How to prepare for a Crop

Spend nearly two hours looking for one particular picture; although frankly, you're lucky it was only two hours. Allow your family to laugh at you and convince you that you never actually had said photo printed. The implication that you just look at it a lot on that clever computer wallpaper picture thingy is just too sad. Let the lack of one photo stop you preparing something else to do. Really, when teamed with the scabby ticket you've found that set the whole idea off - would it have made an award winning LO?

Dig deep into your reserves of will and go onward with your preparation, after all, you are woman and you are strong in the face of such defeat. But wait till the next day because you can no longer be confident of your colour matching in anything but daylight.

Grudgingly, choose a handful of alternative photos from the huge selection waiting to be preserved for all time. Take out every piece of 12 x 12 paper that you own. Go through them carefully, judging the merit of the photgraph and the occasion against your desire to use each sheet. Finally settle on a paper that can be used without the feeling that you're parting with a friend. Take out every box of stickers, alphabets, embellishments and chipboard that you own. Repeat the selection process. The criteria stays the same...if you like it too much, the photo had better be worth it.

Then, take out your 4 year old Autumn Leaves desk calendar and flip through it, vaguely hoping to find a sketch that will match the previous grudging selections. Don't worry that this would work better at the beginning of the process - if these published scrapbookers are so good, the right LO is certainly there, right? By now you are sitting on the floor amongst every storage box you own, and with every cupboard door open and mumbling incoherently that your family had better not make any sudden moves for fear of moving the calendar pages, laid 'carefully' in your line of vision. And in fading light, so hurry. By now you will be slightly fed up with the whole process, and blind to everything except the fact that no-one will clear this lot up for you. It is, I guarantee, at this stage, that decision making becomes instant and executive. This enables you to pack the bag with alarming and unusual enthusiasm. And then you can use your tool bag for the adhesives and the non paper bits that you'd completely fogotten about. Of course, this incredible forethought and preparation now means that you're ready, 12 hours ahead of the crop starting, which can only mean one thing. It's been a triumph. Sleep soundly until the small hours when you realise you might forget the bag containing tea, coffee and milk. OK. Partial triumph.