Inspired & CKU-Nashville & CKU-Provo thorough the years,
but the truth is - I haven't been to a BIG event since '09
and I really was looking for one that had
teachers I admired and respected in the crafting industry.
And I found that at
Much thanks goes to Nancy who kept all of us Sparklers on track
in the months and weeks leading up to the event through the [sparksisters] blog and facebook group.
The pre-event dinner and swap was a blast and I so appreciate all the work she put into everything to help us feel well-prepared for the MAIN event!And since I went 'solo' it was so nice to have a chance to meet some other sparklers before we walked into the crazy creative connection the next day!
It was so fun hanging out with Erin and Barbara!
From the moment I drove up I could tell THIS was different from any event I had been to - everywhere you looked there was creative goodness sparking our imaginations!
HUGE THANKS goes to all of the teachers
and behind the scenes planners [Meghan and Amy you know who you are!]
It was all so lovely and almost too much to soak in!
The day started with a short welcome from Margie and
a little pep talk [and beautiful songs] from
Mindy Gledhill.
I loved having my apron signed by teachers and classmates throughout the weekend. SO FUN. And easy - I ironed the logo on a baker's apron [$5 at a restaurant supply store] and the ruffles came from a thrift store. A great memory all in one spot!
And then we headed to our classes - and I'll be honest, I chose Spark over another event this weekend [CKU-Reunion] because of the teachers, pure and simple. Some I've learned from before and some I met for the very first time and I was not disappointed!
We made this darling
nest necklace with Cathe Holden [I put mine on my name tag - isn't all just cute as can be?!?]- the first time I've EVER made a piece of jewelry and while I may not have understood the terms she used the sparklers at my table helped me out and I *love* how my little nest turned out!
And then we headed into another class with April Meeker to do
stamp carving - I'll admit that somehow this class was never on my radar screen - I was unprepared and had no idea what we were doing. I walked out thinking - never again - but then as I pondered it I thought of all those potato Christmas tree stamps I've made through the years and I just may give this more intricate technique a try in a few weeks.
From there went to Jen Jensen's class on
Junk Journals - this was sooooooooo fun! I loved learning how she took an old book and transformed it into a special scrapbook. It's multi-layered and we didn't finish it in class - but I'm looking forward to completing it with heritage photos of my mom and her nine sisters. [I actually found a japanese book on flower arranging at DI thrift store the day before and used it. - but I have another old book that I'm using for my Spark scrapbook as well!]
[[photo coming!]]
I finished that day by learning how to do
reverse applique with Amy Tan[gerine]!! This was so easy! I love my bag and will add to the quote in either embroidery or just plain ole pen. Either way - I know it will be fun to use and I can say that I have a partial Amy Tan original because she sewed one of my letters and helped to cut them out. So fun.
Throughout the day we had the opportunity to shop at the
Artist Market - a couple of rooms FILLED with hand-made creativity. I wanted it all! But airplane travel can put a little squash on that... I did buy a beautiful bead & wire tree necklace, a blue hair pin, and a donna downey apron. Love it all.
That evening our hours were filled with
make'ntakes and I so enjoyed having the opportunity to see new products and give them a try before buying them. Flowers, flags, and butterflies seemed to be the order of the evening and it was fun to see different takes on each of them.
We also embossed with the Letterpress and made earrings too.
The next day I was giddy with excitement because of the classes and teachers!
Donna Downey is soooo inspiring and I was thrilled to be in class with her
showing us how to
use pan pastels - love the way my project turned out and I'm sure I'll have some pan pastels on my wish list soon! I've had classes with Donna in the past - at a crop in D.C. and a couple of shops over in Georgia. She's as fun as she is creative. Loved it.
And this view from some of our classrooms - wow!
Next we went into Christy's classroom - and y'all already know that
I love these girls!
Christy Tomlinson's a great teacher on-line and even better IRL
- loved having the opportunity meet her and play with some of her artsy stuff. - And I loved using that ranger Heat It too! That and some of those faber casteel markers will be added to the ever-growing wish list! lol.
I have to say that it worked out so that I saved the best for last -
soap felting with Emily Falconbridge!
I've followed Em's blog for years now - through two pregnancies and a move to Australia and back for sure... I promised her I wasn't a stalker - but I was over-the-top thrilled to meet her in person and soak up her crafty goodness! I loved this class!! It's unbelievably easy and everyone's little soaps turned out so great!
[Mine had a pink heart on it until my little Emma Lou - chihuahua ate it - lol]
If you ever have a chance to take a class from her - do it. She is so calm and easy-going and just
an all 'round great teacher!
So let me take a breath and share a little about the food. Gladys [aka Amy] did a TERRIFIC job coordinating our meals and snacks and extra goodies - giant cinnamon rolls, chicken salad crossaints, grilled chicken and roasted veggies, and cake balls, and truffles [I just ate the last of mine as I typed this -lol], and cookies, and candies, and cupcakes - Oh my!
Everything was delicious!
We ended the event with music from
Sara Sample - and I can say she is just the sweetest girl [she was our table-mate] and does a great job entertaining!
Afterwards may of the sparklers went up to the
soiree at Dear Lizzy until midnight- I passed on that one since I had a 4 a.m. wake-up call.
I could go on and on --- and will shop up my photos and get them on facebook eventually --
But I'll end with encouraging you to start saving your pennies now so that you can
attend SPARK 4 - many girls shared rooms and ended up paying only $20 /night -
[I stayed at a different hotel and used points.]
Or plan on attending any crafty event of your choice - going outside your comfort zone into areas you're not familiar with really does give your creativity a SPARK that will carry over into the crafts that you love.
I hope to see you there next year!
This is one of my favorite pieces of wall-art, or mixed media, if you want to call it that - I picked up the frame at goodwill and painted it a rich ornagey-red color [the mat was included] and printed the photo at poster size and cut it into a silhouette. I placed it on a large piece of white paper [from Hobby Lobby, my go-to store] and framed it. 'Halloween' is a piece wooden letters cut from seasonal decor, again from HL, and 'happy' is cut from cricut - both of these are glued to the outside of the frame. Love it. Especially now that our boys are in their 20s.
Here are my pumpkins - made of foam! I'm not sure where the jack-o-lantern came from he laughs and flashes when activated by motion. The other pumpkins are from Michaels - I've had them for years. I cut a hand-drawn star out of paper and used it as a pattern to randomly draw stars all over the pumpkins. Then I used a regular knife to cut them out, stuffed them with Christmas lights, voila - fall pumpkins! These actually stay out front until after Thanksgiving.
And last, but not least are these little vintage goodies. I searched 'vintage halloween' and saved the images in a file then printed out my favorites and put them on pieces of black card stock and tied them on ribbon around half-pint jars filled with candy corn. [How's that for a run-on sentence? LOL]Quick - easy - fun gifties!
