We've MOVED! :)

Check out our brand new Creative Estates website!!  
Click HERE.
Pssst... there's a "Swagalicious Giveaway" going on right now!!


{Shey}

Tease #2

And another Creative Estates Conference 2012 Teaser!!  :)

Creative Estates Conference Teaser 2 from Shuggilippo on Vimeo.

Tease

Here is 14 seconds of awesome for you...


Creative Estates Conference Teaser from Shuggilippo on Vimeo.

{Thank you Jessi Sanfilippo for the first of several awesome videos}


xo!

Shey

We Want You!

There are many many awesome super fabulous things happening behind the scenes over here for the 2012 Creative Estates Conference.  But we can let one thing out of the bag right now...

Creative Estates has always been focused on the creative mind.  So, this is where you come in.  We want to feature you!  Do you have a super awesome tutorial you'd like to have featured?  How about interior decorating DIY projects?  A recipe that is to die for?  Blogging tips that are a must?

If you answered yes to any of the above, please email us!  We would absolutely love to feature you!!!  creativeestatesconf@gmail.com

We'd Like To Clarify...

necklace donated and created by The Vintage Pearl for Creative Estates

I am still getting several messages asking for clarification on which is the real Creative Estates Conference website and conference.  This site {which is getting a facelift this week} is the Official Creative Estates Conference site.

Creative Estates Conference 2012 will be held in Arizona March 1-4.  It will not be held in Salt Lake City, UT.

The other site, creativeestatesconference.com is owned by Tauni Everett and is in no affiliation with the actual Creative Estates Conference.  We have asked her repeatedly to remove the header and offered to purchase the domain name from her to alleviate any confusion.  She keeps insisting that her website will be changed as soon as she figures out a name for her conference.  We apologize for the confusion and are doing everything we can to try and eliminate it.  Thank you for your understanding.
 

Creative Estates Conference 2012

Little Houndstooth House made by me, and photographed by MyInsanity.

It's been almost 2 weeks since Creative Estates.
I can hardly believe it!
While I was certainly very busy, there were moments when I stopped for a minute and just looked around.
Watched the attendees laugh.  Watched new people meet each other.  Watched twitter or facebook friends meet in real life.  It was enough to take my breath away.
At Cupcakes and Cocktails on Thursday night before the conference started I had to stop and suck in a breath as I realized that Creative Estates was really real.  My dream came true and it was all because of everyone that attended, promoted, and stood by cheering me on.
I was in awe standing there for that split second with the realization that our neighbors had moved in.  Finally.  I realized then that you can never dream too big.  Ever.

So now things are changing.
As some may know, Tauni Everett and I have decided to part ways.
We are headed in different directions.
She is planning her own event in Utah {which is completely separate from CEC}, while Creative Estates remains here in Arizona!!

There was a ton of confusion about this earlier in the day, especially since our events were planned on the same weekend.  While the dates for next year's Creative Estates Conference were announced already at this year's CEC, I began seeing a lot of conflict and then people were coming to me feeling torn and pressured. So, in the interest of all you lovelies, we are changing the dates of Creative Estates so that no one has to choose or feel pressured.

Creative Estates is now being held from March 1 - 4, 2012.
It is in Arizona again next year.  I know many of you are thrilled about that.
What's even better about the date change?  March is national craft month!

There are a ton of things in the works that I am so excited about and can't wait to share.
We are really broadening the conference next year to many more avenues of creativity.
One of which includes book authors.

I can't tell you much more right now, but it's going to be incredible.

I sent out an email earlier tonight to past attendees, but please email me if you didn't receive the email and I will forward it on to you.  The email includes a Call To Speakers Application, Volunteer Application and a form for Conference Topic Suggestions!

Tickets for Creative Estates are on sale now!  Click here.
And because my goal for Creative Estates has always been to keep it affordable, I lowered the price from the $300 they were originally announced as, to $200.  Also, to make life a little sweeter, you can move into Creative Estates for less by purchasing an Early Bird Ticket for $145!  Early Bird tickets can be purchased until October 1, 2011.  Creative Estates Alumni  do get a special discount as well, so please email me for that information {shealynn@gmail.com}.

Also stay tuned!  Creative Estates will be getting a MAJOR facelift in the coming weeks!  The Houndstooth, yellow and houses will remain.  Long live the Houndstooth!  ;)

The Creative Estates Team and I are looking forward to being your neighbor in 2012!!


xo, Shey

Quick Announcement

We are excited to announce that we are in the process of gathering a great conference team for the Creative Estates Conference 2012 and are pleased to share that the event will remain in Arizona moving forward!

{source}

Keep an eye out for an email this week that will include our call for speakers, volunteers, and session topic suggestions as well as ticket and venue information! 

{source}

We're also rolling out a fabulous new design, thanks to the lovely Kristen at Ahoy Graphics, and cannot wait to share it with all of you.

Attendee Recap of Creative Estates

Have loved reading everyone’s posts from Creative Estates as they have rolled in. Thought it would be fun to share some of them here…

Of course, this isn’t it. If you wrote a Creative Estates post and it’s not listed, will you leave  a link in the comments? Would love to include them in the body of this post!

Kim, from Today’s Creative, has links to many of the Creative Estates attendees on her site.

Check out Becky Higgins behind the scenes preparation.

Never would have guessed that an amazingly successful business woman like The Vintage Pearl was shy.

So glad the conference captured the spirit of community, Andrea talks about over on her blog – The Worley House.

Shelley, from House of Smiths, has some great photos of bloggers taking photos…

She’s a little tipsy, but that doesn’t mean she drinks…just ask her, everyone else did! Check out Michelle’s post conference update!

Stephanie’s photos will make you wish you were her roommate…

This post is almost as darling as the girls behind the site…WhipperBerry

Everyone wanted a photo with Jen – she’s kind of famous – and she’s written a great postabout all the wonderful girls she met!

Becca has put together a beautiful post about her experiences at the event – this conference was all about creating friendships and having fun!

Even if Sandy wasn’t a la Mode, we’d think she was so sweet after reading her Creative Estates teaser and full recap. Love the silliness going on…

Ready for a little fashion show? April from Funky Vintage Lovely prepared a post on some of the conference’s hottest outfits. She has another really fun post that talks a bit more about the conference too!

Char, from Crap I’ve Made, has issued another classic post. It includes all of her famous Creative Estates lines.

How can you not love anything written by someone who’s blog name is Sparklepants…bling, bling.

This girl was lucky. Or it was just her table?  I think it was her…plus (cheesy) we were sooo lucky to have her join us!

Honey Bear Lane has to be one of the sweetest girls on the planet. Really.

She’s Not Just a Housewife, nor a full-time crafter, but she does some excellent home improvement/DIY work. Check out Stacy’s Creative Estates post and another follow-up here.

The TomKat Studio showcased Thursday night’s opening party on Cupcake Monday.

Kami, from No Biggie, has a great post that cover’s the tips Becky Higgins shared. She was also generous enough to share the content she provided while on the photography panel.

Great overview on Mom Endeavors! She’s also highlighted her major take aways.

There was quite a bit of conversation surrounding the incredible Mac & Cheese at Saturday night’s dinner. Shey’s posted the recipe over on her blog.

If you are interested in photos, you’ve got to check out Kendra’s amazing photo stream. She’s posted a sneak peak on her blog.

Allison, of Allison Waken Photography, was on hand to share some tips and tricks. Check out her fun recap!

Amy, from the Idea Room, wrote up a great recap of her experience – complete with some fun photos!

If you’re going to Chandler, you might want to check out this post – great food review!

Lady Bug Blessings posted her take on the conference…check out the fun canvass she made during the creative workshops.

We were so lucky to have Bev, of Flamingo Toes, join us. Check out her perspective on attending as a conference newbie!

Not only did Chrissy provide us with some gorgeous bookmarks in our swag boxes, but she also left a colorful recap full of photos and fun!

Loving Jen, from Scissors and Spatula’s recap. She’s got some great photos of the best Creative Estates details and then a few more here.

Who doesn’t love Naptime with Chocolate?! Jamielyn is adorable. She’s shared a couple of her favorite conference moments here and here. Don’t miss her gorgeous baby – we were all dying over the baby bling!

Love her site and love this post. Hop on over and visit Freckles Crafts.

Tara was a favorite, and it’s not just because she made everyone gorgeous business card holders. She’s posted about her experience a few times. Check this out and this, this andthis.

This girl was, without a doubt, one of the most stylish at Creative Estates…we’re going to have to ask her to do a little wardrobe styling for next year!

Melissa shared some heartfelt words on her blog.

This may be the most gracious moment of the entire conference…we have an amazing community!

Lindsay, from Aisle to Aloha, has several great posts about her Creative Estates experience. Start here. Then read this and then this. You will quickly see why this girl was the life of the party!

Wow. She truly is lovely. Stunning in fact. And she’s shared her thoughts about Creative Estates here and here.

Want to laugh out loud? You will when you read Lara’s post…any of them actually.

Love this post by Megan over at Brassy Apple.

Friday Night Dinner With SheyB & You! CHANGED!!!

We have a change for the Friday night dinner with Shey!  Instead of going to San Tan Brewery, we will be having Florendino's pizza Pool Side at the San Marcos Hotel!  Florendino's makes the most amazing pizza you'll ever taste!
This "pool party" is going to be a great low key event.  No crowds, no shouting over everyone.  Just simple and fun.  Join Shey in the hotel lobby at 7:30.
Please leave a comment below letting us know you'll be attending since the linky used prior is no longer working.

See you SOON!!!!

Creative Workshops

One of the most exciting elements of our event is the creative workshops we have planned. These classes will provide you with not only a fun take home, but they will also give you the opportunity to interact and get to know one another better!

Friday afternoon join Lisa Andrews, Scrapbook Circle, in making a mini “Welcome Home” album or learn how to use (and enter to win) Lifestyle Crafts at home letterpress machine with Kami Bigler from No Biggie.

Saturday afternoon’s classes are just as fun. Bev McCullough, Flamingo Toes, will be teaching participants how to make the most fabulous faux Anthro necklace. There is a small fee associated with this course, but it will be well worth it! In the other class, Kami Bigler, No Biggie and Jennifer Hadfield, Tatertots and Jello, will be helping you to create fun DecoArt painted canvases. 

Please hop over to the Eventbrite site to learn more and register for two of these fun classes - one on Friday and one Saturday - before they fill up!

Early Registration and Cupcakes & Cocktails

Early registration will take place at Inspirador, 63 East Boston Street, Chandler, from 4-6 p.m. Come in early to check out the gorgeous event venue and to pick up event materials (badge, program, swag and your drink ticket for Cupcakes and Cocktails).

Dinner Thursday evening is on your own, but if you’re up for some of the best Mexican in town head over to the Cupcakes and Cocktails venue a little early and meet up with us!

Cupcakes and Cocktails, sponsored by Decadent Delights and The TomKat Studio, will be held at El Zocalo, 28 South San Marcos, Chandler.

Located in one of Chandler’s historic buildings, El Zocalo is one of the Phoenix area’s most well-known restaurants. At this fun event your drink ticket will provide you one trip to the bar and you’ll have access to all the amazing cupcakes you can eat!

Agenda!!

Pssst... the agenda has been updated.
The speakers are now on the agenda as well, so you'll be able to now see what everyone is speaking on!
Click the Agenda button under the header.  :)

See you all NEXT WEEK!!!!

Creative Estates Handmade Market

Unfortunately, the Handmade Market is no longer open to the public.  There was a little bit of confusion about this, so I wanted to make sure that everyone knew.  Sorry for the inconvenience everyone!

I promised you all that I would be posting the information about the Creative Estates Handmade Market. Sorry it's taken me several days to get this up for you!  Here is the information...


We currently only have a few booth spots left, so if you want a booth, snag one up quick.  :)

All booths are provided 1 table (approx. 5ft x 5ft.).  A tablecloth can be provided by the venue if necessary.  Your total booth space is approximately 10ft x 10ft.

The venue is opening it's doors for set up on Thursday afternoon!  So come by sometime Thursday afternoon before 6pm to set up your booth spot.

Tables will be randomly handed out to vendors.  Look for your name on the table you've been given.  No requests are being taken to be next to someone you know.

Times for the handmade market are as follows:

Friday night 5-7pm
Saturday 9am-1pm
CHANGED!  Conference Handmade Market is no longer public! {at all}  This will now be a private shopping experience for CE Attendees only. {both days} And with over 150 attendees coming, that's a lot of shopping!
Saturday night 5-9pm {if you are a conference attendee}

The handmade market is open to the public.
If you have a booth and don't want to miss any sessions on Saturday when the market is open from 9-1, then you aren't obligated to run your booth.  If you want to run your booth for part of the time, then that's fine too.  {ex: if you want to run your booth from 10-12pm that would be fine}

There is no single checkout.  Every vendor is responsible for their own sales.

If you are leaving early Sunday, then you'll need to tear down your booth Saturday night.  If you leave late enough Sunday, Inspirador has been gracious enough to offer to open it's doors that morning to let everyone else tear down their booth if they so choose.


If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to email us: creativeestatesconf@gmail.com


Thanks everyone!  ONLY FOUR WEEKS UNTIL WE'LL BE NEIGHBORS!!!  :)


P.S.  Conference Tickets are almost sold out!!  There are only 17 left!  So be sure and get your ticket soon!!

Friday Night Dinner With SheyB & You!

So Friday night we have decided to do an on your own night.  So Creative Estates attendees can feel free to go off and do what they please.  This has prompted some others to have a party that isn't within walking distance to the hotel, and others to do dinner with family, etc.

So, Shealynn is doing a Friday night meet up at San Tan Brewery, located literally 2 minutes from the San Marcos Hotel!  Please sign up below so she can make proper arrangements with the restaurant.  This gathering is very simple, just come as you are, and be ready to get to know everyone better!  Dinner will be at 7:30pm.  We'll meet in the San Marcos Hotel lobby!

Please sign up below if you'd like to join us!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list...

OK Neighbors!! Sign in!

Many of you have asked if there is a place to sign up and check to see who else is going to Creative Estates.  Well.  Now there is!  If you're attending Creative Estates {speaker, attendee, etc} then sign up in the linky tool below!  Let's welcome each other to the neighborhood!  :)

A Fantastic Announcement From Shealynn Benner {the founder of Creative Estates}

Prepare for some awesome...



How awesome, right?!  Totallyyyy!  See pictures of the amazing Inspirador below.  {Inspirador's website has music, so be prepared.} ;)

This space could not be more perfect for Creative Estates.  And now we are even more excited for this conference than ever!  We hope you are too, because seriously?  This conference is going to amaze and inspire everyone on so many levels!  We CAN NOT WAIT!!!

Have a great weekend!!

Shealynn

Speakers

Coming Soon!

Speakers..

Hey everyone!  It's been a while, huh?  :)

I just wanted to let everyone know that we will be posting the rest of the speakers and their bios here within the next couple of weeks, so be on the look out for that!

If you haven't signed up for Creative Estates, you can do so on the sidebar!  We really hope to see you all there!!!


xo,  Shey

Down To The Wire

Creative Estates early bird registration ends at 6pm PST.  That's in 9 hours.  If you haven't registered yet, please do so by clicking HERE.  We can't wait to meet you all in April!

Not that we’re name dropping, but…

With the agenda finalized, we are ready to start sharing a few more details about the conference…Up first? Details and speakers for each of the breakout sessions.

Really excited today to provide you with some of the details for our first breakout session:
Inside the Creative Business: How four women turned a hobby into a thriving business

Shealynn Benner (SheyB), Erin Edwards (The Vintage Pearl), Ashley Hackshaw (Lil Blue Boo) and Kim Stoegbauer  (TomKat Studio) operate four of the most well-known brands in the blogosphere. Though they come from varied backgrounds, each has channeled their creative talent to develop a thriving business on the web.

Shey, Erin, Ashley and Kim will share their story, along with providing valuable insight into the ins and outs of operating a successful creative business.

Read more about them here:

	Shealynn Benner – SheyB Shealynn, Shey or The Camera Strap Girl lives in Arizona and is married to her dream of a husband, Mike. They have 2 beautiful girls, Angelina (8 years) and Zoe Rae (4 years).  In 2008, Shealynn started *Shey*[B] on a whim after struggling with her uncomfortable camera strap during long photo shoots. She needed a solution - and, that solution would lead to what *Shey*[B] is today. Her business has grown leaps and bounds since then - and she's excited to continue to add fresh, new designs and products to her ever growing line. She's Shey. The camera-strap-girl...transforming DSLR camera straps from blah to beautiful.  Shealynn's business has been featured in InStyle Magazine (Germany), and Australia's hottest fashion magazine, Frankie. She has also been featured on many of the web's hottest blogs. Blog: www.shealynnbenner.com Camera Strap Shop: www.sheyb.bigcartel.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/shealynn Twitter: sheyb
	Erin Edwards – The Vintage Pearl Erin Edwards started her business, The Vintage Pearl, in 2007 as a creative outlet while staying at home with her kids. Over the course of the three years since she began her business, demand has increased to the point that she recently opened a store front in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Erin has used The Vintage Pearl as a way to give back to the community and bless others. She works closely with several non profits, including international ministries and orphanages. Erin lives in Oklahoma with her high school sweetheart Ryan, and their children Caleb, Jonah, Tess and Eden. The Vintage Pearl has been feautred all over the web on blogs like The Pioneer Woman and Nie Nie Dialogues. Erin’s work has also been featured in Real Simple, Martha Stewart Living and Rachel Ray. Blog: www.thevintagepearl.blogspot.com Shop: www.thevintagepearl.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=wall&gid=101361415722 Twitter: www.twitter.com/thevintagepearl
	Ashley Hackshaw – Lil Blue Boo Ashley Hackshaw's Lil Blue Boo blog is where her love of designing, sewing, painting, power tools and motherhood all intersect.....patterns, tutorials, photos, T-shirts, tantrums, beads, rocks, buttons, fabric, leaves, thread, ribbon, paint, dye, paper, tape, wood.........if only there were more hours in the day! Lil Blue Boo is all about encouraging others to find their creative streak. After a former career in investment banking, Ashley threw herself full time into motherhood and following her passion for anything and everything creative. Ashley's Lil Blue Boo clothing line and sewing patterns grew out of Ashley's love of new and reclaimed knits and embellishing them with silk screens, dye and transfers. Her passion is coming up with unique one-of-a-kind and limited edition knit clothing for adults and children. Blog: www.lilblueboo.com or www.lilblueboo.blogspot.com Clothing & pattern shop: www.lilblueboo.bigcartel.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/lilblueboo Twitter: lilblueboo
	Kim Stoegbauer – TomKat Studio Kim is a mom of two little ones, Tommy & Kate who left her real estate career to be home with her children. She decided to start a blog to showcase her creative projects including incredible parties and home decorating. The blog quickly gained a loyal following and soon her fans were asking her to create party designs for them. She opened up shop in March 2009, and her business has grown at a record pace. Her website receives over 150,000 visits a month and she connects everyday with her over 11,000 fans on Facebook! She loves inspiring other women moms to start their own businesses and believes that you can indeed "have it all!" Kim has been featured on Martha Stewart's website, In Style Magazine & The Arizona Republic, and the web's most popular party blogs! Blog: www.TheTomKatStudio.com Etsy Shop: www.tomkatstudio.etsy.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/thetomkatstudio Twitter: tomkatstudio