I think I am now a crop snob....

I like both. Some days I just want a table and my crap and to chat with friends. Other days I want to get away, be taught by a designer, have a hotel room to myself and be fed bon bons... or whatever meals are being served.

The crops I usually go to are put on by my CTMH demo. Mostly, they are one Saturday a month but a couple of times a year she does ones that are a whole weekend long (Fri-Sun, and just recently because she switched hotels, Thurs-Sun). I guess you could call the Saturday ones no frills.

I like to go to those when I really want to accomplish something. When I craft at home, there are other distractions (laundry, etc.) but more importantly, I have WAY too much stuff. When I go to the crops, I've figured out how much I can reasonably accomplish and pack supplies for only those projects. Then I usually do finish them.

I wish I had someone close by to crop or make cards with. One of my BFFs moved away recently, and now I have no one to craft with. Unless you count my mom, who will be 92 in October. It's not really the same, though, because when we make cards or jewelry together, I wind up doing a lot of her work too.

Does anyone live in or near New York City?

I have an active LSS with an abundance of crops. Us Midwesterners love our scrapbooking! I prefer 3 day crops Fri mid morning to Sun afternoon. It gives me enough time that I don’t feel like I’ve wasted half my crop time unpacking and repacking. I like the uninterrupted time to scrap at my own pace.

I have my own spot at home, but I also have a husband, a son, a dog and a cat. Usually one of them is looking for something from me. Also, I can only scrap for so long on the weekend before I feel like I need to do some housework or laundry or give DH some attention. Also, DH will continually invite me to run here or there. At a crop I don’t have to make those decisions or feel like I have to compromise my time.

I also like the general buzz of a crop. They are usually full so there is plenty of creative energy in the room. The LSS is only 6-7 miles from my house, so I get to sleep in my own bed. I usually attend with at least one other person I know. When I’ve had enough of listening to others talk I put in my earbuds and listen to music or listen to a movie I’ve seen before that I don’t have to follow on screen.

I can kind of go either way.  For a day crop, I don't care too much because it's one day & I don't need to bring too much in the way of projects and there's generally a place nearby for lunch or have something delivered.  When I go for the weekend, I want to stay at a hotel that either has amenities like a restaurant/snack kiosk/lounge or have them very close by.  I don't want to share a sleeping room with strangers, don't want to cook, etc.  

I'm not too much of a snob, but I do need my own table.

I am just happy to ever have a crop to attend! I go twice per year.

For weekends, I need my own room. If there are no frills, then make sure there are restaurant delivery options or restaurants nearby so I don't lose valuable crop time. I pack a lot of crop crap, so I don't want to have to pack my own food too (other than snacks). I go to two Scrapbook Expos a year and two weekend crops with a Creative Memories consultant. I find her through the Creative Memories event website. I have met some very nice ladies at the crops.

Very true!! 

I used go to a weekend crop that was fairly local and one of the attendees was a licensed massage therapist.  She would bring her table and put out sign up sheets with blocks of time and she would do massages anywhere from 10-15 (I don't remember the minimum) to an hour long.  The crop ran from Thursday evening to Sunday evening so a 15 minute session right before dinner on Saturday was just perfect!!  

why did I think you lived upstate? Obviously I can’t keep a spreadsheet straight lol

This! I tend to focus better on which project to complete and pack less supplies than I own so I make due with that I brought and make real progress on a project.

This! I tend to focus better on which project to complete and pack less supplies than I own so I make due with that I brought and make real progress on a project.

i actually don’t have a spreadsheet and I stink at Excel lol

I just always thought you lived upstate for some reason.

I think I'm the same way, kinda-- I used to go to SB store crops 1x/month, for 12+ hours, but since the store closed, the only crops I find worthwhile now are 3-day (or better yet, 4 days!!!) hotel retreats that I go to once a year (maybe twice if we have the $$ to spare).  The retreats I go to are ones where you get a 6-ft table to yourself, the crop room is open 24 hours a day, and there's good snacks, a crop theme, at least some meals included, a few activities, etc. so I guess you'd call them 'luxury' crops.  The one I typically go to is run by a CM consultant, but there's also a CTMH consultant who does ones like that, as well as a local scrapping group who arranges hotel crops 5-6x/year. 


I do share a hotel room with my scrappin' buddy, and we have a good time, but for me, it's the scrapping space and the 24-hour availability, so I can get on a roll and work till 2 am if I want.  It's not hardly worth my time to haul all my crap to my CM consultant's house just for 8-10 hours, especially since she's about a 45 minute drive from my house.