Scrapbook City!

Originally uploaded by omnicollective. I’ll admit it. I scrapbook. It’s my addiction (well, aside from CC). So every June, my fellow scrapbooking friends and I head down to Chantilly, Virginia for the Great American Scrapbook Convention. It’s a scrapbooker’s paradise!First, your general admission gains you entrance to the vendor area - an entire convention center filled to the brim with people selling scrapbook stuff! It’s heaven (well, not for the bank account)! Just about every scrapbook manufacturer has a booth there, including several you’ve never heard of. You can see all the latest products (and try many of them) and shop to your heart’s content. You’re guaranteed to find things you’ll never find at Michael’s or your local scrapbook store. Amazing papers, tools, embellishments, you name it. This year, Mary Kay and Tastefully Simple also had booths, which was a little unusual, but whatever! Many of the booths also have make and take projects, where you can sit down and a few minutes later walk away with a nifty page, tag, or embellishment. There’s also the Make and Take Pavillion, where different companies sponsor larger scale make and takes. This year, thanks to Fujifilm, you could even bring the memory card from your digital camera and print out pictures for free!There are also many workshops you can take. Tons of them, on every scrapbook topic under the sun. This year, we took a workshop called “My Big Fat Chunky Book“, sponsored by Quick Quotes. Unfortunately, the
hour and a half long workshop wasn’t enough to complete the project, but we’ve got all the materials and instructions to complete it at home.

The Great American Scrapbook Convention really is a scrapbooker’s dream day - tons of scrapbooking supplies to see, try and buy, workshops to take, crops to attend, and even door prizes to win. If you’re near Arlington, Texas, Chantilly, Virginia or Grand Rapids, Michigan, you should definitely go. Just wear good shoes (you’ll be
on your feet all day) and leave the credit card at home - or you’ll hear about it from your husband later!

Emschwar