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A couple of months ago, Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts and Angela from Handmade in the Heartland advertised they were putting together a craft retreat weekend. The best part was it was so close to my house! I didn’t know Mandy or Angela in real life. On a whim, I decided to buy a ticket. Usually I don’t like going to events where I don’t know anyone but I wanted to do something just for me. It was so much fun to step out of my blogger shoes and into my maker shoes at the Craft Escape!
You know it’s going to be a good weekend when you pull up to this gorgeous old farmhouse! This beauty had room for all 22 of us PLUS room to craft, mingle and eat!
These girls completely outdid themselves! Angela and Mandy planned and cooked for all of us the entire weekend! I am the world’s pickiest eater (another reason I do not enjoy going places where I do not know anyone) but Angela’s food was AH-mazing! I tried new foods and enjoyed every bit of it! Seriously, check out this spread!
Thursday Dinner:
Chicken Cordon Bleu, Butternut Squash Risotto and Autumn Pear Salad
Salted Caramel Cheesecake and Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake
Friday
Breakfast:
Spinach & Sundried Tomato Quiches, Sausage & Potato Quiches, Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast Bake, and Fruit
Lunch:
Zuppa Toscana, Sweet Vegetarian Chili, Rolls & Spinach, Quinoa & Sundried Tomato Salad
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
Dinner:
Maple Glazed Pork Tenderloin, Roasted Asparagus, Rosemary Mashed Potatoes
Mini Banana Cream Pies, Chocolate Fudge Pie
Saturday
Breakfast:
Chili Rellanos Bake, Sausage & Sweet Potato Hash, Yogurt, & Good Morning Granola
Lunch:
White Chicken Chili, Tomato Tortellini Soup, Rolls & Waldorf Salad
Dinner:
Sweet Potato, Black Bean and Chicken Enchiladas, Green Rice
Mandy kicked the weekend off with an embroidery hoop art class and I instantly fell in love! I do quite a bit of cross stitching but who knew embroidery would be even more fun! I love that I don’t have to constantly look over at a pattern. Here’s just a sample of what I was able to create after some simple tips and tricks from Mandy!
The ladies taught most of the classes with some help from local bloggers and business owners. Ariean from One Krieger Chick (who is fabulous by the way) taught a class on stenciling tea towels.
Here at Create.Craft.Love I tend to stick to tutorials where I am well versed in the craft or project. I loved learning new crafts and techniques! We did everything from cookie decorating to paper piecing. I even learned to water color!
I think the best part was coming together with a group of creative women, getting know each other, sharing and laughing together. It was so nice to leave the business of everyday life behind and a chance to recharge my creative side. I spend a lot of time creating but that process is broken up between photographing, editing, and writing. Sometimes I lose sight of why I do this whole creative blogging thing to begin with – because I love it! The Craft Escape reminded me just how MUCH I love it…
