So Long Camp CropAway - Hello Road Trip Scrapbooking Retreats

Welcome to my new website. Since I have added a second location to my retreat business, I thought it would be a good time to rebrand. Most of us scrapbookers' travel far and wide to attend weekend events, so I thought "Why not have Road Trip in my new name?"

Scrapbooking in Muskoka will give you the best of both worlds: time to enjoy our wonderful hobby and time to relax on the beach, in the water, on the water, around a campfire... You get the idea.

We all know how wonderful our scrapbooking community is. We make friendships that last a lifetime. I hope to see you at one of my retreats where you can continue your friendships and make new ones.

Happy Cropping,

Margie

FULL WEEK SCRAPBOOKING - Too long or not too long? That is the question!

Usually when a weekend retreat is winding down, there is a lot of grumbling - "I wish we had another day", I don't want to leave yet".

During a few weekend retreats, we debated the topic "Is a full week too long"? Some people thought:

"I don't think I could scrapbook that long"

"I don't know if I could scrapbook that long"

"I would definitely be able to scrapbook that long"

"I would certainly like to try to scrapbook that long"

"I would treat it like a vacation - a mix of scrapping, water activities and relaxing"

So I decided to test out this debate. I launched my first and definitely not my last full week scrapbooking retreat in July 2019.

It was super successful. The ladies got tons done and lots of R & R and all have booked in for next summer.

And guess what? There was still some grumbling - "I wish we had another day!"

Muskoka "Weekends" in July

As you know, I am holding full week crops in Muskoka. A scrapper has asked me if I would consider accepting scrappers for a couple days during one of the full weeks - if there were space.

So, I have decided to offer this during a full week in July. The cost will be the price of a weekend, however you will get one extra night!

Here are the dates:

Sunday July 7th at 6:00 pm to Wednesday July 10th at noon.

or

Wednesday July 10th at 6:00 pm to Wednesday July 13th at noon.

That is ONLY $125. per night! This includes meals, beds, scrapping and summer fun in Muskoka.

Contact me for more information or to reserve your spot.

How my Retreat Packing Worked for Me!

As it turned out, I was very, very lucky that I could share a wall with my scrapping buddy. Otherwise, I would have not had any room for most of my stuff. I would have had to store it in my bedroom.

We had 3' of table space. Yikes! My very organized white storage bin did not slide under the table as I had planned on. But, I yanked off the wheels and managed to shove it under.

I set up my 2 little stacking shelves to hold my "go to" tools, organized my table as efficiently as I could and piled everything else against the wall.

Hmmm, what do I feel like scrapping. I pull out my photo storage and look over my titles. I'm very excited to begin my weekend of 16 layouts. Haha!

I decided to start a layout of my son and his fiance. I finished it Saturday morning. Only 15 layouts to go.

I decided to buy the "scrap n easel" to free up some space. What a great decision! It gave me working space without losing my layout and supplies under layers of paper and tools. Would I need it if I had

a 6' table? No, but will likely use it anyway.

So to wrap up my Packing Series, I still stand by my packing methods. However, I would cut down my options of scrapping choices. Instead of 16 sets of photos and themes, I would likely bring a variety of 8. That would cut down my

paper and embellishment choices. I would likely leave my cuttlebug and dies at home and either pre-cut some titles on my Cricut or bring a font stamp to the crop.

Although we all love to have a large space for scrapping, we can make it work. I had a fantastic time and learned a lesson. Pack for your scrapping space!

Part 2 - Packing for a Retreat

Okay - I thought I had packed really efficiently. I packed an Iris Tote organizer that will slide under my table and a rolling garden cart to carry everything else.

I packed 3 pieces of each colour of cardstock. You never know what you need, right?

I packed paper collections and loose pattern paper that I have collected over the years. As per my suggested packing list from my previous post, I planned my themes, gathered matching embellishments, paper, memorabilia and photos. I also chose stamp sets to match my themes.

Since I wouldn't have access to a cricut machine, I packed my Cuttlebug and dies. I made sure I brought an alphabet die as well as some images and fancy mats.

Of course, since I don't know my colour schemes yet, I packed my whole collection of Distress Inks.

Let's not forget my basic and favourite tools and a variety of adhesives.

My photos are already organized in photo boxes, so I just chose some possible themes I would like to scrap.

Sixteen photo boxes is what I packed! So that means sixteen layouts right? Haha - it actually just gives me a selection of topics to choose from. But that also means that I needed to pack sixteen themes of embellishments, paper, stamps etc.

So that's my scrapping stuff. I also brought an overnight bag, my tablet for Netflix and Bailey's for my coffee.

I'll let you know how it all worked out for me.

How to Pack for a Road Trip Scrapbooking Retreat

I know that there are very efficient ideas on "how to pack for a crop", but honestly they don't work for me. I change my mind too many times when I'm picking paper and embellishments. So here's what I suggest:

* Choose an assortment of themes you may want to scrapbook. This way you have options when something is just not inspiring you.

* Print your photos that go with all the themes you have chosen.

* Although you can pre-plan your pages, let's face it, we always change our minds. So don't limit yourself to one colour scheme per topic.

* Go through your embellishments, paper, momentos and gather everything up that could possibly work for your themes. This way you have many options when you change your mind.

* At Road Trip Scrapbooking Retreats, you have access to 175 cartridges, cricut machines, over 1000 stamp sets, ink pads, punches, embossing tools and powders, etc. So save packing space and leave all that at home.

* If you need paper, embellishments or adhesives, for your convenience there is an onsite store.

What should you pack?

* photos!

* trimmer

* adhesives!

* basic tools

* your favourite tools

* paper

* memorabilia

* embellishments

* albums - we like to peek!

* camera

* mixed media supplies - if you use them

It wouldn't hurt to have:

* table lamp (bring an extension cord)

* cup holder

* your own cricut mat (mats are available, but sometimes it's more convenient to have your own)

* laptop/tablet - Pinterest has great ideas!

* money - just in case you shop at the Corner Store or head to town

Make sure you pack:

* bathing suit

* beach towel

* chargers

* sunscreen

* a good book

One last thing - start planning early! You will be prepared and get excited for a great weekend or week of scrapbooking.