Kim Archer | Mindful Living

Taking a break

I'm having a little bloggy break.

You can still catch up on crafty stuff though OVER HERE.

See you over there:)

More retreat...

Well I sorta stopped mid sentence there didn't I? I did have good intentions of getting back here to post about the retreat but time has raced away and there's lots happening behind the scenes. Janelle's done a great job in revisiting the Retreat Weekend. You can read more about it here on Janelle's blog.

And I will be doing a summary recap over on the @Home blog eventually!

In other news...We've been busy behind the scenes.

SNIPPETS OCTOBER is up and running.

Mel's designed a wonderous double layout and I have designed the single layout - the snippets series is NOT JUST FOR those wanting to build their 2009 Snippet's Albums.  The layouts are versatile and suit ANY themes. everyones welcome..come along and check it out.

BOOK IN HERE.

ANNNNND..we're thrilled to announce this is coming....

 

VERY exciting. LOTS to share. And this class has become quite a tradition around here!

Welcome video

Yes, running a tad behind with my blog posting about the weekend...lots of emails to answer and work stuff happening..

Annnnyway, here's the WELCOME VIDEO I put together of the weekend..I played this once the girls were all settled in their seats on Friday night - on the big screen!!

registration

Each registrant received a donated NOTEBOOK magazine which I tied with a spotty fabric bow...

and a tiny white "we're glad you're here" tag...with crepe paper ruffle. For those staying at the resort we made sure they were delivered and waiting in the rooms..

 

and each registrant also received a tiny beach bag when they registered. I added a felt lime or blue flower to each bag.

 

and we filled the bags with a "scratchie"..which I made..

 

and if you scratched off a prize, you were able to pick a prize from the lucky dip pool...

 

Also inside the beach bags...were these divine little ladies...or LOVELY LADIES as they became known.

Now these little ladies became one of my favourite creations, although after about Lovely Lady number 25 I began to get a tad over them!

 

And the Ladies were part of Sunday morning's workshop..

 

They also received their name tag...

here's the little bags all lined up and ready to go.

and here's our welcome board which held the seating plan so registrants could see what table they were sitting at.

 

and here's the girls all lined up for registration...

And I was inside the room frantically trying to get the DVD welcome presentation I had created to work on the big overhead screen!!!! So there were a few hectic minutes as technology was a little unpredictable and not working as it should. Thankfully in the end it did all work without a hitch! Phew

Friday...getting ready..the excitement is building

Friday we headed to the Function Room that was to pretty much become our home for the next few days! We dodged the puddles and the rain in the car park to unload fifty million boxes of stuff!

 

And so began our transformation. Each table had a white cloth and festive aqua table setting with baubles, stars, white washed lantern and my handmade table numbers...

 

I found these great Kikki K conversation starter cards and we scattered them around the tables as well...there were lots of girls coming along who didn't know anyone so the cards were a way of breaking the ice and getting the convos flowing!

 

and my favourite little gum ball machines..they were very cute..and the perfect colour to go with my aqua and lime colour scheme.

I handstitched some little speech bubbles with "welcome" on them and ironed them to some fabric tags..I know everyone commented on how long all the extra little touches would have taken to make but I really enjoyed making them..I sat in front of the tv of a night and stitched away...

 

when they were stitched and cut out, I ironed them to a fabric strip and they were pegged to the top of an aqua or lime paper goody bag.

 

The bags were filled with a lucky dip for each person plus generous sponsor goodies from Tarisota, Crafty Matters, Elsie Flannigan, Yvette's journaling spots and some other things from @Home. The goody bags sat on top of the registrants class kit for Friday night - so there was plenty to peek at when the girls arrived.

 

{three photos courtesy of Janelle}

Leesa, my friend from school helped HUGELY all afternoon - she decorated the tables and made them look wonderful. Ken and Jamison blew up balloons for the centrepieces for each table. And my Mum was a wonderful help and unpacked boxes, cleared away rubbish and dashed to Kmart TWICE with Capri, in the pouring rain, to grab  last minute forgotten things for me like more lollies for the Candy Bar !!!! 

Mel worked hard setting up a layout/mini book display and it looked great!

 

{photo courtesy of Mel}

And the day FLEW by and soon it was registration time! Here's a look at the room before everyone arrived...almost ready for action.

 

Oh and the Candy Bar...I wanted to have a whole heap of help yourself lollies and was so pleased with how this turned out..

 

I printed out little signs for each jar..and we had loads of different lollies..yummo.

 

and then it was TIME for registration....sooooo exciting.

Weekend recap - the beginning

So, let's mosey on back to Thursday when the Support Team girls flew and bussed and drove in from all over the place to meet at my house! Yvette caught a bus from Canberra. Mel, a plane from Melbourne and Mardi, a plane from Adelaide and they all met and picked up their hire car at Sydney airport. I managed to coordinate their trips within about 30mins of each arrival which was very convenient.

Yvette was in charge behind the wheel and drove the girls safely to my house picking up Janelle along the way. The weather was not so good. Overcast. Spots of rain and we all had our fingers crossed that the weather would improve as the weekend progressed.

Thursday night we stayed in a BEAUTIFULLY appointed three bedroom apartment with private plunge pool. Unfortunately it was only for the one night as the Resort didn't have the room available for any other night over the weekend. It had three bedrooms upstairs and a big living area downstairs! 

And we spent the night getting to know each other a bit better. Exchanging little gifts and dining in style - McDonalds...

 

These gorgeous flowers were in our room when we arrived courtesy of my thoughtful friend Margaret...

 

and the girls gave me pressies every day..I was very spoilt. Firstly this..it was so beautifully wrapped and I didn't want to open it!!

 

and inside was this...

 

I wore it all weekend...isn't it divine. The second day, I received this...

 

it has a little felt birdie to go with it which didn't arrive in time to travel with Mel on the plane and it's GORGEOUS! I love it. And then on Saturday night - this...the card made me cry. Such lovely words inside..

 

PLUS a 12 month subscription to Real Living magazine - told you I was spoiled by the girls!

 

We managed a few photos...

 

and this one on the stairs..

 

this was my room...a big bed all to myself. 

 

and we stayed up late chatting and stapling handouts, punching out butterflies and watching the geeks get their makeovers on Beauty and the Geek!

And before we knew it..Friday was HERE! THE BIG DAY!!!!!!

 
 

And so began our adventure...

There's too much to talk about in one big post, so I am breaking it up into smaller posts...stay tuned for my Friday recap!

My thank you speech

**warning..long thankyou post below... I'll be back with photos and weekend news but firstly, i need to do a thank you speech...**

THANKYOU to everyone who came along to the very first @Home|Away Weekend Retreat.

It was months and months in the planning and MANY ups and downs along the way and it was my first foray into event planning - apart from my own wedding and a couple of parties. It was SO much more work than I anticipated.

There were times when I would sit surrounded by boxes and my massive to do list and think, what ON EARTH have I started. But these last two weeks everything just fell into place.

Thankfully.

While a couple of little plans didn't happen as I ran out of time, that was ok!

Firstly, thank you to my amazing Support Team girls.

There wouldn't have been a retreat without you there and it wouldn't have been the same had any of you been missing so I was so pleased you could all make it.. You all created beautiful workshops and make and takes and pitched in to work tirelessly the entire weekend. You chatted with our registrants and made them feel welcome. You were friendly and entertaining and  I am blessed to have found such a lovely group of girls who are so loyal, creative, supportive and have become dear friends. I have the BEST Support Team EVER!

Thank you to Ken who picked up the slack at home, especially these past two week because I haven't cooked much or cleaned much or ironed clothes for school much. You allowed my full focus to pretty much be on the retreat as you took time off from work to hold the fort at home at a crucial time. But it's all back to reality with a thud I realised as I stood at the ironing board this morning ironing Jamison's school clothes!

Thank you to my family who put up with the retreat taking over our lives and to my boys Brandt and Jamison who helped with the balloons on Saturday night - and enjoyed the helium silliness! Thank you to Jamison who manned the market stall on Friday night (and I might add was loving it! Jamison was reluctant to come up for the weekend and didn't want anything to do with "scrapbooking" BUT he loved working the stall and drawing the lucky tickets etc and had a wonderful time!).

And especially thank you to my little helper Capri - she was a real trouper in the leadup to the retreat and helped pack kits, unpack orders and check off invoices and all sorts of helpful things. She also helped all weekend and loved being part of the retreat. I know she loved meeting and chatting with you all and thank you to all of you for taking the time to chat with her and make her feel welcome.

A MAMMOTH THANK YOU to my mum. She has been there from the beginning. When I first announced a retreat I know she inwardly groaned and thought, oh no - that is a LOT of work. But she supported and listened and helped enormously the entire time. She was with me pretty much every step of the way with all my ideas and plans and she put up with my rollercoaster of emotions!!! She took over the admin part of the job when I was struggling to juggle everything and she packed kits etc and has worked all weekend setting up and packing up classes, setting up the room, helping with the food and helping wherever she was needed.

Thank you to my friend Leesa who helped with setting up the room on Friday afternoon and did an amazing job with the table decorating! Thank you to my best friend Margaret who has known me since we were both ten years old and who sent me a gorgeous bunch of flowers - always so thoughtful. And to her and her sister Tracey who came up for a visit on Friday night - it was great to see them both. Thank you to my business group of ladies who I meet with every 4-6 weeks. They listened to my plans and gave me invaluable advice and support and motivation in the weeks leading up to the retreat.

Thank you to Kim Wood for her delicious cupcakes and for organising her Scrap Direct shop so we had some scrapbooking product on hand.

THANK YOU to our wonderfully generous and supportive Sponsors. I was blown away by the generosity and willingness to jump on board and support our event.Tamar from Tarisota, Jodi from QTea kits, Jane from Crafty Matters and Kylie from Scrapping Clearly provided gorgeous packs for each goody bag. Scrapbook Creations, Homespun Magazine and Notebook magazine provided gift subscriptions and magazines for the registrants and other very generous companies including The Janelle Wind Collection, Kate Mason, Elle's Studio, Elsie Falnnigan, Scrap of your Life, Scrapbook Divas, The Craft Queen, Stampin' Up and Eeveea Journaling tags provided challenge prizes, giveaway and spot prizes. THANK YOU!

And finally THANK YOU to YOU! The registrants.

Without you there is no @Home|Away Weekend Retreat.

Thank you for taking a chance on me and my first event. I know it had a high price tag. I know that many of you saved up and that for some, the cost was the deciding factor about not coming. BUT for those who took the chance on me I am glad and thankful and appreciative that you did. I am blown away by the reaction and the feedback and emails and Facebook comments I am receiving.

We had a wonderful group. Everyone was so lovely and I couldn't have handpicked a better group if I tried. It was just amazing. So many like minded girls from so many different parts of the country all together for the weekend - how special is that!

THANK YOU! Soo, anyone want to come to the 2010 @Home|Away Weekend Retreat?

KIMx

wow!

The retreat was A M A Z I N G!

Today I am sorting through the photos and reading the most beautiful emails and Facebook messages. It's just overwhelming.

A weekend recap is coming soon...KIM

**Edited to add - not sure what's happening with Typepad but some of you are finding it hard to leave a comment on this post. THANK YOU for all the lovely emails and comments!****