Michaels Makers Summit 2016 at Carmel Valley Ranch

I’ve finally gone through my pictures from the Michaels Makers Summit at Carmel Valley Ranch.  The Michaels team are just the most amazing group of people, and it was one of those amazing trips that the scenery alone made worth it, not to mention all of the little details in between.

The ranch itself is just dream-like.

As a girl from the flat lands of Chicago, it always makes me feel awe-filled when I am surrounded by mountains. The expansive scenery at Carmel Valley Ranch is amazing from every angle.

The first night, we had dinner in their organic gardens, it was so amazing,I couldn’t stop taking pictures!

Everything looked like it belonged on Pinterest.

My sunflowers do not look like that!

That night after dinner, we went back to our rooms and just chilled and took in the day.

 While I didn’t take any pictures of the inside of the room, I did get the bathtub on the balcony… just because.

How crazy is that?! I thought about using it briefly, and then I saw some bats flying around and I was like… Nope,tapping out.

So, I stayed inside and enjoyed my fireplace as I read in bed, and slept all night. I didn’t have to get up at make any one breakfast in the morning, or yell at anyone to get their flipping shoes on because they were going to be late. It was a dream come true.

The next day we had some really fun,creative classes. We made scarves with Shibori style dying, which I loved.

And I tried one of my new favorites, wood burning. I am telling you I am a bit addicted to it . Even the smell of burning wood was pretty awesome. The last time I remember doing wood burning was as a kid. It turns out,it’s a super-fun grown up thing too!!

We had time to hang in the lounge between sessions at chat. I love those string panels they made!

I also had a watercolor class taught by Jane Davenport. I always love working with watercolors, so this was fun for me.

While we were there, we had a special guest pop into our Cricut class.

Yep, that’s me, Jaderbomb and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Making some crafts together.

I made a fun plaque for my downstairs bathroom,which I am doing in a  nautical theme.

That night we had an amazing outdoor dinner with a hot chocolate bar after.

The next day was The famous Macrame class. Which just disproves the myth that bloggers are good at everything.Some people are awesome at woven wall hangings,but you can put Macrame on my list of things I cannot do along with math,keeping my house clean, and remembering to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. All FAILS.

Once I recovered from the trauma, we also made jewelry and did some flower arranging which helped my pride a bit 🙂 .  For lunch we had the most amazing tacos ever.

I don’t normally take pictures of my food, but this was a meal to remember. There was a type of both steak and a pulled-pork like meat, in which I gluttonously  took both. And then had seconds. And dessert. I was FULL of tacos. Though I did also have a salad, so I get points for that.

The last night, we had a dinner on the edge of the vineyards (I know, sound crazy to say that, right?), where we sat on poufs and pillows, and drank wine. It was very grown up feeling, compared to the chicken nuggets at home.

It was a very boho dinner,and the food was amazing. Though when we walked up, and saw all of the cushions on the ground, I turned to the girl next to me and said. “They do know half of us are over 40, right?” and wearing dresses.Luckily, two glasses of wine in no one cared and everyone was in good spirits. It was really fun. That night went by fast! Some of the girls went back to the ranch for “Watercolors and wine” which I ended up missing. I think I went to bed that night around 1 am my time.

The Michaels team really outdid themselves with this event! And Carmel Valley Ranch was just amazing, the staff was wonderful. For me, it was an even better experience because I have severe food allergies and they made sure I was taking care of and safe the entire time at every meal, which doesn’t happen every place I go.

While it was an amazing experience, it was an also much needed soul-check for me. I tend to go go go and take on the weight of what’s around me, without taking time for myself. This summer was a hard one for us and I had felt really depleted. It really helped renew my creativity and feel so connected to other makers. Sometimes sitting behind a computer by yourself is the least creative thing you can do. We are made to be in community with each other, and if we can make awesome things together, that’s even better! Creating is something I believe we are all made to do, no matter what our skill level is. There is a craft for everyone, even if you say you don’t have a creative bone in your body! It’s there! It may not be macrame, but it’s there!!

Want to learn to make something fun? Sign up for my Jewelry class!