Back home again after a great weekend at that beautiful B&B in Connecticut that I mentioned in my last post. Even nicer in person. Great rooms, wonderful hosts, and TO-DIE-FOR food. Oh, and our projects weren't too shabby either! We had tremendous work space, spread out all over the dining room. Since we were the only guests taking meals there we didn't even have to put things away over night. Very convenient place for any sort of crafting group to visit. In fact, they were expecting a quilting group later in the week.
The fun began before we even got there. Lots of laughs on Amtrak (helped along by the wine-in-a-can that Kahena brought, and the jug of cosmos I contributed).
We even managed to involve a conductor.
We finally arrived in Old Saybrook, and were met at the station by our Inn host Jim.
The rest of our group got to the Inn later that evening and early the next day. Here are some shots from the weekend.
Helen and Jim, our hosts (and chefs) for the weekend. Every meal was a gourmet's delight, and they did everything possible to make us feel at home.
My gorgeous room:
Now, I've seen the top sheet of toilet paper folded over before....on cruise ships and in some hotels. But this is the first time I've seen it with a little sticker attached:
And yes, in between laughing and eating, we did manage to do a LOT of crafting. We each brought one or more projects to share, and spent all day Saturday working on them. Here is my display of all my finished ones (click on the photo for a closer look):
On the styrofoam block are paper beads drying (thanks Kahena!) On the white paper is a fabulous "wonder woman" bracelet, cut from vinyl using the SU lattice cut die, and Tim Holtz hitch fasteners as closures. That was Heather's great project. On the left under the styrofoam are two fabric brooches we did with Heidi. Next to them are two cards that Pat showed us how to do. Next to those are three background papers we did with Amalia....fusing decorative napkins to cardstock using plastic wrap as the glue. On the bottom row, a clever little bookmark made from a hair clip, decorated with punched out papers. Also a Heather project. Next to that, my project sample, a mini composition book covered with the faux metal technique. Next to the notebook are several beautiful flowers I made with the watercolor technique that Laurel demonstrated. And finally, two gorgeous pendants we did with Corris. I made mini collages using the varied papers Corris brought, and sandwiching them between two pieces of glass that fit into the frames.
Here are some closer looks at some of these:
Every meal was served on a beautifully set table.
This is what the FIRST course of one breakfast looked like.....toasted cornbread with cranberries, and warm pears covered with brown sugar and pecans. This was followed by an incredible quiche. Everything at every meal, including all breads were made from scratch.
As if we didn't have enough, we ended the weekend with a trip down the road to a lovely scrapbook store,where we hung out for a while, watched a scrapping retreat in progress, and bought one or two (LOL) items.
We're already talking about where our next weekend getaway should be. I've been to retreats and workshops with well known artists, which I've loved, and taking nothing away from those experiences, a retreat with good friends.....priceless!
