CKC Hartford - Scrapbooking! Finished, with photos

[Ursulinda]

Scrappers, if you ever have a chance to attend a Creating Keepsakes Convention - DO IT! Classes! CROPS! VENDORS! FUN!

This year, the closest one for me was in Hartford, CT. After years of attending engineering type conventions for work - this was heaven! LOVED IT!

Drove over on Wednesday afternoon and checked into the hotel - Marriott, right by the convention center. I had way too much luggage, and used every bit - cooler full of food, action packer with dry food and coffee maker, scrapbook tote, suitcase, computer bag, and a couple miscellaneous bags for purchases - people laughed at me for taking food, but at least I got fed on the days I was too busy/tired/pushed for time to go seek food. The only thing available in the conference center was starbucks and they didn't have "food" food, just the sweetie type stuff.

Hartford is cool - they have a free shuttle making continuous rounds of downtown, so you can park and leave your car parked for the duration (VERY expensive parking, oye). Wednesday night, Supper was at the Black Bear (in honor of Dimples), a brand new sports pub. A great burger, JUST the way I like it, fries that were done to perfection, and the best onion rings, bar none, that I have ever had in a restaurant.

Thursday, I had signed up for the all day Album class. Went over early and got my packet, found the room and got set up. It was expensive, but oh my! Each participant got a box about 13 inches square and 6-7 inches deep packed full - a nice album, full pack of Basic Grey paper, pack of bazzill cardstock for backgrounds and another pack for cutting up, rub-ons, thickers, stickers, packs of buttons, packs of ribbon, brads, two ranger inks, full color detailed instructions, even a needle for sewing, if one wished.

Then, we each had the use of a Revolution die cutter, two sets of alphabets and some other dies, beyond that, I forget. During the day, people from several vendors came in and gave us other stuff - glue pen, glue dot roller, and I forget what else.

The class moved right along - no time for fooling around. I forced myself to get up and walk out once an hour before rigor mortise set in. The description says "fast paced" and they weren't kidding! My goodness. Even though I"m an experienced scrapper, I could not keep up. Finally just concentrated on cutting the letters and stuff that I'd need and doing anything that I didn't have the tools for at home. Stuck everything in the appropriate page protector and called it good.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810pages001.jpg

One lady in the back was done to the point of getting her photos on the pages. I bow to her - she is superwoman. :lol:

To be continued with more class descriptions and critique, and hopefully comments from others who went - I know there was at least one more Tag there.

[twinks]

Sounds GREAT!!!

I can't wait to hear more about the classes and your TR. This is something that I dream about doing.

twinks

[Ursulinda]

Well, by 5 pm, I was seriously tired, so I dragged my self and my tote full of the contents of the box back over to the Marriott. I discovered I could just go across the patio and in through the conference center to the elevator, skipping the whole lobby thing. Saved 5 minutes. This tired, 5 minutes matters.

There's something restorative about a nice freshly made up hotel room. I had a bottle of water and some snacks. A couple Disboards girls were coming over for the 7 pm class, and we thought to grab some supper, but we didn't get together until just before class. I'd got my second wind by then, so it was off to "Vacation Memories."

This would be a great class for beginners, and it was perfect for the end of a long tiring day. The project was a 4x4 rolodex album on a flat slotted base. It was cute, super simple and would make a great teacher gift or just to sit on your desk with your favorite photos on it. We chatted through the whole thing, because there wasn't any teaching going on - no need. I did discover I'm not a very good stapler. I managed to make a hash of it until finally I got one in the right place and to close correctly . . . and then found I had stapled 4 pages together along with the ribbon :( http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810027.jpg

After that we went in search of supper but clearly had hit the wall - the Marriott restaurant was too TOO, so the girls left, and I went up stairs and had PB&J in my jammies. Much easier than taking the shuttle somewhere.

Friday Morning was another glorious day. I watched the sunrise in the windows of the building across the street, as it flooded my room with light. Dressed and downstairs in a hurry because I had early entry to the vendor fair. Now to people who have access to LSS, that may not seem like such a big deal, but our store closed over a year ago, and i've been working my way through my stash ever since, so it was a BIG DEAL to me to be able to shop.

I had a list, and in 40 minutes had seriously made a dent in it.

Then, it was time for "Latest and Greatest with Basic Grey." My Dis friend Buffy had saved me an end seat, and it was definitely welcome. Hard for me to get in and out of a row of seats close together. Those girls were a godsend and took great care of me! Seriously, we did 4 layouts in 1 hour! I din't finish the last one, but they were fun, and I bought the companion kit. Definitely an intermediate class, and lots of cute product included.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810pages005.jpg

This one uses their new Praire Collection.

I think this next one is Urban Chic, or something like that

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810pages006.jpg



Then a 1.5 hour break - thank goodness! I went back to the room and unloaded my tote, wolfed down a couple hb eggs and some veggies and a bottle of water. Back to the classrooms again.

On the way up, there were several women in elegant and flashy gowns. Turned out there was an Arthur Murry dance competition all weekend, so we saw lots of SO elegant people, and between classes the crowd of scrappers hung out watching through the door. Quite a visual contrast between the sometimes scantily clad dancers and comfortably dressed us, lol.

NExt up - a Disney Board book by Lickety Split. The rest of the DISboard girls had got there by then and taken over the front row. Two of them were fairly new at the craft, and this was not the class for them. Lickety Split. Yup! They weren't kidding. We got to laughing as we fell further and further behind, so the instructor had to shush us. lol

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810033.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810034.jpg

I'd been wanting to do a board book since Barrie wrote about doing them, and this was a great one to start with. Happy disney colors and fun embellishments. Apparently they do a Disney book every year and they're different every year. I will definitely take this class again. AND I will be buying more board books at yard sales and designing my own. Making one is FUN! In fact, this would make a great autograph book, because the pages are hard as boards.

[ChrisR]

Sounds like you are having a blast! I have never gone to a CK event before. I am going to a Club Scrap retreat next week in Green Bay, WI. I have gone several years before and was I ever pampered. They are a lot more intimate than a CK event, only 100 participants. Food is also included in the fee and everyone takes the same classes, but not at the same time.

Be sure to take pictures of your pages/projects and post them so we can see what you did!

[BriarRose]

Wow I wish I could be there with you! Sounds like so much fun!

[Ursulinda]

Ok, what's next? After the Lickety Split class, I was dead. Not enough energy to even trudge back to the room. Fortunately, i'd packed a ham and cheese bagel and a bottle of water. One of the other women with a disability and I hung out in the lounge area of the fancy ladies room and had our snacks. The dancers kept coming in and adjusting in front of the mirrors, so we got a front row seat to all the amazing dresses. and shoes. Can't forget the shoes! Glorious, but i'm so glad they're not mine!

AT 3:10, it was off to another 'beginners' type class, The ultimate Teacher gift. Very simple. We took square bar coasters and covered them with patterned paper, punched them for a rollabind and applied all kinds of fancy ring shaped die cuts and ribbons all over and hanging out the sides (bad description, but wait til you see it.) Then a calendar month goes on each coaster - January through June on one side, July through December on the other. With the binding inserted in the top, it stands and makes a cute desk calendar. Anyone could have done this project, even with no skills at all, so I took a nap, while pasting happily.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810026.jpg

By then it was 4, and my next class was at 6, so I did go back to the room to dump my load of class projects and supplies, and hit the snacks and water. The urge to lie down and sleep was almost overwhelming, but I persevered, and actually got some time in the vendor fair before class.

Many booths were showing Disney pages, and MUCH more creative than Disney's own stuff. Dillons Laser designs had some creative overlays. EZ laser designs also had some but I didn't like them as well. Boxer had an album kit that made a rectangular chipboard album, which I bought, Lickety Split had 4 page kits (Photos not allowed) which I bought, as did several other vendors.

6 o'clock, time for Vellum 911, sponsored by Quick Quotes. Now I've bought a ton of these poems, verses, and card sayings over the years, and never used any of them, until now. This class was taught by Michelle Grainger, now of Orlando. She is just a fabulous teacher. I'd think I 'got' what she said, and just about the time I started to think "now, what did she say?" she repeated it. Can't say enough good things about her or the class. We did 3 of the 4 pages in the kit, and then a little one sheet album. The companion pages were available in a kit as well, without instructions, and I bought those. The class must of really increased my confidence with vellum, because this morning, when I came a cross a skiing verse, I was able to make something pretty cute out of it in less than 30 minutes.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810pages004.jpg

Finally, party time! Some of the other Disboard girls had gotten adjoining rooms and a 4 foot long 'grinder' (sub, for those not in New England). We'd brought chips and drinks and all the accoutrements, including a blender and the makings for konk koolers! Oh Baby! Nothing like a Konk Kooler after a hard day of scrapping!

One of them went and rescued Dimples from my room, and we had an uproarous time, looking at each others books and taking photos for the next one. (I was afraid hotel security was going to come, but I think we were all scrappers on that floor and most everyone was at the crop.) I dragged my chair full of scrapbooks, leftovers, and bear back to the room around 11. Thank goodness I don't have to get up early on Saturday.

[Ursulinda]

And, the reason I don't have to get up early on Saturday, was because one of my pals bought my ticket for my first class. SHE was enthused about it! I was tired.

Of COURSE, I woke up at 6 am, just because I didn't have to. Went up to the 22nd floor to the pool to take some photos. Unfortunately, the travelers building is just sufficiently tall to block the view. How annoying. Then, breakfast from the cooler, and down for another pass through the vendor fair. Of course, I bought stuff!

At 11, another quick Quotes class, all over the map, and I was happy to see Michelle Grainger was the teacher. We roared through 4 pages in an hour, and I bought the companion pack.

Two hour break before the last class. I went back upstairs and started to pack. Two drawers in the armoire full of scrapbook stuff. Such riches. I divided it between two suitcases, so the tonnage wouldn't kill the bellman, grabbed a snack, and went back downstairs. No conventions in the conference center on Saturday, but over in the convention center the dance competition was still in full swing. Half the downstairs was given over to the Greater Hartford Moslem community's EID celebration (marking the end of Ramadan.) Certainly an interesting contrast among the dress of the people today scantily clad dancers, comfortably clad scrappers, and conservatively clad Moslems - but under the clothes, I'm sure, we all worry about the same things - dieting, the kids, and what to serve for dinner.

I digress . . . about 30 years ago, I was standing at a bus stop in Maria Gern, in the mountains above Berchtesgaden, Germany. Two local ladies came to the bus stop, and after greeting me, went on with their conversation - about dieting, husbands who wanted slim wives, but also wanted their ample dinners. I had to laugh, and then explain, in my fraggled German, that the dilemma was the same where I come from.

ahem. Back to Hartford. . . So, my last class was Rusty Pickle, Lifetime moments. The teacher had previously taught 3rd grade. I'm sure she was fine, but her voice just grated along my last nerve. The directions weren't clear, and she was forever standing somewhere behind me, but expecting eye contact - she said so. Excuse me - I haven't had eyes in the back of my head since my kid left home! Finally, I was so frustrated, I packed up and left.

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810029.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810030.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810031.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r149/LindaBabe54/200810032.jpg

Thus ended the classes. One last pass through the vendor fair, and back up to the room to wash my face and throw myself on the bed. I had a crop ticket for the evening, but did I have the energy. And I couldn't face one more hard boiled egg. Room Service! Where's the menu?

I ordered up kids mac & cheese, and an order of chicken fingers, and it came in half an hour. YUM! Nothing like comfort food served in dishes with warmers on a white linen covered table. How restoring!

By 7 pm, renewed, my bag repacked for cropping, I made the trek back to the convention center. My companions for the evening were the woman who had just come back from Iraq, and two other ladies. We had fun, and I finished the Rusty Pickle project with no difficulty in peace and quiet.

Now it had been gloriously beautiful for the entire 3 days I'd been locked up inside, so Sunday, I was ready for some outside time on a beautiful day. It was overcast and drizzling. Ugh. Thank heavens SusanL and I had decided to meet an hour later than we originally planned, because it took me forever to get a bellman and get out of the hotel. She was already at the restaurant, while I was two exits away!

Susan was the sunshine in Sunday morning! Smiling face, golden hair, sunshine! We only live three hours apart, but end up only seeing each other in Orlando or Nashville. Shame. We had a lovely natter, and yummy breakfast - and SHE treated, Thank you, Susan!

That changed the day for the better - by the time I hit the Mass Pike, the sky had cleared, the sun was out, and I had a smooth ride. On top of the mountain, the foliage was at peak, and I rolled in the driveway in 2 hours flat. Can't WAIT for next year!

Lessons learned.
1. Never mind what the official hotel is - STAY at the NEAREST hotel!
2. Never mind the teasing - pack food.
3. No more evening classes - 5 pm, I AM DONE.
4. No 8:30 am classes either - my days of hurrying through the morning routine are so over.
5. Take money. There were a wealth of new ideas and things to buy. A list and cash in hand were a big help in keeping to my budget.
6. Don't be afraid to go alone - you *will* make aquaintances, and you might even make friends.

Thanks for reading - hope some of you can join me next year!

[EgExperiment626]

Glad you had a good time.

[Ursulinda]

April, I know you went. Will you give us your story, too?

[EgExperiment626]

I have nothing positive to say. Now I only was there on Saturday and I only did the vendor fair. I thought the setup had too much wasted space - some of the booths were so tight! There were a few great vendors and then a lot of not so great vendors. There was really nothing that I hadn't seen before and there were not a lot of great show deals to be had.

Still managed to buy a lot mostly at Embellish It (which is my fave online store)!

[goffygirl]

I was there with April and I agree. Some of the vendors appeared to be "unloading" last years stuff which I already had. There weren't many deals like we found at the Scrapbook Expo in Long Island in 2007. I was hoping for buy one get one 1/2 price. I also found there were less vendors or they were together in one booth.

I am so glad you enjoyed most of the classes. There were a lot of people who were very excited about the classes.

Janet

[twinks]

Thanks for sharing your experience TMom. I am jealous.

I know that I just started working at my LSS, but, I would like to see different things as I think I am tired of them - everything looks the same. I think that I am going to do a crop night on the Cape when I am there in a couple of weeks.

twinks

[Flash]

Linda - You make it sound like a bunch of fun! I was at an event similar to this. it's one of the few times I did anything creative in a long time. Your stuff looks great! I'm so jealous. I see some great techniques and ideas I'd like to learn.

I have a question - did you try to do exactly what they had laid out or did you branch out?

[Ursulinda]

I have a question - did you try to do exactly what they had laid out or did you branch out?

Uh, well NOTHING I do ever turns out exactly like the recipe:confused: - either the ADD kicks in and I get distracted, or I make a "mistake" and have to compensate for it, or something.

The Rusty pickle book came with bright red buttons and torn red fabric for the ribbon, and I thought they looked like H*ll with the maroon cover, so I replaced the ribbon with maroon and the buttons with another color that I thought "went" better. And the paper was double sided so I used the "wrong" side some times.

The square on the front of the Ultimate teacher gift was a mistake. There should have been a photo on the front with the square on it as a frame.

Friends and going places were pretty much as planned. The Disney Album ended up with a lot more doodling than called for, because it's fun and once I got started - well, I got distracted and just kept doodling. lol I took a lot OF liberties in the all day class because my arm got tired of cranking out letters on the Revolution - and some things don't fit my life.

The "technique" classes by Quick Quotes - I 'tried' to follow the recipes in an effort to learn how to use the stuff. Most of the classes gave extra product with which one could be creative.

There were a few great vendors and then a lot of not so great vendors. There was really nothing that I hadn't seen before and there were not a lot of great show deals to be had.

I heard April's viewpoint echoed by several women who had been to CK Valley Forge where the vendor fair was apparently three times larger. It would appear there's the difference in viewpoint between people who go to bigger shows, or have access to LSS and me who doesn't. I hadn't seen most of the stuff,(I don't shop on line for scrap stuff - need to smell it, feel it, etc) so I was in pretty much hog heaven. Apparently, the vendors weren't all that happy either, especially on Friday, when it was very sparsely attended.

Not surprised that there weren't any "deals" really. These people are struggling to stay alive in this down economy. I personally know a number of people who have huge 'stashes' from better times who have basically cut out buying pretty much anything but adhesive and photofinishing, and I suspect that's pretty common.

The other 'event' that seems to be popular is the Scrapbookers Dream Vacation that occurs at Walt Disney World in August - but that doesn't have many vendors - cropping and classes being the primary focus. (for link, see Kathy's post!)

[Flash]

I think this is the link you wanted.

http://www.dreameventsinc.com/sdv.cfm

That looks cool. I'd want to be at the parks at WDW, though. I may have to see if I can find one to which I can drive next summer.

[Ursulinda]

I think this is the link you wanted.

http://www.dreameventsinc.com/sdv.cfm

That looks cool. I'd want to be at the parks at WDW, though.

Thanks for the link, Kathy! That was my feeling too. Also, it sounds like something I'd like to attend with scrapbooking friends rather than alone, since one sits in the same spot all weekend. If you happened to be placed at a table with a group who all knew each other already, it might be kinda difficult. I've been to crops like that:(

[LisaG]

I think this is the link you wanted.

http://www.dreameventsinc.com/sdv.cfm

That looks cool. I'd want to be at the parks at WDW, though. I may have to see if I can find one to which I can drive next summer.

Thanks for the link, Kathy! That was my feeling too. Also, it sounds like something I'd like to attend with scrapbooking friends rather than alone, since one sits in the same spot all weekend. If you happened to be placed at a table with a group who all knew each other already, it might be kinda difficult. I've been to crops like that:(

I've been to 2 SDVs - both in Raleigh-Durham, NC. I can't imagine going to Disney and not being in a park. Plus the cost is much higher for the FL one.

I go with my sister and a group she crops with on a regular basis and we have a blast.

I agree about going with friends. I attended a 24-hour crop alone once and it wasn't a great experience. The other 7 at my table all knew each other and had a lot in common - all had kids, lived near each other, worked at the schools. I had nothing but scrapbooking in common and it wasn't enough. (They weren't even into Disney :yowsa:)

I'm planning on going again in 2009 if anyone is interested in going to NC:D

[Lou-Ann]

Linda, I am so glad you got to go and do this. Sounds like so much fun. Thanks so much for sharing it with us. :)

[Ursulinda]

Lisa,

My current favorite LSS is in your town http://www.cropshoppejax.com/ do you ever crop there?

Raleigh-Durham is 6/26-6/28 but no information is up yet. Southwest flies there too, so it's a possibility, if we could get a group together.

[Flash]

I could drive to Raleigh-Durham. The projects don't look as cool as those you did, Linda. What I'd love, is to see some of the finished projects of you all to get some ideas. I'm really intrigued by the pockets and stuff like that.

Let's keep an eye on that crop. I have tons of Disney stuff to crop - I could use some time on task. :)

[Daisee]

Thanks so much for sharing, I would love to do that sometime. Great pics!

[LisaG]

Lisa,

My current favorite LSS is in your town http://www.cropshoppejax.com/ do you ever crop there?

Raleigh-Durham is 6/26-6/28 but no information is up yet. Southwest flies there too, so it's a possibility, if we could get a group together.

WOW! I didn't know it existed!!! I'll be checking it out this weekend for sure!!

[LisaG]

Lisa,

Raleigh-Durham is 6/26-6/28 but no information is up yet. Southwest flies there too, so it's a possibility, if we could get a group together.

I could drive to Raleigh-Durham. The projects don't look as cool as those you did, Linda. What I'd love, is to see some of the finished projects of you all to get some ideas. I'm really intrigued by the pockets and stuff like that.

Let's keep an eye on that crop. I have tons of Disney stuff to crop - I could use some time on task. :)

I think registration for NC usually opens in Jan or Feb. I'll post once I find out. It would be great if we could get a group together. There are alwasy a lot of people there working on Disney stuff. Plus there is a Yahoo group that organizes a lot of swaps - I did 2 Disney ones last time.

[RweTHEREyet]

Hello all. I am new to Tagrel and also new to scrapbooking. I did my first and only book on a Disney cruise in September where I shared a table with UrsaLinda, and it was a lot of fun. I finished the book at home and really enjoyed working on it. I already had most of the scrapbooking tools--I used them for making signs and magnets for our cruise door and other paper craft gifts, but no scrapbooking

After reading UrsaLinda's report on her expereince, I thought I might be interested in going to a scrapbook event and found out about the one in Durham in June. I would love to go and have absolutely no one to go with, so if any of you guys do decide to go and wouldn't mind a true beginner in your group, I would love to join you. I live in the Raleigh-Durham area and this would be a good opportunity for me to experience something like this.

So, I will hang out here for a bit and see what develops. :boyears:

[RweTHEREyet]

And if anyone knows of any great LSS in my area, I would love to hear about them. We do have an Archivers in Raleigh, and J's, M's and ACM, but I don't know of any local stores. :oops:

[LisaG]

And if anyone knows of any great LSS in my area, I would love to hear about them. We do have an Archivers in Raleigh, and J's, M's and ACM, but I don't know of any local stores. :oops:

Archiver's is the only one I know of - there used to be one not too far away but it closed early last year.

[LisaG]

What timing - I got up this morning to the announcment from SDV that registration is open for NC!

I will find out this weekend which package my sister and I are going to register for and post. We usually do the Early Bird package, arriving early afternoon Thursday. Then we go to dinner at PF Chang.

[Flash]

LisaG -

How quickly do these fill up?

[RweTHEREyet]

What timing - I got up this morning to the announcment from SDV that registration is open for NC!

I will find out this weekend which package my sister and I are going to register for and post. We usually do the Early Bird package, arriving early afternoon Thursday. Then we go to dinner at PF Chang.


I saw that too, and came to see if anyone had maybe started a thread on this. I see it is located at the Sheraton Imperial, which is about 12 minutes from where I work, so I think I will have to register just to check it out for myself and see how I do. I am excited about the opportunity to be exposed to so many experienced scrapbookers because I have so much to learn. None of my friends, co-workers or family are into this, and I have no one to share it with.

LisaG, I am guessing you guys go the Changs at Streets of SouthPoint. I also love the Maggiano's there.

[Ursulinda]

Well, Durham is 200$ cheaper than the one at Disneyworld, comparing the same package. Lisa, do you know for sure - I remember reading that to be guarenteed to sit with a certain group, the whole group had to register together and be on the same package. Is that true? How do they deal with mixed groups of locals/hotel guests? I'd definitely want to be able to sit with you guys, and with RwethereYet.

If I go, I'll certainly be looking for a room mate, if anybody's interested.

[TracyMB]

My friend and I did the CKC Manchester, NH this past May and had a great time. We did the Pieces of My Life book as well, but have yet to get any pictures in this album. We difinitely want to do it again next year. Now we just have to decide if we want to go back to Manchester, NH which is driving distance from Boston or maybe go somewhere a little more exotic and make a real vacation out of it.

[LisaG]

LisaG -

How quickly do these fill up?

Last year the third person in our room signed up about a month or so before final payment was due.

They do post when it is getting close to full what percentage is still available (or at least they have in the past)

[LisaG]

Well, Durham is 200$ cheaper than the one at Disneyworld, comparing the same package. Lisa, do you know for sure - I remember reading that to be guarenteed to sit with a certain group, the whole group had to register together and be on the same package. Is that true? How do they deal with mixed groups of locals/hotel guests? I'd definitely want to be able to sit with you guys, and with RwethereYet.

If I go, I'll certainly be looking for a room mate, if anybody's interested.

I don't think to sit together you have to be on the same package. That only matters if you are rooming together - everyone in the hotel room has to be on the same package. Last year we had one person who had the local 3 day pass, 10 of us did the early bird package, 3 people arrived on Friday and the last 2 were just there for Saturday. (The 3 and 2 weren't with us but were sitting at the table with us.)

They are good about putting groups right next to each other to when larger than the table.

Oh and none of us registered at the same time (except me and my sister). You just list on your registration who want to room with and who you want to sit with.

[RweTHEREyet]

If you decide on one package, can you book another later on if you change your mind and there is space available?

[lynner5996]

Linda! What fun you had - I am so jealous!

As you know, there is a CK event coming to St. Paul at the end of the month, but unfortunately, between my lack of vacation and my social life (I have invited friends for dinner that weekend), not to mention the fact that I sell the stuff AND have it coming out of my ears, I am not going to attend.

I have a scrapbook retreat coming up at the end of the month. I have a few spots open if anyone wants to attend, at the Hampton Inn near MOA, $65 for the weekend and $84 per night at the hotel if you book before 10/20. AND, we do two retreats per year, so if anyone is interested in the Camp Wapogasset weekend (a beautiful church camp in Amery, WI) let me know. Soon Southwest will be flying here.....

The Raleigh-Durham things sounds wonderful...it would be so great to be able to scrap with my Tagrel friends! Please keep us posted on the details.

Thanks, everyone!

[LisaG]

If you decide on one package, can you book another later on if you change your mind and there is space available?

I'm pretty sure as long as there is still space available you can change packages - only catch is roommates would need to change as well.

[RweTHEREyet]

I'm pretty sure as long as there is still space available you can change packages - only catch is roommates would need to change as well.

I'm local, so no roommate involved. I am just tring to decide how many days to sign up for and I usually change my mind, so I just wanted to make sure I could change my number of days later.

[RweTHEREyet]

Wondering if anyone has signed up for the Durham event yet?

[Ursulinda]

Not me - and probably won't for at least a couple months. I need to monitor our finances for a bit into next year - we're retired, and our 401K's took a bit of a whack just recently.:yikes:

[LisaG]

I probably will closer to Thanksgiving. I'll let you know when I do.

[Flash]

I'll have to wait to see what my work schedule is. I probably won't decide until after the holidays.

[twinks]

I received the bestest surprise! It was a "sorry you can't go to CKU" package full of GREAT stuff!!!

Thanks to my angel!

twinks

PS. I opened it this morning, but, keep in mind, I leave the house at 6:15am which is too early to be calling anyone (8:15 EDST). I couldn't resist any longer :lol:

[twinks]

Part 2 of my surprise arrived today. HUGE box on my porch!

THANK YOU!!! I am so very excited! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!

It would appear that I have a couple of angels.

twinks

PS: I am off to start cleaning/organizing my scrapbook space so I can PLAY!

[Cinderella]

:scrapbooking::scrapbooking::scrapbooking:
Linda:

What FANTASTIC pages!!!! They are so professional looking and beautiful!!! Sounds like a great time but a hectic pace. I'd be like you and would have my snacks with me and water just in case I couldn't find something to eat.

Glad you were able to go and got so much done. Thanks for the pics.

Cinderella

[RweTHEREyet]

Linda, I just reread your report and wanted to say again how much I really enjoyed it. I am sorry you won't be here for the SDV in Durham this weekend, would have loved to see you again, and I think it is going to be great fun.

[Ursulinda]

Janet, we'll expect a COMPLETE report, with photos! CROP till you drop!