Sunday, August 8, 2010

Crafty Weekend

I knew that Cory had planned some crafty activities for our weekend together in Grass Valley, but I didn't quite comprehend the fun that was in store for us until I arrived. It was like an arts & crafts retreat.

When I got there at noon on Friday, she whisked me in to her studio and taught me to make this cool handmade paper. It's made with brown paper bags, paint, glitter, spray-on webbing, and gold coloring. Very fun and easy to make, but I went a bit overboard with the glitter.

After a trip to the incredible Ben Franklin craft store, we spent the evening needle felting.


On Saturday morning we departed for T Pots Pottery in Truckee, owned by Cory's wonderful daughter Teresa. The drive there through the Sierra Nevada mountain range was breathtaking.


I've never painted pottery before and wasn't sure I could make something that I would ever want to look at again, but Cory and Teresa patiently walked me through the process. The above picture is the plate I painted before it was dipped in glaze and put in the kiln.

And here it is after. The flowers were created with a stencil, so it was quite easy. I also made a fused glass dish, but will have to show you that at a later time.

After dinner at a yummy Thai restaurant, we went home and sat outside on the deck intending to knit and chat. The evening took an exciting turn when a Western Screech Owl popped his head out of the owl nesting box. Her backyard is a birder's paradise.


This morning before I left, Cory taught me how to bind a little book made with folded paper that can be painted and embellished. I can't wait to start working on it. The above photo is a similar book that Cory created.

Rocky supervised all craft activities :)

10 comments:

Suz said...

holy moly what a weekend!
where do I start..first you were with the Dogwood...and his excellency,Rocky...painting pottery (gorgeous) and the yarn pic..oh so adorable..really adorable and then a book and oh I forgot ..that paper you made..girl, you can NEver have too much glitter....
you should have an etsy account

momma rae said...

ooh!! i want to come next time. ;) what a crafty heaven you were in!

Linda said...

Oh my! What a lovely weekend you had:)
xo
Linda

Theresa said...

How dare you two ladies do all of that without me:) It looks like a wonderful weekend my friends! Beautiful creation at Teresa's shop. You will always have that as a memory of that fabulous weekend!

Enjoy your day my friend, HI ROCKY!

Hugs!

Thimbleanna said...

Wow! What a fun weekend you had! Any one event would have made the weekend for me -- but you got ALL of them - Yipee!

PunkiePie (Jen) said...

Sounds like a fun and crafty time!!

PunkiePie (Jen) said...

Sounds like a fun and crafty time!!

Maiden Jane said...

Wow - an amazing time! Needle felting looks like fun - I love the result! And I love your painted pottery. I find that an enjoyable project as long as I am guided!

Lupie said...

So cool!!!! This is my dream weekend.

Anonymous said...

WOW!! What a crafty weekend I am absolutely jealous!! It all looks like super fun...I tried painting pottery even with a stencil mine never turned out right...yours look great.