Accordion Book of Techniques Play Date

What do you get when a handful of ladies agree to be your guinea pigs for a day?

You get a lot of fun, and really dirty, and for this play date, a little light headed.

We had pizza delivered (and pineapple upside down cake for dessert), so we did at least take a short break from the fun.

We played with inks and Distress Paints and Distress Stains, plus stencils and pattern making tools...and so...much...more!

I think there are about 20 ladies signed up for this class at Stampfest in 2 weeks, but there's still space available for a few more...in case you're going to be in Orlando.

And best of all, I know which techniques will knock your socks off, and which ones were too messy to even consider.

I'm packing kits this weekend for the drive down to FL.  Hope there's enough room left in the car for me!

Inspiration Board Guinea Pig Class

There's nothing like a group of ladies willing to play around with too many supplies...narrowing down the choices to find the perfect embellishment to make a teacher know when she's found a winner of a class.

And if you spread your adhesive over the top of your vintage papers as well as underneath, you're going to create a resist whether that was your intention or not.

Marilyn drove up from Myrtle Beach to play and was such a good sport.  We'd had a play date a few months ago down there, but being a guinea pig is totally different from being another creative spirit at a beach house for a weekend of play.

I didn't intend to give them Distress pads, but at the last minute I decided to see what would happen since I always have someone show up in my classes with those, even though I ask them to bring dye-based pads.

And while I'm supposed to be clever, I never thought to turn things on a diagonal.  Leave it to Michele to surprise me every time.

And just when you think you know how it's going to play out, you find you're wrong!

Just because my samples were done in pastel colors didn't make these girls want to play with that color palette.  Although some did...

Everyone did agree they loved Tim's tissue paper.  And loved experimenting with different colorants.

And they loved the little Masonite frames from Coffee Break Designs.

And I already knew they loved washi tape, but wow, I didn't know just how much!  The rub-ons were a true experiment for each one...but the selection of papers was a smashing success, as were the old b&w photos.

 

Old foreign postage stamps were another love it/hate it bit of ephemera in their kits.  And I thought everyone loved those.  Shows what I know.

Old maps of Europe and topography maps were a win-win for everyone.  Which is good because I've already packed those in my kits.

If you're planning to be at Stampfest/Orlando in 2 weeks, I hope you've signed up for this class.  Or if you're joining me for a bit of fun at Stampaway in August. 

Come back tomorrow to see glimpses of my accordion book of tags, a technique class that's filling up fast for Stampfest.  It'll be another bit of chaos with great results.

My step-father came to my house to celebrate his 81st birthday with dinner out, birthday cake & ice cream, and dominoes until 1:15am.  He's earned the right to party as he sees fit and I'm thrilled to be included in his plans.

We attended a family reunion on Sunday at my mother's church.  Grandson Jackson was sleepy when he arrived, but after lunch, lemonade and dessert,  (blueberry cobbler, chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles, cake with chocolate frosting, banana pudding & strawberry cake), he was going full-speed ahead.

Great Grandma had a chance to cuddle with baby Luke, as did Mimi Linda. 

All in all, not a bad weekend.

Making Time for Art...and Babies

Guess who's been up in the studio making a mess in preparation for making art?  I thought I knew what I was looking for, and I was pretty sure I knew which drawer it would be in, but alas, I was wrong.

So I've gone through 3 drawers in one of my fabulous IKEA cabinets, each filled with clip art and vintage photos and alphabet stickers and tape measures and so...much...more!  And then I got distracted and forgot what I was looking for, and began creating piles all over the farm tables. 

When I realized I'd veered off the beaten path, I started sorting and refilling the drawers.  And all those piles that never belonged in any of them?  They're still on the tables.

The girls are coming over to play on Thursday night, so I've got to tackle those piles and find new homes for them.  And then I've got to get back to the business of finding what I was looking for in the first place.

I spent a few hours on Saturday with my grandsons.  Jackson turned 3 yesterday and I don't know where the time went.  And Baby Luke?  Oh my, I hated to wash my hands or bathe or change clothes after holding him for the better part of 5 hours because I could still smell that new baby scent.

Sigh.  Isn't he just adorable?  I hope they're enjoying the fact that he sleeps a lot because trust me, it won't last. 

And then he'll be 3 asking "what's that" about a thousand times a day like his big brother.  I'm hoping he'll catch on to Mimi's prodding and start saying "excuse me?" instead of  "huh" all the time.  But right now he thinks that's the funniest thing he's ever heard and he giggles, then says it in a squeaky voice while tilting his head, and then giggles some more. 

And I'm sure it's just wishful thinking but doesn't it look like Luke might have my strawberry blonde hair?  Possibly?  Just a hint of red in there?  Though if he has blonde hair like his daddy and his big brother, I'm fine with that too.

I'll be back later with photos of the studio.  I bet you'll be able to figure out what we'll be making when you see the piles turning into kits.

Better at Playing than Photographing

Jackson spent his first night away from home with Mimi & Papa.  We were thrilled.  He didn't know he was staying.  While we were up in the studio playing with water colors and rubber stamps and trying out all my paper cutters, Mom, Dad & Baby Luke slipped away.

He wasn't upset at all and only asked about them 6 or 8 times over the course of the next 24 hours.

In addition to creating art we played with cars and horns and a guitar that I didn't give him at Christmas because it was too loud.  And after a very few minutes, I stashed it away for a future play date.  No way I'd send that home with a new baby in the house; my daughter-in-law would never have forgiven me.

He eats often, but like a bird, so imagine my surprise when he ate my supper after eating his own!  That'll teach me not to plan for the unexpected.  I was told he loves McD's pancakes so I made pancakes yesterday for breakfast.  He ate 2 of the 4 on his plate.  Perhaps they didn't measure up.  Or perhaps it was the fact that he spotted the iPad. 

The photo above was taken after pancakes, with the boys in their pj's, playing with the ipad. 

Don't know why I didn't think to take pictures in the studio, or outside yesterday playing in the sunshine, or during that 45 minute Mr. Bubble bath time fun.  Mimi's got to do better.