Join me for an In Person Watercolor Retreat here in Iowa June 6-8, 2025 for an unforgettable weekend of water coloring magic! Our weekend will packed with lessons that are easily adaptable no matter what level of painter you are!
Whether you are brand new to watercolor or have been working with Watercolors for years, this event will be a highlight in your Watercolor Journey! We will gather in my home for weekend of learning, friends and fun! We will cover some basics and build on skills. Watercolor Happy Course helpful, b but not required. Cost includes over $100 in goodies to work with throughout our event, 2 Lunches and a pizza party Sat night! VERY LIMITED space. Hotel info available, as well as ability to connect with a potential roommate.
Ready to register? CLICK HERE Need some more information? Keep Reading!
Here is what people are saying about the first session:
I’ve taken Dena’s other Watercolor classes, but still consider myself a novice painter. Her in person retreat was absolutely wonderful. Her home was comfortable and inviting. All of the ladies I met were so sweet. Lots of small group instruction made it very easy to learn new techniques. Loved ALL of the goodies we received! I flew in from California and can’t wait for the next retreat… I will definitely be there. –Kim from California
If you are thinking about signing up for Dena’s in person watercolor retreat-DO IT!!! It was a fun filled experience with lots of inspiration and personal instruction. We were spoiled with treats, supplies, and great food. The Quad cities are super easy to fly into and navigate. Dena made this weekend special and I can’t wait for the next retreat! –Nancy from Virginia
Definitely a weekend full of education, inspiration and collaboration! I learned more about brushes and paper and water control and how it all goes together to make art! I loved seeing the creativity from others and took a lot of pictures for future inspiration! I loved meeting new friends and it’s great that we have each other to share with as we continue our watercolor adventures! Can’t wait for Part 2!!! — Chelley from Iowa
Agenda for the weekend: (topics are flexible and more or less can be covered depending on needs of each student)
Friday June 6th: 10am- 6pm
- Skills Class
- Learning How to get the most from your supplies
- Soup and Salad Lunch
- Troubleshooting session–how to avoid or fix common watercolor issues
- Abstract Project
Saturday June 7th: 10am -8pm
- All about Flowers: learning how to build strokes into flowers
- Creating a flower sampler
- Pasta bar for Lunch
- Painting stamped floral images
- Creating a final Floral Project
- Pizza Party and Game Night
Sunday June 8th: 9am-1pm
- Finish projects
- Questions answered
- Watercolor Challenge issued
- Fun Exercises to keep you going!
What is included:
- Paint Pallette (with fun new paints for spring/Summer)
- Sketch book
- 100% cotton watercolor paper sheets
- Exclusive Event Stencils
- fun tools and supplies (I have to keep some surprises!!)
- Lunch Each Day
- Pizza Party on Saturday evening
- FUN, open, engaging atmosphere for create!
A few more details:
- Event held in my basement (so you’ll need to navigate one flight of stairs)
- ALL levels of painting welcome and due to the small group, I can easily help each of you to have a fun, engaging and successful experience
- I live in Bettendorf, Iowa (also known as the Quad Cities), which is on the Mississippi River (Illinois is right across the river from us!) Hotel Suggestions will be available (details coming very shortly!) and hotels are usually about 5-10 min from me
- Flying–closest airport is 15 min away, MLI (Moline-Quad Cities International)
- Driving– approx 2 1/2 Hours from both Des Moines, Iowa and Chicago, ILL.
- We will have a Facebook Group so that you can connect with others–especially if you would like to room with someone to help cut costs.
I am so looking forward to sharing my passion for water coloring with you all! I hope you can join us for a truly inspiring weekend of fun!
Ordering with The Creativity Cave Benefits:
- Spend $50 and you’ll get the All Star Video Class Bundle PDF for FREE (a $15 value) for April: Beautiful Bokeh
- You’ll also be invited to our EXCLUSIVE monthly Stamp Happy Party: A LIVE event with Kelly, Barb and Dena (the inspiration behind Stamp Happy Academy) where we stamp together, give away prizes and have SOME FUN! You’ll also get a PDF of the projects and the replay if you can’t join us live! When you shop with me, you’ll be invited to the following month’s LIVE. Join the April LIVE (April 9th) for Free (open to all!) and order during April to be invited to May’s Free LIVE!
- SHOP NOW: HERE
The pouches I used for organizing my kits and Paper Pumpkins that fit in a Basket are here: https://amzn.to/427sBtK
Which of today’s projects were your favorite–let me know in the comments. Can’t wait to hear which you liked best! All supplies listed at the bottom of this blog post.
I hope you will join us for this month’s Card Challenge Card Fun fold Challenge (our first card from today’s LIVE) and join our Stamping With The Creativity Cave Monthly Card Challenge! Entries Due March 31st!
Happening this month (or coming soon):
- Everyday Arches Online Class: https://bit.ly/3Yd4mrn
- Thankful Garden Online Class: https://bit.ly/3QFXVJl
- Paint with Dena: Monthly painting classes and online community: https://bit.ly/4fpq29y
- Watercolor Happy 6-week Watercolor Course for cardmakers (can you hear my squeals of excitement for this?!?! Start Anytime! LIfetime Access for the course): https://bit.ly/3JT4DZ2
- May’s New Catalog Favorites Box: Sunshine and Creativity Delivered Subscription. Subscribe here: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=E9VHG4TQ5N9B8 Subscribe by April 30th to get the May Box.
- Stamp Happy Academy: www.stamphappyacademy.ning.com
- Basic: $19.95/month includes 4 online classes each month (over $80 value) Live Only: $20/month includes 3 LIVE classes each month Premium: $34.95/month BOTH a Basic and LIVE only Membership and Save! Find SHA on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/StampHappyAcademy
Need some supplies? Oh, how I would appreciate your business! I am so happy to help you with your creative juices–and when you support my online store it brings more amazing videos to you! Plus I love to reward my customers– I have a fantastic VIP Rewards program for that includes all kinds of perks (you can check them out here!) and you can order from my online store by clicking on the product images below. When you spend $50, you’ll get my All Star Tutorial Bundle PDF for Free (April’s PDF is Beautiful Bokeh Florals). You can also also purchase the PDF here for $15 (instant download).
