Spellbinders - Behind the Art - Part II

As promised, I am back with Part II of the photos from the Spellbinders Retreat, for those of you who are on facebook - you will be seeing them all over the place.  I have only captured some of the things we did and hope to come back with more over the next little while.  Stacey and the Spellbinders Team made sure so much was packed into our days - it was amazing!  As you can imagine it is impossible to capture the 'amazingness' of it all.

 

Yes I was in the car with Stacey Caron - woohoo - quite the ride!!  As if that was not excitement enough - we were going to the Spellbinders Office - talk about surreal!  We met all those amazing people who make Spellbinders the fabulous place it is - we met everyone from the receptionists to those in the warehouse - we would have our wonderful supplies without them!  While we were there we were treated to a Bezel Buffet - that is a "whole 'nother post!"  BTW - yes that is me with Ken Oliver - what a guy - it was fabulous to actually meet him - I know you are wishing it was you!! LOL! BTW - Ken actually now officially says 'oh my giddy aunt!' Love that man!

The most amazing teaching sessions were a highlight - everybody's darling, John At Imagine from Imagine Crafts/ Tsukineko got us all creating with fabulous inks - it goes without saying that everyone is taking home gorgeous product to work with - thank you Imagine Crafts.  and thank you John - you ROCK!!

The amazingly talented Julianna Hudgins wowed us with her Jewelery Loom and beading lessons - totally out of my comfort zone but so-o-o loving it!  We were thrilled to receive all of the tools needed - amongst a thousand other products - so I have no excuses now! Thank you Julianna - you are such an inspiration and so very patient - definitely in a league of your own!!  LOL!

Then there was Linda Molden Peterson - this lady inspired me from her very first Media Mixage Video for Spellbinders - it was a personal highlight for me to get to know her - such a beautiful lady on so many levels!   Linda taught us to think differently with the Dies and we made a gorgeous project - I will be posting mine once I have added my own 'flavour' to it!   Another special moment for me was having time to talk 'art' and I had some 'aha' moments that helped define who I am and where I fit in this creative world - a total epiphany and liberating - I will share that one day!

I am a little bit excited to day that my traveling buddy and amazingly talented Beck Beattie and I have been having a bit of fun with Linda after the Retreat and have our own #tag on facebook - we would love you to join us on this fun journey - it is only just starting out but you can find us at #2lindasandaBeck.

Spellbinders is made up of so many amazing people - thought you might like to see some of them

including (left to right) Richard Garay, Cindy Alexander, Stacey Caron, Kelly Loubet, Richard (again), Just Hayes and Thespa - just to name a few.

and Phoenix - the main photo is the view from our Hotel Room window - and yes - I was rooming with the amazing Becca Feeken - a definite highlight for me - this lady inspires me on so many levels - I would love a day inside her head! LOL!

We did not get to see too much of Phoenix but what we did see was fabulous.  From the air it reminded me of Canberra - but once on the ground - it is totally different and sprawling - you need to allow 30 minutes to get anywhere - no matter how close it is! !  We did get to visit Scottsdale Mall - when we were treated to the iPic Theatre - dinner and a move in the best possible way!  How beautiful it is - love the night photo....

Special moments and special people - and Starbucks - love that!  Cindy Alexander with her new 'baby' a Koala she named Roo - as only Cindy would! LOL!  Cindy is the 'fix it' lady and I am eternally grateful to her for getting my luggage sent to me after being MIA  for two days - Cindy can fix everything - she is my hero!!  BTW - I happened to be driving with Cindy as well and discovered that once a Police Officer - always a Police Officer when it comes to driving - just sayin!!  LOL!  Driving on the wrong side of the road was no big deal - until they went to turn a corner - it was like driving into oncoming traffic - a bit of a 'heart starter' for sure!  Nothing I couldn't get used too though!

 John At Imagine - one of a kind and totally amazing - love it when you connect instantly with people and it is a lifetime friendship.  Personally,  I find John the most delightful 'breath of fresh air' - some people walk across your heart and leave footprints - this guys leaves craters - love that!  We share a passion for coffee - good coffee that is and love the Starbucks coffee that he surprised me with at breakfast one morning too - what is not to love!!   I have kept the wrapper and 'pin' that came with it - just the right embellishments for a layout one day....

I hope you have enjoyed these glimpses into our Retreat - I will be adding another one in the near future with some of the things I have missed - but as you can imagine, it is impossible to capture it all in one post - and more than impossible to capture the ambiance and love that surrounded us every moment! I had to add at this point - I got a total of 9 hours sleep trough the whole Retreat, so got to experience a whole lot of it! LOL!

Thank you for your comments and all of the support you give me - you make blogging such an amazing place to be!! Your encouragement is such a blessing for me - it makes my day! God bless you! 

{{{hugs}}}