Conversation at a Crop.....

(click on the photo to see it larger)

Had lots of fun at the crop last night. 6 hours...2 layouts, ha. :) But I did lots of chattin'. That's what makes it fun! So, I met a few new people last night, really sweet girls, and we got to talking. One of the girls saw my magazine article about the armoire/organization in CK and was asking me questions about it and scrapbooking in general:

Her: Oh my gosh, is this in your house? (the armoire)
Me: Yes. (embarassed, since they had just commented "that is the BIGGEST ribbon collection I've ever seen" when she looked over at my table at the crop)
Her: So you probably know a lot of scrapbook celebrities, right?
Me: Oh, no...not at all. (honestly!)
Her: Who is that girl that is on the cover of CK? She has really short hair, her husband has long hair. I just love her.
Me: Oh, Elsie Flannigan. I love her, too!
Her: Do you know her???
Me: No, no...I just know who she is.
Her: Doesn't she live in Washington state?
Me: No, it's Springfield.

DORK! WHY would I know where she lives? Ha. They must have thought right there...."ok, this chick is whack. She knows too much."

Her: So...do you just do this ALL day??
Me: What, scrapbook?
Her: Yeah, you know, being published....I guess you make your living from this and scrapbook all day, right?"
Me: (thinking....I WISH!!) "No, I just get free supplies, occasional payment, design team supplies, but I'm not even coming close to breaking even on what I spend on personal supplies."

And when she asked me to autograph the article, Ikind of changed the subject. I was embarassed!!

I am a humble nobody in the scrapbook world, so it made me wonder how people like Ali Edwards, Becky Higgins, Heidi Swapp feel. How in the world do they just act normal and do scrapbook pages when they are around other people? I know they probably have no time at all for personal crops, but can they just shop at a store without everyone analyzing everything they buy? It must be very strange. You contribute so much to the scrapbooking world and are so passionate about it, yet just being normal and going back to your personal scrapbooking time is almost impossible. I guess to some I may seem a little overzealous about scrapbooking, especially when I get to talking about it with people. To me it's a passion, something I can't wait to share with others. I love it, love talking about it, I think it's so important, and it's a hobby that allows you to not only record memories but also express yourself creatively. There is something tangible at the end. I'm so thankful everyday that I found this hobby!

Above is one of the layouts I made at the crop. Chatterbox papers are SO much fun to use. And I love the challenge of trying to creatively fit more than one or two photos on a page. It's amazing how you really can do that when you trim them down. :)

OH! Angie Pedersen mentioned me and my blog on her latest (#3) podcast: Wholly Scrap! I wrote her an email to let her know that I loved listening to her podcast while I grocery shop and also to let her know I had mentioned her podcast on my own blog. (she had mentioned that she only saw her podcasts mentioned on one other blog) So she read my email and has my blog link in her show notes. Very cool! :) I think Angie is great, such an inspiration...so thank you, Angie! You can listen to the podcast by searching "Wholly Scrap" on your Itunes software/podcast section. She has 3 shows podcasted so far. The shows are a lot of fun as Angie talks about industry news, reads listener mail, and has great interviews with industry professionals. Check it out!

Gotta go work on getting some recipes typed up for recipe books/files. :)

Oh, and here are some fun April Fools' jokes you can play on your kids! Don't forget to set your clocks ahead tonight!

- Jennifer

"Lord, make my life a window for Your light to shine through and a mirror to reflect Your love to all I meet. Amen." - Robert Schuller