Scrapability’s Personal Scrap Encyclopedia

C is for …

…colloquy

When scrappers get together, especially over the internet, we have something akin to a colloquy. The dictionary definition of colloquy is "a conversation - especially a formal one". What we have is very looooonnnnggg colloquys. In fact, some of us struggle to get off these colloquys and actually produce any scrapbook layouts.

Sometimes scrappers are quite formal. We formally ask for praise on our layouts, and formally ask for no flames on our blogs. But something else is seeping into the scrapper world - street talk. The 2Peas boards are full of it, and the Unscrappables forums (before these started dying) perhaps started it. Praise Ho’s ask for praise. Some toots are "smelly". When 2005 Hall of Famers annoymously announced their winning calls they informed us that "Lisa B is in de house!"

So, what is a group of scrapbookers getting together called then? A colloquy, a gaggle? A crop? A scrap?

…crop

Crop has a two-point definition in the world of scrapbookers, and illogically, it has nothing to do with agriculture, darnit!. Crop was originally a photographic term, meaning to cut out the valueless background segments on a photograph to leave a more focussed central image. For some unknown and un-recorded in history reason, the term then began to be used for a meeting or get-together of scrapbookers.

So, what happens in a crop? Well, from my viewpoint - 

1.  I turn up, with around two finely packed huge bags (see portable and storage) of equipment, potential scrapbook layouts (see Power Planning) and a big reservation towards ever getting anything done.
2. People start arriving. It takes an hour or so to unpack our bags.
3.  People put out their own albums - normally on a wonky small table. Other scrappers busy themselves browsing through these albums and oohing and ahhing over every second layout.
4. General discussions ensue - about scrapbooking, techniques used, favourite supplies.
   Three hours later someone unpacks a new whizz-bang storage solution for small supplies like eyelets or charms.
5. General discussions ensue - about scrapbooking portable storage (see portable and storage). Brand names like "Art Bin", "Generations", and "Cropper Hopper" are spouted about, then local small stationery chains are found to be a more affordable solution.
6. Two hours later someone will suddenly produce and brandish a scrapbook layout that somehow they’ve managed to create whilst in the midst of scrapbooking conversation (and I didn’t notice them doing it) and 
7.  Discussions will recommence on techniques used, lots of oohing and ahhing.
8. In the meantime, I’ve personally managed to unpack a planned layout, and perhaps assemble some papers together. They will sit there like that for a couple of hours. I will occassionally shuffle a paper to make it look like I’m doing something.
9. It is then hometime - and I am normally one of the first to have to leave, simply because I realise that I just don’t get anything done in a crop. I don’t like the distractions. 
10.  I return home. It takes me five days to unpack my stash. And one day to totally redesign my power planned layouts.

I am socially inept at crops. I’m not a conversationalist, unless on paper - I prefer to listen. Being quiet at crops is not the done thing. My invites start dwindling. I’m also not that good at praising other’s layouts. That’s not because I don’t think they’re good - it’s just that I get overdone with all those layouts and albums to look at. And if you think I’m bad at cropping, then you should witness my startling ineptidness at a Retreat (see Retreat)

Unwritten Rules of the Crop:

1. Thou must look at all albums under offer and praise profusely
2. Thou must converse, chat, and generally socialise. Shyness is not encouraged.
3. Croppers must arrive and display the latest and greatest portable storage solutions, and stash supplies.
4. Expected nourishment to bring - chocolate and wine (for night-time crops).
5. Topics which must be discussed - scrapbooking stash accumulation; scrapbook stash organisation; Basic Grey or the latest trendiest papers you’ve just got; your children; and an acknowledgement of how lovely your husband / partner is this one time - to allow you the day off to attend this crop.
6. Topics which should be avoided - your own cancer treatment (guarenteed conversation killer) NB it’s okay if you’re talking about someone else’s though - say, a close friend who is not there on the day - in fact this is to be encouraged, as most croppers will have similar points of reference to add to the conversation; your current bout of digestinal problems (given that you’re all sharing the one toilet);  any criticism or critique towards anyone else’s layout (although, again, it is acceptable to criticise your own layouts, in the expectation that everyone else will step onboard to deny this statement and actually praise it).
7. It is acceptable to offer mild "suggestions" for changes to a layout only when the scrapper who has created the layout has already criticised their own layout, and received enough praise from others (and yourself!) to put them into an accepting mood. A Government Health Warning has been posted on this situation however - "Suggester Beware - You are Dealing with Someone’s Personal Designs and Memories Here. Enter at your own Risk"

…chocolate

Chocolate is the pre-ordained destiny of scrapbookers. It’s as simple as that.

Chocolate is acceptable in all shapes, sizes and forms, but the primary content must be cocoa beans, and not that stupid mock-late stuff called Carob. Many scrappers, particularly American ones, have expressed a liking for M&Ms also, which is acceptable, should the primary components of a handful of M&Ms be the chocolate variety and not the coated nuts ones.

I once went through a cocoa plantation tour of a chocolate factory in Hawaii. There is a photograph of us taken with a giant fake cocoa bean character. He’s wearing overalls and a cap. Of course this is acceptable also. Anything of a chocolate nature is of non-debatable good-taste.

Chocolate can be applied internally during snack-attacks so as not to stop the actual creativity of a scrapbook layout. And chocolate can be applied externally as a background material for a collage project. This, I found, when dabbling around on background techniques through an online class by Shimelle. Unfortunately liquid chocolate (the type that you squeeze from a bottle, normally over your ice-cream) is not very dependable in the drying department. In fact, after 3 weeks, and thrawted attempts with my hot-air tool, I gave up and sealed it down on the paper with a coating of diamond glaze. It has been found by this accidental experiment that a glazed chocolate background is a worthy altered paper project. Plus think how easy it would be to get your chocolate consumption if you just used a chocolate squeezy bottle at your scrapbook desk.

… CJs (Cee-Jays)

So, what is a CJ?

Someone once had a brilliant idea, based on the round robins that were a good idea for such hobbiests as cross-stitchers or other crafters. Scrapbookers would form a round of participants (named a Circle) and create a little journal of their own theme. These circle journals would then be posted or passed around the circle of addressees at a regular agreed cycle (normally 2-weekly or monthly). Each cycle you, as a participant, would receive someone else’s CJ to add an entry to.

Circle Journalers supposedly get out of this a sense of belonging to a group, a filled Circle Journal of their own at the end of the circle, and inspiration for their own art projects as they notice other’s entries in other journals, and add their own. Techniques, ideas and fun is circling the group as they go.

There are now many articles on Circle Journals, supplying the themes, the expected pages the creator should do, how to post them securely, and what fun they are for the participants. These articles are based on the agreed Theory of CJs, discussed below. Unfortunately in my own participations, the Reality of CJs has always been encountered in one way or another.

The Theory of CJs

This Circle Journal is based on a two week cycle. As an example, Ms Yellow Scrapper will send on her lovely circle journal onwards at Time Event A to Ms Pink Scrapper.  At Time Event A, Ms Pink Scrapper would have posted on her own lovely circle journal to Mrs Jade Scrapper, and once Ms Yellow Scrapper’s journal arrives safely in the mail, will work on that journal until Time Event B (in two week’s time). Ms Pink Scrapper will then post on Ms Yellow Scrapper’s lovely CJ, and so the circle continues.

Given this, this diagram therefore portrays the safe arrival home of Ms Yellow Scrapper’s lovely filled CJ in 16 weeks time.

The Reality of CJs

This is what really happens:

At Time Event A, everybody posts on their lovely CJs to the next scrapper in the round. After the first two weeks have lulled everybody in the circle into a state of safety, Ms Pink Scrapper will post on Ms Yellow Scrapper’s CJ and this will go around in the postie’s parcel van for 2 and 1/2 weeks, before arriving back at Ms Pink Scrapper’s doorstep.

Ms Pink Scrapper will then panic and at Time Event B 1/2 post on the slightly askew CJ. Mrs Jade Scrapper will then be the happy recipient of two CJs needing to be posted off to Mrs Green Scrapper at Time Event C.

Meanwhile, Mrs Green Scrapper has moved house, and not thought to inform anyone. In fact, there is no redirection order on her mail, and the neighbours think she might have emigrated to New Zealand. At this point, Ms Brown Scrapper, who originally did receive Mrs Green Scrapper’s first CJ at Time Event A, starts wondering why she havsn’t had any CJ’s since - and starts trying to contact Mrs Green Scrapper. This is a futile effort, but will occupy Ms Brown Scrapper for half the CJ round anyway.

At some point (Time Event M), Mrs Green Scrapper makes a return appearance in the CJ group, and posts on three CJs all at once to Ms Brown Scrapper. Not knowing what to do with these, Ms Brown Scrapper forgets to inform anyone in the circle that she has all these CJs until Time Point S. Ms Brown Scrapper then quickly fills them in with the wrong entries for each, and posts them in bulk to an angry Mrs Red Scrapper.

Mrs Red Scrapper hasn’t had any CJs for quite some time, and due to "life" can’t do all three arrivals at once. She informs the organiser of the round, Ms Yellow Scrapper, of this problem. Having gone through numerous phonecalls, emails and many other forms of communications (including spreadsheets and scrapping smoke signals), Ms Yellow Scrapper (organiser) washes her hands of the entire thing, and suggests that Mrs Red scrapper try to "make up time". Instead, Mrs Red Scrapper drip feeds them through to Mz Blue Scrapper over a period of 15 weeks.

That’s okay, though, because Mz Blue Scrapper is also moving house, and simply packs them away as they arrive. Her own house move takes longer than expected (doesn’t it always?) and she eventually gets around to doing her entries in the CJs, having taken four months to unpack her scrapping room.

In the meantime, Mrs Dark Green Scrapper is completely unsure as to when she should be expecting any CJ, but is hopeful that Ms Yellow Scrapper got hers all-fine-and-dandy one year ago.

Two years later, Mz Blue Scrapper discovers a CJ sitting in her attic. Fortunately it has the owner’s address in it. Because she’s signed onto so many Circle Journals over the previous three years, Mz Blue Scrapper has no idea what CJ round this CJ belonged to, and has lost all contact details anyway.

Two years and 5 days after the Time Event A first post, Mrs Jade Scrapper receives a surprise parcel in the mail. After working out that it is not a bomb, she opens it to discover a returned CJ. It’s only had two entries in it, but at least it’s home safe now.

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