Stampaway Classes at SYAO

Now that says it all, doesn't it?

You know if there's an overuse of turquoise on a project it means Tammy was in my class. Hey girl! I should point out however that she took all my classes again this year and she actually used PINK on one of her projects!! I'm still smiling about that!

Lots of masks and stencils to choose from.

Every brand of ink was brought from home. If you're thinking those are Ranger colors, think again. Vivid inks from Clearsnap!!

Don't you love the way the masks create those incredible white shapes when color is applied?

Is it possible to have too much fun? I don't think so. I had 2 sold out classes on a Wednesday, with the first class beginning at 3pm. And when you can find ladies able to shift their schedules to accomodate a mid-week, mid-afternoon class for play with inks and paints, stencils & stamps, and most importantly masks, then I think we're all doing something right.

Color combinations ranged from the familiar to the unusual. I can't say I'd have tried distress inks in browns, greens, and dark blues for this class, yet someone did. No color palette is ever wrong; it's always personal preference. Another first: someone used the JudiKins color dusters (short stipple brushes) to apply their background color rather than sponges.

During both classes I noticed customers in the store coming back to take a peek...not quite sure what we were doing, but anxious to find out.

The trickiest part of getting this class started was Tim's alphabet masks, which of course are clear masks mounted on a clear storage sheet. My suggestion to the girls would be inking them with alcohol inks after transferring them to their craft sheet. Then when put back on the storage sheet they'll pop out and be easy to find. (This suggestion came up in my guinea pig class at home and I thought it was a great one.)

Several ladies were willing to share their inks with their neighbors. And we had no trouble sharing all the stencils and masks I provided. There were over 200 scattered out on 2 tables. I'm nothing if not generous.

Another thing I find interesting is that people like to use one color on the front pages of their book..

and then use totally different colors on the back. How much do I love that?!

We also played around with the Penscore/Magic Stamp by Clearsnap. I love this stuff!!! And it's been around nearly as long as I have, so that's saying a lot that I continue to use it in my classes and people are discovering it for the first time. I'd prepared each blue rectangle ahead of time using a large image from Just For Fun. When you want to get a large area inked in a hurry this is the perfect tool.

Several people already owned a few stencils but not like the ones I brought to class. And that's my signature...introduce students to old and new products, show them new uses for old things they already own, and be sure to show them something they'd never buy for themselves.

It's all well and good to see Tim use his masks on his blog, but it's totally different when they're in your hands and you get to experiment directly on paper.

A tremendous thank you to Connie for allowing me to teach these two classes in her store. An emormous thank you to all the ladies who came to play with me for 2 hour, allowing me to share a little joy. I loved every minute of it.

As for the week of Stampaway madness, I could do a whole blog on the good, the bad, and the ugly of this trip but I won't. Suffice it to say lessons were learned. For instance I shouldn't pitch classes that require heavy paints, more than 2 dozen glass bottles of reinkers, or my line of red rubber mounted stamps...all of which were shipped ahead of time or brought in carry-on luggage and then had to make the return trip back to NC. Instead I should think about classes like last year's Specimen Box Collage where they don't weigh much to ship in and best of all, they go home with the people in my classes.

Teaching 2 classes on Wednesday and 2 more on Friday seemed like a great idea...until you're actually on your feet for 7 hours straight and you realize that's a concrete floor underfoot, causing that back ache. Argh.

But I survived it all as I always do. Notes were made of what worked and what didn't. Paying Delta for extra bags going and coming couldn't be helped, but better planning next year is clearly going to be a priority in November when I'm shipping out my samples for next year's show.

Check back later. There are more pictures to come!