A Crafty Girlfriends' Getaway

What do you get when you mix creative crafts and wildly talented women? A weekend full of laughs and lovely, full-service accomodations at the Captain Stannard Inn in Westbrook, CT.

I'd been researching and planning this weekend getaway for eight of my friends since August and it finally came to fruition. Hurray! We arrived on Friday and enjoyed a fantastic dinner of stuffed shells and Caesar salad and then settled in for the night, sipping wine by the fireplace.

On Saturday, we hosted a "shoebox swap," which is a potluck-style of crafting with a group. Each person brings a craft project (jewelry, papercrafts, wearable art, etc.) and all the needed supplies tucked into a shoebox or container to pass around and share with the others in the group. We were able to complete more than 10 incredible projects. I will share my handmade creations in an upcoming post. Stay tuned! For meals, we dined a yummy frittata for breakfast, chunky chicken soup and crusty Sicilian bread for lunch, marinated pork loin and veggies for dinner. The rest of the evening was spent scrapbooking, enjoying music and cracking lots of jokes!

On Sunday, we enjoyed an amazing two course breakfast before saying our goodbyes and heading to the local scrapbooking store and Tanger Outlet mall for a little for shopping therapy.

We had an excellent time. The Captain Stannard Inn's Mary, Jim and Helen were amazing, from the delicious food to the beautifully decorated rooms full of gorgeous antiques. This was a very special retreat. I loved every minute and can't wait to return. But don't take my word for it, here's what my pal Eileen Bellomo shared on her blog, Art Saves Lives:

"Great rooms, wonderful hosts, and TO-DIE-FOR food. Oh, and our projects weren't too shabby either! We had tremendous work space, spread out all over the dining room. Since we were the only guests taking meals there we didn't even have to put things away over night.  Very convenient place for any sort of crafting group to visit.  In fact, they were expecting a quilting group later in the week."

Special thanks to all of my friends who contributed in their own way to make this weekend so much fun!

To book your own crafting or scrapbooking retreat at the Captain Stannard Inn, visit their Web site or call (860) 399-4634.

Please tell Mary, Jim and Helen I said 'Hello!'


Photo credit: Handout