Bettina Welker Workshop -- My Bags Are Already Packed!

I was so quite excited when I heard that Bettina Welker was visiting Canada and is going to give a workshop here in British Columbia.  Bettina is one of my top favorite artists I would love to meet and so of course I am already signed up and can hardly wait!!!

It should be a fun weekend (August 13-14) all round starting with the drive out together with my "clay" friend, Joanne (I wrote about her here), and then meeting up with old friends from Vancouver and the Island where the workshop will be held.

It will also be great to learn something fresh and new.  Even if some of the designs taught aren't necessarily our style, it can still be inspiring and the techniques learned become a springboard for new ideas.

If you are in the area and would like to attend, hurry and register today as it is filling up fast!  For more info or to register, see the poster (above photo) for more details or contact either Barb Alexander or Irene Corman. 

Recovery Time and New Snap Accessories

Just last week I had surgery on my knee to repair a meniscus tear.  I had been suffering with swelling and pain for over a year so was nice to see things moving forward and I will be hopefully walking normally again soon.

Even though it wasn't serious, something like this can slow you down.  I was still been trying to stay active with the clay as much as it would allow but had to focus more on activities that involved sitting rather than standing.

We have found shows are getting harder to do with all the work in preparing, packing, setting up plus the long hours.  We managed to get through the Salmon Arm quilt show and actually found it enjoyable.  The ladies who took part in the Quilted Clay Make & Take had a lot of fun and it was a great way to share with them what polymer clay was all about and hopefully spark some interest in future workshops.

Each lady went away with a quilted clay piece in the pattern and colors of their choice that was mounted on a snap.  We had available a selection of snap base items for them to wear their quilted design and could add other snaps to interchange such as a necklace or our popular magnetic brooches.

Some of the items are new ideas we came up with special for the show and now have them available in our online store.  One is a metal shawl or hair stick with a snap base.

Here is a kilt style brooch pin for a sweater or shawlette.   The snap base has one of our clip clasps so it can be detached and worn on a chain as a necklace.

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.