tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by tduby1 on Apr 19, 2018 19:33:37 GMT
Last weekend was My Annual Cousins Crafting Weekend, that I host each year for my cousins- 21 and older. This year we had 18 participants from 4 states, 3 generations (my generation and the two below us). We are anticipating 24-26 next year from 5 states! We have a huge family and I believe the actual first cousin count is 85. I host this for cousins 21 and older, my generation and below, in-laws included. Some of us craft and some just hang out and visit, drink etc. We had a group painting activity, taught by my cousin's daughter, who is a very talented artist. (Last year I held it in an old Victorian house and we did a Roaring 20's murder mystery.) We also made matching t-shirts (I bought the decals from Carla burningfeather ). Additionally, we pick a charity every year and this year it was RAHAB out of Akron, Ohio and we all brought stuff to donate to their safe house. Many of us get massages, pedicures and we go out to eat one evening as group. I organize a raffle each year. I provide gifts and make gift baskets (this year we had 46 gifts and baskets) and there are opportunities to earn tickets throughout the weekend. The final night, everyone throws their tickets in bags for the gifts they wish to win. We also play a few games throughout the weekend designed to help cousins who might not know each other well, get to know each better. I also provide a gift for attending each year. This year it was a reusable grocery tote with a decal like the ones we put on our shirts (again bought from Carla, who also designed our emblem for this year, which I used on a few of our gifts, too- cups etc) We had such a blast. I worked on layouts for my daughter's album. She is graduating this year. I took a few pics of some of the layouts I did and uploaded them to the gallery. At the end of the weekend my cousins presented me with a beautiful quilt they had made for me. It takes me a year to plan each weekend but it is always well worth it! With the Pallet paintings we did.  The donations we collected for RAHAB in Akron, Oh.  The back of the tshirts we made.  |
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Deleted
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May 17, 2024 20:44:56 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2018 19:42:04 GMT
How fun!
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msliz
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Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
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Post by msliz on Apr 19, 2018 20:56:53 GMT
That looks like so much fun!
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Post by papersilly on Apr 19, 2018 21:00:47 GMT
how fun! i used to craft with my cousin and it was some of the fun and funniest times i've ever spent.
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Post by scrapperal on Apr 19, 2018 21:12:38 GMT
Can you adopt me? Or maybe I am really a long lost cousin! It sounds like a super fun weekend and a great way to build friendships and memories.
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Post by thracian on Apr 19, 2018 22:01:05 GMT
That looks like so much fun! I'm glad they appreciate the work you put into it.
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Post by coloradocropper on Apr 19, 2018 22:28:16 GMT
I'm so adoptable, too!
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kate
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Jun 26, 2014 3:30:05 GMT
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Post by kate on Apr 19, 2018 23:40:11 GMT
Wow, that's terrific! I wish I could do that kind of thing with my family. I think I'm the only crafter, though.  |
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Post by artisticscrapper on Apr 20, 2018 0:24:47 GMT
The fact that you’re in touch with that many family,members is amazing, and that so many of them craft is astounding. Your event looks like so much fun. And I love the shirts.
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by tduby1 on Apr 20, 2018 0:38:55 GMT
The fact that you’re in touch with that many family,members is amazing, and that so many of them craft is astounding. Your event looks like so much fun. And I love the shirts. We are an incredibly close family. There is a saying, "A family tree will wither if nobody tends its roots". My grandma tended our roots very carefully. She passed away in 2011. I started this weekend in 2014 to honor her memory and as a way to continue tending our roots. The first four years we had 11-12 attendees each year but thanks to fb and the ability to post our shenanigans on our family page we shot up to 18 this year and last night I got confirmation from 3 cousin who live on the opposite side of the US that they will be coming next year  I grew up particularly close to them so that's so exciting. |
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nylene
Drama Llama
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Post by nylene on Apr 20, 2018 1:00:59 GMT
You are such a asset to your family. What a wonderful way to keep in touch. I love your shirts and your paintings.
Have you tested your DNA....just wondering if I could be a d i s t a n t cousin. LOL
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oaksong
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Jun 27, 2014 6:24:29 GMT
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Post by oaksong on Apr 20, 2018 2:18:03 GMT
What a special event. I always love hearing about your Cousins Weekend!
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Post by jennoconnell on Apr 20, 2018 2:54:17 GMT
This is amazing. I love that you created this event to honor your grandmother. She sounds like a treasure.
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nicolep
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Post by nicolep on Apr 20, 2018 3:15:10 GMT
Absolutely awesome in EVERY way! Thank you so much for sharing. Sounds like so much fun and with so many meaningful causes and a beautiful tribute to your grandmother.
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christinec68
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Post by christinec68 on Apr 20, 2018 13:00:18 GMT
Every bit of this sounds wonderful! I am glad you all had a great time and the quilt is such a lovely thank you gift.
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Post by mikklynn on Apr 20, 2018 13:41:11 GMT
What a great weekend! I want to be a cousin, too.
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Post by grammadee on Apr 20, 2018 13:59:06 GMT
tduby1 it sounds like you are definitely carrying on your grandmothers legacy. What a wonderful way to spend time with family, making and preserving memories each year! And nylene , I think you should check out that DNA angle: I think your Cousin Camps for the dgk's are the start of something like this in the future.
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Post by destined2bmom on Apr 20, 2018 16:19:31 GMT
How fun! It looks from the pictures that all of you had a fabulous time! Can I be a cousin?
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
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Post by tduby1 on Apr 20, 2018 16:46:43 GMT
Every bit of this sounds wonderful! I am glad you all had a great time and the quilt is such a lovely thank you gift. For clarity sake the quilt in the pic isn't the quilt I was given. It is a quilting and scrapbooking retreat center. There are so many beautiful quilts hanging throughout the center. Below is the beautiful quilt I was given  |
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customscrap
Junior Member
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Post by customscrap on Apr 20, 2018 22:31:41 GMT
What a very special family and weekend. I am the only crafter in my family so if you need to adopt another crafter/friend, I am definitely available. Love everything you guys did. Sounds amazing.
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Elsabelle
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by Elsabelle on Apr 20, 2018 22:42:28 GMT
Every bit of this sounds wonderful! I am glad you all had a great time and the quilt is such a lovely thank you gift. For clarity sake the quilt in the pic isn't the quilt I was given. It is a quilting and scrapbooking retreat center. There are so many beautiful quilts hanging throughout the center. Below is the beautiful quilt I was given  It's beautiful. It sounds like your cousins weekend was another success. It's so good of you to plan everything. I wish I was a cousin, too! |
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Chinagirl828
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Melbourne, Australia
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Post by Chinagirl828 on Apr 21, 2018 3:03:09 GMT
I think this is a wonderful tradition. I love that you choose a charity to donate to - a great way to make the weekend even more meaningful.
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Post by donna on Apr 21, 2018 12:53:16 GMT
Your family sounds so special! I wish I could put something like that together for my family!
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Post by Skellinton on Apr 21, 2018 14:46:37 GMT
That is lovely. What a wonderful thing to do. The quilt you were gifted is beautiful!
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scrappington
Pearl Clutcher
in Canada
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Post by scrappington on Apr 21, 2018 14:57:23 GMT
What a great event.
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Post by Lexica on Apr 21, 2018 21:20:30 GMT
This is amazing. You are truly honoring your grandmother in a beautiful way. My family is much too disfuntional to be able to pull something like this off
We should start a PEA event like this. From all the offers of being a cousin on this post, it looks like there would be a lot of participation.
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Post by Skellinton on Apr 21, 2018 22:07:29 GMT
This is amazing. You are truly honoring your grandmother in a beautiful way. My family is much too disfuntional to be able to pull something like this off We should start a PEA event like this. From all the offers of being a cousin on this post, it looks like there would be a lot of participation. I agree! We need a pea family reunion! |
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Post by myboysnme on Apr 22, 2018 23:26:46 GMT
I love hearing about your cousins retreat. I have no relatives I can just get away with much less a whole bunch of us annually!
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eastcoastpea
Prolific Pea
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Jun 27, 2014 13:05:28 GMT
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Post by eastcoastpea on Apr 23, 2018 0:34:20 GMT
I wish I was your cousin. It looks like an awesome time.
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Post by workingclassdog on Apr 23, 2018 22:45:37 GMT
What a great idea.. I have a whole boatload of cousins... I don't think I could get them all together though.. We have been talking about it for 20 years though. LOL
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I grew up particularly close to them so that's so exciting.
