{ musings }

Sparklicious!

Wow!  WOW!  WOW!  I am finally able to take a moment and reflect on the AWESOME weekend that was Sparkle Bella.  It really was SO much more than just a series of paper artsy classes...it was an experience, and I am so blessed to have shared it with so many AMAZING women, many old friends, many new friends...ALL so inspiring!  It was incredible and EXHAUSTING, but I am so "filled up!"

I have so many thank yous to send....first of all to my fellow Bellas, Teresa, Carolyn and Marilyn.  WOW.  You girls are my idols, my inspiration, my dear, cherished friends!  To Cori, my BFF and right-hand gal who just KNOWS what to do and how to help, who is the best travellin' companion evah and a constant source of support  and giggles (and is always a hella good time, to boot!).  To Diane, Kim and Wendy at Melrose Vintage for the delightful surprise reception.  To all the local artists and dear friends (Dina, Tena, Lindsay, Lilia, Kim and Michelle....) who came out to welcome the Bellas.  To Diane and crew at Diane Notions and Ribbons for their patience and thousands and thousands of sparkly Swarovskis.  To Marti and the amazing staff at Scrapbooks Etc, to the polka-dotty hotties, to Lesli & Steve Spafford (our amazing caterers) and the generous peeps at Bazzill Basics Paper.  To each and every one of the attendees, who each brought their own special energy and talent...I would reach out and hug each and every one of you right through the screen if I could!  To Tina Higgins for sharing her HUMONGOUS stash of jewelry bits...holy smokes, girlfriend, that was AMAZING!!!  To all the girls who brought special, DELIGHTFUL, hand-made gifties for each of us...candles, notepads, darling pink tins stuffed with "rubber" and candy, 4th of July decorations, cosmetic bags, etc, etc....I know I am leaving out SO MANY of you, but please know that ALL of you made it a weekend I will never forget.

On a similar note, if you weren't able to make it to Sparkle Bella, you are in luck!  I have a handful of extra class kits available for purchase and lucky you, I brought them WITH ME to California!!!  If you're interested in purchasing my "Whimsy" class kit, it is $45 plus $6 for domestic (US) shipping via priority mail, because is is a HEAVY (read:  jam packed with products and goodies!) kit.  If you're interested, e-mail me and I'll send you a PayPal invoice and ship you one lickety split!   If that doesn't work for you, call the girls at Sweetpeas & Snapshots and book yourself a spot in the 2:00pm class on July 21st...I'm going to re-teach it one and only one more time!

Update 7/28:  All my extra kits are SOLD OUT!  WOW!  Depending on my numbers for the Sweetpeas class on 7/21, I may have a few more kits for sale after that class...but I have promised to ear-mark 15 kits for that class!  THANK YOU to everyone who ordered a kit and I DO have a waiting list, if you want me to notify you after the 21st!

Ahhhh...

Sparkle Bella was divine.....!

(more later, after I get settled in CA and have some time to sort through my photos!)

Sparkle Details!

Excitement is mounting, and we Bellas are getting several e-mails a day from excited attendees wondering "what's up?"  So here's the scoopage (and pass this along if you know someone else who is registered for the event!):

Swaps Anyone?  I will be hosting a brand new Yahoo group for all registered atendees of the event.  If you are registered (I will be verifying the list with Scrapbooks Etc.), please send me an e-mail HERE.  Within the next week, I will send all registered participants an invitaiton to join this Yahoo group, where we will chat, giggle and hopefully arrange some glitter-tastic swaps!  Oh yippee!

Basic Supply Kit
Everyone needs to bring these items:  scissors, paper trimmer, dry adhesive, fast-drying but very strong wet adhesive, glue stick, mini glue dots, black marker, pencil, ruler, paper piercer, sharp craft-knife (such as an x-acto), cutting mat, 4-8 disposable foam paint brushes, a few small standard paintbrushes, any deco scissors you favor, an assortment of vintage and chalk inks, any fun background stamps you adore and a bon bon for the teacher. J tee hee!

Scandalous Vintage Bellas, by Carolyn Peeler
Prudence and Winifred always appeared to be such refined and genteel women. It was a great surprise for the members of their quaint little town to discover that their enigmatic smiles hid many scandalous secrets. Featuring a vintage photo, this bright and summery wall hanging will celebrate wild women everywhere! In this class we will dabble in paint, gesso, German glass glitter, and Melissa Frances oh-so-shabby papers (and I can’t wait to show you my totally fun charcoal technique!). Please bring your Basic Supply Kit plus a narrow paint brush approximately 1/8^th of an inch wide (we will be doing some detail work on the photo with this brush, so you want to make sure you bring something that can get into tight little spots) and a portable sewing machine (if you have one).

Bella Flora:  An Altered Book, by Teresa McFayden
Flowers. Spring. Life’s photos. They all become a breath of fresh air in this beautiful altered book. We’ll add new pages to an old book giving it a shabby flair, then alter flowers, add ribbonry, glitter, fabric, and your treasured photos. This Bella Flora book in all its style and finery will be admired for years to come. Bring your Basic Supply Kit plus a 5x7” or so hardback book, black Staz-On Stamp Pad, Japanese screw punch or hand drill. You may also wish to bring some photos to use in the project.  Some painting involved, so dress accordingly.

Victorian Bella Banner, by Marilyn Healey
Brighten a room in your home or a corner of your studio with four gorgeous feet of fluttering pennants.  We’ll be creating seven Victorian flags that we’ll embellish with yummy goodies and string together with pretty ribbon. Plenty of florals and sweet birdies, sepia-aged sheet music, soft ribbons and fabrics, lace, beautiful patterned papers….and of course…glitter!  Bring your Basic Supply Kit plus some smaller scissors for trimming images, a strong adhesive for 3-D elements (I like E6000), decorative scissors: pinking and large scallop, a #20 tapestry needle and DMC floss in a light blue.

Whimsy:  A Clearly Wonderful Mini-Album, by Kimberly Kwan
They say good things come in small packages, and this project is clearly a fine example of that!  Diminutive in size, but large in collage-packed yumminess, this mini-album features “Beacon Hill” papers by Daisy D’s and fabulous collage images from Paper Whimsy.  When combined with a treasure trove of vintage ephemera, lace and sparkly goodness, these standard paper goods become simply marvelous!  In this class you’ll learn to create your own mini-album using surprising hardware-store supplies and then fill it up with whimsical touches, so in addition to your Basic Supply Kit, please bring an assortment of water colors (I prefer the kind in tubes, but dry “pats” of color will work fine), a blending palette and a small plastic cup to fill with water!

Sparkle Teasers!

ooooohh!

I am nearly out of my MIND with excitement and there are still TWO WHOLE MONTHS until Sparkle Bella!  Sigh!  How shall I ever wait?????  I've been receiving boxes almost daily:  a big heavy one from Daisy D's, some sparkly mica flakes from Splinters & Rags, some delish vintage images from Paper Whimsy, a bunch of cool vintage finds from here and there, AND...a BIG BOX full of my secret supplies!  :-)  And now that all of us have posted our "teasers" in the forms of our sample boards which will be on display at Scrapbooks Etc., I am even MORE excited!

If you haven't seen them all, go check out Marilyn's, Carolyn's and Teresa's.  Here is mine!