Packing for a Crop or Retreat

[nchoney]

I ended up leaving my tool tote at home this year. Surprisingly didn’t miss it. My rolling tote has two zipper pouches in it. Everything I normally put in the tool tote fit just fine in them. They are removable but I kept my tote close by. As I make page kits next year, I’m going to try to stick my title letters on waxed paper rather than bring the whole packages. That will save me several inches in a tote! Every little bit of pre-planning helps quite a bit.

Great idea! I had tossed a lot of letter stickers in a plastic container... but pre-created titles would solve that problem and lighten the load quite a bit!

[pamcook]

I’m sure this is the list Beki was referring to.

We’re rather brilliant.

[nchoney]

Glad you found the list!! I thought about it earlier and figured I'd have to search. Thanks!! It was a rough compilation of multiple lists.

[BekiWard@msn.com]

Yep! This is what I meant…clearly most of you are more brilliant than I.

[nchoney]

I was re-reading the list and conversations and now I'm setting a reminder for myself to charge my camera batteries!

also... I've been checking on my Tuesday Morning store periodically. We really don't have much in the crafting section. But... there IS a large quantity of rolls of vinyl... just in case anyone needs more vinyl maybe I need to look at it to see if any of it is HTV for ironing onto things.

[pamcook]

I’m glad I revisited the whole thread. When I get home, I’ll start making page kits again. It’s very easy for me to get lazy about packing and just throw in stuff for just in case. When I’ve not made page kits (or project kits), I’m overwhelmed with my stuff. My plan to prepare page titles - I had forgotten about that. Plus, I was reminded I’ve bought a couple of sets of alphas stamps & dies sets. I want to pack those with my dies to cut from scraps while I’m there.

[Laurie]

The tool tote I carry is the one that lives on my table permanently, it just happens to be a portable variety with a handle. recently I thought about replacing it with something else as I rarely crop elsewhere anymore, but nothing I looked at suited me as well.
What new crafters are you inviting next year?

Would love to see a picture

[Laurie]

These links are really good for preparing for a retreat. I have a lot of kit prepping to do.

[Keitha]

The tool tote I carry is the one that lives on my table permanently, it just happens to be a portable variety with a handle. recently I thought about replacing it with something else as I rarely crop elsewhere anymore, but nothing I looked at suited me as well.
What new crafters are you inviting next year?

Would love to see a picture

Laurie, this is my tool tote. I've had it for decades; the scrapbooking company is long out of business, but you can buy very similar totes in the tool section of the hardware store, or for gardeners' tools. I have it sitting on a Lazy Susan that I altered to match, making it easy for me to spin it to get to the pocket I want. I also have a mesh bag that the entire thing fits into so I can put it in the car without fear of it tipping over and tools spilling out - not that I travel with it much anymore. Ironically, it's a bit empty at the moment because I did just remove a few tools to put in with a project kit that I'm taking back to my hotel this weekend; I only needed a few things for that, and rather than cart my tote back and forth every weekend I come home, I'll leave it here.

[pamcook]

Mine is similar to Keitha’s but it’s pink. They hold so much. I always kept a separate set of tools (specifically to take to crops) in it along with refills for my ATG. Now that crops are few and far between, I don’t use it as often.
I noticed Bass Pro had a nice bag that would be good. The size is similar but the style isn’t.

[Laurie]

I do have the old Pampered Chef turn caddy that I have on my desk. It has a ton of stuff that I’ve never used. Some of it is from Club Scrap and Creative Memories. I probably need to clean it out and use it.

[BekiWard@msn.com]

My tool bag is very similar to Keitha’s, too; I believe I bought it when Archiver’s was in business. And, like Pam, I have tools that live in it so when I’m going somewhere to scrap/craft, I don’t have to add much. However, after many, many years of use, I believe it’s time to reassess what’s in it; I doubt I’ll ever use some of that stuff. I love the Pampered Chef tool caddies…got one on my craft table too, Debi.

[Keitha]

While I was in lockdown I took everything out of this tote - some of which hadn't seen the light of day in a decade probably (it has a zippered bottom compartment), and vacuumed all the dust out of the nooks and crannies. From years of carrying my Crop-a-dile in the centre section the tote had a permanent slump to one side - you can see evidence of that in the photo - making it difficult to get tools out of one pocket. So I lined the inside section with stiff cardboard to straighten it up, and refilled it with the tools I currently use. My Crop-a-dile - which doesn't see nearly as much use with the almost-demise of brads - now lives in the cutting tool drawer at home, so is no longer dragging down the side of the tote.
At the time I seriously thought about replacing it with one of those Pampered Chef caddies, but I like that this has a smaller footprint, and has a carrying handle if I want to take it with me. Now that I've dealt with the slumping side I have no reason to replace it.
I also have duplicates of most of my oft-used tools, acquired over time so if someone came to crop with me they didn't need to bring all theirs. Now, I'm happy to have the duplicates for my hotel when I'm working.

[nchoney]

The Pampered Chef organizers are great for lots of things... pens, paintbrushes, etc. I like my other tote(s) for carrying to places. I've got a couple of totes that are either identical or similar to this Everything Mary tote... they hold a LOT

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Mary- ... 6672025271

[Monica]

The Pampered Chef organizers are great for lots of things... pens, paintbrushes, etc. I like my other tote(s) for carrying to places. I've got a couple of totes that are either identical or similar to this Everything Mary tote... they hold a LOT

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Mary- ... 6672025271

Oh, those Pampered Chef caddies... I have two of them on my table! One holds colored pencils, scissors, Wink of Stella, most of my rulers, Zig pens, and a few other odds and ends, and the other holds paintbrushes, stippling brushes, regular pens, Pitt pens, Gelly Roll pens, bone folders, X-Acto knives, etc. Those things can really hold a lot!

I have a tote that's pretty much identical to the Everything Mary tote aside from having a zippered bottom compartment. I used to keep taper runners and foam adhesive in there, but I haven't been to a crop in years and took them out. I'm thinking of putting a firm piece of foam in the bottom so it doesn't sag anymore. But yes, they do hold a ton of stuff!