WHATEVER craft weekend recap... beware for major picture overload.

first... an apology for the million and one pictures.
it was way too hard to narrow it down!
moving on...
this trip has been something i've been anticipating for months.
and just like that... {snap}
it's done and over.

i can hardly believe it's already come and gone.
so much excitement, goodness, color and fun.
all wrapped up into one long weekend.
(extra long, in fact... but i'll get to that later)

how do i begin?
i need to say that my amazing WHATEVER craft weekend wasn't just the trip in kansas.
it was a grand, old fashioned road trip with one of my besties!
we packed up my red honda pilot with all our gear... and a lot of happy expectations in our hearts.
road trippin' with kids... honestly, a bit draining.
the big m and i have obviously done it lots, traveling to texas and back to see my parents.
d has done road trips with her little family lots too as their family also doesn't all live near one another.
but road trippin' with a friend... and ZERO kids?!?!

that's recipe for a GOOD time, if you ask me!
i'm not kidding when i say that the hours spent in the vehicle flew by.
we had so much to talk about...
so much to laugh about...
even lots to cry about...
we're good talkers, to say the least.
d even bought a 'best friend quiz book' for us to do on the drive.
we had some good laughs.
unicorns... need i say more?

we stopped at our favorite restaurant (Qdoba), ate yummy snacks, had our own car concerts and enjoyed not having to yell at our kids in the backseat.
what?!
did i say yell?
no... i never yell at my kids when we're stuck in a vehicle for hours on end.
we stopped for the night in the lovely sioux city, iowa.

this was an adventure all it's own.
creepy men in the hotel lobby, mcdonald's at midnight and matching toiletry bags.

the next morning we set off for our final destination... newton, kansas!

the driving, as usual, went by very quickly and even though we got lost on some of the back roads, thanks to my GPS, we made it!
seeing that sign was like seeing a mirage in the desert.

we had to stop to take a few pictures.
we were a little early... and we could only show up at the house at 5:30pm.
no earlier.
so we found a quiet parking lot at an old abandoned building and changed into cuter clothes.
we made ourselves "presentable" so we didn't show up in our sweats and traveling threads.
i remember looking at d and saying to one another... "i can't believe we're here!"
"i can't believe we're about to go to the craft house... and actually meet meg and kimberlee!!"
of course we brushed our teeth with our water bottles...

and before we left the parking lot we took a couple of self portraits.
as you can see, we're sorta the queens of selfies.

we take pride in taking a good self portrait as you'll notice in many of my CW pics.
the clock turns 5:30pm and we arrive just in time.
we are the first vehicle to pull up... we see meg walk out onto the porch and direct us where to park.
is it really her?
we give her a big hug and have to pinch ourselves that the weekend has begun.
within a few minutes, everyone's vehicles have pulled up, including the 15 passenger van with all the airport girls.
we've all arrived!!
and we're pumped to be here!

we make a few introductions to one another and all look giddy in anticipation.
we meet meg, kimberlee, shannan, taryn and the rest of the girls -- lori, kellie, nicole, kelly, marci, tia and her mom, debbie, dawn and shelby.
we had all been corresponding for a few months via instagram and email so it was neat to finally meet in person.
meg and kimberlee show us to our rooms and we have some time to settle in before supper.
everyone is touring the craft house and comments like, "i can't believe i'm seeing ___ in person!" is a common occurrence.
it's almost surreal to see all these gorgeous spaces with my own eyes.
i'd been seeing the images of this house for years on meg's blog!
but to see them in person, is a whole different ball game.

the spaces at the craft house are much brighter, happier, bigger and more exciting in real life.
it sounds strange, but pictures don't do it justice.
but pictures is all i've got to share with you.
so here goes...
a house "tour"(a lot of my bedroom pics are dark b/c they were taken in the evening):
our room... the playroom.

my bed.

the yellow floor room.

the cali girls were all up in here!  :)

the sweet pink room.

isn't that paper bunting on the ceiling adorable?!

tia and her mom, debbie, stayed in here.

a couple of shots from the front bedroom.

it had three beds in it.

kelly and marci stayed here.

oh crafty goodness... you know a way to a girl's heart!

look at all this gorgeous fabric, waiting to be pillaged! 

am i really here...

oh look, i am!

it's meg's family picture behind me on the mantle!

hello little sweet pink bathroom.
you are adorable.

hello meg's latest re-do bathroom.
love the striped double shower curtains.
and this mirror was massive, as was the vanity.

d and i painted our toes rainbow colors, in honor of meg and her love of rainbows.

this honeycomb tile was perfect for a feet pose.

the gorgeous upstairs hallway/landing, in the morning light.

the kitchen dining area... with sweet fabric bunting made out of scraps on the ceiling.

everything, literally everything, is draped in happy colors!

the cozy living room... with all the pillows i've salivated over at online etsy shops.

after a delicious supper of kimberlee's chicken tacos, pico de gallo made by d and i, and meg's margarita's, we got to making our aprons.

picking the fabric... definitely the hardest part of the evening.
but also the most fun!
yeah, remember that picture of the neatly organized bins of fabric?
well, those were all chaos and messy after all us ladies devoured the piles in search of our perfect pieces.
i settled on these colors...

i knew i needed at least some turquoise and some yellow.
they're my favorite colors, and they're all over my house.
but adding in the pink made it just that much more girly.
the rest of the night, into the wee hours of the morning was spent working on our ruffles and embellishments.

the infamous "pam's" cheesecake was delivered to each of our place settings.

and we all enjoyed the sugar high perks of this amazing dessert!

it really is as good as everyone says it is!

tia and debbie, mother/daughter sewing duo, were done first.
i think they actually got to bed at a reasonable hour (maybe midnight?).
while the rest of us made our ways upstairs closer to 3am.
no matter... it was worth the lack of sleep to make these beautiful creations.

the next morning came way too quickly... but nothing that a good amount of caffeine couldn't fix.
having the keurig machine at our disposal at any time of day, was a godsend.
eating was on the agenda for the morning.

that's fine by me!
kimberlee and taryn whipped up a delectable breakie that we all enjoyed!
visiting around the table during meals was always a nice time to get to know one another.

and to share a good amount of laughs, of course.
so many chickens in the kitchen... you know you'll hear a lot of clucking!
that was a highlight for me!!

hanging out in the kitchen was always entertaining.
d and i had our own little breakdown sesh in front of the craft weekend black board.

and had some fun with the 'choretime' sign too.
let's just say we took out a letter.
after we all got ready for the day, we packed up and headed out for our next destination.
the booming metropolis of marion, kansas.
ok, you've probably guessed it... booming and metropolis shouldn't go in the same sentence as marion.
but this town is where it's at... especially because of oggie and all the ladies at bearly makin' it.

treasures down every aisle.
and this place... let me tell you, it was meticulously organized.

it was a pleasure to snoop around, discovering goodies in every nook and cranny.
i found lots of fun stuff... but being on a budget, i had to settle for only a few things.
i chose a beautiful star quilt, a couple of blue mason jars, a turquoise milk glass creamer and a cute little mid century kitchen scale.

oggie, being a man proud of his town, convinced d and i to visit zimmerman's deli across the street.
he was adamant that we had to get a smoothie.

so, of course we did!
that oggie... always a salesman!
of course a trip to marion wouldn't be complete without a visit to the barn!

everyone is familiar with the barn... and again, we were definitely not disappointed.
this place was organized amazingly.
just look at all this beautiful junk!

it was so pretty!!!!
i couldn't stop taking pictures.
i walked around and around and back again.
got as many pictures outside before the rain came.

it was fun to see all the pieces that everyone was choosing.
and what they planned on doing with all their goodies.
meg even came upon the perfect yellow chippy wardrobe to add to the craft house.
unfortunately i didn't get a picture.

there were so many great things to purchase... but not enough room in the truck... or my budget.
i left the barn empty handed but i had so much fun browsing.

oggie must have been sad i left without anything because when he stopped by the next morning with all the bigger purchases for the ladies, he brought along a little something special for me.
this cute blue chippy paint screen.

he saw me eyeing it on saturday afternoon and even confirmed my suspicions that the screen would work with magnets.
he went searching through the barn for a magnet to show me.
but i still left it.
poor guy... obviously he felt sorry for me.
you know... because i am canadian?
ha!
who knows!?
but it was very sweet of him to think of me and give me the screen as a gift.
what a guy!
thanks oggie!!!  :)

after loading up the van at the barn and trying to warm up... we did our sonic run.
no craft weekend is complete without it, apparently.
taking orders for a van full of 15 women is no small feat!
kimberlee went inside and handled things like a pro.
eating our happy hour treats and tanking back those yummy cherry limeades was perfect timing.
driving back to the craft house we talked and laughed about the office and discussed our purchases.
once back, we put all our antique goods on the kitchen table and snapped some happy photos.

it was interesting to see everyone's stuff and hear where they found it.
being a deal shopper, even more interesting was hearing the prices people paid for their treasures.
there was some good deals to be had!

after we put away our stuff, we got back to crafting.
this night we had the chance to work on 5 different crafts.
a canvas project, infinity scarf, fabric flowers, fabric covered wire letters and wooden bunting.
meg and shannan were the pros that showed us what to do with each craft.
i felt overwhelmed thinking i would even complete them all.
i thought i could only accomplish a couple of them.

however, i seemed to gain momentum after another great dinner and some caffeine...
oh, did i mention the delectable chocolate bundt cake?
mumford and sons and the lumineers filled the air with tunes and we all soaked up the creativity hanging on every space in the house.

staying up 'til almost 3am also helped me to finish all the crafts.
ha!
what i enjoyed most about this evening was the fellowship!
it was such fun to walk around and see how everyone had their own take on the crafts.

(oh hey, cute taryn... i miss you!)

we all did the same projects... but everyone's turned out so differently and uniquely.
laughing, hot glueing, painting, chatting, sipping, threading, singing, cutting, mod podging (is that a word?).
this is what the night consisted of... and i soaked it all in!
as my head hit the pillow the second night, i thanked God for all the goodness!

i felt like my heart could explode!
and i fell asleep promptly and woke up rested on sunday morning.

our last day in the craft house.
waaaaaahhhh!
i felt anxious already about having to say our goodbyes.
to already feel such a connection with all these ladies so quickly... only to have to say goodbye and have thoughts we might never see one another again?
it was tough!
but i kept a brave face and tried to truly enjoy the last couple of hours.
here is lovely lori!

sunday morning brought more good food... of course...
more laughs... naturally...
and lots and lots of more hugs!
i'm a hugger... and i'm sure many of these girls realize this as a trait of mine after the weekend.

of course we got down to taking the obligatory apron pictures.
we were all ready for them... make up done... aprons tied.

nervous and hoping our 'head shots' with meg turned out.
she put us at ease in front of her lens and she shot us all efficiently, even though the wind forced us indoors.
(next pic by meg duerksen)

a few porch pictures were taken before that time.
i love this woman who accompanied me this weekend!

we took our group shot... then took an opportunity to take pictures with individuals.
this was sorta bittersweet as we knew the weekend was coming to a close.
having to say goodbye was hard.
(next pic by meg duerksen)

all this time prepping for the weekend... dreaming of what it'd be like... hoping it would meet all our expectations.
well i, for one, can say the weekend met and exceeded my expectations.
the house was gorgeous, the crafts were amazing, the people were incredible.
here is lovely taryn...

here is lovely shannan.

the best part for me?
hands down, is the new relationships i've built... and the friendship with d that i could continue to cultivate and foster.
thank you Jesus for giving me this opportunity to cultivate my creative side and spend time getting to know new women!
God is good... and He knows the desires of our heart!
it was such a blessing to be a part of WHATEVER craft weekend, february 2013.
(our NAMES are on this board now!!!)

so many memories that i'll treasure for years to come.
the long drive home with d was spent reflecting on our collective time at the craft house.
talking about all the fun we had and wishing it didn't end as quickly as it did.
we made it all the way to sioux falls, south dakota and found ourselves in the middle of a blizzard we did not know about.

it was on our agenda to spend the night there.
but the interstate was closed the next morning so we ended up spending another extra night.
we made the best of it just like any good women would do.
we went shopping... we ate good food... and we went water-sliding.
yeah, we got a few looks from the other parents there swimming with their kids...
but we couldn't not indulge in the fun when we had no kids to worry about, right?
oh yeah, and we spend the evening watching the bachelor and eating taco chips and salsa.
sounds divine, doesn't it?
it was!
for reals!
the drive the next day was relatively clear and we made it home safe and sound, in time to pick up our kids at school.
home at last!
we made it!

the look of shock on my girls' faces when i met them in the hallway at school was priceless!
they were excited to have me home... and i was happy to be home with them.
but i gotta tell you... newton, kansas will always have a little piece of my heart!
thanks again, meg and kimberlee, wonderful hosts, for having us.

thanks to shannan and taryn for helping and assisting and making us feel so comfortable.

and thanks to all you other crafty ladies for welcoming us into your hearts.
and a big, big thanks to you, d!!!
i couldn't have imagined spending this weekend with anyone else.
the talks, the laughs, the food, the shopping, the craftiness, the tears and the counselling!
it was more than i could have dreamed of!
so much fun!  so many fabulous memories!
now go put your name in so we can go again!  ha ha ha ha!

here's a picture of the swag we got...

i hope to do a separate post on all these goodies at some point in the future!
basically, i'm saying that so you don't hold your breath.  ;)