Surround Yourself With Joy, and Peace you will Find

It’s hard to believe another retreat has come and gone. This one, seemed a bit more special than the rest though. Perhaps it was the uncertainty of it all, practically up to the last minute. Perhaps it was the basic internal need for human contact, laughter, conversation, and air. Perhaps it was the need to sit in a place other than you home, with others who just needed to recharge their human batteries with friendships, creativity, tear induced laughter and delicious, non home cooked meals with a glass of wine. Perhaps it was just time.

We are living in very tumultuous times right now. Extremely stressful, scary, and uncertain times. I believe we are built to withstand most of what is thrown at us, and we can withstand all, with God’s help and faith. But it helps when we have friends to commiserate with. We need to sit with our peers and share our thoughts and feelings, know we are not crazy, or selfish, or irrational. We need to build each other up, give hope, give strength, share resilience. We needed to feel connected again- to give the gift of respect to each other and the gifts of comfort and joy.For some, that meant physically coming to the retreat, for others it meant staying home and enjoying it through the live videos. Either way, we had each other! 

Mission accomplished! We were all given all the gifts mentioned above and then some this past weekend. We built each other up and gave each other strength to get through whatever else can be thrown at us in this crazy world right now. We spent three glorious days in our own little world of crafting utopia. It was a true respite.

Did I mention the projects?? Three totally different, gorgeous creations from our amazing designers, Kim Raynnals, Jennifer Palmer, and of course our leader Tamara Merrill.They each took the most beautiful collections and created perfect masterpieces with them.

Our adorable canvas nap sacs were chuck full of everything needed to complete all creations, as well as a CCC pin, Art glitter glue, the pin, a handmade post it holder by Tamra, score tape, score tape sticker sheets, flowers, and embellishments. We even got a gigantic bag of individually wrapped snacks!

And then there were the prizes and raffles!! OMG!! There were 3 Wilbur jars. One was a free retreat! The other two had fifty-dollar gifts certificates to Country Craft Creations. There were 4 mega collection packs filled with Doodle Bug and one had the New Authentique Christmas Collection! The designers made amazing projects just for this retreat, and there were tons more prizes ..stickers, more papers and tools! It was like Christmas!

Tamara is creating a “Virtual Retreat for those who could not make it, and for those who attended but may want to make another, or finish what was started. What an awesome idea!!!

I went live several times throughout the retreat. I hope it made you all feel like you were with us in spirit, you truly were, and you were very missed. If you are wondering just what a Country Craft Creations Retreat is all about, check out some of the lives.

There are tons of new collections and embellishments, stamps, and dies in the shop. You must take a look! My personal must haves are anything Blue Fern, but the lace stamps especially. They are amazing.

If you have not yet signed up for the Craftology Subscription, here is a link to July's Sneak Peak! It is truly worth every penny!

https://www.countrycraftcreations.com/blogs/country-craft-creations-tutorials/sneak-peak-of-the-new-craftology-box-more?_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJzYWxsaWVwQG1hYy5jb20iLCAia2xfY29tcGFueV9pZCI6ICJRYllUYUcifQ%3D%3D

In closing, let us all pray for what in needed most right now in our country; faith, peace, understanding, compassion, rationality, empathy, and undying love for our great country, common sense, and health.