Folk Art Bird Brooch Wine & Cheese Craft Party

Wednesday we had our latest Wine & Cheese Craft Party! Margaret Hluch taught a Folk Art Bird Brooch. The samples were so popular at the Muse that she is now selling them in the store. But twelve lucky people got to take the class and learn how to make it themselves!!!

We learned how to make the bird form and how to embellish the felt with needle felting.

After our bird was needle felted we got to choose from the beautiful threads that Margaret provided for us. Many of the threads were hand dyed by Margaret! Narrowing down the choices is often the hardest part of a project!

After the embroidery, we put the bird together and finished it off with a pin back. As you can see, they all turned out beautiful and unique!

Mini Collage/ATC Mimosa Make & Take

Sunday we had Courtney Prahl back to teach the Mini Collage/Artist Trading Card Momosa Make & Take. Her work is so beautiful that she could teach this class over and over again and I will never get tired of it! This time, she showed everyone how to add transfers to their collage.

The transfer method she taught was using contact paper. This method was quick and easy and very versatile. All you need is contact paper- what an easy technique!

Everyone was anxious to get started after they picked out their chosen image.

After we learned the transfer technique we moved onto the collage! One fun thing about Courtney's collage classes are the interesting papers she brings with her for us to choose from! It's sometimes hard to not use them all. She's very big into phone book pages!

After selecting materials we got to work, layering, stamping and embellishing. You can tell by this messy table that we had lots of fun!

One of the criteria to this class is that you must make two mini collages and at the end of the class we draw numbers. You get to take home another persons collage as well as your own! Here are some of the finished collages up for trade...

Here is what I got to take home with me- a collage that I created as well as Marlene's mini collage. I love the happy colors she used and the butterfly transfer. Thanks Marlene!

Sunday Mimosa Make & Take "Encaustic Wax Workshop"

Sunday we had a great time during the encaustic wax workshop! Students brought in their own pictures as well as used some that were on hand. "Encaustic" means with wax. A collage is created using pictures, papers, tissue, fibers, mica, bark, and other ephemera that is collaged with hot wax.Carol Leadbetter began the class with a background on the steps, materials, and safety of this craft. Then we got busy preparing our surface to collage.

It was fun to use the heat guns! Don't we look tough with our power tools?!!! Using the right amount of wax was a learning experience. Debbie and I won the contest for the best overuse of wax! Our work spaces had a little wax lake after we were done. Carol helped us all use the torch to melt off some of the excess wax.

The finished products turned out great! And I think this class should be offered again because it was a lot of fun! Here is my encaustic collage and the finished collages of the class...

Wednesday Wine & Cheese "Green Collage"

Another fun collage class with Courtney Prahl! This time we used all recycled items. Using a handmade viewfinder she taught us how to look at things differently. Suddenly with her help things such as an L.L. Bean catalog, a tea bag wrapper, and a security envelope became beautiful works of art! Here is some of the "junk" we worked with...

People were so into their projects there wasn't even much of the usual chatter! I think cutting and pasting was great therapy after a long day of work!

Once again, I was amazed at how each person approached their project differently. Everyone did a great job- who knew the "junk" we toss on a daily basis could produce something worth framing!

Mimosa Make & Take "Needle Felted Scarf"

This past weekend we had a very fun Mimosa Make & Take- Needle Felted Scarves! Despite the fact that it was a very warm September sunday, we were getting our fall wardrobe ready with stylish new fall scarves! We started with hand dyed or plain wool/silk scarves and a mound of luxurious dyed wool roving to choose from!

Once we picked out our colors and chose a design to work with, we got down to the felting process. Trying to be careful not to poke our fingers in the process! Here are some of the fabulous outcomes!

Earring Design Wine & Cheese Craft Party

Wednesday night we had another fun jewelry class with Chrissy Gemmill! There were three earring styles to choose from and many choices of beads and pearls. First Chrissy gave a demonstration on basic jewelry making techniques...After the demonstration, everyone selected their supplies and started making their earringsThese classes are a great way to spend time with friends and family members. The picture below shows two mother daughters that took the class together. Here are some of the finished earrings. Everyone seemed to really like their new jewelry and the best part was they made it themselves!Chrissy and I always have fun at the classes. Its rewarding to see how much fun people have learning a new craft! We're already planning our next jewelry class! Stay tuned...