• Straight edge ruler
• X-acto blade
• Scissors
• Crafting glue
• Paper adhesive
• Hole punch
• Felt tip pen
• Double stick tape
W O R K S H O P S
Sweater Love (Charlotte)
Let’s make our own holiday sweaters! In this class, we’ll decorate an off-the-rack or thrifted top with handmade embellishments and bits from the trinket box. Bring a sweater, hoodie or denim jacket for yourself or for someone on your gift list (ahem!) and we’ll transform it into a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. Simple sewing skills are helpful, but we’ll also have work- arounds if it’s not your thing. Please stock your crafty toolbox with pins, needles, threads and a few extra goodies like buttons, costume jewelry and a bit of favorite trim.
Using a simple bookbinding technique and holiday ribbon, we will create 4 signatures all bound together in a 6” x 12” holiday book. Each book will be unique to the participant as you may choose 12 coordinating paper designs from my vast paper collection. So whether you like an old fashioned Christmas (like I do) or a brightly colored festive look, you’ll be able to make this project uniquely your own. *Shop* free-ly from my stash of ephemera as well as collections of doorknobs and holiday décor to decorate the cover of your book and the 22 (!) inside pages. Be prepared to work with paints, inks, bling, snowflakes, golden reindeer, tags and more in this class designed just for you! Note: The morning will include a stitched and ribboned bookbinding technique. I will have red and green ribbons as shown in the photo. If you’d like to use a specific design or color of ribbon, please BYO (approx. 3 yards). After lunch, let the decorating begin! Additional supplies needed: paper cutter, paper piercer or awl.
W O R K S H O P S
Paper Wreath (Kathy)
Adorn a door or mantle with a wreath made of scrapbook paper, old book pages, trim, vintage holiday decorations and/or buttons. Several sizes and shapes to choose from, and, as always, lots of treasures available to make your own for the coming holidays or year round. Additional supplies needed: hot glue gun and glue sticks, double sided foam tape, stapler, holiday cards and paper, and any personal items you would like to incorporate into the wreath. Boxes for the wreaths will be available for safe traveling.
Old-Fashioned Ornaments (Charlotte)
From a beautiful jumble of felts, fabrics, paper and decorations, we’ll create a set of ornaments pretty enough to string together as a garland or give as gifts. Ideas to start with are paper houses with glittered rooftops, pairs of sweet mittens and garden baskets of vintage posies. Please bring your crafty toolbox stocked with the usual plus a foam brush or two. Though not required, any extra decorations to add in are most welcome.
A Christmas Package (Nancy)
Using the latest designs from Graphic 45, decorate this 8” x 5” Altered Art Box with Christmas Emporium papers. With two windows flanking the top, you may decide to showcase your holiday photos or decorate them with nostalgic images. Inside, you’ll find a four-panel accordion booklet ready for you to decorate with additional Christmas Empori-um images or follow along and add a bookbinding stitch to make the accordion into a page turner. Two sided papers give you a choice of colors and patterns from which to choose. With a quick turn of the wrist, you may add metal flowers and a door plate to create a mini-masterpiece. Note: I will have inks and paints for you to use in class so that you may paint the Altered Art Box in your favorite holiday color. If you have a specific shade in mind, please bring that with you. The metal pieces used in this project may also be painted to fit your style, whether it be vintage or shabby chic! Additional supplies needed: paper cutter, pencil, needle nose pliers, paper piercer or awl.
Kathy Curotto, former Style Editor of Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion Magazine for seven years and previously a Contributing Editor since the magazine’s inception. Produced, styled and crafted many of the features and columns, including Out on a Whim, Handmade, and Pins & Needles. Responsible for the trend pages as well as instrumental in the daily visual construction of the magazine, she brought her unique vision to a team of creative professionals. Kathy’s work has also been featured in St. Louis AT HOME Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Better Homes and Gardens / Holiday Ideas, Celebrate Magazine and Ralston food packaging and promotion.
Charlotte Lyons designs and makes things in a variety of styles and media. Still inspired by the humble simplicity of traditional art and craft and the inventive use of repurposed materials, Charlotte aims to mix an unfussy playfulness with the vintage charm of handmade keepsakes.
Over the years, her work has been featured in her books (Mothers and Daughters at Home, Between Friends), those with Mary Engelbreit and Barbara Martin and also in magazines such as Country Living, Victoria, Woman’s Day, Better Homes and Gardens and Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion. Currently, she designs for licensing and teaches workshops nationally.
Born and educated in St. Louis, Charlotte raised three artistic daughters in a bright pink house in Chicago. Now she and her husband live in the lower Hudson River Valley of New York, happy to have their girls (and their guys) nearby.
Nancy Wethington is a St. Louis native who has been immersed in one craft or another her entire life. She is a self-proclaimed collector with a love for all things vintage including the stories behind old and worn objects. This love eventually led her to the world of scrapbooking. Here, she could mix photos with the lore passed down from generation to generation. Currently fascinated with the creation of mini-books and bookbinding, Nancy teaches classes at her favorite scrapbook store, For Keeps Sake, and designs projects for Graphic 45 and Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge Blog.
Married to the love of her life for 39 years, Bill never tires of carrying her latest finds up and down the steps of her basement studio. (Their son, Beau, named the studio *Nancyland*.) Her work has been published in local newspapers and national magazines including St. Louis Post-Dispatch Life Style Magazine, several Stampington publications, Stamp It! and Paper Crafts magazines.
