Paper House Luminaries Workshop

I had the pleasure of taking another workshop with the imitable Cathe Holden at her Inspired Barn in Petaluma, CA.  We each made three adorable paper houses, with a flickering tea light inside they do this:

We did pretty christmas theme - but you can imagine how cool they could be for halloween!

 Cathe always makes us feel special, and this class was no exception.  We were given all the supplies and tools necessary to create the house - including a full printed guide.

Luminarie Mobile by Cathe Holden

 Here is Cathe's sample - 6 little houses used to create a delightful mobile. when attached to a golden crown.

 From her instruction guide - here are some ideas for where to place the bling.

 Here are all the components all laid out - including glitter and mica flakes to create a snowy effect.

 Did i mention bling?  Cathe arranged for each of us to get a sampling of gorgeous rhinestone and sparkly goodies from the Blumenthal Lansing Button company.  they were all so pretty - it was hard to choose which ones to use!

 Cathe printed the layout for the house on the back of these card stock images of text and vintage printing from the back's of cabinet cards.

 So we simply had to cut and fold!  her patented technique (i have no idea if it patented - it should be!) made it super easy to assemble and glue these houses together.

 Once we had cut out the little windows it was time to add the adorments.  i brought a few things from home.  a couple of birds (of course) some aqua blue trims (of course) and even a little bunny charm which i coated with glitter.

 The rooflines were run through Cathe's vintage pinking machine - to create that lovely scalloped edge.

 The final touch was to add some ribbons and lace to the curtain hooks to allow for hanging.  I even applied glitter and snow to the hooks!

 With the flicker battery operated candles inside they really do come to life.

 Here are the houses my friend A made - so sweet.

House Assemblage by Cathe Holden

Cathe had many ideas for the little houses, including this lovely country scene using a book cover.  Please check out Cathe's website and blog.  She is super generous with her time and talents and has many freebies and ideas to share at just something i made.

Thanks Cathe!

Cathe Holden's Valentine Workshop

My friends and I took a workshop last weekend with Cathe Holden, at her amazing studio barn in Petaluma . Some said it was like being in Disneyland. I said it was like being over the rainbow, or you know at Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Either way - it was magical!  Her vintage displays of craft supplies and findings are over the top.

Our class was to create three wood collaged and embellished valentine ornaments, decorated with cigar box graphics.  Everything was packaged so nicely.  We did not have to bring a single thing - it was so relaxing to just arrive and have everything taken care of.  She even brought in a delicious deli lunch.

We sat at one long table and great access to tools and supplies. 

It's like you just want to move in and be creative all day long - it is teeming with eye candy everywhere you look.

Here are some samples of my fellow students' work in progress:

 

 

 These are my finished items.

 Although we all had the same shapes - we could choose our own vintage fabric from the pile shown above and decorate how we wanted.

Here are Cathe's originals.

Here is the 4 of us after the class in the "library" of the studio.

And here is one of Cathe's family's sheep!  Petaluma has some beautiful rolling landscapes outside the center of the charming town.  It is about an hours drive north of San Francisco.  We would all love to go back to visit with Cathe and learn some more of her techniques.  Please check out her website to see what classes she has upcoming!
and HERE are more pictures of the event we attended.