Preparing for a Scrap Girls event

This can be a rather daunting task if you have never been to a scrapbooking retreat before. So to make it a more pleasant experience we have put together a few simple ideas to make it easier for you.
Remember that a few weeks prior to the event you are going to Scrap Girls will email or snail mail you out a checklist for everything you will need specifically for the one event.

1. Plan your layouts. Sit down a few weeks prior to the retreat and go through photos that would go well together on a layout. Group these up and place them in a snap lock bag.
2. Armed with a layout sketch book sit down with those photos and see which layout sketches would compliment your pictures. Draw it on a post it note and pop it into the snap lock bag with the photos.
3. Lets go shopping or, even better, use your supplies from home. Get your photos and sketches and head to your local scrapping shop (or crafting area at home) and pick out some cardstock and patterned papers for each layout.
And your done. Just grab a few embellishments from home to pop in with each little kit you've now made up.
4. The amount of kits you make up depends on how fast you scrap. But to be on the safe side make up 2 or 3 extra kits. It'll be handy to have back at home too if you don't get time to finish them while your away.
5. Basic tools to take with you would be
* Paper trimmer 
* Scissors
* Adhesive
* Black pen for journaling
All these will get you by over the course of the weekend, but feel free to bring along all of your other "cant live without" tools too.
6. Tool pooling. It may be an idea, especially if you are travelling from interstate to tool pool with some fellow scrappers. Things like eyelet setters, hammers, corner punch, crop-a-dile,  punches etc. 
7. Other tools -  Go through your stash of tools and think about what you'd use the most of eg stamps, inks, paints. Depending on your storage room just pack what you think you will use the most. Chances are if you forget it, someone else will have and will probably let you borrow it.
8. It's always handy just to throw in a few extra photos and cardstock, cause you just never know when inspiration will strike. It's also handy to pop in a few idea books. 
9. Have an awesome time.