Haven 2012: Group Therapy for the Decorating-Addicted

Confession: Sometimes I feel like an oddball. I’m the type of person who gets super-excited about buying a roll of sisal at the hardware store to make a new wreath for my front door.  I get even more excited (well, almost) about taking photos of it on different settings. Then, to top it off, I get a kick out of posting them to the web for complete strangers to view and comment on.  Seriously, who does that?!?

Well, as it turns out, there are at least another 250 women in the world who get enjoyment out of the exact same kind of things.  Yup, I do not lie. I got to meet them last weekend at Haven 2012 in Atlanta.  It was like group therapy for the decorating and DIY addicted.  I had to pinch myself now and again to be sitting in a room with so many talented people.

One of my favorite sessions was the Advanced Furniture Painting class with none other than Miss Mustard Seed.  I thought it was awesome that she taught the session in her painting clothes.  She even gave out a prize to the person who wore the worst painting outfit to the class.  I wasn’t brave enough to wear mine, lol.  [For any of you Nesting Place fans, yes, that's Nester in the green shirt below.  Eeeep!]  We even had the chance to get hands on with Miss Mustard Seed’s new line of milk paints.

We also got to play with Annie Sloan chalk paint which was a real treat for me since it isn’t distributed in my area.  And, speaking of chalk paint, guess who spun the wheel at the Annie Sloan booth and won her very own can?!?  It was almost as exciting as winning a trip!

The amazing Ana White showed off her mad carpentry skills, and taught us how to use power tools – all while looking fab in her pretty tool belt and purple stilettos.  She built a mudroom organizer during one of the sessions.  I kid you not. Seriously, this girl rocks.

One of the most entertaining sessions, by far, was Rashon Carraway’s, aka “Mr. Goodwill Hunting”, on Thrifting 101.  You may have seen him on the Nate Berkus Show.  I’m not a big ‘thrifter’ (yet?), but I think I might start buying thrift furniture if only for the funny stories I’ll be able to tell about it!

Here’s another of my favorite bloggers, Beth of Home Stories A2Z, giving an insightful presentation on how to turn a blog into a business.

I also sat in on a session with Kevin and Layla of The Lettered Cottage (and Shoot Fly Shoot) on manual photography and photo styling.  I can’t believe that I didn’t take any photos there!  Duh. I guess I was too busy playing with the manual settings on my camera during their fabulous tutorial.

Overall, Haven 2012 was an incredible experience which is hard to describe in words.

 Thanks to Rhoda and all the other organizers, to the sponsors (like Home Depot, Rustoleum, Minwax, Royal Design Studio and Annie Sloan, just to name a few), and to all the incredible women I met there, for making it such a great experience.

Oh, and I can’t forget to thank my husband who entertained our 3 kids (including our 2-year old twin boys, yikes) in Atlanta for 2 full days, all so I could indulge my passion for decorating.  Seriously, he deserves a medal.  Or at least a beer .

Until next time,