The Way I See Things

Scrapping My Way Down Memory Lane . . .

This weekend I had the opportunity to get away from the family and surround myself with dozens of inspiring gals at a scrapbooking retreat in Mystic, Connecticut.  This one was hosted by Scrap-a-way Retreats.  I have attended several different retreats over the years including Croppers Delight and Crop Classix, and have enjoyed them all.  Retreats are usually 3 day CROPS.

Whether or not you're a scrapper, you might wonder whether or not someone could really work on scrapbooking pages for three days straight.  The answer is an easy one -- absolutely.  In fact, I barely sleep at these events.  There is always good food, a little shopping, games to be played, etc but, like most people, I attend crops to get work done.  There are no usual distractions -- no laundry, no errands, no one needing me to do anything for them.  The meals are prepared for me, drinks are always available and everyone is pretty friendly and ready to give a second opinion if I want one.

Scrappers all have different methods to their madness and everyone seems to be working on different projects so you can get lots of ideas.  There are typically two kinds of scrapbook albums -- the first ones are specific to an event (wedding, vacation, etc) and the others are the day-to-day LIFE albums (what most photos are!).  Most scrappers try to do their pages in chronological order but NOT ME.  I like to scrap pages as they inspire me so I divide my albums into themes:  People We Love, Places We Go, Things We Do, Celebrations, Sports, and Just Because.  

No matter how many scrapbooks pages I've done, I am no where close to being "caught up" and I'm really okay with that.  For this retreat I just opened a bunch of shoeboxes where I have thousands (honestly) of photos stashed and grabbed pictures from all different years.  The result was a weekend trip down memory lane.  Each page I did brought back some wonderful memories for me and, I hope, will evoke the same emotions for the people in them.

. . .and now I happily share with you my latest journey:  1995 - 2010

Doing a Happy Dance in my Happiest Place on Earth

As many of you know, I am an avid scrapper and crafter.  I spend many nights and weekends working on my projects and it always brings me such joy.  Over the last few years, I've done more and more of my scrapbooking away from home. The reasons were twofold:  First, I, quite frankly, didn't have a lot of space to work.  I had a small L shaped desk that housed my cutting mat, my printer, my computer, and most of my tools.  When I worked on a project I had no where to "leave it" so I could finish working on it later. Crafty/Altered Art projects were often done in my garage where I had some elbow room.   My so-called craft room doubled as a guest bedroom and the room was overflowing with so much stuff (much of it in boxes) that it became harder and harder to SEE what supplies I had.  As a result the room felt cluttered and uninspiring.  

Second, I love to "create" with others.  I do love attending crops (day, evening, and weekend get-togethers of scrappers) where I can swap ideas with my friends.  This was something impossible to do at home.  Also, believe it or not, I had more space to work which allowed me to get more layouts done.

Well . . . I may still attend crops but now I have a true Craft Studio to call my own.  With my hubby's full support I finally transformed our guest room into my personal paradise!  As a scrapper, I feel like this room is my own little Disney World -- the happiest place on earth!  

I am still working on decorating the walls and plan on replacing the folding chairs with nicer (and more comfy ones) but at least for now I can invite a couple of friends over for a crop of my own.  I really love my new room -- I don't think I've been this excited about something so "material" since I got my Barbie Townhouse . . . back in the day!

 

my scrapping area has 4ft of space for each person

 

my clip-it-up organizes all of my stickers

 

for now I am storing vinyl on the rollers along the side of one desk

 

each scrapping desk has a project drawer for work in progress and a large 12x12 file drawer

 

my paper tower organizes my cardstock while my cricut carts are organized on top

 

5ft of space for computing, digital photography and wide format printing

the wall studio helps ensure that everything can be found

 

the rolling cart organizes paints, gels, tools and my cricut expression

 

even the closet finally got organized!

 

So, what do you think?  Can you see why I'm so happy these days?

 

 

 

Finally I h

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - Scrappin'

 

 

T.G.I.FRIDAY: A Scrappy Day

I woke up today in a crafty mood.  I was already excited about my plans to scrap with my friend Shannon tonight and spent most of my day "planning" for the crop.  Realizing that I hadn't fully unpacked since last weekend's crop, I found myself with a little extra time on my hands.  Free time = scrapping time!

Wish the photos had turned out better -- I used my son's point and shoot camera since my DSLR batteries died.  These were the three I finished today!

(Journaling:  Christmas Time is one of the most magical times of the year!  We always love to visit "The Christmas House" in Norwalk, CT.  Each season, this one family opens their yard to the public -- they fill their trees with twinkling lights and set up decorations through out.  This year we met your friends, Eddie and Dale Donovan, there.  Just one look at your smiles and you can see that you all had a wonderful time that night!)

 

(Journaling:  Brett, when you first asked if you could have a "few" friends over, I wondered how many a "few" would mean.  You really have a great group of friends and I'm happy that you want to share our home with them)

 

(Journaling:  My dad snapped this photo of us outside the apartment building I grew up in.  It was 1992 and we were engaged.  I never would have imagined that the "man of my freams" was someone from the neighborhood.  I love my memories of BRIARWOOD because that's where I found YOU.) 

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE! -- Dawn

Weekend Update: Sales, Scrapping & Saying "So Long"

This weekend was filled with activities.  Saturday morning kicked off early (7:30 am) as Dylan and I loaded the car and headed to his old elementary school where we joined seven other families for a GIANT MULTI FAMILY Tag Sale!  

 

 

The weather was perfect – sunny skies and low 70s.  A great day to shop!  All the “sales people” were on his Relay For Life Team, the Cancer Curlers, and all the money we raised will be donated to the American Cancer Society on behalf of his team.  The sale lasted from 9 am – 3pm.  Dylan and one of his friends had previously planned to attend the Yankees game at the same time so I stepped in to “relieve him” at 9:30 am and . . . well let’s just say he owes me one!

 

As soon as the tag ended, I headed home to unpack my car and then immediately repacked my car and headed to my scrapbooking workshop which started at 4pm and ended at midnight.  I saw my friend Shannon there and met some other great ladies.  I was pretty tired and easily could have gone home and slept (my surprise sunburn was starting to ache a little!) but I was determined to get a few pages done.  Below are just a couple I did.  I finished a few others but the batteries in my camera died!

 

  

This morning was the final day of Sunday School for Dylan and . . .  for me as well.  I have been teaching at the Sunday School for the past three years and, though I found it very rewarding, I must confess that I miss sleeping in on Sundays.  Dylan’s bar mitzvah is a little later this year and today was his “graduation.”  

 

 

I was really proud of him and of all my former students who graduated with him.  I was also moved by the lovely remarks made about me by the Sunday School Director.  It’s nice to hear how much you’ll be missed! 

 

So now it’s Sunday night and I am wiped out BUT . . . tonight is the SURVIVOR finale so NO SLEEP (well, not yet anyway!).  

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Check back tomorrow to see what I’ll be musing about!  -- Dawn

Scrapping My Blog

Scrappers have a saying that "if it isn't in the scrapbook, it didn't happen!". Let it FOREVER be known that this "scrappy" mom was a BLOGGER too!

I LOVE BEING A SCRAPTOGRAPHER!

What exactly is a scraptographer?  It is a scrapbooker who is also passionate about the art of photography.  I (and about 400 others from across the country) attended a wonderful event this weekend called CPR:  Creative Photography Retreat.  The event was put together by Creating Keepsakes magazine and Canon was the lead sponsor.  It was incredible.  I knew I loved taking photos but now I'm totally hooked!  let's just say that the holiday wish list grew a lot this weekend! 

My friend Jenn R. met me there and together we met Marish, Jackie and Kelly and formed a team for the photo scavanger hunt.  It was great making friends with people who love my hobbies as passionately as I do!

I attended 9 photography classes and learned about lighting, settings, portraits, and even macro photography.  I also attended 3 classes on Adobe Photoshop Elements and digital scrapbooking which was eye-opening!  The give-aways were great.  Scrapbooking supplies, digi supplies, and even reading material to keep me busy until the end of the year.

This was an incredible event and I hope they have another retreat again soon!  Below are some of the photos I took at the retreat.

First are some shots taken in my macro class:

 

 

 

Next are a few digitally manipulated photos done in Elements.  They started out as regular color photos that were in the sample folder of my laptop.

 

 

 

Scrappin' Queen

I just spent last weekend with about 200 fellow scrappers at the Crop Classix in Stamford, CT.  In three days I scrapped day and night -- literally scrapping until 2am and returning to my table by 8am.  I love the comraderie at these events.  Below are a few of my favorite layouts.  Check out my photo album to view all of my weekend creations!  (NOTE:  CLICK ON A LAYOUT TO SEE IT IN A LARGER SCREEN)