The other side of Retreat.

Tricia, Kay and I had the opportunity to go to a scrapbooking Retreat in the beautiful "north woods" of Wisconsin this past weekend. Tricia has been going to and teaching at the Silver Birch Ranch Scrapbooking Retreat for many, many years. Kay went for the first time in 2012. She had such a good time she convinced me to go this year.

The main dining hall, aka Scrap Central.

What a weekend! It was interesting to be on the "receiving end" of the Retreat experience. Our Silver Birch hosts were so friendly and accommodating! We were served three delicious meals a day, plus snacks and yummy desserts.

I got all 35 of my Christmas Card Swap cards done. Woot!

The weekend included a personal dedicated scrap space for the entire weekend (Thursday through Sunday). You could come and go as you pleased, and not have to tidy up. Score! Each guests' stay also included three Club Scrap workshops taught by the awesome Tricia Morris.

The lovely AND talented Tricia.

Our amazing host, Debbie Short, making the Desktop Organizer.

Sharon, Debbie and Sue showing off their Altered Comp Books.

Silver Birch Ranch is so quaint, and each building features charmingly rustic log-cabin touches. The great room where all of the scrapping (and eating) took place had huge, rough-hewn beams and a stone fireplace. Our cabin boasted all the modern conveniences. I even slept on a bed made from birch logs...so cool!

Isn't he cute?

The best part of the whole weekend, though, was the camaraderie of the attendees. It really was a great group of ladies. Scrappers are the best, aren't they?

Our 2013 Silver Birch Retreat crew.

I'm so thankful for my time at Silver Birch Ranch. Spending time in a quiet, wooded setting with no cooking or cleaning, and getting to do whatever I wanted without any responsibilities was just heavenly. At least I'm going back to the "real world" relaxed, refreshed and rejuvenated!

Creatively yours,
Karen

What happens at camp . . .

I know that many (most?) of you don't live anywhere near Club Scrap (in Wisconsin), but I've just gotta give you a glimpse of our fun scrapbooking weekend at Silver Birch Ranch!

It's beautiful "up there".

Kay, Rita and I piled into our vehicles and drove just 90 minutes north to camp on Thursday afternoon. We packed our flashlights and sleeping bags, casual clothes and a few snacks. Unlike the vast details of our own Club Scrap retreats, we had just three things on our minds:

1. Setting up a small on-site "Pro Shop."

2. Teaching a total of seven workshops. (Two workshops to three different groups, and one workshop with everyone.)

3. Getting our own scrapbooking projects completed.

There were eighty fabulous ladies in attendance, and the entire weekend was a blast!

I think I finished almost 100 pages while I was there. Kay made a few prototypes for future Club Stamp projects, and Rita completed quite a few of her 700-plus ALSB layouts awaiting photos. (Yep, you read that right. 700. Just sayin'.)

For workshops, we completed the Passport to Fun mini book . . .

Jac's awesome "Letters on the Wall" project . . .

And an 8-page ALSB sampler . . .

Plus, there was an awesome group of excellent staff and volunteers that did all of the cooking, baking and dishes for the entire weekend! Hallelujah! Gotta love that.

So, if you're in our neck of the woods, think about coming up to the ranch for their stamping retreat on March 21-24 or mark your calendar for November, 2013! It's a blastie blast! Oh, don't forget to bring your golashes. Red polka-dotted golashes, if you have them.

Retreatingly yours,
Tricia