The Chalked Class:
Four designs were offered. All came from people on pinterest, but I made my own patterns in Adobe Illustrator. I learned a lot while making the patterns, so it was a good project for me. Three seasonal designs and one everyday design to choose from offered in a standard 11x14 size.
I got tempered hardboard at Lowe's, had it cut into 11x14 size (got 27 boards per 4'x8'panel). The guys at Lowe's were awesome and didn't even charge me to cut all 54 boards. I got a quart of Black chalkboard paint and painted all the boards. That really had to be done ahead of time to allow the paint to cure. They were sanded, wiped down and packaged up for each lady. It was a popular class, lots of ladies wanted to learn to chalk art! I had lots of fun doing the samples and I learned a lot. Can't wait to do some bigger projects now.
The Word Stack (Block) Class
The RS President had some blocks she bought at the BYU bookstore and thought they might be a good project. The idea was okay, but the blocks were small and only had routed words making them impossible to read from even close. I decided to do them in graduating sizes so they could stack like a tree for Christmas with something else on the other side. I came up with 5 sets of possibilities for words after all was said and done. Most ladies did 2-sided blocks.
There was a set with the Young Women Values and other words from their motto…
There was a set of words from the Scout Motto…
One with words taken from the Family Proclamation…
Of course the Christmas version…
And not pictured is the set that I actually liked the best. The 13 key words for each article of faith. There are 13 blocks in a set. I made the paper to cover the sides in on my computer using digital scrapbook files in Photoshop. That way we could get the different colors on 3 11x17 sheets for each set. I had a lot of fun designing the paper and the word files. My sweet Sister-in-law Sydney agreed to cut all the vinyl for the sets. She did an awesome job and I learned a lot about that too. A very nice man in the ward cut the sets of blocks and his wife (RS Homemaking counselor) and the teacher for this class got together and sanded them all ahead making the ladies jobs easier on that saturday. Each set of blocks was bagged up, tagged and placed out for the class.
Table Talk Class
Jade was mostly responsible for this class. It is a fun sort of game that has as many questions as you can think of crafted onto jumbo craft sticks. We then mod-podged cute paper on the other side and added a button on the end. We placed them all in a pretty jar with a ruler for "the rules". At dinner, someone picks a stick and reads the question. They then must answer the question, being honest and courteous. The listeners must also be courteous and when the question has been answered may add their perspectives and answers as well. Nice to get some positive dinner conversation going both for families and for entertaining. Found many sources for questions on pinterest. Gathered the ones that we thought were the best and made them up for the game. We did 154 questions, but only did a 90 stick set for each game. The extras can always be added later. We also offered a 60 Stick set of Christmas activities to help keep a good focus on the season of crazy and keep it a season of real christmas events. I picked out several color schemes of scrapbook paper pads (the small 6.5"x6.5" size) and had them cut into strips for mod-podging. We hand cut the questions up for each set, and I have since gone back into that file and set them up for cutting on a paper cutter. That would have been nice from the get-go. Taya did most of the work on this sample and I am taking it to her so she can have it for her family. Would love to hear some of the answers they will give!
What's Cookin? Class
A couple of years ago Tawna made me a frame similar to these for weekly menu planning. I have loved having it in my kitchen. I may not always stick to everything I write down, but it really helps me remember what meals I shopped for as the week wears on. I made up two different styles and did seasonal papers for the backgrounds as well as an everyday paper for either the brown or black frame versions. Got a good response on this class too. Sydney cut the vinyl for this also and lots of ladies went home with nice frames for the weekly answer to the inevitable question of "Whats' for dinner, Mom?"
Wreathed! and the Shabby Chic Frame Class…
Three different styles of wreaths were offered. A frame wreath, with whatever you brought from home for whatever season you chose and with whatever frame you had. I chose a Halloween motif for the sample. I bought the boots and the mesh ribbon at Hobby Lobby, the glitter ribbon, spiders and pumpkin at Ribbons & Lace and had a frame at home. This also went along with our Shabby Chic frame class to teach the art of distressing wood for an old, vintage look. I painted the frame black and let it dry overnight. I then painted a watered-down bright purple over it and allowed it to dry well. I sanded off some areas and Wha-La. Shabby Chic frame. In it's simplest form. No one brought any stuff from home or the store to do this craft or the shabbied frame, except Summer and she had some great Halloween stuff to work with. She and I worked on her wreath during and after the meeting and she took home a finished product. It was great. Loved that she came to do stuff. I will post a pic of her wreath when I get it off my phone.
The next wreath offered was a burlap version. Have seen this many times using many different motifs on Pinterest, so thought I would learn the technique. Watched a tutorial someone was kind enough to make and went for it. I will do my next one differently, as far as the fine-tuning of the technique goes, but it got done and that's what I needed. I did a fall theme, but have seen it done for every season and many versions of everyday. It's a winner however it is done. A fun craft to do and have. We had several ladies choose this wreath and they basically watched me demonstrate it once and taught each other. The easiest class I have ever taught.
This Clothespin Wreath is also something I have seen with many different themes. The most popular after the seed packets is the Christmas Card version. It is way fun if you get lots of Christmas Cards. No one chose this particular wreath to make, so one less project to gather stuff for.
The To Die For Cinnamon Roll Class…
Taught by a lady that truly makes the best ever cinnamon rolls. Her Mom, Carolee Phelps made them for our Boutique years ago when we did the boutiques at Nan & Pops house. Her daughter, Starlyn (now Peterson) is certainly equal to her Mom's rep. Great Class, Great rolls. Wishing I had one about now.
The last class was Freezer Meals!
The leader out having her baby has a group that does freezer meals and has a great method. She and a friend taught the class and is was a great success. Who wouldn't love a bunch of meals in the freezer, ready to go when your day has been crazy and you didn't have time to shop, or cook? With the Holidays coming, can't think of a better class…
I had lots of fun preparing and gathering, and making kits and doing samples, etc., etc. I have missed those Homemaking meetings that taught fun, inexpensive things to keep or give. I hope my girls had as much fun as I did. We also had several ladies from our sister ward sign up and come. It was nice to get to know a few new faces there. Jacque, and her friend Christy came and made some stuff. Sydney came and did some Chalk Art with Tawna, so I got to spend some time with family too. I think our ward ladies had a good time too. I watched lots of finished projects leaving with ladies bearing happy smiles. That's really the reward for me.
