Cut 'n Paste

Come to Italy with me in 2020!

Did you know that in addition to loving paper crafting & photography, my main job is organizing and hosting a women's creative retreat in Tuscany Italy, called La Dolce Vita? It's my passion and I am incredibly honoured to be going into my seventh year of business. Our 2020 retreats just launched and I'd love to tell you about them.

I invite you to imagine a week spent in Tuscany at a historical olive farm enjoying views to die for, eating the best Italian food you've had in your life, and shopping at markets where you will find everything from comfy linen tops and dresses to antique bric a brac galore. Throw in culinary and creative workshops, talented special guests, and a group of inspiring attendees and you've got a snapshot of why La Dolce Vita is so special. It is a week that leaves past attendees and special guests raving, and I invite you to consider joining me in 2020.

There will be two retreats, May 23-30, 2020 and June 6-13, 2020, with each week having its own special guest.

Joining me May 23-30, 2020 Retreat will be photographer, social media mavin, recipe developer & cookbook author Brooke Lark.

And joining me as the special guest for the June 6-13, 2020 Retreat will be painter, author, and color lover, Rae Missigman.

I invite you to visit our website, www.pronetowanderretreats.com to read information about our program, pricing and payment plans, and testimonials from past attendees. 

Here's hoping that YOU would like to join me in Tuscany next summer. 

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help you out.

With a thankful heart, I am pleased to share that we are tentatively SOLD out for La Dolce Vita 2019, the women's creative retreat that I host in Italy, pending the payment of deposits. However, typically there is some movement on those lists as we have many months to go before the retreat takes place. So, if you would like to join us, please email me at [email protected] and ask to be put on the wait list. There is no obligation, and the wait list is notified about any spots that open up before they are offered to the general public. Also, please take this opportunity to sign up for the "La Dolce Vita" newsletter, which you can find by clicking here. As a newsletter subscriber you will be able to keep up with our latest news - and find out when we launch future retreats.

Save the date for La Dolce Vita 2019

Creativity and travel are huge passions of mine, and I honor those passions through La Dolce Vita Retreat, a week long creative lifestyle retreat that I lead in Tuscany each May/June. For the past five years it has been the highlight of my year, and I am thankful for attendees who feel the same way.

Yesterday I announced the dates for La Dolce Vita 2019. My team and I have another wondrous week planned and I know that the creative, adventurous women who decide to join us are going to be in for a real treat!

If you're unsure what exactly a "creative lifestyle retreat" is, it's a retreat where we enjoy a melange of actives such as: culinary and creative workshops, antique and weekly market visits, city explorations, and fantastic scenery at a stunning home base. If you visit my @ladolcevitaretreat Instagram account you can see images of activities and locations past attendees have enjoyed. 

So, start looking at your calendars, my friends.

Retreat #1 will be: May 18-25, 2019
Retreat #2 will be: June 1-8, 2019

 

I'll be announcing the special guests who will be joining this Italian adventure next week - they are amazing artists who will be bringing their magic to Italy to share with us. I can't wait!

A second retreat added!

It's been a little quiet around here lately. Just like many of you, when life gets busy, blogging often takes a backseat. I have been posting more often on Facebook and Instagram, so you are always welcome to find me over there, where I am more prolific. 

The biggest news in my life has been that registration went so well with my Tuscan retreat, "La Dolce Vita" that I decided to add a second retreat! Can you believe it? Once Jo Packham and all my partners indicated that they were available, I decided to go for it! So, if you're looking for the trip of a lifetime with similar minded women who share a passion for creative living and antiquing, won't you consider joining me in Tuscany next year either May 20-27, 2017 or June 3-10, 2017. Pricing and registration details can be found on the retreat website: www.ladolcevitaforever.com

The "La Dolce Vita 2017" website is now LIVE!

Italy is so many things: It is cobblestone streets and ancient buildings, fresh vegetables with the most amazing flavor and gelato so divine it could make you cry. It is the cooing of doves and the sweet scent of jasmine permeating the summer air. It is a country jam packed with historical works of art and full of the warmest people who practice hospitality as a way of life. It is quite simply a land that has inspired a million dreams, and I look forward to sharing it with the attendees of "La Dolce Vita" 2017.

After months of behind the scenes meetings and discussions with our retreat partners, I am incredibly excited to share that the "La Dolce Vita: Where Women Cook & Where Women Create Edition" website is now LIVE!

Together with my special guest Jo Packham, founder and editor of "Where Women Cook", "Where Women Create" and "Where Women Create Business" we invite you to click over and explore "La Dolce Vita".

WWW.LADOLCEVITAFOREVER.COM

I look forward to meeting you in Tuscany next summer. Ciao!

"La Dolce Vita" Tuscany, Italy Creative Lifestyle Retreat 2016 wrap up

I've been home now for several weeks from "La Dolce Vita" 2016 and I'm past due in sharing my thoughts and memories from another fantastic edition of the retreat. For those who are new to my blog, "La Dolce Vita" is a creative lifestyle retreat for women set in Tuscany Italy. With a concentration on antiquing, culinary activities and creativity, this retreat is one of the great passions of my life!

This year presented a new challenge for me, in January my co-host Terri Brush made the difficult decision that due to continued slow healing from second and third degree burns she needed to withdraw from participating. So, for the first year, I led "La Dolce Vita" by myself. I learned so many things - but isn't that the way when a new challenge is set before us?

Knowing that we needed to secure a talented jewelry artist as a substitute we reached out to Amy Hanna, who I have known since 2008. Along with Amy, artist extraordinaire Pam Garrison came as Amy's assistant and general retreat helper. Thank you to both of these talented ladies who helped me facilitate the week. I appreciate all your help and hope that your time in Italy was enjoyable!

(Amy and Pam waiting at the train station for the train that would take us to Florence to check out the antique market.)

This year "La Dolce Vita" was blessed to welcome women from Israel, The Netherlands, Norway and the USA. We were a group of ladies from around the world who created our own little art tribe in Tuscany.

I am always amazed at the dynamics and magic of getting a group of women together. While there are often pockets of ladies who know each other, there are also always some who come by themselves, or just knowing one other person. It is a special thing when women come together, and the sacred bonding of the group is always a shared love of creativity in its many forms. There are paper crafters, jewellers, pastry chefs, textile artists - so many different creative disciplines represented and we all learn from each other during the week. It is such an encouraging environment!

To read about the retreat from the perspective of an attendee, Debby Schuh has two posts about "La Dolce Vita" 2016 on her blog. The first is here, and the second is here. Debby has actually attended the retreat all 3 years, so if you search through her archives you can find posts from each of the previous two years as well!

Again this year the meals were amazing and such highlights! We are blessed to work with Tuscan women who know their way around the kitchen and spoil us with fresh, seasonal meals. Thank you to Antonella and Lory who feed us SO well. It sure was difficult to come home and have to cook my own meals again!

The cooking lessons were also wonderful and I learned how to make gnocchi (surprisingly easier than I thought!) Thank you to Andrea, Giovanna and Patrizia who led the workshops in Anqua, and Giulia who led the cooking lesson in Scorgiano this year.

A huge THANK YOU to the 18 ladies who joined me in Italy this year. It goes without saying that without you there would be no "La Dolce Vita". I enjoyed meeting you all and hope that when you think back upon your time at the retreat it brings a smile to your face and happiness to your heart.

Thank you to Terri, who cheered me on from back home and helped by making several jewelry gifts which were given to the ladies during our week together.

A final big thank you to Paola, my Italian big sister, who is my right hand in hosting "La Dolce Vita". I am so thankful that I chose to stay at your family's estate 5 years ago. Who knew back then that we would end up being such a part of each other's lives? Mad love to you and your family.

As I wrap up 2016, I move onto "La Dolce Vita" 2017. After three amazing years of leading "La Dolce Vita" retreats in Tuscany with my co-host Terri Brush, she has decided to step back from "La Dolce Vita" and graciously wished me the best as I continue to offer this special brand of creative lifestyle retreat to attendees. (Terri continues to offer jewelry workshops in her home studio in Chehalis, WA and online, so I would encourage you to check them out as she is an excellent instructor!)

I wanted to do something special to kick off this new chapter in the "La Dolce Vita" story, so I reached out to Jo Packham, Founder and Editor of "Where Women Cook", "Where Women Create" and "Where Women Create: BUSINESS" magazines and asked her to be my special guest in Italy for 2017. I was overjoyed when she said "yes"! With special activities planned that reflect the creativity celebrated in the pages of Jo's magazines, attendees are sure to be in for a treat! The date for "La Dolce Vita" 2017 is June 3-10 and I hope to see you there.

Registration is not open yet, but if you visit it at www.ladolcevitaforever.com you can sign up for our newsletter in order to be notified when the website is live!

Painted Lady Necklace

Thank you so much for all the support for my post earlier this week. Anniversaries are always difficult, and it is great to have the encouragement of friends to get me through tough days. Thank you for sharing my burden.

Last week I had the pleasure of having a creative play day with my friend Rochelle and I used our time together to finally make a necklace with one of the treasures I purchased in Italy last summer. Oh, how I love this hand painted pendent. It has a beautiful sterling silver case whose age is told by the broken clasps which keep the glass in place. While you might think that painted brooches or pendents like this are plentiful in Europe, the truth is that I had been hunting in antique stores and markets for four years for a piece like this. I have certainly seen similar ones over the years, but either the price was always much higher than I was willing to pay, or the price was fine, but the focal colors were not ones that I wear very often. There was always something just not right. So, fast forward to my European trip last summer, and I was on the hunt again. To my utter surprise, I found, and bought, not just one, but two pieces at the Milan market - I was SO happy! But, it just goes to show, that sometimes treasures don't come easy. 

This is truly an international necklace as most of the bits and pieces were purchased during my travels. The focal point pendent and pearls are from Italy • The moss aqua gemstones and pyrite were from Thailand • I found the smokey quartz, labradorite and amazonite in Istanbul • And the prayer beads, rhinestone disco balls and rondelle spacers are all vintage from the US.

Wee Italian boy necklace

One of the things I actively hunt for at the antique markets I visit in Europe are old brooches, pendents, photos or jewelry pieces that I can use as focal pieces in the repurposed jewelry I design. I found this beautiful vintage photo at the Arezzo, Italy antique market in 2013. I was immediately drawn to the soft, blue, purple and grey colors in the image and so bargained until I managed to procure it a good price.

Once I got home, I didn't actually get going on making my necklace until several months later. To make the necklace I combined labradorite and sterling silver links which were sourced during one of my trips to Istanbul, black quartz and some beautiful blue chalcedony beads.

I am not 100% certain if I will be keeping, or selling this beauty. If you are interested in purchasing it, please send me an email using the 'email me' link at the top left of this page, under my photo.

Workshop announcement in Prato, Italy

Today I am excited to announce my upcoming workshop November 6th or 7th, 2015 at Scrappando Carta e Ricordi in Prato, Italy (near Florence). This will be my second visit to this lovely store and I look forward to seeing returning and new students.

Here's a little blurb about the workshop:

Join Carolyn Peeler in her return visit to Scrappando this fall and get a head start on the holiday season. During this workshop you will make a beautiful, album with a fun retro/modern flair.

This is the perfect workshop for those who want to get a head start on scrapbooking your December Memories. By the end of the class, your album will be ready and all you will have to do is add journalling and photos! 

 

Your album can be used in two different ways: 1) You can use it to scrapbook your month of December. This concept, first pioneered by Ali Edwards, has gained a devoted following by those who want to slow down an capture their families memories during this busy time of the year. 2) Your album could be used as a Christmas yearbook, where you use it to scrapbook photos from the Christmas day celebrations for a few years.

 

In addition to talking about general pocket scrapbooking tips, Carolyn will teach some of her favorite watercolor, stamping and die cutting techniques.

 

The class kit will be PACKED with beautiful Christmas products and some exclusive Italian language products designed by Carolyn especially for the class. Students will have lots of left overs in their kits.

 

Please visit www.scrappando.it for more info. I'd love to see you there!

Update on La Dolce Vita retreat

Registration for "La Dolce Vita", the creative lifestyle retreat I co-host with my friend Terri Brush opened yesterday and we are thankful to share that we are already tentatively sold out for our May 31 - June 10, 2016 session (pending the return of signed contracts and the receipt of their first payments). However, we DO still have spots available for our June 10 - 17, 2016 week. So, check out our website at: www.ladolcevitaforever.com.

We have so many amazing things planned for 2016, including, for the first time, a second cooking class, an open house in a private home in Siena, a visit to a fantastic European antique market and awesome crafting workshops!

For anyone who is considering attending, but doesn't have a friend who is able to attend with them, I would urge you to consider coming solo. Each year we have several ladies to venture out on their own, and they find that through sharing the experiences of the week together, the sense of community that builds within the group is really something unique and utterly magical. So, why not join us in Italy in 2016!