Sweetwater House.

Oh, my, goodness. I'm back from Sweetwater House in Fort Morgan, CO, and I'm ready to pack my bags and head out again. It was fabulous, relaxing, fun and friendly. I was there with Margaret Scarbrough (hi, Margaret!) representing Simple Scrapbooks and sharing about photography, scrapbooking and the magazine. Can I just tell you how honored I am to have gone? And that I got to go with Margaret, one of my favorite scrappers? Woohoo!

Sweetwater House is a century-old house that has been completely and beautifully refurbished by the amazing mother-and-daughters team behind Sweetwater Scrapbooks. On weekends they host crops and the VERY reasonable price includes room, board and all the supplies you'll need to complete several darling projects. The house is beyond charming and the hospitality and friendliness shown us by Karla and her daughters rivals the best four-star hotel.

While I was there, my objective was to teach a bit about photography to the eight lovely guests who had come from as far away as Germany and Alaska. The quaint town of Fort Morgan provided some sweet locations, and Susan, one of Karla's daughters, graciously brought her kids along to model for us.

Here are a few of the photos I took during our lessons in depth of field, perspective and exposure:

And below are some of the photos I took of the house and grounds during my stay. In the evening, I enjoyed relaxing in one of the rocking chairs on the huge wrap-around porch and watching the thunderstorms and rain. One of my favorite pasttimes!
Here's cute Karla slaving away in the kitchen. Have I mentioned that every single meal is homemade? And delicious? I loved that these three ladies have combined two of my favorite things: scrapbooking and being pampered. Yeah!

And here's everyone in front of the house just before leaving for the airport. What a fun bunch of women! I loved our conversations over projects and at mealtimes. It's so amazing how people from all walks of life can come together over a common interest (scrapbooking!) and feel like old friends. How awesome is that?

Next month at Sweetwater House for Simple Scrapbooks is Elisha Snow, amazing photographer and scrapbooker, and Cheryl Overton, scrapbooker and home decor specialist. If my husband lets me, I'd love to be there with them - and hopefully you, too!

(Gallbladder update: No surgery scheduled yet, and, unless I have any more attacks, surgery could be a few months away. Thanks to those who have written and posted comments - I appreciate your sympathy and support!)

Comments

[elizabeth]

oh, as if I wasn't excited before... I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL SEPTEMBER!! : )

[Teresa Olier]

Wow Tina! Looks like you have a blast :) Love the photos you got of your little models!

[Christy]

Sounds like a lovely time to be had. So, when are you going to start teaching the rest of us peeps photography... huh, huh, huh??? ;)

[margaret scarbrough]

It was so nice to meet you Tina! And thanks for all the photography tips...esp. having to do with post-processing. I've already been putting my new knowledge to use! :)

(psst-I may have to borrow that group pic for my blog...)

[Karenraye]

Wow, all the years I lived in Colorado just a hop, skip and a jump away from Fort Morgan and never knew of this place. It sounds like a great time was had by all.

[Lisa]

These photos are so beautiful. So clear and crisp and such perfect color. Always an inspiration to improve my own technique. Hope all is well.

[janice]

Amazing pictures!!!