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Should You Go To Cardmaking Summer Camp?

Cute camping card with a ring that changes the scene from day to night.

I went to C9 Summer Camp 2023 hosted by @Concordand9th last weekend. In this article, I’ll review the event for you & share the cards I made.

Every year, Greg Cottrell and his team over at @Concordand9th put on a event they call summer camp. This year is the third time they have put on a event like this. I have attended two of them. They describe it as a virtual craft retreat, which is so very appropriate. I say that because it is so much more than just a craft making event.

After you register for summer camp, and about a month before the event, you receive an email inviting you to the facebook group for camp. And, they send you get a box full of goodies, including exclusive products that you will use during class and it has a card in it, like the one below, that tells you what cabin you are assigned to.

Everything about the event is run and branded as a summer camp. There are six crafty camp counselors, otherwise known as instructors, who are all rock stars in the card making community. Each conselor leads their own cabin, which are all named after a Concord and 9th cardstock and ink color.

And, this year we had three options for registering for camp:

  • Camp Retreat and Kit without any ink
  • Camp Retreat and Kit with Ink Cubes
  • Camp Retreat and Kit with Ink Pads

Summer Camp Classes and Counselors


C9 Summer Camp

C9 Summer Camp
C9 Summer Camp
from: Concord & 9th

Campfire Hangout

The fun begins with a Campfire Hangout where you play games, laugh (a lot), and have a great time around a virtual campfire with the camp counselors. There is another one on the second night.

To be honest, the Campfire Hangouts are my favorite parts of the event. They are nothing but fun. If you went to camp when you were a kid, then you’ll know that you develop special bonds and relationships during camp. And, people that are there make a significant impact on you and your life. It is no different with C9 Summer Camp.

During camp, especially during the Campfire Hangouts, you forget about everything else that is going on in your life and just enjoy the moment. They are really special!

Summer Camp Classes

Each camp counselor teaches a class. The classes begin with a recorded lesson where the counselor introduces the products they are using and completes the cards they are teaching. Then, they join Greg live and go over things that attendees mention in the comments that they need help on.

Before we get into each of the classes, I want to share a hack that works really well for me. I have attended many cardmaking events over the years. And, find that making the cards prior to the event improves the event experience in a number of ways:

  • Allows you to participate in the chat
  • Gives you knowledge on what to pay special attention to during the class
  • Create my own version of the cards during the class

This year, I also did the homework three times (so that I had 3 sets for each card) which was great in making my own versions.

And now, let’s take a look at the classes from this year.

Summer Camp 23 – Dragonfruit Cabin: Inked Blossoms

Ink Blending + Paper Piecing with Kristina Werner

Kristina's Card
Pretty die-cut card in pink, green, and white.
My Card
Pretty die-cut card in pink, green, and white.

The first two cards were taught by Kristina Werner, aka @StarofMay. The kit for this card includes a beautiful silhouette die with three pretty flowers with leaves filling in the background. Kristina’s card is a beautiful clean and simple card that shows off the silhouette, yet adds just a touch of color to accent the flowers on a Juniper card base.

My card is a reverse of what Kristina did. I blended the die cut with new Concord & 9th ink colors, Tidepool, Juniper, and Pink Lemonade. And then, to step it up I blended six circles with Pink Lemonade onto White cardstock. And then added just a little touch of Dragonfruit to the centers with one of the mini blending brushes included in the kit. Then, I glued the pieces together with liquid glue and used Dragon Fruit Enamel dots in the centers.

Kristina's Card
Lovely Card for a friend featuring white die-cut flowers in front of a pretty blended background in teals and pinks.
My Card
A handmade greeting card featuring white paper flowers, colorful background designs, and the text "Hello wonderful friend" in gold and green lettering. Perfect for sending a touch of joy after a creative day at Cardmaking Summer Camp, the card sits on a wooden surface.

The second card in this class is one of my all time favorites. Kristina had us blend a background and pop up the flowers with the same die-cut petals that I use in my first card. And then I used the turnabout stamp from Jeff’s class to step it up a little.

This die set is so versitle, it’s great to have in my stash as I will use it a lot!

Summer Camp – Pink Lemonade Cabin: Squeeze the Day

Notecards with Seeka

Three greeting cards on a wooden surface. The top card, reminiscent of a vibrant summer camp memory, features a design with an orange fruit and a bow, with the words "miss you" written on it.
A handmade greeting card with "oh hello" text, featuring a design of a lemon slice, green leaves, and a pink flower, lying on top of an envelope with green stripes—a perfect project for summer camp cardmaking.
A "thank you" card with a colorful design featuring oranges and patterns, reminiscent of Summer Camp crafts, placed on a wooden surface with a matching envelope nearby.
A greeting card with lemon and floral designs reads, "I could just squeeze you." Another partially visible card with similar designs is placed underneath on a wooden surface, reminiscent of creations from a Cardmaking Summer Camp.

The second class was held by Seeka, aka @SkyPaperScissors. And, she taught us how to make an amazing four notecards with matching envelopes. There wasn’t much that I wanted to change because they are so cute. I just arranged the big lemon card a little differently and added a little more color to the sentiments on both of the lemon cards.

I love the size of this card. The kit included envelopes and a die to create the patterned paper inserts. I hope that Concord & 9th creates more die sets for this size card and starts to carry the envelopes too. And, the combination of Tidepool, Juniper, Pink Lemonade, and Buttercup make a beautiful custom patterned paper don’t you think?

Summer Camp – Clementine Cabin: Happy Trails

Interactive cards with Laura Bassen, aka @LauraFadora

Laura's Card
Two pop-up greeting cards featuring a delightful camper in a forest setting, perfect for cardmaking enthusiasts. One showcases a sunny day scene with "Hey there, sunshine!" while the other captures a serene night sky and reads, "Everything is going to be okay." Ideal for reminiscing about summer camp.
My Card
Two minimalist art pieces depict scenery with a camper van in a forest under a sunny sky and a sunset. The left has text "I’d follow you anywhere," and the right says "Love you." Perfect for cardmaking summer camp projects, these pieces radiate warmth and adventure.

Wow! What can I say about this darling interactive card? Laura’s version is so cute, it’s hard to imagine why you would need anything else! And, Concord & 9th’s creative genius is in full display with this set. The large circle at the top spins from daylight to night sky. Absolutely amazing!

Of course, I had to put my spin on it. I tried a sunset and used the love you sentiment from Jennifer’s class to add to the nighttime clouds. Love it!

Greeting card on a wooden surface, decorated with a circular design featuring a pink trailer, green trees, a crescent moon, stars, and the word "howdy." A white string is tied around it. This Cardmaking Summer Camp project brings out the fun of summer camp and creativity in cardmaking.

Oh, yea! And then there’s this little cutie patootie! How darling is this? Laura, knocked it out of the park with these two cards!

One of the cool things that Concord & 9th does for their Summer Camps is they source special things that match or go with what’s in the Camp Kit. For example the patterned paper in several of these cards, twine, special enamel dot sets, etc..,

Summer Camp – Lemongrass Cabin – Summer Sprigs

Summer Sprigs: Turnabouts with Jeff Lindberg 

Die-cut Summer Sprigs Card

 

Jeff’s Card
A greeting card with vibrant, paper-cut plant designs and the word "friend" in script at the center. Reminiscent of creations made at a Cardmaking Summer Camp, the card is set on a wooden surface.
My Card
Handmade turquoise thank you card with colorful paper cut-out leaves and white text "thank you," adorned with a white string bow and small clear embellishments, on a wooden surface. Perfect for showcasing your Cardmaking Summer Camp creations.

I love rainbows, so this card had me at the colors! But the clean and simple design that Jeff Lindberg, aka @JeffLindbergCreates uses to create the first card is absolutely breathtaking.

The sprig dies in this set are so versitle, you can use them on almost anything. I had three sets of all of the homework and card bases ready before the event. So when I got ready to make this card during class I pulled everything out and the sprigs were in a pile on top of the teal card base that is for the turnabout card. They looked so pretty together I decided to do a bouquet on the Tidepool card base and used the twine we had for the “Howdy” card.

Next I die cut the thank you from the “Squeeze” set three times from White cardstock and layered them together with liquid glue. And then, I used the clear drops from the kit just like Jeff did.

Love, love, love these cards! I will make both of the many more times!

Turnabout Summer Sprigs Card

 
Jeff’s Card
A greeting card with the text "You are the best" surrounded by various green and yellow leaves, placed on a wooden surface, perfect for showcasing your Cardmaking skills.
My Card
A greeting card with the word "hugs" written in green cursive, surrounded by pink and yellow leaf patterns, lies on a wooden surface, reminiscent of a project from Cardmaking Summer Camp.

This next card is created using a turnabout stamp from the Camp Kit with an All-In-One Turnabout Jig (we received the jig in our kit but you can buy them too). Turnabouts are a really cool system made up of a set of “tools” that help you line up and turn your stamp to create beautiful, intricate, multicolored images (mostly backgrounds).

The system has you turn your stamp four times. And, the stamps come with a guide that suggests four colors to use, one for each turn. However, you can use whatever colors you want. That is what I did with my card. And then, I used a die from Jennnifer’s class to create a matching stitched sentiment.

Okay, the perfection you get from layering colors with the turnabout system is one thing. But Jeff steps it up a notch by using the coordinating dies to add more sprigs over the top of those that are stamped. I think it really makes the card pop and use the same technique on my card. Brilliant!

If you haven’t tried making a turnabout card yet, you need to! I’m just saying!!!

Summer Camp – Juniper Cabin – Tiny Terrarium

Tiny Terrarium: Paper Piecing with Dilay Nacar

Dilay’s Card
Hand holding a greeting card with a geometric terrarium illustration featuring plants and a mushroom. Text at the bottom reads "KEEP GOING. KEEP GROWING." Ideal for cardmaking enthusiasts or to inspire campers at summer camp.
My Card
Handcrafted greeting card featuring a geometric planter with green ferns and red flowers, perfect for cardmaking enthusiasts. It has the message "Have a great day" displayed on the front, set against a wooden background.

OK, I have to admit that I didn’t think I was going to like this one. In fact, I wasn’t even going to make it! But then I decided to, because after all it is in the kit and I should at least try it.

Well, I’m glad that I did because Dilay Nacar, aka @DilayNacar, really did a nice job making these cards come to life. The card you see here in the photos are baasically the same as what Dilay taught…I just got a little wild with teh sprigs in the second one.

But, I want to talk about the first one for a minute. It’s hard to describe what happens as you begin to put this card together. It’s almost just like creating a terrarium in real life, each little cactus, mushroom, or rock you add makes it more and more beautiful.

And then, using acrylic to enclose it all makes the card! I wish you could see it in person because it is amazing!

Summer Camp – Tidepool Cabin – Hugs and Stitches

Hugs and Stitches – Stitching with Jennifer McGuire

A "thank you" card with orange flowers, green leaves, and blue dots on a white background. The card, which reflects the joy of summer camp memories, has a teal border and is placed on a light wooden surface. Perfect for cardmaking enthusiasts!
A handmade card on a wooden surface features the word "hugs" stitched in green thread on a pink background with two floral designs and is bordered by an orange frame, showcasing a delightful creation perfect for Cardmaking Summer Camp.
A pink greeting card with layered, floral cutouts and the text "love you lots" in the center, displayed on a floral-patterned envelope on a wooden surface. This charming piece looks like it could have come straight from a summer camp cardmaking session, perfect for sharing heartfelt sentiments.

And finally, there was Jennifer’s class, aka @JenniferMcGuireInk. What can I say? She is amazing in every way! The first card we made had the big stamped floral images on it. Then, Concord and 9th created this coordinating awesome die that adds holes to it so that you can add details by stitching.

Jennifer’s stitching instructions were outstanding!

For my card, I created a patterned paper using the little stamps from the stamp kit that match the larger images. And then I stamped the larger ones just like Jennifer did, however, I did so on colored cardstock. And then I added some little drops at the base of each flower and heat embossed the sentiment and fussy cut it out.

For Jennifer’s second card, she had us create a beautiful mono-tone background by stamping the larger stamp. The stitching is the focal point of this card. and she adds a couple of cute little flowers to accent the stitched sentiment. I created the card just as Jennifer does, however, I wanted a little more color on my card so I applied my dragonfruit ink pad directly to the card panel and pulled it across the panel. And then, I did the same going in the opposite direction with Clementine.

A Couple More Things

Wow, we made some beautiful cards, didn’t we?

The stamps and dies that are in the Camp Kit are awesome! But guess what? there’s more! We received a special bonus die from our Camp Counselor too. Each cabin had a different set and they are all really neat!

I haven’t had time to create a card with mine yet, but here’s a picture of the set that Tidepool Cabin received:

A hand holds metal dies shaped like a heart, small hearts, and the word "hello" above a "C9 Cardmaking Summer Camp" base.

I can’t wait to try it out, especially after seeing the cards that Jennifer created with it!

We also got some cool camp swag, exclusive discounts, and shopping opportunities at the C9 Trading Post.

Should You Attend?

My answer is a enthusiastic yes! It is so much fun!

The C9 crew is the best, the counselors are such good sports and awesome instructors.

I love everything about it! So, I recommend that you sign up next year…hopefully, we’ll end up in the same cabin together.

Supplies

Are You Looking For More Reviews?

Check out HOW TO DECIDE ON THE BEST CRAFTY STORAGE: STAMP-N-STORAGE REVIEW

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Teri Duncan

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ABOUT AUTHOR
Teri Duncan - Author
Teri Duncan

Teri has over 30 years of experience as a cardmaker.  Her work has appeared in Spellbinders Paper Arts’ blog as well as with some of their products and on Altenew’s blog. Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, stained glass, and teaching. She and her husband live in Crystal River, Florida with their three dogs and a cat.

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