Another Successful Guinea Pig Class

I'm blessed to have some of the most incredible friends, including those willing to be my guinea pigs for upcoming classes. I'm flying to Orlando on the 25th to teach 3 classes at Stampfest and wanted to do a dry-run of my Chunky ATC class. So I sent out invitations to a handful of my local ladies, and what fun we had last night.

If you've ever taken one of my convention classes you know that I might have as many as 51 in a class. And that means I have to be on my toes, timing every sequence of a project to guarantee that everyone has fun, leaves with a finished work of art, and didn't feel too rushed.

But if you've taken a class with me you also know that I give you WAY TOO MUCH STUFF, and this class will certainly be guilty of that. Not only did I have the kits packed with far more ephemera than they could possibly use, but I kept thinking of more things they might like to add. So while they're digging through their stashes, I'm saying "what about this?" or "hey, look what else I found". Drove them insane.

If I gave you more than a dozen color choices, would you struggle to choose 2 or 3? Turned out that wasn't an issue at all. But giving you 12-14 photos was indeed too much. Too bad; kits are already packed and I'm not about to go unpacking those. How about a few die cuts that can be inked and added to your collage? Oh yeah, they wanted more and more of those. And what about a brand new die cut of a tiny little bird, courtesy of Lynda and Stampin' Up? You betcha! Just check out these photos and look at those little cuties.

One funny coincidence...I gave each of the gals an identical photo of a bunch of kids in an old car. And if you look closely you'll see that 3 of them used that very photo inside Tim's Ornate Plates. What are the chances? It was a surprise to them and to me.

We also played around with the Mist-It from InspiredCrafts, and that was some of the most fun we had. We sprayed paper flowers, silk flowers, grungeboard, cardstock, corrugated cardboard and more, using more than one color on each, and getting some fabulous results. And the dimensional flowers they created with all these different layers were just magnificent!!

Adding the metal embellishments from Tim's Idea-ology line was also a lot of fun. The end results were certainly varied as one put her game spinner on a philosophy tag while another added it to a token. Someone else liked it with the gears and sprockets but also tried it as the hands on a watch face. Too clever.

And of course we went on scavenger hunts for sparkle and bling. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. So I'll be making a few additions to my kits thanks to last night's ladies and their participation. I'm still trying to come up with a clever packaging idea that won't damage those old ledger sheets from 1899. Wish me luck with that since I'm flying. And of course the ladies in Orlando will also be guinea pigs of a different variety because I'll be able to tweak this class yet again before I fly off to the next convention. It should probably be illegal to have this much fun.

I've placed orders this week for oodles of supplies for all 3 Stampfest classes as well as all 3 Stampaway classes and I can hardly wait for the boxes to start arriving. My specimen boxes for the stencil class in FL await their stuffing. (Wonder if I can get some of my gals to come back and help out with that?) And my Miniature Masterpiece class kits need to be prepared (painting is needed on dozens of little boxes). I ordered just over 100 stencils and when those arrive, yet more kits will be packed for the third class. Now doesn't all that sound like fun? Clearly you know where I can be found for the next 12 days.

Now for those inquiring minds who want to know...the first floor is still a disaster. My new pantry has shelves. No cans or boxes, bottles or jars, but shelves galore. And that means the new table saw is no longer residing in my half of the garage, so my car is parked inside, out of the heat & elements. Guest room #1 is done and the bed is made, though the lamp for the nightstand is still MIA. (Not a problem unless I have unexpected guests who hope to read in bed.) They'll have to be grateful that I found pillows and linens!

I still haven't found the toaster or the can opener, the pots & pans, the mixing bowls or measuring cups. And today I'm happy to let them continue hiding out. I don't want to be tempted to bake a cake since I also can't find the instruction manual that came with my new convection oven. (Give me strength)

The $1.89 bunch of spinach I bought 2 days ago is wilted. I remember reading in the also missing book that came with my new fridge about adjusting the humidity levels in the 4 drawers for fruits, vegetables, and meats. Remember reading it; just don't remember what it said. And the spinach will attest to that. Not sure if I exposed it to too much or too little, but I killed it as surely as if I'd sat it out on the deck railing. (Have mercy) We all know I didn't want to eat it anyway.

If you're in the Orlando area from 6/26-6/28 I hope you'll come see me at the convention. Even if you aren't taking one of my classes, be sure to stop by the Just For Fun booth where I'll be leading make & takes and say hello while you play.

In the meantime, I'm making a mess in the studio...and loving every minute of it!