Pinky swear — I can’t stop myself from sharing a few more stories, photos, and a bit of name-dropping.
My flight out was packed. Sitting in a tiny middle seat between a snoring, shoeless man and an overly perfumed woman for more than two hours left me with no room to cross my legs or work on my knitting. Still, the flight was on time, and once I found my chauffeured car at baggage claim I was only minutes away from a slice of red velvet cake and a Q&A with The Pioneer Woman herself.
What surprised me about this crafting conference was how many people hadn’t heard of Ree Drummond — roughly half the attendees. It’s funny how different communities have their own familiar names; I hadn’t heard of Amy Butler either, and now I’m a fan.
High point: when Ree signed my book.
Low point: when I accidentally smacked myself in the head with that same book after telling her my palms were sweaty and that she was adorable.
Yes, Ree wore two different shirts because those were two different days. Since many attendees weren’t familiar with her blog, she didn’t have large crowds around her most of the time.
After lunch I attended a panel on Social Media and accidentally found a seat next to an outlet (dead iPhone panic averted) and next to Nicole from Lark Crafts, my contact for the event. Later I lingered, hoping to thank Loralee for the link that led me to the conference. She asked a group of us for business cards — when she saw mine she jumped up, ran over, and hugged me repeatedly. The women around us stared and someone asked, “Who is this famous person?” It was an unforgettable, wonderfully awkward moment. Loralee was exactly as she is online: funny, genuine, beautiful, and incredibly kind.
I checked in, found my room, and changed for dinner with minutes to spare. Jeopardy! was on TV; I even knew the Final Jeopardy! answer, which made me feel clever.
I knew the answer — because I am a genius. Do you know it?
The Keynote dinner was lovely.
Me & Loralee (with The Pioneer Woman in the background showing her earrings), Amy Butler speaking, Kerrie (one of the other winners) & Nicole from Lark Crafts & me, Mary Jane Butters speaking
After dinner I collapsed into my room, tore off my high heels (poor choice) and slept for two hours. I woke up with a thousand blog post ideas and a flurry of worries about navigation, my baby Evan missing me, and whether everyone secretly disliked me. Sleep didn’t come easy — a noisy hotel alarm clock didn’t exactly help.
On Friday I attended a blogging panel featuring Lisa Leonard, Heather Bullard, Brett Bara, and Loralee Choate. Their advice — write often, use high-quality photos, and engage with readers — resonated with me, and I appreciated the discussion about personal versus professional blogging.
The Women Entrepreneurs panel over lunch made me feel out of my depth; the conversation didn’t touch on Twitter or Facebook for nearly two and a half hours. The rest of Friday blurred together because the schedule was so packed.
After lunch I ducked back into the Handmade Market and was delighted to spot Allison from O My Family. Meeting a blogging friend in person is oddly intimate — you know so much about them that small talk feels unnecessary, and jumping straight into personal topics can seem too forward. The result is often quiet, smiling awkwardness.
Still, I wasn’t shy about inviting myself to dinner after Allison gave me her number. I joined her, Cindy from The Flipping Couple, Kim from Newly Woodwards, Jenny from Anything Pretty, and another Allison who writes for Apartment Therapy. We started at Ikea (naturally), enjoyed crepes and lingonberry soda, and I bought a yard of fabric that will inspire the new nursery and playroom. Later we went to the Mall of America for happy hour — it was just a mall, but a fun evening with house bloggers nonetheless.
On Saturday I spent time knitting and learning a fun technique with Kristen Nicholas, which was surprisingly easy and enjoyable.
Embroidering knitting with yarn was so cool and surprisingly easy.
I attended one more panel about the Future of Retail and the digital marketplace. Amy, who runs a successful Etsy shop for wooden toys and had her newborn son Scout with her, was warm and relatable. I commiserated with her about pregnancy pelvic pain, and she responded with emphatic agreement and empathy — which felt validating.
Before I knew it, the weekend was over.
Nancy Soriano (one of the creators), Kerrie, Erin (winner of a local contest to attend), me, Jo Packham (creator and founder of Where Women Create Magazine) and Jennie (the third Lark Crafts scholarship winner)
The conference was everything I hoped for and more — inspiring, exhausting, and dreamlike. Returning to daily life made it feel even more surreal.
Thank you to Lark Crafts, Nicole, Jo, Debbie, Meaghan, and everyone who managed the details, welcomed me, and made the experience special. I’ll use what I learned to create something beautiful.
P.S. I picked up a copy of a charming cookbook from Zac, the event videographer, and couldn’t resist taking it home. It’s adorable — I’m already planning a Halloween party just to make those cupcakes.
P.P.S. If you attended the event or want to write about it, feel free to use my photos from this post with attribution and a link back. If you’d like unedited or larger copies, email me at bebehblog at gmail dot com.
*There was no Diet Coke in Minnesota — only Pepsi — so I drank more coffee than usual.
THE END