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Post by myboysnme on Aug 25, 2014 23:56:41 GMT
What made it great?
This past Sat I went to a crop that was nicer than any I have ever been to, and I've been to more than 100.
It cost $25 and 100% of the crop fee went to Relay for Life. They had round tables with 2 to a table. The room was at a church and it was huge with sky lights that made the natural lighting incredible. They had a ramp to pull your rolling totes right into the room.
They had name tags on the tables with little themed jelly bean containers and candy bars. There was bottles of water chilling in ice. There was hot tea and coffee, and mini donuts. The tables were pretty much spread out so you could talk without listening to other people's conversations. The only minor issue was the lady next to me had a walker and bumped my stuff everytime she went by, until the crop host came and moved her table a bit to give her more room. There was nice, well stocked clean bathrooms, comfy chairs and extra chairs to put your stuff on to have more table room.
They had a table of door prizes and as they pulled 5 names every 30 minutes and you got to go choose something off the table. All of it was donated, and there was everything from trimmers to stamps to paper packs. There was also about 10 raffle items - tickets were $1 each or 6 for $5 - drop your tickets in the bag at each item - nice stuff like gift baskets, jewelry and gift items.
Crop started at 9 am and lasted until 7pm. They did the raffles at 4pm. There were 3 make n takes; 2 by the host and one by a vendor.
At lunch they had chicken salad, pimento cheese, tossed salad, veggie tray, sliced cheese, croissants and cibata bread, lemonaid and cookies. They used corel plates and stainless, and had a nice relay for life cup for the drinks. The host brought around an adorable little case with a wet wipe inside to use for lunch. After lunch he brought a decorated package with mints inside. At about 2pm we got chocolate in an adorable mini coffee cup. At 4pm we got a cup of grapes and trail mix.
There were 2 vendors; this is the only thing I would have had more of - maybe a third vendor with some individual items instead of kits and packs. As it is I used my vendor money to buy raffle tickets.
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
Posts: 3,139 
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Post by scrappington on Aug 26, 2014 0:11:34 GMT
That sounds amazing. Hopefully they throw another one.
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Post by rumplesnat on Aug 26, 2014 0:32:25 GMT
That sounds awesome!
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Post by auntkelly on Aug 26, 2014 0:39:07 GMT
I go to Kaitlyn's Crop in Houston every year and it is amazing! Lots of peas go and we always have a great time. The money raised goes to a great cause-Kaitlyn's Promise which is a charitable organization CheriVal, a pea, set up in memory of her daughter.
Cheri gives us all amazing goodie bags when we check in. Everyone has a big table to themselves and Cheri always puts the Peas together. There are plenty of electrical outlets and free wifi. The room is spotless when we move in. Snacks and drinks are available all day long. Meals are available for those that don't want to leave the building.
Cheri has massage therapists, scrapbook vendors, raffles, make n takes, garage sale tables and all kinds of other activities going on. The photo booth (with an amazing background and lots of fun props) is always a pea favorite.
Cheri's husband, Jon, is always on hand to help w/ any issues. It's a very fun event for a great cause.
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Post by marie on Aug 26, 2014 0:40:37 GMT
That sounds great!
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 26, 2014 0:47:19 GMT
I go to a Memories Unlimited crop 4 times a year in Loveland. It is in the bottom of the Medical Center of the Rockies. There are only about 30 ladies. It is a two day crop and they fly in the instructor, Suzy West. She is a spaz and keeps everyone entertained and shares lots of new techniques and embellishments. One of the days, she does a class (sells for $40 and is included in the class) and we have made Disney mini books, Christmas minis, and banners. They are really striking and a lot of planning goes into them. We get several meals for the cost and there is a cafeteria about 20 feet away that has awesome salads and cheeseburgers. There are about 5 vendors that are really great and the whole weekend is fantastic. It is a two hour drive for me one way, so I know that it is worth it. For the two days of cropping, it is $60.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 26, 2014 2:53:48 GMT
I go to a benefit crop for MDA every year that is an awesome event. They include lunch and dinner, you get a nice goodie bag at your place, they have a garage sale/donation table where all the proceeds go to MDA, gourmet cupcakes for a dollar or $5 for 6, silent auctions, incredible raffle prizes, I can't even think of all the cool stuff they do. The best part is that all the money raised goes to a great cause. The only thing it's missing is a few vendors, but they can't really do that because of the charity aspect of the event.
Then The Hobby Shoppe in SD puts on a fantastic retreat crop every summer. She comes up with fun themes including the most awesome decorations, a photo booth and costume contest that is always a riot. This time they did the door prizes a little differently and everyone attending won something they could pick which was so fun for me, the perennial loser, LOL. They also had cool big prizes for the end with an iPad mini raffle. Everyone gets an 8' table to themselves, a goodie bag, extra treats and more. The food is always really great, and they usually raise money for a worthwhile local cause. This year they were raising money for equipment for the first responders/paramedics, it's always something that will help the greater community which is great. I go to this event as a vendor and I have fun even though I'm working the whole time!
These groups of ladies always go over and above to make sure everybody has a fantastic time, and it's so worth it to go.
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tiffanytwisted
Pearl Clutcher
you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave
Posts: 4,538
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Post by tiffanytwisted on Aug 26, 2014 14:54:05 GMT
I'm so jealous! Those sound like awesome events!
I've been to a few that I've really liked, but not one that's *nirvana*. Either the crop is great, but there aren't any vendors or there are vendors but the crop is run poorly. Or there's enough crop space, but the sleeping arrangements are a little lacking. Most I've been to have decent food, but none that I would die over. Don't get me wrong - that's hardly why I'm there.
The best one I've been to so far, was a weekend put on by the scrapping group associated w/a church. Reasonable priced, only 2 sharing each room & bathroom, brightly lit scrapping area, no stairs to contend with, decent meals and everyone brought snax to share, so there was PLENTY to munch on. It was at a kid's camp during the off season, so the grounds were lovely. The only thing missing was vendors. They're not having it this year, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for next year!
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 26, 2014 22:21:42 GMT
sounds like you had a great time!
For me, space and time are two of the most important factors: The best crop I attend is a 3-day crop at a hotel; we get a 6-foot table TO OURSELVES (!!!) in a massive conference room for the entire weekend, plus freebies, a swap space, make-n-takes, and raffles, etc. They close the room between about 2 am and 7 am so the crop hosts can get some sleep, but other than that, you can work as long as you want, and someone is always in the room so your stuff is safe. ETA: the lighting can be a little iffy, but there's plenty of outlets for plugging in an Ott light. I pack my hatchback FULL of stuff, lol, and set up shop for the entire weekend.
I do attend a 12-hour crop at a local store every once in a while- there's not nearly as much space as I would like, but the store owner and crop hostess do make it fun, even in spite of the space constraints-- they have a free project, snacks, and always have a personalized handmade name tag at your space. |
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Post by myboysnme on Aug 26, 2014 22:29:19 GMT
These crops sound incredible! I would LOVE to be at all of them!!
Maybe crop hosts could pull up this little thread when planning a memorable crop experience!
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 24, 2024 20:46:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2014 2:11:32 GMT
My favorite for years (until the lady stopped hosting them) was one at Lake of the Ozarks in a small hotel. There were about 40 people, and it was a themed crop with clever decorations throughout the crop room and on the tables.
But the best part was the caterer, who was a fantastic cook, and prepared the cutest meals and snacks to match the theme. We always took our cameras to the meals -- they were over-the-top gorgeous, and this was before Pinterest! We had lots of fun each time trying to guess what she would serve to go with each theme!
When our store started having retreats, I more or less tried to follow that same pattern, and even managed to convince the caterer to travel four hours to do our retreats! But...definitely not as much fun when you are in charge as when you are a guest! We aren't hosting retreats any more, but I would love to go to one like I used to go to again.
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Post by ametallichick on Aug 28, 2014 4:53:15 GMT
There is a group that holds crops at a private school 3 or 4 times a year.
I have only been once but it was fun. There are several vendors and it is held in the gymnasium so there is tons of room.
It is $65 for Friday 6-Midnight and Saturday 10-Midnight. Food included.
I always justify not going by saying that I can scrap at home for free (yeah right).
I need to get my ass in gear on go!
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Post by DinCA on Aug 28, 2014 10:18:58 GMT
I have been to many fabulous crops but not in a long time. I stopped going when my kids' activities began to dominate my free time. Now that my kids are grown and I can go whenever I want to go, there aren't any local crops to attend, as our once incredible lss closed this past year.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Apr 24, 2024 20:46:34 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2014 13:29:27 GMT
One of our lss used to host a crop each year (I think they did for 3 or 4 yrs) to benefit Ronald McDonald House and it was always so much fun. They held it in a hotel not far from their store and you could rent a room if you wanted since it was an all-night crop. They would open up their store sometime during the late nite and you could make midnite runs to shop. They always had contests, little games, make'n'takes, and classes for a $1 or $2. Oh, how I miss our lss. Maria
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Post by Mary W on Aug 29, 2014 14:36:09 GMT
This year I went to a 3 day crop at my LSS, Whim So Doodle in St. Petersburg, FL (had to give them a shout out!). When I signed up, there was only one spot left and I wanted to sign up 3 of us. First she said she would call if they had two cancellations. I left the store pretty disappointed. Then she called back and said they could accomodate us but we'd be in another room apart from the other croppers. We were a little hesitant, afraid we would miss out on things and be forgotten about, but decided to try it anyway. I am so glad we did!
They went out of their way to make sure we were involved in everything - drawings, make n takes, food, etc. They even told the other croppers where we were and encouraged them to stop by and say hi, which many of them did. It was great because we had the benefit of the crop but had our own private space with more room than we would have had if we were with the others. They really made the whole weekend a lot of fun.
The crop itself had tons of food, giveaways, make n takes, etc. The only complaint I would have is that the make n takes were done by vendors, and there wasn't enough of the product for sale that they were demonstrating. But I guess that's not always a bad thing - saved me a little money that I would have otherwise spent on things I probably would never have used anyway!
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Post by camanddanismom on Aug 29, 2014 15:28:09 GMT
Wow! That sounds fantastic! Well worth the $25!! sounds like you had a lot of fun!!
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Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Aug 29, 2014 16:18:47 GMT
*envy*
I want to go to these crops! They sounds amazing!
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