A post from Kelli–
A while back, you might recall, mom and I went to a sign painting class. Actually, we’ve both been to 2.
As it turns out, the same company was hosting one closer to me this time in West Union, which is only about a 15 minute or so drive. I have a bunch of ladies I get together with here and there and we do a craft, have some food, and usually a few drinks. We call out little bunch Artsy Fartsy. We take turns hosting and coming up with the craft. Sometimes they have something to do with the season, sometimes not. Sometimes it’s a complicated craft, sometimes not. Sometimes everyone makes the same thing, sometimes not. The important part is that we all get together to get out of the house and spend some time being creative!
As it turns out, one of us found the event on facebook, invited the others, and we decided to go. The class was hosted at Gus and Tony’s Townhouse by Creative Expressions based out of Galena. They do tons of pop up classes all over Iowa, Illinois, and I believe Wisconsin. If you are looking for a fun class for a group of friends, bachelorette party, or even a shower of some kind, definitely get in contact with them. When we were talking to the teacher Brian, he told us that often times, if they have a group of 10 (I believe) they may offer a smaller free sign to participants or a free sign to the hostess or person being celebrated. You can find their facebook page here–https://www.facebook.com/creativeexpressionsgalena/
We headed off to class and everything was all set up and ready for us! We ordered some appetizers, got a few drinks, and put on our aprons–Cause we were ready to be artists!
The first thing that we did was place our stencil on our boards. They bring the boards all together and stained to the color that was specified on our registration.
Then we get to painting. The nice thing is that you can do any of their signs with a variety of background colors or stains. You can also pick your paint so that you can match your sign to your decor.
Julie decided to make a tray as a gift for a wedding. The cool part is that on hers, it has a large monogram in the background with the name and date over it.
Vicki made a really neat 4th of July sign. After everything is painted and mostly dry, it’s time to peel off the blue stencil.
Here we are working on our pretties!
It ended up just being us 4–Julie (Jason’s Aunt), Renee (Jason’s Mom), and Vicki (a friend of Julie’s and a neighbor to us all). There was another gal there that was also making a sign as a wedding gift with dates of the couples first date, engagement and upcoming marriage.
Overall it was a fun night!
Remember I mendioned the free signs? They had a 4th of July one that we all made!
I had a blast! I’m really glad that we have our little group to do stuff with. A lot of times, we do crafts and things that I have never done or wouldn’t do on my own, so a little encouragement to step out of the box is always a good thing!
Love the signs! Your group sounds like such a fun bunch! Thx for sharing with us.
What a fun way to spend time with friends. I recently took a Quilt block painting class, you know like the ones found on Barns, it was a great event. Maybe there will be one happening close to you ladies.
I love the idea of a social crafting group! I have gone to 3 paint nights, but I’m not yet a fan of painting ;) I think changing up the project would be lots of fun!