ZNE Convenzione & Art, Paper & Pleasantries

I've been wanting to blog about the beeswax collage class I took recently with Anna Corba at the ZNE Convenzione in Pleasanton, CA! This is my first-ever collage, but I don't think it's going to be my last! I may even go back and put a crown on the sweet birdie so she matches this blog template! :-)

Anna is a wonderful instructor, and if you ever get a chance to take a class with her, definitely go for it! She was extremely generous with all of her wonderful papers and ephemera, and was always ready to answer our questions and help when we needed it.

I started a second collage in class, but need to get some bleached beeswax and a skillet to melt it in before I can finish it. I'll be hitting the yard sale circuit this weekend in hopes of doing just that!

This class was on a Thursday, and just two days later, I drove back to Pleasanton (1.5 hours each way!) to shop at Art, Paper, and Pleasantries, a vendor fair held at the same location. I found a LOT of goodies there ... and even got a personal lesson from Kate Lyon, co-owner of InvokeArts and StudiosBlackbird, on how to use unmounted rubber stamps without cutting them or mounting them! And she gave me the tag she made while teaching me! I left a good chunk of change in her booth -- and enjoyed every minute of it! :-) Kate made stamping (and especially the coloring) look entirely too easy ... but she readily admitted that she'd been stamping for quite awhile!

I also brought home even more unmounted stamps from the Lost Coast Designs booth -- Linda has a wonderful line of border stamps that retail for just $2 apiece! How could I not stock up?!

I bought a pack of Prima flowers and a tin of itsy bitsy seashells from Danielle Costa of The Art Life, and several more things at other booths that I can't entirely remember right now. I was pretty amazed at the wonderful selection of goodies at Art, Paper, & Pleasantries! And now I need to go get creative ... have a wonderful rest of the day!