This past weekend was the Cozy Craft Retreat in Flagstaff, AZ. It is the first overnight retreat I have done, so I was very excited to get one under my belt. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed the whole process!Of course, an event like this could never happen without some HELP! These gals are near and dear to my heart. Pictured above you will see Donna Gagnon and Becca Matlock. This weekend would have NOT happened without their amazing help! Donna was in charge of food, she fed this army all weekend long! And we’re not talking pizza and sandwiches! She made pork tenderloin one night, we had southern biscuits and gravy, chicken enchiladas, and countless other YUMMY MEALS!!!!! I’m not a fan of cooking, so this was such a blessing for her to share her gift of hospitality and cooking with our group! Becca was my sounding board and that inner voice that I could bounce countless ideas off of. It was so valuable to have a friend like that who let me think out loud. I love both of these gals SO MUCH!!!!

When the gals arrived, they all received a Swag Bag. This is what the bags looked like: I purchased the burlap bags at Hobbly Lobby, then used my Silhouette machine to create an iron on that said cozy.craft.retreat. All their make and takes and goodies were in there. They received the Cookie Cutter Christmas bundle (stamps and punch) plus a full pack of coordinating DSP (Candy Cane Lane). We used those products over and over again during the weekend.

I was amazed at how far some traveled for this event! We had attendees from NM, CA, IL, and AZ of course! I was honored they would travel this far to attend this retreat! Many didn’t know anyone, so we had an activity planned when everyone arrived. It’s called “Speed Dating”. Basically we formed 2 lines and every 2 minutes one line would move to the right. The gals chatted and found out as much as they could in 2 minutes about that person. This activity is so much fun!

It’s just not a true Stampin’ Up event without pillow gifts! The first night’s gift was Starbucks cups that had either coffee, tea or water on the label. I purchased the cups at Starbucks (they had the logo on them) but added the outside label with vinyl.

Everyone received earplugs, as well. You just never know……