Christmas Card Party

My dear friend K had her annual christmas card making event recently.  The "theme" this year was the little black dress, so that's what i wore!

 Here are some of the goodies she laid out for us on the table.

 we all get into sharing supplies - so here is a little packet of goodies from Z.

 And some embellishments from M.

 Here is my card design for this year.  A teal flocked background paper on an ivory card. On top a swallow die cut stamped with music.  She has a gemstone eye and a pretty wine coloured ribbon bow.  Super simple - but somewhat luxurious. 

 Here is the formal table K set for our luncheon.

 First a savory vegetable soup with garnishes - sauteed mushrooms, herbed goat's cheese, and chives.  The little shoe is K's annual tradition.  I think i have three or 4 already!

 For the main course, roast ham with an orange cranberry glaze, roasted potatoes and asparagus.

 After lunch i started on these smaller cards.  They have a flocked paper background and a felt embellishment.  The trees and deer are embellished with a small gemstone.  hope the post office doesn't chew these up!

M's project was to stamp circles from recycled christmas cards, and fold and glue to make this festive garland.

 Trust me - it is WAY cuter in person!

 This is K's elegant silver and black tree - in keeping with the little black dress theme.

 Z, K and M

 Z, D and K  (S left before i took the pictures)

 Z hard at work embossing vellum.

 So cute.

 K's blue themed gift tags in progress.

 the little floral arrangement in a silvered vase was a gift from S.

We finished off our day of crafting with tea and cake.  yes - it was delicious

 and a great day spent with friends in the warm embrace of our hostess K.

Lunchtime Craft Session

 A few of us at work spent our lunch hour creating Christmas ornaments.  I had some glass cloches i was dying to work on.  I bought some mini trees and deer and had some snow and plenty of ribbons to share.

 Here are some pretty snow dancers - or maybe ice skaters?

Michaels had some glass ornaments with black chalk labels to decorate.

I created these two snow globe ornaments with a vintage christmas card as a backing and trimmed with eyelash yarn.

Novato Library Beading Class

 The latest Novato library class was all about beading.  We had our choice from thousands of beads and findings to create our own necklaces and earrings.

 The instructor gave us some tips on how to join the pins to the earring loops.  i definitely still need some practice!

I like working with beads that have larger holes, that can be strung on think cording like this.

Felting Lessons

 Our local library offers free classes twice a month.  This month was needle felting.  The teacher brought in these samples to inspire us.  We started by creating a simple armature with pipe cleaners.  they just added wool roving and started poking.  The felting needles have barbs to catch and secure the fibers to create felt.

 This is the bear i created.  i added a bit more "fur" to make him even more defined.  it was surprisingly easy to do.  

here are some of the other student's work in progress:

 a horse

 a lamb/sheep with curly wool fur

 a bunny

 a pig

 ? anteater?

 bear

 sheep

 this became a purple bear - just needs a head

bear

A couple of weeks later was our second felting class.  This one was all about "wet" felting.  We were given a pool noodle, some bubble wrap, some soapy liquid and our choice of wool roving. 

 You start by creating a mat of roving - alternating directions for strength.  then you roll it up in the bubble wrap and  a piece of netting.  then you add the soapy liquid and rub. 

 Here is another student's mat before it got wet.

 them you around the pool noodle. You roll and roll and roll and roll some more. 

 The roving eventually joins together to create felt - but it is not yet strong enough. 

 The final step is to soak it in hot water and wring it out.  rinse in cold water, then hot then cold again.

If you have blank spots or want to add some colour - you can use the needle felting technique to add more roving to your piece.

Here are some other student's work:

All in all - two fun and informative classes.  do i want to buy all the supplies and start creating felt animals and felt pieces?  Probably not.  But if the opportunity arises, who knows!

Pink Altered Book Revisited

A couple of years ago my friends and i started an Altered Book Swap with a colour theme.  

I chose pink.  You can see the book and how i got started HERE. 

The book looks like a pretty handbag!

I got the book back this summer and added the spread above when an image in a magazine caught my eye.  With altered books you get to play at being a advertising creative - adding a new background, text and embellishment.

Here are some of the spreads done by my friends:

 I guess perfume is a popular theme!

 I had a trip to Paris planned when my friend created this spread - Paris in the snow with apple blossoms.

 For french themes.

 you know i love me some birds.

 and more birds

 and panthers?

 This spread went on for many pages filled with flowers.

 and this one features ATC cards done in a colour theme swap.

Thanks to all who participated in this altered book!