Crafty Getaway

So, I went to my first ever crafty getaway over the weekend.  I had almost gotten my new studio arranged, but then I had to tear through it the night before leaving to packup all my stuff.  I'm actually impressed that I was able to condense a room full of stuff down to a rolling tote and the largest suitcase in the house.  Of the things to bring, my clothing and personal belongings made up only 1/3rd of my baggage!  It fit in a small carryon bag (duffle bag style) and there was still space inside it.  There was ZERO space in my crafty baggage and I was concerned about our shopping trip.  Where was I going to put the new stuff?  Tee hee!

We had two small SUV's (a Subaru Forester and a Ford Escape) packed to the BRIM.  6 ladies.  One vehicle had 2 people and the back seats down.  We were considering strapping things to the roof!

When we arrived, we were surprised how LARGE the house is.  It is very old and very dated, but everything served its purposes.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.  Two of the ladies were already renovating in their minds to live there!  The front porch of the house is a wall of windows (with a door breaking it up in the middle, but almost a wall of windows) looking out on the blue St. Clair river.  It was gorgeous.

The best part was, we were the first guests to enjoy the new living room furniture. It was rather lovely.

The first setup we tried was 2 people per table and 2 tables in full view of the river.

Then my cousin's wife, Jodi, came to teach us a Stampin' Up! Christmas Card Class.  We rearranged the tables and set up new ones for the class.  I liked this set up better, because everyone could see the water (two only glimpse, but better than before).  I think next time, we'll put the communal tools in the centre tables and make 2 L-shapes in the wings for the best river views.  Else, we will push them all together like this again to make for better conversation.

I will show you the goodies we made through the next few posts.  Claire made the most: 35 Christmas cards!  I hope this retreat has kick-started her mojo to keep going through the season.  Terri-Lynn and Norma made Christmas cards also.  Anita made some scrapbook pages and her FIRST cards ever!  My sister, Lara, dabbled with her watercolouring of stamped images and made a few into Christmas cards and completed a page in one son's baby book.  I completed more scrapbook pages in my wedding album in the weekend than I have in the last two years plus a couple of my youngest nephew's baby book.  I left off the titles.  I needed my electronic cutter, so I do need to do the finishing touches still.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend.  We ate well, we relaxed, we enjoyed, the weather was nice.  The driving was loooong though.  I think, next time, we will increase the stay one more day so the driving is a little farther apart.

Here's us!