fall workshops!

Hi there! Wow am I behind on things. I just hung and am already taking down a quick show of two new GIANT marigolds I created especially for Dia de Los Muertos this year. I'll share some more about that later this week. They are crazy big and awesome, but they took every moment of every day for the past two weeks and now my life is in shambles. I would love to return to some regular, normal-style writing here, but I just can't catch up right now. I haven't even shared Oliver's fun birthday party or some new recipes I've come up with that I think you would love. Maybe later this month.

In the meantime, I wanted to mention that if you are local, I am teaching my woodland egg ornament workshop three times this fall, and I'd love to have you join in. Here are the dates and the links to sign up. And I have several other new and beautiful workshops coming in December as well (find every single workshop HERE).

Woodland Egg Ornaments

Handcraft Studio School (Emeryville)

Sunday, November 9th

10:30-1:30 p.m.

Register HERE

Woodland Egg Ornaments

Makeshift Society (San Francisco)

Wednesday, November 12th

6:30-9:00 p.m.

Register HERE

Woodland Egg Ornaments

Handcraft Studio School (Emeryville)
Wednesday, December 3rd
6:00-9:00 p.m.
Register HERE

Have a great day, and don't forget to vote!

xoxo

holiday class schedule

Hi there! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We took a lovely little 1,300 mile road trip to see family, proving again that we have the most incredible children in the world when it comes to patience and bladder control. 

We returned home from our trip yesterday and I went right out and grabbed a copy of the San Francisco Chronicle. The Home and Garden section this weekend was themed "Handmade for the Holidays", and I was included in a full-page spread inside entitled "Holiday Classes: 8 Ways to Explore Your Crafty Side". What a thrill to see my name (and papel SF) in the Home and Garden section, along with a photo I had provided of my acorns, and to be in such great company (both friends and women I hope to meet were featured along side of me). I'm sure my mother is wondering why she paid for five years of architecture school at this point. 

Here is the schedule for and links to my three December classes around the Bay Area, in case you didn't read the paper. I would love to have you join if you can. We will make some of my acorns and get started on some pine cones, have a beer or two, do some networking, and you'll walk away with a homemade holiday gift or two. This is a modern day stitch-and-bitch as far as I'm concerned, and you will definitely have some fun!

WOODLAND EGG ORNAMENT WORKSHOPS WITH PAPEL SF

Makeshift Society (San Francisco)

Thursday, December 5, 2013

6:30-8:30 p.m.

Register here for this class

Handcraft Studio School (Emeryville)

Thursday, December 12, 2013

7:00-9:00 p.m.

Register here for this class

Workshop (San Francisco)

Monday, December 1, 2013

7:30-9:30 p.m.

Register here for this class

I am really excited about these classes, but I think this should be the last time I mention these freaking acorns here! Thank you for letting me be a broken record over the last few months with all of this jazz, it's been a fun little ride. I hope to see you in class! Happy Monday!

on the air

Oh em gee, I did it! Did anyone catch my online class Friday morning on creativeLIVE? I lived through the experience and came out the other side a little more confident in parts of me, like the fact that I know what I'm doing and am pretty good at what I do, and a little sad about other parts of me, like the fact I am undeniably middle aged now. I am that person who has to face that I have a face inside a face now. Total bummer, and it took being on camera to see that, it's not apparent to me when I look in the mirror. Sad violin.  

Setting up for the second segment.

I was feeling nothing but absolute horror right until I walked onstage Friday morning. Thursday night I told David I was "going solemn", which is something I do whenever we're driving to the Elbo Room for a burlesque performance or even before some of my real-life classes. I get really quiet and nothing can make me smile. It's just how I cope with extreme nervousness. With the help of the sweet and talented woman doing makeup, whose name eludes me right now, I was able to keep my head from exploding backstage before the broadcast. Also, getting there early enough to set everything up for the studio audience who were crafting along with me was key to my keeping it together.

The hosts, John Kennedy O'Connor and Jamarie Milkovic were amazing. They made me feel right at home and took great care of me on camera, as did the producers, and the four great women who were working on the project in the studio audience. So sweet and forgiving of any mistakes I made (like when I knocked the tree of my ornaments over in the first segment!).

JKO was a great sport and an excellent person to have by my side!

While I was working, I got a chance to talk a little about how I "avoid" finding inspiration, how I waited a long time for something to come to me that I really wanted to do, and I got to touch on the "craft vs. art" argument, which I would like to sort out in my own work and mind one day. 

Jamarie and I having fun in the second segment with our matching dahlia headpieces.

If you would like to download the class (for a fee, but worth it) to use in the future, you can find that information here. 

What fun I had once I got going. It's really the anticipation of anything that kills me. Once I jump in I always know how to swim, and I'm grateful for that. I'm sure if you ever speak publicly you can relate!

diy crepe paper woodland ornaments

Today I am happy to share with you my second featured artist post for Carte Fini, my crepe paper woodland ornaments. I combined Carte Fini's amazing papers with my egg piñata technique to make these wonderful and shiny acorns, pine cones and other fun shapes using chicken (and sometimes goose) eggs. These are going to look gorgeous on our tree this year, and will be gifts for many of our friends and family, I'm sure. I will also be selling these through One Kings Lane just before Thanksgiving, so I will keep you posted on that! 

To learn how to make your own woodland ornaments from eggs and crepe paper, head on over HERE for the full acorn tutorial and tips on the other ornaments as well. Thanks again to Carte Fini, I am thrilled to be the featured artist again this month!

My October featured artist project:

Fall Flower Headpieces