Full lineup of paperEd Classes

paperEd is the education program designed by the genuii at Michael's to spread the papercrafting love. I'm a huge fan. You can play with just about any technique you've been afraid to try, test drive those die cutting machines you've been deciding on, or make a lovely home decor piece. Here's the full lineup of the classes that I can offer at Michaels. I try to make sure to include a card class, a scrapbook page class, a mini album or decor class at least one crop night, and a smash class every month. I also put in whatever else my schedule can afford.

As soon as we are consistently filling seats in classes, I'll be scheduling more.....

Altered Canvas (collage on a canvas!)

Card Tricks - Stamped

Card Tricks - Punched

Cricut Card Tricks: Sophisticated

Cricut Expression Test Drive

Flower WOW!

Martha Stewart - Crafter's Clay Techniques

Mini Card Tricks (NEW!)

Paper Bag Mini Album

Paper Crowns

Paper Party (Happy Birthday America)

Pink Party

Project ME (NEW!)

Sketched Out (scrapbook page, using a sketch)

Sketched Out 2 (new sketch!)

Sizzix Test Drive

Smashed: A Class for Smash

Spellbinders Test Drive

Stamping Gear

Texture WOW!

tINKer Time Distress and Shimmer (a Tim Holtz extravaganza!)

Rest of December and January class calendars

Hi folks!

Here's the calendar for the rest of December, and the month of January.  Sorry they are late, like the rest of the world, the beginning of December kind of got away from me. Need something to look forward to?? PaperEd is putting out several new classes in February!  Watch for them on the February calendar.

As always, if you are interested in a particular topic or kind of  class, let me know. I'm always willing to add the classes that people are most interested in. I'll post a list of the complete paperEd lineup in a separate post, so that you know what there is to choose from. :-)

Here we go...

December
December 18, 6-8 pm Mini Paper Bag album
---bring your favorite christmas stuff, and make a fun mini album in just one night!
December 20, 6-8 pm Smashed - A Class for Smash
---seen the smash(tm) line but don't know where to start? I'll show you how!

January
January 6, 13, 20 and 27, 4:30 to 6:30 pm, Spotted Canary School
---This is a beginner scrapbooking course for the newbie, but also offers some great design, lettering and photo information for someone who has been scrapbooking for awhile. See the poster in the store for more information, or contact me!  Take home guide is included in the price of the class.
January 8, 6-8 pm tINKer Time
---play with Tim Holtz inks and practice techniques on tags that you can use in projects.
January 12, 9:30-11:30 am, Smashed - A class for Smash
---seen the smash(tm) line but don't know where to start? I'll show you how!
January 15, 6-8 pm, project ME
---use the new Creative Chaos line, or a Smash journal and learn techniques to brighten up the book with information about...YOU.
January 19, 5-9 pm, $5 crop
---use the time to work on projects!
January 22, 6-8 pm, Punched Card Tricks
---make several different cards using a single punch
January 24, 5-9 pm, $5 crop
---another chance to work on those projects, with access to the classroom tools!
January 27, 2:30-4:30 pm, Cricut Card Tricks
---Use the Sophisticated cartridge to make four great new cards. Get more comfortable with your Cricut, or try it before you buy it!

October and November class schedule

OK, so by now some of you are aware that I started scheduling scrapbooking classes at our local Michael's craft store. (can we say....dream job, anyone?) NOW, I say schedule, because as of yet, no one has actually signed up for any classes, and therefore I haven't actually taught any classes. :-) The day will come, I'm sure. In the interest of having class information available, here is the schedule for the rest of October and November.

October 16 (today!) Mini Paper Bag Album 6-8 pm
October 18 - $5 Crop
October 23 - Punched card tricks 6-8 pm
October 30 - Altered Canvas Trio 6-8 pm

November 3 - $5 Crop (tentative)
November 4 - Cricut Off the Page (Quilted Christmas) 2-4 pm
November 4, 11, 18 and 25 - Spotted Canary School (beginning scrapbook and design) 4:30-6:30 pm
(for more information on Spotted Canary - try this... www.spottedcanary.com
November 6 - Very Merry Card Tricks 6-8 pm
November 8 - Flower WOW 10-12 am
November 10 - Altered Canvas Trio 5-7 pm
November 13 - Countdown to the Holidays (scrapbook page) 6-8 pm
November 20 - SmashED Class (Smash booking for beginners, new techniques) 6-8 pm
November 25 - Vintage Card Tricks (Holiday theme) 2-4 pm
November 27 - Classic Holiday Card Tricks 6-8 pm

You enroll in classes by calling the store, or by visiting the cashier and asking for the class. Costs vary some - and you provide supplies from your stash. When in doubt about supplies CALL ME. Use things that appeal to you or you already have, not necessarily what is listed on the class syllabus. Bring a basic tool kit (trimmer, scissors, adhesive, black pen) and whatever else you think you might need. The instructor, or the the classroom will provide any remaining tools.

NOTE: The instructor provides prizes to all who register and come to class. You never know what that might be!

Again, call me if you have any questions at all. Not sure what the syllabus means? Come anyway....we can work out things so your projects get made. Special requests for classes? Let me know that, too! :-) Hope to see you there!  --vb

I need a name

I need a name suggestions for a Graphic Design business....where I do some freelance, but hopefully a lot of custom design work for invitations, events related materials, and so on. Looking for something good, folks, feel free to comment.

Dec 3 post on Dec 3 - HA!

Prompt: Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).

I'm thinking.....I'm thinking.....apparently I've spent the year feeling NOT alive. That's not good. That kind of goes back to day one, when the only word I could come up with for the year was tired. Bad news for me.

On the other hand, I've been known to zone into activities so completely, that the rest of the world just fades into the background. (huh? - you can just see the blank expression on my face, and the confusion, when I'm interrupted, can't you?) While this isn't, perhaps the alive feeling that she's asking about, it is a feeling that feeds the soul. Reading a story, working on an art project, those are the kinds of things that I look back on with immense satisfaction.

While we were in New Hampshire this year, it was spectacular to be in the middle of the granite mountains, and the trees, and the amazing natural world. I don't spend a lot of time outdoors at home, but there, it was good to walk and see the darkness of the dense trees of the woods. To stand alongside thousands of pounds of solid rock that had stood in place for about as long as recorded history....gives you a sense of your position in the world, and the power of the mighty Creator. The green-ness of it was almost overwhelming. The sun only filters through the woods, so there it is dark, and cool and quiet. Look closely at the tiny etchings of the Creator's hand....tiny seeds and new trees that force their way through the piles of leaves on the forest floor....or in the cracks of solid rock.

I'm not sure it is alive, necessarily, but the anxiety attack I had on the top of the five story high overhang over Niagara Falls was similar. Water, rushing around and through, you could feel the vibrations through the earth, the buildings the sidewalks. The noise of the crashing on the rocks below, the wind whipping your hair, and your clothes about, and needing to feel little hands tightly in my own. Rain, and mist and cold air seep through the jackets, and the hair stuck to my face, but I couldn't let go of the baby hands. It is overwhelmingly gray. Gray rocks, gray water, gray air filled with mist and fog. Gray cold, and gray concrete sidewalks. Fear bubbles inside my chest, and the tears fall without any real warning. Of course, this doesn't promote calmness among my children either...but when is fear ever rational, or calm? It is a serious survival mechanism though, and it keeps me and my kids away from danger.

What a wondrous sight - the massive and deadly Falls, and I'm glad we've seen them. But, I don't need to go back, for awhile, at least. I've got plenty of irrational fears, right here on dry ground.

NOTE: This is writing without editing. So......bear that in mind. :-) vb

Dec 2 post on Dec 3....

Prompt: Writing. What do you do each day that doesn't contribute to your writing -- and can you eliminate it?

Hmmm. Life. House, stuff to do. Eating, sleeping, being lazy. I suppose that last one is something I could eliminate, but honestly, I think sometimes my body just needs to stop sometimes, and be still. I read blogs, and can waste a lot of time doing that, but is it really wasted, to see what others are doing. I need to think about this some more. vb

December 1 One Word.
Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you?
(Author: Gwen Bell)

One word. My initial thought is tired. My second thought is school. My third thought....well, there isn't one. There has been good, there has been exhausting, there has been mostly accommodating my school schedule. That's what this year will have been about.

Next year's word: Beginning. An exciting one, I hope - well, interesting, fulfilling, at a minimum. :-) vb