Greetings!
It's the start of summer and things feel renewed and exciting here at Crops Plus. We have so many changes happening and we're very excited to share them with you.

Of most important note is that starting in 2017, we will have a brand new venue for our events! Please read below for all the amazing details.

See you soon!

The Crops Plus Team
PO Box 2041
Arlington, VA 22202
703-260-6105 
June Scrapbooking Tip
Tips for preserving and scrapbooking "retro" photos! 
In the past, we have covered tips for working with and preserving heritage photos from many generations ago. A lot of those are in black and white and do not have the scrapbooking challenges that photos from the 60s, 70s and 80s present.

Here is a great article about how to preserve those photos, especially the odd sizes, and then scrapbook them in all their wildly colored glory!

http://debbiehodge.com/2011/04/retro-layouts-scrapping-memories-from-the-60s-70s-and-80s/
Big News for Crops Plus in 2017!
Change of venue for 2017!
The Holiday Inn-Dulles, where we have been based for a total of 7 years, will not offer us dates in advance for our 2017 crops. It's highly disappointing as we loved the Holiday Inn. It's nothing we did, they feel that they could make more money having other groups in there, considering we take up every available inch of space for three full days.  We tried to work with them, to no avail.

Faced with the decision to close Crops Plus for good or find a new location, I opted to try to find a new location for 2017. I have been searching high and low and meeting with other acceptable hotels in the area that are big enough.

Starting with our February 2017 crop (specific dates and prices below), our new hotel will be the Crowne Plaza - Herndon. Just four miles from our current hotel, located right at the intersection where the Dulles Toll Road and Route 667 (Centreville Road) meet. We chose to stay in the Dulles area as that seems to work well for our croppers and helps to keep our changing prices as low as possible.

The Crowne Plaza has recently undergone a $14 Million renovation (Check out all their photos here), just holding the grand re-opening in May. They offer many new and luxurious amenities, allowing us to truly give you the premiere cropping experience! Some of the many benefits of the new location include:
  • A little bit bigger ballroom, allowing for more croppers to join us
  • Crowne Plaza is part of the IHG hotel family, so those of you earning and saving points with that loyalty program at the Holiday Inn will still be able to earn points at our new location
  • Renovated hotel rooms with pillow-top beds and flat-screen TVs. Refrigerator in each room and a microwave upon request for just $92/night
  • Spacious and clean facility washroom
  • Dedicated private classroom
  • A Starbucks (with a barista!) for all your foamy and fancy coffee drinks, in the building
  • Vendors all in one room, just across the hall from the crop room
  • Ability to book the rooms online through links that will be easily accessible on our website 
  • Truly gourmet meals with great variety that can be catered to specific needs
  • Houlihan's Restaurant and Bar located in the hotel
  • A more secluded crop space, a little further away from the prying eyes and hands of other hotel guests
  • Gorgeous modern facility
  • Indoor pool with an updated and large gym
  • LOTS of electrical outlets with electricity wired to each table grouping
  • Free Wi-Fi in ballroom and hotel guest rooms
  • Crop room doesn't close (as long as someone still wants to crop!)
  • Meals and snacks as follow:
    • All Day Beverage Service to include Assorted Soft Drinks (Coke products), Iced Tea and Ice Water (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), replenished regularly. Freshly Brewed Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee and Hot Tea served at meals and breaks only
    • Friday Dinner Buffet and Evening Dessert Break
    • Saturday Lite Breakfast, Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet and Evening Dessert Break
    • Sunday Hot breakfast
We are confident that you will love the new facility as much as we do. Of course, it will mean some changes, but with the alternative being closing our doors, we hope you will understand and allow a little patience as we move forward and that you will be able to join us in 2017!
2017 Dates Announced
Please note the slight shift in dates! 
We are very excited to announce our 2017 dates! All events will be held at the new location, the Crowne Plaza - Herndon. Cost of each event is $280, excluding hotel room costs. We realize this is a price increase. We negotiated for weeks to bring the prices this low and given the alternative of no crops all together, this is the best we can offer at this time.
  • February 3-5, 2017 (The 2017 Presidential Inauguration has forced our date into February)
  • April 21-23, 2017
  • September 8-10, 2017 (Earlier than normal, but it was the only date available in September)
  • November 3-5, 2017
Online registration for February 2017 will open September 12, 2016 at 12:01am. For those of you wanting to attend all four 2017 events, you can register at those at that time as well for a 10% discount. Online registration for remaining dates will begin 4 months before each event. Those attending a crop can register at the crop for the next two dates before they open the public.
 
Mark your calendars - we can't wait to see all of you in 2017! 
September Crop Wait List Open
The sooner you join, the better your chances of getting in! 
Well, we certainly didn't see it happening that fast, but our September 2016 crop sold out in a matter of hours when it opened on May 2! We have already started going through the wait list. If you would like the opportunity to possibly join us at the crop, be sure to register for the wait list ASAP.

What's Included:
  • 5 fully catered buffet meals, 2 snack breaks and 2 evening dessert buffets
  • Unlimited soda (Coke products), water and iced tea throughout the day
  • Candy baskets at each table
  • A Thank You Gift retailing for $20-$25
  • 6x3 crop table with plenty of space around your chair
  • Access to amazing vendors and shopping
  • Access to a wonderful massage therapist (additional fee applies)
  • 24-hour crop room availability
  • Door prizes every night
  • Grand prize drawing retailing between $150-$250
  • Every table grouping has access to at least two outlets (must bring your own cords and tape)
  • Cricut and computer station with over 35 cartridges and color printer/scanner
  • We try to interrupt you as little as possible to allow you to "get in the zone"
Click below to register.
Scraps Marketplace is Coming!
A unique scrapbooking event headed your way
Scraps Marketplace is a vendor fair and scrapbook yard sale that will also provide scrapbook classes during a one day event. The event will be 9am - 3pm Saturday, October 22, 2016. The site for this year's Scraps Marketplace will be located at 22685 Holiday Park Drive, Dulles, VA 20166 at the Executive Conference and Training Center (ECTC). It is NOT at the Dulles Expo Center. ECTC is conveniently located off of Route 28 and Route 50 in Dulles, VA, with plenty of parking for vendors and customers!
 
You can check out our website: Scraps Marketplace and our Facebook page. We are SO SO excited to be offering this opportunity and we hope you will join us! If you are interested in vendoring or reserving one of our limited yard sale tables, we are taking applications. Check out website and Facebook page for links to the applications.