Crafty birthday adventure, Day 4

The fourth day of our adventure (October 18, 2026) started with the last session of the crop. It started at 7 a.m. again, though we didn’t get there quite that early, and lasted until 4 p.m. A lot of crafters started packing up right after lunch (sandwiches or vegetarian grain bowls) because they were driving home that afternoon. We weren’t leaving until the next morning so we kept working for awhile. I took a break from crafting to check out the displays. I love these sample layouts with pictures from the event — and they use the supplies we received when we arrived.

I didn’t want to do any more ink blending, so I used a stamp set and patterned paper I received from my aunt for my birthday, along with alcohol markers, to create four cute and colorful cards. I’m not sure if I’m going to use these cards myself or keep them together to gift as a set. (I didn’t have any embellishments with me at the retreat, but I did add some enamel dots when I got home.)

With the retreat wrapped up, we had a free evening. We had dinner at Fiesta Jalapeños, and naturally Penny found a couple of photo ops.

Back at the hotel we decided to craft in the lobby for a bit. (Well, Terry and Lisa crafted. I didn’t want to start anything new, so I worked on a puzzle book instead.) The gnomes wanted to join us, too.

Penny was especially adventurous/mischievous that evening. She even found the hotel pool.

I finally managed to get Penny upstairs, but the shenanigans continued. Even back in the room while I took a shower before heading to bed.

Eventually Penny tired herself out and we went to sleep (long after Terry and Lisa). Time to rest up for the trip home!

If you missed earlier installments, check out Crafty birthday adventure, Day 1 and Crafty birthday adventure, Days 2 and 3.

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Crafty birthday adventure, Days 2 and 3

It’s taken me awhile to get back to the tale of my crafty birthday adventure — this week was looong, and I am exhausted. But I do want to share my photos, so on with the show! If you missed it, check out the beginning of the story in Crafty Birthday Adventure, Day 1.

The second and third days of the trip, Oct. 16 and 17, were primarily spent at the crop. It started at noon on the 16th and went until midnight. Then on the 17th it started at 7 a.m. and went until midnight.

When we arrived we found goodies at our tables: a reuseable bag and a scrapbooking page kit with fun papers and cut-outs specific for the crop and Memory Bound’s 25th anniversary. (I didn’t think to take a picture of it. Oops!) There were so many crafters there! The two pictures above are the room setup; the first picture was my view (that’s my aunt Terry at the bottom), and the second picture was behind me.

Here I am, set up and getting to work:

And Penny was ready to help:

For the weekend I had decided to work on the desk calendars I make to gift during the holidays. I went with a Tim Holtz theme, so I brought my collection of Tim Holtz mixed media sets, my Distress Oxide inks, stencils, alcohol markers, and ink-blending tools.

To be honest, the first day was really overwhelming. With everyone coming in and unloading their stuff and catching up with friends they had met before, it was loud and chaotic. (Some people are hard-core scrappers and had a lot of stuff, wagons full of supplies and even their own chairs. I was not prepared for that.) It was a little too much for my introverted self, so I didn’t get a lot done that day.

For dinner that night they served chili (soup for the vegetarians like me) and cinnamon rolls for dessert. In the evening there was popcorn for snacking, which Penny enjoyed (see below). Lisa and I only lasted until about 8:00, then we headed upstairs to our room. Terry crafted until about 9. We were exhausted!

On the next day I got off to an early start. I didn’t make it down right at 7:00, but it wasn’t too long after that. I was a little more prepared for the commotion on the second day — I brought my earbuds so I could listen to music on my phone, which definitely helped me focus and block out some of the distractions. But before we got too into our crafting we had to take some photos, first the gnomes and then us.

With Penny’s help, I managed to finish four calendars. (I’ll post better pictures of the calendar pages after I’ve gifted them.) In the evening I decided to work on a few Halloween and fall cards.

After I ate lunch (soup and sandwiches) and finished the calendars, I went up to our room and took a long break. I knew I needed some downtime if I wanted to craft later into the evening. Dinner that night was cheeseburgers/veggie burgers and fries. We had cupcakes and popcorn in the evening, and Penny and I also knew we needed to caffeinate. I took my work very seriously (or maybe not, but Terry and Lisa were hard at work).

I used my Tim Holtz supplies to make two Halloween cards and two fall cards before I called it quits for the evening around 10:00. Still not midnight, but at least I did a little better.

Stay tuned for Day 4 of the crafty birthday adventure.

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Crafty birthday adventure, Day 1

Last week was my birthday, and to celebrate I went on a crafty birthday adventure with my aunt Terry and friend Lisa. We attended a crop/craft retreat hosted by Memory Bound papercrafting store in Ankeny, Iowa, from Oct. 16-18. Memory Bound was having a celebration, too, for their 25th year anniversary. It was a party weekend! I have lots of pictures to share, so I’ll be dividing them up into a few posts.

We started our adventure on Oct. 15. Lisa brought each of us a gnome to join the fun, so we snapped a group shot when we stopped for lunch. Meet (left to write) Gretchen, Penny, and Hamish. (Penny is my gnome, and I’ll tell you, she can be a little mischievous.) The drive was uneventful but seemed long because it rained the whole way.

After we arrived in Ankeny and checked into the hotel, we headed over to the Taylored Expressions studio, where we did a little shopping and made a card. Penny was pleased with her work.

The next stop was the Memory Bound store. I found a few packs of Tim Holtz word/sentiment stickers I had on my wishlist, a pack of alphabet cards (an impulse purchase, but they seemed cool for mixed media projects), and some beautiful Christmas papers from Paper Rose Studio. (I have ideas for holiday projects with the papers. We’ll see if I actually have time to make them.)

Time for dinner! I wanted pizza, so we decided to try Nonna’s Pizza and Pasta. Penny helped decide what to order — a Sicilian-style Margherita pizza — and it was delicious!

After dinner we headed back to the hotel, relaxed in our room for a bit, and then went down to the lobby for a little birthday party. Lisa brought homemade cupcakes, a birthday crown and sash for me, and some silly cupcake glasses. We called my sister on FaceTime so she could join the fun from home (Lisa had also given her a gnome and some glasses).

It had been a long day so after the party, we went back up to the room to settle in for the night. Lisa and Terry fell asleep first, and then Penny and I decided to get ready for bed, too.

That’s it for Day 1. Stay tuned for the continuing story of our crafty birthday adventure.

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