So, we finally check into our hotel room and head out on a mission to find Renee and the rest of the Scrappy Biz dormies so we can work on our centerpiece. Let me tell you, that Renee is some kinda creative genius! She had this vision for our centerpiece and hauled all the makings for it to Chicago. Some of us brought little things (yes, Marcia did bring the Christmas lights), but Renee was our visionary! The final product was a work of art! It might have been a little more stable, but hey! What do you want from 9 gals, late at night, and many of us having only just met in the hotel!
Day 1...
Snooze a little and it's Thursday morning. Registration, baby! All the hundreds of gals were in the hallway, eager to get our packets and tool boxes and head to the Make&Take room. It was fun to see some familiar faces (like Joyster...hi GF!) as we all waited for the line to move. Okay, I'm the first to admit that I can do with the M&T. Personally, I'd rather have another chunk of time with my album track, perhaps a little class or something, and call it good (for Day 1). But I'm sure CK brings in its profits from having all those vendors in that ballroom. Can't fault them for wanting to bring back M&Ts to albums. I made it to most of the tables. Some I refused to wait in line for, no matter how great the M&T was.
So, highlights for me were...
1. Seeing two of my fav instructors again - Danelle and Mellie. And yet again, another too-stinkin'-cute LO. These two ladies are incredibly talented, plus tons of fun to be with.
2. JustRite Stampers - The project was very cute...AND we got a set of self-inking stamps (emotions). These are so great; I've already used them on a couple of LOs/cards since coming home.
3. Heidi Swapp - Who wouldn't love getting a big ole PINK bubble gumball while your scrapping? And we all love Heidi's product. And she's too cute with her little round belly (she's pregnant)!
4. Anita Oldham - She's so full of life and energy. And I find it incredible that she remembers me by name. Sure, I've been on her Yahoo board and took a class from her last summer. I also got to introduce myself during M&Ts at one CKU when she/SEI were going to be a sponsor at One Scrappy Site's convention (I'm on the OSS DT and was SOOOO saddened when the convention didn't materialize).
5. Chatting with Kolette Hall - She was a student at this CKU and I saw her in Heidi Swapp's M&T line. She's also a good friend of one of my SBB dormies, Stacy. I'm sure she doesn't remember me from some of the emails we exchanged but she has relatives in my town (small world) and had promised to do an online chat at the Jungle. I have to get back in touch with her again.
6. Feeling no pressure to finish all the M&T. I just headed up for a bite to eat when I wanted to. Marcia, Amy, Maria and I hit the grocery store before getting to the hotel and stocked up on goodies for breakfast, lunch and snacks.
The tailgate crop (with all the dorm performances) was also this night. While waiting in the halls, I met up with Cricket. Not only is she the list mom for the Chicago Yahoo board, she is also on the Pops list with my good friend, Diana. We even got a quick pic taken of me and the Pops gals (gotta get a copy from Cricket). As for the dorm contest...yes, we were a bit bummed for not having been selected to perform (we had an awesome song ready to go) but I guess everyone is allowed their 15 minutes of fame, right? We did have our dorm represented onstage during the Art Warehouse fashion extravaganza (our very own Marcia modeled the BEST scrapbook fashion apparel made solely with a white t-shirt and AW product). Heck, our team even created footware (too cute sandals), a chappeau, purse...even jewelry! I really think they should have won this event!
Day 2....
Album track, at last! Yes, this is the one we'd all been waiting for. Anita's "A Year's Worth of Memories". We got to do 12x12 LOs using some of the funnest product from many vendors. Making Memories, Heidi Swapp, Daisy D, Scenic Route...the list goes on. Amy, Marcia, Maria and I grabbed a table. We were joined by another gal names Amy (was she the only brave soul in the room?). She was a sweetie and hopefully, we didn't annoy or scare her too much!
This was also the first of every (yes, I said every) class that Marcia and I shared! Ironically, through no pre-planning, Marcia and I had sellected all the same classes for CKU. Can you believe it? Anyway, we decided to go ahead and get the same time slots and enjoy our CKU experience together. And yes, it was a blast! We especially loved our first of two Tim Holtz classes! He's a cutie -AND- he can scrapbook. What more could a gal ask for? LOL
And what better way to celebrate our CKU experience than with our dormies. Yes, tonight was the Scrappy Business dorm dinner. We ate at a very cool bakery (wish I could remember the name of that place) and found another CKUer to take our dorm pics. We all had a great time, laughing and singing and just being silly. We even got Renee to admit that being in a dorm really is a fun time!
Then, 4 of us headed over to Archivers. I'd never been before and made a point of going to one while in Chicago. The prices weren't anything to write home about (except for some fun clearance items I got) but the selection was pretty cool.
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