Handmade U

I mentioned awhile back that I had flown to

Nebraska and made art.

 

I did and it was a great time.
{unfortunately, I only took a few photos and those were with my phone}

I attended Handmade U
hosted by Rachel McGough in Omaha.

{Camille, Rachel, Dawn & Michelle - via Rachel}

We had two classes, each lasting an entire day.
{entire day = finished projects = very happy}

Our first class was
The Doodlicious Tapebound Journal
taught by Dawn DeVries Sokol.
We created journals out of cereal boxes, scrap papers and tape.

We played with paint and collage
and once everything was dry and put together,
Dawn gave us doodle prompts and exercises to get us started.

{I'll take some photos of my journal and share it next week}

The next day was just as fantastic;
Introduction to Leather Whispering
instructed by the "leather whisperer" herself,
Camille Serra McClelland.
I love learning a new craft or technique and this leather tooling class totally fit the bill.

{the Farmboy asked me to bring home a handmade, tooled saddle for the horse we don't own-
this was as close as it got}

I may have a long way to go before I can call myself a "leather whisperer,"
but man, was this a fun class. 
{not to mention therapeutic, with all that mallet pounding}

The whole weekend was so enjoyable;
from opening night dinner to the final dinner out on the town.
It's a small and very relaxed retreat.
{exactly what I was needing at the time}
The food was yummy and everything was well thought out.
The classes, as I already said, fantastic.
The attendees were super nice.
I went alone to this retreat
and didn't know anyone, with the exception of one person-
my table mate.
And well, seriously, if you know Robin
I really don't have to tell you how she made the weekend just that more
fun, inspiring and entertaining
than it already was.

 

Gilded Again

A couple of weekends ago I had the utmost pleasure of attending the final Gilded Life event here in Dallas.

The first evening we came together for a Pre-Event Social.

Good Tex-Mex, lots of laughing and a name tag contest.

The next morning, bright and early, was a bus trip to Canton.

Fun as always!

On Saturday we gathered in The Church for a full day class, taught by Lesa Dailey.

(my half completed project)

And on Sunday, we created a stunning bracelet taught by Shea.

It was another incredible weekend spent with Gilded Girls, old and new, sharing beauty, friendship and talent.

(gorgeous necklace created by Charlotte Perez)

I Am Learning

Yesterday I had the pleasure of getting together with a few of the Lovelies in my local Soul Restoration group.

The day was rainy and yucky and I got ridiculously lost.
However once I found my way, the day became warm and friendly and quite comfortable.

It was full of good food, good creating and good conversation.

Yesterday I learned that I am not alone.
Others have the same fears and hesitations as I do.
It's nice to not be alone.

Have a beautiful Monday.

A Gilded Bracelet

The last day of the Gilded Nest event,
Shea taught us how to wire wrap.

This was something I had been wanting to learn how to do for quite awhile.
The best part,
I learned much more than just wire wrapping in this class.

I'll admit, I definitely need a lot more practice if I ever want to make jewelry that is actually wearable in public.
But I'm okay with that,
because it's really a fun to do!

Jewels Fit for a Queen

At least, they are fit for this queen.

All but one of these pieces, I purchased vendor night at Silver Bella. The one I didn't, the rosary piece, was tucked into the little theatrical powder box that Santa put in my stocking. And unfortunately, I don't know who the artist is, but I do know that it was purchased at Smitten.


I have already shown you the "Balance" necklace, by Beth Quinn, here. Now let me show you the others.


Kelly Jacobs


Willow Nest Farm


Artist unknown


Rebecca Sower

Now, if I only had an Amy Hanna piece!

Off to clean. Have a beautiful Monday!

The Two That I Finished

Here are the two class projects that I managed to finish.

This first one is actually the last class I took... Vintage Charm Bracelet with Kaari Meng of French General. I really enjoyed this class. Kaari was a fabulous instructor and I learned some great little tricks to make attaching charms, and basic jewelry making, easier.

After class I put it on and wore it for a while, but it's so chunky, that it drove me nuts. The next morning I saw Mendy wearing hers, but not on her wrist. She had added some extra chain to it, to make it into a necklace. I thought it was such a great idea, that it was the first thing I did when I got home. Now I know I'll wear it.

This is my favorite charm on it. In our kit there was this brass oval ring. Kaari showed how to take the head pins and these tiny beads and attach them to the ring. I love the way this looks and feels.


The other project that I finished, was Rebecca Sowers' Hodge Podge Journal. Can I just take a moment to tell you how much I admire this woman and her work?! I truly do.

Unfortunately during this class, I had a horrible sinus headache and was unable to really enjoy the creating process to its fullest. But, I am mostly happy with the completed journal. The image in the window is one that was provided in the kit. Although it's a nice image, it isn't exactly the one I think I want in there. So I'm going to attempt to peel it out and replace it with another.

I decided, while making it, that I would use it as an art journal for the new year. I'm really looking forward to creating on all of the different types and sizes of ephemera in it.


And I have news on the "healing" front. I went to see the doctor today for my post op. She was totally surprised at how fast I'm healing and how well I'm doing. Evidently I'm ahead of the healing schedule. I chalk that up to my Irish blood.

Hope everyone has a beautiful weekend!