answer, “retreats.”

Not so many years ago, it seemed like a new scrapbooking retreat was opening up every month or so. They were everywhere, and they were always booked solid. For some of us, packing up our craft supplies and spending a weekend with our closest friends out in the country somewhere is one of the best stress relievers out there. After all, a retreat usually involves some good food, a fun hobby, and lots of laughs, not to mention no chores. When I finally caught on to this special sojourn, I couldn’t get enough. I was going on a retreat five or six times a year – more if you count the annual scrapbooking cruises and convention weekends. Going on a retreat was probably my favorite thing to do, and a great escape from the stress and anxiety of work, home, and family. 

Going on retreats (including conventions and cruises) has pretty much been put on hold since March of 2020. We are all spending a lot more time at home, which has brought it’s own kind of stress and anxiety along with even more need to get away from it all. And while some retreat centers have been open with limited capacity, many of us do not feel comfortable spending a weekend in close quarters with a bunch of strangers. Some people have been taking advantage of lowered capacity and going anyway, what is a high-risk, unvaccinated individual like me to do?

Last November, after a few particularly stressful weeks as a caregiver for my mother, I turned to my friends with a desperate plea, “Please go away with me somewhere!” and that was how our “safe” retreats began. We wanted to limit our retreat to just four crafty friends who we knew had been very carefully social distancing and self-isolating throughout the pandemic. Realizing that we couldn’t control how many people came to a retreat unless we rented the whole place, we started looking for other options for a weekend stay. Enter Airbnb, VRBO, and a host of other vacation rental options.

We started out wearing facemasks at our first retreat, but they didn't last long.

Our first Airbnb rental was about two hours away, and was an approximate midway point between us. We looked for a location that had a large living room or den that would accommodate four folding tables without too much furniture rearranging. We had a great time on that trip, and learned some valuable lessons for the next trip.

As of this writing, I am actually sitting at our second Airbnb retreat.  This time we chose a location closer to home, a quaint 19^th century farmhouse far enough out in the country to feel isolated, but close enough to go buy ice if we needed it. We planned for the problems we encountered the last time, but this rental came with its own set of issues. We haven’t let that stop us from having a great time and enjoying this crucial respite from the daily grind.

If you are longing for the days when you escaped to a crafty retreat with your friends, think about hosting a private getaway on your own. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Keep the size of your group small to increase your chances of finding a space that will accommodate you – no more than 4-5 crafters.
• Make sure you are renting the whole house, not just a room; some listings can be misleading.  READ THE FINE PRINT!
• Look for a rental that has an open floor plan with minimal furniture to ensure you have room for tables. Keep in mind that photos can be misleading. Rooms are rarely as large as they look in the photos!
• Contact the owner to clarify any questions you might have and to verify availability. Some owners do not update availability of the rental, especially if it is listed on multiple websites.
• Pay close attention to lighting; one ceiling fan or a few table lamps may not be sufficient. Plan to bring your own lighting if necessary
• Look for existing chairs or prepare to bring your own chairs. Avoid using rolling chairs on hardwood floors, as it will damage them; bring a rug or floor mat if you must use a rolling chair.
• Bring extension cords and power strips for your lighting and electronic devices
• Don’t forget a small trashcan and cup-holder. These are often provided at a retreat but won’t be available at a rental facility.
• Pay close attention to the kitchen facilities. Some rentals have “apartment” refrigerators or no stove. Plan your meals accordingly.
• Don’t be afraid to contact the owner to clarify amenities at the facility like: room dimensions, coffee pots, kitchen accoutrements, power outlet locations, local recommendations, parking accommodations, handicap accessibility, etc.
• Think about bringing things like Ziploc bags, Tupperware, cutting boards, foil/plastic wrap, etc. You’ll need a way to pack up your leftovers. Don’t forget ice!
• Pack light. You may not have room for all your scrapbook supplies.  Plan your projects well.
• Don’t use paints, glitter or other messy craft supplies indoors. Don’t craft on the owner’s furniture without protective coverings. Be sure to clean up any accidents and sweep/vacuum your craft area.
• Return all furniture to its original location.

Obviously, you can’t plan for everything, but if you ask lots of questions and keep in mind the accommodations that might not be available, you can avoid some of the pitfalls. If you plan well, you, too, can get away for a COVID-safe retreat with your besties. 

My Month in Quarantine (Part 2)

I just wanted to do a quick post to remind you about National Scrapbook Day coming up on May 2.  Many of you probably had plans to celebrate this little holiday by cropping or retreating with your friends. Most of those events have been cancelled due to COVID-19, but that doesn't mean you can't celebrate anyway -- even if you're not a scrapper!

I was supposed to be heading to a retreat on Thursday with several of my crafty friends, but the retreat decided to cancel their event. I'm so sad, especially since Scrapbook Expo in Irving was cancelled, and Great American Scrapbook Convention is now moved (very inconveniently) to the same weekend as my daughter's wedding (uhh...Christen, would it be okay if I duck out early to go crop? LOL Oh, you want to go, too?  Okay...). Seriously, though, I really wanted to crop with my friends, and I wanted to have that "retreat feeling", so we're going to make it happen, even if we have to all stay in our own homes.

I host a weekly crop at my house every Thursday, and when coronavirus decided to rear its ugly head, we decided to continue cropping via Zoom.  Zoom meetings is very easy to use, and I opted to pay for the premium service (for now) so we can have meetings longer than 40 minutes. We meet every Thursday at 10 AM and crop until 4PM or until everyone has to get offline to go make dinner. It's very much the same as having everyone here in person.  We work on whatever we're working on and we chat, and sometimes we get engrossed in our projects, so we don't talk at all, but we're still together.  And we get the satisfaction of being able to share our projects with each other. It's so much more fun than crafting alone.

A virtual crop with my Thursday MDO crop group.

For our National Scrapbook Day crop and retreat, we'll again be using Zoom, but we'll start on Friday morning and the crop will run continuously until Sunday afternoon, so everyone can come and go.  The idea is to treat it just like a real retreat, so I'm going to chase my family out of my craft area and put up a big sign that says, "Gone on a Retreat!" I'll even wear my pajamas and eat some junk food, just to make it feel real.  One of our friends is coordinating "door prizes" to be given away; everyone will dig through their stash to find a few items they no longer want or need. We'll take pictures to post in our Facebook group and we will have drawings throughout the event for people to pick which prizes they want.

You don't have to do something as elaborate as our little virtual retreat, but you should definitely consider doing something for National Scrapbook Day.  Some stores are posting that they are going to host events. Or you could join one of the many virtual crops already planned (just Google National Scrapbook Day Virtual Crop). Use Skype, Zoom, FaceTime or another video chat software to meet with friends.  Finding ways to be social, even when we're social-distancing, is important to our mental well-being. And besides, who can say "no" to an excuse to stay in your PJs and eat junk food?

Cindy Murray

Crafty Neighbor

Caregivers, Worker Bees, and Little Bits of Crafting

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have to care for an aging parent? I did not. Well...I did, but then I quickly realized I am not cut out for the nurturing care-giver and put it entirely out of my head.  That was my sister's job.  I was a worker bee.  I owned my own business, I volunteered with charities that were important to me, and I stayed busy all the time. My sister, Patsy, was the nurturing type. She went to nursing school until her own medical issues put a stop to the, and she always swore she would be the one to take care of my parents when they got old. And she did.  She took care of my dad through recovery from a heart-attack, gall-bladder surgery, and over a year of hospice care. She took care of my mom through all that, too, and I was glad for it...especially since I live 300+ miles away.

Then the unthinkable happened...my sister died unexpectedly, leaving her handicapped, adult daughter and my mother, who was already beginning to show the signs of dementia. I moved my 29-year-old niece to live with me in the city so she could get a good education and learn to live on her own (public transportation should NEVER be underrated!), and eventually, we convinced my mother to move from her paid-off home in rural Texas into a senior living community where my brother and aunt could help take an eye on her. That didn't last long, though, as her needs were far greater than I had known, and she was already incapable of independent living.  Add to that the fact that she had squandered her retirement by pulling all of her investments during the stock market crashes of the early 2000's, and then she lost her job, losing her medical and life insurance benefits in the process.  All that to say that in January, Mom moved into my remaining guest bedroom, and now we have a household of four with some very distinct, and often time-consuming, needs.

Being a caregiver has put strains on my family and me that I could never have imagined, and it's made it even more important to me to get in my crafting time whenever I can. It hasn't been easy, but I've found that if I break things down into smaller tasks, and squeeze them in whenever I have an opportunity, it really gives me the outlet I need to calm my mind, let go of stress, and just zen out for a little while.  For example, today, I had to take my niece to the doctor.  I didn't want to go inside with all the sick people, and I could have sat in the car playing on my phone, but instead I took a portable project (embroidery) with me to work on while I waited outside.  I didn't get a lot done, but it was a lot more enjoyable and productive than sitting in that doctor's office with a bunch of sick people playing "Words with Friends" (nothing against WWF).

The start of some flowers on an apron.

So whether you're a caregiver, a worker bee, or just someone with a lot of hats to juggle, the truth is there will always be things that get in the way of crafting time. Whether it's a deadline a work, a sick kid, a second job, etc., you can't let it consume your life. Making the time to craft is not only possible, but necessary.  We all need those few precious moments of space where we can let go of the stress of the day and find something beautiful in our lives to experience and celebrate. It doesn't have to be a marathon weekend of crafting, or even an hour...just grab yourself five minutes when ever you can while you're watching the evening news, taking your 15-minute break at work, waiting for the roast to cook, or sitting at the doctors office or carpool line.  Just do it. Your body needs it, your brain needs it, and you'll be really glad you did!

Think Pink Crop for a Cure!

If you’ve been reading this blog, you probably know that my name is Cindy Murray, and most people know me as the owner and organizer of Crafty Neighbor, a Texas-based scrap and craft events company.  We are best known for our craft cruises, retreats, scrapbook garage sales, and, of course, our annual “Think Pink Crop for the Cure.”  What most people don’t know about me is that I am now a 1-year breast cancer survivor, and I would like to share my story with you.

In 2008, my company hosted our first ever fundraiser crop to help Pam Wilemon, a local scrapbook instructor who had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.  Pam had lost her job, had no insurance, and had a lot of medical bills to pay.  So we hosted “Pam’s Pals Crop” to help her out.  The response was tremendous, so we did it again in 2009 while she was still undergoing treatment.  Eventually, Pam got better, so we decided to focus our giving to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in which Pam and several of our Crafty Neighbor instructors and organizers were walking.  We hosted a 3-Day walk team every year, sometimes walking, sometimes volunteering for the 3-Day Crew, but always involved in some way.  We have continued this tradition year after year because we feel the cause is so very important and our message of hope needs to be shared with all women. 

Then, last year, it happened to me – I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 1 in every 8 women will develop invasive breast cancer of some type.  About 1 in 35 women will die from it – that's one every 69 seconds. 

Friends and family have commented on how ironic it is that I had breast cancer after I’ve been such a staunch supporter of this cause, but I look at those statistics and I know that it was bound to happen to me or to someone I love.  This disease is pervasive, and it’s not going to go away until we MAKE it go away.  We must fund the research to find better treatment that doesn’t involve disfiguring our bodies, and hopefully some day we will be able to prevent it entirely.  We must continue to encourage women to get annual mammograms, and we must insist that insurance companies pay for screening.

This is where you come in.  I can’t do this alone.

On August 19, 2017, Crafty Neighbor will be hosting our annual Think Pink Crop for the Cure at the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Council, JoAnn Fogg Service Center, at 6001 Summerside Drive, Dallas, Texas 75252. All proceeds from this event will be donated to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, a non-profit 501(c)3 organization.

We would love to have you join us!  Registration will remain open through Monday, August 14.  You can sign up online at CraftyNeighbor.com.  The event costs $50, but includes lunch, dinner, and lots of prizes and surprises throughout the day. 

If you’d like more information about the 3-Day or simply want to make a cash donation, please visit our team page at:  http://www.the3day.org/goto/walkerstexasrangers

More Fun with Friends

I just spent three days milling about the Great American Scrapbook Convention with Jennifer and Marion.  I don’t remember if I’ve mentioned them before, but they are sometimes volunteer “helpers” for various projects I’m working on, particularly my scrapbooking cruises.  This week they were helping me promote the cruises at the convention, which basically consists of a lot of shopping and a little bit of time passing out postcards and goodie bags.  I’m very grateful to have the help.  I could go pass out the cards on my own, but I hate to do things like that by myself.  It just seems to be easier when I have company.

I’m that way about a lot of things.  Just last night, we were discussing movies with friends and they were surprised when I mentioned that I won’t go to a movie by myself.  Apparently, a lot of people do, and they tell me they like it because they can really focus on the movie, but for me, a night at the movies is a social activity.  If I wanted to watch it by myself, I could just wait for it to come out on DVD.  I also don’t often drink alone or swim alone or eat in restaurants by myself.  I prefer to take a companion with me for business trips, to dinner seminars, and even to church.  I especially like to have friends with me when I crop.

Yes, I can sometimes get more done when I’m home alone working on an important project, but nine times out of ten, I forget to make the time to crop if I don’t have someone else here to make it a priority.  It’s just one of those indulgences that I find hard to justify when I have a lot of work to get done.   So yes, I prefer to have friends with me to crop, in many cases just so that I will be forced to sit down and craft.

What about you?  Do you do certain things with friends that you won’t do alone?  Do you prefer to crop with friends?  Let us know in the comments.

Croppin', Shoppin' and More....

I am so excited that our Mother's Day Out crop parties are back in swing and I have met so many great ladies these past few weeks!  Last week, we visited The Crafty Scrapper in Waxahachie. And next week we are going to Scrappin' Goodtime in Corsicana. The weeks in between, we crop here at Crafty Neighbor Studios in Carrollton.  These little trips and crops are so much fun and we have met a lot of new croppers and learned a lot of new tips and skills.

Today we are here at Crafty Neighbor Studios.  Here's a picture of us having fun:

If you are in the Dallas area and are interested in joining us for our little crops, we meet every Thursday and you can check out our schedule and sign up to join us by visiting our Meetup.com page.

This Saturday, we have another event coming up -- our semi-anual scrapbook garage sale.  If you like to shop, come out and check out some of the many bargains.  We have 16 sellers with 40+ tables of merchandise for your shopping pleasure -- there's sure to be a great bargain just waiting for you!

We also have one more awesome event coming up in August, and that is our annual Think Pink Crop for the Cure!  We will be gathering on August 16 for a full day of cropping, shopping, and raising money for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure which supports various breast cancer charities.  If you would like more information, please visit our website at http://www.craftyneighbor.com/retreats/2014/pink14/2014pink.html

That's it for today.  I need to quit playing with this blog and actually do some scrapbooking!  Have a great day!

Let's Crop!

Now that the dust has settled after DFW’s first Scrapbook Expo, why not gather up your new goodies and come crop at one of our upcoming events? 

We’ve got Fabulous Food, Fun, Friends and some Fantastic Prizes, too!

Community Crop Party

Saturday, April 6, 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM

$25 meals included

Join us for an all-day crop party sponsored in part by Memory Lane Inn!  Proceeds from this event will benefit the students at R. L. Turner High School, but you do not have to have any connections to the school to attend – ALL CRAFTERS AND SCRAPPERS ARE WELCOME!  Did we mention that we’re sponsored by Memory Lane Inn?  Jereme Downs is a Turner Alumnus and he and Jennifer have VERY GRACIOUSLY donated not one but TWO retreats to Memory Lane Inn – one for Tyler and one for McKinney!  But you can’t win it if you don’t register!  The rate is just $25 with lunch and dinner included.  Registration is now open; just click here.

May the 4^th Be with You, National Scrapbook Day Crop

Friday, May 3^rd through Sunday, May 5^th

$50, lunch and dinner provided on Saturday only.

We’ve teamed up with the Dallas Crafters Marathon to bring you an out-of-this-world National Scrapbook Day crop featuring fun, games, prizes and much, much more!  Register online at Meetup.com/DallasCraftersMarathon

6^th Annual Scrapbooking Cruise

September 22-29,

Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Cozumel

Join us for a fun-filled floating vacation and crafting extravaganza departing from Galveston, Texas aboard the Carnival Magic.  We’ll spend 7 days cruising the Caribbean including 3 full days at sea for scrapbooking, card-making, crafting, games, prizes, and lots of fun.  This is NOT the same old cruise you took two years ago!  We’ve added lots of new features, new activities and events, new prizes, new instructors and much, much more!  For more information, check out our FAQ site, or visit www.craftyneighbor.com to register.

For registration or information about these or other events, please visit our website at www.craftyneighbor.com and http://www.meetup.com/craftyneighbor.  You can also email us at mailto:info@craftyneighbor.com

Scrapbook Expo

Apologies for being late on my post today!  I try to have my posts published by 8:00 A.M. every day, but today it’s a lot closer to 8:00 P.M.  Normally, I write everything a few days in advance so it’s ready to post on a day of my choosing, but I saved today’s post until now so that I could include the most current information.

Some of the product I bought.

The reason for the delay is that I spent the weekend at the Gaylord Texan hotel in Grapevine, Texas attending Scrapbook Expo.  Those of you who have been to Scrapbook Expo know what all the hubbub is about, but for those of you who haven’t been, you just don’t know what you’re missing! 

We’ve been going to Great American Scrapbook Convention for years.  We like to shop, we like to crop, and of course, we try to promote our Crafty Neighbor events.  But the last few years, I have been increasingly disappointed in that show, and I blame it mostly on the new organizers.  It’s gotten so bad that I really don’t want to go any more, and I really only do so in order to pass out my flyers and meet other scrapbookers.  The last time we cropped there, it was terrible – the prizes were mostly out-of-date garbage and it just wasn’t very fun.

I had some pretty high expectations for Scrapbook Expo.  I had never heard of the company, but several people I know from California had been going for years and they assured me that this was a great convention.  I trust their judgment.  They weren’t wrong.  In fact, I think they might have undersold it a little bit, because even though I had some fairly high expectations, the Expo completely exceeded that and then some.

Stephanie and I didn’t get our tickets until the week before, so we completely missed out on the hotel package.  It was a great bargain, and I know quite a few people who took advantage of it.  We’ve already made a pact that we’re going to jump on that bandwagon ASAP next year.  What we wound up with was a ticket to the sales floor on Friday, plus the Friday crop ticket.  Then we had such a great time at the crop Friday, I had to come back for the Saturday crop as well!

After a very expensive lunch (I’ll discuss that later), we went to the crop.  I may have mentioned that Scrapbook Expo has a theme to their crops.  The theme for Friday was “Team Spirit”, so we made some decorations for our table and dressed up for our favorite sports team.  We went with a “college football rivalries” theme for our table, and made these cute decorations.  Valerie made the banners, Stephanie made the rosettes, and I made the cans.  We were very proud of our decorations and got a lot of compliments.  We also won the prize for best table décor.

One view of our award-winning table decor!

I was really pleased with the crop.  It was hopping from 6:00 P.M. until midnight, with lots of prizes, contests, games and more.  The hosts were friendly and energetic, and the goodie bags were pretty substantial.  Mine was a bag full of Sassafras paper and embellishments – lots of it.  And these weren’t just one or two unrelated pieces from lots of different lines.  There were four pieces of each double-sided paper in coordinating sets.  The prize for winning our table decoration was a bag of Graphic 45 and assorted embellishments for each of us.  We also received all kinds of handouts and giveaways throughout the night.

I didn’t take any classes.  GASC classes just never appealed to me.  The prices always seemed high, and the projects weren’t very high quality.  So didn’t even consider taking any at Expo.  Several of my friends did, though, and the projects they showed me were phenomenal.  Everyone reported getting lots of free product and giveaways in their classes, often exceeding the price of the class!

Some of the prizes and give-aways I received.  

All in all, my biggest complaints about the Scrapbook Expo were the parking and the food.  Parking at the Gaylord Texan costs $18.40 per day, but convention-goers can buy a discounted parking pass for $15.  The Gaylord Texan website states that you can get your parking validated by eating in one of the restaurants in the resort.  What they don’t tell you is that the validation is only good for 4 hours, so go back to the restaurant to get the validation stub just before you leave.

The food is the other big complaint, and my girls are already talking about what we can do to work around that for next year.  The convention center set up a buffet in the lobby each day.  On Friday, it was baked potatoes and chicken noodle soup with a glass of tea or water.  This would be a great lunch except for the fact that it cost $13!  Sodas and bottled water cost an additional $3.  Oh, and they only serve Pepsi products.  On Saturday, the meal was upgraded to chicken and penne pasta with veggies.  It came with a side of breadsticks for the same $13.  The restaurants on site were just as pricey.  A burger and fries runs $15+, and the only items on the menu at the Italian restaurant that are under $20 are the appetizers and desserts. 

My favorite prize -- a teeny weenie "X machine".  It is a real, functioning Xyron Sticker Maker in a 1" size.  And of course, it's my favorite color -- green!

All in all, the Scrapbook Expo is a great convention, I loved the facility, we had a lot of fun, and we can’t wait to go back next year.  Did you go to the show this weekend?  What did you think?  I’d love to hear how you think it compares to GASC and also whether you will be going to GASC this year.  Let me know what you think.  I’ll choose one random comment to win a prize.