Scrapper Interrupted

I love getting away for a scrapping retreat weekend. The group that I usually get away with was planning for the August 1-2 weekend. I knew months ago that I wouldn't be able to make that weekend work, so I did a different weekend with a small group in July. It was two and half days of relaxed time dedicated to scrapbooking. I worked on my daughter's school scrapbook. She is starting kindergarten this year, and I figured I should probably get that thing done. It took up most of the weekend so I didn't get many page layouts done.

[School Years Scrapbook]

Because I didn't feel like I made much progress on my pages, I went ahead and decided to try the August weekend. I thought an all day Thursday and Friday would allow me to get back on Saturday afternoon for the family activities we had planned. Ah well, the best a laid plans of mice and men.... Instead I got caught up at work until noon and didn't get up to CJ's Cottage until almost 3 pm. Then I got distracted with job hunting. Since I am one of many of the casualties of the economic slowdown and I need a job to finance my scrapbooking habit, it was important. Once I had that stuff under control, it was almost 4:30. Just looking at my stuff and knowing I needed to head home to take care of my daughter at 8. I did finish Family Snow Day and, except for the demise of my white paint pen, On the Ice.


[Family Snow Day 2008]


[On the Ice 2008]

Friday was another stop and start. Got up to the Cottage about 9 am and worked until 2 pm. Was able to crank out the Pisces Girls and Winter's Day (While the idea for the pine cones was Lisa's, it was Mary who dug deep in her stuff and came up with the perfect stickers to cover my mistakes. Thanks, ladies!). Must have had some circle thing going on in my head. Then had to take my daughter to the doctor for kindergarten vaccinations. No fun, but had to be done. Headed back up to the Cottage for the night.


[Winter's Day 2008]

Put the finishing touches on Winter's Day and dug into Egg Delight. It was a such an odd color palette-not Easter or springy at all. Could be because there was 3 feet of snow still on the ground for Easter. The odd colors made the flower embellishments a real struggle. I just couldn't find the right tone. I compromised with Cricut cut flowers out of the patterned papers.


[Pisces Girls 2008 - sketch from 52 Sketches]

I was almost ready to put the Pisces Girls page on my "ugliest pages" list (what was I thinking with that polka dot paper?), when I got a call from my husband. Minor family emergency required that I drive up to meet my sister-in-law 45 miles north on the freeway. Don't get me wrong, I was happy to do it. Lord knows I owe her a hundred times over, and this was no big deal. Just, seriously...while I'm scrapbooking!? By the time I got home with her and my niece, it was past midnight. Decided to spend the night in my own cozy bed and shoot back up to the Cottage early in the morning.


[Egg Delight 2008]

The next morning I was able to ease back in and put together the Lots of Bunny Love pages with the Easter laser cut template I bought two years ago. Not good enough to have the template to make the page quick and easy; no, I had had make the tag on covered chipboard. Why do I do that? Sure the tag is cute, but I honestly think I need a reality check (or a smack upside the head) when I choose these putzy things.


[Lots of Bunny Love 2008]

As my time started counting down, I was able to whip together the Zoom-Zoom layout. Love my little baby girl all dressed up for snowmobiling with her daddy.

[Zoom-Zoom 2008]

Then it was time to pack it up and head home. Just felt like I never quite got my scrapping groove on. Probably should have followed my instincts and skipped the weekend at the Cottage. But it's such a temptation-how could I miss all this:

• the awesome show and tell moments from everyone (Does Bev even remember where she bought some of that stuff? And Roxy is sure quiet, but has more stuff than all of us put together.)
• the glitter queens working on the front step (Yes, Marie did get a splinter in her butt, but she was glittering outside in her pajamas. What did she expect?)
• Amy with her glue gun, giant roll of 3M foam tape, and three packages of black paper (Johnnie says, "It's not really scrapbooking until you can smell the glue gun!")
• the strict enforcement of the "no naked scrapbooking" rule

It was tons of fun. Just wished I could say I got more done. Wait, did I hear there is a special discount weekend right after Halloween?