Thursday, January 19, 2012

More from the Crop

You all didn't seriously think I went to a weekend crop and only came away with 12 cards now did you????

First let me start by saying, I had a lot of comments about the amount of "stuff" I took to the crop.  So I thought I'd share with you the "anatomy" of packing for a crop.  And in case I didn't make it clear, this particular crop was a full weekend getaway - starting at noon on Friday and running until 5 p.m. on Sunday (although we left by 2:30 on Sunday - my ride had a dinner to attend!)
This is what I took:

Bag #1. The Xyron 900 on the top of Bag #1 was something I took to sell in the yard sale. I haven't used it in years - it was great back in the days of school projects, but has sat in a closet since. I'm happy to say, it went home with a new owner.  

In the bag itself is my baker's racks for holding tools and such, my cup holder/trash can that attaches to the table, my Epson PictureMate 4x6 portable photo printer, my Xyron 250, a blanket for when the ballroom gets cold (it does!), a plastic cloth for covering my work when I leave at night - basically all the odd bulky things that don't fit in with scrapping supplies.

Bag #2 is a small tote filled with mixed media supplies - inks, stamps, brushes, mod podge, etc.

Bag # 3 is FOOD! 8 bottles of water, apples, peanut butter, clementines, almonds, dried mango, oatmeal.  (and my "Twelve" egg crate of embellies sitting on top of the water bottles).  Some of our meals were included in the weekend, some not.  And since I'm trying to eat healthy, I needed snacks that would keep me going.

Crate #4 - believe it or not, almost everything in that crate was for a single project... Rachel and Becca's "School of Life" albums for grades K-6. I figured since they are graduating high school this year, it's high time I got this project underway.  In the crate - two unopened 12x12 dark green Dalee albums, a few pouches filled with school themed scrapbooking stickers and diecuts, two 12x12 clear expandable envelopes filled with all of the layouts I've already made that belong in these albums, and then all that stuff turned sideways... is 8.5 x 11" envelopes filled by grade with all their memorabilia (school photos, report cards, awards, papers, etc.).

Bag #5 - several 12x12 paper "stacks", a couple of magazines, idea books, my "Twelve" binder, etc.  Oh - and squished there between bag #2 and bag #5, my pink "Tote-ally Cool" tool tote which holds my trimmer, ATG gun, scissors, pens, other adhesives, cropadile, corner rounder, tiny attacher... you know, all those things you just can't scrap without!

Bin #6 - large punches

Bag #7 (inside crate #8) - all this is a bunch of miscellaneous papers, stickers, and embellies for the yard sale.  And everything in there that I didn't sell was donated to charity at the end of the crop - that bag came home EMPTY!

Crate #8 - other than the bag above, the rest of this crate is filled with page and project kits - basically everything I hoped to work on and accomplish during the crop.

Bag #9 - clothes! Jammies and slippers for at night and two days worth of clothing changes and toiletries all in a relatively small duffle bag - obviously my wardrobe was much less important than my "stuff"!

#10 - the only item not pictured - my computer!  Laptop goes with me to crops too! And that bag also carries my p&s camera, cell phone charger, external hard drive, power strip, journal...

So you see... not really so much stuff when you see how critical it all is to being able to crop the weekend away...

And without further ado... what I did...

1. Twelve Cards!

2. the 2011 layout for Jay's birthday album.

3. A two page layout of all my blog friends! (Okay, not all of them... the ones who visit and comment the most...)

I swiped everyone's photos from their blogs and then where I had them, I used those cute little colored faces from Mel's coloring exchange.

Hey, Kai - when you do yours, can you send me one???
There were a few more people I would have liked to add, but for whom I had neither blog photo nor colored face... see, there is a reason to put your photo on your blog!

4. A quick layout about my disappointing round of jury duty.

5. I added some things to my "Junque Journal".  It seems to be filling up a lot faster since blog friends started sending me wonderful things in the mail...

All that crafty goodness...

6. A complete and total scraplift from Melissa - this tracker layout for my "Twelve" class (the chart was created by a fellow class member and I just printed it out and trimmed it down to fit).  I can mark off as I create the layouts... how many of those little circles do you think I'll have filled in by the end of the year???

And on the back I can write the title of each layout, so I'll always know which layouts in my albums were created during this class!

7. Our annual Christmas Greetings pages - this one shows what we sent out this year

A collage of photos/cards we received this year - so yes, I did need my square punch - in fact between this layout and the cards, I used all three sizes!

And the cards that were just too beautiful or cute or sweet to be cut up... all from my very crafty bloggy friends!

8.  Got the foundation done for two School of Life albums and a few interior pages... but I haven't taken any photos yet, so that will be fodder for another post!


And finally, 9. I finished the canvas I was making for Kai!  I had most of the background done - I added the She Art Girl and the saying at the crop, as well as some finer details. The canvas is in an envelope now and ready to go postal tomorrow!  I sure hope she likes it!

17 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness... wow, Cheri... you got LOTS done at your crop. How amazing you must have felt when you were done!! I LOVE what you did with the Christmas cards... I might lift that this year, since they are all just sitting on my table right now. And YES I will send you the color-face, when I get it. I haven't received them yet so I'm unsure if Mel has sent them out yet. And... WOW!!! I love the canvas, and can't wait to see it in person. YOU ROCK!!!

Amy said...

Kai has said it all really - this is an impressively productive weekend away! Well done ... and well done for being able to sell or donate the extra stuff!

Unknown said...

You got a lot done! Great projects! That canvas turned out absolutely gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

All that preparation really paid off! Great pages; love the one of all the bloggers!

Melissa said...

Wow, Cheri, you got so much done (& lovely work!).

This post totally made my day - (1) seeing my new profile picture on your blog friends page, (2) seeing my note in your Junque Journal, and (3) seeing your scraplifted layout (I consider that a high form of flattery!). I just love having blog friends.

Looking forward to seeing your checklist fill in as the year progresses!

scrappyjacky said...

Wow Cheri....I totally agree with Kai...and I can't believe how much you got done...I obviously spend far too much time chatting,rather than scrapping, at crops!!
I have a whole bunch of christmas cards I want to keep....and am still pondering on the best way to do it.
Some great pages....and thank you so much for including me.

MonicaB said...

You had a very productive weekend! I love it. I'm so honored I made the blog friend page, and I love the idea. I've met so many wonderful people via my blog. I'm going to have to scraplift the college of xmas photos, I like how you added some of the graphics and signatures from the cards. Great job on everything!

Sian said...

Well all your organisational skills have been put to amazing use here - without all of your "stuff" I'm sure you would never have achieved so much! It was an absolute delight and thrill to see my picture on your page :)

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

I LOVE this post, Cheri. In fact, I went back and read it a second time. :o)

It was fun to know what you take to a crop, and I loved seeing your cards and layouts. Uh...stinking ADORABLE pages with your blog friends!!! I LOVE what you did with the colored images from Mel's swap. And the canvas for Kai? Over-the-top-beautiful.

Oooh...this was fun. Thanks! :o)

Jo.C said...

I am glad you had such a great time - I have enjoyed having a nose around what you packed and I am so chuffed to be included on your blog page - this post has really made me smile and I needed that today - Thank you :0)

Anonymous said...

Oh my word - I cannot believe how much you got done in just one weekend.

Ginger said...

Cheri - I really enjoyed reading this post, what an inspiration you are to have completed all these. I love what you did with the faces; a very creative way to show your friendships across the world :)

Maria Ontiveros said...

Thanks for sending me the link - I had assumed you had stopped blogging because reader stopped showing posts from you! Don't know why, but I re-followed or followed (again), so hope reader works this time.
Rinda

Beverly said...

That is very, very impressive even for a weekend long crop. Great project results :)

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Wow! You certainly made good use of all that 'stuff'! I'm going to a weekend crop for the first time in a month or so and hadn't envisioned taking quite so much with me. Great to see a different way of showcasing the little faces from Mel's swap. I'm yet to do anything with mine, other than admire them.

Gail said...

I'm totally blown away by all that you got done and I loved gettign a peek into what all you take for a weekend crop! That canvas is absolutely gorgeous.

Cheryl said...

WOW, what a productive weekend resulting in *beautiful* rewards! I love the idea of documenting bloggy friends, and I'm honored that I made your page. :)