Daisy Chain Scrapbooks Cardmaking Retreat 2009

I've been away for the weekend to my first card making retreat. The Food and Wine Show, is on the same weekend as the next Scrapbooking retreat, and the girls have been trying to get me to the card one all year, but I declined, thinking two was overkill..... but when it fell on the same weekend as the F&W show, it was a lay down miser e (sp?).

I wasn't even really thinking of this retreat, it was so close to the last one, so I didn't feel like I 'needed' a retreat. When I spoke to Barbi and Suzy on Thursday morning, I felt the first stirrings of excitement, and from then on I looked forward to the weekend with a keen anticipation.

On Friday I created my 'to dos' and set about making sure the weekend was a success, for myself and for my boys left at home. The house was left tidy, everything up to date, and I was packed, rested and organized for a great weekend of creating.

I'll start with the negatives as I update my thoughts from the weekend, get them out of the way and pay them the negligible due that they deserve. Sleep, as always when away for a short time, was pretty crappy. Late nights, combined with crappy mattresses, early mornings and unfamiliar surroundings resulted in a night of light dozing at best and full wakefulness at worst.

That's out of the way lol, and I can discuss the myriad of positives.....

* I got to see Barbi doll sitting across the table from me - just like the old days. She didn't need to cook and the demands from the other cardmakers were minimal, so she actually got to play and create and converse....... We stayed up till last, with Dawnie, just like the old days, like our first retreats, it was lovely to revisit those moments.

* Spending time with Nellie and Linda. I enjoy their company, and their antics, but it's so often snippets thereof as I see them when they're working, or on their way home, so I rarely get a chance to spend any length of time with them.

* An opportunity to focus on cardmaking rather than scrapbooking, effectively taking away the need for me to feel guilty about not scrapbooking. This meant that I could focus on playing with items I'd only read about previously. I got to colour in with water mixed with Tim Holz distress inks, and I used Tombow markers.

* At long last I mastered the Cuttlebug and am even proficient enough to help others..... I'm sure Suzy and Barbi have breathed a huge sigh of relief lol..........

* Got to spend an entire weekend with Suzy. We spend a nice easy, relaxed time together, in sync with each other's thoughts and needs - pretty special actually. There's a calm and soothing aura of understanding when we're togeth, er, doesn't matter if we're shopping, having a D&M or creating together......

* Spending time not worrying about a single chore! No washing, dusting, cooking, cleaning, or tending to anyone's needs other than my own. Soooooo self indulgent!!

* Catching up with friends I don't see nearly enough, Carrin, Sue, Susan, Alaine and Kristie-Anne. I wish I'd had more time to catch up even more. The time flies by so quickly and I wish I could have chatted more.......

* Even with sleeping much worse than with recent retreats (and coming home to sleep) my hours spent in bed were cut drastically and thanks to the new eye gel I have, and lots of pain killers for the hangover without a drink syndrome, I feel remarkably wonderful this evening.....

I'm so looking forward to spending the night in my own delicious bed. I hate sleeping in a single bed, it's far too small.....and those plastic covered matresses aren't the most comfortable things to sleep on.

I've come home to a happy family. Mickey and Billy-Joe had funny tummy cramps, not sure from what though. DB was cooking my steak burger for dinner and cut his finger as well as the roll!!! Of course he won't go and get it stitched...... He'd changed the sheets on his bed, so I've gone down and remade his bed and cleaned up, we're just having ice cream and enjoying Idol.

Kids are back at school tomorrow, and I'm a little sad. Who would have thought school holidays could become such a wonderfully relaxing experience.......just an awesome break. And the best thing, is four days back at school and we had to our rented house at Rainbow Beach for ten days.....

I created lots of lovely cards...... I will photograph and upload them tomorrow.

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