A week ago today...

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photo of Karla and two of Twinkle's puppies, courtesy of Beth
Beth relaxing over lunch after teaching her morning class
How is it possible that it was already a week ago?  It was SUCH a fun day.  The one day event began at 9 am as we were welcomed with coffee and delicious breakfast-y snacks and had a chance to meet all the special guests, including some of Karla's family:
In this photo (above) you can see Karla and Randy's cute outfits and the name tags she made for all of us...
 
but, how sweet is this photo of the two of them, which I also snagged from Beth.
In fact, many of the photos you will in this blog post will be either from someone else, or, taken with my iPhone camera, which, though good, isn't as good as my regular camera!  That is because I left my camera battery in the charger at Tami's house!
Imagine being at Karla's Cottage without a camera!
What a nightmare!  If you have photos of this day, please send them to me!
Karla with her youngest granddaughter...
 and her older one!  If you read her blog, you feel like you know them, but they are even more cute in living color!
Karla's fun and friendly sisters were there, too!  Alas, I didn't get any photos of, or with, them (sniffle.)
  
 There was such a lovely, festive vibe going on at Karla's house!


 
and in her studio, of course, where the classes were held.

 And, we were reunited with even more crafting friends that I knew from Birdsong events:
Like Kathy...
and Marj, who is the BEST HUG-GIVER, EVER!
Plus -- we got to meet new friends as well!
And did I mention the food, glorious food?
Suzanne and I in our cute hats we made -- except you can't see mine too well since I'm tilting my head back!
Here's a little better photo of the hat.
On the far left is Tami's friend Lee, who we made a hat for, too; and that's Tami on the right!
We are always spoiled at these events, and this time was no exception.  We each received a spiderweb bag of treats and a wonderful battery-operated candle with custom decorations from Karla's sisters.  The candles really lent something to the atmosphere in the studios!
There was a raffle table of prizes to choose from when your name was called...
and *I* was lucky enough to receive this one, provided by Karen Hillman!
Yes, that is a wedding veil wrapping around...
This doily made into separate compartments...
 which were stuffed full of amazing treasures!  It was such a joy to unwrap this gift!
To tell you the truth, I'm still swooning over it!
And, then there were the puppies...
I got my wish to hold all 9 puppies at once!  I was completely over-joyed, can you tell?
They were all wearing adorable little T shirts that I helped to dress them in for their photo shoot, too!
And I think they loved it, because they never fussed and hardly wiggled!
Oh, what's that you say?  You want to see the projects we worked on in the classes?
Yes -- amidst all that fun we did in fact get to work on two wonderful art pieces!
Above: the cover of my Gypsy Songs and Spells fabric book project, that Beth taught.
She gave us all the yummiest supplies to work with!
We each cut a length of dyed, wool felt into book pages, and bound them.
Then, Beth taught us some fun techniques to use with our ephemera; above, a photo and some sheet music pieces applied first to transparent, sticky paper, and then to crumpled tin foil for a faux tintype picture effect.
 It was so much fun -- but I didn't finish!
 I honestly could have worked on it all day -- so many possibilities and I adored the theme!
I will be sure to post photos when I have finished the whole thing.
After a scrumptious lunch, we went on to Karla's class:
I adored this project, too: a crowned raven in a teacup!
We created the raven from scratch: sewed together wool, stuffed it, glued on wings and a tail, and then foofed him!  We made those little crowns from a pattern and a piece of vintage screen!
Then, we created a nest for him in a teacup (I chose a molded milk glass cup) and added flora.  Next, we painted and decorated a little white pumpkin -- don't you love that velvet leaf I added?
Finally, we decorated a vintage, coverless book for the cup to sit on top of.  Mine had a large "E" monogram on the front, which I loved ("E" for "Edgar"!)
And this is how it looks all together.  If I do say so myself, the photos just don't do it justice!
It is so full of lovely textures and detail!
Karla gave me a box in which to transport it safely home, and I'm delighted that it arrived intact!
photo by Karla
I think you can tell by reading this post that it was a warm, wonderful, creative day!

Comments

The Junque Seeker said…
Sounds like a perfect day! Great friends, great projects, great food, and PUPPIES!
October 13, 2012 at 6:11 PM
Louise@ElsieMayandBertha said…
It looks like you all had a lovely day. I am so jealous of your little parcel from Karen, such lovely stuff to play with! Love your Raven in a teacup.
October 14, 2012 at 2:30 AM
Dee in N.H. said…
Awesome pictures!! It looks like a really fabulous trip! I am drooling over your prize pack, really cool goodies! Your projects are great too and must have been so much fun to put together!
October 14, 2012 at 5:34 AM
Unknown said…
Really like the Raven....I always try and wait until after Halloween to snatch up stuff like this when it is on clearance at Target and Michaels...The ravens were harder to come by here last year. This year Owls seem to be the thing. I'm hoping to get one of those on the day after. You guys look like you had so much fun! I have issues finishing projects when we only have a certain amount of time to finish. I always feel like it just hits me when everything is in the right place, and if I glue it down before that I'm never quite happy with it. Can't wait to see your finished product ;)
October 14, 2012 at 6:59 AM
Anonymous said…
Oh-beautiful art!! Can't decide which I like best. You did a fantastic job of the projects. and the puppies-oh my gosh-are they cute.
October 14, 2012 at 8:54 AM
Kathy said…
Amazing how much you packed into just one day! Love your little hats, your project and, oh my, your PRIZE!
October 14, 2012 at 9:06 AM
autena said…
What a blast and I love the theme! Thanks for sharing.
October 14, 2012 at 1:52 PM
Becs said…
Laurie what an awesome time you all had! I so wish I was closer and could attend one of Karlas events. I love what you made and can't wait to see your book finished.
October 15, 2012 at 5:03 PM
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