Get 'er Done!

I held my first monthly 'Get er Done' crop over the weekend and it was such a blast! I decided to start these as a fun way to get some of my own pages done quickly. My rule for myself for these crops is that I have to complete a Level 1 kit before I do any other scrapping 'work'...no matter how urgently I need to make this sample or that sample.

Now here's something I don't get...we're having this awesome 2, 4, 6, 8 paper sale with CTMH right now. Go here to see what I'm, talking about (sales lasts only until the 11th). The day the sale opened was like the Black Friday of scrapbooking...super-slow website, error messages, things disappearing out of people's carts as they were shopping. When the carnage was over, what remained?? Level 1 kits! This is just crazy. I don't know why most people (and even most consultants) don't like using Level 1 kits. Is it because they are snobby and don't want to use anything entitled 'level 1'?

There are so many awesome things to do with these kits - mini albums, cards, I've done wall hangings... I just don't get it. They are by far one of my biggest sellers and one of the things I use the very most. The number one comment I hear is that they 'don't let you be creative'. Ha! That baloney! In fact, I think it often takes more creativity to use a Level 1 kit because you have to think outside the box and many people can't do that when something is already printed on the page.

Here's a fresh perspective for you if you're one of those people that think Level 1s are 'less creative': I'm a symphony musician. The notes of Beethoven's 9th Symphony have been the same for 150 years and will be the same forever. Does that mean that every time it's played it's the same? Nope! Every time we play it, even from rehearsal to rehearsal, the same group of notes on the page is different. Is it 'uncreative' of us to play it over and over? No. The music wouldn't come to life without musicians. The notes certainly aren't going to play themselves off the page. Every performance is different because every conductor's interpretation and style is different and every player is different as well.

Think of the Level 1 kit as the notes...it's going to look the same until you bring your interpretation to it. Here is my interpretation of the Route 66 Level 1 kit:



I completed this kit at the crop...hooray! 4 pages in about 3 hrs! That's exactly what I wanted out of these fun evenings with friends. Now I can't wait until next month when I can do it again. Hooray Level 1s!