Monday, January 25, 2016

Building Retreat or Crop Kits

So when I posted on Saturday I said that I was spending my crop time building kits for a couple of retreats that I will be attending soon.  I am on a roll this morning and since I seem to be in the mood to build kits - I thought I would take just a short break to explain just what I am doing.

I love crops, retreats or even a quick afternoon scrapbooking session away from the house BUT I hate having to drag everything that I own out of the house just to be able to play.  I love having all of my treasures around me but they do get heavy when it is time to travel.

That is where kits come in very handy. 
 With the kit, I just find a pattern, add the needed paper, photos and embellies to a bag and I am ready to go.

First step:

Find the photos you want to scrap.



I already have my journal block done so I do not have to worry about stopping to do that.  I journal using my computer because, well for two reasons:  Kaela is dyslexic so she can not read handwriting very well and I do not like my handwriting so this works out better for my family. 

Step 2

Find a pattern for your layout


I use all of my CTMH How to Books to find my patterns - to me they are like that favorite cook book that you love to use.


But I do not like toting around all of my books to the crop / retreat so since these are just for my personal use, I make copies of the layouts I need for each set of photos.  

Once I find the pattern, make the copy, then I find the paper that I want to use and make a notes on my cutting guide.  I do this step in pencil so I can re-use my copies over and over.  

 Did you know that you can use these patterns over and over and get different looks each time?  Just change the pattern orientation from horizontal to vertical and follow the same cutting directions.  Presto - Chango... new layout! 

Step 3

Bag it up


The above photo has 12 page kits ready to go inside, and I still have plenty of room for more kits.

Once you have your paper and photos together just pop them in a zip top bag with a few embellishments and you are ready to go.

The Brain Fart Cardstock Bag:

This is a zip top bag of neutral cardstock for the occasional brain fart - like I forget to pack the base page cardstock in a kit or something.  The goal is not have to take all of my cardstock with me.  This bag may only have about 15 sheets of neutral cardstock for the entire retreat.  

Step 4

Pack it up

Then to my roll cart I add all of the other fun stuff we love to scrapbook with.

Do not forget to pack a spare blade for your trimmer and tons of extra adhesive.  It sucks to get to the crop or retreat and realize that you forgot to pack adhesive.


My Extra's

I am going to pack an extra, small bin with ALL of my DMC thread and sewing templates because I can not have a layout that does not have some sort of stitching on it.  The thread is super light so it will not take up much room.

I am also going to add a couple of layout neutral embellishments to have on hand.  Sometimes what you think you need when you are packing and what you need while working on the layout differ just a bit.   Those will fit in the drawers.

This is everything all ready to go:


With just a little planning and a few steps it is easy to Scrapbook on the Go.

Update:

It is Sunday night and I just finished making all of the kits for my 2011 Family album. I will be taking 28 (2 page) layout kits and that will make 56 individual scrapbook pages. 

Now let's see how many I actually finish. (hee hee) 




3 comments:

  1. Awesome idea! Where did you get that cart? If you don't mind me asking! Always looking for a better way to be on the go. Thanks for sharing you great ideas.

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  2. Good morning Rose. I am so sorry but I can not remember the name of my cart. I have had it about 10 years. We ordered it online. I have seen tool boxes at Home Depot or Lowes that are very similar.

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    1. Thank you again. Your idea of getting ready for crops is awesome!

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