Hey everybody! This is going to be a long post, so get comfortable and grab a cup of coffee because I have so much to share with you all! Last Thursday The Creative Connection Event kicked off in St. Paul. I was so excited that it was so easy for me to attend this event.
Day 1 kicked off with a breakfast with keynote speaker Elisa Camhort, one of the co-founders of the BlogHer network. They were the sponsors/creators of the classes that were offered to everybody on Thursday. There was some pretty good information for all the bloggers attending.
During the breakfast they did something their version of Speed Dating. We went around in a circle and met as many people as we could. The most notable person I met during speed dating was the one and only Susan Branch. She was so sweet and down to earth.
There were also some fabulous notables that spoke at Lunch. The first speaker was the adorable Nora Abousteit, co-creator of BurdaStyle. She is so talented, and it was so fun to hear her speak. The second speaker was Becky Higgens. I hadn't heard of her products before, but I can't wait to order some. She talked about how much she loved scrapbooking, but how life got in the way of her documenting her life. That let to her creating Project Life. I really related to that. I plan to start 2012 by doing my own little 360 challenge (a picture a day). The third speaker was the upbeat (and very funny) Stacey Julian. She has such a great outlook on life, and was very inspiring.
After a much needed break, I headed back to the Crowne Plaza for the Welcome Dinner, where there were two more amazing women speaking. Upon arrival I got an amazing bag full of goodies (not even half is pictured above). The first women to speak was Christina Ferrare. Her story was an amazing one. It was very inspiring to hear how she was able to pick herself back up again every time she hit hard times. The next fabulous woman was the reason I decided to attend The Creative Connection, Holly Becker of Decor8. I took a class (Blogging Your Way) from her this year, and I have been an enormous fan every since (more on her later). Her keynote was as inspirational as her class was, and even though she said she was nervous, she didn't show it at all.
Day 2 kicked off with the first class I had signed up for. It was a class designed to teach you the basics of creating your own online classroom. I have taken several creative online classes this year, and it has really made me want to do one of my own. I have always wanted to teach, and I think that an online class would be the perfect way to dive in. Our teacher was the very fun Kathy Cano-Murillo, better know as the Crafty Chica. She was so awesome, and I learned a ton! I can't wait to put it all to good use someday!
Later that day, the TCC Market opened up. Wow was it amazing! I was like a kid in a candy store. I of course bought some fun stuff for myself, but I also bought a whole bunch of fun stuff to incorporate into some new Copper Owl pieces, much of which is vintage (yay!). By far the most exciting thing that happened that night though was meeting Holly Bohn, the founder of See Jane Work. You may not remember, but See Jane Work was one of my Fab Finds a while back (to see post click here). She was so nice, and I was absolutely thrilled to meet her!
Day 3 was by far the day I was looking forward to the most because on day 3 I was taking not one, but two classes from the amazing Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint. I have been a fan of her blog for a while, but became an even bigger fan after taking Blogging Your Way (she was one of the teachers).
The first class I took was a class devoted to wrapping with Japanese Washi Tape. I was thrilled to meet Leslie. She is even better in person...so nice and personable. As if that weren't enough, Holly Becker actually had decided to take the class, so I got to hang out with Leslie and Holly (and some other extraordinary ladies) all morning. It was totally a dream come true.
The class was great, and it gave me so many good ideas. I can't wait to put the stuff I learned to good use.
I also took an inspiration board class from Leslie. It really inspired me to pick up that little inspiration journal I blogged about. I think it'll really help me in everyday life. It may sound cheesy but I sometimes feel like creativity fuels me. I'm always happier and have more energy when I'm working on a creative project.
Well that was The Creative Connection. I hope I didn't bore you all too much. It was a great 3 days, and I can't wait to attend it again next year.
Have a fabulous week everybody!
There were also some fabulous notables that spoke at Lunch. The first speaker was the adorable Nora Abousteit, co-creator of BurdaStyle. She is so talented, and it was so fun to hear her speak. The second speaker was Becky Higgens. I hadn't heard of her products before, but I can't wait to order some. She talked about how much she loved scrapbooking, but how life got in the way of her documenting her life. That let to her creating Project Life. I really related to that. I plan to start 2012 by doing my own little 360 challenge (a picture a day). The third speaker was the upbeat (and very funny) Stacey Julian. She has such a great outlook on life, and was very inspiring.
After a much needed break, I headed back to the Crowne Plaza for the Welcome Dinner, where there were two more amazing women speaking. Upon arrival I got an amazing bag full of goodies (not even half is pictured above). The first women to speak was Christina Ferrare. Her story was an amazing one. It was very inspiring to hear how she was able to pick herself back up again every time she hit hard times. The next fabulous woman was the reason I decided to attend The Creative Connection, Holly Becker of Decor8. I took a class (Blogging Your Way) from her this year, and I have been an enormous fan every since (more on her later). Her keynote was as inspirational as her class was, and even though she said she was nervous, she didn't show it at all.
Day 2 kicked off with the first class I had signed up for. It was a class designed to teach you the basics of creating your own online classroom. I have taken several creative online classes this year, and it has really made me want to do one of my own. I have always wanted to teach, and I think that an online class would be the perfect way to dive in. Our teacher was the very fun Kathy Cano-Murillo, better know as the Crafty Chica. She was so awesome, and I learned a ton! I can't wait to put it all to good use someday!
Later that day, the TCC Market opened up. Wow was it amazing! I was like a kid in a candy store. I of course bought some fun stuff for myself, but I also bought a whole bunch of fun stuff to incorporate into some new Copper Owl pieces, much of which is vintage (yay!). By far the most exciting thing that happened that night though was meeting Holly Bohn, the founder of See Jane Work. You may not remember, but See Jane Work was one of my Fab Finds a while back (to see post click here). She was so nice, and I was absolutely thrilled to meet her!
Day 3 was by far the day I was looking forward to the most because on day 3 I was taking not one, but two classes from the amazing Leslie Shewring from A Creative Mint. I have been a fan of her blog for a while, but became an even bigger fan after taking Blogging Your Way (she was one of the teachers).
The class was great, and it gave me so many good ideas. I can't wait to put the stuff I learned to good use.
I also took an inspiration board class from Leslie. It really inspired me to pick up that little inspiration journal I blogged about. I think it'll really help me in everyday life. It may sound cheesy but I sometimes feel like creativity fuels me. I'm always happier and have more energy when I'm working on a creative project.
Well that was The Creative Connection. I hope I didn't bore you all too much. It was a great 3 days, and I can't wait to attend it again next year.
Have a fabulous week everybody!
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI also took Leslie's Inspiration board class. After being In BYW also, I really wanted to meet her and learn from her directly. She was so sweet. How fun you got to meet Susan Branch - I was so overwhelmed by everything that I completely forgot she was at the author event. Nice summary you posted - it really was a fabulous event!
Sharon :-)
Hi Jessica -this post is awesome. Thank you for all your positive support and I love seeing your photos! xo
ReplyDeleteAh, thanks Leslie! :)
ReplyDelete