We Attended A Julie Nutting Class!

...and it was so much fun!

My daughter Dawn and I took a Julie Nutting class at what turned out to be a very yummy scrapbooking store, The Island's Creative Escape (you can also find them on Instagram), about an hour's drive away from us. I was so excited to meet one of my all-time favorite crafting gurus, Julie Nutting, and I was not disappointed.

We brought a tote full of things I thought we'd need like adhesives, markers, colored pencils, ink pads, scissors, and whatever else I could fit into it, Julie and the store provided the rest.

Dawn and I were the first ones there, so we sat, where else, but right next to Julie! The kits she put together were filled with all sorts of embellishments, her printed cardstock, chipboard and other stickers. She even supplied the paint so we could paint the outside our little shelves.

Two people to each table left plenty of space for crafting. There were other tables behind us we could have spread out onto if we needed to, but we didn't. This craft store really knew what they were doing, from the classroom setting to purchasing their products, everything went very smoothly.

At first Julie was taking us step by step and we were a little nervous about keeping up and doing everything exactly as she did. But after awhile we were all pretty much on our own and doing things however we wanted. Julie walked around the table as best she could (her back was giving her a lot of pain), talking to everyone.

Dawn felt she was out of her element with all of the fussy-cutting and embellishment work, but she did a great job, even though her carpal tunnel was acting up. She's a trooper.

I'm glad we brought two paper cutters because every square needed some adjusting before being glued in place. We appreciated having the basic forms to start with, I'm sure that was a lot of prep work. Actually, we appreciated the work that went into putting together the entire kit, it was fabulous.

And here we are, with Julie Nutting herself! She was so accommodating about pictures with us and our finished project.

 She even signed the books we brought! Needless to say, I'm thrilled about our day with Julie Nutting.

There are some things I would have done differently with a few of the squares, but I'm pretty pleased with myself. I especially like that we remembered to bring photos of our dogs to incorporate them into our little shelves. I also like that bit of yummy fabric at the top from Julie's fabric line.

I was able to pick up all of the new Julie Nutting paper doll stamps as well as a paper pack and few extras. Aren't they adorable?!

If you ever have a chance to take a class like this, do it! It's loads of fun and you'll have a new made-by-you piece to display when you get home. And bragging rights for having met such an awesome crafter!

Disclosure – This post contains affiliate links, which means that at no cost to you, I may make a tiny commission if you decide to make a purchase. The products I link to are those that I believe in, regardless of any commission I may make from them. My goal is to help you easily find the tools, products, or other items that you will need to complete your project.

Shrinky Dinks and Julie Nutting Paper Dolls

I had a couple of ideas kickin' around in my head and decided to put them to the test. I stamped a couple of my favorite things on to Shrinky Dink material, colored them in with water color pencils and coated them with Glossy Accents. I put a couple of holes in the London piece because I'm hoping to make a necklace out of it. I need to back it with something white first, not sure if I want to use paper or felt.

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with this pretty pink and blue doll. At first I wanted to make a pin, but now I think it would be better for the cover of one of my Smash Books or maybe even a card.

I'm pretty pleased with the Shrinky Dink pieces, but next time I'll be more careful with the Glossy Accents while it's wet. I laid the DVD remote control on them and had to quickly add another coat so it would dry smooth. There are more bubbles than there should be, but at least they weren't ruined.

The larger Julie Nutting paper doll stamp was cut and then embellished with all sorts of things. I've seen some pretty fabulous outfits on these stamps, so I wanted to try my hand at making a multidimensional version.

I had a piece of parchment paper sitting in my scrap pile and wondered how it would look as a skirt. I cut it into a small rectangle, gathered the top edge and glued it in place. I used clear glue, but it wasn't holding very well, so I added Glossy Accents. That stuff will hold down just about anything!

The bodice is colored with a blue glitter pen. I put tiny pearls in her hair and added a paper flower to her waist.

I also added strips of white ribbon so they would cascade down her skirt.

Underneath the parchment paper there's just a touch of light blue colored pencil along her hem. Her shoes were colored with a blue glitter pen then tiny pearls were added to make them extra fancy.

I like how the parchment looks like fabric. I think I'll use that stuff more often.

I enjoyed making this trio, especially because I was able to try a few things that have been puttering about my virtual list of things to try.