Big news – I am going on a crafting retreat! I am so excited to be traveling to the Whatever Craft House soon for a crafting retreat, but I am also a bit anxious about it. I always bring creative tools with me whenever I travel. Mostly because, one of the ways I unwind is to spend a little time getting creative. And, how am I supposed to enjoy a vacation if I am not bringing along at least a little of my favorite hobby?!? “Have craft supplies, will travel” is kind of my motto!
Packing for a retreat of this type can be hard, especially when you are doing it for the first time, which I am. Yup, you read that right. I have never before in my life been on a craft retreat. I’ve done a one day Bible journaling retreat before, but a friend and I ran that, so the packing was certainly a bit different. It’s hard to know what to bring and just how much of it I need to bring. I am flying, so that certainly limits me. I don’t want to run out of projects to work on, but this is also supposed to be a time to relax and rest, so there is no need to pack an entire month’s worth of projects into a long weekend. Choices, choices, choices!
Before I started my packing list, I decided to start by listing out the projects I might want to work on. My thought is that I want to do a couple of lighter projects that can be done while visiting with others and enjoying their company. I am not sure that bringing my full Illustrating Bible would be a good idea, and I truthfully prefer to Bible journal by myself where I can get lost in thought. I am also trying to consider what tools I might need for my projects. I’m obviously not going to pack my full Cricut for the trip, so cutting vinyl and other Cricut-required projects will definitely be out. I’d love to work on some art journaling, but I will have to be a bit strategic about that since I can’t very well bring my entire collection of mixed media supplies with me. So, I spent some time brainstorming the projects that I would like to bring along.
My next step (can you tell I’m such a planner?!?) was to list out the supplies that I would need for each of those projects. This gave me a better idea of the amount of craft items that I needed or wanted to bring. I looked at some of the basics like adhesive, scissors, pens, etc. and made sure that I had a good amount that would last me the entire weekend. As I began to list out supplies, I also kept in the back of my mind the size of each supply or grouping of supplies. This was good info to have so that I could consider what bags I would be bringing!
Speaking of bags, I was SO tempted to purchase a new crafting bag for this trip. I was considering pick up the We R Memory Keepers backpack or also found a planner bag that I thought would work really well. But, I resisted the urge to purchase something new, knowing that I had lots of different bags in my stash. Surely I can make one of those work!
Now that I have a craft packing list, I plan on starting to gather supplies together this weekend before I head out. I will stick to one color way or color scheme when it comes to my art supplies. This will help me limit the amount of paints, etc. that I need to bring, and help me focus a little more once I get to crafting! Here’s hoping that all my supplies fit in my bags!
Have you ever been on a craft retreat? What would be on your craft packing list? Or do you have any tips for traveling with your creative supplies? I really think that making a plan helps out with packing, and I follow a similar method anytime I am traveling with my supplies. Be sure to leave me some comments below with your tips and must-haves!
Keep it creative,
The Scrappy Wife
Oh MY!!! I just got back from The Whatever Craft House!!! Had such a wonderful time. I was on the Creative Soul Retreat organized by Stephanie Ackerman. We didn’t have to bring anything, except material cutting scissors if we had them. We completed 5 projects and everything was provided. I definitely want to go again!! Jesus showed up every day!!!! HAVE FUN!!! Be sure to get a picture on the rainbow stairs, and sit in the porch swing!!!
How exciting! I’m leaving on a crafter’s weekend with some new friends I met through a FB group. We do junk journaling and have rented a cabin near a flea market. Hoping for good weather – we’ll see in Seattle! and hope to do crafting together and shopping! I’ve never done this before either but we’ll have blast either way.
You will have a blast! I have been on 3 or 4 but I always drove and my car was stuffed with a ton of stuff I didn’t even use. It has been several years. I would just say don’t over think it and relax, soak it in and have fun. That makes me think about taking some things on my camping trip with my daughter in a few days. We try to go to a National Park each year but missed the past couple of years. I think I will bring my travel journal and some A&O pens. Enjoy and Blessings