Happy National Scrapbooking Day!!

Saturday, May 7th is National Scrapbooking Day. Hope all the scrapbookers out there have a chance to do something "scrappy", whether it's cropping or shopping!
If you haven't already registered to participate in a special event, make you sure visit one of your local scrapbook stores to see what they're offering. They're sure to have sales, and many are also offering other special goodies, such as make-n-takes and other surprises. It's a great day to celebrate the paper crafting hobby you love!

Scrapbooker Looking for Album Refill Pages!

One of the visitors to the Crop Across Canada site is looking for 12x15" Pioneer Album Refill pages with plastic sleeves. She needs 20 packages of 5 per package. If you know anywhere these may be available, please send me an email and I will relay the information to her.
Thanks!!

Plan Now for National Scrapbooking Day

National Scrapbook Day is less than 2 months away, so it's time to start giving some thought to how you want to spend the day.
Crop Across Canada have been busy posting new events on the web-site, so take some time to review what's happening out there. Plan to spend National Scrapbook Day in style ... doing what you love, with your scrapping friends! There are lots of great events out there to choose from!

Now on Facebook!

To help you stay current about Crop Across Canada updates, we've also set up a Facebook page! So ... if you're not a "tweeter" but still want to be one of the first to learn when we post new events, stores, scrap-friendly facilities or any other information to the Crop Across Canada web-site, you can now join us on Facebook!

We're on Twitter

To help you stay current about Crop Across Canada updates, we've started to send out tweets! Be one of the first to learn when we post new events, stores, scrap-friendly facilities or any other information to the Crop Across Canada web-site. Just click on the "Follow Me on Twitter" button!

Happy Holidays from Crop Across Canada!

Our best wishes to you for a holiday season filled with magical moments shared with those you love.

May the new year give you plenty of "scrappy" opportunities to showcase all your cherished memories.

Have a happy and safe holiday season!

Web-Server Back On-Line!

The repairs have been made and everything is back up and running.

Web-Server Down

Our web-server is currently experiencing difficulties, so you may have some trouble accessing the Crop Across Canada site. We anticipate this will be fixed soon.
Thanks for your patience!

New Look to Crop Across Canada

It's been a long time in the works, but there's a new look and feel to the Crop Across Canada web-site! The changes include a new section for "Scrapbook-Friendly Facilities", along with some design changes in the hopes of making it a little easier to navigate through the site. Another significant change is behind the scenes, with a conversion of all events to a database. While visitors to Crop Across Canada won't necessarily see much of a difference, the database working in the background will allow for events to be listed and/or changed much more quickly, with the result being much more relevant information.

There are still a few minor tweeks, adjustments and updates to be done over the next few days on the events and stores, so I appreciate your patience as we work through these.

Thanks for your continued support of the web-site. Our goal is to continue to make Crop Across Canada a good Canadian resource for scrapbookers who like to shop and crop!

CHA is Coming Soon!

CHA, the Craft & Hobby Association Show, will be held at the end of this month. This is not an event that's held in Canada, but it is important to us Canadian scrapbookers!

To get ready for all those new and fun scrapbook products that are being introduced, many of the local scrapbook stores need to make some room in their stores! Which means many of them are having some great SALES!! Make sure you take some time to check with the scrapbook stores you shop at to see what special deals they're offering! This can be a great time of year to treat yourself to some fantastic scrapbooking goodies!!

Upcoming Fundraiser Crops

If you're looking for an excuse to participate in a day crop, what better reason than in support of a great cause! Check out these upcoming fundraiser crops .....

Stamp Out Breast Cancer - May 15 & 16, 2010 (Vancouver, BC)
Presented by I'm Impressed, this two-day event includes demos, make 'n takes, shopping and classes taught by some fantastic instructors!

Zeta Pi Fundraising Crop - May 15, 2010 (St. Catharines, ON)
Zeta Pi, a chapter of Beta Sigma Phi, are hosting this event with proceeds split between St. John Ambulance and Lincoln County Humane Society.

Full details are available on the Crop Across Canada web-site.

Crop Across Canada Success Story!

I received a great email the other day from Bonnie, who recently organized a scrapbook fundraiser in High Level, Alberta. I was really pleased to get such great feedback! It reinforced my belief that the scrapbooking community is a fantastic community to be involved in. Not only do we have a chance to create a variety of special projects, our hobby also gives us the opportunity to connect with some wonderful and caring people. This is her story:

"There was a nice lady that read your website, from Edson, and contacted me to join us way up here in Northern Alberta to join our fundraising efforts. Our event was a success, to say the least, but the reward for many of us, was the new friend we made with the lady from Edson. Jessie runs an online store named Funked Up Crafts (www.funkedupcrafts.com). She was so generous, and an absolute joy to have at the event! She got right involved to help make it one of our best!

We owe this new relationship to Crop Across Canada! Without your information resource, we would never have met! Thank you so much for helping us all to connect across the miles!"

Thanks for sharing your story Bonnie!

Attention Edmonton & Area Scrapbookers!

In the past, I haven't normally promoted specific crops, retreats or other scrapbook events - there's just too many and I know all are fantastic for those who attend! However, this year, I've decided that one of the ways I'll use the blog is to highlight fundraising crops that are coming up. And I'm starting with Ecole Broxton Park School's Crop for Haiti.

If you're in the Edmonton area and are looking for a great way to spend your Saturday, consider a day of scrapbooking! The fundraising Crop for Haiti is $50 and runs from 10:00am until 11:00pm (lunch/supper included). There's also a layout contest sponsored by Canadian Scrapbooker Magazine for publication ($2/project to enter) and Cathie Allan is offering a class ($30 - all proceeds to the fundraising efforts). If you haven't had the opportunity to take one of Cathie's classes, you won't be disappointed!

Additional details and contact information can be found on the Crop Across Canada Alberta Events page.

Lucky Alberta Scrapbookers!!

Wow! It continually amazes me to see the number of scrapbook crops and retreats scheduled throughout the province. Some weekends have numerous options available, which means scrapbookers in Alberta have lots to choose from, whether it's a day crop or a weekend retreat. Lucky scrappers!!!

For those of you who haven't attended one of these events, consider giving one a try. The day crops are great, but if you can do it, a weekend retreat not only gives you more time to get a lot accomplished, but is also a chance to get away from the normal routine at home. And, if you can't find a friend who can join you, come out on your own and meet some new scrapbooking friends! Scrapbookers are typically a friendly group who will make you feel more than welcome!

Happy New Year

Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday season. It's so hard to believe another year has passed. Another year of memories - all waiting to be set out on beautiful scrapbook layouts or other paper-crafting projects!

It's been very satisfying seeing the response I've been getting from the Crop Across Canada web-site. I'm continually amazed at the number of scrapbook events I learn about that are happening across the country. It's great to see there are places for people to connect and share such a wonderful hobby! This has brought its share of challenges to ensure the Crop Across Canada web-site stays up to date, but I'm committed to the site and will continue to make sure there is a good Canadian resource available for fellow scrappers who like to shop and crop!

Watch for a bit of a re-design to the site in the coming months. As well as making things a bit easier for me to keep everything current, the re-design is also intended to help you navigate through the site more easily and find the information you're looking for. This blog will also be updated more frequently (as you can see - that's an area that has been lacking.

I hope 2010 brings you health, happiness and plenty to scrapbook!

National Scrapbooking Day - May 3, 2008

Mark you calendars! National Scrapbooking Day is just around the corner, so it's time to plan your day of scrapbooking fun. Check your favourite store to see what they have lined up to celebrate, or gather together some of your scrapping friends and create your own mini-retreat in someone's home. Either way, make Saturday, May 3rd a day for some shopping and cropping.

At Crop Across Canada, we've been posting some retreats that will be running over the National Scrapbooking Day weekend which are bound to be lots of fun. If you don't see something you like, contact your local scrapbook store to see what special events they have scheduled for the day.

Help Storing Your Rub-ons, Stickers & Other Embellishments

One of the things I continually struggle with is organizing my work area so I have an effective place to scrapbook. Unfortunately, I don't have a dedicated scraproom - I have a space set up in our spare bedroom (and keep hoping nobody comes for an overnight visit!!). Adding to the problem of limited space is my addiction to shopping for all things scrapbook related!!

I've lost track of how many times I've gone searching through my supplies for something I'm sure I had, but been unable to find. Even worse, I finish a page and afterwards find the perfect embellishment(s) that would make a good layout a great layout! But it was too late! I couldn't change what I had already done without starting over. So, I decided it was time to do something to get some of my extras out in full view. The only problem was with limited space, I couldn't afford to lose any of my table space, so needed something that didn't sit on top of my workspace, but would still give me easy access.

The solution ...





This handy little wire is actually a "curtain rod" and comes complete with two styles of clips - a loop type & a clip type - with extra clips available separately for when you run out. There are different ways to install the wire depending on what your wall-space is like. I have it set up between two opposite walls across the entire length, but you don't have to run the wire the full length if you don't want or if you have a door or window in the way! There are different styles of mounting posts to suit whatever configuration you need!

This has turned out to be a great organizational and space-saving tool for me! Now, while I'm working at my little table, I only have to glance up for some ideas on what little extras I can add to my scrapbook layouts.

Watch for New Stores to be Posted!

When I first was introduced to scrapbooking, there seemed to be a natural progression to get involved in rubber stamping. While I liked the idea of stamping, my first concern was that there would be nowhere that I could store all the stamps I wanted to get. That, and if I only got a few sets of stamps, you'd see the same ones throughout all my projects! So until recently, I steered clear of them.

But then it happened! I was introduced to acrylic stamps, and then not long afterwards, rubber "cling-on" type stamps! Some people have been very smart to discover a way that I can add many new items to my scrapbook area, and at the same time, be space conscious. I'm not sure if I should be thankful given that my wallet has become much lighter! But, I'm really not going to complain, as I'm seeing some wonderful ways to take my scrapbook pages to another level. That, and as I learn more about stamping and what can be done with it, I'm expanding my hobby into what I would call "paper arts" versus just scrapbooking. What fun it is!

As a result of this new-found knowledge, it became very clear to me that with this cross-over between scrapbooking and rubber stamping, there are a lot of stores that should be listed in Crop Across Canada's directory. Although many of these stores may have a stronger focus on rubber stamping than scrapbooking, those of you not taking the steps into the world of stamping will still find lots of little tools, gadgets and general supplies in these stores that would be useful for someone solely devoted to scrapbooking.

So ... have a browse through the store listings and plan a shopping trip for the new year. Support your local scrapbook store (and/or stamping store)!

A Scrapbooker's Best Friend

If you use a digital camera, you know how difficult it can be to organize and sort through the pictures you want to print for your next scrapbook project. Not only can it be a frustrating process to actually find them on your computer, but also once you have found them, you realize a little fix would turn your great picture into a fantastic picture!

There are many choices available to you if you’re looking for photo editing software. Unfortunately, not only can some of these programs be fairly complicated to learn and use, some of them are also fairly costly. A great solution is Google’s Picasa. Not only does it allow you to effortlessly edit your photos, but it sorts them on your computer so you can easily find them, view them, and if you want to take it one step further, share them on-line with your family and friends! All of this at no cost! Yes, that’s correct – Picasa is part of the Google Pack and is absolutely free!

Here are a just a few examples of how you can use Picasa for your scrapbooking needs.

• We all have great photos, but unfortunately, the flash has caused red-eye. Fix it with a click of the mouse!

• Would your scrapbook project better suit a black & white photo? Convert it to black & white, or consider giving it a sepia tone look.

• Have you ever seen a wedding photo that focuses in on the loving bride and groom, and then gradually blurs the background? This effect can be easily added to any of your photos!

• Do you need to re-size your photo before you print it? Crop it so it better fits the layout you’re working with!

• Is your photo a little too dark? Adjust the contrast so your subject is better highlighted!

You can experiment as much as you need to in order to get the desired effect to your photos. And, if you’re not happy with the changes, you can revert back to the original at any time, so you never have to worry about losing the original format.

All of this and much more ... at no cost! And, since it's a Google product, it's completely safe to download.

Crop Across Canada has Expanded!

It took longer than expected, but we've finally expanded Crop Across Canada to include on-line Canadian scrapbook stores! It's been great fun doing the research, and has also been very interesting to see how many great shops there are, and what fantastic scrapbooking goodies some of them have chosen to specialize in! For those who don't have the opportunity to get out to a traditional "brick & mortar" scrapbook store, or if you're looking for a special item your local scrapbook store doesn't stock, these are a great alternative!

We've also added a "Helpful Information" section, and have posted our first two articles. Hopefully, many more will follow in the future.

We hope you enjoy the new additions to the site, and look forward to continually updating this to provide fellow scrapbookers with a great Canadian Scrapbook Resource!