I just returned from a wonderful weekend up north celebrating my Silver Elite team members, Cheryl Lee and Nancy Forsberg! After the last two years were held elsewhere (online and at an Airbnb in St. Paul, MN), this year’s Silver Elite Retreat was back at my parents’ place in northern Minnesota at their beautiful cabin/home in the woods. My mom and dad once again made it feel like a Bed & Breakfast experience and helped me to really make this get-away something special.
We left the Twin Cities at around 9:30 AM on Friday morning, stopped at Forest Lake Restaurant in Grand Rapids for lunch (yum),…
and arrived at the cabin around 3:00. Normally we would’ve gotten there a bit sooner since it’s less than a 4 hour drive, but it was very windy and snowy for the first part of the trip. And we did what the other drivers around us did and took it very slow.
When we arrived, it was the perfect winter day…beautiful blue sky with temps in the teens.
The forecast for the coming days called for a big drop in temperature though. So after we unpacked, settled in, and visited for a bit, my dad and I went sledding for about 20 minutes or so. I was craving this!! Hahaha! They have an awesome hill up there, but we couldn’t convince anyone else to go with us.
After a tasty taco dinner, we did some paper crafting and finished nearly half the planned make-n-take projects I brought up – we had the energy!
The next day (after a great night’s sleep), we had a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, bagels, yogurt, bacon and fruit…
…and then got going on the rest of the projects completing them by early afternoon.
We had so much fun relaxing and crafting. And it made me giggle when I had them try to guess how their pieces would go together for one of their cards before I actually showed it to them. And of course I had to take photos of their guesses.
During this whole retreat we each made:
- The Sweet Treats boxes with the belly bands that I shared on January 25th.
- The Waffle Cone cards that I shared on January 28th.
- 20 cards from the Enjoy the Adventure Memories & More card pack.
- A fun fold card featuring the Easter Bunny stamp set and Day at the Farm Designer Paper.
- And cards from the Saying Thanks kit.
I’ll be sharing these last three projects in the near future, so be sure you are subscribed to my blog posts so you don’t miss out.
These are the variations of the waffle cone cards we each made. I even did another version because I didn’t feel my original had enough ice cream. And I added it to my original blog post if you want to check out a larger version of the photo. (Sorry for the lighting in the first 3 images. Photographing at the cabin was challenging me a bit.)
After our chef salad lunch on Saturday with no more planned stamping projects, Cheryl and Nancy got out their wine tumblers (one of the gifts I gave them) and enjoyed a beverage.
We all spent the rest of the weekend talking and laughing, eating more good food (chicken salad, breads, steamed broccoli, and pie for dinner), and enjoying a bit of TV watching Emeril Lagasse cook.
It was too cold to go on a long walk (it was close to 0 degrees F), but we DID venture outdoors to see the “garage room” – another area to stay on their property that is only heated by a wood stove since it sits away from the main house. This is another view of the cabin/house from the deck of the garage room.
And this was the sunset we saw from the cabin on Saturday evening. (Thanks for the photo, Dad!)
Mom and dad, thank you for hosting, having everything so comfortable and welcoming, helping me with the meals, and more! Nancy & Cheryl, thank you for spending this time with me and letting me spoil you a bit! You are both SOOooo amazing.
It was a wonderful weekend with memories to treasure.
Here are the invitations I sent Nancy and Cheryl for this event. I used the new Regency Park Suite of products (paper, ribbon, stamps and dies) accented with the Loose Daisy Embellishments.
The color combination I chose mimicked the Stampin’ Up! floral graphics which you can see on some of the gift items below. I also used my computer to print out the inside invitation and agenda.
Measurements…
- Shaded Spruce Cardstock
- 5-1/2” x 6″ scored parallel to short side at 4-1/4”
- Balmy Blue Cardstock
- 4″ x 5-1/4″ (inside layer)
- Scrap for die-cutting frame
- Night of Navy Cardstock
- Scrap for die-cutting frame
- Basic White Cardstock
- Scrap for stamping and die-cutting sentiment layer
- Regency Park Designer Paper
- 3″ x 5-1/2″
- Night of Navy Bordered Ribbon
- 16″
Directions…
- Add the designer Paper so it’s connected on the front (not the inside) of the Shaded Spruce folded card base.
- Die-cut both the Balmy Blue and Night of Navy. Stamp and die-cut the white sentiment layer. Insert the stamped layer into the Balmy Blue corners. Then layer and adhere (with a slight offset to create a “shadow”) the Balmy Blue to the Night of Navy.
- Tie on the ribbon with the knot to the right.
- Add the sentiment piece with Dimensionals.
- Embellish with the Loose Daisies and a few Rhinestones.
- And add the Balmy Blue layer to the inside. (I had first printed my invite onto the cardstock and trimmed to size. You’ll need a printer that doesn’t curve the paper much coming through. I own an Epson ET-2750.)
I also made a matching bag tag and a wrap for the recognition block I gave each of them. Basic directions for the wrap can be found here in my 1/9/23 post. The tag is just made of a 3″ x 6″ piece of designer paper, a 2″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Balmy Blue that I stamped and embellished, and a strand each of the navy ribbon and silver twine.
Products I used… See below for a general list of products I used for my card, tag and wrap linked to where you can find them in my online store.
Here are the gifts I gave. This is Nancy’s stash…
This is Cheryl’s.
I also gave a bag to my mom.
The bags each included all these make-n-take materials.
And then I also included these personalized wine tumblers purchased through and etched by Tamra Davis from TaDa Moments.
She always does such a great job! Last year she embroidered blankets. And in years past, she has personalized various bags. (Let me know if you have any ideas for me for next year’s personalized gifts.)
Thanks for visiting. I had lots to share. But it was a fun-filled weekend, and I wanted to bring as much of it to you as I could. I hope you enjoyed.
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THE NEW JAN-APRIL 2023 MINI CATALOG!
The new Jan-April 2023 Mini Catalog featuring lots of new products is here! Click here for all the details. Click here to view the online version of this new publication. Click here to shop these new products online.
SALE-A-BRATION 2023!
The Sale-a-Bration promotion is here and runs January 5th through February 28th! Click here for all the details. Click here to view the online version of this new publication. Click here to see these new products online.
SAYING THANKS KIT ADDED
This month’s Saying Thanks Kit has everything you need to show appreciation to family and friends who light up your life! Make nine bright, colorful cards in no time to say thank you, recognize friends, and share your gratitude with a bright watercolor wash that won’t go unnoticed! This new kit is part of the Kits Collection and is now available. Click here and scroll down for more details.
A PEEK AT FEBRUARY’S PAPER PUMPKIN KIT
Make cloudy days a little brighter with the Sunshine & Smiles Paper Pumpkin Kit! This kit includes nine sweet and sunny cards (3 each of 3 designs), a fun peek-through window scene on each card, cute pre-cut critters and labels, raindrop embellishments, a Mango Melody Stampin’ Spot, and more! If someone you know is weathering a storm, this kit is just what you’ll need to create cards that are sure to brighten their day! Coordinating colors: Balmy Blue, Cajun Craze, Coastal Cabana, Daffodil Delight, Flirty Flamingo, Mango Melody, Old Olive, Shaded Spruce
This kit perfectly coordinates with the Rain or Shine Suite Collection #160556. AND for the first time ever, we’ve got a coordinating die add-on: Sunshine & Smiles Dies #162486 available for purchase while supplies last! (Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine sold separately).
If you are not a Paper Pumpkin subscriber, I invite you to give it a try. CLICK HERE to learn more. CLICK HERE to sign up by February 10th for this next kit.
ALL STAR VIDEO CLASSES
I’m a designer with the All Stars, a group of globally recognized Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. And we are excited to share exclusively with our customers, paper crafting friends & team members our January 2023 Fancy Flora Suite Video Class Bundle which is now available. CLICK HERE for more information. Click here to get to my Tutorials/Classes for Sale page to see others that have been offered. The next one featuring the Country Floral Lane Suite will be available February 1st.
i would love to try something like this
🙂
Wow! What a wonderful way to be spoiled! I bet your parents had a great time, too! I see that Tamara also personalizes SU bone folders. (Mine get pretty dingy and lost so easily when my craft room looks like a bomb has gone off!) I bet those would make a great gift 😀 Also, matching PJs might be a welcomed gift (and nice for photos) if you have another sleep over.
I’ve had her do Bone Folders – they last forever. ♥️
I love that matching PJs idea! thanks KT