in which I scrap, but don't share any layouts (yet)

Every November I look forward to going to CKC Seattle (a scrapbooking convention). I treat myself to a class or two, and do a little shopping in the luxury malls near the convention center. It's gotten a little less fancy over the years, as the industry has waned, but it's still good for a fun time. 

This year was no different. I made the rounds of the vendor fair, took a class, and tried out my new crop bag.

The vendor fair was fun. I ran into my boss and her daughter. Cute!

I took a class from CK, since my favorite vendor Technique Tuesday was absent. It was nice. I also got a screaming deal on a subscription, so that was pretty cool.

This is my new crop bag. I ripped the strap off of my old one. It's nice, and has a big center area for things to be stowed. Most importantly, it held all the stuff I bought at the vendor faire. ;)

 I went and checked out the nicely large Anthropologie store. They had their holiday decorations out. I took photos with their polar bears (but they didn't really turn out). I did pick up some handmade chevron paper for me, and an adorable walrus bottle opener as a humorous inside joke present for G.

After surviving horrible traffic, I took a ferry out to the country to get my scrap on with my crafty girls at our super secret retreat location.

I got all set up, and scrapped until the wee hours of the morning. Layouts will be posted as soon as I get them scanned. :)

We scrapped until about 2 am, then we fell over. Somewhere in there I ate some delicious banana cake that Aimee made. Yum.

Did I mention my fancy new camera has an awesome stitch feature? Take that iphone 5!

Oh yes, and food. There was lots of food. We were totally prepared for a supersnowstorm-pocalypse.

Our bossy scrapper challenges kept us productive. I made three layouts and finished two months of project life spreads. Oh yes. It was fantastic. Aren't these ladies amazingly talented? We filled up three walls worth of clothesline with layouts.

And group photos are a must....

This one was stolen from FB.

 Sadly, the weekend did end, and I had to go back to real life.

But I'm totally re-inspired and energized and so so happy these women and this hobby are part of my life.
Cheers!

CKC Seattle Recap

All photos in this post were taken using the ShakeItPhoto app on my Ipod Touch.


Friday

At 7:00 am on Friday morning I hopped on the train to catch a bus to downtown Bellevue. I arrived at the transist center a little after 8:00 am. I grabbed a wrap and a big coffee at a conveniently located Starbucks and headed down the block to the convention center.

I picked up my class tickets and vendor faire passes and settled down to plan my schedule and eat some breakfast.

My first class wasn't till 9:50 am, so I decided to hit up the vendor faire when it opened at 9:00 for us early entrance folks. I got in line at about 8:30 and it was already super long. Some women had been waiting there for hours already. Crazy!

This is me waiting in line. Coffee has not yet quite been absorbed. I got into the vendor fair and right in front was the famous dollar scrapbooking booth. There were a bunch of Karen Russell Creative Imagination products, so I got sucked righ in line. I got some papers, some rub ons and a little minibook. I also snagged a cute little Heidi Swapp crank-rolling sentiment stamp. I spent about five dollars. Score!

The checkout line took about 20 minutes though. I also made a quick trip to the Technique Tuesday booth and snagged an adorable number background stamp. I'm glad I did, because it sold out while I was in the checkout line. Huzzah for early entrance!

My first class was actually a Technique Tuesday class, based on an Ali Edwards layout and featuring a stamp set that was designed by her. I always find the TT classes to be of good value, and this time was no exception. We didn't finish the project (of course) but the instructor was funny and I did learn a few new stamping techniques.

My second class was a big two-hour class taught by Tattered Angels. It was a project based class, and I was excited to try it out, even though the project was mostly pink. ;)

The class kit was HUGE. It had the project book (a file folder minibook thing), a few different colors of Glimmer Mist, a bottle of Glimmer Glam, a spray mask, and a whole bunch of other goodies.

The instructor Annette was very funny and knowledgeable. I had a great time. My hands were purple and pink from all the spray ink by the time we were done.

I took a brief break for food (because by that point is was after 1:00 pm) so I didn't faint from hunger. I then decided to brave the vendor faire for a more in-depth shopping expedition.

I spent quite a bit of money at the Tattered Angels both (as one might expect). Everything was either on super sale or clearance. That is the great thing about attending the last CKC of the year I guess--none of the vendors want to take any of the old inventory home with them!

I took a walk to escape the madness of the convention for a bit, and then decided to head over to Paper Source and Barnes and Noble for some additional retail therapy.

I went back to the convention at 6:00 for another class, which was sponsored by Studio Calico. So... I really had mixed feelings about this class. The positives were: good value in product received, design of class layouts were very cute. The giveaways were fun. Negative things were: Didn't really get the Studio Calico feel. (and speaking of this, NONE of the vendors at the vendor faire had SC product. What's up with that?) Would have liked to see SC products used in the class. Sure, there was a unique SC stamp in the kit, but that was the only SC product there. Why were we using Maya Mist instead of Mr Huey? Also, despite the fact that I'm sure Davinie is a very lovely and sweet woman, and makes some lovely pages, as an classroom instructor she was neither engaging nor dynamic, and didn't really take ownership of the class... Probably because of this, the class was VERY short, probably only about 25 minutes long.

In my very personal opinion, if I was a new to Studio Calico person, this class really would not have inspired me to either really check out their products or to become a member of their community. So, marketing failure.

That being said, I am still a fan of SC, but I would have to give this a thumbs down recommendation for any future classes they teach, unless they seriously step up their game.

After that, I got a ride over to the Hilton (on a shuttle, since it was a long walk to the hotel) and went to the crop. This was a really bad idea on my part. I was tired, going by myself, my bag was really heavy, and I kind of just wanted to go home. Let's just say that you can OD on a hobby, and it's not a situation I would try to repeat. I'm glad I did it for the sake of knowledge, but I don't think I would ever sign up for a CKC crop again unless I was A) staying at the hotel where the crop was, and B) going with friends.

I stayed for about two hours and then called it quits. I really didn't get anything done, and the swag bag was full of old things that were SO not my style. I donated the rest of the bag to the ladies at my table. The shuttle had stopped working by the time I left (the last one didn't show up) so I trekked back to the transit center and caught the bus back to Seattle.

At least it was a lovely night.

 

I got home and showered and threw on jammies and passed out. And that was day one!

Saturday

Saturday was a bit more relaxed, though I did have to get up pretty early. My first class was at 8:30, but because weekend parking was free, I drove out to Bellevue (much more luxurious) and parked at the Bravern. I attempted to get coffee there, but the only coffee shop wasn't open until 10:00 am. This is how I knew I was in the suburbs. ;)

Fortunately, my friendly local Starbucks was open early.

The class this morning was another big two-hour one from Tattered Angels. This was a technique focused class, not a project one though. I had the same instructor as the day before and it was still fabulous.

We completed a whole binder worth of techniques. It was glimmer-madness. In a good way.

 

I did one last lap of the vendor faire, and then headed up to Trophy for my victory cupcake. I got hazenut and chocolate. And I halved it with Greg, so it wasn't such a bad thing. ;)

And... here's a bonus video (for sticking with me through all these bad lo-res photos). It's kind of a "haul" video. Enjoy.

Packing for a Scrappin' good time

Well, this week has kind of gone in a blur. And not a good blur, but a gross flu-induced blur. Let's just say it's been a rough week, health-wise. Nothing kills my creative urges like a fever that is 100+ degrees. Well, that and having a messy scrap desk.

But I'm feeling better now (thank goodness for the healing power of gingerbread lattes), and tomorrow I head out for an all day blitz of scrapbooking-related fun.

What I mean by this is that tomorrow is the first full day of the Creating Keepsakes Convention here in Seattle. This will be my third year attending. I love that I can go shopping, meet with friends and take classes in an environment totally dedicated to my favorite hobby.

The first year I went I was all about doing everything. I wanted to be overwhelmed, consumed by the experience. I took three classes, shopped for two days and went to several events with friends. I had a total blast, and learned a lot as well.

The second year I was a bit more reserved. I didn't take any classes and only went shopping on one day. I still went to a fantastic crop at the LSS with friends. Good times.

This year I'm taking one class by Technique Tuesday (it's got Ali Edwards stamps, how could I not?) and planning to meander around the vendor fair for a bit. The plan this year is to take it easy.

I'm looking forward to this weekend a little bit like a kid looks forward to Christmas Eve... except I get to be my own Santa. I'm really looking forward to the Tattered Angels and Basic Grey booths. I promise to come back and blog with a full recap. ;)

Anyway, I thought I would blog about what I take to these kinds of things. I'm pretty proud of myself for streamlining my process and supplies to work for me.

My first year I took waaaaay too much stuff. I nearly killed myself dragging it around all day. The second year I didn't pack a big enough bag to carry my purchases (it didn't fit my 12x12 paper) so I had to rely on a cheap plastic bag from a vendor that ended up breaking (and wasn't rain proof). Between those experiences and the crops I've attended over the years, I think I've got a good formula now for these kinds of events.

Essential #1: Crop Bag

I picked up this little messenger style scrap tote from JoAnns on clearance a while back.

I like it because it is lightweight, has good partitioning and is the perfect size for my basic crop kit, one or two projects and it still leaves room for a few purchases. It also is small enough that if I have to squish it under the table for a class, I will still have a little leg room. :)

Right now I have my essentials tucked into the top clear pocket: my corner chomper, my favorite TimHoltz scissors, a glue stick, Distress inks in Walnut Stain and Black Soot, my black archival ink, a pen, my .5 inch hole punch, a steel ruler and one border punch (Fiskars Apron lace--yes, I'm obsessed).

The class I am attending is by Technique Tuesday, so I don't need to worry about bringing any other stamps or a clear acrylic block.

In the first body pocket (the big one) I have my portable Fiskars 12 inch paper trimmer (with a fresh blade) and a ziplock bag with a few photos and paper scraps to play with.

And that's it. It's really all I need for this kind of event. I don't think it's realistic to expect to get a ton of actual crafting done during these kinds of events...because for me, it's more about the experience... the social interaction and the educational aspect. And of course, the shopping.

Now, I did also pack some empty 12x12 plastic envelopes and a big ziplock bag just in case I need to contain anything (and guard from potential rain damage).

You should always leave room in your crop bag, just in case.

Essential #2: "Purse"

Now it may surprise you to know that my primary workweek bag is not in fact a purse, it is a small backpack that I picked up from REI a few years back (practical considering my commute on public transportation). This thing is a workhorse (it was my main bag on the Europe trip) and I really love it. It has all kinds of well-placed pockets and it can convert into a sling bag and holds an amazing amount of stuff.

Anyway.. In this bag goes my notebook with extra pens, my Ipod (freshly charged and updated with my playlists), coupons and class confirmation print outs, the lastest CK magazine, my checkbook, The Rebel and a sack lunch (made the night before). I tuck a small umbrella in the waterbottle pocket and I'm good to go.

One other thing that I like to mention is that I have written in the notebook a list of all the colors of distress ink and glimmer mist, etc. that I currently have. This ensures that I don't buy duplicates at the convention (unless it's a really good deal, of course). There was a moment in that first year where I was just could not remember what colors I had (because there are a ton in the line) and in that wondering if I really already owned Peeled Paint already... so after that I wrote down the ones I had so that I would be prepared for next time.

I also have a list of things that I am really looking to buy, and I try to stick to the list (and my budget).

Essential #3: Lightweight jacket with pockets

This time of year a coat is essential to wear, but it gets pretty hot at these events and I hate checking my coat. So I take a lovely trench coat that is lightweight enough to either wear indoors or if necessary, stuff into either of my bags. In the pockets will go cell phone, wallet, chapstick and keys.

Add a comfy (yet stylish) outfit including very practical shoes and I am good to go.

Well, it looks like my camera batteries are all charged so all that is left to do is get some good sleep.

If you are local or in town, maybe we could meet up for a coffee? Email me. :)

Have a great night and sweet dreams of craftiness!