I seriously don't even know where to begin in telling you about Spark. It was if they knew me and all of my creative outlets and created an event around it...just for me. :D
The location was perfect....such ambiance! Striped down to it's everyday-ness, this quaint pioneer village is charming, but add a touch of Spark and creative people and it's amazing!!
The details were so thoughtful....you could feel the love oozing out. They took the common event items: agenda, maps, swag bags, etc and made them special. Every bit of it is being saved so I can use it up in art journals, collages, etc.
The keynote speaker, Cassandra Barney was so inspiring...she shared her journey and heart with us. And of course a few quotes, and all of you who follow me on Twitter know how much I love quotes. :D Here's a great one by Daniel Patrick Maynihan:
..."creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous."
The fun "extras" were fun and SUCH a great idea...loved the photo booth and the fabulous photo "wall" where they had hung frames & cut out the middle so we could pose. Love the old fashion popcorn machine, the huge candy jars, the shopping...I could go on and on. :D
The attendees were such a great mix of "makers"...so there was a great vibe of inspiration, creative collaboration, and learning from one another. I was blessed to be in the "glitter group" (we had separated into groups for classes and things) with some of my favorite creative people: Lori, Kim, Sandy, Stephanie, Karen, Susan, Elena, Sally, and other friends.
The classes were so inspiring...and let us use our own muse to create projects that were our own instead of the mass production that happens at other events. I love the new techniques I learned: hairspray transfers (hello! I'm going to do that a lot now!!), crocheting flowers, artistic photography, making fabric flowers and embellishments. I want to lock myself in my studio and only come out to go on photo walks. :D
The Artisan Show & Tell was such a great way to learn new techniques and get to know each other better as we went from station to station...I love that my creative spark for the crafts I had put aside was rekindled and that I got to learn some really cool techniques and crafts from fabulous artisans.
The giving was from the heart...Scrapbook Royalty hosted a wonderful charity raffle and silent aution with 100% of the donations going to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation in honor of my friend Rachel McCarthy, a one year (and counting) survivor. We raised about $2800 dollars! I won a few things: an ornament that my friend Leslie Ashe made, a fun "page candy" gum ball machine that my friend Tami Morrison made, and a beautiful baby quilt that someone Suzanne Bass made. (I can't find my slip of paper that has her dear name on it right now, but as soon as I do I'll give her the credit, she definitely deserves it, it's adorable!!)
I have a ton more photos to share, not to mention the projects I worked on, but those I'll share with you another time...for now I'll leave you with another quote Cassandra shared:
"At times our light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame with in us." - Albert Schwetzer
Spark on!!
