Papertrey Ink Stamp-A-Faire

i am so lucky and got to attend papertrey ink's 1st ever stamp-a-faire a couple weekends back. let me tell you, i had so much fun! i ended up driving to cincinnati on saturday morning...leaving around 6:15am and finally getting home at about 11:30pm that evening. it was a long day, but oh so worth it!

everything about the day was so well-planned out by nichole and the papertrey team. once we got checked-in and found a table, the day pretty much began! there were 5 make-and-take stations in the morning, then 5 more after lunch. each designer had her own table with a different card. it was a very stress-free process...you just jumped in line for whichever card you wanted, sat down when a seat opened and got started!  i met dawn first, then mish, betsy, heather and lisa. they are all just as sweet and nice in person as they seem on their blogs :) but of course, i totally expected them to be.

they had a "mini store" set up with all of the beautiful cardstock colors, with matching buttons and ribbon.  you were also able to place an order that day, and they had runners going over to the warehouse all day long to collect your stamps and bring them back to you. that was pretty exciting! if you spent $100 or more, you were given a special stamp set. everyone also received an exclusive stamp set called "iconic images" which is absolutely beautiful.

i met some lovely ladies from canada (dee, avril and reagan) and maria from delaware...hi girls! they were so nice to me and took me into their group to hang with them that day. we went to archivers and joanne's during our dinner break, then ate at chick-fil-a. yum! a couple of them had never been there before (can't believe it...i eat there once every couple of weeks for lunch) so it was a fun time. i also met a couple of nice ladies who actually live in louisville (kate and betsy) so that was a happy surprise that i sat down at a table next to kate and started a conversation with her. i am meeting up with betsy and some of her friends at archivers in a couple weeks for a crop night. how fun! i'm looking forward to that :)

i took so many supplies anticipating getting some crafting done, but ended up not working on a single thing besides the make-and-takes. it was just too much fun visiting with new scrappy friends, walking around to see what other more productive ladies were making, and planning your order! i definitely can't wait until next year!!!