I had a great weekend. (I know it was great because I'm still recovering!)
I was invited to a paper crafting retreat hosted by Jennifer McGuire and Jana Millen in Cincinnati - which is about a two-hour drive from here. The other ladies were Kathy Racoosin, Heidi Crowl, Kate Farricker, two mother-daughter teams, (Candy and Christy Wilkerson and Sarah Moerman and her mother, Margaret) Joy Ott, Heather Ruwe, Britta Swiderski, Stephanie Klauck, Sandi Neumann, Julie Strickland, and Tina Schrof.
Oh. My. Word.
What talent. What conversations. What fun.
Not only did I get to see some fabulous art being created right before my eyes, but every conversation was interesting because it was all about papercrafting - products, industry updates, who was doing what and when and where. Nirvana!
I filled up my whole car with tools and product - as did everybody else who was within driving distance, so we had more stuff than you could shake a stick at. It was comical, as I didn't use half of what I brought and every stamp in my collection was represented multiple times - LOL!
Heidi and Kate, our retail store owners, spoiled us all rotten by bringing us a ton of free goodies. I mean, it was just ridiculous how generous they were!
Our hotel was lovely despite a somewhat incompetant night staff. Among other things, there were a lot of room key issues, but the best story involved the manager resorting to pressing the handicapped emergency button outside the door. I had never heard of this button but it activates (inside the room) a very loud, blaring alarm and bright flashing lights.
(Did I mention that it was about 2:00 a.m. and two of the roommates were blissfully sleeping when a recreation of the London Blitz jolted them to consciousness?)
Good times....
There was a Graeter's Ice Cream shop about 100 yards from our hotel. This stuff truly is the most amazing ice cream I've ever eaten. When I was leaving, I saw a sign in their window about dry ice and taking some home to the family (since they are local only). Turns out, dry ice is only $2, so I bought some Buckeye Blitz and Raspberry Chocolate Chip to take home to Spouse and Gigi. When she wasn't squealing over the taste sensation, Gigi was jumping up and down over the dry ice. We placed it in the sink where it smoked for about an hour - very impressive stuff to a 9-year-old.
I am now the most popular person in the house AND we know how we want to decorate our trunk for this year's Trunk'r'Treat at school.
Here's a picture of our happy group:
Front row: Britta, Jennifer, Julie, Sandi
Middle row: Christy, Kate, Stephanie, Kathy, (lying down) Sarah, Heather
Back row: Heidi, Candy, Jana, Joy, Deborah, Tina, Margaret
I had such a fantastic time, and I thank everyone for her role in the festivities: Jana and Jennifer ("Jannifer" as we dubbed them) for their fantastic organization and hospitality; Kate and Heidi for their generous gifts; my roommates Sarah and Margaret for being so fantastic; and everyone else for just being a load of fun!
Ladies, you're the best!
How absolutely fabulous - you must have had a ball!
Posted by: janet aka swanlady21 | October 5, 2011 at 11:14 AM
sounds fabulous Deborah. so jealous! BTW, my family lives in New Albany and there is a Graeter's Ice cream there!
Posted by: Linda C. Baker | October 5, 2011 at 11:16 AM
What a fabulous group of talent! Sounds like heaven!
Posted by: Barb | October 5, 2011 at 11:19 AM
I am SO jealous! What a wonderful experience! Thanks so much for sharing, Deborah! That Buckeye Blitz sounds yummy (now you are an official Buckeye lover!)
Posted by: Lin | October 5, 2011 at 11:39 AM
What a ton of fun you guys all had! Love the stories and thanks for sharing the photo!
Posted by: Tiffany | October 5, 2011 at 01:28 PM
I am SO JEALOUS... how much fun that must have been to meet will all these lovely and talented ladies. Can't wait to see some of your weekend creations
Posted by: Dawn T | October 5, 2011 at 03:43 PM
I'd say you took your fair share of talent with you! The cards I have seen on your blog are amazing. Glad you had a great time!
Posted by: Rae | October 8, 2011 at 07:17 PM