Art & Soul Portland

 

 It has been a l-o-n-g time since I've posted, or had anything to post about.  I haven't touched a thing in my craft room since early February.  It's good to be back.  I jumped back with a bang, taking two day-long workshops from Shea & Debbie at Art & Soul in Portland, OR.  Above we see Shea playing and Debbie doing book work.  These ladies, proprieters of Spellbound Event and A Gilded Life, are exploding in popularity and exposure.  Art & Soul is very lucky to have them teach.  Sadly, both of the classes had only 4 students.  That is a waste and a missed opportunity, let me tell you. 

The project kits were so complete I didn't bring a single tool or supply with me.  Above is my blingy necklace in the beginning stages.  And here are both of the necklaces we made.  I do mean "made".  Every component in the blingy necklace was wire wrapped and joined with a few links of closed chain.  Which means the chain links had to be cut and attached to the wire wrapped beads and rhinestones.  No jump rings used here! 

 

The second day was spent on a wall pocket.  May I say FABULOUS?!!!  The kit may not be very large, but the finished project is awesome.  I bought a 2nd kit just to have all of these elements in my stash.  I followed along with Shea and Debbie's sample making just a few customizations.  The main fabric is a Belgian linen that even these Gilded Gals admitted was expensive.  The silvery lace used for the decoration was from yardage; deconstructing the crown, flowers, scrolls, leaves, etc to create pleasing patterns.  Debbie and Shea were very generous with tips and stories.  Tip #1 is to die everything using Folger's Instant Coffee Crystals (ugh, as long as I don't have to drink it).  The layered taupe flowers were cut from cloth using Spellbinders "Rose Creations" die on the Artisan Explorer using a metal cutting plate, which made for clean cuts. 

 

Once I returned home and got my household tidied up I spent Saturday finishing the wall pocket and adding final bits onto the blingy necklace medallion.  Oh, speaking of medallions, Spellbinders has just released A Gilded Life line of pendants and bezels.  We used one in the lower middle of the wall pocket, too.  I had a wonderful get away and I'm very happy with the projects.