YAY!! It’s almost here!!
We can hardly wait to see your smiling faces at Camp Croppin’!!

As the time for Camp Croppin’ quickly approaches we wanted to give you some more information about our Camp Croppin’ classes! We are very fortunate to be having our classes taught by some of the most talented professionals in the industry.
From Making Memories we have Jodi Holbrook who will be teaching "5th Avenue Style" and "Spring Fever", from Luxe Designs we have Emily Adams who will be teaching "Right of Way" and "Transparently Yours", from Cloud 9 we have Nancy Martinez who will be teaching "Croppin’ and Creatin’ with Cloud 9" and "Creative Clips", from Scenic Route we have Layle Koncar who will be teaching "Keep it Simple, Make it Quick, Get it Done" and "Simple Scraps", from Simple Scrapbooks we have teacher Stacy Julian who will be teaching "Finish Line Scrapbooking" and "Photo Freedom: It’s time to let go" and last, but definitely not least, from Hot Off the Press we have Laura who will be teaching "Monogram Mania" and "Sara’s Surfaces". Make sure you go to our website at www.scrapbookersparadise.com  and click on the Camp Croppin’ icon to find out more about these talented teachers and their amazing classes.

To start to get you prepared, we have included some general “class survival tips”. You will get more detailed information from your instructor as the time for Camp Croppin’ gets closer. We just wanted to give you a head’s up so that you can start organizing your tools!!
 

Class Survival Tips:

All good scrapbookers know, you should never be caught in the woods without:
- a black pigment ink pen such as a Zig Writer
- a glue stick and photo adhesive such as ‘photo fix’, tape runner or photo tape
- straight edged scissors such as Durasharps or Cutterbees
- a paper trimmer
- a pencil and paper for taking extra notes
- a craft eraser
- sandpaper (for distressing of course)
Ensuring that you have your essentials packed will guarantee that you will make the most of your newfound ‘scrapbooking survival techniques’ during the classes.

Here are some tips on how you can make your Camp Croppin’ experience more enjoyable!!

1 - The Boys Scout’s Motto is to “Always be prepared”

As women we think that this means that we need to pack everything we can possibly think of (including the kitchen sink). . . just in case. This is not the correct. There are a few tricks for packing for a weekend scrapbooking trip without needing to bring everything . . . and trying to find it later!! We decided to include a great article written by Debra Schroeder to help you with this.

How to Pack to Get More Done on Your Next Get Away

by Debra Schroeder
After months of debate and indecision you’ve finally decided to go on a scrapbook retreat. Regardless of what type of event you’ll be attending, whether it’s Camp Croppin’, a scrapbook cruise, a weekend retreat at a home designed for scrapbook retreats, or a retreat at a local hotel, pre-planning is essential to a successful get-away. By pre-planning you will not only be able to get more done but you will also lighten your load.

• Step 1: Decide what equipment you will need to bring. Most retreats will provide you with a list of supplies and equipment that available for use during your stay. This information may be listed on their website or in the information packet they send to you confirming your attendance. If not provided or listed on their website, contact the retreat organizer and see what supplies they will have on hand.
  No need for you to bring your die cut machine, punches, pens or eyelet setting tools if one will be available for you to use during your stay. If you’re attending with friends, consider sharing equipment and assigning each person to bring something different.

• Step 2: Select which photos to bring – which ones stay and which ones go? Pre- planning will help you determine which photos to bring and which to leave home. Begin by going through your photos and deciding what you want to work on. Bring the photos that speak to you, the ones that quickly evoke emotion and bring a smile or tear. These are the ones you’ll want to crop since you’ll be inspired and eager to work. The photos that do nothing for you will only cause you stress and you’ll sit and spin, wondering what you want to journal, how you want them laid out, etc.

• Step 3: Pull together or purchase page kits. Page kits, groups of coordinated papers and embellishments, are a must for any scrapbook retreat. Whether you buy a manufacturer or monthly club pre-made kit or create your own, page kits will save you time and help you get more accomplished during your retreat than you thought possible. You won’t need to bring every paper and cardstock you own as the papers and cardstock have already been chosen for you – all you need to do is select the photos that work with the page kits.

• Step 4: Determine how many page kits you’ll need. The number of page kits you’ll need for a scrapbook weekend depends on how detailed your pages are and how much time you will actually be scrapbooking. If your pages are very detailed and take you several hours to complete you won’t need to bring as many page kits as someone whose layouts are simple and completed within 30 minutes to 1 hour. If your retreat offers additional activities such as on a scrapbook cruise where the ports of call, disco, casino, pool, midnight buffet, and shopping all will compete for your time, you’ll want to decide how much time you’re going to scrapbook. It’s always a good rule of thumb to bring more page kits than you think you’ll need. Running out of stuff to work on while you’re on a scrapbook retreat would be a bummer. By organizing your supplies into page kits you’ll actually be bringing less, have less to carry but get more layouts completed. And remember, if you are taking classes, the teachers will usually have a project that you can complete on your own, thus eliminating the need for more scrapbook supplies.

Remember that the more “tools” you bring, and the more your neighbour brings, and the less space everyone will have to scrapbook and to walk!!! Be sure to coordinate with your friends who will bring what!!

2 – Are the blind following the blind?

Definitely not!!! We are very excited that we are going to be having some of the most talented and creative people coming out to teach us classes at Camp Croppin’. These teachers are creators of some of the lines of papers, stickers, and embellishments that you use in all of your scrapbooking. You wouldn’t hand your child over to a complete stranger for an entire day, and so you should practise the same courtesy with yourself. Make sure you go on our website at www.scrapbookersparadise.com and click on the Camp Croppin’ icon and the “teacher” icon to learn more about these talented individuals that will be coming to teach us how to use their newest products! Also, make sure that you spend some time with them at our Make ‘n Take tables. This is a great way to learn a new technique in 10 minutes!

3 – The hardest part is getting in the door!!

This is literally true! Before we open the doors to Camp Croppin’ we generally have a line-up outside of our campground. This line-up is full of fellow campers who all want to get a great spot to sit with their friends and scrapbook all weekend. Please make sure that you are courteous to the other people in line and please do your best to leave some space for people to walk up and down the hallway. We know that it is hard to do with all of your scrapbooking tools, but because you have followed tip #1 it shouldn’t be too hard to do (wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

Once we open the doors to the campground, please make sure that you have your name badge ready to show us. You can keep all of your other parts of your registration package in your purse, but if you want to get through the doors quickly, please make sure you have that name badge handy. If there has been a problem with your registration and we have told you to come to the front desk to pick up your registration packet, if you could do so between 4:30 and 5, that would be great! That way we won’t be sending you out of line to the registration desk once the doors to the campground are open. If you haven’t received your registration packet, or if there is a problem with it, please let us know TODAY!!!!!! We would really like to have no problems on the opening day of Camp Croppin’, so we will do everything within our power to get you all settled before the camp starts!
Once you and your friends have gotten settled, take a minute to read the Camper’s Guide Book that you will find at your table. That will tell you when the contests are happening, what time lunch is at, where the donation box is for the Therapeutic Scrapbooking Program is, and how to submit a page layout for the page layout competition. After that, take a quick walk around, or grab a quick bite to eat. We will have our official welcoming at 6 pm, so you will want to be in your seats for that!

4 - We’re all friends here.

We are so excited to be at Camp Croppin’ with all of you. We have been planning this event since October of last year!! There are many of you who we know well and there are many of you who we can’t wait to get to know better. If you have any concerns, please feel free to come to the information desk, which will be located directly outside of the campground, and we will be more than happy to assist you. Please know that when we open the doors to the campground it is an especially busy time for us and if you have any questions or concerns, if they could wait until after the official welcome, we would really appreciate it!
We are also going to be having camp counsellors walking around the campground and going back and forth between classes. If you ever see one of us, please feel free to say “hi!” we would love to see you and see what you are working on. (Just make sure that we are not in a full sprint when you flag us down!!)

Now that all of the cobwebs have been dusted out and the housekeeping is all finished, we can’t wait to see you all next weekend.
And, as always, if you have any questions or would like more information please feel free to check out our website by going to www.scrapbookersparadise.com and clicking on the Camp Croppin’ icon. You can also email us at campcroppin@scrapbookersparadise.com .

Sincerely,
Your Camp Croppin’ Team