Today I took two interesting classes at Wishful Thinking in Nashville, IN!

The first class was a beginner's Copic Markers and I am now the proud owner of three markers and a blender pen (paid for as part of the class fees). I didn't take a picture of the little pumpkins we colored in with a few different techniques. I kind of got mixed results on those, but the instructor, Bianca Mandity, said it takes practice to get used to them. Hope she is right and that it wasn't just me!

My favorite part, though, was when she let us use her air compresser with the Copic markers! Here's a sample using a mask and two of my green markers (yes, the Ciao markers do work with some putty to hold them in place). Lots of fun! If I ever build up a bigger supply of Copics I would definitely think about investing in the air compresser! Just think of all the fun card and scrapbook backgrounds that could be made!




















The second class was Japanese No-Stitch Book Binding, also with Bianca. We made an entire mini-book with just a few supplies!

We used a single piece of printed paper from Japan for the cover and colored it with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. I really like the paper she gave me and I stuck to a mix of blues and greens for my cover. Incidentally, some of the blue is still on my hands despite several washings! Oh well.

While we set the cover aside to dry, we created the inside pages. Would you believe the inside is made from a single piece of Japanese fiber paper? We just folded and folded and folded and ended up with this cute little mini-book! I think I'm still amazed.

The only supplies we used besides the ones above were a metal ruler and a bone folder. Zero adhesives, zero sewing. Amazing!

I hope I will somehow be able to recreate this at home. It wasn't especially intuitive for me and there were a couple of times I got stuck. Lots of measuring and thinking about folds but so worth it! What a great gift this could be when decorated with photos, notes, or stamping! Bianca said she had even made some with gift wrap for the holidays last year.




















We had some extra time at the end of class for playing with the store's huge selection of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists. I didn't even know they made so many colors! Here are the ones I made and they are super shiny in person. You might see them again cut up and used on cards. I really like how the bottom two turned out.