Cynthia of Ornamental Style and Cat of In the Light of the Moon happen to live not too far away and we finally managed to work in a play date! While we brainstormed and came up with an easy project we thought we could tackle, it soon became apparent that a lot more visiting and a lot less jewelry making was going to happen!
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| L to R: Cat, Me, Cynthia |
If you'd like to meet some other like-minded souls and get together, I thought I would post some things I've found helpful!
1) EASY DOES IT. While it's great to plan a project, time can get away from you with introductions and chatting. Consider a first time plan of meeting for coffee or lunch and Show and Tell. Everyone can bring their favorite magazines or books to share and a current project or piece they're excited about. That can often fuel the fire for a future meeting or project! If you still plan a simple project, make sure it's something easy enough for you to complete in your allotted time or something that can easily be taken home to finish on your own time. We decided on the popular ladder stitched Chan Luu style bracelets since it was a technique most of us hadn't tried and was simple enough in technique/supplies to complete on our own time.
2) POOL YOUR RESOURCES. If there is a technique everyone wants to try but you may be lacking in supplies or resources, talk about getting your arsenal together! Some people may have the books or tools, while others may have a more in depth studio or supplies to share. By pooling your resources, you might be able to try something new you wouldn't have been able to try on your own! Putting several heads together brings together different styles of working and techniques and you can often all teach one another!
3) FIND YOUR TRIBE. Blogs and Facebook are a great way to find other people in your neck of the woods. Etsy also has a great search function that enables you to find other people in your area. Look for those that work appeals to you or ties together a common thread. Getting to know each other a little first through email and blogs is an easy way to decide if you'd like to meet in person!
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| my unfinished ladder stitch bracelet |
9 comments:
How fun to get everyone together! I've been wanting to try this stitch, but all these other projects for hops keep getting in the way :)
That is awesome that you got to get together with like minded people.... How fun! I would love to do that someday :o) Thanks for the tips..... Knowing me, I'm a talker and would have a hard time getting a project started.
MaryAnn
What a fantastic post, Barbara, with great tips. I'm so glad that we could get together and I hope that we can make it a regular occurrence.
You're absolutely right that the first meeting could just be introductions and show and tell. We tried to get too much accomplished. I did make my bracelet last night (10:32 pm to 1:11 am!) and love it. I'll make that the next post on my blog.
I hope to see you again soon.
Cyndi
I LOVE art dates! Creative souls "get" one another and it's an excellent way to fill the well, learn new things, and inspire and be inspired. I have art date planned for today actually, in just a few hours, and I can't wait!!!!
Sounds like you had a lot of fun. And great advice on the get togethers!
:)
That's so cool, Barbara! Thanks for sharing your get-together!
I so wish I would have been there!!
I'm glad you gals had fun!! Makes me wish I lived in FLA!!
Great meeting you Barbara!! I agree..us Arty girls chat way to much..the first play date should be just getting to know each other..heehee..I haven't even looked at my bracelet...eek.xo
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