Well, another one is in the books!  This past weekend (March 1st – 3rd) was our Stampin’ Sisters Retreat which was held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Rockford, IL and we had 78 lovely stampers join in the fun!

18 years ago my sister, Peggy Murwin, and I hosted our first Stampin’ Sisters Retreat and the event has been going strong ever since.  We created t-shirts for the event, which everyone received, that went along with our 1970’s Groovy Theme.

So the first thing everyone saw when they entered our Stampin’ Room was the “Welcome Wall.”  This was the perfect spot for photo memories to be taken.  It was such a fun and festive way to welcome everyone.

When the stampers found their way to their seats, they found these “Stay Groovy” tote bags, which held all 7 of the different class projects as well as the official Stampin’ Sisters Retreat T-shirt!

Keeping with the 70’s Groovy theme, we had these adorable Flower Power trash bags at each table.

Before we started with the first  projects, we recognized the “Newbies” (those that were attending Stampin’ Sisters Retreat for the very first time.  We had 21 newbies this year!  Maybe you’ll want to join us for Stampin’ Sisters Retreat next year and be a “Newbie” too!

All of the Newbies received a package of the Adhesive-Backed Hearts & Flowers Embellishments.

Next we recognized our Stampin’ Sisters Team members that attended the event.  We had 18 team members  attend the event.

Team members each received a package of the Gold Fold Flowers Cards & Envelopes in a Flower Power party bag.

Each year when we open registration for the retreat, we offer our guest the option of making monthly payments for the event, or if they pay the entire retreat fee at the time of registration, we give them a thank you gift.  This year the thank you gift was a package of the Paper Butterfly Accents in this sweet “Stay Groovy” bag.

Prize Patrol is always a big hit at retreat because everyone ends up winning a prize.  The prizes where inside these cute little lunch bags.  When their number was called, each stamper got to choose the bag they wanted.  This year the prizes, which ranged from Rolls of Ribbon, to Embellishments, to Embossing Folders, to the Simply Shammy and more.

Each year we have an optional Card Swap.  Here you can see the huge line of swappers trading their unique creations.

Those that swap also get their cards entered into our card contest and everyone votes on their favorite.  We gave prizes to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners.  Colleen Kerl (center) won first place. Deb Keizer (right) won second place and Christy Kimball (left) won third place.  Each of them received one of the Online Exclusive Kits.

Peggy’s husband, Tony, is there on Saturday morning to sharpen scissors for those that need it done.  At only $3 per pair, many took advantage of the offer.  In fact, Tony sharpened 63 pair!

Our Stampin’ Sisters Retreat is an absolute joy to plan, prep and put on each year.  I hope you are enjoying seeing and reading about the fun things we’ve put together.  Starting tomorrow, I will be sharing the projects, so I hope you’ll be coming back to see them.

Thank you for taking time to visit my blog, for shopping with me and for your loyalty to Stampin’ Studio! I know there are a lot of demonstrators out there to choose from… THANK YOU for choosing me! 

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