What is a Scrapbook Retreat?

I’ve been going on scrapbook retreats several times a year for probably 15 or more years. Pretty much from the time we moved to Alabama, I’ve been making new friends at retreats. 

A few days ago a friend asked me “what do you do there? Do y’all just sit around and talk about crafts?” 

Good question.

What do we do? Most of us started as scrapbookers, but have gradually transitioned to cardmaking. Everyone brings their own projects to work on. And we all bring a LOT of stuff. Wagon loads. (I can’t give up my Honda Odyssey because I need it for my retreat weekends. LOL.) None of us travel light. We bring our own pillows, weighted blankets, lamps, fans, and carts and carts of crafting supplies. My chair is a necessity and comes to every retreat with me, even though comfortable chairs are always provided. 

Our ages vary. It’s a good cross section of people. Most work outside the home, some are retired. Few are like me “stay at home moms of adult children.” (Should I call myself a “retired mom”?) But I’ve been doing this since my guys were in elementary school. Days when I eagerly checked the clock waiting for Dad to get home so I could escape for the weekend. I’ve paid babysitters to watch the hooligans so I could leave the house before Dad got home. Long gone are the days that I had to prepare meals for the weekend before I left the house and make sure Dad had clear instructions on who needed to be where and when. 

We talk. We talk a lot. We are usually set up in groups of anywhere from 2-8. There really isn’t a subject we don’t cover. Except politics. That is taboo. Sometimes a football game may be playing in the background. It’s usually on mute, but it’s there. There are even a few girls who exercise by going for a daily walk….and some even walk up and down the big scary hill. For fun. I am not one of those girls. 😂

We eat. There are usually lots of snacks, and depending on  the retreat venue, meals are prepared for us (my favorite!) or we take turns cooking a meal. Not much makes me happier than hearing the dinner bell ring and knowing I didn’t have any responsibilities in the preparation or cleanup. 💖

We nap, read, stay up late, sleep in. At one retreat one of the girls spent her time studying for the bar exam. Not everyone papercrafts. There are also knitters/crocheters and more recently some of us have rediscovered cross stitching. Anything goes. Sometimes we even have a masseuse who will come for the day. 

We dress extra casual. Messy hair, no makeup. Bras optional. Pajamas til noon. Or later. Leggings and t-shirts are the general attire (I should admit here that at a recent retreat I discovered I had been wearing my leggings inside out all day. I don’t even care.)

We share new techniques we have learned in the crafting world. We are BIG enablers. Most of us go home with Amazon orders already on their way to our homes. 

And we laugh. Oh how we laugh. We lift each other up and just bask in the warmth of friendship. New groups form and reform regularly. On one of my recent retreat weekends I met a half dozen girls I had never met before. I love it when groups mesh together. 

Oh…and we also craft.