Sunday, November 05, 2006

I'm back!!!

and I've been ~*~*~BeLLaFieD~*~*~

Silver Bella was so much fun!!! I arrived in Omaha on Friday afternoon. I got into the hotel shuttle at the airport and a very friendly woman asked, "are you Artsymama?" I giggled and said yes! It's the first time I've ever been recognized from my blog by a total stranger. I knew this was going to be a fun weekend:) Candice (the kind stranger) and I ended up hanging out in The Old Market area of Omaha for a few hours before the festitivies began. We walked in and out of a few fun stores and had a wonderful macaroon. It was fun chatting and getting to know each other more. We lead very different lives, but share a passion for vintage mixed media art that we could talk about for days.

Storefront in the quaint Old Market area.

We got back to the hotel and rested a bit. Then we headed down to the "opening night" festivities. We had been encouraged to wear our jammies and some people went really all out! I put on my fancy slippers (above) and my "It's a charmed life" ME jammies and headed down.

Here I am enjoying my welcome packet of fun goodies and of course, glitter galore!! We did a group project, then it was time to oooh and aahhh at the goodies for sale at the Bella Boutique. Here are some goodies (below) that Teresa McFayden was selling. Soooo lovely:) I bought some really neat Halloween goodies (of course) from Cari Kraft.

Me and the ~*BeLLa*~ girl herself, Teresa McFayden. It was so fun to meet her!! After a fun night of getting inspired, I went to bed dreaming about what lay ahead!!
I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to start the day at Pam Garrison's Two Turtle Doves swag class. Here's my table set-up (above) with the class kit, a box of chocolates from Pam and my Silver Bella journal:)Here is a picture of the gorgeous class sample, the instructions and (of course) more chocolates!Here I am working hard on my swag:)YAY...finally got to meet Ms. Garrison for the first time!!! My next class was called Express Yourself and was taught by Becky Novaeck. We made these wonderfully creative canvas pieces. It was fun to see everyone's interpretations of the theme.After lunch I did another class with Pam (I know, lucky..lucky girl!!) called The Stockings Were Hung.Took another fun class with Becky called Be Jolly! and made an adorable little shadowbox ensemble.
I ended the night with a fantastic vintage style shadowbox project with Carolyn Peeler called Children of Christmas Past.

I went to bed with visions of creative projects dancing in my head. I was so overwhelmed (in a wonderfully good way) with how fantastic this weekend was for me. It was the first time I had been away from my hubby and kids in a LONG time and was the perfect kind of break to have. A day full of amazing teachers and art. I made some wonderful new friends that share a passion for the same kind of expression and lead such interesting lives!! I found out about these amazing calendars too!! How much fun can a girl have in 48 hours!?! What a fabulous ~*BeLLa*~ weekend it was!!!!

P.S. Now that you've heard about the journey, you're probably wondering what the finished products look like! I will put the finishing touches on them and will be posting photos very soon of all the goodies:)

14 comments:

Raesha D said...

WOW!!! Sounds like you had an awesome weekend and the projects all look amazing! I'm anxious to see your finished items!

Anonymous said...

you. are. so. cute!! i loved meeting you in person Kari! what a hoot that you were recognized on the shuttle like that!!! Glad to hear you had a great time!!
M'Wah!!
xoxo

Lilli in Vancouver said...

It looks absolutely Magical! I'm so glad you got away and had some Kari time :)

Anonymous said...

OMG! such fantastic, fun photos with such beautiful projects!!! I am so glad that you had fun (not that there was ever any doubt there!) I can't wait to see all of your finished projects! smiles...

deb said...

Glorious! Thanks so much for sharing.. it's almost (almost) as good as being there! :) Can't wait to see the finished projects.

Laura said...

Wow! Thanks for the excellent recap with photos!!! Loved seeing everything!!! I could read a book about everyone's experiences there, it sounds like such a great time!!! Thanks for showing those of us who could not be there how much fun you had!

Anonymous said...

Artsy Artsy Artsy even your photos were great. I had a wonderful time and am missing the fun already. You are a talented artist and writer. love ya
Utah

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous photos Kari!
It was so fun meeting you!
Glad you liked the Halloween thingies I brought, I love it when I know they are going to a good home!
Here's to a great Bella Weekend...CHEERS!!!

Anonymous said...

WOW WOW WOW is all I can say!! How fun and amazing...never thought of booking a flight to Omaha, but may have to look into it!!
XOXO

Anonymous said...

We love Teresa McFayden!

Bonita Rose said...

sounds like you had so much fun.. let's plan for next year.. I wanna be your roomie! Totally serious.. I wanna go! Too bad I cudn't this year.. butnext year, I am hoping it works.. know the dates for next year yet?Let meknow plse!
hugs and i love all your pics.. gorgeous projects!

Anonymous said...

Oh oh OH oh oh oh!!! Your recount of your Sliva Bella retreat is just marvelous! Thank you so much for sharing the wonderful pictures and your experiences with us!!!

Boxwood Cottage said...

Oh you was there at Silverbella I so envy you! Fabulous photos thanks for sharing! I'm glad to finally see a picture of Pam's stocking and that it isn't so very different to the one I've made in September. I can imagine how much exciting fun you must have had. Lucky you!

Anonymous said...

Fabulous! Thanks for sharing!