Gathering Dust

Pretty Pretty Party

Everything about Karla's Valentine journal workshop was pretty...and festive.

Beautiful tablescapes both in the studio and the dining room, pretty decorations, fresh flowers, and all the class supplies were "the good stuff".  Flocked wallpaper, old ledger paper, vintage valentines, piles of ribbon, buckets of charms. 

And food- oh my- chicken pot pie with puff pastry, ooey gooey brownies, cupcakes made with Hawaiian vanilla bean and incredible home made  potato and rosemary bread .  Warm bread with real butter...heavenly.

Creative friends, a fun project, chocolate- a recipe for a special winter day.

Puppy Talk and Party Pretties

Last weekend at Karla's Romantic Gothic Ghosts Workshop, I took a lot of pictures but considering it was a crafting event, I really don't have many pictures of our projects. I was more caught in up in getting pictures of some of Karla's clever little decorating touches, and of course taking pictures of puppies.

The picture on top is the set up table for my class.  The wings in the middle of the picture are from Dawn's Angel Wing Tutorial.

The wings didn't have anything to do with my class, but I had so much fun making the wings, and was so happy with the way they turned out that I wanted to show them off.

This is Karla's treat cabinet, complete with witch hat cookies.

Karla's Sissy made these candle holders for everyone.  She printed images on vellum and glued them on a clear votive.

Even the bathroom was decorated- with a Witches Ball towel...

...and flowerless roses.  When I first saw the vase and stems, I thought "Oh, that's too bad, I wondered what happened?"; and then I realized that was a clever little bit of Halloween decorating.

Everyone had fun snuggling with puppies.  Look at those faces... I can barely resist bringing one home with me.

Laurie got to hold all NINE puppies at once.

Keeping up with NINE six week old puppies is a lot of work, but Karla has set up a deluxe suite in the garage next to the studio to meet all the puppy's needs.

Even with such spacious accomodations, the puppies spend most of their time snuggled together in their sleeping crate.  That's ok...it makes it easier to pick up one (or two) for a cuddle.

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.

Bird Song This and That

My pictures of Karla's Bird Song event are a little late in coming.  My plan was to finish some of my projects and then post about the event. But, well, you know how it goes...I'm hoping for some crafting time this weekend.

In the meantime, I've got some pictures of some little touches that caught my eye...like this cute tag that Karla made for all of the gift boxes.  Each one of them has a REAL four leaf clover.

It was nice to see so many familiar faces, and make so many sweet new friends.

Notice the birds and bird cages hanging from the ceiling?

Karla even took the time to decorate the glue bottles!

These coconut birds nests and decorated cookies were just a tiny portion of the sweets Karla had for her "peeps".

One of the nicest "touches" of the event wasn't put together by Karla, it was a surprise FOR Karla.  Laurie had the idea to decorate the fairy trail through woods.  She and her Colorado peeps, Rebecca and Suzanne and Cami and her Texas peeps, Tami and Nicki hung fairies from trees, ribbons from branches and tucked windmill flowers along the trail.

Karla was just tickled because now she knew how excited the kids felt when they walked the fairy trail after she had decorated it.

Miss Bird Song II & Her Apron

I started stitching this little bit when I was in Texas with Karla for Paper Cowgirls.  At lot of the Texas gals were coming to Bird Song, and as we talked about it, I thought it would be fun to turn this into something I could use as a door prize for Bird Song.

It's ended up being an apron.  We'll have a drawing during my class and some lucky gal is going to have the pleasure of wearing this apron all weekend...well, only if they want to...

Besides stitching, I added a bird printed on fabric, and charms and buttons.

The top is finished with the edge of an old table cloth, some millenary flowers and a rhinestone heart.

I've wanted to stitch up an apron for awhile, so it was fun making this and then decorating it.  I think my next stitching project will be making myself an apron to wear at antique shows.

But right now, I have to put the finishing touches on the  display for my class- of course, Miss Bird Song II will figure prominently in it.

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.

Chirp with Us: Birdsong II

Last year, one of the most fun times I had was the weekend I spent at Karla's Birdsong art retreat. Laughing, crafts, great weather, great decor, great scenery, old and new friends- it was wonderful. I wrote about it here.

Karla is doing it again and this year and I'm excited (and nervous) to be teaching a class.  This a peek at my project.

If you'd like to attend, there are still a handful of places open.  You can find more information here.

Lisa will also be teaching a class and Karla will be teaching two classes.  Here's a look at one of Karla's projects.

Karla's other project most likely will be jewelry- the last time I saw Karla, she was playing with beads- she has a plan for a beautiful and one of a kind piece.

If you're on the fence about attending or haven't been to an art event, feel free to email me and I'll try to answer your questions.  I think those last few places will sell out fast.

Paper Cowgirl Crafting Round Up

 
One more post about Paper Cowgirls- I have to show you all the crafty goodness that was going on- that's the whole basis of art events like this- even though just like school- you remember as much about what happened outside of class as in class.

I signed up for the Altered Apron swap.  My partner was the Queen of Crepe Paper Ann Denise Anderson.  Not only did she make me a beautiful apron, but she use over the top packaging.  The apron was packed in a cute vintage sewing box with these two pretties on top.  One is a paper clay doll with bendable arm and legs and the other is a corsage.

 
This is the apron Ann Denise made for me- layers and layers of pink crochet doilies. 

 
This bling studded flower was at the center of the apron.

One thing I noticed in Texas is how many women have clothes made from crocheted pieces- vests, sweaters and wraps that look like they were pieced from vintage runners or doilies.  It's a really romantic look.

 
My birthday was the Monday after Paper Cowgirls, and Lisa gifted me with this wonderful collage.  She had shown it on her blog, and I noticed that it had a woven background like the kind she taught in her Bird Song class.

 
Lisa also knows how much I love my dogs, so she searched high and low to find this vintage book about dogs.

 
The book is full of wonderful illustrations.

 
The first class I took was Jennifer Stewart's Once Upon Season.  The basis of the project was garden edging- each piece decorated for a season.  The class kit was packaged so cleverly.  Inside, besides color pictures and instructions, were five paper bags, and each bag had the pieces that fit on that season's panel.

 
I followed the directions, made my first panel, and decided I liked the "low color" look, so I followed it on the rest of my panels.

 
The panel on the right is a Christmas card circa 1961 with a picture of baby me.

 
The garden edging fence is such a great idea- you could use it to show off school pictures, family portraits, vacation pictures- or just use stranger's pictures like I did.

 
My other class was Lisa Pace's  Pieces of Time project.  The shadow box was from Maya Road, and the background was pieces of an old quilt.  Once again, I went with the neutral colors and added a Frozen Charlotte that Karla had given me.

 
One of the great things about taking a class like this is that you have all the materials right in front of you.  I know when I create at home, I can spend more time looking for the tiny flower, right sized button or perfect trim than I actually do crafting.

Not having to spend time looking for materials allows you to just relax and enjoy the creative process.

 
If you're on the fence about going to an art event or taking a class, I'd really recommend you just go for it- the boost of creativity you get from crafting with other like minded people is priceless.