As a professional scrapbooker, I want to make sure that my clients get books and/or pages from me that they couldn't get anywhere else.

A unique page is a joy.

Making that unique page is another matter. There are so many paper lines, embellishments, stickers and stamps out there that it is easy to make pages that look like ones that other scrappers have already made. We all saw this recently with the Wild Asparagus and Magnolia lines of paper by My Minds Eye. I know that personally I couldn't wait to get my hands on both 180 page pads of paper. I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I finally bought them.

Therein lies the problem. Everyone bought them. For a while, they were THE papers to have. The Wild Asparagus wasn't so bad. You could mix that in with other paper lines and no one was the wiser. I still use it. The Magnolia, however, was flawed by its own beauty and distinctiveness. If you see pages or books made with Magnolia paper, you recognize it immediately and except for a certain number of pages in the pad, these papers need to be used together. They were made to be used that way and are undeniably gorgeous, they were just a bit too unique, yet too widely distributed. I still have a book laid out to be made with this paper, but it is hard to sell books that have been done to death, so I haven't finished it.

What is the remedy for this? Well, for one thing, I started buying papers from collections like Basic Grey. Their papers are stunning, but the kicker is that you pay around twenty dollars for a pack of 20 papers. With fewer people able to afford them, the market isn't saturated with them - and wow are they pretty!

I also started creating my own papers using custom stamps. I use inexpensive foam sheets and a wood burning tool to design unique stamps to create papers no one else has. It keeps my work fresh and fun.

Find ways to stay unique. Keep scrapping!

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Williamsburg VA May 2-4th (3 full days 2 nights) 10 am Friday til Sunday 4pm

Colonial Williamsburg and all the great attractions. We are 5 miles from Busch Gardens, 1 mile from the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, and 1 mile from William and Mary. We are also not far from Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond, Yorktown and Newport News.
The hotel sits on 12 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds and has the Colonial decor.
Fitness room and a business center are also available for your use.
Free Wireless Internet Access is available in all rooms along with a coffee maker, hair dryer and iron. Join us in our restaurant or lounge for a great dining experience, or just relax in the comfort of your own room and order room service!


I am trying to work out a menu selection from the hotel. I do plan to offer Fri dinner as usual, Saturday breakfast (light) with breaks/snacks and beverages all day. Sunday will include a huge BRUNCH with awesome belgian waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, juices, fruit, omlet station, etc..too much to go into but I do plan to work on a menu for us..I appreciate any hints..

I know this is short notice but I wanted to not have to wait til our next retreat which I do have Nags Head for November 21-23rd (this is weekend before Thanksgiving). All I could get this year. I am going to book for next year in October and shoot for later in May for Spring or even March if you all want.

Also included will be your hotel room with double occupancy per room for 2 nights.

Early bird retreat offer is $200 I will need 1/2 down at this point and balance by April 25th.

I want to hear from you all either way to give me your opinions.

I can accept PayPal or check/money order/credit card etc. email for application

Hope to hear from you soon..

This will be an exciting time in Williamsburg..



PLEASE RSVP either way so I can know you received this...



Thanks,
Mary

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