Quick Quotes Private Reserve Weekend: One Crafters' Experience
Posted Oct. 1, 2008
I just flew back from Seattle, and boy are my arms tired....
It was a lovely, extended weekend in beautiful Washington state, my friends. After a days' travel, scrap friends
Lia, Liann & Kathy checked in at the Great Wolf Lodge in Centralia, WA on September 25th.
* If you
have children, you should research this resort on the web more - it has an indoor waterslide and special activities for children
while parents participate in conventions or conferences. Many scrap-moms brought dad and kids in tow to play away
the day while mom did some serious scrappin. The resort gives free passes to the waterslide when you rent a room.
This retreat was unique in that it was not an open crop, but a series of workshops over 2+ days. There
were 177 ladies ready to go Thursday night at the kick-off (top photo). The first crop went until midnight,
but many were ready to turn in early. They also had make-n-takes, items and kits for sale plus a silent auction
benefitting the Invisible Children charity.
Friday morning started at 8:30am. Thank goodness there was a
Starbucks in the lobby to wake us up and get us going! The big group broke up into three smaller groups. The instructors
circulated from room to room, teaching six different kit classes while the participants stayed in their seats. Things
moved quickly, as you can imagine. We were given a box lunch and told to keep the box to use for the birthday card holder
you see in the picture, above.
Several people recommended that I buy and try the Beacon's
3 to 1 glue, so I did. I went through half a 4 oz bottle that weekend. It worked well; it dries quickly
and securely. Hey: here's a tip for you...bring a few clothespins with you next time you go to a kit class.
Use them to hold your project while the glue dries. It worked well for me! We also were given several Powder
Puffs inks to use with certain kits, and that ink smudged a lot. My new scrap-friend Terry and I were covered
in blue ink up to our elbows - literally. [Smudging is more pronounced when you use it on treated canvas.]
Disclaimer: The optional wine tasting had nothing to do with how much the ink smudged!
Canvas and corrugated
chipboard were the rage and we used it on 3 projects. The box tote in the picture was made from scratch and is meant
to hold 12x12" papers. There were several 'Thank You' gifts (like goodie bags) in addition to the kits
that were passed out at the beginning of each class. We went through yards of ribbon and dozens of words on vellum.
Quick Quotes was very generous with prizes.
You're not going to believe this, but we actually put together
a whole 20 layout album from scratch on Saturday. It turned out beautifully and there are some special, new techniques
we all learned. I look forward to sharing those tricks in the future.
Quick Quotes hopes to hold this
as an annual event and may even be in San Diego next September. A picture of the group will probably appear in future
scrapbook magazines. Many of us bought the Quick Quotes Tshirt and made the special, floral nametag that matched.
My friend and I decorated hats to match the Tshirts, also. [You gotta have spirit!] So, if you see the group picture,
look for the two ladies in the second row from the bottom with the silly hats and you'll see that we had a good time.
We [my two scrap-friends and I] stayed an extra day to explore the Waterfront at Seattle and we just about walked
our legs off, which made up for sitting down the prior three days. It was a nice escape, but now it's time to get
back to household chores and errands, paying bills and clipping coupons. Reality. Ho-hum. Let's play
with paper instead! : )
LOL,
Miss. Lia
