The Beading Queen Shares Her Knowledge!

 

Our dear longtime Phoebe member, Rosie, was able to travel to the Bay Area and join us at the March meeting. She presented the highlight of the day, which was the enrichment session demonstrating how to bead the edges of the little purse necklaces which were shown in last month's blog post. Donna was planning to demonstrate how to make the bead and charm findings to further embellish the purses, but it was decided that perhaps adding how to bend wire, make loops and connections, etc, was too much information for one session.

Those participating in the purse project are advised to watch some YouTube videos to learn the basic techniques and practice a bit first. Then, if you need further instruction or have questions, bring your beading materials, tools, wire and metal findings to next month's meeting and Donna will provide assistance. 

Calendar 

 April 15, (Saturday), 11:30 A.M. at Marcella's. (Note the dates for April and May have changed!) Drop-in Social Get-together will start at 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Business Meeting will start at 1:30 P.M. Geri will be presenting a challenge using buckles, which will be due in June, and Jennifer and Caroline will demonstrate a braiding technique, "Not Quite Kumihimo." Bring your completed purses for show and tell, or your unfinished ones if you want some help with wire bending from Donna. 

May 20, (Saturday), 11:30 A.M. at Marcella's.  Drop-in Social Get-together will start at 11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Business Meeting will start at 1:30 P.M. Guest artist Deb Shattil will be leading us in "Everything Sketchy." Your journals will be due this month.

Beading With Rosie Tutorial

Samples of completed purse necklaces Rosie brought to the meeting.

Members spread out to work on beading in Marcella's warm and cozy home.

Rosie helped Geri with her beading.

Sharon, Meg, Suzanne and Shawn at the table as Meg coaches Suzanne. 

Show and Tell

It was wonderful to see former Phoebe Suzanne at the meeting. An avid quilter, she displayed her beautiful star quilt and gave us hope that she will be rejoining our group. 

Caroline (#1 on right, #2, middle) had us smiling at her photos taken when she was young and "had all her hair." Very cute photos!

The May meeting will feature the well-known doll artist, Deb Shiatel. Both Marcella and Shawn are collectors of her work as seen above. 

Betts created another beautiful button card and a collage composed of various lovely pieces of ephemera, which represent a few of her favorite things. 

Sally shared her two recent collages that are created with fabric, and a combination of fabric and paper, with pieces that are both glued and sewn. 

Caroline and Jennifer gave Daisy this cute little bike and Daisy made a colorful elephant to ride on it. 

Daisy also shared this sweet little girl with Q-tip arms and hands.

Suzanne R created these lovely greeting cards to give to Rosie for Sunshine. All the more amazing since it was only a short time ago when she did not want to make cards, and now look how professional she has become. And, hooked on how fun it can be to make them!

And here is a sampling of the 20+ cards Donna also made to give to Rosie to send out in the coming year.
 

Valentines Day Tea Party at Marcella's

 

In celebration of Valentines Day, Linda shared a photo of the woven paper hearts that her grandchildren made using Sue's pattern. Another thankyou goes out to Sue, who taught us how to make them and share the technique with others.

Calendar 

 March 11, (Saturday), 11 A.M. at Marcella's. Drop-in Social Get-together will be from 11:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Business Meeting will start at 1:30 P.M. Bring your envelope necklace made with Rosie's pattern. We are so excited that Rosie will be here to lead a demonstration on embellishing it. Also bring your paper teacup from Geri's enrichment session for show and tell.

This is a photo of two completed envelop necklaces. The one on the left was made by Rosie using her pattern that Suzanne will be emailing out to everyone, and that we will be using. On the right is a similar one made by Donna who made up her own pattern a couple years ago.

What a delightful Tea Party!

Sue, Geri, and many other members brought delightful tea party pastries, sandwiches and treats for us to share. Some members wore hats and fascinators. Thank you to everyone who contributed. What fun it was!

Make and Take Enrichment with Geri

The highlight of the meeting was the enrichment session conducted by Geri. She brought a table full of die cut kits, beautiful embellishments, and a glue gun and liquid glue for us to use to make our own teacups. 

Show and Tell Button Cards

At our November 2022 meeting Betts brought bins of her beautiful button cards and challenged us to make some for ourselves, using vintage or interesting buttons we might have in our stash. It was our goal to show them at the February meeting. We had such a good turnout this month, and soon the examples of all the Show and Tell items were being circulated around the room in both directions. It got to the point where it was difficult to record the maker of individual items as they passed by. So, please forgive the fact the items shown in the rest of this blog are not identified by the maker. However, you will be amazed by all the truly original and beautiful creations in all categories that were presented. 

Show and Tell Hanger Challenge

February was also the month that Sharon had challenged us to complete a "hanger" using the sari fabric that she had handed out in September. While some choose to use the beautiful blue sari silk, others used fabrics that they had, or displayed hangers that they had made prior to the challenge. They are all wonderful works of original art to be treasured.

More Show and Tell

Sally once again amazed us with her artistic books and journals. 

The books were followed by a luggage train case with an interior she had decorated with beautifully colored paper that had been laminated. That was the piece de resistance of show.

Harlene handed out blank composition books at the meeting. She then challenged us to decorate them with original art both inside and out. The completed books will be due in May.

 

It was truly a remarkable and memorable day!

Happy Crafting to All!

A Very Merry Christmas Celebration!

 

What a wonderful Christmas party we had this year! It was the best ever, thanks to Barbara for generously opening her beautiful art studio, which was festively decorated with holiday decorations. It has been several years since we have been able to have a Christmas party, due to bad weather and to Covid restrictions and concerns. And even though a wild rainstorm was predicted, the Rain Gods mercifully held back the deluge until after we had safely arrived inside and lifted the heavy rain and wind when it was time to leave. 

Barbara was most generous in supplying the major portion of the meal by serving a delicious Chicken Pot Pie, other accompaniments and treats, and a fabulous Cheesecake, plus individual favors in tiny tabletop sleighs. Some members also contributed some savory and sweet items that created an amazing feast.

And then, Barbara went above and beyond by leading us in a tutorial for making very beautiful tiny and delicate paper shoes and supplying the materials to make them. 

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Barbara, for making all this possible and for bringing so much joy to everyone. 

Calendar 

 January 8, (Saturday), 11 A.M. at Marcella's. Drop-in Social Get-together will be from 11:00 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Business Meeting will start at 1:30 P.M. Please bring your completed challenge item from Sharon's enrichment.

A Glorius Day in Barbara's Studio 

Below is a photo of some of various sizes of paper shoes Barbara has made.

And... above are examples of the fantastic creations she has made using bits and pieces of the vintage fabrics, trims, buttons, and papers. Her studio is a virtual inspirational art gallery.

While not all of us completed our slippers before it was time to leave, we are excited to be able to use the patterns and knowledge to finish these and to make more in the future. Once again, thank you Barbara for a very special day.

Anne, Caroline and Jennifer

Sally, Betts and Marcella

Caroline and Jennifer brought candy cane paper gingerbread men for everyone, as well as mozzarella cheese sticks decorated as snowmen. How fun is that!

This is one of the individual favors Barbara gave to each of us.

Former member Kelly, who has been on a four-month stay in London with her husband, sent us a photo of this intricate thread- embroidered portrait she has recently completed. Her work is truly amazing!

Rosie, our dear member in La Quinta, just sent a photo of 4 of the 20 individual and unique watercolor paintings she has just completed and turned into Christmas cards. They are certain to bring joy to their recipients. 

BEST WISHES TO EVERYONE FOR A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A NEW YEAR FILLED WITH JOY AND HOURS SPENT CRAFTING AND CREATING!

SEE YOU IN 2023