Scrapbooking Retreat!

I had the BEST time this weekend on a get-away with my scrapping buddies! We went to a retreat at a beautiful B & B on the Anchorage hillside, The Alaskan Leopard. Its the most amazing place, with a gourmet chef, hot tubs, beautiful view, cozy luxury rooms, and complete pampering. We were pretty much in heaven! Add to that all-day scrapping, shopping excursions, and my favorite scrapbooking side-kicks and it just doesn't get much better.






Our fantastic host, also our chef, prepared four-course meals each time we were called to the table, even for breakfast. He spoiled us rotten. Each dish was not just gourmet, it was presented beautifully as well. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost!






The night we arrived, he greeted us warmly and told us he had to go out for a few hours. You see, he explained, he was in a state-wide fitness contest, and it was award night. He was dressed up, looked quite dapper, and further explained that he had just lost SIXTY pounds in ninety days! We were impressed. When he returned later that night, I'm not sure his feet were touching the ground at all. He had WON the contest, a cruise on the Mexican Riviera, and $10, 000! It was super exciting to hear him tell all about it.






The whole weekend was just fantastic. I loved connecting with my buddies, scrapping together, laughing our heads off, and kicking back with no responsibilities. Every mommy/wife needs that once in awhile. It usually takes me awhile to unwind, I feel kind of guilty! And spoiled!



I love scrapbooking. Its a passion of mine. I think its important to preserve our memories, as time goes by so fast in our lives, and its easy to forget the little things, that matter so deeply to me as a mom. I won't always remember the silliness, the inside jokes, the crazy situations and quiet moments in our home. I won't always be able to recall the nicknames the children had for each other, the games they invented with their friends, or how tall they got in one summer. So I take a lot of pictures, and I journal quite a bit about our busy life.



I scrapbook a bit at home, but being able to really get down to creating is such a lot of fun, and I got a lot done! Here are a few of my pages I did, while on my heavenly weekend. Most of them are pictures from last summer, as I like to make a summer album each year. I'm excited I got some done! Yippee!




























The above layouts are all 12x12, and as seasoned scrapbookers know, can take an hour or two for each page. I'm plenty happy to have even this many created in one weekend!



The next one I did for my little Dandelion's puppy album, and it is a 6x6 layout.

Again for your scrappers, I can't list all my materials here, but I left most of my distressing supplies at home, and paints. I did do some inking for dimension, but other than that it was just playing with paper and embellies.

Now off I go to unpack. Wishing each of you a happy get-away like mine in the very near future!

Tell me, what was the BEST and most relaxing quick trip you have ever taken?