2nd Annual Crop For A Cause

Plans are getting firmed up and I'm preparing for another successful scrapbooking fundraiser to benefit Titian Ministries International. This year's event takes place on November 14, 2009 from 9am to 5pm. Last year's event was a HUGE success, raising $1147 for Titian Ministries International.

The venue is the same as last year: the Salvation Army - Meadowlands at 187 Stonechurch Rd., Ancaster, ON and registration is just $40.

Included with registration is:

• Continental Breakfast
• Hot Lunch
• Light Refreshments
• Make & Takes
• Door Prizes
• Welcome Bags
• Layout Contest
• Ample Cropping Space
• And much much more.

Everyone that attended last year was more than pleasantly surprised by the value we offered, and had a fantastic time scrapping and sharing with others. I'm pretty sure at this stage of the game we have almost 100% of last year's participants - plus more.

As an additional feature, this year we've secured the Mobile Memory Keeper (www.discountscrapbooksupplies.com) to pay us a visit in the afternoon so that our croppers can stock up on any needed supplies. A portion of the proceeds from sales made that afternoon will be donated directly to Titian Ministries International.

Space is limited and reserved so pre-registration is a must. If you're interested in attending, or might know someone who is, feel free to send them this link and/or contact me for details. If you're on Facebook, we have our event posted there also - to view it, follow this link.

Thanks for spreading the word, and I hope to see you there!

Crop For A Cause Fundraiser - Big Success!

I wanted to pop in and thank those of you that came out to support Titian Ministries International on Saturday at our Crop For A Cause event. Together we raised $1147 that will assist the needy in Ghana. Although we didn't quite get the number of scrappers we were hoping for, I am absolutely thrilled by the result. It also needs to be mentioned that the event couldn't have been the success that it was if it wasn't for the support we received from family, friends and local business owners. Thank- you all. I'm also pleased to report that on Saturday, Titian Ministries International announced their plans to donate 10% of the money raised at Crop For A Cause to the local foodbank in Dundas, Ontario - helping to feed needy families here at home. A wonderful idea indeed. There are still a handful of card kits left over and if you're interested in obtaining one give me a shout and we can make it happen. They are $20 a piece, and there are enough supplies (and instructions) in the pack to make 10 holiday cards. They were a big hit with all of those that made them. All proceeds from the sale of the remaining kits will also be donated to Titian Ministries International in keeping with the spirit of our event.

Because we had such a great day, believe it or not we have already started talking about what we're doing next year. That's right, we indeed have decided to make it an annual event. For those of you that attended, please let us know what you thought about Saturday's plan and also be sure to give us suggestions about how we can make it even better for 2009.

Thanks again to all of you that came out to support us, donated door prizes and food. Your participation is literally going to help feed the children in Ghana, and here at home.

September Starts

It seems that the summer has slipped by yet again and the kids are back to school without a hitch. It would also seem that lately I haven't had a great deal to blog about -- but in fact, it's been the opposite, I've had a lot to blog about and little time to do it. Apparently life happens, and there is little we can do to change that. So let's look at what I've been up to. Did you see my article on Craft Critique at the end of last month reviewing Alcohol Ink? This was a fun one to pull together. The cool news on this is that PartiCraft online magazine is also using it for their September issue (or at least they requested it). The gals at Craft Critique gave them the go ahead, but I haven't actually seen what they have put out. I've never heard of PartiCraft, have you? My sister and I took the kids to the African Lion Safari the other day, and my daughter was soooooo thrilled to finally accomplish what she's wanted to do since we went to the Circus earlier this year -- ride an elephant. She of course didn't want to do it on her own, so I accompanied her. I'm pretty sure that this was a first for me too. I think as a kid I rode a camel, but never an elephant. For the record.....their backs are surprisingly bony! (and not all that comfortable). Funny story actually -- while on the elephant's back, my daughter 'sniffs' and then very seriously says 'Do You Smell Something?' I couldn't help but laugh......because after do you think that it was 'the elephant' that she could smell! Canadian Scrapbooker Basics is set to publish for the first time this month and should have been available on newstands effective September 1. Unfortunately I haven't seen it yet but of my layouts is supposed to be in there. I haven't heard otherwise so at this point I am only assuming. If you're new to scrapbooking, this might be a great pub for you to check out. Here's the deets on the issue as found at the Canadian Scrapbooker website. "Canadian Scrapbooker Inc. is proud to present a limited edition of 5 exciting issues of Canadian Scrapbooker Basics “CSB” to be published over the next year and a half. This volume set will take you on a scrapbooking journey starting right from the beginning, removing any intimidation a beginner scrapbooker may feel when starting this wonderful hobby. It is designed to put the basics back into scrapbooking. Each additional volume will build on the one previous by adding techniques to help scrapbookers develop their skills. It will be extremely visually pleasing with easy to follow step-by-steps to ensure that the beginner scrapbooker is not intimated by this wonderful craft." And just a few more miscellaneous comments:

On Friday this week, I've got another review running on Craft Critique, which is all about Picasa. I can't say much more at this point (you'll have to wait to read the article), but I can tell you that I love this software for digital image management! It rocks! Coincidentally, yesterday - Picasa 3 was released from Google and although I haven't downloaded it yet (I'm having some trouble with that), it sounds better than ever. You can get the announcement from Google about the new features here.

Speaking of Google, have you downloaded the new internet based web browser "Chrome" that debuted yesterday. This morning on my Google search page the download link was there, but now for some reason it's gone. Hmmmm.

We are just one month away now (almost) from our October 4 Crop For A Cause event. It's time now to get our registrations firmed up and set all of our best laid plans into motion. I'm getting excited! Will you be joining us? There's a link to the details in my sidebar and before to contact me if you need additional info.

I haven't loaded a Template in a while, and set aside a few while I was cleaning up downstairs the other day -- so watch for and update to this section next Tuesday (hopefully). I've got a cute little favour bag pattern in mind to load.

I've been busy busy busy over the last week or so making plum 'stuff'. The stuff would be jams, jellies, chutney and salsa. My sister has a whole whack of fruit trees in her yard, and one of them is yup, a blue plum tree! I'm pretty amazed at how much fruit (and jars of stuff) yield from this one lonely tree. Incredible! Here's a couple of random pics. That is of course not quite the complete set of preserves I cooked up -- I've given away a few already. For the record, this one plum tree has yielded:

• 4 pints of plum jelly (which is waaayyy too much work in my opinion)
• 10 pints of plum jam
• 4 pints of plum-peach jam
• 4 pints of chutney (most of which I bottled in 1/4 pint jars) and
• my personal favourite, 4 pints of plum-peach salsa (bottled in 1/2 pint jars)

I will eventually scrap all of this info along with the recipes I used for each of the batches. Now, I just have to figure out now how much sugar, pectin and other ingredients went into it all - and then of course find some people to eat it!!

That's about it for now....I hope not to be quite so absent from the blogosphere this month -- but for now I'll just keep my fingers crossed as I can't make any promises.

All The Details -- CROP FOR A CAUSE, October 4, 2008

I'm creating this post as a permanent home for all of the details about the Crop For A Cause event on October 4, 2008. All proceeds from the days activities will be donated to Titian Ministries International. When: October 4, 2008 Time: 9a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Salvation Army - Meadowlands, 187 Stonechurch Rd. Ancaster Ontario Registration: $40 The goal of the event is to raise funds and awareness for Titian Ministries International, a not-for-profit registered charity founded by Sharon Titian, of Hamilton. Titian Ministries operates a Mission and a Farm in Ghana, Africa that among other things provides a home for orphaned children, and operates a soup kitchen for the elderly. To assist them in their efforts, Titian Ministries will receive ALL proceeds from the Crop For A Cause event. What's Included: Lunch, Door Prizes, Make and Takes, Optional Mini-Workshops, And More! Most imporantly you'll get ample cropping space and dedicated time to get cropping! The day promises to be fun and exciting, giving you a chance to get caught up on some of your outstanding projects (admit it....we all have them!). Optional Mini-Workshops: As an added bonus, we are offering a couple of mini-workshops that will run at the event. Participation in these workshops is optional, and workshop fees are in addition to crop fees. Due to space considerations, workshop participation is restricted to those people attending the full-day crop event. Workshop #1: Friends (2-pagelayout): Celebrate the friends in your life! What would we do without them? The colours and papers from Scenic Route are suitable for boys and girls of any age!! You'll love creating that big bold STAR and trying out the cool "folding" technique that is used in this layout. Class Fee: $20 Workshop #2: Ho Ho Holiday Cards: 10 cute cards, 10 envelopes and LOTS of adorable rub ons and ribbon! Get a head start on your holiday card making! Class Fee: $20 Looking for Some Bargain Supplies? At the Crop For a Cause event, a limited amount of space will be set aside for 'Garage Sale' items. This is the perfect opportunity for you to pick up some supplies at bargain prices, or to 'sell' some of your excess supplies to someone who needs them. All monies raised through sale of garage sale table space will support Titian Ministries International. All Garage Sale Items MUST be related to paper crafting! Option #1: Book a 6x3 table for just $20. You set your prices, man your table etc. and the $20 fee is donated to support Titian Ministries International. Whatever you sell, the money is yours to keep. Option #2: Book a 3x3 table for just $10. You set your prices, man your table etc. and the $10 fee is donated to support Titian Ministries International. Whatever you sell, the money is yours to keep. Option #3: Donate your un-used supplies to Titian Ministries and ALL proceeds from the sale of these items will support the charity. Spaces are on first come first serve basis, and are extremely limited. About Titian Ministries International Titian Ministries operates a Mission and a Farm in Ghana, Africa that among otherthings provides a home for orphaned children, and operates a soup kitchen for the elderly.As I'm sure you can appreciate, the same rising fuel and commodity prices that we are facing here at home, are having a serious financial impact on operations at the Mission Farm in Ghana. For example, the cost of a simple bag of rice, a staplefood on the Mission Farm has risen 100% in the last year alone. Titian Ministries has great hopes for expansion in Ghana with plans to construct a medical clinic, a prayer and healing centre, a gas station and a guest house. For the time being however, due to rising prices, the temporary focus is on maintaining those services already established. Monies raised on October 4, will greatly assist them in these efforts.I hope that you'll consider joining us on October 4th to support Titian Ministries International. It's going to be an extremely fun and productive day! How To Register: Contact me at scrampaddict@hotmail.com and I'll give you all the details. Space is limited and reserved - so don't hesitate - book your space today.

Crop For A Cause - October 4, 2008

DETAILS HAVE ALL BEEN FIRMED UP -- SEE THIS POST. We're still ironing out some of the details, but I'm happy to finally be able to announce the charity crop event that my sister and I have been planning. The goal is simple.....to raise funds and awareness for Titian Ministries International, a not-for-profit registered charity founded by Sharon Titian, of Hamilton. Titian Ministries operates a Mission Farm in Ghana, Africa that among other things provides vocational and life skill training to your women, provides a home for orphaned children, and operates a soup kitchen for the elderly. With Titian Ministries receiving ALL proceeds from the event, participants can feel good about coming together to ‘Crop For A Cause’. October 4, 2008 is the big day, and I am really looking forward to it. I planned a similar charity event in 2006 and it was a huge success, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can do it again. We've got a lot planned --- there will be a layout contest, door prizes, a quarter auction and MOST importantly, ample crop space and dedicated scrapping time! What more do you need right? I'll post more details when I have them, but for now I can tell you that registration is $40, and the crop will take place at the Salvation Army Meadowlands (187 Stonechurch Rd.) in Ancaster, ON. If you're interested in attending - send me a note, and I'll let you know how to register! If you can't attend, but you'd like to support our event, we're also looking for door prize, and auction item donations to help make the day a success. If you are intersted in donating -- email me, and we'll sort out the details! This is going to be great!