Sun City women turn scrap books into cash

As little girls they used crayons to color in their coloring books.

Now, 54 years later, they are, together, creating crafts for sale.

Linda Bruggeman and Vicki Godin, both of Sun City, are taking their love of scrap booking and stamping and turning it into a part-time business.

The women are offering card making classes and other workshops to share their enthusiasm about paper crafts. And they are independent sales representatives who offer all of the supplies their students need to create their own projects.

Bruggeman and Godin said they were spending a lot of money on crafting supplies and activities. So they decided to incorporate their interests into a business by becoming demonstrators for Stamping Up, a paper crafting, card and scrapbook supply business.

"We also deal with Forever Friend and go to craft fairs and sell some of our crafts that we make," Bruggeman said. "We make cards, gift buckets, scrap books, photo albums, paper purses, journals, notebooks - just about anything that has to do with paper."

The friends also are offering crafting workshops, beginning in May.

"On May 8 we have a card crafting class, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and it costs $20," Godin said.

Other workshops are planned for May 17 and 22. All of the classes will be at private homes. Call 623-399-8450 or 623-910-1247 for more information.

Bruggeman and Godin met when they were 7-years-old and attended the same church and Sunday school in Sioux City, Iowa. They said they were inseparable into their high school years.

"We were best friends and did almost everything together," Bruggeman said.

After high school, the women lost touch with each other for several decades. But about 10 years ago, Godin -who was at that time traveling in an RV fulltime with her husband - tracked Bruggeman down and sent her a Christmas card.

Eventually both of the women and their husbands ended up in Sun City, and back together at the same church, Church on the Green in Sun City West.

"We used to color together when we were seven," Godin said. "And now we are kind of continuing."