Don't let anyone tell you its not hard work to put together an event. Any event comes with its ups and downs. At some point in the process you want to either give up or run away. This one was hard work but at least I didn't want to run away. I started out planning to only coordinate the event and let others teach. In the end, I ended up teaching as well...a double load. Despite a few little challenges along the way, it all went smoothly thankfully. It was a small intimate affair with just a few ladies attending, but for a first time it was a great experience meeting new people with similar interests and a love of paper and creativity. It's always a good sign if people respond to any invitation, right. The Farm Inn was just an absolute joy to work with. They assisted us from start to finish and made the day run without a glitch. They even helped us carry everything to the car at the end of it all. The food was fabulous and way to much...we took doggy bags home. :) As we intended it all to be for charity, I am very pleased to say we were able to plant our first seads in helping the babies of TAPOSA. We collected just over R800 paid over to the charity and we are also able to give the charity some baby goods, toys and clothing which I have organised to deliver in the coming week. I will post a little something on the visit soon. Here is some photos of the event .... you can view the full album on our Facebook page under the Photos tab. Lessons learned from this event:
1. Keep moving forward and finish what you started. You will always feel the satisfaction of a job well done. It's worth it. 2. Keep things simple. One of our teachers, Linda, advised from the start to not have too many projects and I was also concerned that we had a little too much for the day, but in the end I also felt people pay way to much just to do one or two projects the whole day. So, lesson 2: It's OK to only have one project for a full day of "relaxed" scrapping and lesson 2b: give take home kits to make up what they pay for. It's also OK if they do not complete everything on the day. 3. The focus of the event was celebrating our new found society and building our network. It's a shame we didn't have more ladies attending but I still hope that in the spirit of being charitable and caring for our own community in Pretoria, more ladies will physically join in in future. Despite that, we had a fun day. I am so glad I met all these ladies and got to know them a little better. I hope we can do this again soon. Lesson 3: building friendships take time and a full day at a lovely venue is a great way to start. 4. Learning from each other and giving people space to do their own thing is important. 5. When teaching something, always give people room to play around and try it out and stick to your own tried techniques. For example: Doing rolled flowers can be a challenge to some. Adding glue to keep it in place without burning your fingers off with a glue gun is not easy. I always use my own short cut that gets the job done and has no risk of burning. (Alternatively you can use normal craft glue but you will have to hold it in place until it takes, but who needs that if you have a glue gun. :)) I proceeded to advise the ladies to use a new technique I found on a Youtube video, but alas you run the risk of the burn, which did happen to me when assisting one of the ladies. When reverting back to my own technique, eureka! No burn! Lesson learned. :) 6. No matter what you do or plan, accept things will not turn out like you planned. Sometimes its even better. Leave your fear at the door and do it afraid. The blessings will wait for you at the other end. 7. Art is therapy. OK, I knew this, but it's good to be reminded once again. 8. If you commit your plans to the Lord and you include Him in the process, He will be your Helper and make sure everything works together for your good and the good of those involved. 9. Give yourself. It's even better than giving money or things. The joy is in giving. 10. Do this again some day. Thank you's 1. Linda King for her help and hard work and beautiful project. You are a special lady with a kind heart. Keep at it. We wish you all the blessing and success in your business as you grow it. 2. Surita Brink and Henry Badenhorst. You both make my heart sing when I think of how much you supported me in this venture. I cannot ask for better friends and partners. I love you both. 3. Heidi Wilbers. You have a lovely heart. Thank you for all you gave. 4. All the other ladies, Joanne, Charmaine, Kathy, Margy, and Lara. Thank you that you trusted us to bring you this event. Thank you for your participation and making it possible to support TAPOSA. We appreciate every sent spent. 5. The Farm Inn. You guys rock! Service, support, the room and the food was superb. I will always recommend you to the world. A fabulous venue in the heart of Pretoria. If you would like to know more about our charity, click here.
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blog AuthorHi, my name is Ansu and I am a memory keeper. I was born and raised in Pretoria and have lived here all my life. I love my city, I love memory keeping, scrapbooking and pretty paper. I am the owner of Pretoria Scrapbooking and aim to help grow our local network of scrapbookers and paper artists through this venture. We are people with heart and so we also support local charities. Pretoria Scrapbooking also aim to support and promote local business and the scrapbook and paper craft industry in South Africa. Join us as we grow our network! Archives
July 2018
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