Gathering Dust

Gypsy Spells & Songs Felted Book and Romantic Gothic Ghosts

Karla asked me to teach a class at her upcoming Romantic Gothic Ghosts workshop.  The theme behind the workshop is a romantic Halloween look, no bright orange pumpkins or scarecrows; instead projects you could leave up year round.

I'm not sure how most teachers come up with a class project- there is probably a more efficient way to do it than what I do.  I knew I wanted to make a fabric book and I thought it might be fun to put a gypsy spin on it. 

I went to The Graphics Fairy blog, downloaded gypsy and Halloween images, made some collage sheets, and printed them on paper, fabric and scrim.  God bless Karen, the Graphics Fairy- what a wonderful resource!

Then I got some trims, trinkets, charms & lace and started to play.

This was the first book I came up with- with a tin type on the cover.  After looking through my tintypes, I realized that even though I had enough tintypes for the whole class, I didn't have enought PRETTY tintypes. 

This project needed something more attractive than a tintype with an old man with a pointy beard and scruffy hat- so I tried to figure out how to make my own tintypes.

Here are some that I came up with.  They aren't as dark as the real thing, but I think they do have a spooky look.

The book is made of walnut stained felt.  I'll have plenty of images, doodads, trinkets and lace so that everyone can make their pages unique.

Karla still has a few openings left for the event- it's Oct 6 at her cottage.  If you know Karla, you know that just seeing her decorations, house, studio and landscaping make it worth a trip.  She'll have a delicious lunch for us, and you can pet a chicken or a puppy.  Her Yorkie (and my Button's mother); Twinkle, will have 6 week old puppies right about that time. 

Oh, and you get two craft classes, too----this one and Karla's Ravishing Raven.  Here's a link for more info and to sign up:  Romantic Gothic Ghosts Workshop. 

My original tintype book is now listed in my Etsy Shop Gathering Dust, along with some awesome 1940's penmanship magazines.

Paper Cowgirls Teaching My First Class

(photo stolen from Kristi Knox Day)

Teaching at Paper Cowgirls was a blast, and even though my class was small- only 9 people, I was stressed. Even though I was comfortable with my project, I wanted to DO GOOD- and I sure didn't want to let anyone down.

The night before we left for Waxahachie, I had dreams about scissors that wouldn't cut, glue that wouldn't stick and lace that was wound into knotted tangles.

I couldn't get back to sleep because

1. any situation seems worse in the middle of the night

2. I hadn't done a "practice class".

One thing I learned from Karla about teaching a class is to do a practice class with friends to get the kinks out.

Luckily, Karla had the idea to do a practice class in our hotel room the night before I taught.  She made two samples and I made one- so I had a lot of examples to show.  We did find some kinks, but we worked them out- and it let me be a whole lot more confident when I started my class.

The gals in my class were just darling- Charlene, Lisa and Amy.

Linda Hahn and Betti Zucker.

The whole class with (almost) finished projects.  Thanks girls for making it so easy to teach my first class.

Close-ups of some in process projects- I love how they're using the same materials, but all look a little different.

I'll have class kits for sale in my Etsy shop- but first I want to revise my instructions to include all the ideas and tips that I got from teaching that first class.

On the Road to Paper Cowgirls

Tomorrow, Karla and I are on our way to Paper Cowgirls in Texas.  This will be the first time in years that I've been in Texas when the temperature is under 80 degrees.  I'm hoping we can see some blue bonnets.

Karla and I are both teaching classes.  It's my first time teaching a craft class and my first time putting together a craft kit.  It doesn't sound hard, counting buttons, cutting ribbon, but it is.  I mean, it's not hard work like mining coal or pouring concrete, but I didn't realize how much went into it.

I followed Karla's advice and made extra kits.  She said "It's just as easy to make thirty as it is twenty".   When I get home from Texas, I'll be listing the extras in my Etsy shop.

Thank goodness BOTH Karlas helped me put my kits together.  Karla the artist figured out my presentation- tieing the papers and cloth together, and Karla the accountant meticulously cut ribbon and counted buttons.

And what did I do?  Mostly I whined "this is hard......"

One think I've learned about craft classes from both Karla and Lisa is that it's fun to have extras supplies so everyone in the class has a chance to customize their project.

I was planning on packing my supplies in a vintage suitcase- something I usually have "in stock"- but I sold my last suitcase a couple weeks ago, so  I decided to substitute this artist's case.  It's kind of like a wooden brief case- made to hold an artist's paints, brushes and canvases.  But it was UGLY plywood, so I did a little decoupage on it, using some of my favorite old papers- dictionary pages, old magazine, catalog and ledger pages.

Inside, I have lace, scraps from a stained Quaker tablecloth, ribbon and buttons.

Underneath, I've stored my class samples, extra background papers and vintage wallpaper.

The last time I was at Karla's she had her class kits stacked all together and they were so pretty- I had to get a picture.  That is some vintage goodness!

 

Paper Cowgirls and Kitchen Re-do (no relationship)

Last summer, I had such a great time at Paper Cowgirls and I saw how much fun Karla and Lisa had teaching, so I was tickled when head Cowgirl Cindy invited me to teach at this year's event.

My class is based on an article I did for Sew Somerset magazine that featured an altered baby dress.  Cowgirls in the class will have their choice of two versions of the dress- or they can mix and match elements from both of them. 

Paper Cowgirls is March 14 and 15 in Waxahachie Texas- which is just a darling little city with a real downtown with one of those grand old courthouses and  great shopping- gift shops, antique malls and a fantastic scrapbooking store- The Crafty Scrapper, where the classes will be held.

You can get more details on the Paper Cowgirls website and class sign-ups are here.

And onto something completely different.  Do you know what the best way to redo your kitchen is?

Have your friends do it for you....

On Friday, Karla and Karla painted my kitchen cabinets.  I wish I had a "before" picture, but imagine the cabinets looked like the door in the first picture.

I'm lovin' the clean light look.  I would have been scared to death to attempt it myself, but I trust Karla with paint like I trust my hairdresser with scissors.  I know everything will turn out just great.

The kitchen looks a little bare and spare, but I think that since so much of my house seems to filled with "stuff"- stuff to sell, stuff to sort, stuff to make other stuff out of, it's refreshing to have a room that looks like it could be in anyone's house.

Karla took quite a few close-up pictures and I think she's going to do a how to on her blog- but one of the best ideas she had was spattering.

She took some dark glaze, put it on a toothbrush, and then ran her fingers along the bristles so the paint spattered into little spots on the cupboards.

It's very similiar to what happens when a wet dirty dog shakes in your kitchen- so when that DOES happen, well, I won't have to grab a rag and clean up- (not that I would have anyway)- but now it will just fit right in.

I'm pretty lucky to have a friend that's a talented painter and can't resist a make-over challenge and another friend that just likes to paint.

Bird Song Treasures

 
One of the most amazing things about an art event is the genorosity of the sponsors and other attendees.  Bird Song was no different. Laurie made everyone darling button card with a snippet of a child's book about birds, Suzanne gave me a handpainted bird plate, Cami brought wax covered tags.  I've nestled my tag in a glitter covered peat pot from Marie, who also gave everyone a hammered spoon necklace- mine says "Cherish".

 
Dawn sent soap in peat pots from her family's soap company.   I've ordered soap from Dawn several times- it's my go to gift that everyone loves.

 
Craft supplies are one of my favorite "gifties"- Hope made everyone a nest adorned matchbox filled with beads and bauble, my "suite mate" Sherry  gave me a goodie bag with shells, beads and the K & Company journal tags that I can't wait to dig into.  Sandy gave everyone a decorated case with a notepad and pen inside.

 
What a great idea- a pen and pad IN A CASE (a pretty one at that) for my purse that won't fall apart, lose pages or spot the lining of my purse with ink.

 
Laurie gave me this nifty vintage stamp holder- it used to be used to hold wooden handled business stamps like "Paid" and "Draft"- I think it makes a great picture and postcard holder.

 
When I was looking for cards to add to my holder, I really liked this one, so I scanned it for you if you're in the mood for a bird themed project.  Double click to open to a larger size in a new window.

 

Bird Song- Behind the Scenes

 
 
I've always know that Karla was a great hostess, but last weekend at her Birdsong event she outdid herself.  The decorations, the classes and the food were wonderful. Karla's Cottage, studio, fairy trail, garage, gardens & courtyard  and even bonfire pit were all put to use.

 
 
I was able to take pictures before guests showed up- this is the courtyard- Sat was perfect weather for eating and visiting outside.  In the background you can see Karla's signature disco ball- because it really isn't a party without a disco ball, right?

 
Karla's mannequin, Luwanda was all "birded up".

 
Each workstation had a bird gift/goodie bag.

 
The table covers were decorated with Karla's drawings, doodles and quotes- "Use what talents you possess".

 
Prettinesss everywhere- this is Lisa's sample project- a woven purse that I know I'll be making more of.

 
Carol's fringed paper flowers and tree...

 
... and a fringed paper wreath.

 
Even the supply boxes were pretty- this is a "Jolly Pets" cigar box full of buckles and buttons for Deb's lampshade class.

 
My nature journal swap turned out great- I was so happy with all the different styles of pages that the girls came up with.

 
Thanks goodness I had "the other Karla" to help me put the books together.  She had never been in a swap, or even used a crop-a-dile, but I wouldn't have been able to get the books together with the right number of pages without her.

 
Just so you don't think that to make everything so special, Karla must have been on high alert, running the event with the precision of a military operation- I think she was able to relax and have some fun, too- because she wore her bedroom slippers all day.

 

Just a Fabric Collage Sheet...

 
... a needle, some thread, a little bit of burlap and some trims can keep me busy for a long time.

 
When Karla and I put together our e-zine Romantic White Christmas, we scanned dozens of images- a lot more than are used in the projects.  We've included those images as an extra bonus part of the class. 

Karla even put together a couple of collage sheets.  I printed one of the collage sheets on fabric this afternoon and spent a nice part of the day stitching in my easy chair, watching Gilmore Girls on DVD. 

Gilmore Girls is one of those shows I didn't catch in primetime but I'm glad to have found it now.

 

I made a little collection of pillows, hanging ornaments and gift bags.  Almost everything was sewn by hand.  I practiced some feather stitch but otherwise kept it pretty simple and didn't get too hung up on making anything "perfect".

 

I stuck mostly with a "low color" palette, but Santa had to get some red accents.

 

While I had my sewing stuff out, I started working on some coffee dyed lace purses.  I haven't decided if I like them, or if they look like something that might be used to wipe up spilled coffee....and are they suppose to still smell like coffee?

 

 

 

 

Old Dogs & New Tricks

Karla and I got together at the cottage to create some decorating vignettes for our Romantic White Christmas e-zine.

Everything looked so festive, pretty and romantic that we decided to put together a little video to show it all off.  Neither of us has ever done anything with a video camera besides press start or stop, but we managed to edit it and add music.  We fumbled through it a bit, but old dogs can learn new tricks.

All of the projects are "low color" and have a soft romantic feel.

The e-zine is in a blog format and has twelve project posts, six decorating and entertaining posts, several videos and over 70 images and backgrounds for you to use in class projects or for your own projects.  The cost is $25, and the blog will be available indefinitely.  You can check it out here.

Romantic White Christmas is Ready

 
Karla and my e-zine, A Romantic White Christmas is "open for business".  The first project starts on Monday Nov 8, but Karla has already added some welcome projects and video links.  The e-zine will run through Nov 24, with projects added every Monday, Wed, Fri & Sat, and mini crafting projects and decorating ideas added in between.  The cost is $25, and the blog will be available indefinitely.

Here's a peek at a few of my projects.

 

And some of Karla's:

 

We'd love for you to join us. You can get more information and specifics about the projects  here, or email me using the link in the right column.