Hi friends! Today I’m so excited to share a little recap from our Crafty Academy Retreat, which took place March 6–8 at The Scrapbook Haven store. It was truly one of those weekends that fills your creative cup and your heart at the same time. Being surrounded by so many talented, kind, and creative women who share the same love for paper crafting is something very special, and I’m still smiling thinking about all the moments we shared together.
We kicked things off on Friday evening with some fun make-and-takes, our first goodie bags, and one of the most exciting activities of the weekend — the Make Your Own Charm Bar. This was such a fun way to start the event! Everyone got to create personalized charms for their projects while chatting, crafting, and getting settled in for the weekend. The energy in the room was incredible and it was the perfect way to begin our time together.
Saturday was a full day of creativity and connection. The attendees received another goodie bag to start the day before we moved into classes. I had the pleasure of teaching a Simple Stories 6x8 Flipbook Album class, and it was so much fun seeing everyone bring their albums to life with their own creative touches. We also took our group photo, which is always one of my favorite moments of an event.
One of the sweetest moments of the day was when my husband, Steve, led a short show-and-tell session, sharing his senior book and walking everyone through some of the papercrafting and journaling elements he included in it. It was such a fun and meaningful moment to see how memory keeping can tell powerful stories in different ways.
Later in the day, Becki taught a beautiful layouts class, followed by some open crop time where everyone could relax and work on their projects. To wrap up the evening, Lindsay hosted an incredibly fun Bingo session that had the entire room laughing and cheering.
On Sunday, we had one more goodie bag waiting for everyone before starting the day with our paper clip swap. Seeing the creativity everyone put into their swaps was amazing!
Watch my process video creating my paper clips.
After that, Lindsay taught a layouts class, and we finished the weekend with a few more hours of crop time so everyone could enjoy creating before heading home.
One of the things that made the weekend even more special was being hosted at The Scrapbook Haven store. The attendees had the chance to shop the entire weekend, and the store team generously provided an amazing discount code just for our group — which meant we all definitely shopped our hearts out! It was such a treat to be surrounded by so many beautiful products and supportive people.
Most importantly, I want to share my deepest gratitude.
To Kristin, Brandy, Gena, and the entire Scrapbook Haven team — thank you for welcoming us so warmly and supporting this event in every way. Your kindness and generosity made the whole experience even more special.
And of course, to Lindsay and Becki — I love you both so much. Lindsay put so much thought into the countless little details that made the attendees feel so cared for, and Becki and I were so happy to help bring those ideas to life. Being able to work together and spend time with friends while doing what we love is something I will never take for granted.
Finally, to every single attendee — thank you for coming. I truly cannot thank you enough for the love you made me feel that weekend. My heart is absolutely full. I am so grateful to have so many amazing friends who share this passion for creativity and this wonderful hobby that brings us all together.
Please keep sharing your photos and videos — I love seeing them and have been saving as many as I can for my own albums and scrapbook pages. These memories are incredibly special.
I already cannot wait for the next one.
With so much love,
Andrea