Oh my, what a weekend!
I couldn’t believe the turnout. (There were about 120-130 of you there. I think. Wow.) Putting faces to names/emails was my favorite part. I have blogged for a long time and have talked with so many people through email……..but to actually say, “oh hey, I know you!” and meet you in person, was really so great! For those of you who came, thanks for joining in on the fun. Wanna do it again?!?! :)
(ONE REQUEST: I should have walked around with a pen/paper to write everyone’s names and blogs down. There were so many that I wanted to visit and check out. If you have a blog of your own, leave a comment with the address. I’d love to check it out…….and I’m sure others would too.)
My other favorite part was working with a few other bloggers to get this whole little meet-up planned. I had no idea how many bloggers and blog readers lived around this area. And I also had no idea how many would actually want to meet up. (Because, in all reality, no one actually knew each other. And maybe each of us thought for one second that, “Hmmmm, I hope these are real live people at the other end of these blog posts/emails and not some crazy ex-con”. Ya never know, right? Haha.) But throwing this little partaaay was no one-man job.
Do you see these ladies? They helped me pull this whole thing off. (Minus Courtney from Sweet C’s Designs. She helped out tons behind the scenes but was unable to attend.) From the left, Alison from Oopsey Daisy, Me, Kirstin from Kojo Designs, and Angela from Wray Sist3rs. These guys helped plan, email, organize donations, make decorations, set-up/take-down…..they seriously did so much. I only wish I would have been more organized to have more of you who offered to help, join in on this too. Next time? :)
During the meet-up, Alison, Angela, and Kirstin helped keep my head on straight. And quietly took care of things during the meet up, when I wasn’t thinking straight. They are really all fantastic bloggers (and umm, gorgeous!) and incredibly fun in person. What a fun pack of ladies. Check out their blogs and see what they’re up to…….all 4 (including Courtney) are oozing with talent and fresh ideas. Thanks again gals! :)
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Okay, are you curious how the meet-up ended up? If you were there, you already know. But many of you wanted to come but couldn’t…….and asked for a full write up. Well, you got it. And, because of Katie from KB Digital Designs, we have pictures. I originally thought I could just snap a few pictures here and there. Ha. Who was I kidding? I didn’t even think about a camera or pictures for one minute during the meet-up. Way too many great people to chat with. So Katie took care of everything. And did a great job at an indoor event. (Did I mention she was absolutely darling and willing to flutter around the room for the entire event? And donated her time? She was incredible.)
Okay, get ready for a motherload of pictures. There was so much going on. I just had to include them all.
At the entrance, everyone grabbed a bag of goods and a name tag. (Plaid donated bottles of Martha Stewart paint that was dropped into everyone’s bags.) Everyone’s name tag had a number on it, that would be needed for the giveaway drawing later on.
And yeah, I needed one too. But my #12 name tag didn’t win one darn thing. Ha. (I guess the lottery isn’t for me.)
Inside the event room, there was food. Gobs of beautiful, delicious food. I didn’t make one bit of it. Kirstin and Alison made all of the Colorado cupcakes, all named after different Colorado peaks and sites. It was all gorgeous. And clever. (All I did was tell the hotel cook what kinds of savory snacks to prepare. Easy. Ha.)
I know, you kinda want a bite, huh? Me too.
After everyone started filling the event room, there was chatting and mingling and “hello’s!!” and more chatting. I loved it. If there was anyone there that didn’t yank on my arm and say hello, darn it, I wish there would have been more time to chat. (Maybe we need to do this again?)
A childhood friend of mine, Tara, also came all the way from Utah to join us. (Okay, she has family in Aurora too, but I’ll just pretend she came all for me!!) I haven’t seen Tara in years……it was so fun to see her again.
Along one end of the room, there were a few tables set up with some simple crafts.
Pick Your Plum (oh my word, they were so generous!), donated the main parts of the crafts. They shipped me a huge box filled with wooden clovers, metal scroll-y earrings, and tons of mustache cutouts for necklaces/key chains. Wow. (Okay, and more stuff too. More on that later.) Everyone just jumped right in and started making things. It was great.
However, I’m still so bugged with myself. The table to make Mod Podge wooden clovers was missing something. The Mod Podge. Ugggh. I set everything out except the dang Mod Podge……..and didn’t even notice until half way through the meet-up. And then I couldn’t find it. It was hiding inside some bag, underneath one of the tables where we shoved everything when people started showing up. Double ugggh. Ha…..oh well. And sorry if some of you were totally confused by that. I noticed others were using the super glue stuff that I set out to glue the magnets on the back. Hooray for “making it work”. :) But hopefully some of you just took the parts home and were able to get it finished on your own.
Halfway through, we started giving away all the goodies.
Oh. My. There was so much goodness……no one went home empty handed. And I think at least half of the 100+ in attendance received extra items during the giveaway portion of the meet-up.
Alison kept generating random numbers on her ipad and Angela distributed all of the donated prizes.
All of these generous shops/businesses donated to our little meet-up, making it extra fun. I can’t tell them all thank you enough. Each one donated fantastic items. (So, if you have a second, check them all out. You won’t be disappointed for one minute.)
Tootsie Wootsie donated a gorgeous rosette necklace. Beautiful, I know. You may find a reason to buy one for all of your friends. :)
Thoughts in Vinyl donated a large wooden/vinyl sign. So clever and so true. (This shop doesn’t skimp on quality. SO much gorgeous vinyl and kits to choose from.)
Jennifer from Thirty One donated 2 different totes. The smaller one is insulated (perfect for picnics/lunches, right?) and the other one is larger and has so much space inside and like 6 spots for water bottles. (I have one…..and love it!)
TaraDara donated several little business card holders. Wow…..totally in love with the spunk of these little holders. So darling. (And I actually got to meet Tara at the meet-up. She jumped right in and started helping out with everything. Thanks Tara!!)
Ribbon Retreat +Fabric donated 3 bundles of gorgeous fabric and 3 different clusters of adorable ribbon. Oh my word, so much delicious color. I kind of had a hard time not stealing this stuff before the meet-up. ;)
**Ribbon Retreat +Fabric sent me coupons to print off and include in everybody’s goody bags. But I completely forgot…..ack! So they said that I could post the coupon code here for everyone to use. Yay!** Visit Ribbon Retreat +Fabric and get 10% off your order, using code MAKEIT10.
Plaid donated SO MUCH stuff for everyone. They donated all of the paint in everyone’s “thank you” bags and then a huge Martha Stewart grand prize bag, full of all of her newest products (paints, stencils, etc.). So cool. And so generous.
January Jones Photo donated several prints from their shop. Each print was so clever and so crisp and clean. My favorites were the gorgeous Denver prints, detailing all of the neighborhoods in Denver. (There are other spotlighted cities available in the shop.)
Lilybean donated a 4 piece Owl Baby Set (wipes case, burp cloth, bib, and changing pad). The cuteness kind of knocks your socks off, right? The owner, Stephanie, was there at the meet-up too. Holy smokes, she was a laugh a minute. What great company!
Heartmade Creations donated leg warmers, earrings, and bracelets. All were equally sweet and colorful. And oh my, their shop is stuffed with all sorts of kiddie items……..skirts, outfits, accessories, etc. All are gorgeous.
Pick Your Plum donated the craft stuff for the actual event (shown above). But for the giveaway portion, they donated lacey scarves, 3/4 sleeve layering Tees, tons of spunky straws, and gorgeous bakers twine. Wow, there was so much to give away. (If you aren’t signed up for their deal-a-day site, you should be. I probably order from them at least once a week, because I’m constantly finding things that I really need……..for a fraction of the price. Totally cool.)
The giveaways were a success. Loved it.
After that, we had a little mini Q&A. There was a list of common questions that I get asked a lot and then several people in attendance asked their own questions. I answered what I knew and then asked a few of the other bloggers in attendance what they thought/knew about certain topics. It was a lot of fun. But I gotta tell you, I always blush when asked certain things…..because I’m not the expert. But it’s very flattering to be asked my opinion or experiences about certain things. So thanks.
All in all, it was a great day. I have been excited for weeks about getting everyone together. It was a serious pleasure to meet so many kind, silly, generous, hilarious, and friendly people. All in one spot. I would alter/tweak a few things for next time (including having someone sit at those craft tables and keep the supplies stocked and the mod podge ON the table. ha.) but overall, I had a great time.
ONE REQUEST: I should have walked around with a pen/paper to write everyone’s names and blogs down. There were so many that I wanted to visit and check out. If you have a blog of your own, leave a comment with the address. I’d love to check it out…….and I’m sure others would too.
A final thanks to those who sponsored the event……….and even more, thank YOU for coming!
**Ribbon Retreat +Fabric sent me coupons to print off and include in everybody’s goody bags at the meet-up. But I completely forgot…..ack! So they said that I could post the coupon code here for everyone to use. Yay!** Visit Ribbon Retreat +Fabric and get 10% off your order, using code MAKEIT10.
ALL PHOTOS FROM THE MEET-UP WERE TAKEN BY KATIE OF KB DIGITAL DESIGNS.
Thanks again Katie. You did a fantastic job. :)
(Katie is a Colorado wedding/lifestyle blogger…….contact her for your next event.)
Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
