We're home from Vermont!! And what a trip it was! We had rain, fog, lots of moose statues, surprises, laughs, amazing views, and boatloads of stamping!We want to first give a great big thank you to all of our wonderful sponsors, who without we wouldn't have been able to offer our attendees over 50 prizes! That's right, 50 free gifts made up of stamp sets, embellishments, patterned paper, sparkly fluff, buttons, and more!! All the attendees when home with at least three, if not more, gifts! Here is a basket of just some of the available prizes and below is a list of our sponsors. When you're ready to shop, please stop by their sites and show them a little retail love. We can highly recommend each of these vendors!
I also want to thank our instructors, who all did an amazing job! We're thankful for the time and effort they put into planning and prepping for their classes. At this event, we had the unique opportunity to participate in classes that took us out of our comfort zones and reminded us that quick and easy cards are just as much fun and adorable (and sometimes more relaxing!) as the beautiful layered and more complex cards and projects we created.
Our event started with a "Stamping in Your PJs" class that was hosted by the super talented Erika Martin. A few months ago Erika started sharing some of her amazing canvas artwork on her blog and I knew this was something that would be perfect for her to teach. This was a very different project for me, a challenge, but I loved it and based on the feedback from our attendees, they loved it too! Here is my canvas, which was created by cutting shapes out of patterned paper to create a hill, sun, and houses.
And here is a sample of the classes work. One of the fun aspects of this class was seeing how different everyone's work was; some added extra flowers, trees, and even tiny bunnies! This was a departure from a normal stamping class but I'm so glad that we were able to offer our guests a different crafting experience. After all, doesn't a big part of the joy of creating come from stepping outside one's comfort zone and trying something new?
Our event started with a "Stamping in Your PJs" class that was hosted by the super talented Erika Martin. A few months ago Erika started sharing some of her amazing canvas artwork on her blog and I knew this was something that would be perfect for her to teach. This was a very different project for me, a challenge, but I loved it and based on the feedback from our attendees, they loved it too! Here is my canvas, which was created by cutting shapes out of patterned paper to create a hill, sun, and houses.
And here is a sample of the classes work. One of the fun aspects of this class was seeing how different everyone's work was; some added extra flowers, trees, and even tiny bunnies! This was a departure from a normal stamping class but I'm so glad that we were able to offer our guests a different crafting experience. After all, doesn't a big part of the joy of creating come from stepping outside one's comfort zone and trying something new?
We started Saturday morning bright and early with a class from Joanne Basile, who was her normal cheerful and enthusiastic self - perfect for the first class of the day! Joanne's class was sponsored by Stamping Bella and she brought along three darling images. This is the second time I've participated in one of Joanne's classes and one of my favorite aspects of her cards is the simple but classy design. And baby, her cards are heavy...I love all these amazing layers and her color combinations are fantastic! How about that polka dot paper...heavenly! During Joanne's class we also got to practice our Copic coloring skills, another one of my all time favorite past times!
I wanted to share a close up shot of Lulu's hair, which has been colored with a black glaze pen. Isn't that wild? I love the shine the pen adds to the black...I'll never look at plain black ink the same way again!
Joanne also brought along this adorable little turtle image...can you even stand how fantastic he is, look at that face! This is one stamp that is going to be added to my collection - pronto! I realized after I got home that a package of Papertryink buttons fits perfectly inside this darling box. Seems like a perfect gift giving pacakge...not that I'm about to give away this cute creation!
Next up was Cindy Lawrence's class and she once again brought us a unique and beautiful package, filled with two stunning cards that showcased images from Our Craft Lounge, who was Cindy's class sponsor. We got the joy of playing with our Copics on this project as well and the first person that can pick out two mistakes on my cards/box (ask me how cranky I was) will receive a little giftie from me! :-) (No cheating if you were at the event!)
Cindy shared a great tip with us during her class. The cards were created by using the left over piece of cardstock that you have when creating a 5 1/4" square card! How clever is that? And how fantastic are the design of these cards? The colors, non-traditional fall colors, are beautiful and I love the small touches Cindy adds to her cards, such as the tiny pearls and frame background for the images vs. the scalloped, which I am personally addicted to!
Are you tired yet? :-) Next we started Jenn Shurkus' class. Jenn is an A Muse instructor and travels all over New England teaching classes. This was my first time diving into using A Muse stamps and it was fantastic! Anyone who knows A Muse, knows that their style is clean and simple. I found this style change refreshing and enjoyable after spending a few hours concentrating on my coloring skills (oh and fretting over my stamping mishaps! LOL!) I also really enjoyed being able to experiment with so many different styles and techniques. I thought this was a bright spot of our event...it wasn't the same class or style taught over and over. Jenn brought with her not one, not two but five cards for us to make! We used a boatload of newly released images, all focused on Halloween. Just darling!
And last, but certainly not least it was Julie's turn! Julie's class was sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps and she is a pro at at using these three step (and sometimes five step) stamps! She created an amazing project with a piece of clear cardstock, some patterned paper, and newly released pumpkin stamps. (Sounds like a MacGyver episode, doesn't it?) She is definitely the MacGyver of 3-D projects and knows how to knock it out of the park with just a few supplies! She even gave us all two wonderfully scented pumpkin tarts and a votive candle to go in our holders. Now I have to stop here with a confession...I didn't finish my project! So I'm stealing a photo from one of our attendees, Julia Aston's blog! :-)
And last, but certainly not least it was Julie's turn! Julie's class was sponsored by Kitchen Sink Stamps and she is a pro at at using these three step (and sometimes five step) stamps! She created an amazing project with a piece of clear cardstock, some patterned paper, and newly released pumpkin stamps. (Sounds like a MacGyver episode, doesn't it?) She is definitely the MacGyver of 3-D projects and knows how to knock it out of the park with just a few supplies! She even gave us all two wonderfully scented pumpkin tarts and a votive candle to go in our holders. Now I have to stop here with a confession...I didn't finish my project! So I'm stealing a photo from one of our attendees, Julia Aston's blog! :-)
Isn't this just the cutest thing ever! And you know what's fun...I have three (ok, two and a half...I still need to finish the VT project!) darling Kitchen Sink Stamps projects lined up on the shelves of my crafting room. They're all so cute that I can't bear to not have them out for viewing.
And...we'd like to thank our attendees! It was so nice to get to meet a host of new stampers from all over New England (and New Jersey!) We had folks from the Cape, VT, MA, NJ, ME and even Canada visiting! Even though we didn't get to talk with everyone as much as we'd like to, we want you to know that we truly appreciate you and your support and were so encouraged to read so many positive comments about the event! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
And...we'd like to thank our attendees! It was so nice to get to meet a host of new stampers from all over New England (and New Jersey!) We had folks from the Cape, VT, MA, NJ, ME and even Canada visiting! Even though we didn't get to talk with everyone as much as we'd like to, we want you to know that we truly appreciate you and your support and were so encouraged to read so many positive comments about the event! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
3 comments:
Looks like you had another great event!! WOnderful projects!!! and I will not point out any mistakes...they are just creative interpretations! haha!
Great pics Kim! we're seeing those moose all over the place here (we stayed up a few more days!) I just loved all the projects we did - and it was so fun meeting new stamping friends!
I had a blast Kim. Thanks to you and to Julie for all your hard work! I will DEFINITELY be making a return trip when you host another event within 5 hours of Ottawa...I'll be there!
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