We lucked out on our schedule. We have 4 classes on Friday, and 3 classes on Saturday. Our last class Saturday ends at 2:45PM, then we have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves until the dinner events at 7PM. It's really (in my opinion) the best schedule because we will have completed all of the classes first, and have a good amount of time to relax and regroup before closing festivities.
Following is my critique on the classes and projects that we did. It is my opinion (to which I am entitled) on what was good and what was bad. If you don't want to take the bad with the good, then just stop reading here. Since we all view things differently, if you attended, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts and opinions..
1st Class was taught by Lesli Spafford and was sponsored by Making Memories. This was a card class, and we made 5 cards, plus we received the components for 3 tags. The tags were something to work on if you were an overachiever and were ahead of everyone else (I really liked that concept). The cards were cute, and had some unique folds to them so the class wasn't too bad. The class had a few hiccups but that was to be expected since it was the first class of the first day. I enjoyed the class, and Leslie and her husband were very personable, I just didn't feel that the class was of the caliber that we expected from CE.
2nd class was taught by Rhonna Farrer and was a Challenge Art Journal sponsored by Autumn Leaves. I was really looking forward to taking this class because the pictures in our course booklet looked great. Very disappointed however, because the only thing we did was to do the all the stamping of pages for the album. We loved Rhonna, love her work, and loved the inspiration and concept for the album, but I would have liked to have walked away with at least some of the pages done. For instance, there was a plastic pocket page included to insert within the album - we could have worked on that in class, or even the cover which used paper and a transparency sheet - something other than just stamping. For me ... I already own both stamp sets, so what we did in class, I could have done at home with the course booklet. Now, the other thing that really annoyed me was during the technique boutique we stamped flowers and they told us to have them all cut out before the class - well we never used them. I stayed up late to cut them out to be ready for the class, but it was unnecessary. I am however, looking forward to completing the album and once finished I will take the 21 day challenge.
3rd class was taught by Heidi Lynn Schreiber and sponsored by Bazzill. This was a "Year To Remember" calendar. You received a 12x12 calendar by Heidi Swapp, and page kits for 5 of the months. I repeat, it's a YEAR to remember, but only 5 months were provided. I was disappointed that the rest of the months were not provided -- however, we were told we could purchase the kits for the rest of the months and the cover kit for a mere $43.50. Most of the pages were basic, simple layouts (lots of cardstock, diecuts and a few embellishments) - nowhere near the price of $43.50. While the layouts were basic we learned how to use the new Purple Cow cutter (which I liked), and Heidi Lynn does have an eye for pulling the layouts together with the cardstock and embellishments. The pages were cute and truly looked like a set and that is exactly why I ended up making the purchase of the page kits to finish the project - I thought first that I would then at least finish the project rather then stuffing it in a corner of my scrap room, and second thought it would make the project look more finished and cohesive. I begrudgingly handed over the money, but I couldn't help feeling like it was a setup to increase sales.
4th class was Tracey Niehues with the "My Thoughts Exactly" Folder sponsored by K&Company. This class was an unexpected surprise. I think all in our group (7 of us) thought it was the best class of the day, and saved the day from being a huge disappointment. It was unique - she used a plastic office envelope as the base, we learned how to use book tape, we used transparencies, we made pocket pages, and we very nearly completed the folder. I like walking away with a project that is completed or near completion. It makes you feel like you've accomplished something during your time in the class. Could you have completed the folder using the course booklet? Yes, but you needed the instruction on the technique, and her hints in order to do so smoothly. I can't wait to get to staples so I can create it again. I'm loving it. In my opinion, this is the caliber of class I expect at an event like CE - a creative idea, a special technique, and a mostly completed project.
And finally there was the Friday Night Extravaganza. These were projects that the CE teacher alumni from '06 taught based on questions from the book "Ever Wonder" We stayed in one room, and the instructors rotated through. Each instructor had 15 minutes to teach their portion. The base for these projects were the large Heidi Swapp playing cards, you had two projects from each instructor and you were going to complete one project in class and the second you could do on your own. It was an interesting way to see the style of each of the instructors. I did enjoy this project, but I also had to leave early. Our classroom was unbearably HOT. We had called the hotel staff to fix the problem, but it wasn't happening. I made it through 6 out of 8 of the mini classes, then opted to go back to my 64 degree room and put my feet up.
I'm now looking forward to tomorrow's classes. I'm hoping they will be much better than the ones we had today. I will post pictures when I get home as the upload time here is excruciatingly slow.
