Twice a year I pack up and head to just outside Occidental, California to a blissful piece of heaven called St. Dorothy’s Rest where I meet up with 11 other creative women. We spend several days of scrapping, watching movies, eating fabulous food and nurturing friendships in the Lydia House nestled among the redwoods at the top of the hill.

Photos by Lori O’Donnell

The last few times I went, I brought along some goodies to share. HERE is the post from last November showing all the fun-filled swag bags I was able to pack into my Suburban to take to the retreat and share thanks to some wonderful sponsors. Last month, as the March retreat approached, and having just come from the Craft & Hobby Assoc. Conference & Trade Show, I made requests of several new contacts for retreat swag sponsorship. And boy did they respond! But this time, I requested sponsors send enough to include in an awesome giveaway for JSIM readers!! Just look at the back of my Suburban packed for the Spring retreat!

There is so much swag that it will take all this week to share photos and links to the many exciting products included in the Spring swag bags. At the end of the week I will open up the comments for entry to the giveaway for THREE super swag bags FULL of deliciousness for THREE giveaway winners! So anything in this week’s posts that is underlined within the text will be included in the swag bag giveaway! As you will see, the bags are huge and weighty, and although most of the giveaways I host are open to international readers, I will need to limit this giveaway to the US only as I will be paying the shipping on each bag.

As you follow along this week, I would sincerely appreciate your support in clicking on each sponsor’s link to visit their websites to support them. Whether you are interested in making purchases at this time or not, it’s always a great idea to mentally catalog product and companies for a time in the future that you may.

Now, let’s get this sponsor swag giveaway party started! But, before diving into the crafting goods, I want to share some special items that made the swag bags extra special…Starting with…

……………………. LANDS’END …………………….

What’s swag without a fabulous bag? Feast your eyes on these AMAZING LANDS’ END TOTE BAGS!

Around 20 years ago, I purchased my first enormous, monogrammed canvas tote from Lands’ End. My family and I still use it today for beach blankets, sporting events and other travel purposes. And, although not really known in the craft & scrap circles for storage & transport (yet!), The XL Lands’ End Zip Top Tote Bags are AWESOME for exactly that!
Lands’ End has many different canvas totes to choose from, but the extra large, cotton canvas, zipper-closure tote is more than perfect for lugging your creative tools & equipment, craft materials, books, magazines and more. The beautifully stitched extra large tote bag is 26″ x 10-1/4″ x 17-3/8″ (huge!) I don’t live in a home with much storage room, so it’s necessary to keep my bags to a minimum. This XL tote bag is excellent for taking anything anywhere- beach, baseball, camping, vacation, road-trips- it’s the ideal weekender bag!

The XL Lands’ End Zip Top Tote Bags are BIG and BEEFY, stand upright and won’t collapse on you. They have one large outside pocket, four huge inside pockets and an attached key fob. Just the tote to handle all the amazing sponsor swag for our weekend! And I packed them full!

HERE is a link to  all the coolness of Lands’ End canvas tote bags.

{Thank you Lands’ End!}

……………………. MAGELLAN’S …………………….

Before gettin’ crafty, it was imperative that we get cozy. Most of us at the retreat hang out in sweats or jammies all day, because we CAN! So slippers are pretty much dress code. That’s where Magellans comes in- they sent everyone a wonderful pair of cozy Women’s Travel Slippers! The Magellan’s Travel Slippers for Women are made of breathable, water-resistant stretch neoprene and fit stretchy-snug to your foot! They are super warm and I wore them every second of the retreat with the only exception of walking through the rain to the main lodge for meals. Here’s a foot shot of lovely Kimberly who wore her Magellan’s travel slippers while beading all weekend. Whether you go on retreats, crops, vacation, biz trips or just like a quality pair of slippers for around the house that don’t flip and flop, you will LOVE the Magellan’s Travel Slippers for women (and men!)

Magellan’s is a premier source for all things travel, business & recreation, apparel & gear, maps & travel tips and guides, and so much more. You can even join them socially on Facebook, HERE. One of the very best things about Magellan’s, however, is the support they give to some excellent volunteer organizations that you may be very interested in. Please read about them HERE.

{Thank you Magellan’s!}

……………………. THE RUSTED CHAIN …………………….

Beki Hastings, amazing photographer and gifted designer behind The Rusted Chain, generously contributed beautiful Sterling Silver “blessed” key chains to the sponsor swag bags! I have long adored Beki and her beautiful custom jewelry, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to receive these to share.

The ladies loved them and, as I occasionally write about being so blessed, the keychain is now a special piece to carry with me every day as a sweet reminder.

Each piece of The Rusted Chain jewelry is custom made using sterling silver, natural stones, and the finest components. Her products include hand stamped jewelry, earrings, brooches, and hair accessories.

Currently, Beki is helping raise money to support the effort in Japan. You can read more HERE and find yourself blessed. You can also enjoy more from Beki on The Rusted Chain blog and Facebook.

{Thank you, Beki!}

……………………. MUCH MORE TO COME! …………………….

And that’s just the beginning of the JSIM Spectacular Sponsor Swag Giveway! I will be posting daily this week with product reviews, so keep checking back to see what else is in the bag! In the meantime…Do you do any sort of creative retreat with friends? Tell me all about it!

…ENTRY TO GIVEAWAY OPENS FRIDAY, MARCH 25, 2011...