Collage in Miniature Class

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys?  Inviting a few friends to take a class you've taught numerous times, and watching them work their way up to assembling the final project.  No matter how many times I teach my classes, I always tell my students that the exercise of assembling the finished piece will take longer than the steps to create the pieces.  And once again, I was right.

The photo above is Laurie's nearly-finished project.  Only a few elements have been attached, but she left with pieces to complete her masterpiece at home.  My photos simply cannot do this justice.

Here are Lynda on the left and Laurie on the right, during the early stages of the class, surrounded by Ranger products galore.  Dimensional Pearls, Dye Ink Pads, Alcohol Inks...oh what fun.  As with all my classes, I provided way too much product and too many color choices.  Which explains how a class scheduled for 7-9pm was still going after 11pm.

Michele on the left and Mary on the right finally left a little after 11 but are coming back tonight to finish their pieces.  Sometimes you have to get up and walk away so that you see things with a new pair of eyes.  Mary did just that last night, saying she liked hers better when she admired it from afar.  Ha!

Michele's work in progress last night...can't wait to see how it evolves tonight!  If you've been reading my blog for a while you know she's the master of artistic flair, taking things home and continuing to embellish, so that when she brings a piece back for show & tell at our monthly meetings, I'm more amazed than anyone at what she's found that is clearly perfect for the project.

Now doesn't Mary look like a happy little camper, enjoying herself?  How could she not!  Mary is a new member of STARS, my little stamp club.  Why just last night we were discussing how I met Laurie and Michele 14 years ago when I was teaching at a local community center.  Oh my... how time flies when you're having fun.

And Lynda even wore her apron from our stamp club project 2 weeks ago: stamping on fabric.  Makes you wish you lived nearby, doesn't it?  During our conversation last night she told us how she'd heard raves about me from her friend Carol who'd been taking my classes, so she joined a class at Carolina Memories.  It was enlightening to hear her say I had them jumping around, completing different steps...things she'd never done before...and had no idea where I was taking them that day.   She'll tell you she still feels the same way, but she keeps coming back, so we must be onto something!

While I enjoy teaching my large classes at conventions, a small group like this is even better.  Laurie's smiling because she's having fun...not because I said "smile", even though I did tell her it was okay to smile when clearly she'd have preferred to keep working without my interruption.

I'll close with a few shots of these fabulous works in progress.  Hope you've enjoyed my show & tell.

And a huge thank you to my Lovelies for continuing to come play in my studio, keeping me motivated and grateful for these enduring friendships.  My cup runneth over.