Scrapfest at Mall of America

I just returned from Minneapolis where ScrapFest was held. The show is organized by Archivers and consisted of about 30 booths set up in the mall aisles. Each booth was manned by top scrapbooking companies like K&Co, Fiskars, KI, SEI, Creative Imaginations, MAMBI, Hero Arts, Bo Bunny, etc. Attendees could do make & takes with the latest products. There were also a large number of classes taught throughout the 3 day event and crops at various locations. Many of the classes were sold out, crops were sold out, and make & take lines were sometimes long. I was surprised at the HUGE turnout, but I think that is was typical for this very well organized event. I helped K&Company with make & takes in their booth, and I also taught a class each day. The projects for the class were 3 double page spreads using K&Company's Amy Butler lines (pictured above). These greens and pinks are difficult to photograph, but are so rich IRL. The embellishments are sparkly, glittery, and textured. I was also pleased that Amy herself was there for Saturday and Sunday. I know the students enjoyed meeting her, too. She is very sweet, and I enjoyed getting to talk with her between classes. She's just a very classy lady.

Archivers had staff helping with the classes - they were very organized and were a big help. Pam Lange (K&Co Senior Craft Designer and DT Lead) and Kara Ward (instructor and fellow DT member) were on hand to see that things ran smoothly (in other words, they worked their fannies off, lol). The rest of the K&Co team (Therese, Cherie, Michelle, and Sarah) were working hard in (and out) of the booth, but they were always ready with a smile. Attendees felt the K&Co Tim Coffey Halloween treat bag make & take was adorable and the line moved quickly. And I ate some great food, and shopped some too (hey, it was the Mall of America, after all!) My friend Vicki Harvey ate supper with me one night, and an "old" college friend met me for supper another night (he's going to love that "old" part, lol). I was able to grab lunch with Dana Smith. That girl is amazing - she taught a bazillion classes, and she still had energy to share. She also has a smile that doesn't stop! I was able to meet Susan Weinroth's little one, Evan. They claimed he had a little fit before I met up with them (too long in the stroller), but he was being a perfect angel when I saw him. Imagine them telling tales on him like that ;) Susan looked great, as I expected. Being a new mom agrees with her.

A note about Simply Southern Scrapbook in Huntsville in October - online registration ends on September 15th. Prices for all classes will go up for tickets purchased at the door. Just a little reminder, if you were planning to attend. I've got less than a month to get 8 classes ready, but I'm looking forward to it. I can actually drive to Huntsville in under 2 hours :D