Where to start. You guys, it was so amazing. Like, more amazing than I could ever really express in words. For reals.

We’re going to post the professional photos from Crafting Community here too, because those will better convey the feeling of the event, but for now, how about just a quick recap from moi (Kristina, hi!), the designated Cakelet attendee. Maybe some of you saw my instagrams on my personal account and 100layercakelet throughout the weekend?

I didn’t get to take a ton of photos, to be honest. Juggling two kids with my husband, friends, iPhone photos, and my big camera wasn’t exactly easy in the midst of all the other awesomeness that was going on. But I did snap a few to share while we wait for the really good photos to become available.

Oh, just a giant wall hanging made from Splendid fabric scraps. NBD.

There was a community board that shared printed photos of instagrams tagged #craftingcommunity throughout the weekend. It was so neat to be able to see other families’ perspectives of the same event in real time.

Lots of neon pink happening… thanks for modeling for me Audrey!

My little guy making a bracelet at the Clare Vivier table.

I’m not sure what my expectations were going into the weekend, but I can comfortably say that they were met and exceeded in the first 20 minutes after arrival. Things were calm and organized, but exciting and active and immersive all at once. They made it so incredibly easy to focus on your family and the amazing events planned through the weekend, instead of worrying about logistics like meals and sunscreen and someone falling in the pool or what to do during downtime in between craft sessions. Communal meals, a Whole Foods snack bar, sun/aid stations (with diapers, wipes, sunscreen, etc), lifeguards, fitness classes (for parents and kids!), games, a lending library… literally anything I might have wanted was readily available with no effort on my part.

There was such an easy rhythm to the days: outside play and breakfast, followed by focused craft time at the Commune, then lunch and more pool time, followed by a second craft session, and then dinner and evening entertainment. We went with the flow and it was so relaxing even in all of the excitement and activity.

And I haven’t even touched on the actual crafts. I walked into the first crafting session and almost had a panic attack when I saw how many amazing things there were to make, and how little time two days suddenly seemed. The materials were beautiful, the artisans talented, and the final products were things that I’m so happy to display in our home as symbols of what we can create together as a family. Dashiell, my 3 1/2 year old was with me, and while he’s still fully in the “process” stage of art-making, he loved sitting with me – gluing and taping and cutting things to shreds with scissors. And I saw older kids so immersed in their crafting, it was like the rest of the activity in the room had fallen away, and the only thing that mattered was their project.

Isn’t that beautiful? Especially right now when there’s such a tendency to rely on outside stimulation to keep your kids entertained.  Sure, some of the boys were making swords out of duct tape (not the intended craft for that station, of course)… but isn’t that the point? That they were just, I don’t know, *making*? I didn’t see one iPad in a child’s lap throughout the entire weekend. It was so refreshing, seeing parents (myself included!) with nothing else to do but create with their children, instead of entertaining their children so they could do something else. Which really is the point of the whole experience. The entire family is inspired and entertained and connected to each other because of the events of the weekend.

I talked to so many mothers while sitting around the craft tables and every single person was inspired and chatty and already looking forward to the next Crafting Community weekend. I know that we are most certainly going to make a yearly trip a priority in our family calendar, even more so as our boys get older.

As we packed up our projects and headed out of town I was actually a little teary thinking about what a magical experience the weekend was for both our family and for me, as a woman with a creative business. I spend so much of my time looking at a screen and so little of my time with my hands touching things other than a keyboard. And that’s not the part of this business that I love, you know? I love getting my hands covered in glue and paint, feeling textures and materials, and experiencing the moment when everything comes together in a new, unexpected way. That’s what our business is really about at it’s core, and I cannot thank the ladies of Crafting Community enough for giving my family the opportunity to feel all of that good stuff that really matters, together. And for creating their own amazing business that lets people just like all of us (I’m talking about you guys!) recharge in such a special way.

It was more that I could have ever imagined it would be. And we had the best time hanging with Audrey, Elizabeth, Louise, Lauren, Jordan, and their beautiful families too.

Since so many of you didn’t get a chance to go, Crafting Community is giving away one of the amazing totes from the weekend to one of yous! There’s so much good stuff in there. As you can see, my boys couldn’t leave it alone even long enough to snap a photo.

The next photo in the series is the entire bag dumped upside down, of course. Some of the goodies you can expect: a Splendid beach towel, California Baby bath products, Rifle Paper note cards, Kid Made Modern art supplies, plus goodies from The Honest Company, Burt’s Bees, Lunch Skins, a beautiful “play book” by Elizabeth, and sooooo much more!

Cute, right? I love mine! Fill out the form below to enter to win. We’ll email the winner on Monday. Good luck!