Exciting Times in Paducah!

So much going on, but had to take a minute to share the excitement.

Last weekend, mixed media superstars, Pam Carriker and MaryBeth Shaw were in Paducah. 

Yes in our little town! The studio at Ephemera Paducah was full of energy as they presented Art Journal Road Show, a full 2 day workshop of painting, gluing, stenciling, stamping, talking, laughing, eating, and more.

I was not able to be in the thick of it as I was manning the storefront, where I had my own little swarm of activity. I have no idea how many stencils passed through my hands, but it was a lot!

Now we are surrounded by quilters and oh, how we love it! The 31^st Annual AQS Show is happening right now in our little town! Over 30,000 lovely ladies (and a few hundred gentlemen) are here to see the wonderful art quilts, attend workshops and shop. Our own RoseHughes is signing books and doing demos at Ephemera Paducah.

That’s all for now, got to get downtown and be part of the activity! 

What’s going on in The Underground?

Actually not a whole lot. HR has made some more shelves for the studio slatwall. Rain is forecast for Saturday which will keep him off the bike and maybe in his shop hopefully completing the project.

I am spending a lot of time at Ephemera Paducah, helping Kristin prepare for an exciting workshop with Pam Carriker and Mary Beth Shaw. They will be presenting the The Pam &Mary Beth Art Journal Road Show at Ephemera this weekend. Needless to say I am so excited to be part of this!

Next week is Quilt Week in Paducah. Over 30,000 quilters from every continent in the world will visit our little city for the 31^st Annual AQS. 

As part of quilt week, I was looking forward to a Lesley Riley workshop at Ephemera Paducah, but it was cancelled. Using her book, Create with Transfer Artist Paper, Kristin and I have been experimenting so we can have demonstrations for the quilters.

I did find time this week to make a cell phone sleeve. This was kind of a necessity as HR gets annoyed when I don’t have my phone with me when he calls. And we know it is important to keep HR happy, at least until I have enough shelves for my slatwall! 

If you are in Paducah for the Quilt Show, I hope you will stop by Ephemera Paducah and say hello!

Is the Easter Bunny a Thief?

A couple of years ago I planted what I thought was a variety of small gourds, intending to use them in craft projects. I didn’t get the variety I had hoped for but harvested hundreds of small egg shaped gourds. I shared some with my neighbor, gave some to an artist friend and put the rest on a drying screen over my potting bench.  Last year more plants sprouted from the previous year and I added maybe 50 more to the stash on the drying screen. I used some for ornaments at Christmas, but there were still about 100 left. Last week I took them down from the screen, placing them in a basket which I left on the potting bench. To my surprise when I went to retrieve them, the basket was empty! No gourds in sight. I did see some fragments around the garden. I can only surmise, a critter made off with my gourd stash!

I did have a few in the studio from which I could try a couple of Easter egg techniques.

Inspired by a Pinterest post, I decoupaged one little 
gourd with strips from an old French dictionary using gel medium. After it dried I added butterflies and foliage from the top layer of a napkin and sealed it with another layer of gel medium.

I tore strips of a lovely orange and gold wrinkled paper which I adhered it to this little gourd egg, using gel medium. After it dried, I added a coat of gel medium. Borrowing a technique from Miriam Joy, I softened a gold metallic crayon with a heat gun and rubbed it across the paper ridges.  To keep the crayon from rubbing off, I added a top coat of gel medium.

These are not gourd eggs, but cheap, plastic eggs from the Dollar Store. When I saw Tim Holtz demonstrate this technique on YouTube, I had to try it! Using alcohol ink with the ink applicator tool, I just dabbed the colors on the plastic egg. You should watch the video to see just how easy this is. 

I hope everyone has a bright and happy Easter. If my neighbors find my gourd eggs hidden in their yard, can we assume the critter was the Easter Bunny?