The JOY of our first in-person Cartonnage Retreat

When you LOVE so much what you do that you can barely wait to wake up so you can start doing it again… it’s not a work, it’s a blessing, it’s  love, is pure fulfillment, it’s God guiding and acting through us just as life is supposed to be….. pure LOVE!

And that’s me, Claudia, a person who has been guided and blessed way beyond any imagination. 10 years ago, I was trying to overcome depression, trying to find a purpose for my life and learning how to speak English, a language of the Country we decided to move and start a new life, not only to be able to offer our kids a different experience and opportunities, but also a place where may be I could find my way of life…. and oh my… I DID find my way of life!

I’m very emotional today, because this past weekend was one of the most special I can remember (and I’m literally with tears in my eyes now). Why? Because we had our first amazing in-person Cartonnage Retreat, and I simply don’t have enough words to describe…. it’s all deep in my heart…. ( some things are just meant to fell, not to describe)....It was connection, it was friendship, it was LOVE! 40 of us were there having lots of fun gluing fabric and making the special box I designed for this event, but it wasn’t only that…. Most of them are in my life for a long time, some started making boxes with me when it was hard to understand what I was saying…. Some of them are with us in the Club since the beginning, some started a few months ago… and it was if we had been always connected. I can barely believe that all of this JOY that was just a dream in my mind and heart a few years ago was now a reality, a beautiful reality to be inside us, as a sweet memory for years to come…. I’m so thankful to had the opportunity to deeply feel that we are creating a beautiful community, and why not so say a beautiful Family!!  A family of Joyful cartonnage lovers!

THANK YOU so much for all of you that came and made this even so wonderful! I know many more would love to join us and couldn’t, thank you to you too, because all your support and friendship means a lot to me, help me to keep my creativity going on more and more, and I hope I can also see you another time.  I’m always excited to create a new project and share all the JOY with you all, so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Here are some of the pictures and details of this amazing weekend having fun gluing fabric:

Our Retreat happened in a beautiful Retreat Center called "Camp Geneva" in Holland, MI. Great facility, we had about 40 ladies in the class, and with the help of camera, microphone and some other teachers helping, the class worked just like a charm.... no one was left behind, everyone went home with a wonderful handmade chest to be SO proud of it!

 

If you are not familiar with cartonnage, it's the "art of box making" and my favorite way is making the projects, covered in fabric, but with no sewing required,  so, we spent the weekend having tons of fun gluing fabric and making those unique "Fabric Wonder Chests".

We had about 10 h of fun gluing in two days, and some of the ladies even stayed late night making the drawers and tray, as in our class we focused in making the chest the best we could. Drawers and tray are super easy, and they all have now great video tutorials I recorded previously so they can take their time at home and finished at their own pace. 

Now let's talk about fabrics.... oh my.... it's amazing how many wonderful fabrics were chosen by our ladies to make their chests....delightful to see! And even the chest being the same, the boxes just look so amazingly different and unique with those wonderful fabrics... if you are with me for some time you know we all say that our hard decisions on Cartonnage is choosing what fabric to use in each part of the project, and they all did a wonderful job.... it's impossible to have a favorite box, as they all are so beautiful. Some of them even have used panels (what I think this box is perfect for!), look at just some of them placed inside the lids of the boxes... isn't that a wonderful use of fabric panels? 

Look at just some of the boxes in progress.... if you are not a cartonnage lover (YET!) let me tell you that the masking tape is a temporary part of the process... it's always removed in the following day.

And a few more.....

Wow! There were so many beautiful boxes there! I couldn't take pictures of all of them and now they are posting on our Facebook group Cartonnage Fabric boxes(feel free to join us there and be part of this great family of cartonnage lovers). With time more and more pictures will be added there for our inspiration!

And just some more.... make sure to join our Facebook Group to see more and more!

And the Retreat wasn't JUST this class.... we had extra classes! My trained teachers Jill Simanek and Vicki Moser taught two extra classes on Saturday, cartonnage beginners were able to go home with 2 finished boxes in one day! Fantastic! 

And on Sunday morning Lynn Hodge and Joyce Gitter taught two other amazing classes. Lynn Hodge guided the group with many creative ideas to use Scan N Cut (or other cutting machine) to embellish our cartonnage projects as well as painting fabric.... and Joyce had a great class for making and embellishing paper/fabric albums... (I personally took that class and have great ideas in my mind....so just stay tuned!)

We had lots of fun in this Retreat, and they are all sweet memories that will be in our hearts for years to come....

We even had a bus trip to see my new local shop in Grand Haven and we enjoyed the beautiful view of the Lake Michigan... it was a little cold, but the view was amazing! One of the participants had her morning walk on the beach every day and she was gifted to see a Bald Eagle.... isn't that just amazing?

Well, as I said in the beginning, some things are hard to describe and this event was really meant to be felt.... deep inside our hearts! I will never be able to THANK YOU  every and each one of you enough for coming and making this amazing dream a wonderful reality!

I can barely wait to start planning our next one, as I'm already missing you!! 

 And if you couldn't come to this event, but still want to make the Fabric Wonder Chest, I have good news.... will be a special online course to make this project coming soon, and that can be a unique opportunity for you to also feel the JOY of making this box, but in your house, even your pj's and on your own pace! Members of the Cartonnage Club as always will have special discount to join, but you can enroll even if you are not a member. So, stay tuned, you can join our newsletter on our website,  and be the first to know: www.colorwayarts.com

A HUGE thank you to my family and our ColorWay Arts team that was so supportive and helped making this event a great success!!

I will love to hear from you, let me know if you are excited to come to our next Retreat or to make this Fabric Wonder Chest!

God Bless you! Stay positive, keep gluing and I will see you pretty soon!

Much love,

Claudia