What lies ahead maybe one of my longest blog posts ever, but I have so many pretty pictures to share… I just got home yesterday from a fabulously refreshing retreat… it was a weekend of laid back stamping and crafting that I had been invited to by a friend. It was held at the Whatever Craft House in Newton, KS… just about (lucky me!) 30 minutes from my home. Don’t my Copics look right at home on the welcome bench?
The event circled around a fabulous workroom with plenty of space for your 15 newest (since I only knew 2 people before I went) friends! Can you even?
Jen Shults and I may have both come home with fabric to make bunting for our craft rooms. Bunt everything!
This was my personal space for the weekend, and I had plenty of room for my tools and new Copic Carry Case that I received for Christmas. The light-weight case is made of plastic and aluminum, and it will hold an entire collection of markers with plenty of room for other crafty necessities. I use empty 36-piece clear cases to organize my markers inside the case.
Lots of yummy food over the weekend. This was from our lunch one day at the Bread Basket in Newton, KS. It was a super delicious soup, salad and sandwich shop where everything is homemade. No frozen piecrust here. Your grandma would approve. I had a taste of a friends pecan/coconut/chocolate pie called “JACKPOT”… and this restaurant definitely was, all the way around.
Our workspace was on the main floor, but up this back butler staircase and around the corner is a piece of crafty slumber heaven.
The bedrooms were just as cute as you’d imagine they would be… This was mine.
All the bed covers were beautiful, old quilts.
Fun colorful curtains and wall decor.
I got a lot of cards made through the weekend, and this was one of my favorites. The cool folks at Concord & 9th sent everyone this adorable Pop Art Pineapple stamp/die set. It had been in and out of my cart several times, so I was THRILLED!
The first craft project we did was a wooden heart kit that many of the girls purchased from Heart by CC. I loved this project. I just wish we would have taken a photo of all the different finished pieces because they were all different.
Doesn’t this just scream HAPPY?
Here is my finished heart. I used Special Walnut stain on the back board and acrylic paints for the individual pieces. After staining and painting, I applied a thin layer of wax paste to my pieces, but you could totally skip that step. I think I was the only one who did that, and it wasn’t obvious in the end. You can see a lot of samples for this project by look at this Instagram feed.
Our next project was a felt flower wall hoop. We used a collection of rolled and flat flower dies with felt from Taylored Expressions. Taylor’s felt is so, so nice… Beautiful, rich colors and great 100% wool felt quality. Cuts like a dream in the big shot.
Here I was playing around with my layout before I glued pieces to my hoop.
My finished project that I’m hanging in my office. {{love}}
The last non-stamping project that we did was a little nail, string art piece. We painted a wooden block and then used a heart shaped die as a template to nail little tacks, then we used string to twine around the nails. So easy and adorable. Loved this one, too!
Finally, here’s a little watercolor that I did from an image that had been at our work station upon arrival. I have a little detail work to do, and then I think I’ll be framing this for my office, as well. I’ll be sure to share when I’m finished.
This was our full group on the porch before dinner on Saturday night. So many beautiful new friends. Laurie Willison and Amy Kolling were fabulous hostesses! I’m so grateful for the invitation to attend and their new-found friendships. Love.
So, my Copic Carry Case and I are home, sweet home again, but already dreaming of going back… Something about being around so much color and vibrant personality. It’s so, so good for the soul.
Thanks for indulging me such a windy post. I appreciate you stopping by. I have more finished cards and projects to share, so I’ll be posting those through the week. See you again soon!
