Creativity Day at A Work of Heart

Creativity Mirror
Creativity Mirror

I went to A Work of Heart on Sunday with a group of friends to belatedly celebrate my birthday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that place! I love the space, the creative energy, Andrea (the owner). I want that creative wonderland to be down the street from my house. Really, I want to live there, but I would settle for it being down the street from my house.

I invited some non-crafty people so Andrea the Awesome suggested the Altered Mirror project. I wasn’t that excited about that project, but went with it and am very pleased at how mind came out (top), how successfully everyone was able to work and how well all the mirrors came out.

The place is great and all of the supplies you see in the backgrounds of the above photos are available to use.

Step 1: Paint the Frame
Step 1: Paint the Frame

The first step was to paint the frame and the little chipboard squares. I ended up painting all of them (top and sides). Above it shows the squares as I was painting the sides.

The color scheme I chose was to coordinate with the way we are going to paint our bedroom. I didn’t mean to put ‘CREATE’ as the message, but creativity is on my mind lately and it seemed like the right thing. I don’t know if the mirror will end up in our room ultimately, but we will see.

Step ?: Distress Some Squares
Step ?: Distress Some Squares

Each of the squares has something done to them: cover with paper, paint with crackle paint, ink, etc. Above I was using distressing/embossing powder on some of the squares. BLECH!!! I sincerely disliked how they came out and the effort was not worth the result. Live and Learn, though. I am glad I tried it and now I know.

Step Near the End: Embellishing
Step Near the End: Embellishing

Above I have lined up all of the squares and glued them to the frame. I have also started to embellish. Andrea has FABULOUS glue and I only had to stick down some of the papers a little bit. The glue used to stick the squares down is different from that she suggested I use to apply the embellishments.

Kathy's piece
Kathy's piece

Kathy, from Everyday Bliss, wrote a great post about the day. She expresses some self doubt in the post, but I didn’t see that at all. I saw her start looking at the paper and dive right in. Kathy’s piece, with its orange base, reminds me so totally of her. It has whimsy and a little reality check (see the martini glass? She is the parent of a 2YO, after all) and a fabulous girly, but elegant girly look. Check it, and her project out, at the Everyday Bliss blog.

One of the great things about the afternoon, as I mentioned, was that everyone was successful. Everyone worked on their mirrors and created beautiful pieces. Everyone seemed happy and to have a good time. There was  a nice creative and relaxed feeling that permeated the event.

Julie's
Julie's

I love Julie’s message. Her message of “Today” makes me think about not looking to the future too much. It is a good reminder to be in the moment – or to balance planning for the future while living in the moment.

Helen's
Helen's

Helen seemed really uncomfortable when she started. I don’t know what Helen’s creative experience is to date. She did the most amazing work. I love the color scheme and her selections of paper and embellishments. It was so fantastic to watch her work.

Bron's
Bron's

Bron’s embellishments came across to me as delicate.

Mary's
Mary's

Mary knew not getting the squares straight would drive her crazy, so she made the squares wonky. That small changed added movement and now the straightness is not an issue. I adore her background color.

Maureen's
Maureen's

Maureen used her hand dyed fabric instead of paper to cover the chipboard squares. It reminds me of a painting I saw at the SFMOMA. I’ll amend this post if I remember which one it was.

Terri's
Terri's

I love the red that Terri used for the background color. Her piece has a bit of an Asian feel.

Camille's
Camille's

Camille insisted that she was not crafty. Her piece, for her daughter’s new bedroom, tells me otherwise. I had a pink and purple bedroom when I was a girl, so I am partial to this piece.

Maggie's
Maggie's

Maggie wanted to make a piece to commemorate our sorority. I love it that she used yellow to to prevent the pink from getting to sickly sweet. This piece is very cheerful.

Kim's
Kim's

Kim has more experience than anyone with the various tools and supplies. If you look closely at her piece, you can see where she used a rubber stamp and then embossed. The embossing actually came out well on hers.

Kim's also
Kim's also

I think the above photo reflects the colors she used a little better.

Sharon's
Sharon's

Sharon’s piece reminds me of sailing and code flags. She says that she chose a color scheme that would coordinate with her duvet cover.

Adrienne's
Adrienne's

Adrienne, or AJA, is one of the quiltmakers with whom I do the Bullseye Project. She came all the way from Tucson to be at my party. I was so happy! She and Julie and I went to dinner after the party. I love the way she used the bottle cap and the garter hooks.

Valerie's
Valerie's

Valerie and I see each other once a year. We met in the baby class when we were both pregnant and our kids used to play together when they were small. Now we see each other about once a year, but it is great. She is a great sport at being creative with me.

I am thinking of having my birthday there again next year.

Update: 9/12/2011: due to spam this post no longer allows comments. Sorry!

Author: Jaye

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

5 thoughts on “Creativity Day at A Work of Heart”

  1. It sure was a blast, I loved that place and being there with everyone just working away. I hope you do have your party there again, it was definitely a great way to have a fun and creative get-together.

    1. I am so glad you were able to make it and had a good time. Your piece was awesome, the energy of the event was awesome and I will definitely go back!

  2. This was so much fun! I am happy I came up to San Jose for the big event. I love seeing you and Julie and it was nice to meet your friends, plus see Mary and Kim again. You ROCK!!!

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