It took over a year of planning and we traveled a total of 20,350 miles (32,558 km) to and from Minnesota to make it happen.
From October 18-24, six card-blogging BABES met in real life! BABES stands for Benevolent Association of Beloved and Esteemed Stampers. Now that we're all home safely, we've got lots to tell you and show you!
That's
Darnell,
Kim, me,
Anita, Bev and
Geri. These ladies are so kind, generous, funny, talented and amazing!
Here's a few photos:
Home away from home on Prior Lake
The essentials: crafting table, jammies, snacks.
TWO full tables of stamps, dies, inks, paper and glue (embellishments had their own little table!) It was like living in a stamping store!
Our mascot Snowflake - an albino squirrel that lived in our backyard.
Our trip to American Girl at the Mall of America
The other ladies have other pics on their blogs - make sure you check them all out.
What can I say - it was like a reunion of old friends rather than a first meeting. We laughed so hard it hurt, ate a ton, stayed in our jammies and crafted - A LOT! We did get out to shop (Michael's, JoAnn, a cute little LSS and of course the Mall of America), for walks in the crisp fall weather and for dinner each night. Italian, Mexican, steak, pizza, you name it, we had it!
We all brought our own stuff to work on (I finished the last 96 of my Church Christmas cards, which will be posted in the future). Bev and Geri both drove, so their cars were loaded (LOADED) with supplies and tools. Anita brought lovely gifts from her garden (honey, walnuts and lavender), Kim and Darnell brought projects for every one (and importantly, Kim brought her "friend" SIRI, who knows how to find anything, anywhere - what a lifesaver! lol!). We worked on our cards for Shirley, as you already know. It was fun to see what everyone else has and uses - we had great time sharing tips, tricks, techniques and tools!
So if you've ever been thinking - hey it would be fun to get a few fellow stampers together, I highly, highly recommend it! (and if you need packing tips, let me just say this - less clothes, MORE crafts!)