Scrapbook Getaways Retreat

Goodness, where do I start?!  I had such a lovely weekend at the Scrapbook Getaways retreat and I came back refreshed and a little warm and fuzzy inside (as well as a little porkier... ahem...)

This was my first retreat with no classes because I've only even been to Scrap-a-Mia before.  I guessed it would be a bit like an extended version of the monthly Artful Angels crop I go to and luckily for me, this first one was close enough that I didn't have to stay overnight.  Paula and I arrived on Friday afternoon at 2pm and scrapped until about 11.30 that night.  After a bad night (couldn't switch off, shoulder ached, wind rattled), I didn't get there until about 9.30 Saturday morning but I kept going until about 11.00.  I had another really bad night that night too so I found myself back at my table by just after 8am and we were one of the last to leave at 5pm when it closed.  Phew!

Christine and the other regular retreaters (yes that is a word) were very welcoming and the hotel itself was surprisingly lovely (a new Holiday Inn).  The food was actually wonderful and as they are just down the road, I shall be taking hubs back for a House Burger!  We had unlimited tea and coffee all day, plenty of space on our tables and access to various tools and equipment etc.

This was our crop room.

There's Paula in the middle there, busy busy.

I love sitting next to Paula.  We do like a good chat but it never interferes with the job at hand and she never makes any comment when I talk to my supplies ;-)

That's me, trying to keep my mouth shut and not look gormless when I know a photo is being taken.

Most of the ladies there were scrapping chronologically and aiming to get as many photos completed as possible.  The lady opposite me made 52 pages, yes pages, not photos.  That was in direct contrast to how a tiny minority scrapped there, myself included.  I think I completed about 11 pages the entire weekend.  The difference in style meant that people were often popping over to have a look at our pages and it was lovely to receive some really wonderful comments.  People took photos, used our inspiration for their layouts, asked for help with various things, I showed some people how to make the rosettes - by the end of the weekend my confidence had had a huge boost!  Paula gave one lady some embroidery thread and it absolutely made the lady's day.  She had been putting off scrapping these particular photos but the addition of the right coloured thread mean't that they ended up being her favourite.  It was a really nice experience to be able to inspire other people, even though our style was VERY different to most of the scrappers.

On the final afternoon there was a layout competition which was voted by way of putting coins on the layout that you liked best.  Paula and I were tickled to come joint second!  What are the chances of that?!  I wanted to tweak my layout a bit more but I will share that next week.

 Sadly we had to go home at some point.  As I was still recovering from my op and struggling with my shoulder, Paula loaded up the trolley to take our stuff to the car.  This is both of our stuff but we did see people with one of these trolleys overloaded with just their own stuff!

It was a lovely weekend but it was gone in a flash.  Time sure does fly when you are having fun huh?!

Bye for now
xx