After months of debate and indecision you’ve finally decided to go on a scrapbook retreat. Regardless of what type of event you’ll be attending, whether it’s a scrapbook cruise, a weekend retreat at a home designed for scrapbook retreats, or a retreat at a local hotel, pre-planning is essential to a successful get-away. By pre-planning you will not only be able to get more done but you will also lighten your load.

Step 1: Decide what equipment you will need to bring. If you’re attending with friends, consider sharing equipment and assigning each person to bring something different.

Step 2: Select which photos to bring – which ones stay and which ones go? Pre- planning will help you determine which photos to bring and which to leave home. Begin by going through your photos and deciding what you want to work on. Bring the photos that speak to you, the ones that quickly evoke emotion and bring a smile or tear. These are the ones you’ll want to crop since you’ll be inspired and eager to work. The photos that do nothing for you will only cause you stress and you’ll sit and spin, wondering what you want to journal, how you want them laid out, etc.

Step 3: Pull together or purchase page kits. Page kits, groups of coordinated papers and embellishments, are a must for any scrapbook retreat. Whether you buy a manufacturer or monthly club pre-made kit or create your own, page kits will save you time and help you get more accomplished during your retreat than you thought possible. You won’t need to bring every paper and cardstock you own as the papers and cardstock have already been chosen for you – all you need to do is select the photos that work with the page kits.

Step 4: Determine how many page kits you’ll need. The number of page kits you’ll need for a scrapbook weekend depends on how detailed your pages are and how much time you will actually be scrapbooking. If your pages are very detailed and take you several hours to complete you won’t need to bring as many page kits as someone whose layouts are simple and completed within 30 minutes to 1 hour. If your retreat offers additional activities such where the ports of call, disco, casino, pool, midnight buffet, and shopping all will compete for your time, you’ll want to decide how much time you’re going to scrapbook. It’s always a good rule of thumb to bring more page kits than you think you’ll need. Running out of stuff to work on while you’re on a scrapbook retreat would be a bummer. By organizing your supplies into page kits you’ll actually be bringing less, have less to carry but get more layouts completed.