Happy 5th, Saturday Scrappers!

Wow! This month the Saturday Scrappers celebrated their fifth anniversary. That's an amazing run for a scrapbooking group and this one is still going strong. I feel so privileged to be part of this group.


My first time at Saturday Scrappers, March 1st, 2008.

My own Saturday Scrappers anniversary will be in March, when I mark my fourth year with this amazing group of talented ladies (and a few kids!). Without getting too sentimental, I'd like to share what a huge impact this group has had on me.

I first started coming to this group at the invitation of Justine, whom I met through a scrapbooking group on Facebook. I'd chatted with her through the group several times and when I advertised a scrapbooking workshop I was giving, she signed up and brought a friend!

After the workshop, she invited me to Saturday Scrappers and eventually, I got up the nerve to actually go. (Trying new things and meeting new people isn't one of my strengths.) And I'm so glad I did!

That night I met an amazing group of talented and welcoming women who shared my love of scrapbooking and were very nice company. I've often said one of the great benefits of scrapbooking is the sense of community and this group is where I first learned that.



Me displaying my first published layout. (Fall 2010)


This group isn't only a place where I can have uninterrupted time to follow my passion, it's an amazing source of support and encouragement. Whether I'm working on a project for a contest, coming up with original layouts for submission or just whipping something up for my albums, these ladies can always find something complimentary and uplifting to say about my work. Whether the flattery is deserved or not is beside the point; the encouragement I receive is priceless--especially coming from other scrapbookers.

Even though I've never stayed the full 12 hours (and sometimes it's hard to stay for more than 2 or 3), and I often miss the pot luck dinner, I really enjoy socialising with the ladies of this group and it's nice to just shoot the breeze, catch up with what's been going on and occasionally meet new people.

Saturday Scrappers really has a wonderful thing going.

And one of the hallmark features of this group is a yearly challenge. Whether it's a page exchange, mini-album exchanges, card swaps or the annual Christmas Card Marathon, there's always something exciting happening with this group to inspire scrapbookers. This year, Justine is organising a Page-of-the-Month challenge. Each month she's posting 2 Pagemaps and interested scrappers are creating pages based on them.



Me with a partially finished page for the January 2012 challenge.

This is a great challenge for me, not only because I love Pagemaps, but it has really inspired me to get pages done. I know if I do nothing else in a month, I will get these pages done!

So, thanks Justine, Kerri, Sault, Angel, Mandy, Cathy, Peggy, Granny, Ilse, Emma, Siobhann, Lori and everyone else at Saturday Scrappers! It's a pleasure knowing you!!