The quote embodies the spirit of giving, and this spirit was clearly evident in abundance at Ever After Scrapbooks’ Survivor Crop 2009 event this weekend. With 115 participants, seven of whom are breast cancer survivors, on 13 teams charitably vying for prizes, scrapbooking their treasured memories and thoroughly enjoying the camaraderie of their fellow “island mates”, the event can only be deemed a total success. This, the eighth annual, Survivor Crop brought participants together from all over California to celebrate their exceptional hard work in gathering donations to the Komen for the Cure Foundation for the purpose of finding a cure for breast cancer. While these are difficult economic times for most, and the overall participation in the event was lower this year, the fine people involved in the 2009 event raised over $63,000 to find a cure!
Creativity was the underlying theme, as is usually the case when a group of scrapbookers gets together, and the 13 teams crafted some of the most eye-catching, entertaining and thoughtful team paraphernalia all based on the pink ribbon-logo of the Komen for the Cure Foundation. Some of the teams had witty names and taglines like the Scrappin’ Wenches – we treasure our chests or the Pink Mafia – gunning down cancer. Team Rosie’s use of the American icon Rosie The Riveter was an inspiration to the female team members. Pills for a Purpose, a group of nurses and pharmacists who double as scrapbookers in their spare time, created an informational centerpiece based on important facts related to breast cancer. The Mad Scrappers took on the theme of mad scientists and went all-out in their lab coat costumes, centerpiece and beaker-shaped nametags. The Whooters based their image on the friendly owl, yet always the fun-loving reference to the female anatomy. Pink Lemonade’s island was outfitted with a real lemonade stand, complete with lemonade, cookies, cupcakes and made from a hand stitched quilted canopy and pennant banner. Another island named themselves Fightin’ in Green – For Our Heroes in Pink and dressed in military costumes, stood at attention when commanded, and showed off their pink rifles decorated with words of inspiration. Football was the inspiration for Team Pink with their well-thought out connection of breast cancer information and the sport of the game. Their tables were green with white striping, reminiscent of a playing field, two goal posts at either end of their island, a scoreboard and a black-and-white striped, whistle-blowing referee.
This year’s Survivor Crop had guidelines for team décor that required “going green” and the ladies took this to heart when creating their team items. Jugs of Love recycled gallon milk jugs into their pink-inspired centerpiece. The Construction Cuties crafted their décor from their team leader’s link to the construction industry and linked to the community to build sponsorship for their team. T-shirts were designed and worn by all the team members, the centerpiece included model earthmovers complete with good old dirt, and blinged-out hard hats were the perfect finishing touch.
Many industry professionals and guests were on hand to infuse the celebratory atmosphere. Downtown Heather Brown, design team member of Unity Stamp Company and regular guest star at Ever After, provided all kinds of team support. Jami Petersen from the wildly popular online magazine Scrapbooking.com hosted the silent auction festivities, Suzy West, lead designer at My Little Shoebox created a beautiful mini-album class, and Diva Danielle and Rayme Royale of online radio fame at Diva Craft Lounge, along with yours truly, San Diego Scrapbooking Examiner at Examiner.com, were honored to be judges.
Finally, Ever After Scrapbooks’ “Super Seven Support Squad” worked extremely hard to make the event successful, fun and comfortable for the participants. Delicious food was brought in for the hard-working ladies in pink from many local eateries, snacks and beverages were on hand and outrageously fun games and awesome make-n-takes were available throughout the event. This year’s teams are already planning for Survivor Crop 2010 with all new creative team names, logos, costumes and energy to fight the good fight in ending breast cancer. Make sure you’re part of this phenomenal event by watching the Ever After Scrapbook’s website!
Shannon's paper passion keeps her busy teaching, writing, exploring, shopping, and of course, scrapping! She loves to travel, constantly seeking out great little shops or eclectic artists somewhere in an exciting new city or town. To follow Shannon's scrappin' adventures check out her column at Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/x-12400-San-Diego-Scrapbooking-Examiner.
