Hi! I am Leeanne, a scrapbooking enthusiast since 1999! I first got involved after I attended a Creative Memories party and at first I thought it would be too much work, but the joy after completing a book…..WOW!! I enjoyed it so much, I became a consultant, making enough money from a garage sale with a baby in my belly to cover the cost of the sign up kit. I began
with scrapbooks containing mostly my dogs and my husband, but then after the kids arrived, I scrapbooked everything from their baby books, Disney trips, their sports and graduations. When you walk in my living room, the first thing you see are my albums.
I started having my own monthly crops at my house then at my Church. I even organized a bigger venue and had other consultants with their customers attend. From there I went to weekend retreats that my Creative Memories upline organized and I had my own area with my 10 or so customers. 10 was a big number for me. At first we rented ball rooms, and even hotels, but my dream was to have my own place for crops and retreats. I was sold on the idea of retreat houses after I went to a few different places and loved it! That was the beginning of the dream. Every retreat I hosted at one of these houses, I spent most of my time thinking about what my own place would be like, from the bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and of course, the crafting room!
After searching for years, (during this time I was having Pampered Chef parties, and with my host rewards, I started getting items for my retreat house; without the house. YET), a friend of mine became a realtor so I sent her a message asking about the perfect house I saw online. The house was sold, but once I told her what I was looking for, and what I had dreamed of, (crafting room on the ground floor, please! We all know we have a lot of stuff we bring to a retreat!) I told her I wanted at least 3 bedrooms and hoped to have it accommodate up to 12 people. She soon sent me back a picture of my future place in Crystal Lakes subdivision in Red Feather Lakes, Colorado. It overlooked a lake, it was on 1.3 acres, ranch style house with a walk out basement, 3 bedrooms and 2 kitchens! One in the basement and one on the main floor. The outside looks like a log cabin, it had land with it, not to mention overlooking a lake! Are you kidding me?
Well, long story short we closed on Lake View Retreat on April 4, 2018 on my birthday! Happiest birthday to me! The house was perfect but not 100% perfect. I had a vision on things that needed to be done to make it work for a retreat house. The carpet ripped out; one bathroom completely redone, a few walls put up to make 2 more bedrooms and a formal dining room, a wood burning fireplace had to be removed to make the crafting room able to hold the amount of tables I wanted, and painted--every wall! After a month and a half, it was done, thanks to my amazing husband, our kids, and a few contractors!
The website was another hurdle for me. Finally, I told my story to the right person and she showed me how to get a calendar on here! So, finally you can see the days that are booked and that are available for you to book your weekend retreat at Lake View Retreat!
Oh, and BTW, Bob, my husband, the kids and I use the house to stay at when we are hunting and for holidays too. It has truly been a dream come true!
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