Today I wanted to share with you about the best craft retreat ever at a sensational rainbow house.
The Opportunity…
Two years ago, I was given the opportunity to attend my first craft retreat at a remarkable rainbow house. I had been longing for an opportunity like this forever. To meet like-minded individuals who shared my love of crafting and Bible Journaling. A beautiful house with room to create, laugh and eat wonderful food in a lovely destination was the frosting. What could be better? However when it came time to press the purchase button, I froze… What if it didn’t go well? What if I didn’t hit it off with the other people? Did I want to travel alone to a (brand new to me) state far away? To end up at a house full of strangers for a weekend? A couple of them seemed nice from the internet but still… I’m a partial introvert too, and the idea of creating art next to all these potentially professional artists… Talk about being vulnerable. Maybe I should wait and go another year and find someone else to go with me.
Unexpected concerns…
There were several problems with this theory though. I didn’t know when or if another retreat would become available. Especially at this place with an art group I deeply cared about. I knew they had their art team retreats there, and they always looked like so much fun. Secondly, I didn’t have another art kindred spirit whom I could invite with me. My family would understandably prefer to spend money on their own vacations that bring them personal joy and fulfillment. So my finger paused over the purchase button for several long moments, while I prayed and considered. But I wanted to do this so I hit that button and the rest is history. 🙂
The Adventure
After a lot of packing deliberation of what to bring besides the list provided, I was off. My dad dropped me off at the airport and I got through security. I was nervous. My sister sweetly reminded me that I was being courageous. Like Mary and Rhoda from the Mary Tyler Moore show we both enjoy. Aka I could make it on my own lol. That got me moving forward and I made both flights without problem. I saw some really kind passengers interact and flying solo went well.
Arriving Thursday at the Whatever Craft House
I arrived in Wichita, Kansas on a Thursday. It is a small airport and I quickly met up with 5ish other kind, lovely ladies that were joining me. We then were shuttled to the Whatever Crafthouse by the owner, Meg Deurksen (She’s really awesome!) Upon arriving, I looked up at this beautiful historical house and was so amazed this adventure was actually happening. I met the amazing Shanna Noel who was hosting this retreat. The whole house is decorated in rainbow colors and inspires creativity. Meg, incredibly decorated this house in a way that feels all at once, cozy, safe, and relaxed. It is also inspiring and charming and where you can laugh with friends and make a lot of sweet memories. The bedrooms all have vintage comfy quilts and crocheted throws. That night we had yummy dinner. After, we participated in a “get to know you game”, where we exchanged a gift we’d each brought. It was fun and helped break the ice. We then went into the rainbow crafty space to start working on our art journals. Sitting at my assigned seat at my craft table, I quickly fell in love with all my wonderful seat mates.
Friday Morning and Our First Workshop with LaDara
I came downstairs to a lovely breakfast made by Tiffany. She cooked during the whole event and made so many fabulous meals. I’ve been trying to recreate them ever since. All of us ladies chatted at two long tables in the dining room. With our different rainbow coffee cups while looking out the scenic windows, it felt like a bit of heaven. Then we began our first workshop with LaDara. LaDara is so beautiful and her art is breathtaking. The way she mixes color and creates these masterpieces. I believe she’s self-taught too. Very inspiring. She taught us how to mix our colors easily and then her process of how she goes about creating. I really enjoyed learning from her. We then worked in our art journal for a bit before lunch. Afterwards we started working on our Gratitude Documented projects. Here, Shanna showed us how she creates cards that will go into a memory dex system. Once completed, the cards would be showcase documented gratitudes, plus a bunch of lovely embellishments. So fun and inspiring to flip through. Following that, was free time to relax or go into Newton, Kansas and antique or get coffee. Later, we returned for dinner. I tried to sit next to different people each time so I could get to know everyone. Then we art journaled and created more gratitude cards. I loved staying up late each night in the quiet. As everyone was starting to trail off to bed, I took in the quiet space, laughter and conversations. I wanted to soak it all in and never forget. To relish each moment of an experience I didn’t want to end.
Saturday Crafting and Inner Musings…
After breakfast, we started our second workshop with LaDara. Today she taught us some art theory and composition tips and tricks. More Art journaling and lunch. From there we worked more on our Gratitude Documented project. It was so fun to see everyone’s different creative styles emerge. They were all lovely and unique. Some people were finger painting, others were typing on a typewriter or using a sewing machine. There is such a cheeriness in a room full of creators. There is no place we would rather be at that moment than in our element. It’s so fun to hang out with like-minded kindred spirits, who find joy in the same beautiful elements. We laugh and marvel that we have the same thoughts and concerns of using something beautiful prematurely. ( What if a better art project comes along where we NEEDED that piece.) Where before we thought we were the only ones. I never realized how important it is to have a community. Even if it’s online mostly, that helps me thrive and take risks while growing creatively. I love the fact that I’m created in the image of my Creator. A couple perfectly colored thread bobbins or patterned paper scraps have the ability to bring me such joy and possibility. That He created me for community and the joy of finding those like-minded people. It shows me so much about His personality too which makes me even happier.
Afternoon Antiquing, and Downtown Newton
This afternoon we walked over to Newton and looked around. It was fun to see all the old buildings that including the historical Harvey House Restaurant. The antique shops were full of so many different things for good prices. Swords to old buckets, buttons, old books. I was amazed at the extensive amount of everything. Very fun for acquiring junk journal supplies. I purchased a fabulous quilt at a fabric/quilting shop. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon before heading back for dinner and art journaling. Once back, we also posed for photos on the iconic rainbow stairs before crafting some more with ice cream sundaes. Finishing up our projects that night, began the sad work of packing our supplies to head home the next morning.
Sunday Morning and Heading Home
That final morning we savored our last moments at the house. Surrounded by new lovely friends, over a last rainbow cup of coffee. Any final photos and armed with our luggage and yummy parfaits, (Thanks Tiffany. ;)) we headed for the airport. We lingered in the food court with our newfound friends before having to say goodbye and catch our separate flights. When I boarded my flight, I was so thankful, armed with all the wonderful memories that I had made. (And more to make in the future.) Along with instagram friend requests from all these wonderful ladies. I’m so grateful to Shanna for hosting these events. She has done an amazing job creating an online space for such a beautiful community of wonderful women to flourish. Because of her faithfulness in saying Yes to God, we all got to meet and become friends. To be blessed by her and eachother and that is no small feat. And to God for leading Shanna to Bible Journaling in the first place. He truly works all things for good. (Rom 8:28)
Gratitude and Encouragement
Thanks so much for reading this post. If there’s an item on your bucket list, that you are nervous about attempting… I encourage you, with prayerful consideration, to look past the fear and overwhelm. Dare to dream about all the amazing possibilities that could and do happen. To take your risk and reap the benefits and rewards. Despite my typical fears, I’m thankful I pushed that button and made the decision to go on that adventure. Along with a few others to be written about on another day. 😉 Have a blessed day. Talk soon.
[…] Realizing this, I made the scary choice two years ago to go on a crafting retreat to Kansas by myself. It required bravery on my part. I only knew of a few people from following them online. I really liked who I had observed. But for me, (a somewhat introvert), in a room full of strangers… I was nervous. It turned out to be a wonderful adventure. So much fun that I repeated it again 6 months later. You can read about that adventure here. […]