You may or may not know that I drove to Arizona last week to a crafting retreat, Creative Estates. It was started by Shealynn Benner and it was a blast meeting her in person!
Now, in case you’re wondering, Flagstaff, AZ is 17 hours and 43 minutes from good ol’ Auburn, NE. I drove for a couple reasons – it was cheaper than flying, I wanted to see that part of the country and I needed room to pack my craft supplies!
I am such a shy person, that merely minutes after walking in, I almost started crying and turned around and came home. Thank God I didn’t! Once I realized that almost everyone there felt the same way I did and that none of us really knew each other, I started to feel better! I was completely out of my comfort zone.

- Group picture! Theme was Party Like a Rockstar
Thursday night we all mingled and got to know one another. Some of us had a few drinks out by the bonfire, which was a blast! On Friday, I made some really great friends and we headed to the Grand Canyon. On Saturday, I did a lot of crafting and decided to make a traveling quilt with my new friends {more on that in a later post…like when it’s finished}. And Sunday, I left bright and early so I could make it home late that night.

- These are my girls!! Kashoan, Leilani, Venice and me

- Group photo at the Grand Canyon!
From left to right – Venice, Mandy, Kashoan, Leilani, Me, Sara, Katie

- Not sure who that guy is, but he must be crazy!
We had some crafting classes taught by Ashley from The Shine Project, Shey herself, Ilene from Much Love Illy and Ashley from Little Miss Momma. They were all wonderful and sweet and inspirational!
Now, I must admit…I was horrible at taking pictures this whole trip. I didn’t even craft that much. I just felt like relaxing the whole time and enjoying my time off from work and being a mom. So, most of my pictures are stolen from my newly found friends! Thanks ladies :)
On top of all that, we received amazing swag bags upon arriving. Here are the contents. Thank you, thank you to all the people who donated to them!! I love each and every thing in there. Please check out these shops and show them all some love.

1 – cowl by Snowdrift Designs 2 – cards by Paper Clouds 3 – cute paperclips by Sugar and Dots 4 – rosette earrings by Along for the Ride 5 – glitter earrings by Acute Designs 6 – camera magnet by Three Bees Creations 7 – hairbow by Artsy Anthropology 8 – flower headband/sash by Lonestar Lovelies 9 – flower clip by Love Stitched 10 – hair clip by The Sweetest Petunia 11 – cup cozy by Bellina Originals 12 – necklace by The Vintage Pearl 13 – flower pin by Much Love, Illy 14 – keychain by Candid Grace 15 – art print by Livy Love Designs 16 – rosette necklace by Vintage Wanna Bee 17 – craft twine from The Twinery
And the best part…I won 4 giveaways while I was there!!! Does that even seem fair? No, but I never win anything, so I will take it! Here’s what I won:

This picture does not do this justice. I kinda had it all torn apart, but this is a lip balm set by Heather at Kustom Kissers. You get to decorate your own lip balm or she creates kustom lip balm for you!

I also won this adorable necklace made by Kashoan of KraftyKash! She is super sweet and from Nebraska, just like me!

I’m very excited about winning this twine from The Twinery! Not sure what I’m going to use it for yet, but I love it!

Yes, you saw that right…I won a Silhouette freaking Cameo! It also came with a vinyl starter pack. I have a feeling my Cricut Expression will be up for sale soon. I hear the Cameo is much better, but I’m going to test it out first. And then I will do a post on my comparison.
Thank you to everyone for the donations to swag bags and giveaways! And thank you Shey for creating this event. Despite the drama, I had a great time and met some wonderful ladies! I can’t wait to meet up with some of them again!