Traveling Class   Mireille Divjak

Scrap–a–Ganza part 2:

Meeting Vicki Boutin

This was the first time I really stayed the night at the Scrap-a-Ganza. After the late CD class, there was a lot of stuff to do. The shops were still open so I shopped a little while waiting for Emma to finish her second late class. I also spend a little time with Jessica and ate some delicious Reeses. Maybe it’s a good thing they don’t sell this stuff in Holland, because I would kill for it (and probably gain more weight then is good for me).

I picked Emma up after class and then we had the choice of cropping together or sitting in the bar, having a beer and just chatting. Since Jess, Emma and I never met in real life, we opted for the last and spent a few hours doing some “real life chatting”. Boy, oh boy, it is great to meet some of your online friends for real! It was everything I hoped it would be and more! We had so much fun, lots of laughs, and serious conversations too. It was just awesome!

After having our picture taken, it was time to go to bed. I went upstairs with Emma to see her scrapstuff for real. It was awesome to see her work in real life, be able to hold it, feel it, open the interactive parts.  Photos simply miss the extra dimension. Then I went to my own room -way too late- to get some sleep. We all had early classes in the morning.

After waking up, I met Emma in the lounge. We had breakfast together. Fun to see how even breakfast is different in different countries. Then we headed for class and it was time for me to meet Vicki Boutin. Vicki has been scrapbooking for quite some time, she won Creating Keepsakes' Hall of Fame in 2006 and is currently a designer for BHG Scrapbooks Etc. I have admired Vicki’s work for a long time now, and I was so extremely excited that she came to the Scrap-a-Ganza that I signed up for her class without thinking. I never realized that taking her class at 8:30 in the morning would give me so much trouble getting there.  I always use public transportation to get to the SAG but this time it was held in Noordwijk, which is further away from my house.  Besides, public transportation was on strike.  So, without help from Fanny, who was kind enough to lend me her hotel room, I would have never made it to Vicki's class.

Despite the hour of the class (I am NOT a morning person), I had a wonderful time. Vicki’s class was called “bling and things” and she taught us great ways to work with foil. I got this “stuff” in a gift bag last year but had no idea what to do with it. Learning ways to use it and seeing it “in action” made me so totally happy. I really love “bling” and this just put an extra dimension to my projects. The brand we used was Stix2 (Stix2 PVA glue and Stix2 "Anything Shiny" transfer foil). We rubbed the PVA glue on chipboard and let it “dry”. It always stays sticky. but allowing it to “dry” makes the color change from white to clear. Then we used the different sheets of foil to rub over the “glue”… and out came the most beautiful shiny stuff.

I really loved it and plan to use it way more often in the future. Vicki was a gem, sweet and friendly, and took tons of time to explain techniques to everybody in the class.

If you ever have the chance to take one of her classes, please take advantage of that opportunity. I promise you, you won't be sorry.

If you want to see more of Vicki’s work you can see it in BHG Scrapbooks Etc. or take a peek at her blog.  See you next month for Scrap-a-Ganza part 3!

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