$99 Overnight Special and Tags Till Christmas!

Nanci and I have decided to offer a $99 Overnight Special for Saturday, February 19, 2011 with check-in at 11:00 AM through Sunday, February 20th at 12:00 PM.  Your overnight will include Saturday night lodging, make n'take, full use of our craft room and tools, Saturday lunch, dinner, snacks, and beverages, and Sunday brunch!  

We hope you will be able to join us at Lake View Lodge located on Dewey Lake in Dowagiac, Michigan for our mini-retreat!  It will be cold and snowy outside, but the lodge will be warm and toasty! Space is limited for our $99 Overnight, so make your reservation today! 

When we were preparing for our craft shows this fall, we decided to make Christmas gift tags to coordinate with the three holiday designer series paper packs;  

Jolly Holiday DSP

Candy Cane Christmas Specialty DSP

and Deck The Halls DSP

We loved the Top Note packaging that we designed for them, but it definitely did not show off the tags to their full advantage!  So we took some photos of the contents before they were packaged!

Aren't they cute!  The Tags till Christmas stamp set coordinates so well with the Stampin' Up punches--they are a snap to stamp, punch, and assemble.  We added some white and gold gel pen accents!  

Unfortunately, the gift tags for Jolly Holiday were already packaged at this point, but all three designs were very similar!   

2010 Ladies Night Out - Chrysalis Community Center FundRaiser

We had a wonderful time at 2010 Ladies Night Out!  The event was from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM and benefited the Youth Programs for the Chrysalis Community Center.  Our Penguin Treat bags sold out!  We had pre-packaged our Note Card Desk and Christmas gift sets, so we displayed samples of each set on our table. 

There were approximately ten other venders at the event which featured a raffle ticket fundraiser with vendor donations and a weekend getaway! 

A troup of dancers provided entertainment at regular intervals over the course of the evening.  Their costumes were charming and the dances were lively!

The dancers were all different ages! 

We had a great view from our table!

Yes, those are lighted candles that they are dancing with on their heads!  The Chrysalis Community Center is going to have another fundraiser this spring, we hope to see you there!

Craft Haven Retreats current special of $199 per person has been extended to our Spring 2011 season.  Retreat weekends at Lake View Lodge in Dowagiac, Michigan, include two nights lodging and five home-cooked meals, beverages, and snacks.  Your weekend can be customized to meet your groups needs.  Crafting classes, massages, manicures, and pedicures available for an additional fee.  

Retreat!

We've been keeping quite busy in our scrap-booking room preparing for a few craft shows and some Stampin' Up! events.  I thought I'd share some pictures from a retreat we had at the end of October.  The weather at the lake was beautiful that weekend--mostly sun!  The grass is not brown--it's covered with pine needles!

Sandy, from St. Louis, MO sent us this photo.  The view is from the living room of the house looking at the lake.  I love the fall color in the foliage.  I love sitting on the front porch--it's so relaxing!

 We had a varied group of crafters this weekend-- quilting, scrap-booking, and handmade ornaments.   Saturday after lunch we all ran over to Kathryn Wise's store, Sew Many Pleasures in Dowagiac, MI and we hit a sale!  Kathy specializes in gifts and collectibles.  After our guests departed on Sunday,  Nanci and I ran up to Kathy's shop and hit the sale again!

Best of all we had lively games of dominoes after dinner both nights!   Grilled Peach and Chicken Salad, Home Made Navy Bean Soup, and Creme Brulee French Toast Casserole were the favorite weekend menu items!  We are booking retreats for 2011 now!  E-mail us and reserve your weekend today!

Pumpkin Instructions!

We have had several inquiries about our "Great Pumpkins" post from last Saturday.  The pumpkins were fast and fun to construct and decorate.  We hope these directions will assist you in creating your own pumpkin patch!

The pumpkins were made using 11 1" X 6" strips of card stock. Punch holes at top and bottom of card stock strips and run a piece of ribbon through the bottom and top holes. (I stacked mine and used the cropadile to go thru all 11 at once).  I used about an 8" piece of ribbon. Secure the ribbon at the bottom with a brad. Pull the ribbon from the top to form your shape and fan the strips around to form your circle. Tie off the top of the ribbon to form the stem, and decorate as you like!

If you want to purchase your pumpkins already made, plan to attend the 29th Oktoberfest Arts and Crafts Show at Marian Catholic High School on Sunday, October 10th!  You could also book a weekend retreat at Lake View Lodge in Dowagiac, MI and request a class in pumpkin paper crafting!


We've also received several inquiries about where we purchased that "skinny" bags used in Thursday's "Harvest Time Delights" post.  We purchased all our bags from Clearbags.com.


Happy Crafting!

Harvest Time Delights

 Our 1"X8" and 2"X5" clear bags arrived and we immediately put them to good use!   We punched out Cajun Craze tags stamped in basic brown with happy harvest from Loads of Love Accessories stamp set.  We layered a small More Mustard card stock oval stamped with Cajun Craze pumpkins from the same stamp set on top of the tag.  The edges of both punches were inked with Basic Brown to give added dimension.  The Sizzix Bag with Scallop die was cut using the Big Shot. 

The pumpkins were made with Cajun Craze and Autumn Spice DSP.  Punches used were the Medium Oval and 1" Circle punches.  The leaves are punched from the Two Step Bird punch.  Sentiment is stamped from Teeny Tiny Wishes and punched out with Word Window punch.

   
 Here are some close ups of the completed treat bags.  Both projects would make excellent table decorations and/or hostess gifts for your holiday dinner table.   These treats will also be for sale on our table at the 29th Annual Oktoberfest Marion Catholic High School Craft Fair.  We hope you will stop by and visit with us.  We will also have information about our weekend craft retreats at Lake View Lodge in Dowagiac, MI!

Sneak Peek - August Stamp Club

Oh--you peeked!  Well, it's to be expected--we did provide a photograph!

This is a lovely example of one of the projects we will be making at Stamp Club this month!  If you live in the South Suburban area of Cook County, IL and you are interested in joining Nanci's Stamp Club, please add a comment to this post and she will contact you!  If you are a Demonstrator who is interested in our Demonstrator Special and would like to offer classes and/or workshops at Lake View Lodge in Dowagiac, MI, please comment to this post also.

Paper: Greenhouse Gala DSP, Baja Breeze, Daffodil Delight, and Chocolate Chip cardstock
Punches: Modern Label, Word Window, Boho Blossoms, and Ornament Extra-large
Stampset: Awash with Flowers and Teeny Tiny Wishes
Misc: Dazzling Diamonds and Dimensionals

Fall - Chenille Pumpkins - Retreats!

Fall is right around the corner and so is our first full season offering crafting retreats at Lake View Lodge!  We were out and about in Dowagiac, MI the other day and found this great store less than 3 miles from Lake View Lodge!  It's called Sew Many Pleasures  and it is absolutely a pleasure to visit!  Kathyrn Wise, the owner, specializes in Gifts and Collectibles.  We fell in love with these chenille pumpkins!  

Nanci bought them for her house, but they are at my house right now--I don't know if I can give them back! :)       


Kathy's shop is filled with hand-made "gems" like these pumpkins.  She is a charming woman and a master-crafter!  Kathy has graciously offered to teach a class at Lake View Lodge on how to make these adorable pumpkins.  If you would like to sign up for a class with Kathy at Lake View Lodge, please contact us at info@crafthavenretreats.com.  We are still accepting reservations for our 2010 fall weekend special--$199 per person!  Visit our website at CraftHavenRetreats.com.


If you are in the Dowagiac, MI area, please stop in and visit Kathy at Sew Many Pleasures her shop is a delight to the eye!  Sew Many Pleasures is open Wed-Sun from 10 AM-5 PM, May-November, Phone: 269-424-3467, Cell: 269-208-3094.  Happy Crafting!