Prepping for a Workshop

Good morning! Hope you're having a fabulous weekend. The sun is shining here for the second day in a row. Love it!

For those of you who may be curious, I thought I would share a little tour, behind the scenes, of what goes into preparing for my workshops.

First of all, it's good to have an idea of what theme you are going to work with. I find it easiest to build your workshop around certain holidays coming up. This works for both scrapbook and card workshops.

If you find that you are in a particular month that really doesn't have any special holidays coming up, it's good to get feedback from your workshop attendee's. I asked my customers what they wanted to see. From there, we decided to create 4 sympathy, 4 thinking of you and 4 birthday cards.

I felt it was important to create cards with a generic enough look, that most of them could double as something else just by changing out a sentiment, either on the inside or the front of the card.

So, after all that, it was time to get busy creating. This is my favorite part. I decided that I would spend one weekend just creating so I could get pictures of most of my cards at one time. After I had 10 of the 12 cards completed, I created an event on Facebook for my friends and family to see. I listed out all of the details for them, and left contact information in case they had any questions.

I love how these cards turned out. If you find yourself at a loss for inspiration, Close To My Heart's idea books are a great place to start. I also like to look through a current Card Creations magazine. If all else fails, I look at a fun stamp set, and visualize a "scene". This is especially true for my Mayberry "Bird" card, and the Mayberry "Life is Good" card.

After the initial design phase, I begin making pre-cuts for my guests. I make enough for a certain number of guests, in this case, 11 more. This way, I can have at least 2 examples out on the table for them to see. This, incidentally, was a decision I made after my first card workshop.

I then move on to paper piercing edges so I can hand-sew on the papers. Once that is finished, I thread any buttons that will be used on a particular card. (Buttons can be applied at the workshop with glue dots.) I follow up with ink distressing the edges. This is particularly helpful if you have limited sponges to go around.

After that, I begin bagging up all papers, envelopes, embellishments, and stamps by card. Here, you can see how this comes together.

After all of the cards are bagged up, I will then write out a supply list, including ink colors and card recipe, and include in each bag. This will help me pull it all together on the day of the workshop. Baggies are placed in a box with enough room to prevent crushing.

On the day of the workshop, I will have time to finish last minute preparations of setting up tables and chairs, baking, and setting out measurement placemats for each guest to use for generational stamping and assembling their cards.

So, I hope you have enjoyed my little behind-the-scenes tour of what goes into my workshops. Organization is the key. Knowing how many guests you will have in attendance, as well as knowing what theme you are going to use, helps pull it all together.

Have a wonderful day!

Casandra