Crafty Waldorf

“Scrapping Sisters” was one name casually suggested by DeeAnn Britton, a member of the crafting group which met for their “Croptoberfest” event at the Waldorf Community Center Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23, 2022. The group has no official name, but was begun in about 2005 by Lori Courtney with just three members. Today ten or more people attend the group’s events regularly, with ages that differ by as much as 45 years. Initially the group met on a monthly basis, but as life has brought changes over the past seventeen years, they now focus on meeting in May for National Scrapbooking Day, in October for Croptoberfest, and twice a year for retreats to Ormsby, MN.

Most of the members are scrapbookers – Courtney is a consultant with the scrapbooking supply company Creative Memories and provides her crafting group with projects and tools through that outlet – though one regular member of the group is a quilter, and Courtney’s event on Facebook for the day states “EVERYONE AND ALL CRAFTS ARE WELCOME!” Croptoberfest is a public event, yet it’s easy to tell who the founding participants are by their easy familiarity both with each other and with the typical procedures at the events hosted by Courtney. 

The most enthusiastic response from the group is to the retreats, held every February and August. Even seven straight years of blizzards during the February retreat have not dampened participant enthusiasm. According to the group, the earliest retreats were in a few different locations as the group searched for a facility that had availability, adequate crafting space, and beauty and comfort. Eight years ago, a refurbished church in Ormsby was selected as being  worthy of retreating to again and again. Group members rave that the workroom is large enough for everyone to spread out their projects and the church windows let in plenty of natural light. Even when it’s storming, Courtney says the indoor lighting is more than enough for a quality crafting space.

Croptoberfest attendance is slightly lower than National Scrapbooking Day or the group retreats, as some members are helping with farming or keeping young children, but Creative Memories provides materials for it every October and the timing is right relative to the group’s other meetings. Every member of the group brings a dish to pass, and anyone who does the activities to fill a line on their Crafting Bingo card takes home a prize. In case anyone is lacking projects, though crafters so rarely are, Courtney provides her friends with a “project recipe” from Creative Memories which includes materials and instructions to create specific scrapbook pages and greeting cards. No one is required to follow those instructions, however. “There are no rules in scrapbooking,” said Courtney. “And if you make a mistake,” added Britton, “embellish.”