Planning for a Scrapbooking Retreat

I have gotten so far behind in my scrapbooking the last couple of years.  Once Erik started with the police department, and I started taking photos on the side, there just wasn't much time to get it done.  Let's also state the fact that I just couldn't bring myself to do it for whatever reason.  I lost my scrapbooking mojo.  Anyhow, moving on.  This will be my first retreat in two years.  As with any retreat, I want to get a ton of stuff done.  That means I need to plan really well to make the most of my weekend.  If you go to a retreat that lasts only a day, I'm sure that means the same for you.  You want to get a lot of stuff done too.  So, I am going to share my tips for preparing.

*First you can read these posts on how I plan my pages.  Here is Part 1 and Part 2.  They talk about how I organize my pictures on my computer and my planning notebook.  Now, I'm going to say this.  I am a chronological scrapbooker for the most part.  I have one album for each boy that is chronological, and I have one for the family that is not.  The family album is pictures that I love that I want to tell the story about.

*My perspective has changed...I planned a lot of these pages over a year ago.  I think in that time, I have become more of a "story teller" in my scrapbooking.  I have made the transition from here are all my photos, to here is a moment in time that I really want to tell about.  I want the kids to have the story behind the pictures.  That does not mean that I will not put a lot of photos on a layout.  I am going to go back through my notebook and probably erase/tear out a ton of pages and remake my plans.

*I'm only taking my scrapbooking kits.  Every year, or every one day retreat, I would pack up a ton of my supplies and take them with me.  It was a pain to go through everything, pack it up, and then unpack it when I got home.  Now, I'm going to only take my kits.  They have papers, embellishments, etc.  I will take my inks and some of my stamps.  I think it will be a lot easier to put everything away when I get home, and use up a lot of supplies too.

*Lets say you don't have scrapbooking kits.  Then, make your own.  Get some of the large Crop Bags

and put your papers, stickers, and embellishments that coordinate in them.  You could organize them by theme, or season as well.

I'll be back later this week to show you exactly what I did to organize my pages for the upcoming retreat.  I have to get it done first...I hope you found this helpful.