At each retreat I host, I invite guest teachers for a few of the classes. This is to prevent every class being just my style, and it allows people to get to experience teaching a large group of crafters. The classes this time were amazing, and I am now addicted to a few new techniques! Examples of classes that have been guest taught are: flooding iced cookies and cookie decorating, jewelry, kumihimo, a Gel Press transfer technique, a wet felting class, a needle felting class, a magic journal class and more.
There's just nothing more fun than finding out all the cool things your friends know. Crafty friends are the best friends.
We also did a few bits of research while we were there. One Nobel-Prize winning theory I'm working on is one involving some very unique traits of people who were born in the year 1962. I happen to be related to one and have several good friends who were as well. These people all have a LOT of things in common - shockingly specific things. A few examples include: a) The inability to look at a web page and actually see what is on it. So, a #62 will stare long and hard at a search result, let's say, and still be completely unable to find, among other things, the settings menu, the large orange button in the middle of the screen containing the info they want, etc. b) They are afflicted by the removovirus on the internet or on their computer. Symptoms of this include: opening Netflix and immediately screaming that all the suggested videos and saved video icons on the screen need to be removed. They like blank computer screens. c) They fill up their cups with beverages so full that they are actually domed on top and must be sipped from before lifting. d) They use off-brand search engines, computers/devices and obscure software to do things that most people use Google and Iphones for. I'm quite certain that 100% of Bing users were born in 1962. e) They have never been able to successfully log in with any password on any account. f) They have 300 email addresses, at least 299 of which are AOL. g) They start a new Facebook business page every time they turn on the computer.
We even tested our theory this weekend with a NEW 62 friend - we didn't know she was a 62, but certain traits led us to conclude that she was, in fact, one of the 62 tribe, and sure enough - she confirmed that she was.
Actually now that I think about it - I don't think I've ever met a man born in 1962 - all the ones I know are women. Do you know a 62 man? I'd like to include him in my Nobel research.
62s are my favorite little nuts.
So I'm slowly catching up on life after work, and I found a card that I probably made six months ago that I never blogged. I have a big stack on my desk that my goal is to mail, so I'm trying to work through the blog posts as I send them off around the world.
I actually bought this set in the fall, and you all know that squirrels are pretty much my favorite of the stamp animal world. This one might be my favorite of all the squirrels. I stamped him in Fadeout ink and watercolored him with Daniel Smith watercolor. Then I painted a panel of watercolor paper to match the background of him, and painted little swooshes over it with Iridescent Gold watercolor. Then I got the watercolor very goopy and splattered it. I cut the panel into two pieces with this - my favorite stitched edge die. The little polaroid frame is this die set. I stamped the sentiments in Nocturne Ink (perfect for watercolor paper) and added his eye and nose detail back with a multiliner.
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I am now that happy kind of tired that comes after a fun event like retreat. I'll catch up in a week. For some reason, I decided to have my used stamp sale and put together IKEA furniture immediately following retreat. Not sure what I was thinking. But Advil is my friend!
My retreats are open to the public, but alumni get to reserve spots first. Watch for registration for my September retreat - I'll announce a few days before public registration opens.
Here's a link to our "enablers" list from retreat. We do a "my favorite things" swap, where we wrap something that is one of our favorite things - some are crafty, some are food, tools, books, etc. - always amazing, and then there are always little supplies and gifts people bring that we always want to buy for ourselves, so to make it easy - here's the list!
Here's a fun collage that my friend Kat did of the weekend and our post-weekend shenanigans in Austin.
Loveyalittlenutsmeanitbye.
