The Art of Microfine Glitter

The Art of Microfine Glitter is a new class coming up (Edit: Date should be April 5th) March 22 at Stampin' Cat Studio in Salem. I've been slowly collecting sets of Microfine glitter. It is a bit more expensive than the Ultrafine glitter, but is just to elegant and lovely. It is rich, velvety, a bit less shiny and flashy...and I think it can be used a bit more easily on projects that you want to use a lot of glitter on, like the chipboard flower here. Because it is not quite as sparkly it doesn't overwhelm the eye so much, or look gaudy. Sometimes you want lots of bling, but sometimes the microfine glitter adds just the right touch. Unfortunately the glitter didn't show up well in most of the pictures, but you can get an idea of what the finished products will look like. If you live in the area, you really need to stop by the store and see the sample board in person. Even if you can't take the class, maybe I can convince you to get your hands on some Microfine glitter. Warning...don't sneeze, breathe hard, or emit any loud exclamatory statements with loose microfine glitter in front of you. I believe my entire craft area is now coated in a fine layer of glitter. Not that I mind, but I think my husband may be scared to enter the room to use the computer. Maybe that's why he's just been using his laptop...ha,ha. My daughter, on the other hand, has been hovering nearby trying to get in on the action as much as possible. In fact she made a little card with the same layout as the chipboard flower card...so cute...copying is the highest form of flattery, especially when it is your daughter doing the copying.

A few of my favorite things

I had a great time at the Creating Keepsakes Convention in Portland. I'm actually not much of a scrapbooker, but I like to go volunteer at these events to meet people in the papercrafting industry, and to gain insight on class management and development. I got to talk with some wonderful people on Saturday, including the lovely and talented Sandy Redburn of Crafty Secrets. I was able to get my hands on two of their new stamp sets, Flourishes and Bird Lovers. They are such beautiful, detailed stamp sets, and I can't wait to start playing with them, and making samples with them. All of their stamp sets are just beautiful. In fact, check it out for yourself, here is a link to their site: http://www.craftysecrets.com/

I also visited the people from Rusty Pickle and picked up (among other things) these beautiful trims. The picture includes trim from two different sets, Princess Bride and Mayflower.
And of course I am always a sucker for beautiful glitter, and Barbara Trombley's Vintage Glass Glitter is beyond gorgeous. A friend and I bought the Fine Sea Sprite glitter and the Fine Ultramarine glitter to share...two for the price of one.

It is always interesting visiting these conventions and seeing the different classes offered. So many...well, almost all of the classes were project based classes, and there didn't seem to be very many classes geared towards the more experienced papercrafter. Maybe that is because this was a scrapbook convention vs. a stamping or art convention. I just wonder why there aren't more technique based classes for scrapbookers. Maybe it's just me, but when I take a class I like to learn new things, not just make a pretty project. What do you think? I would love to get some feedback here. What kinds of classes do you prefer or would you like to see more of? Feel free to set me straight here.