StampNationLive 2014 ~ Part 2

Are you ready for more StampNationLive 2014 fun?  If you missed the first post, be sure to Clicky to check it out.

Kristie, Me, Clare, Shea and Maureen

As I mentioned in my last post, the best part of this retreat was meeting all these friends who live in my computer.  I'm on StampNation almost daily, and chat with these ladies in the forums every week.  I've seen their amazing artwork, prayed with them over life tragedies, laughed until my eyes leeked and formed real life relationships.  It was an amazing experience to hug the necks of these women!

Elaine, Sue, Kimie, Me and Linda in front hugging us all.

There were so many goodies given away that I wished I had brought a bigger suitcase to pack them all back home.  The retreat fell just days before my birthday and some of the ladies blessed me with birthday presents.  Kimie (pictured next to me in pink above) gave me one of the most delicious cupcakes I've ever tasted.  She wasn't the only who brought cupcakes though.   Vicki made the most incredible hot cocoa cupcakes.  They had melt-in-your mouth marshmallows inside.  Sweetness overload!

We were on our own each night for dinner, so I took the opportunity to eat with a different group of ladies each night.  The food in Raleigh, North Carolina was fabulous.  Each meal seemed to be better than the one before.  (with the exception of the Lebanese food.  I wasn't a big fan.)

Vicki (Cocoa Cupcake Lady), Me, Erika, Andrea and Karen

The picture above was taken at Dos Taquitos by one of our servers.  I actually ate there twice during my stay.  The first time was with the ladies above and then I ate there again on my last night with the dream team.  It was like a taste of home.  Not Washington home, but California where I spent the first 32 years of my life.  The salsa was so fresh and delicous. Yummo!  These ladies became my newest BFFs.  I didn't know any of them before the retreat, but I would go to another retreat just to meet up with them again.  They are lovely both inside and out, and we laughed our fool heads off.

Mary Jane, Me and Kathleen

Speaking of woman I would travel to meet again... The ladies pictured above sat at the tables across for me.  I enjoyed listening to the two of them so much!  They had the lovely southern accent I so wish I had.  Sometimes it felt like we were speaking two different languages, but that was late at night when we were all tired.  :)  Can you believe these ladies made an early morning run to the craft store just to get me some punches I was ooh-ing and aahing over?  SO SWEET!  They are planning a trip to Seattle next year and I hope they come when I can meet up with them!

Me & Kimberly

Kimberly knows how to pack for a retreat!  She had it all, girls, and she was sitting right next to me!  Too bad I didn't sit down long enough to really "share" with her, but she did let me borrow a couple of ink pads and her large circle punch.  Thank you for being so generous Kim!

Elly, Bobbie, Kimberly, Tink, and Sue

Pictured above are some of the fun-loving ladies I went to dinner with on my second night. We went to Relish and had such a fabulous time.  The food was almost as good as the company. My favorite part of the meal was listening to the sisters tell a story. They were a hoot and a half!  Hearing about the road trip all four ladies took to get to the retreat was pretty hilarious too!

Inky & Kimikins

It was such an honor to meet the two ladies above.  I'll tell you a bit more about Inky in the next SNL14 post, but for now let me just say she has a givers heart and a warm hug.   So glad I was able to be on the receiving end of both.   Kimmie is our swap hostess for StampNation North America & beyond.  She works very hard to coordinate swaps for the ladies of StampNation.

Can you believe I still haven't shared all the pictures from the retreat?  Come back next Sunday and I will try to wrap it up. If you've ever wondered whether my love for StampNation is real or not, I hope these pictures show you just how much the "sistahs" of StampNation mean to me.  The best part is that YOU can be a part of this wonderful community of paper crafters.  Perhaps next I year I will have the pleasure of having my picture taken with you.

Sunday Share ~ StampNationLive 2014 Part 1

Last weekend I took the trip of a lifetime and had the amazing opportunity to meet up with some of my friends who live in my computer.  We had a stamping good time at the StampNation Live retreat in North Carolina!   Can you believe this girl from the Pacific Northwest flew across the United States, by herself, to the South East?!!!

Flying is not my favorite thing, but I do like that it gets me there quicker than driving.  :)  Unfortunately all but one of the 4 flights was fully booked so we were crammed in like sardines, but I made it.

Sitting on Catherine Pooler's back porch on her comfy wicker furniture.

My first day in North Carolina was spent with Catherine Pooler.  I helped her and her daughter, Anna, set up the room for the ladies.  Actually they had already done most of the work before I even got downstairs to the room.  Then she took me out to eat at Aladin's.  The food was yummy!  After running a few last minute errands we went to her home to wait for Maureen and Kristie's planes to land.

I'm sure I looked like an idiot staring at her room where she makes all the magic happen.  It's just that I couldn't believe I was actually there!  She kept asking me if I was bored as she was working on her computer, and I meant it when I said, "no, I'm just soaking it all in".

After we picked up the rest of the dream team from the airport we headed to dinner.  It was such a fun time of connecting, sharing and planning for the future of StampNation.   Can you believe we didn't get a picture?  After dinner we went to the hotel to finish setting up the room and found several ladies in the lobby checking in a day early.  :)  Oh my, what a party!

There were some amazing sponsors for StampNation Live.  Here is the registration table with goodies for the first day.

Every day there were new make-n-takes for the attendees to work on.  We also had an OWH table set up for people to make cards for Operation Write Home.  :)

We also had try-it tables each day.  I was in charge of the Copic try-it table.

 Kristy Dalman from Some Odd Girl sponsored the table with a couple of digital images for the ladies and gentlemen to try out.  Here is the card I made with her adorable shy bunny digital stamp.

The ladies seemed to enjoy learning how to use Copics and playing with some digital images.

This post is getting super long, so I am going to save the rest of my pictures for another day.  I must leave you with the best part of StampNation Live 2014... the sistahs who were at the retreat with us and the sistahs online who were there in spirit.  God did not give me a sister from my parents, but He has blessed me with some amazing friends that have become my sistahs by choice.  <3  Thank you ladies for making this event such a special memory for me.

Want to learn more about StampNation?  It's a wonderful resource for card makers of every level, but it is so much more!