WORKSHOP YUMMINESS

Thanks to my friend LaNell, who not only gave me the heads up, but also got me signed up,  I was able to attend a yummy art workshop this week at the crafty shop that opened here in Wimberley just before Christmas. Why was it so yummy? Because we were playing with these -- Faber-Castell's Gelatos!

Not only do they have a rich, creamy texture, just like their namesake, they also come in yummy colors, like Mango, Red Cherry and Metallic Melon. I've had that box of gelatos for ages, but never used them much because I wasn't sure what to do with them. Thanks to this class, now I know!

That's our instructor Melissa there in the Spurs outfit -- quite the multifaceted woman, from what I hear. Not only does she own Sassy Scrapper, she has also traveled with her family's carnival for years, as their bookkeeper, and is a talented barrel-racer to boot! As it turns out, these gelatos are amazing multi-taskers as well.

If you use them on a non-porous surface, like gesso or gel medium, you can just scribble them onto the page or canvas, then blend the colors together with your fingers -- like butter -- as we did for the background layer above. You can also shave off a little slice and mix it with some water to make your own sprays, which worked great with the zigzag stencils. Or you can rub them full-strength through a stencil, as we did for the words. You can even scribble them on your page, spritz them with water until it begins to puddle, then let the color dribble down the page, for another interesting background.

You can also blend them with different texture mediums, such as the pearly stuff above.

Miss LaNell, a blog friend who later became a real life friend.

We used another texture medium -- a glass bead glitter gel rubbed through a stencil -- as the final layer on this orange piece.

I thought twenty bucks was quite a bargain for this little workshop -- especially when you consider that all the materials were supplied, and several of them then went home with us!

So, of course, I felt compelled to purchase a couple more Gelato Double-Scoops whilst there, as my way of thanking Miss Melissa for all the time and effort she put into this class.