Staff Writer
CARIBOU — Only at Croptoberfest will you hear phrases like “do you have a picture of a chicken?” spoken as casually as “will you please pass the salt.” Many individuals took advantage of the event last Saturday by sprawling their scrapbooking items on long tables set up in the gymnasium of Hilltop Elementary School to organize and document important events of their lives while raising money for the Make A Wish Foundation.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Judy Snell of Caribou fine tunes a piece of paper she needed to work on her scrap booking pages of her daughter-in-law’s wedding. Snell was one of many scrapbookers who attended Croptoberfest on Saturday.
The event, organized by Linda Sheldon of Creative Memories, raised $135 during the free event and money for the Foundation is still coming in. This is a two-part donation, as Sheldon organized an event netting donations of $400 last March including walk-a-thon donations.
Creative Memories chose the Make-A-Wish Foundation as its charity of choice based on the input of its national network of consultants. To support the foundation, Creative Memories developed Wishes and Dreams, an exclusive line of products inspired by courageous Wish kids and their families. Consultants have been selling the Wishes and Dreams products since March and Creative Memories donates up to $2 for every Wishes and Dreams product purchased.
Sheldon had many of the Wishes and Dreams products on display for the scrapbookers at Croptoberfest. An avid scrapbooker, Sheldon also had numerous completed scrapbook pages available for viewing that she had done using the Wishes and Dreams products. Her pages also displayed how nothing needs to be wasted while scrapbooking, showing how a narrow strip of excess paper can be turned into a connecting pop of color that compliments various hews of a photo nicely. While adding aesthetic depth can make photos more visually appealing, there is a strictly logical and practical side of scrapbooking that is routinely overlooked: scrapbooking not only preserves precious photos, it is one way to record information about an event — names, dates, places, relations — while adding a personal flair.
Many scrapbook because they find it relaxing and enjoyable: events like Croptoberfest create a productive environment for scrapbookers.
“It’s hard to get stuff done at home because there are so many interruptions,” explained Joan Albert of Caribou, “but here you can spread out and be very productive.”
Albert likes being creative and finds the activity relaxing. She spent Croptoberfest working on two scrapbooks for her children, piecing together a two-page spread on each of their birthday celebrations until their 18th birthday. “I look at some of these photos now and see their grandparents that have since passed and it means a lot to (my children) to see how they’ve grown,” Albert said. “Each year symbolized a different year of their life.”
While Albert doesn’t have a favorite particular page, she does have a favorite project.
“My daughter danced and I put together seven scrapbooks on 18 years of dance for her and I just finished it,” she said, explaining how she put together pages on each and every dance that her daughter performed. “It turned out really good and that project was probably the most fun.”
Albert mainly puts together theme books, such as vacations or Halloween, but other avid scrapbookers, like Janice Espling of Woodland, tend to put together sequential pages.
Espling finished compiling a scrapbook of this year’s summer activities up to her birthday, which was earlier this month.
She’s been scrapbooking for about three years and has found the type of scrapbooking that suits her best: sequential albums with hand-written journaling.
At one point, Espling had compiled a few scrapbooks using the computer and while they were well received by their recipient, Espling felt they lacked a personal touch.
“I made a book for my granddaughter using the computer and all the words and saying were my own, but it wasn’t my handwriting and I didn’t find it to be as personal,” she explained. “(My granddaughter) adores the books, but when I do scrapbooks for my other grandchildren, they’re going to be handwritten.”
Any way scrapbookers scrapbook (and even for those who only take pictures), Espling emphasized the importance of documenting the specifics about the photo.
Espling’s mother had taken photos when Espling was growing up, the photos lacked information.
“I was able to piece together information about my brothers and sisters, but I still have a picture of a little old lady with white hair and I don’t have a clue as to who she is,” she said.
“I enjoy putting my pictures together because later on, my family is going to know who the people are in the photos, how old they were and what relation they were to me,” Espling added.
The next event Sheldon is planning is scheduled for Saturday Nov. 14 at the Washburn Trail Runner’s Clubhouse in Washburn from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m. For additional information regarding the event, contact Sheldon at RSheldon1@maine.rr.com.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Linda Sheldon displays two pages she’s put together utilizing the Wishes and Dreams products by Creative Memories. For every Wishes and Dreams product purchased, Creative Memories will donate up to $2 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Michelle Barnes of Caribou works on a page highlighting April of 2008 while Paula Barnes of Caribou puts together a page showcasing a trip to Fenway Park.
Aroostook Republican photo/Natalie Bazinet
Jessica Soucy, 5, and puppy-pal Buttercup take a break from Croptoberfest to enjoy a seasonal treat.
