whatever

Well HELLO!
I miss this space.
Sighhhhh. Thanks for being here.

Coming November 2023 I am hosting TWO Camp Creates!
Camp One will be November 2 – 5 and Camp Two will be November 9 – 12.
These will both take place at The Whatever Craft House.
I AM SO EXCITED!

In 2019 we tried a new spin on our format of Camp Create by making it ALL Christmas!
I hoped it would be good but it actually was completely AWESOME!

What is different about “Christmas” Camp Create?
All of the projects we make will be Christmas-y!
The house will be decked out for Christmas!
We’ll play Christmas music! We’ll wear Christmas sweaters!
Eat Christmas cookies! We’ll go caroling! (just kidding… we won’t do that)
It is festive and F U N!
And it’s just before all the Christmas hustle and bustle begins at home.

Registration opens at noon (CST) on Tuesday, August 1 – CLICK HERE FOR TICKET INFORMATION.

In 2014 I began dreaming and praying about what kind of place this camp could be…

CAMP CREATE:

– a place where women could come for a true break from the everyday routines
– to create & feel confident that they were created for a purpose
–  to meet other like-minded women who love crafting (aka: find your people)
– to be reminded that they are God’s Masterpiece
– to explore WHY their art and gifts are important
– to know that the desire to create is instilled in them by God and it’s REAL
– to feel safe to share their dreams
– to be taken care of and pampered (women are always caregiving… this is a time you get to be cared FOR)
– to grow spiritually, emotionally, and creatively
– to have a restful place to CREATE & PLAY

If you don’t consider yourself a “real artist” you will still fit perfectly at camp.
All skill levels are welcome – beginner to professional!

Camp One: Artist Instructors are Jenn Mcglon, Jackie Peters and ME.

Camp Two:  Artist Instructors are Lori Siebert, Sarah Alexander and ME.

We will teach skills and techniques that are unique to each of our giftings and Christmas-themed.  Our days at camp are FULL of creating art together.
Our time is very free-flowing and open-ended… it is WONDERFUL!

Camp ONE:  Our speaker will be Ashlee Gadd.

Camp TWO: Our speaker will be Jami Nato.

We will spend time each day listening to and learning from these amazing women.
I’m already looking forward to it!

Kimberlee Jost always prepares amazing meals for camp.
She is so talented at serving delicious food and making it look easy and effortless.
I am always happy to eat anything she serves!

Each camp we have had has been so GOOD!
You’ll make Christmas crafts but you’re also going to find new friends and go home feeling filled up with happiness.
Come join us this year!

You can read about our past camps here:

Camp CREATE fall 2018,    / Camp Create spring 2018, /  Camp CREATE 2017 – fall, /  Camp CREATE 2017 – spring,   / Camp CREATE 2016 – fall,  / Camp CREATE 2016 – spring, /  Camp CREATE 2015, /  Camp CREATE 2014
(we also had one in Spring 2019 and November 2022 that I never blogged about – oops!)

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IMPORTANT FACTS to note:

1. Tickets go on sale on August 1 at noon (CST) in my shop.

2. Registration is paid in installments.
– First payment of $200 will be during registration in my shop.
This payment is non-refundable but will go toward your total registration cost.

– Second payment of $650 is due on September, 2023

– Third payment of $650 is due on October 1, 2023

OR if you want to pay more or the full remaining amount after August 1, you can do that as soon as you’d like.

If you need different payment installments please ask and we can work something out

3.  Airfare or travel expense is not included in the price but we will take you to & from the Wichita Eisenhower International Airport on Thursday & Sunday of camp. Flights need to arrive no later than 4:45 on Thursday and leave no earlier than noon on Sunday.

4.  If the camps have sold out and you would like to be put on a waitlist – leave that in the comments here or in Instagram comments.  I have had to use the waitlist for almost every camp so it’s worth a try!

5.  Leave your questions in the comments and I will try my best to answer them in the comment area.

another wonderful camp is done and i am loving looking through all these photos.
i asked all the women to send me their pics from our time and that’s what most of these are.
i wish I’d taken more myself – i think i had one too many things on my mind.
but thankfully we all have phones and sharing pictures is so easy!

all the heart eyes for these ladies!!!
they made it look EASY to just show up to a house they’ve never been to and hang out with 16 stangers!
they all seemed like they’d known each other for years!
i love watching the groups that God brings together at each camp.  🙂

one of the first things we do at camp is talk about all of our Camp Sponsors.
i love getting to share all these beautiful gifts with our ladies from some fabulous companies.
i will post about our sponsors in a seperate post very soon.
katygirl designs – feather & birch – dayspring – makewells – allen designs studio – eleventh candle co. – illustrated faith – goldie –  jenny randle

our camp speaker was Jenny Randle, author of 31 Day Create.
she spoke about creativity and faith, what fuels us and what holds us back.
Jenny was a lot of fun to be around and was super easy to talk with!
I am so glad she was there!

Megan Wells is an artist and taught a workshop of her “Funky Florals”.
you can find her class online and you can take it yourself!
her technique of painting freely is really relaxing.
Megan is a great teacher!

Carol made us a rainbow cream tart.
it was a labor of love for sure!

our mugs at the craft house make your morning coffee so happy! 
i’m hugging this lady like my own kiddo because i used to be her youth leader when she was in high school and she babysat my kids when they were little!  So it feels like she IS one of my kiddos!  She is a mom to three boys now and came all the way from seattle to get crafty with us!
Jessica you are AWESOME!

this map is filling up but we obviously need some more women from nevada, wyoming & north dakota!

we took our field trip out to the antique shop and barn in Marion, Kansas.
i always love to see what people collect or find interesting.
and the weather was absolutely PERFECT for us that day which made the whole trip more fun.

the cutie in the denim jacket with me is my bestie from high school!
we lived across the street from each other… were on swim team together… we were cheerleaders together… double dated with our high school sweethearts and married them!  It was special to have her at camp with me.  And WOW can she clean up a kitchen like no one else!  She’s amazing!

Carol Spenst of @WillFlowersBakeShoppe taught us how to decorate cookies with royal icing.
it was so fancy!
i loved learning how simple it was and at the same time how time consuming and detailed it is.
i said “i will never complain about the price of a fancy cookie again! these take forever!”
it almost felt wrong to eat them.
ALMOST.
😉

i taught how to make these covered button necklaces.
and we made the wood signs with the word cut out from Feather & Birch.
i LOVE to see how each sign was different and each so colorful!
we decorated the wood pieces with decoupaged paper and fabric, washi tape and paint.

the rainbow stairs make for a great photo!

Kimberlee Jost fills us up with delicious meals at every camp.
she makes the kitchen feel so welcoming and smell so good!
how can you not be happy when you get cinnamon rolls AND crafts?!

strangers just days before and we all leave camp as friends!
the craft house brings people together!!!

i wish i’d remembered to take photos of every single person before we said goodbye but i missed a few – darn it!

i’m so thankful for the women in this picture!  we were a great team together!  Megan – sorry we missed taking a team photo with you in it!
thanks for teaching & cooking & cleaning & speaking & praying & traveling all weekend with me and the campers!
it is such a joy to be able to share the house and the camp experience with each of you!!!

now… how about Spetember’s Camp Create?!
do you want to come?
details coming very soon!  I will hopefully open registration beginning May 11 or 12th!

 

what a wonderful week we had at Camp Create!
i came home feeling so filled up!

we had two Vickis, two Taras and two Melissas! WHAT?? And a Shelly, a Sally & a Sandy!
thank goodness we wear nametags!

we always have generous and awesome sponsors!
I will write more about them in a few days and i’ll have a BIG giveaway of goodies too.
Dayspring – Benzie Design – Pitter Patter Art – Mercy House – Illustrated Faith – Courtney Walsh – Feather & Birch

i brought all the flowers from my very own garden this time!
so happy that we could USE them instead of just watching them die – like the other 75% of the garden is now.
zinnias & sunflowers are my favorite flowers!

and finally it came time for our campers to arrive!
it’s exciting when everyone piles into the house with all their luggage.
everyone is borderline nervous; thinking things like “i just flew across the US to sleep at a strangers house” and all of their friends & family asking “you’re going to kansas? for what?” But as soon as they get inside the nerves settle.
because #1 – everyone is super nice and welcoming and #2 – we hand them a margarita as soon as we can.
🙂

{{ sidenote: if you haven’t made the Meg-aritas that we serve – are you truly living your best life? }}
1 can frozen limade
8 oz. tequila (or fill the empty limade can up 2/3 )
4 oz. triple sec (or fill the can 1/3)
1 beer – 12 oz.
———————————————————-
put the first 3 ingredients in a blender.
fill blender with ice & blend until completely slushy.
then add the beer – mix it in with a big spoon.
enjoy!

i mean just look at those kind faces!
Camp brings such sweet ladies to the Craft House.

our speaker was Stephanie Holden all the way from Mississippi.
people online know her as Honey Holden.
she taught each day about the grace of God, how much Jesus loves us and how He has changed her life.
it was FANTASTIC!  I could listen to her for hours!
she brought “Honey’s Happies” for us at each session… little goodies to help us remember the lesson.
it was always fun to see what the Happy would be and that worked!
I can think of each one and remember the message!

she also had us write a letter to our 16 year old self.
It sounds simple enough but it’s challenging and very vulnerable to share out loud the real stuff you’d want to tell yourself when you were 16.
it is special to be in a group of women who open up & share their hearts.
it’s a privilege to be invited into that space and i don’t take that lightly.
these ladies… gosh!  my eyes are all teary just thinking about them!
it was beautiful & inspiring to see how God is always working in our lives in the good times and still in the really bad times too.
i loved doing that assignment – thank you for making us Honey!

we got creative and made some very fun projects!
this reverse appliqué pillow is so fun to make!
I love that there are a million possibilities of color & pattern.
i love that there is hand stitching and machine stitching.
and i love the combination of working together with felt & quilting fabrics.
Benzie felt is THE BEST.
I won’t ever use felt from the fabric store again! This stuff is a dream to work with!

i led a project that was inspired by my friend Laura at a Craft Weekend several years ago.
and i got to the miter saw so this was extra great!

we started with wood in all different lengths, widths & textures, some old chippy painted wood & even rulers.
they put pieces together the way they wanted it to fit & we cut loose ends off.
they choose their word sent from our sponsor Feather & Birch.
her font choice is perfection! i love this shop!
and then they covered the pieces in paint or paper or fabric.

seriously! how cute are these?!!
LOVE!

we also made these fabric scrap chalkboard wreaths.
these are so cheerful!

I invited Rachel Denbow back for camp because she is so great at teaching this skill!
she teaches weaving techniques and she even wrote a book about it!

they are weaving rockstars!
so fun to send them home with a new skill they hadn’t done before.

i invited Tara Royer Steele from the famous Royer’s Pie Haven in Round Top, Texas to teach us how to make pie!
is 16 cooks in the kitchen too many?
not at The Craft House!
we made two each of four different kinds of pie – two of them sweet & two of them savory.
and then we ate those pies…. YUMMMM!

and yes i did have three pieces of pie that day, thankyouverymuch.
when Tara finally comes out with a cook book i will be sure to share it with all of you!

we took our trip out to my favorite antique store & barn.
i’m always so curious to see what people find!
this time i brought home a stack of chippy wood – to make more signs!
there are many photo opportunities all along the way.




Kimberlee Jost takes great care of us in the kitchen; morning, noon & night.
we love pampering our guests with delicious meals and cleaning it up too – because i doubt that happens at home!

it’s called  B A L A N C E .
ha ha ha
thank you to my friend Tara for frosting cakes, chopping veggies, washing dishes and everything else you did for us all week.

these are fabulous women – every one of them in these pictures!
it’s a gift to be a part of their creative journey.
and a total JOY!

thank you to Honey, Tara, Rachel, Tara & Kimberlee for working so hard to put on an awesome week for our campers!

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our next Camp CREATE will be in April 2018.
registration information will be in the next week or so.
stay tuned….

 

🙂

Each of these companies gifted their product to our guests at April’s Camp Create!
These are companies that I love for their creativity and awesomeness.
They are each generous and fabulous to work with!
Let’s all support these hard working women!

Allen Designs Studio

Use the code whatever15  for 15% off your order – only good through Sunday.
I LOVE my Michelle Allen bags!!!
I use them for everything and I always get compliments on them everywhere I go!

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Raising Up Rubies

Use the code CAMPCREATE20 for 20% off  – offer good through May 31st.
Jaime has such a bright and cheerful shop!
She is a rainbow loving lady & has designed loads of fun paper goods, stitching patterns and some really happy jewelry!

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CRAVE Popcorn Company
Use the code campcreate for 15% off your order.
This would make EXCELLENT teacher gifts for the end of school!  And Father’s Day is coming up quick!
My favorite flavor is the White Chocolate Oreo!

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Lakeside Daydreams

Use the code CAMPCREATE20 for 20% off your order – offer good through August 31.
Jenna creates inspiring artwork in her shop that makes me want to travel and go on adventures!
go check it out!

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Benzie Design 
Use the code CAMPCREATE10 for 10% off for your order.
There is no better felt to work with in the world than BENZIE!
It makes such a huge difference in the quality of your product!
you can purchase felt by the sheet or the yard and they have pom poms too!
They also offer it in color palettes to make it even easier for you to get creative right away.

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Shannan Martin’s Falling Free
I was so thrilled Shannan would send our campers her book!
it is sooooo good and i want EVERYONE to get to read it & share it & love it as much as i do!
You can join in with her discussion group by clicking HERE
Sign up for her newsletter too!
you can follow Shannan on IG: @shannanwrites & read her blog at shannanmartinwrites.com.

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Pen + Paint

Use the code CREATE20 for 20% off your order.
Lindsay is a super creative illustrator! I love all the bright colors she uses in all her work!
These notebooks are so lovely!  She has loads of different designs too.

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Katy Girl Designs

Use the code WHATEVER15 for 15% off  your order.
Katy makes prints, canvases, calendars & notecards that are whimsical & happy!
This print is SO beautiful!  It’s perfect for any special lady in your life – even yourself!

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Lindsay Letters
Use the code CAMPCREATE15 for 15% off  your order – offer good through June 20.
Creative, unique & inspiring artwork fills Lindsay’s shop!
It was so fun to be able to send our Campers home with her new coloring book filled with bible verses, art work & quotes:
 CLICK HERE to order it!

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Barn Owl Primitives
Use the code CREATE15 for 15% off your order.
Barn Owl Primitives is a family owned, artist-driven shop selling handcrafted, vintage-inspired products, made with love.
there is a LOT of really fun stuff in their shop!  Signs… vintage goods… bags… kitchenwares… bunting!

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Camp Create was once again WONDERFUL!
these ladies came ready to make new friends & to get creative!
i enjoy them each so much!



I love sharing about our sponsors!  I will do that with links and specifics on my next post.
our sponsors are always so generous!
which makes me love them even more!
our first creative workshop was learning to weave on a loom.
Rachel Denbow was a wonderful teacher!
she has a beautiful book called DIY Woven Art.
she teaches workshops all over – you should find one and GO!

Kimberlee Jost always cooks delicious meals for us all week but obviously it’s only the sweets that get my attention!
I LOVE DESSERT!
and at Camp we have plenty of it – which makes me soooo happy!

#donutasbigasyourface

in the workshop that i taught we made pillows using a reverse applique technique.
mine was in all greens because green is my current favorite color for everything.
we used Benzie Felt for the front of our pillows – the best felt ever!

we did just a bit of sewing… sewing the front and backs together.
i love when we have guests at the Craft House that have never sewn before!
i love being able to show that it’s not as scary as everyone thinks!


our third creative workshop was a Mixed Media painting taught by Mary Wangerin.
Mary is so talented!
i love her style and use of bright colors!
we got to learn her techniques and make our own mixed media painting.

we took our field trip to Marion, Kansas to shop for antiques and junk at Bearly Makin’ It.
we enjoyed lunch at Famlee Bakery on Main St. (they have REALLY good pie!)

we even found a Sonic costume for sale!
0f course i’ve wished i’d purchased it about 10 times since that day.
who doesn’t need a Sonic costume?!!
these were my thrifty scores i brought home that day.

we stopped at Sonic on our way back to the Craft House (cranberry limeades!!!)
and detoured our way home to take pics in this field with wildflowers.

we always have a great time at camp getting know each other & making art but what i love most of all is learning from our speakers.
Jessica Thompson was our speaker and she truly preached to us!
she told us that she wanted to bring us GOOD NEWS that week and she did!
we were reminded in each session of all that has been done for us by Jesus – the price has already been paid.
i think one of the very first things she said was this phrase that stuck with me all week:
“you’ve been loved before the foundation of the world regardless of your good days or your bad days”
i need reminding over and over that there is nothing i can do to make God love me more or make Him love me less.
i don’t have to earn my way to Him.
he loves me the same today as he did 20 years ago.
but i forget so easily!

hearing so many reminders of God’s goodness & mercy & grace was just what my heart was needing.
Jessica has written several books and speaks all over the world!
i first heard Jess HERE on the Happy Hour and immediately wanted to be friends with her!
so now you can hear her too!


i am always so grateful for our weeks at camp.
when all the prep work is done and we are all finally in the same room – i remember again how unique & special this opportunity to gather women together really is.
God gave me the desire to create with my hands and make things with paint or yarn or a sewing machine.
and because of that – i get to meet so many amazing women that have that desire too.
creativity brings us together and we get so much more than just crafts from our time at the Craft House!
we want our guests go home feeling filled up, rested & inspired – physically, emotionally and spiritually.
i hope and pray that is what is happening and will continue to in the future.

thank you jess, rachel, mary, kimberlee and juliana for all the ways you served each one of us!
and thanks to all the campers who came!
i am so happy to know each one of you!  you are a blessing to me!

 

well… another camp is in the books!
each camp brings such wonderful women to the Craft House.
there was superb crafting time.
we enjoyed meaningful time studying the bible together.
we were fed delicious food.
and so many new friendships were made.

These are all the fabulous ladies that made the magic happen each day.
And below are all the campers that made the week EPIC!

* kimberlee * rhonda * suzanne * emily * erin * donna * ruth * ashley * amanda *
* roxann * debbie * me * linda * andrea * stephanie * amy * rachel *

we had generous sponsors who sent their product for our guests.
i will post about each one separately on my next blog post with links and lots of discount codes.
AND one lucky reader will win a big package of all these goodies!

the weekend before our campers arrived we redecorated the living room at the Craft House making it more “Meg” – aka: C O L O R F U L!
i will also post about that soon too.
🙂

Our camp speaker was Ruth Simons.
each day she spoke in the morning and evening taking us through a study of The Beatitudes in Matthew 5.
i loved hearing her words and still thinking over several things she taught.
one of the very best parts about camp, in my opinion, is getting to have the time to SIT and listen to someone speak about Jesus and his love for us.
life is busy.
i love that at camp… it’s slow and calm and intentional.
🙂

while we are at camp – we make stuff all day long.
we get messy with paint, glue, glitter, fabric, ribbons and anything else we want.
it’s awesome!

.
thursday started with Stephanie Ackerman leading us in a mixed media workshop.
i love how stephanie teaches!
she is enthusiastic and passionate about being creative and it’s contagious!
you should take her online class and have as much fun as we did!

Friday Ruth taught a Watercolor Painting workshop.
she is of course a great speaker but her main occupation is as a watercolor artist!
so naturally… we all wanted to learn her tricks.

since it was a basic beginner’s class Ruth had us use inexpensive product so we could learn technique with no pressure.
she’s smart!
here are links to the brushes, watercolor paint set and watercolor paper we used if you wanted to try it at home.

these were Ruth’s and everyone else’s pretty paintings of the flowers….

and i painted this!

ha ha haaaaaaaa!

Ashley Campbell taught a workshop on Lino Cut Print Making.
ashley is crafting jedi.
she can make anything and make it look easy and beautiful too.
ao she rocked at this course on saturday as i knew she would!

if you’ve never tried Lino Cutting – you need to!
it was so much fun!

we decided on our designs and then carved them into the stamp.
it’s tricky and backwards to have to think in negative space!

then we used fabric paint and stamped the design onto tea towels and canvas bags.

this was my chicken stamp i made… i used this artwork by Caren Loebel-Fried as my inspiration.
she’s got a really pretty shop!
Thanks pinterest for always helping us to find new amazing artists!!

annnnd ashley even made me my very own stamp of the amazing watercolor painting from the night before.
HA!
we laughed so much about those silly thrift store glasses all weekend.

here are links to the products we used for this project:

Lino cutting tool — Rubber Print Block — Fabric Paint  — Rubber Brayer — Inking Plate — Tea Towels

i led a project of making wood bunting with chalk board paint on one side and decoupaged fabric on the other with felt pom poms strung between.
These are SO FUN to make… but hard to photograph.

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we had guests from texas, south carolina, california, oregon, oklahoma, new mexico, georgia and kansas.
it’s pretty cool how god brings women together over creativity.


Kimberlee Jost runs the kitchen at Camp.
Her cousin Rachel came this time to be her kitchen help.
they had the best time cooking and chatting all week.  🙂

kimberlee’s meals are always such a treat!
and at night when you’re deep in the trenches of crafting… she brings you a piece of pie!
it’s THE BEST!

as always – we took a field trip out to my favorite antique shop Bearly Makin’ It.

everyone came back with treasures – everything from quilts to antlers.

so…. i get to the end of these posts and i never quite know what to say.
it’s hard to sum up the time we have together.
it is special, unique and basically just awesome.
🙂

God knew what he was doing 12 years ago when He sent craig & i to kansas from chicago to this great big old house with five little kids.
He knew that it would be a beautiful place for memories.
i thought that meant for my kids.
and we did have the best time in that house!
but He had an even grander plan all along to bring women together {{strangers!}} from all over the place to be refreshed, inspired, encouraged and loved.
and make crafts and eat cake.
i NEVER could’ve come up with that idea!
it sounds wild.
and IT IS!!!
because loving God is a totally wild adventure in every way.

He is so good to you & me.

.
i am so grateful for these women, this job and the Craft House.
all the heart eyes!!!!

keep your eyes out int he next two weeks for the next camp dates in 2017.
woo-hoo!!!