Our giveaway this week is like no other! After not only raising $50,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society this year, Creative Escape, along with Bazzill are here with a giveaway that is out-of-this-world fabulous! YOU could take home an amazing prize packed full of goodies but you need to find out more about what Creative Escape is all about! Trust us! You'll want to know all about it. Here's a little about this year's event and celebration:
One of the last weeks of summer, before the kids head back to school and moms shift into high gear, Bazzill Basics Paper and Heidi Swapp host Creative Escape ...the ultimate scrapbook indulgence. Three days of dynamic scrapbooking teachers, original class projects, friendly hearts and generous spirits. Many of the scrapbook convention savvy guests say this event is like none-other – and it's true. This event is also known for its fun, friendly, non-stop itinerary, fantastic food, and major pampering. A chance for more than 600 women to escape, be inspired, and try something new during two days of back-to-back workshops — all led by well-known instructors using fabulous products.
Heidi Swapp and Bazzill Basics Paper are passionate about scrapbooking. Passionate about saving and holding on to what can easily become forgotten. Even though these scrapbooking women (and the occasional men) come together to learn about new products and try new techniques, the element setting this event apart from the rest is the feeling. Doug Jones, owner of Bazzill says this is event is 25% about the scrapbooking and 75% about the feelings. “It is like magic. These women come together to be pampered but go home energized, refreshed, renewed, and uplifted. It's magic. It is hard to explain until you become part of it.”
Before classes officially begin, guests have a chance to attend the Trunk Show. Teachers unpack their wares and display their favorite pieces from their private collection so guests can take a closer look, snap a few photos and even get an autograph from their favorite scrapbooking celebrities. Heidi Swapp, co-owner of House of 3, says this is her favorite part of the event. “It is so much fun to meet people. It is amazing how quickly everyone becomes the best of friends.”
Before arriving, guests have no idea what the class projects will entail, it's a leap of faith. By following daily blogs, the hints and sneak peeks unfold but it isn't until they arrive that the secret is revealed. Every guest has the same experience. Every person takes all eight classes from all the teachers, four each day. This year's teachers included: Heidi Swapp, Tim Holtz, Debby Schuh, Marah Johnson, Carol Wingert, Heather Bailey, Lynette Carroll, and team teachers Deb Crouse and Paula Cheney.
If two days of classes aren't enough, the Friday Night Extravaganza is the chance to stay up late with several more talented teachers doing even more fabulous creative projects – and always with a theme to reflect upon. When you finally return to your hotel room, you are sure to be sleepy and surprised!
Longtime scrapbooking event coordinator and scrapbook magazine editor, Jeanne Wines-Reed, said, “I’ve been to many scrapbooking and art and crafting events, and think that Creative Escape has one of the most unique atmospheres of them all. Something about the rhythm of this event transforms its participants.”
Creative Escape also offers its guests a 2,300 sq. ft. on-site scrapbooks store rivaling scrapbooks stores everywhere. It is stocked with necessities, like adhesive, and limited Creative Escape merchandise and products from some of the hottest manufactures in the business.
Heidi Swapp, one of the event coordinators said, “Creative Escape is special because of all the attention to all the little details. All the girly stuff. All the fluff. All the surprises. It's being able to get away, to escape the daily grind. It is so nice to make time for reflection and rejuvenation.”
The scrapbooking manufacturers who sponsor Creative Escape are exceptionally generous. They give and give and and give. With as many as 100 raffle baskets to give away during dinner everyone has the chance to win something wonderful. Each year the accumulation of the event includes a fund-raising project. During 2009, all past and present CE teachers were invited to take a cheap-o IKEA lamp and create something fabulous. Oh, did they. Decorated lamps and a 2010 ScrapMap Cruise were raffled off, but the final two lamps created by Heidi Swapp and Tim Holtz were auctioned live! “I was so amazed and delighted when my lamp sold for $8200! It was making me more and more nervous to hold the lamp as the price tag got bigger and bigger. I was thrilled to know it would be inspiring the winner's creative space!” said Swapp.
Tim’s lamp sold for an amazing $29,000. In the end there was $46,000 raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The generosity and kindness and the power to make a difference was felt by everyone in the room – even the wait staff. The event ended with a keynote address, and this year Melanie Wellman did her best to fill us with the desire to be a better person. A better human. To give. To encourage and share and lift and believe in others. Everyone in that room felt it. That is the magic that makes Creative Escape unique.
While the basic components of the event are always the same, each year the connections between the guests, the volunteers, and the staff become even stronger. Four years into this event, the friendships created at CE are amazing. “I could see it in the women, as their guard would let down, and they allowed themselves to be touched, connected and seriously have fun. Real fun. Crazy fun! Zebra-stripe-toenail fun. Chocolate 24/7 fun. Crowns and flowers fun. And the kind of sharing that happens when you are surrounded with people passionate about the same thing: preserving life’s memories. That is the best part,” said Swapp.
Creative Escape is accepting names for the February 15, 2010 lottery. Only 640 guests are selected to attend this one-of-a-kind Arizona getaway. Visit: www.creativeescapeaz.com for sign up information and a list of sponsors and teachers scheduled for the event. There are 2009 idea books and kits still available for sale on the website, while supplies last.
Wow.... What an amazing event and we're so happy to have brought this awe inspiring event to you, our readers! This week's prize giveaway is AMAZING; truly generous! One winner will...are you ready for this?...take home a box containing ALL of the Creative Escape kits, the Creative Escape idea book, all the Creative Escape giveaways, and all kinds of other goodies from the 2009 Creative Escape event! Isn't that the most amazing and generous giveaway you have ever heard of?
For a chance to win this magnificent prize package leave a comment below by Thursday September 17th at 6pm EST and tell us how scrapbooking has made a difference in your life. Good luck!
Now on to last week's autumn inspired giveaway from BasicGrey...
This week's randomly chosen comment number is....
Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:
175
Timestamp: 2009-09-11 03:57:49 UTC
Lucky comment #175 belongs to Bree and she says:
Ooo I really need to get those beautiful papers in my hands. Thanks for the opportunity.
Posted by: Bree | September 05, 2009 at 12:21 PM
Congrats Bree! Allison will be contacting you in the next 24-48 hours for all your mailing details! Good luck this week everyone!
I would love to have those goodies! Thanks for the chance to win!