Scrap-tastic Weekend!!

I have scrap fever folks!!  Seriously.  In early November, I went to my first ever scrapbooking retreat!  Approximately 48 hours of uninterrupted scrap time.  I had an absolute blast, and am definitely planning on going next year.  My friend Colleen had told Gina and I all about her experience at the retreat in 2009, so Gina and I made plans to attend the 2010 retreat.  It was held at Camp Huston, which is in Gold Bar, at the base of Wallace Falls.  Gina and I met up with Colleen on Friday morning for some breakfast and a little scrap shopping before heading to the retreat for check-in.  We checked out a brand new scrapbooking store in Snohomish called Scrapville.  We were all really bummed when Lasting Memories closed in Lynnwood in June 2010.  Although Scrapville is a wee bit off the beaten path for this city girl, it will definitely be a stop for me when I'm in the Snohomish area.  We also made a pit stop at the Ben Franklin in Monroe.  After I purchased of few unnecessary scrap items, we made our way up to the Camp to start our weekend o' scrap!!

Colleen's mother-in-law, Mary, works as the bookkeeper at Camp Huston, and was able to secure us an area to scrap near her and other members of Colleen's extended family (Hi Mary!).  We each were assigned a 6 foot table where we could unload all our scrapbooking treasures and get to work.  Our scrapbooking space was a large room with table space for approximately 36 people.  There was also another room in another building dedicated to other scrappers, not sure on how many people were in the other space, but it was probably over 20.  Exclusively women.  The only men I saw all weekend were the ones that help out at the camp.  There were some crazy scrap ladies there!!  Lots of hard core ladies that seemed to bring ALL their scrap gear with them.  It was obvious that many of the women had gone to numerous scrapbooking retreats in the past, and they were definitely prepared for whatever scrapbooking shenanigans might occur.  The lady that was sitting behind me brought her own shelving for her table, I was impressed.  One of the best perks of the event was the sharing of supplies.  Everyone was really great about letting others use their tools.  Between different members of Colleen's family, there were 3 Cricut cutting machines available, as well as a variety of Cricut cartridges for different shapes and fonts.  I am absolutely sold on the Cricut!!  It makes cutting letters and images unbelievably easy.

We all had a great time hanging out and chatting, trying out different tools, getting page ideas from others, it was so much fun!  The camp provided our meals, which were quite good.  We spent the majority of our time scrapping though.  When we weren't sleeping or in the dining hall, we were scrapping.  And little time was actually spent sleeping and eating!  Friday night we went to bed about 1am, and got up at 8am on Saturday, had breakfast, and got right back to scrapping.  Saturday night we stayed up again til 1am, got up for breakfast at 8am, and scrapped until lunch at 12:30pm.  By my count, we spent close to 30 hours scrapping.  Pretty incredible!!

I didn't have any idea going in to the weekend how many pages I would actually get done.  My goals were to finish a few Milo pages, a few Frank pages, a few Pearl Jam pages, a few Getty Museum pages, and a few pages for the scrapbook I have been making for my mom over the past few years.  And you know what?  I did everything I set out to accomplish, I'm pretty pumped with myself about that!!  I recently took some pictures of the pages I created at the retreat for my own scrapbook.......

Furry Friend: This picture was taken after we returned home from our trip out to Vashon Island in May.  Milo was so tired after our big weekend, it took him 15 minutes to make his way out of the car.  I think I finally picked him up, he was so exhausted, he didn't make a peep.

 
Basset Bash: These photos were taken at Woodinville's Annual Basset Bash & Brigade, held back in late March 2010.  Milo, my sister, and I didn't really know what to expect.  Lots of Bassets in different costumes apparently!  I had so much fun, and although he was tired at the end of the day, Milo seemed to have a great time too.  I like this layout because I was able to fit in a lot of the random Basset pictures I took doing that grid technique.  So many cute Bassets!!

Keeper: This picture was taken of Milo during the first few days after I adopted him.  He was hanging out on the couch pretty much whenever I was home, getting a little shut eye.  I scrap-lifted this layout from one of scrapbooking magazines I subscribe to.  It says...."Can I keep you this way forever?  You were to sweet, friendly, lovey, cuddily, and curious.  Every moment with you was a treasure."

Drive by Milo:  These photos are just examples of the majority of the iPhone photos I took of Milo.  He was either afraid of my phone, or just plain wanted nothing to do with it.  The best pictures I could take of him are what I called "Drive by Milo" shots.  Lots of blur, and mostly fur.  Stubborn little basset hound :)

Handsome Boy: I took a lot of photos of Frank before he lost weight, when was still filled out and fluffy.  Now, he's a bit skinnier, and most times his fur just looks greasy and mangey.  I'll have to document that part of his life too though, even though he doesn't look as glamorous! :)  I love the color scheme in this layout. 

Faces of Frank:  This layout was also scrap-lifted.  I wanted to showcase Frank from all his angles.  There is a picture of his cropped ear, his white striped chin, and his beautiful eyes.  Still loving that square grid technique.

 

Freedom: I have some great pictures of Frank starring out the window from when we lived on NW 83rd Street a few years ago.  Frank loved to hop up on my book shelf and look outside, especially if the window was open.  The journaling on this page says: "Frank loves to sit on the windowsill and survey his domain. He loves it even more if the window is open. He can smell everything outside, hear the birds chirping, and feel the wind ruffle his fur. If only that pesky screen wasn't there, then he'd get to experience sweet freedom..."

spin the black circle:  I had received a really cool kit from Freehand Scraps a few years ago.  The kit had included a vinyl record.  I didn't really know how I was going to incorporate a vinyl record in to one of my layouts.  I finally figured it out after I had a bunch of Pearl Jam pictures that Kim and Cass had taken at the 2009 fall tour printed.  A couple Pearl Jam layouts were definitely in order!  PJ does a song called "spin the black circle" ..... enter my vinyl record.  End of story.

 
hello my name is: Crazy Pearl Jam fan is right!  Kim and Cass took some great pictures from their 2009 tour, so I decided to do another layout to commemorate my love for them.

Getty and Cactus:  During my very short time living in California, I went to the Getty Museum like 5 times.  It is such an amazing and gorgeous place.  The grounds and architecture are spectacular.  My sister Chris came to visit me and we of course went to the Getty Museum.  The first layout just highlights some of the gardens, and buildings.  The second layout is of their cacti garden.  Pretty cool place!

 
Life is a Journey: The journaling from this layout tells the story: "This picture was taken during my very brief life as a Californian. Mom, Dad, and I took a drive to Ventura for the day to visit Uncle Ken and Aunt Irma's old stomping grounds. Although this was a tumultuous time in my life, I will always be grateful for the experience. It brought me back to Seattle and all that is important to me....Life is a Journey!" 

Sooooo looking forward to the retreat next year!!