Princess Album! (love!)

It’s finally done!  Nora’s Princess Crown acrylic album!  That only took me three years!  Here’s the original story from the scrapbook convention class that I took…. and was thoroughly disgusted with:  https://mysistersjar.wordpress.com/2008/04/21/pathetic-princess-crown-albums/

I went away for the past four days to a little cabin in the woods, way up in the mountains of Prescott, AZ to scrapbook with some friends.  There was snow on the ground and laughter on our lips.  We had a GREAT relaxing time.  We go twice a year and enjoy every minute of the freedom from being moms for one weekend.  We haul all of our scrapbooking materials in suburbans to the tiny cabin and create works of art for our family and friends.  This was my first time leaving Nora, so I called every day and got the report on how Papi was doing taking care of his little girl.  He passed. 

I only worked on two projects: Nora’s princess crown album and her “baby” book.  I scrapped all of the pictures that we have of her from when she was five years old.  I loved every minute of it and she beamed with delight as I showed her my masterpieces.  She did ask why I didn’t get more done.  Sheesh.  I didn’t tell her that I was busy watching movies without kids…. or eating without kids…. or sleeping the night through without kids…..  some day I will finish!

Pathetic Princess Crown Albums

You want mayhem?  Advertise to teach a class titled “Princess Acrylic Album” to a group of scrapbooking maniacs who are willing to pay $35 for 90 minutes of your time…… and deliver nothin’ but six pieces of crown-shaped acrylic, two binder rings, a yard of fishing wire and 20 jingle bells.  Oh, boy!  Don’t get me started.  Don’t even get me started.

Only 20 minutes into the facade, my scrap-happy cohort, Darla, who was just as excited as I was to create the beautiful album pictured above, crossed her arms, huffed, and refused to participate any further.  Good grief.  The class description included these words, and I quote, “Learn how to position pictures, paper and embellishments to create a stunning clear album!”  OK, NONE of that happened because we weren’t asked to bring pictures, there was no paper provided and JINGLE BELLS???  Hello?  Are we making court jester albums?  NO!  Does an acrylic crown have anything to do with Santa’s sleigh bells???? NO!  OH, buckle up.  It got worse.

More class description, “Your layers of paint, embellishments, ribbons and patterned paper all play off each other to create a beautiful keepsake.”  Blood is pumping with more velocity as I relive this scrapbooking nightmare.  Did we see paint? NO!  I already touched on the enormous assortment of embellishments at our fingertips.  Did we see ribbons?  NO!  Did we see patterned paper? No! Pardon me while I go find the phone number for the Better Scrapbooking Business Bureau.

Not only was the class falsely advertised, we paid for PG-13 commentary by the instructor.  She referred to her sons with unrepeatable derogatory terms (that I had never heard before in all of my 42 years on earth.)  She made sexual innuendos relating to scrapbooking…. and her husband…. I wanted to plug my ears and do the loud “LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA” deal.  No wonder Darla was arm-folded and fuming.  The instructor’s lucky that she didn’t get impaled by my Xacto knife that was unnecessarily listed on the Supplies Needed List.  We left with 25 minutes still to go in the pathetic class. There were no class feedback sheets this year at the scrapbooking convention.  I wonder why? 

OK, I’m over it now.  I’ve vented and I’m moving on.  On to patterned paper, ribbon and paint to make my acrylic crown album DARLING without the help of paid instruction.  I’ll post a photo when I’m done…. maybe I should forward it to the convention people????