Scrapbook Expo Recap

We officially concluded our expo season upon our return from the St. Charles Scrapbook Expo two weeks ago. What an exhausting a great ride!

Our first expo booth in eight years appeared in Milwaukee . . . nice 'n close to home. Karen and I loaded our cars to the brim and drove to the show, caravan style. It was there that we learned a lot about how we wanted to present our product at future shows. We had so many ideas during Saturday night's dinner that Karen had to run out to her car for a notebook and pen!

Post-show dinner brainstorming session.

*The ALSB workshop we offered in Milwaukee sold out!

We ordered up the grid wall and display boards right away, and Karen literally set up the booth right in the warehouse.

In May, we hooked up a big U-Haul trailer to my truck and Scott drove me 'n Jac the full nine hours to the Detroit area for the Great Lakes Mega Meet. It's a big, three-day show, and we had a blast!

The U-Haul was a little bigger than the truck.

This is the part where I was SO glad Scott was driving!

Friends reunite in Michigan . . . Jacqueline and Lori. :)

Just loving the new booth setup!

Scott created an appetizer tray for us one night after the show . . . complete with his own custom computer graphic.

*Three ALSB workshops we offered in Michigan sold out!

In July, Brenda, Karen and I rented a slightly smaller U-Haul trailer, and I drove it clear across Wisconsin to the Minneapolis State Fair Grounds. Turns out I had a bit of a hard time backing up the trailer after we'd unloaded, so we just unhitched it and carried it into the parking spot ourselves. (An advantage to having a small trailer.) Girl power.

Post-show routine . . . head back to the room for a beverage and snacks.

It's a long day on your feet . . . Brenda takes a load off.

*Both ALSB workshops in MN sold out!

Finally, Brenda, Terri Zwicker and I drove together to the Chicago area for our final expo of the season.

*Both ALSB workshops in Chicago sold out!

Some of our favorite things about going to the expos:

1. Meeting up with current members . . . some who had joined CS back in the "old" expo days and have been members ever since!

Long-time member Mary Willert in Minneapolis.

2. Seeing people get excited about our method of scrapbooking and about the uniqueness/beauty of our collections.

3. Welcoming brand new members to the club or back into the fold after a hiatus.

Brand new members! Yay!

We will soon be booking our show locations for 2014. Our plan is to offer several ALSB workshops each day and to add a few more locations to our list. We want to stick with shows within driving distance whenever possible. For now, our staff will certainly be enjoying a few weekends at home. The laundry is out of control.

See you on the road!

Tricia

Pattern Basics, Projects and a Spoiler

I managed to carve out some creative time this weekend so that I could play with the new Pattern Basics papers. Yummy stuff!

I had additional incentive to make the "Art on a String" and "Photokeeper" projects, since I'll be teaching those workshops this weekend at the Minnesota Scrapbook Expo. Nothing worse than trying to teach something I haven't made since February, right? (We pack up and leave for the show on Thursday.)

Pastels used for the "Photokeeper" and Brights for the "Art on a String" Project

I'm so thrilled with how they turned out! And for those of you participating in the PSL Summer Camp, I just happened to sneak a stamped image from the UM sheet into the mix. Didjya see it? Mmmmmm. Yummy.

I know our Summer Camp project cabins are busy creating beautiful stuff. If you have these kits, be sure to give 'em a try!

Hope to see you in Minnesota!
Tricia

Ready or not, here we come!

It has been roughly eight years since I was on the "scrapbooking expo circuit." Hitting the road again brings back memories of countless good times spent on the road with my hard-working mom. In fact, my mom helped me at the Novi, MI Great Lakes Mega Meet (GLMM) for years.

This photo was taken in 2004 when I went to the show with Cliff and Emily. And now that girl is 16.

Emily is still wearing her show badge at dinner. :)

We're heading back to the GLMM today.

With a last-minute opportunity to exhibit at the Milwaukee Scrapbook Expo just three weeks ago, we were able to treat it like a dress rehearsal for Novi. And boy, did we learn a lot! During our Saturday evening post-expo dinner, Karen actually left the restaurant to go out to the car and grab a notebook because Rita, Jac, Scott and Karen had so many thoughts and ideas to write down!

I am so proud of what our team has accomplished to make our brainstorming come to life in such a short time! We literally set up the booth here at the warehouse and made adjustments until we were satisfied with the changes. Karen's dad used a saw, Brenda rolled out the sewing machine, Deb and Rita worked hard to package displays, Jac designed signs and labels, I printed signs and labels . . . it was an amazing effort in the midst of the typical day-to-day happenings around here!

Deb packs up a few last-minute things.

And everyone has been adding to this palette. 

Brenda checks product to make sure it's ready to go!

A big stack of our new "grid wall" for the booth display.

It's time to brace myself for some new adventures, like renting a 12-foot trailer and towing it behind my vehicle for the 8-hour drive from Appleton to the Detroit area, through Chicago and everything!

I'm thankful for dear friends like Mr. Scott (aka "the muscle") and Jacqueline Carney who will be helping out with the drive. I'm also looking forward to seeing my roomie for the week, Lori D, who will be there to meet us and help throughout the weekend. And I'm super-glad to have Deb K. around here, 'cuz she totally knows how to hitch up a trailer.

Jitters, be gone!

Mom used to get so excited to hit the road with me that she'd call and say things like, "Two more sleeps 'til we go!" and "One more sleep!" Well . . . no more sleeps. Here we come!

Here's to a great week on the road again! If all goes well, 2014 will bring more shows and workshops to the schedule, hopefully near you!

Tricia

Club Scrap is Hittin' the Road!

Happy Monday, everyone!

I'm excited to announce that after a nearly 8-year hiatus, Club Scrap is hittin' the convention circuit again. Yep, it's been a looooooong time, so we're starting out slow, dipping our toe in the water, so to speak. We're going to start out close to home this year (Midwest), but if this convention season goes well, who knows? Maybe we'll be in YOUR neck of the woods real soon! Here's the line-up:

Scrapbook  Expo, Milwaukee, WI April 19-20

Great Lakes Mega Meet, Novi, MI May 9-11

Scrapbook Expo, Minneapolis, MN July 26-27

Scrapbook Expo, St. Charles, IL August 23-24

We are super-excited about our upcoming shows. We're ready to get out there, meet new friends, catch up with old friends, teach workshops, and share what Club Scrap has to offer.

At the core of our little convention tour is our Workshops. Tricia will be teaching our fabulous Assembly Line Scrapbooking method at each of the shows listed above. We are also thrilled to host a booth at Milwaukee and Novi. (Keep your fingers crossed, we're on a waiting list for booths at Illinois and Minnesota!) So mark your calendars if you'll be in the neighborhood for any of these conventions...we'd LOVE to see you!

****In the Milwaukee area next weekend?****

We have SIX free tickets to the Scrapbook Expo Convention at Wisconsin State Fair Park. Leave a comment below if you'd like a chance to win a free ticket!

Creatively yours,
Karen