Inspiration Alley

This just in ...

You know the Hilltop Memories Crop I will be attending in January. (OK ... I might not have mentioned it on the blog before, but definately on Facebook).

It's my first weekend crop I have scheduled in 2012.  

The one in my most favorite hotel, the Kenilworth Lodge.

The one with Sue Neal coming to teach not 1, not 2, but 4 classes.

Well ... it just got even better !!

Linda has advised that since the Monday is a federal holiday (Martin Luther King Day), that the crop will run an extra day.  We can spend the night Sunday and go home on Monday.

Looking at my calendar, Sunday is the night of one of my plays "Jersey Boys", so now I must change my tickets to another day.  I really hope I can make it work.  Shouldn't be a problem and an extra day cropping would be so cool.

Witch Hats

The contest for creepover was to take a paper mache witch hat and decorate it any way you like.

Every hat in the contest was outstanding but here are just a few up close and personal.

First the winner was Kelly's

Then my personal favorite and way to think outside the box ...


And then there was one done in a Wizard of Oz theme ...

And one where the witches hands are opening up the hat itself.

One of the ladies at the crop made a photo montage of all the entries into the contest.  The prize was that you got into the Winter Retreat crop for free, so the competition was stiff.
Now, you might be wondering just exactly which one was mine .... and yes, I did complete one.  Mine is on the far left in the middle.  It's a witch hat with a sign underneath.  The sign reads ... "You say Witch like it's a bad thing".  It's me, what can I say.

Aside from the witch hats, Linda and her crew did an amazing job with the decorations and the food.  In fact, Linda and Elle made 150 cake balls.  Yes ... 150 - I think I figured that it worked out to about 5 or 6 cake balls per person. Let's just say, I ate my share, and they were delicious.  I don't know ... for me, you can't get much better than one of the Hilltop Crops.  I am always in awe of the talent that is in that crop room at any given point in time. 

 

 

 

Creepover

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the Hilltop Memories Crop called Creepover.  It was at a RV park called SunNFun.  I had planned to get a lot accomplished, but I knew I wouldn't once I got on the way.

First, I got a very late start on Friday.  Had some doctors appts and my annual mammogram -- (note to self, don't get your mamogram during breast cancer awareness month - they were 12 - 15 people in the waiting room).  Then hubby wanted to change the oil in the car and do a once over before I left, so I didn't get on the way until almost 4pm.  Which meant I didn't arrive until 8PMish.  Which meant, Friday was blown.

Saturday, Teresa did a very cute make-n-take.  You used one full 12x12 piece of cardstock and folded it all up into a little booklet.  There were tags and a page where you punched out part of the page and added a transparancy.  It was really cute.  I don't know how people figure out how to do these things.

I can copy really really well, but I'm not one to figure out exactly where to fold the paper to make something creative out of it.  Anyway .... loved the project.

Recipe Stand

I completed some projects while at the Scrapbooks Etc Crop.

First I completed a recipe board.  I started with a recipe magnet board kit from Adornit/Carolees Creations.  The kit came with the wood base, the metal board and the vinyl rubon that said Recipes.

From there, I used My Minds Eye So Sophie Collection Paper to cover the metal.  The base, I used Ranger Distress Stain to cover - I like the stains better than paint because you can see the grain line in the wood. Put a ribbon around the base and applied the decal.  The little birds are from Michaels and were originally just pop dotted decorative pieces, I added a magnet piece so that they adhered to the metal board.  

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Playing Catch Up

I wanted to post on some of the events and projects I've been working on the last couple of weeks.

About 2 weeks ago I went to a crop put on by Scrapbooks Etc in Bonita Springs.  It was their Halloween crop, and they did it in a Wizard of Oz theme complete w/yellow brick road.  It was way fun, and I really got some work accomplished.

First, here's a picture of the characters from the Wizard of Oz.  They even had a professional make-up person come in to do the make up - we were having lunch at the hotel cafe and it took me a minute to even recognize them.

I did get some work done while I was at the crop.  There were two make-n-takes.  

One was a cute S'more kit.

The other was a Halloween Canvas which was lots of fun to do.  We received the stamps as a gift when we arrived at the crop, and then worked on the canvas in 2 parts - first doing the background with the stamping and embossing, and then doing the banner flags.  Very cute and I can see using the same concept with other themes.

It was amazing to see how each canvas came out, some were more purple in color and some were more brown or beige in color.. They looked the same yet different.  The one black triangle flag is done with chalkboard paper so you can write on it with chalk.

Sebring Fried Green Tomato Crop

I think this pretty much says it all

Although I enjoy going to the various crops, I have to say that I love Sebring the most.  It's unbelievable to think back to how many years we've been coming with one group or another.  First with the FLScrappers, then for some events hosted by the local store, and for the last several years the Fried Green Tomato Crop put on by Linda of Hilltop Memories.

First there is the front porch with all the rocking chairs.

This is were all the stories are told, and important "stuff" happens.  If these chairs could talk, some of us would be in a lot of trouble - LOL.

Then there's the homemade Fried Green Tomatoes - need I say more.

And finally, the friends old and new. 

This weekend, I haven't accomplished much in the way of scrapping, but we did have a great time (mostly in the rocking chairs on the front porch), reminiscing about when and how we all met, funny things that have happened at the crops, peoples personalities,and favorite and not so favorite events.  From the girl who spent the whole weekend hammering eyelets, to the girl who left the crop in the middle of the night, to dressing up in costume for themed crops, to our antics at CKU (think stalkerazzi) and CE (climbing the "rock/mountain"), to the cruises (particularly Mexico) -- it was all rehashed until we couldn't laugh anymore. 

I don't think I could ask for a better weekend.

 

Check this Out

OMG ... this is so me.  I can so see it in the garage right next to my husband's black tool chest.

I already have a large wooden tool chest with my stamping supplies in it, but I can see me using this one too - plus they have a whole collection of pink (or lime green, if you prefer) tools, tool bags, boxes and chests. and pink pegboard too.

I got a laugh when their website listed scrapbooking as one of the ideas for using their products.  Great marketing.  When I did a google search it looks like Sears is one of their distribution chains, although I haven't seen it in the retail stores.

This is making me want to do up my scrap space.

All good things must come to an end.

I love going away to weekend crops, but really a weekend isn't nearly enough.

This past weekend, I got quite a bit accomplished and met my goal of completing the card kits.  I learned some new techniques, and got to try some new products.  I had a great weekend hanging with my friends, telling tales (including a few ghost stories) and making plans for future get-togethers. 

The next crop will be in just 2 short weeks up in Sebring which is a2 favorite crop of mine.  I can already taste the fried green tomatoes.  I've already booked my room for the next Bonita Springs crop, I have Creepover in October to look forward to, and then there was talk of perhaps an Alaskan Cruise-N-Crop in the summer.  So many plans, and I want to do it all.  I just need to work on the budget some to make sure that I can afford it all.

I thought seriously of just leaving everything in the trunk of the car but in the end I unloaded, partly because I want to fill the new ArtBin totes I bought and partly because I wasn't sure how the heat of the trunk would affect the adhesives.  Now, I just need to decide what projects I want to accomplish.

After every crop, my schedule is messed up.  I came home yesterday and promptly took a nap, so stayed up most of the night.  It's going to be a long day at work today.  Probably just about the same time I get my schedule back on track, I'll be heading out for the Sebring crop which will mess it all up again.

Make-N-Takes from the Crop

Another late night, but I figure I'd just do a quick post here before I go to sleep for a bit.  I did find my card reader so I can post some pics from the Make-N-Takes we did at the crop.

The first one is from Friday.  It is a beachy themed card with vellum we colored and the ultra fine glitter on the sun.  I really love this card.
It's got a "real" straw and one of those umbrellas.

The next project we did Saturday.  It is a wood box with a slide lid that was called a card box, but could be used for other things as well.  We first stamped on it with a versamark then embossed with white embossing powder, then used the Distress Stain daubers to color.  After staining the box, we added some embellishments from Tattered Angels.  I've never worked with Glimmer Glass.  Who knew that you could heat it up and mold it so it's no longer flat.  Amazing stuff.  You may or may not be able to see it but the umbrella and the sun have the glimmer glass that I molded.

I can see me trying this again.  It was fun, and surprisingly quick to do (unless you are an overachiever like some people - no names mentioned).

Oh well, it's off to bed I go.  At least today I'm making it before the sprinklers come on.  I'll have to give a final report tomorrow but I know I completed over 50 cards and a mini album, plus some ATCs.  I don't know what if anything I'll get accomplished tomorrow so we'll just have to see.  The next crop is just a couple of weeks away, so it's all good.

At The Crop

Yesterday was a very productive day at the Scrapbooks Etc scrapbooking crop.  I finished 3 of the card kits that I had brought to work on which equated to 22 cards and 10 tags., I also put together a Kanban card which I had bought at the last crop, and a make-n-take card. 

The make-n-take was very cute - it had a vellum drinking glass complete with a staw and umbrella, plus it used some of the ultra fine glitter.  I should be sharing a picture right about now, but while I do have my camera, I don't have a card reader with me, and I left my IPhone at home. 

I realized I had left the phone at home when I was just about to get on Alligator Alley.  For a minute I debated turning around and going back home to get it, but in the end, just continued on my way.  I have enough entertainment with me between the scrapbooking, my nook, and my laptop, I didn't think it was all that necessary to have Angry Birds too.  I do have my work phone with me, so I'm not completely out of touch with the world.

My room at the hotel is fabulous!  I couldn't ask for more and it is so much better than the room I had last time.  Last time I was on the 3rd floor on the other side of the hotel from where the crop room is, and the balcony was too small to even stand on.  This time, I have a room which is close to the crop room, and overlooks the lake with a little outside sitting (smoking) area, plus it has a mini fridge.  There was a full moon out tonight and it had an eery cloudy look to it.  I was hoping I'd get to view the Perseid Meteor Shower, but with the full moon and the clouds didn't get to see a thing.

I stayed in the crop room until about 1:30AM, then since I wasn't tired yet, took some of my scrap stuff back to the room and continued on.  I sat on my porch for a little while and read, and for the record, the sprinklers come on at about 4:45AM - LOL.  I at first thought I'd have to quickly move to the room, but the sprinklers didn't hit the sitting area.  They did give off a residual mist which cooled down the area pretty well.  It's very humid outside.

Well, it's off to bed I go.  I still want to get up at a decent hour so that I can get some more accomplished.  It feels good to be getting some stuff done, and I'm loving spending some time with my friends.