Kansas Scrap & Quilt Retreat

The week school started this year, my girlfriends from all over the U.S. got together for some scrappy and not so scrappy fun! I have missed these girls (along with all my other friends from all over the globe) and the fun just didn't stop rolling. So here's my brief review of:

KANSAS SCRAP & QUILT RETREAT

Our location: Valley Center, Kansas which is just outside of Wichita

(borrowed from their website)

There is loads of parking spaces, we had this driveway pretty full but still room for more cars! Let's see if I remember correctly, there were three cars from Kansas, one from California, two from Colorado, and one from Arkansas. My one and only negative about this location is the entrance has a couple of large steps. I would like to see them add a ramp for rolling carts full of scrappy & quilting supplies in easier.

Kitchen (aka The Hub):

(borrowed from their website)

The Kitchen (aka The Hub of all activities) was very nice, large, easy to have multiple people in. All the normal appliances which all worked ;-) Lots of pans & dishes for us to use. After we jammed this refrigerator full, there was another downstairs. Perfect!

Supplies

(borrowed from their website)

This sweet area is where there are limited supplies you can buy and also you can dig thru a stack of things if you need just that right piece of paper or whatever. I left several things and took a few. I love a free trade area!

Relaxing & Getting away from the action

If you need some down time from your frantic crafting, you can go down to the basement where there are comfy sofa & chairs, plus tables & games, tv, etc. We didn't' really utilize this space except for that extra fridge

Sleeping

 Master Bedroom & Bath, located on main floor. There are 4 single beds. Also on the main floor is another full bathroom.

The back bedroom, located next to the full downstairs bath/laundry, 4 single beds.

The front bedroom, located next to the downstairs family room, 4 single beds.

And the single room. For us, this ended up being the non-snoring room... actually our other non-snoring person left the room while we were going full-steam.

When the action is going:

 

 (The view from my spot)

The owner of the house even stopped by to make sure everything was going good. I think she was checking up on Jeanne & Pam who are known instigators of all kinds of shenanigans.

Basically I loved this place! It's a five hour drive from my house, which isn't terrible. The house is laid-out nicely and it is roomy (if you don't pack an SUV full like I did). I HIGHLY recommend giving this location a try!

Time to get my crafty on ;-)

Cloud Creative Retreat at Valley Rental Center

This weekend I went on a much needed mini vacation to a craft retreat!

The location was in Concordia, Kansas at a place called

Cloud Creative Retreat which is located at the

Valley Rental Center... a circa 1958 school building!

My GPS took me right to the building with no problem or confusion.

 (Photos from Valley Rental Center Website)

The current owners purchased the building at silent auction 3 year ago,

applied for and received a grant for its re-birth.

Many things happen at this wonderful re-purposed building!

{my friends know me & my recycling}

There is a daycare "Little Monkeys", Cross Fit in the old gym,

counseling office, wedding reception hall, massage room, and yoga room.

Of course I was there for a Cloud Creative Retreat which just happened

to be hosted by one of the owners, Becky.

Cloud Creative Retreat Entrance is locate on the backside of the building

where there is plenty of paved parking.

When you enter the retreat there is a little sitting area

with a book all about how the retreat came to be. 

Nope I didn't take time to read it, but Becky gave us the highlights.

There is a Welcome Area as well... pretty

In the Welcome Area there are also two private shower rooms.

The main hallway has had the paint updated along with Exit Signs

and other required safety features.

Also some non-standard items that are just plain old cute

The Kitchen/Dining is a very large room.

(yes, I failed to get a picture of the actual working area of the kitchen)

As you can see there is plenty of seating for all!

The kitchen area (located to the left & back of the islands you see)

is very basic but has what you need to cook a meal... refrigerator, electric

range/oven, standard kitchen sink, dishwasher, microwave.

Lots of pots,pans, dishes, crockpots, blenders, etc.

There are two craft rooms. The first (not pictured, darn that photographer) is setup for scrapbookers. There are machines to use, lots of room to spread out and a half bath.

The second craft room (where I spend most of my time, pictured below) is mainly setup

for those who do fabric crafting. Although clearly from my area

I was doing paper crafts.

 Both rooms have original sinks, which are stained up and I totally love.

For Sleepy Time there are lots of bed choices, all twins

and each room has a cute color scheme going on.

 Each doorway is labeled with its use and a brief description.

The air conditioning would not work properly Friday and a small portion of Saturday

but Becky was on top of things. She had repairmen out both days as

soon as she knew about the issues. We got a little warm (ok it was Kansas in June, it was hot)

but opened the windows on both sides of the building for a good cross breeze and

 had ceiling fans on high to stay cool enough to get our crafty on.

#1 Best Thing... NO STAIRS!

This happy crafter definitely recommends going to a Cloud Creative Retreat!