ScrapFest 2009

THE GOOD:

1. Location -- The Mall of America is unbelieveable! Over 500 stores AND an amusement park inside? Sign me up! While walking around that behemoth got old by Sunday, it really was a great place for Scrapfest.

2. The vendors/make-and-takes -- There was a great selection of vendors at ScrapFest. My favorites, Basic Grey and Cosmo Cricket, were right next to each other and their make and takes were so cute and quick. Also big props to Reminisce... those ladies had it going on! Their make and take notebook was by far the cutest project there and they were so well-organized.

3. The Archiver's staff -- I never saw anyone who worked for Archiver's without a smile on their face the whole weekend. Whether in the store, at the Savings Spot, or helping out with a class, these ladies were on top of their game the entire time. Great job, y'all!

4. The classes -- My friend Kerry and I took 6 classes and they were all great! We especially liked the Basic Grey card class lead by Layle Koncar. But the most awesome "woo hoo moment" was by far when, at the end of our Fiskars class, Stephenie Purl Hamen gave away ALL of the Fiskars punches, stamps, and stamp presses we had used (because it was the last class of the weekend and she didn't want to cart all that stuff back with her)! I sure love me some swag!

THE BAD:

1. The location of some classes/vendor booths -- I felt really sorry for Kelly Purkey from American Crafts. The class we took from her was in the "Sears Court" and it was LOUD! Even with a microphone, we had trouble hearing her (but she and her class were awesome). Also the ladies from Moxxie were right beside the Rainforest Cafe... the loud "thunderstorm" every 15 minutes really is annoying after a while (however, their flower project was BEYOND ADORABLE!).

2. The crops -- We heard that the crops were great but we didn't sign up for any b/c they were quite expensive. However, we heard that all the attendees (except for the crop sponsored by Sizzix) got lots of swag so I guess it evens out.

3. The class length -- Each class only lasted 45 minutes. That is definitely NOT long enough.

4. The lines at the booths -- The longest that we waited in line for anything was about 45 minutes. However, we heard that at one point, the line for the Little Yellow Bicycle booth was approaching a THREE HOUR wait time. Um, no. No 1 page layout, no matter how cute or free, is worth that.


THE UGLY:

1. Back to back classes -- Only having 15 minutes to walk from class to class really sucked, especially when your class was on the mythical 4th floor. No one told us that you had to take an elevator (not escalator) to the 4th floor. We were beginning to think that it was like Platform 9 3/4 and that we would have to run through a wall to get there (if you don't get that reference, read Harry Potter!).

2. Running out of make-and-takes -- The Little Yellow Bicycle booth proved to be one of the most popular, so much so that on Thursday they ran out of the super-cute layout they were doing. They replaced it with a Halloween banner. Yuck... which leads me to #3.

3. Halloween -- I do not have kids so Halloween lines of product do nothing for me. And you can't tell me that even people with kids have enough Halloween pictures to consitute soooo much Halloween stuff. It seemed like tons of the make-and-takes were Halloween-related. I'll bet that the "Halloween-is-Satan's-holiday" people were freaking out everywhere they looked.

RESULTS:

In all, I LOVED ScrapFest! I loved it so much so that I am planning on going again next year, Lord willing. While the Minnesota accent grated on my nerves after a minute ("Can I put that in a BEG for ya?"), the whole experience was great.

Now if I can just get a job with a crafting company so that I can be working there next year......