A Weekend in Grand Forks, BC

I didn't have time to post for a while as we were busy preparing for our trip to Grand Forks last weekend.   There are two stores there that sell our work and they have been wanting us to come out and hold some classes so we finally managed to find a weekend where everyone was available.

We held our "Quilt Patterns in Clay" class in the morning for the Heart N'Sole Quilts shop.  Everyone in the class made three quilted designs which were each mounted on a snap so they could wear them after as an interchangeable brooch or necklace.

Sole of the quilted clay pieces created in the class

Catherine of Heart N'Sole Quilts modelling her Quilted Clay Pendant

Heart N'Sole Quilts is located in a really quaint 100+ year old vintage home.  They are in the process of repainting and I love the yellow color!

Catherine of Heart N'Sole Quilts

Besides selling our handcrafted buttons and seam rippers, they also sell our scarf jewelry which we left a new supply of while there.

In the afternoon, we held our "Buttons Make & Take" class for Lynden Tree Yarns.  Everyone was given a block of clay and a huge selection of textures, shape cutters and mica powders to create lots of buttons.  Some made pendants or charms as well and everyone was oooing and aaahing over all the pretty colors that were mixed up and applied to the various designs they created.

This is Brook who is only 10 but our prize pupil in the class!  The buttons and charms she made turned out so well and she was so good with her color and design choices I think she will be an up and coming polymer artist some day.

It was a full but fun day with lots of activity.  We left more buttons and accessories with Lynn at her store and she now has a wide range of shawl pins and sticks with a snap base and decorative snaps for interchanging.

Salmon Arm Quilt Show is Over

We are recovering from a busy 2 days at the "Everybody Loves Quilts" show this past weekend in Salmon Arm.  This is one of the best well run and managed shows we have ever taken part in so was a real joy to be there.  We had our complete line of "Snap Decisions" collection along with some exciting new items that we will share with you later.

The main attraction in our booth this year was our "Quilted in Clay" Make & Take classes.  We held 6 classes over the 2 days and everyone that took it left with their own clay piece created in the pattern and colors of their choice.

Cleaning up and preparing for the next class

Quilted in clay pieces made by students in class

Quilted in clay pieces made by students in class

Everyone had a good time but this would not have been possible to pull off without Joanne Caldwell.  She is one of our star pupils from when we taught our beginner polymer clay workshop 2 years ago and afterwards helped us form our first polymer clay guild for our area.

Joanne makes beautiful handcrafted jewelry as well as some unique polymer clay items which you can see some of her work on her facebook page here. 

Button Make & Take Classes

We just finished our Button "Make & Take" class at Lynden Tree Yarns in Grande Forks, BC.  The ladies made some really beautiful buttons for their knitting or quilting projects.  Some even made a pendant or two as well.  It was nice to be able to visit Lynn's lovely store again before the snow flies as the roads through the mountains in the winter time are not the best for travelling on.  We plan to go back again in the spring and will hold another class or two then.

We are holding another Button making class this Saturday, November 14, but this time at A Twist of Yarn in Vernon.  The class is from 10:00 to 1:30 and you can contact them direct if you are interested and to see if there is still a space available.

Make & Take Button Classes

If you live in our area, come and make your own buttons from polymer clay in rich textures and jewel-tone colors.  We will provide all of the materials and tools required to create your buttons in your own preferred colors, shapes and sizes (up to 1-5/8").  Bring your projects, fabric or yarn to the class for color matching.

This is a sample of some of the buttons you can create:

Sunday,  October 4

1pm - 4pm

Adored Before, Home Decor & more

Chase, BC

Thursday, October 8

10am - 1pm

Thread & Paper

Salmon Arm, BC

We will be holding more classes in future so visit our website or sign up for our newsletter to keep up to date with any future events.

Finished more beach bracelets

We finished off a few more beach bracelets in some new colors.  They are strung on cotton cord with a slider clasp so they are easy to put on and take off as well as comfy to wear at the beach.

We added these along with some more rings to our display at the Fireweed Art Studio in Scotch Creek making our beach bling jewelry line even more complete.  (Click on the photos for a larger view).

My first Beach Bling Jewelry making class is this coming Thursday here at the Fireweed Art Studio.  My students will make their own beach shells and by the end of the class will go away with several jewelry pieces of their choice created from them.  Click here for more information as well as an up-to-date class schedule.

Surprise

A package arrived today that we had ordered from the U.S. a week ago Monday.  We ordered the day they ended the postal strike and were worried things would be backed up at Canada customs due to a mail backlog but we received it in good time.  We have some classes scheduled and were in desperate need of some tools such as acrylic rollers, shaped cutters and tissue blades for our students to use.

We were also low on some findings that were needed to finish off some pieces for the Shuswap Lake Festival of the Arts show.  Now we aren't so pressured for time in adding the final touches and we can be ready for set-up on Monday.  Here are a couple more bargello style necklaces in black and white for a different look.

All the little black rondelle spacer beads are made from clay as well as the cubes.  We make these in matching colors by the hundreds now and I share my little secret on how to make both in our Making Rondelle Spacer Beads tutorial which has become quite popular.