our creative escape

This past weekend, my Mom and I were able to sneak away for a couple days to head to Phoenix, Arizona for Creative Escape.......2 days jam packed with scrapbookin' and creative fun!! My mom doesn't scrapbook AT ALL, but I drug her along and she had a blast! The classes were fun (although a tad complicated sometimes), the food was great, we met some really nice people, made some great projects, learned some new techniques, and learned from some of the best teachers in the industry.

Here we are on our first day....all decked out with our Creative Escape bags.....my Mom says the scrapbooking world is a cult :)
Me and Tim Holtz = this guy is like SUPER popular in the world of scrappin'......I was not very familiar with his work, but I had a great time in his class = great teacher and super laid-back teaching style. On the last night, they auctioned off an Ikea lamp that he had refurbished with lots of little trinkets from his studio, and it went for $28,000!! These women really love Tim Holtz!!
Me and Heather Bailey = I LOVE her fabric, love her blog, love her style!! I didn't finish the project we made in her class, but I will post photos when it's all done.....super cute!!
Me and Heidi Swapp = I have said it before, but this woman is such an inspiration to me!! She has five kiddos, recently moved her family back from Beijing, China, and still manages to design products, start a new company capture her family's memories in amazing ways, and remain completely stylish.....not to mention, she is the woman behind Creative Escape!!

Heidi gave a little talk on Friday night that reminded me of why I really do love this hobby. I know scrapbooking is not really viewed as "cool" or "hip" in some circles, but for the life of me, I can't understand why. It is such a creative, artsy, fun way to spend time, and I really do love it....I love the products, the people, the shopping BUT most of all, I love the fact that I am capturing my family's memories, that I am taking the time to put words and photos together on a page with flowers and brads and stickers and paint and glue and glitter and chip board and that because of these pages we will REMEMBER!!!