Scrapbooking in Numbers
It’s Friday night, the kids are finally in bed, your husband is snoozing in front of the TV…and all you can think about is getting out your pictures and scrapbooking ‘til the wee hours of the morning. But first you have to clear off that dining room table, drag out all your stuff, and darn it if the dryer doesn’t buzz just as you sit down. On your way back from the laundry room you notice the plants need watering, and there are a couple of dishes left in the sink. It’s a good hour later now and you make your way back to the dining room, set out all your stuff….and then, NOTHING. Your inspiration and motivation are gone. If only you had someone there with you, to keep you focused. Better yet, if only you were SOMEWHERE ELSE so you didn’t have any distractions. You need a crop, and I’m here to give you lots of ideas and help you organize one. It’s easy, fun, and much more rewarding than folding laundry or washing dishes. Why a Crop?
Why do you need to set aside time for a crop? Well, if that little story above didn’t answer that question, I’ll make it even simpler – YOU DESERVE IT! Whether or not you work outside the home, everyone needs some time away from the family and household obligations. Making scrapbooks for your family is one of your priorities (that’s why you’re reading this), so get out your calendar and schedule some time for a crop. Many scrapbook stores host crops on a weekly basis. They usually are not free, but you have the benefit of having every possible product at your fingertips. Of course this is a dangerous situation for some of us to be in…so let me throw out some other ideas.  Location, Location, Location
If you have a dedicated scrap room, or a large basement where you can set up tables away from any children or distractions, consider opening your home up for a crop with your friends. You’ll want to make sure you have enough table space for everyone, as well as adequate lighting. You wouldn’t want to come up from the basement just to find that your reds really didn’t match as well as you thought they did.
If your home just isn’t large enough, or if you can’t imagine the kids leaving you alone long enough to get anything done (that’s my problem!) then perhaps finding a room somewhere else would be a better alternative for your crop. When I lived in the Seattle area, a group of my friends met at the library service center twice a month. They had a huge meeting room that was free to the public. They had 32 tables at our disposal, a little kitchen area, tv/vcr if we wanted it, as well as dry erase boards, plenty of chairs, and excellent fluorescent lighting. We only had to reserve the room in advance, and let them know how long we needed it. The person who reserved the room was given a key and was in charge of locking up afterwards. You might check your local library, church, or community center to see if they have a similar room available. If you’re interested in more than just one night of cropping, you might actually consider calling a local hotel and asking if they have some sort of conference room available for overnight guests. This will probably come with a price, but if you can get enough people to join you and split the cost, it would certainly be a lot of fun. The same considerations will apply here: make sure they have enough tables and lighting. Kick it up a Notch
While for many people, just having a place to go away from their children and distractions is reason enough to go to a crop, you may want to consider some of these ideas to add a little more fun to your night out: Theme Crops
Holidays/Birthdays – If you’re going to throw a party anyway, may as well do something you love, like scrapbooking, while you’re at it!. Seasonal - There are plenty of holidays that deserve to be celebrated each and every month. And if you don’t know of one, just make it up – like Festivus (remember Seinfeld?). Special Occasions – baby showers, wedding showers (you can even incorporate having everyone make a page for an album for the guest of honor) Just Because – Hawaiian luau, Football Widow Crop, TGIF Games/Activities
Name Tag Contest – This is great in case you don’t know everyone at the crop. Have everyone design their own nametag and have everyone vote on whose they like the best. Get to Know You (icebreaker games) – Come up with scavenger hunt questions about the people who are coming. For example: name the person here who has 4 children and lives on a farm. If they didn’t know that was me, they might find out by looking through one of my albums, or else just asking me. Scavenger hunt with supplies – This is a good one to do as teams. Make a list of some normal supplies and a few out-of-the-ordinary ones to see just who brought everything except the kitchen sink. Pass the THING – This game I have seen played using different objects, that’s why I called it THING. We used a can once, a stuffed animal, a bell…use your imagination here. Every time someone finished a layout, they stand up and show it to everyone and then they get to hold the THING until someone else finishes a page. It gets passed around like that and the crop hostess (you) will have a timer set somewhere, and when the timer goes off, whoever is holding the THING wins! You can do this throughout the night. It’s a fun motivation to get your layouts done! Garage Sale/Free Table – If you have an extra table, consider using it for people to sell or give away some supplies they may not need. You’ve heard the saying “one man’s trash is another’s treasure” this is certainly true with scrapbooking supplies! Progressive Layouts – This was always one of my favorite activities. Tell everyone to bring an extra set of pictures (preferably pictures they have double prints of). Everyone starts at their station and starts putting a layout together. In 5 or 10 minutes, a timer goes off and it’s time to move to the next person’s station. And you go around the room working on everyone’s layout for a few minutes until you get back to your own spot again. When you do, you may not recognize your layout, but hopefully it will be completed and it will represent the scrapbooking styles of all of your friends. Prizes – This is not always necessary, but you can choose to provide some small prizes for people at your crop. You can also ask everyone to donate a prize. (Be sure to specify a certain dollar amount, or if you want something homemade…this will help prevent hard feelings.) If you don’t have that many prizes but want to do a lot of party games, consider doing raffle tickets as game prizes. Then at the end of the night, draw a winner from the raffle tickets. You’ll also want to hand out tickets to everyone just for coming so they all have a chance to win!
Food, Music, & Entertainment
My crop group in Seattle had a standing date at Acapulco Fresh, a local Mexican restaurant. We would march in there and fill up our bellies to prepare for a long night cropping. Then we would swing by the scrapbook store which was right around the corner before heading back to the library. While late-night munchies are common among scrapbookers, remember to keep in mind the safety of your photos. Supply photo-friendly foods like Swedish Fish or M&M’s…and stay away from Movie Theater Butter Popcorn or Cheetos. Many people enjoy some music to help with creativity flow, but keep in mind that people’s musical tastes differ as greatly as scrapbooking styles. In my experience, there’s usually too much chatting to hear the music anyway. On occasion, we would rent a movie and put it on later in the evening when the crowd would dwindle. I am not the kind of person who can concentrate on the TV and scrapping, but it was a nice diversion for a little while. Now I have never witnessed this one first-hand, yet, but a local group here in Ohio does some entertaining of a different kind…KARAOKE! I imagine it’s later when the girls start getting giddy from the Diamond Glaze fumes, but what a hoot it must be to see. I’m definitely looking forward to this. Spread the Word
OK, now you have all these ideas and you’re ready to run out and book a room for your crop, right? But just who are you going to invite? Well, this is a dilemma that I am unfortunately very familiar with. In the past 5 years that I have been scrapbooking, I have moved across the country 4 times. If you don’t have a group of friends that you regularly crop with now…try meeting some at your local scrapbook store. You can also look online for a Yahoo group local to your area, or check out the Scrapjazz forums to see if you can find someone there. My best advice is to not be shy, because scrapbookers in general are the friendliest people you will ever meet, and they are crazy about a good crop. If you plan it….they will come!
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