AN UBER-FABULOUS DAY - I'm Happily Exhausted!

"While visions of sugarplums, danced in their heads..."

Yesterday was THE day for the Love Is In The Air "Gathering" - the brainchild of the ever prolific Suzan Stoddard, of OLD GREY MARE PRIMITIVES - she wears me out just watching her.  Creativity and spunk just ooze from that woman.  Going in as an "outsider" (one who has never attended one of these wonderful soirees), I know now that is is VERY highly likely that I will never miss another.  Like those that have never been before, it was hard for me to envision just exactly what this was all about.  Over the top creativity, among friends - THAT'S what!  An ALL-INCLUSIVE day...EVERYTHING was provided, including TWO fabulous meals. Crafting/art supplies, and incredible talent and laughs, left us wanting for nothing - except possibly more time.

I arrived at 9:30, still squealing with delight, and giddy as hell, as I had won this wonderful gift of a "day to call my own", in a very generous giveaway that Z held this past month.  Justice and Howie graciously invited us in, as they rule the roost.

Suzan converted her garage for the day...carpeting, a tulle draped ceiling, and curtained walls made for an incredibly comfortable work space.  The supplies that we had full access to were amazing and plentiful, and the display and attention to small detail was mind boggling.  The tables were set with a beautiful hand embellished box, made by the crafting guru herself, for each and every person...and held the individually packaged beginnings of all projects we would be tackling.  In addition to that, we were each gifted with beautiful earrings, a little pot holding glass glitter initials, a bottle brush tree, a blown glass owl ornament, etc., etc.  I told you it was over the top GRAND!  The bottom photo is of the "snack" we were provided for lunch...SNACK!  Snack...sheesh!

This was the beginning...fun with paper...

And brads, and twine, and burlap, and more paper (NO rocks)...

And buttons, and the genius of Z...she set us up for success, right from the start!  Five individual paper ornaments were made from this portion of the Gathering...more if you wanted - it was a grand stepping off point for some major "art-age", for sure!

We moved on to this...or what was supposed to look like this - "one" among us took a detour, because of the glass owl that was "speaking" to her from her little gift bucket, and went THIS way...

The Christmas PalooZa Box ROCKS!

That owl ornament was NEVER destined for anything BUT that box, and to hold court with his snowman friend.  The box was covered in stunning wrapping paper - that was about as sedate as I got.  The bottom is covered with poinsettia paper - rhinestones, glitter, fake snow abound - it IS a veritable "Christmas PalooZa"...Z will never look at those snowman boxes the same, I fear.

And THAT only got my creative juices flowing for THIS...16 pages of vintage sheet music (cut into 32 sections), fashioned into the Sugarplum Fairy Wreath.  Rolled, stapled, glued, folded (I learned how to use a really cool gadget called a scoring board, to make all those folds in that cardboard), crepe-papered, and more over-the top Christmas fun than should be legal!  My daughter asked for this one, actually, proclaiming it to be UBER-FABULOUS!

11:00 last night (yes, p.m. - 13-1/2 hours later), found the two last stragglers (Sue S., and myself), being coerced by Z (read, "plied with alcohol") to make "one last" item, in the waning hours of the day.  Kitschy cute paper hearts, festooned with sparkly pipe cleaners.  I brought home 8 finished projects with me (two of which were combined to make the wreath)...I still have gift tags to finish on my own, from my magical box of tricks that Z gave us.  To say I was like a kid in a candy shop yesterday, is quite an understatement.

For those that follow Z's blog, you have seen the amazing pictures of her house...I do want to impart to you all that the pictures she always posts on her blog, in the sepia tones, are NOT taken with that setting on her camera.  The same anomaly happened to me as I was snapping away...they truly come out in those tones, due to the soft, beautiful lighting.  Just a few snaps from around the house yesterday - tiny treasures everywhere you turn...from the pheasant (or partridge) under glass, to a beautiful birdbath in the dining room, that she has transformed into a glass covered table, with these wonderful glittered acorns inside.  I think she might just be Mrs. Claus!  She's pretty magical to me.

And the backyard is just as enchanting as the inside...oh, oh, OH - AND the BATHROOM!!  Thank you, Z (and to all the other creative souls that passed through your threshold yesterday)...I don't know that I can ever repay the wonderful day you provided me, yesterday - and I really doubt that ANYONE had as much fun as I did (well, maybe in THEIR minds they did, but they would be wrong...no question)!  I love everything I touched and/or brought home yesterday - and the pleasure of the company of all the delightful gals there.  I might just turn into your biggest "Gathering" promoter, yet!  Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

Yes, Virginia...there IS a Christmas Palooza, and it lives at the house of Z!