Fall Card Making Retreat 2011 by Roxanne Sambley

This fall I had the opportunity to spend a wonderful get away weekend with two of my daughters, my sisters and some nieces at the lakeside Bear's Den in Tennessee. We couldn't have asked for a more restful place to bond and have fun. While everyone had something that they wanted to do (or not do) I wanted to spend time working on my greeting cards. At home, I always find something more pressing and necessary and so my playtime is far and few between. At the lakehouse, I was able to set up a table with all my supplies and come and go to my projects. There were several times that I was downstairs alone and was very content to have that solitude. Other times, the girls joined me and we were able to share ideas and supplies without getting in each other's way. I really enjoyed my time at the lakehouse and hope to be able to return someday.

Roxanne

Holiday Family Retreats creating a new tradition!

Have you thought about making memories at a family retreat? It has been exciting seeing family's and friends want to use Bear Den South for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Meeting family half way may ask everyone to travel but it also takes away the burden of one person having to host the family and clean their home twice.

Many families grow over time causing problems for family members who have downsized. Sharing the cost of a rental allows the group to pitch in and help one another. It also allows you to explore wonderful vacation homes that provide a larger space for your group to play and hang out. Don't forget to set up a schedule for cooking and cleaning and always plan on one get away meal so that no one has to deal with the dishes. After all this is a holiday vacation.

Plan on setting aside time to do things as a group as well as quiet time to read or snooze. Many people often try to plan too much and feel they need a vacation from their vacation when they get home. My friend Amy's family breaks up their vacation into A, B and C days. Each day has a different agenda. A could be an activity filled day, B half day with the morning or evening free to do what you or your family would like and then C can be an on your own day. Changing up the schedule allows everyone to find some group and alone time.


Wishing you and your family a wonderful holiday season. Hope to see you at Bear Den South for a Mama Bear Retreat in 2012.

Liz

Family Retreats and Memories

Do you have large family gatherings? One way to keep memories of your event is to provide a scrap book at the event for family members to write on different pages. "What is your favorite memory at the lake house?" was one of the questions we asked all of our family members. This can help provide you with tag lines for your pictures and quotes from family members.

This past fourth of July my whole family and extended family came to spend time on the lake. We also celebrated my dad's 72nd birthday. It was great sharing meals and fun watching the young and the old boating and swimming on the lake.

Each family took turns planning meals and cooking for one day and then helped to clean the next day. This worked really well since I broke my leg and couldn't help out. We often want to do everything when it's your house and people are guest. Not being able to carry things or walk around the house to do the things I normally do when you entertain helped me to enjoy my company more. It also really gave everyone great satisfaction in helping with the meals. We sure have some great cooks in our family!

My planning chart and pictures of the meals will be a great addition to this years 4th of July scrapbook. What did you do for the 4th of July? Do you have other ways of keeping track of your memories? Drop us a line and share with the group.

Self Hosted Scrapbooking Retreats

Setting up a retreat for you and your friends allows you to customize the type of atmosphere you want. How many people, how much space you want to provide for each of your friends to crop and what type of tools you have to share. When planning know how much you want to spend per person.

Location for your size group will be important. Will the location meet your groups needs. Are there enough rooms, beds and restrooms to accommodate your group. Are there ameneties that apeal to everyone? Does driving distance matter? If your crafting how much workspace do you want for each person? Are the chairs comfortable?

Meals and Snacks always make a great party. Do you want space that will allow you to set up meals in the crop room or just snacks? Would you like another quiet place for you to be able to escape and have a nice meal? Is a retreat for you and your friends a place you would like to be pampered and enjoy a home cooked buffet or meal? Meals can be easily planned by everyone and brought to the location. We often ask each person to contribute to one meal during our retreat. Another way is making a Costco or Sam's Club run and having everyone chip in money for food.

These are just a few of the things you need to keep in mind when hosting your own retreat. Most of all make sure that everyone helps in the planning and jobs are shared among the group.You will also want a cleaning list. This will enable everyone to have an enjoyable time and get as many pages or projects completed during your scrapbooking getaway!

Father's Day Memories

To all of the wonderful men and father's in my life. Happy Father's Day. The wonderful thing about pictures is being able to look back at wonderful memories. These pictures are being put into special albums so that I can keep the memories alive. I have been fortunate to have great male role models in my life. My dad, Ray, always, strong, kind, helpful and giving. Even today in his retirement he helps make wooden toys for children during Christmas. Plays classical guitar with a group of men at nursing homes and is always around to give me and our kids great advise. Another great man in my life is my husband Paul. Always willing to help each of our kids with their goals. Working on cars, helping to keep the Bear Den South a wonderful retreat for friends, family and guest. When you cross over the walkway to our front door know that it was rebuilt with a lot of care and love for our guest. He also works with a great group of managers at Cincinnati Container to keep our health care and other benefits for our employees reasonable and strong. Other great father's in my life are my brothers Graham and Stuart, my brother-in-law Chris all great role models for my kids before they themselves became fathers. Now each one works endlessly for their own family. A father is someone who is strong, loving and caring. Someone who is always their for you to look up to for guidance and wisdom. We are very fortunate to have these men in our lives. I look forward to capturing even more memories as my family continues to grow. Don't forget to tell someone in your life what a great father they are on father's day.

Memories for friends and memories for me!

Do you often scrap for family and friends? I have for the past four years scraped items as gifts for my siblings, daughters and friends. Someone asked me the other day to share my books. I realized that I really don't have many of my own books. I usually scrap for everyone else. If you are like me, most of my time is spent creating the page layout I want. I also often print two copies and sometimes different sizes of my pictures. So this year I have decided to make two pages of everything. One page for me and one page for someone else. This way I will have memories of all of my great work.

Summer Scrapbooking Retreat on Cherokee Lake in July!

Mama Bears Retreat set for July 22-July 24, 2011

Join us for our next Summer Scrapbooking Retreat on beautiful Cherokee Lake. 48+ hours of fun with friends. Goody Bear Box for all participants. Fully stocked craft room with computer, photo printer, Sizzix, stamps, Cricket Expression and more.

Friday, July 22, 2011 to Sunday, July 24, 2011 including meals and snacks for just $199.00.  Bedroom pick first come first serve basis.