Stampfest: Prep Time in the Studio

Well here's a surprise...I'm late posting photos taken in the studio before I flew to Orlando to teach at Stampfest. Aren't I always a day late and a dollar short? Yep. There are conventions when I show up in my classrooms, collect tickets and pass out kits, and I'll have as many as 51 students in awe of my organizational skills. And then there are trips like this past weekend when I was continuing to dig in suitcases, looking for just the right baggie or box, even after class began. Forgive me.

On Wednesday night of last week I packed, and repacked, and repacked yet again, trying to squeeze everything into 2 suitcases I could check at no charge. Mind you they had to weigh in at 50 lb each, or less, and I did a lot of struggling with that packing. I hefted those heavy bags downstairs ... 2 suitcases and a huge box as my final pack. But I just couldn't live with it.

Mind you, I was up til 5:37am on Wed nite/Thurs morning. Went to bed for 2 hours and was back in there repacking those suitcases at 7:45am, managing to reconfigure everything into 2 suitcases. Quite the feat, let me tell you! And they both weighed in at exactly 50 lb each. (Don't even ask how much my carry-on weighed.)

So imagine me in my hotel room, pulling everything out, re-sorting supplies for each of my 3 classes, plus setting aside the supplies I'd brought for the Friday night make & take party. I was exhausted then and I'm exhausted now.
But don't for a minute think I do this by myself. It wouldn't be possible. Here's a snapshot of my friend Lynn, scribbling watercolor crayons onto release paper for the make & take party. I had to prepare for 130 people. with 10 to a table. Rather than trying to carry all my crayons with me, we scribbled the colors onto the equivalent of wax paper. I packed water reservoir brushes for everyone and with the images stamped on watercolor paper, my table worked very well. Wish I'd taken photos, but who had the time? We were making pins to wear with a new Just For Fun image of 3 flowers in a cluster. They used Adirondack Pigment Pens, Ranger's white pigment pen for polka dots, and the watercolor to complete their pins. Fabulous, quick and easy, and I saw lots of ladies wearing those pins over the next two days. A huge thank you to Sharon, who also helped scribble color, but slipped away before I thought to snap photos.

My studio consists of 3 farm tables for students, an 8' farm table that's my work area, and a countertop that's 9' long, all of which are covered and piled high prior to my classes. Here's one with supplies for several classes, sort of stacked in mid-assembly.

For all my students who took the Masterpieces in Miniature class, your tiny boxes were painted black by Joyce. Sorry the photo's blurred but she brought wine for us all to enjoy while we worked, and I think that explains why I was unable to hold the camera steady. Not saying it wasn't a great idea, just saying...

In this photo you can see antique ledger books (pages were ripped out), specimen boxes, blocks for the Chunky ATC's. reinkers, stencils, and so much more. And stacked on those shelves in the background are supplies for Stampaway classes. Which means there will be more kit preparation soon to come.

Later today I'll be posting LOTS of photos taken at Stampfest, so please check back.