Michaels Makers Summit 2015

As you all know I got asked again this year to be a blogger for Michaels and I got to kick off the new year by meeting all of my fellow Michaels Makers from all over at the Michaels Makers Summit 2015 last week! What a wonderful trip to beautiful Santa Rosa!

We took four amazing classes (weaving, watercolor, paper flowers and image transfer) – all taught by Michaels education partner, Creativebug and great news – each of the classes are available online for FREE on Michaels.com until 8/22 (you can re-create one or all of our summit projects)! If you are not sure what Creativebug is, it’s a subscription-based website that brings people inspiration and know-how to realize their creative potential through hundreds of online video classes. I will say it’s TOTALLY worth it!

In case you haven’t met all 50 of this year’s Makers, check out each of our blogs and bios here! Follow along throughout the year and feel free to create projects with us by sharing on Instagram using #MadeWithMichaels. Time to take a online tour of where I spent the week ♥The first night we got there we went on a super fun road trip to the Long Meadow Ranch for dinner. When we got there we were treated like queens, literally. We even made crowns – FLOWER CROWNS! I think the best part of this trip was getting to see all of my friends that I never get to see!

Just saying “Hi” through green colored glasses…

After dinner they had a table filled with marshmallows, graham crackers covered with chocolate, milk and sticks to roast S’mores! I have to confess something to you…I never ate a “REAL” marshmallow until this trip. Have you? If not you need to get some, not the ones in plastic bags from the store…

Some of my homies: Lia Griffith, The Project Girl, Aunt Peaches and myself!

The next morning we all got up early and took a beautiful ride to The Ranch Above – the location of the Summit. We literally drove all the way up to the TOP of a huge mountain. The view was unlike anything I have ever seen before. We didn’t know what to expect but I will tell you from the second we got out of our cars we were all so amazed. The Michaels team went ALL OUT!

The pictures below are stunning. This was the first thing we saw before entering the house. We were greeted with water bottles as we passed through an arch of DIY happiness.

One thing about bloggers is you will always see us taking pictures of anything and everything. Seriously, we can make trash look like treasure as long as we have the right light and a good angle… HAHA!

We walked in and looked like a heard of paparazzi however we didn’t see celebrities only DIY DECOR!

The Michaels Makers Summit took place at this stunning house that overlooked heaven on earth. I won’t dare leave you out completely which is why I wanted to share some pictures of the inside of the house. I think we all wanted to stay.

I can’t help but LOVE this picture! It was time to make s’mores over the fire and this is what bloggers do behind the scenes… 8 I-phones taking the same pic to quickly post on social media!

Creative Bug really made the trip memorable with fabulous teachers turned into friends and great projects that anyone can do. I won’t lie my favorite class was weaving with Annabel Wrigley. We will be friends forever!

I honestly never thought I would like weaving but I am totally addicted… I can promise you will too!

Weaving with Annabel Wrigley. She teaches more than a dozen classes on Creativebug, ranging from weaving to kids sewing. Follow Annabel on Instagram @littlepincushionstudio

Image transfers with Courtney Cerruti. She works at Creativebug, in addition to teaching dozens of classes on the site. Follow Courtney on Instagram @ccerruti

Paper flowers with Livia Cetti. She is a renowned floral and still-life stylist, as well as a premiere paper-flower artist. Follow Livia on Instagram @thegreenvase

Watercolor with Yao Cheng. She is a watercolor artist and designer known for her simple, bright and expressive watercolor style. Follow Yao on Instagram @yaochengdesign