A couple of weeks ago, I attended a “Great Big Dreams” retreat in the North Carolina mountains hosted by singer/songwriter/blogger Christine Kane.
You never realize how stuck you are in the everyday motion of things until you take some time to break away, contemplate, & unwind. I can’t say enough good things about the few days I spent there. And how often to you get to just be in nature, journal, and enjoy scenes like this?
All the women that I met (about 24 in all) were incredibly generous of themselves, sharing their stories, their talents, & their laughter. Such an openness is rare to find so soon after people meet for the first time. This may become an annual ritual!
Along with group discussions, there was a morning session of subtle Yoga with a wonderful local teacher (from the Asheville area), a oneness blessing (also known as Deeksha) by two blessing givers, a masseuse on site who worked wonders on everyone, and our own personal organic chef to cook delicious vegan meals all around. The greens from our salads were from the organic farm on the property. All of our water came from a stream on the property as well. We had a personal concert from Christine Sat night which was fabulous…I keep telling myself that one of these days, I’ll learn to play the guitar!
Christine hosts these retreats four times a year for any women who might be interested. Check out her webpage here for more details. In the meantime, here are some images from the weekend I thought I’d share to give you a taste of what it was like… (more…)
June 19th, 2008
It’s one of my fav magazines & I always enjoy combing through the pages for inspiration each month. They have an online gallery with monthly challenges & I entered for the first time this month. Went back to check out the website & was suprised to find one of my Mother’s Day Cards was a winner! You can view the card here. All stamps & gemstones used were Hero Arts. I just love their birdies!
Is anybody thinking of trying out for their Gallery Idol this year? It sounds like lots of fun with some fabulous prizes - but I think I’ll be out of town for the first challenge. Can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with, though!
June 15th, 2008
Here’s a lil’ card I made for Kristina Werner’s Color Challenge #11 using the following color combo:
I’ve been wanting to use my star Cuttlebug die for a while now & thought it would look great with these colors. 
The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink’s anniversary set which I stamped first in rose red ink & then in light grey to create the shadow effect.
Thanks for dropping by!
June 14th, 2008
Try as I might, I’ve never been able to get my two hands to coordinate enough to be a knitter. Crochet - no problem…but add an extra needle to the mix and my projects usually end up in a hopeless, jumbled mess! *LOL*
My Danish friend Maiken is a brilliant knitter & sent me images of some patterns she recently made. I convinced her to make a t-shirt style sweater for me in exchange for a papercrafted surprise. Gotta love bartering right?
A few weeks ago - I opened up a box to this wonderful teal creation…
The sweater was made from the green gable pattern found here. It has a gorgeous neckline & I really like the color.
Not only did Maiken send the sweater, but she also knitted me a fabulous white scarf for when the weather cools off!
Here’s a closer look at the stitching…
I’ve been trying to come up with something that could match such awesome gifts! I’ve got some ideas in mind & will send something your way soon, Maiken. Thanks for your patience & for being so generous with the fun exchange!
June 13th, 2008
Check out the new friend I met outside my front door today…
It will be so fun to watch the babies hatch & learn to fly for the first time! Sometimes I am just blown away by nature & all the beauty we so easily take for granted. (more…)
June 12th, 2008
…and I had a wonderful, restorative weekend. I’ll post pics & more about the retreat soon.
In the meantime, I thought I’d share a lovely picture of dogwood flowers that my mom took during a recent trip to Alabama.
June 11th, 2008
Random.org Generator
Here are your random numbers: 7
Timestamp: 2008-06-09 08:55:43 UTC |
Congrats to Pattie E.! Your comment was selected by random.org as the winner! You’ll receive an e-mail from me shortly to organize shipping of your goodies.
“The googly eyes are adorable!! Thanks for sharing!”
Thanks again to those of you that dropped by the blog & left comments. I always enjoy hearing from you.
June 9th, 2008
My dad is a petroleum engineer, so I sent him a special birthday card this year with an oil rig stamp. (Yes - you can find stamps of almost ANYTHING! *LOL*) The crackle background is by TAC (The Angel Co.), the sentiment is Papertrey ink, & the ribbon is American Crafts.
I hope you’re having a great day, Dad!
A close-up…
June 8th, 2008
I had some scraps left over from my color challenge, so I thought I’d put them to use. I made this 3″ card tonight using a darling lil’ owl from Hero Arts’ Sparkle Clear You Hoo Owls set. (The sentiment is from the Clear Design thank you set.) I added gemstone stars & googly eyes for fun.
Speaking of googly eyes…would you like some? I have a few things I’ve collected to give away on the blog & I think it’s time for some blog candy!
The googly eyes are perfect for all the owls & birds that are so popular right now. The ribbon is American Crafts (I love the coral paisley one at the bottom of the set). The huge bag of clear decorative accents is from Michaels & can be colored with Copic markers to make fake dew drops in any color (there’s enough there to last a lifetime!). The chipboard letters have a lil’ bling, & the stickers are Christina Cole. All you have to do is leave a comment on this entry. I’ll select a winner from random.org Sunday night.
No more posts for a few days…I leave tomorrow for NC to attend a “great big dreams” retreat with Christine Kane. I can hardly wait! I’m sure I’ll have plenty to report when I get back. Have a great rest of the week everyone!
June 4th, 2008
I adore the new Sparkle Clear Tea stamp set by Hero Arts. The images are so fun to color in and are great for all occasion & friendship cards.
Here’s a sneak peak of one of my Cards of the Week to the left. I designed this one with my new fav color combo - pool & mocha (as if you couldn’t tell from the re-design of my website!) *LOL*
You can click on the image to go to the full supply list & instructions for the card. You can also buy a matching card kit on Hero’s site here. They’re having an awesome free shipping sale right now through June 10th that you won’t want to miss out on! And hey, if you’re more the java type, check out this coffee stamp set that was released in the spring supplement catalog as well. Gotta love caffeine!
Thanks for dropping by & I hope everyone is having a great start to their week.
June 2nd, 2008
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