Retreat!

Happy Saturday everyone!    Well, it is still warm here in Georgia on this September 25th! My airconditioning is working hard.  However, I heard changes are coming and we should have highs around 78 degrees on Monday!  Let's hope that weather lasts for awhile so we can enjoy Fall.  I love opening my windows up in the evenings and enjoy the crisp air.

On to the most important topic:  I am at retreat!  Our group comes to the Grand Oak Retreat in Scottsboro, Alabama once a year.  (Truth be told, we'd love to come more than once a year, but you know how hard that is...)  It is a FABULOUS home on the side of a cliff overlooking a lake in Alabama. 

The house has 6 guest bedrooms and it was built as a retreat for crafters, so there are plenty of beds and bathrooms in each room!  The most wonderful part of all is, Cindy, the proprietor, cooks all of our meals for the whole weekend!  We wake up to a delicious breakfast, salivate for the 1:00 lunch bell, and almost stampede when it's time for dinner. 

Best story of the weekend... My girlfriend Heidi and I were overlooking the balcony at dinner on the first night. We had chicken on the menu and as usual, it was delicious. Heidi's bedroom was right near the chicken coop and all of a sudden it dawned on her that she might be awakened with a "cock-a-doodle doo" before she was ready to pry her pretty eyes open! So she turns to me and said in her most serious "mom" tone of voice, "If those 'flocking'chickens 'doodle' before 7:00 am tomorrow morning, chicken will be back on the menu tomorrow evening!" (Flocking is a product used for papercrafting.) I almost wet myself from laughing so hard! What this weekend does for me is not give me the time to focus on my favorite craft project, but: allows me to reconnect with the most wonderful women; to laugh so hard your sides hurt; and to spend some quality time with my mom (she's on my "crew"...). Good times were had by all.

This picture above was the sunrise this morning.  Overcast skies made the day cooler than expected.

One of the cards that I made this weekend was a Thanksgiving card.  It was using the Heartfelt Creations stamp and die cut set.  You can find it here.

I stamped it with Memento black ink on Gina K. Designs Pure Luxury white paper and then embossed it with clear embossing powder.  If you have not tried that, you need to give it a whirl.  It really made my image deepen.  I really like it.   I used my Copic Markers to color it, standard cardstock to frame it, my Martha Stewart punch on the right side.  I used the Storybook Cricut cartridge to cut out the label.  I distressed all the sides with my edger and then used Tim Holtz' Walnut Stain Distress Inks.

I hope you enjoyed my blog today!  Have a terrific week!