New Class: Junk Drawer Art Charms

The Shake Rag Alley spring schedule is almost final. I'll be teaching four classes in the spring of 2012, including a new class during the Beads and Bangles weekend - Junk Drawer Art Charms. There's a complete description of all the classes I teach on my Mixed Media Workshops page.

I really had a ball making the samples for this class. I made some charms using a couple of my favorite cheapo craft materials, craft foam and vinyl tubing. Also used up some old scraps of collaged watercolor paper which I embellished with brads. But the rest were made from cast-off objects and materials - corrugated cardboard, safety pins, an old wooden ruler, speaker cable, and so on.

I have a pile of other little doodads and a raft of ideas for what to do with them. For the most part I am trying to use the objects as raw material for a design rather than just using the object itself as the charm. It's truly an "anything goes" proposition...and great fun. Hope you can join me!

I will also be teaching Mixed Media Paint Layering. Many people who like my Valentine cards have asked how I get the layered and textured papers that I use. This is it.

My other classes will be Bracelet With Handmade Beads (also on Beads and Bangles weekend) which is first and foremost about making the beads (out of unconventional and inexpensive materials, of course!), and Altered Mint Tins which I have expanded a bit since last time I taught it. There should be enough time to complete a simple assemblage figure or maybe do more than one tin if just decorating the box.

I will update my teaching schedule in the sidebar with links to the Shake Rag class listings when registrations are open. Should be in early December. In the meantime, here's a schedule of dates:

• Mar 17 - Mixed Media Paint Layering 
• Apr 29 - Altered Mint Tins
• May 19 - Bracelet With Handmade Beads
• May 20 - Junk Drawer Art Charms