Hey there Artie! So good to have you with me on the blog, today. For World Card Making Day (WCMD), I took my wife Paula to an all day event with Libby Hickson aka StampinLibby, aka, the Libster of Hero Arts fame.
Besides the 8 fun cards, I have 5 takeaways I want to share with you about taking this class.
1. A lot of work went into this class.
Let me say that the Libster is no slouch! She had the entire class working like a well-oiled machine! All the card elements were perfectly packaged and complete. Name tags were handmade die-cuts colored and adhered to pins. A little goodie bag with chocolate and a sequin mix came with the class. She had to have spent a good amount of time die cutting, trimming, and putting everything in cellophane envelopes so that the students could create eight cards in about 5 hours.
2. Beginners can shine instantly.
Since everything came pre-cut and designed, it worked so well for my wife to complete her cards and beam with smiles. She had made ONE card with me before and now she has 8 under her belt! She, of course, fell in love with heat embossing. (Who doesn’t?) You can feel comfortable bringing total newbies to the class and they’ll leave with some beautiful cards!
3. Experienced crafters can improvise.
I have never been to a card class before, I know enough about the creative community to feel comfortable going my own way with some of the pre-packaged designs. So if you are an experienced card maker, you will have fun challenging yourself to use the elements provided in a unique way. Check out the way I improvised this card originally designed by my friend, Janette Kausen.
4. Crafting with others creates community.
Since I began paper crafting, nearly all of my community interaction has come from the interwebs! But Instagram, Facebook and Youtube cannot ever give you the joy of sitting next to a newbie 70 year old soccer grandma with a colorful vocabulary. I sat with people who had no idea who I was from social media and it was so fun to get to know them. Two of the ladies had been crafting together for 20 years.
5. Shopping during and after helps support our local stores.
I had no idea this amazing scrapping and crafting store existed just an hour away from me. This store, Papercraft Clubhouse serves all of Connecticut, apparently. Jona, who works at the store, came in and out of the class to set aside items for students and run a tab for us as we labored away. Then during moments of down time, we could sneak upstairs ourselves and peruse the extensive offerings of the store. There’s nothing like getting to hold product in your hands before you buy it! And I was happy to spend over $200 after class to help support this amazing shoppe!
Did you know this store has a COPIC bar!!?? You can go re-fill your Copic Markers there for free! I’m sure there are details to be known, but this has me wanting to visit the store again, soon!!! :D
What do you think about taking card classes? Where did you first take a class?
If you have been inspired to shop, you can purchase the items I used to make the cards in this post by clicking in the grid below. I appreciate you using my affiliate links to support Del & Artie always!! :D
