This is a special blog for all of you who want to come to our crop, but you don't have anyone to go with. If you like to scrapbook, but none of your friends do, it can be very intimidating to commit to an 8 hour event all by yourself when you aren't sure what to expect. I TOTALLY GET IT! I admit, when I attended my first crop, I went with a friend. I doubt that I would have had the courage to go alone, so I was lucky to have a friend who invited me to go with her. But if your friends are too busy or aren't interested, let me tell you about our crops. Now, before I start, let me say that all crops are different and all groups are different, so I can't say that all crops are like ours, but this is how the Yankee Scrapper Girls run things. Hopefully, this will answer some of your questions and give you the courage to join us! 1. While it's true that many of us have known each other for awhile, that doesn't mean that we don't want to meet new people. There are many regulars that come to each crop and we love to chat about what's been going on since we saw each other last, but most of us started out as strangers. Many of us met at a scrapbook or paper crafting event and are now friends all year long. 2. We promise not to make you stand up and introduce yourself. Crops are not meetings, we don't do roll call or make sure that everyone knows everything about you. We are all grown-ups and if you want to introduce yourself to someone new, you are perfectly capable of doing that yourself. But if you ever have something you want to share with the group, feel free to do that too! 3. You don't have to work on a scrapbook. This one is the one that baffles some people, but believe it or not, we don't monitor what you are doing while you are at our crops. The purpose is to create, craft, catch-up or just relax! If you feel like spending the day working on a knitting project, paying your bills, organizing your photos or catching up on emails, it is entirely up to you - we will not be offended! We understand that some days, the scrapbook layout is just not calling your name. It happens to us, too! 4. You don't have to bring all of your supplies. We learned how to share in kindergarten and we are still pretty good at it. At each crop, we have TONS of tools available for you to borrow so that you don't have to lug everything with you. If there is something specific you want to use, shoot us an email and see if we will be bringing it first. There is no extra charge for any tool - if we have it, you can use it. Hopefully this info helped a little bit, but if you are still hesitant for a reason I didn't cover here, call me at 566-5059 or email me at Mandy@YankeeScrapperGirls.com and we can chat - I promise not to bite! See you at a crop soon, Mandy
 Location. Location. Location. When we asked you, our loyal followers, to fill out a survey and let us know where you wanted to have the crops in 2013, most of you wanted us to move to the Manchester area. So that's what we did! In 2013, we will no longer be meeting in the Monadnock region. We will hold our crops at Southern NH University in Manchester. We loved our location in Temple, but it was just a little too far for most people to travel. So now, we no longer offer Monadnock Crops, but now we offer Yankee Scrapper Day Crops!! A couple of other changes based on the survey: we will have a door prize and a make-and-take project available at each crop. You will still need to bring your own lunch and we will not be bringing anything to share with the group anymore. Just bring what you want for yourself (but don't worry; we won't kick you out if try to share with people.) Liz will still be there with all the Creative Memories products, ideas and suggestions that you need and Julia and Mandy will still offer the occasional advanced class for an extra fee for those who want to try new things. We are so excited about the new location and we hope you are too! If you are one of the people that wanted to see us in Manchester, what are you waiting for?!?! Sign up before December 31st and you can come to all 8 (that's right... EIGHT!) crops for only $60. The first crop is January 26th and after the first of the year, the price goes up to $75, so hurry, hurry, hurry!! Click here for registration and payment information.-Mandy
I’ve been home for approximately 24 hours now. It’s good to be home. I enjoy being away and I had a blast hanging at Mountain Meadows Lodge with Mandy, Jane, Rhonda, Laura, Karen, Julia, Clara, Muriel, Rebecca, Louise and Janet. Yes, I said hanging out, because I got almost no scrapping done. That’s ok, because while I did bring a couple of things to work on, my weekend goal was to relax and celebrate. I think I accomplished that nicely. That all being said, I’m ready to dive back into everyday life while counting the days until I see everyone again. You might have noticed that Mandy and I sent out a survey recently. We’re in need of a bit of input to make the necessary changes so that we can keep on providing crops for you to attend. One of the more repeated comments is along the lines of “I’d love to come for a weekend retreat, but I don’t have anyone to go with.” To this I say, please just come. I know it’s scary to go someplace by yourself, especially when you’re not used to it and you don’t know anyone there. Mandy and I don’t bite, and neither has anyone who has attended any of the past 6 events. There’s a lot of laughter that happens, a lot of good natured banter and joking around and a lot of constructive collaboration. “What do you think of this?” or “I’m stuck on this layout, what does it need?” I’ve watched strangers become family. It’s a magical thing and I don’t want anyone to miss out on it. I am the one who assigns roommates to the singletons and I make a point of having the potential roommates exchange contact information so you can get to know one another before you share a room. I want everyone to have a good time at our retreats and I’m more than willing to do whatever I have to (within reason) to make that happen. Another question that came up this weekend is tipping the MM Lodge staff. Tipping is not mandatory but it is appreciated by all of the staff members. They work hard at treating us like we are goddesses and if you feel they deserve something extra as thanks, please do so. When I’m checking out, I tell Dave or Bill “this is for housekeeping, this is for the kitchen and dining room staff, this is for the bar…” and hand over a couple of bucks for each. A great resource for Bed and Breakfast Etiquette can be found at http://abedofroses.com/blog/The last question that I want to touch on is “Why isn’t anyone here on Thursday?” The answer is simple: money. I would love to open the crop on Thursday and make it a 4 day event, but Mandy and I can’t afford to. We have careers that do not *gasp* involve scrapbooking and families that enjoy our company. More often than not, I am able to get out of work early enough to drive to Mountain Meadows Thursday afternoon so I can stay overnight and set up first thing Friday and be ready when everyone arrives but it’s rare that I can be there early enough to have everything set up for a full extra day of cropping. I encourage anyone to come up the night before and not have to rush around in the morning. An extra night is $89 per person plus tax and includes continental breakfast the following morning. (Rates are subject to change). Dave assures me that there is an awesome pizza place that will deliver to the lodge for those who didn’t have a chance to grab dinner on the road. If pizza isn’t your thing, Rutland is a hop skip and a jump up Route 4 and they have many restaurants right on the main drag. Mandy will be updating the website shortly with pictures from the October 2012 weekend and the registration information has been changed to reflect the 2013 dates. We hope you will join us March 15-17, 2013 and again November 8-10, 2013. -Liz
 I was performing my regular search for ideas using my best friend, Google, and came across these adorable Hershey Bar wrappers made to look like snowmen!! They are SUPER easy to make and I was able to track down the person who first posted this idea and asked her to email me the image file for the faces. All you do is print, add the scarf and hat and you're done! Believe me, the hat and scarf part is easy too. If you want the directions and the file, just email me and let me know - monadnockcrops@gmail.com While I was looking at these, I started looking at the rest of the amazing things on this woman's blog and I was blown away! If you have a few hours and want to get some great ideas, check out Kerry's Paper Crafts at http://www.kerryspapercrafts.com/ and you will not be disappointed.
As usual, I’m behind in unpacking after the Getaway Weekend. With a class in
Gilford on the 10th and the next Monadnock Crops on the 14th, I’m sorely tempted
to leave everything packed up (and in some instances, still loaded in my car!)
to save myself the bother of repacking. The upside to this decision is that
there will be less opportunity for my neighbors to gawk as I haul bags and totes
down the stairs, out the front door and into the hatch of my beloved yellow
beetle. The downside is that pretty much all of my stuff is packed up and
unless I’m working on digital, there’s not a lot left for me to play with. I
guess it’s just as well that work will be keeping me very busy until it’s time
to drive to Temple and turn the town hall into our cropping hideaway.
One remark I’ve heard at nearly every event I’ve attended is along the lines
of “You fit all of THAT {insert vague gesture at the tool tables and the product
tables that I set up along with my personal work space here} in YOUR car??” Yes.
I can fit 14 totes/bags of tools, product and supplies, a cricut expression, a
15 cubic inch box full of cricut cartridges, a scanner, a laptop briefcase that
contains a portable photo studio, a wide format printer, at least one folding
table, an 11 year old and her stuff and my coffee and snacks in a 2000 VW Beetle
and still be able to see out the rear window. My Beetle does have a surprising
amount of cargo space in it when the back seat is down, but what and how I pack
allows me to make the most of that space.
Obviously, your packing needs are not going to be the same as mine. But I
have some tried and true tips that will make your packing for a crop easier and
less stressful.
1. Know the event and pack for it. Is it a 3 hour crop or a 3 day crop? How much space will be available for you to work in? What is the crop hosts supplying by way of tools? Will there be an opportunity to purchase things you run out of or forget – either a close by store or a vendor? Will there be technique or kit classes at the crop that will
account for some of your time?
2. Pre plan your project. There’s a bunch of ways to do this, but I prefer the power layout system. Basically, all you do is group your photos with the supplies you want to use for your layout (cardstock, patterned paper, stickers, flat embellishments and memorabilia) and stick it on a plastic guide in a box and keep piling up these page kits until the box is full or you’ve run out of pictures. (I can demonstrate the Power Layout product and technique at any of our crops; I just need a couple of days advanced notice so that I’m prepared. I will also blog about it in the future). Have a tool kit ready with basic tools (trimmer, scissors, corner rounder, paper piercer, adhesives) and a kit of non-flat embellishments (stickles, liquid pearls, inks, etc.) if that’s the way you roll. (Personally, I like to stickle when I get home; not only is it less to carry, but I have more drying space at home than I do at most crops. I’ll make a note on a post it to remind me of what I had planned.)
3. Have a list. Lists are good. Lists are essential. Lists are what keep me from driving the 45 minutes between my house and the Temple Town Hall without forgetting the iHome so we have music to scrap to.
4. Use the buddy system. This is great if you are going to a crop with a bunch of girl-friends. Unless you’re working as a group to mass produce identical books or invitations, instead of everyone bringing the same tools, leave some at home. Plan that Sally brings her custom cutting system templates while Marcy brings the border maker system and Kiki brings the punches. You’ll have less to pack, less to forget, less to lug in and less to not use and have to bring back home.
5. Leave yourself plenty of time to pack. Nothing adds to the amount of stuff you bring like waiting to the last minute and throwing things in bags in a panic. I brought two large totes of paper to the Fall 2011 Getaway weekend that I did not even look at because I panicked while I was packing and didn’t think that I was bringing enough of my personal stuff to work with.
6. Make note of what works for you and repeat for future events, likewise if something doesn’t work for you, don’t do it again. I’ve been known to take pictures of my car loading process so I can remember the best way to load it. I also have lists of what tools/product goes in which bags/totes so that I’m consistently making the most of my car space. I also make my husband feel bad because I’m the only one who loads my car. His job is to lug my totes and boxes and bags and carts up and down the stairs in my
specified order, but I’m the only one climbing into my trunk and hauling everything into position. I’m not trying to make him feel unhelpful; I just know that he is not going to be around to help me reload the car before coming home from the crop, so my car needs to be loaded in a manner that I can replicate.
I hope my experiences helped you streamline your packing process or at least gave you an idea of what you might want to try. Packing, like scrapbooking, is an individual thing and what works for me might not work for you. Do you have a tip that I didn’t mention? Mention it in the comments section.
This Christmas, the theme for my family was handmade gifts. Not usually a challenge for me, but sometimes I don't want to be restricted. So, I bent the rules a little to make a scrapbook for my sister. But I was a little short on time and I had just gotten a new laptop that I seemed to be glued to, so I decided to make a move to the dark side: Digital Scrapbooking.
I had used some of the online sites before, but it always takes so long to upload my photos that I thought there had to be a better way. I didn't want to be tied to a network cable and we hadn't gotten the wireless hooked up for the new laptops yet. Then I remembered when Liz showed me the Storybook Creater software from Creative Memories. Now, I don't want to sound like a commercial for CM or anything, but I had so much fun! I downloaded the software (had to be wired for that) but then I could disconnect from the internet and just move the pictures from my computer over as I needed them. I made my sisster's scrapbook of her 40th birthday party and then decided to keep going. I made a great calendar for my husband's grandmother of the whole family and now I'm working on a book of my nephew just for me.
I have to say that I was skeptical about digital scrapbooking at first, but it's pretty fun! Don't worry, though, I still LOVE to create pages the old fashioned way too. Digital is just a new medium that expands what I can do. Hmmm... what's next? Maybe I'll get out my inks and paints and start stamping again!
-Mandy
I came home yesterday from the latest YSGW at Mountain Meadows Lodge in Killington, VT. with a sense of accomplishment and the memories of many great conversations with my friends. This past weekend was a great mix of friends I see often, friends I don't get to see often enough and new friends that I had never met. People who have never been to a weekend crop always ask the same question, "How do you scrap for 50 hours without getting bored?" And my shameless plug is, "You have to go to a weekend to see for yourself!" But seriously, for most of us a weekend crop is only partly about scrapbooking. The rest of the experience is about sharing stories and ideas with others and getting to know your friends just a little better. This weekend I got to see scrapbooks and hear stories about Rebecca's recent wedding, Karen's first road trip with her husband almost 30 years ago and Christine's exotic honeymoon trip, just to name a few. I also found out the Laura is a fellow South Park Fan, Carolyn's new cat is adapting well, Trish can make any embellishment just by free-hand cutting some cardstock, and Liz has enough songs on her ipod to get through about 46 hours straight with no repeats! And what an eclectic mix those hours were - I heard songs that I had forgotten all about! Weekend retreats aren't for everyone, but if you have ever thought about going, you should really give it a try. You just may make some new friends and finish that scrapbook that you've been working on!
-Mandy
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