I Had Arrived part 3.
“Good Morning Ladies, you are all very welcome. Over the next six weeks you will get a taste of how to make greeting cards for various occasions using various decorations. This is a beginners class so the speed will be slow with no pressure in getting projects completed. This is a time to relax and enjoy yourselves.”
“Enjoy” I thought to myself, “now who is she kidding?”
“Let’s start ladies”, said May, interrupting my rising panic.
”If everyone has plain scissors which you are comfortable using, that is the only piece of cutting equipment you’ll need today. If you happen to have any other equipment perhaps you can stow it away so that it doesn’t get damaged.” After a little shuffling from the lady with the wicker trolley who was putting away her array of scissors, everyone was ready to begin. I thought the lady looked sad as she put things away.
“Firstly, let’s look at the plastic mat in front of you. This is called a cutting board. It is used for cutting when you are using a paper craft knife or if you are cutting fabric with a rotary cutter. It is also used for measuring. Some of these boards will have metric grids on one side and imperial on the other or a grid with degrees and angle measurements. While others will only have a measuring grid on one side. There is a steel ruler which is an invaluable piece of equipment and cheap should you decide to continue with this craft.”
“Oh, one word of warning” continued May,” always store your cutting mat flat” She placed a mat on the table with enough ridges on it that it would make an ideal race track for toy racing cars.
“This is one I stored resting at a wall and beside a radiator and now absolutely useless fo cutting.”
We all giggled. It certainly helped to ease my nerves a little.
May walked around the room handing out a jiffy bag to everyone or as she called it a goody bag. I opened it and found a piece of card already folded into a greeting card shape with an envelope.The card measured 14 cm squared and it was a soft cream in colour.
Next I found pieces of paper including a teddy bear image. The Teddy Bear had fluffy, curly fur in shades of cream. Its paws were chocolate brown. The nose was jet black and slightly upturned. Teddy was sitting on a blue pillow in the middle of a red rocking chair.
Next in the bag was what looked like a lipstick or lip balm but in fact was a glue stick and a small roll of glue tape. It also contained a small stubby pencil. I love stubby pencils which fit snugly into my hand rather than a long new pencil. It feels comfortable.
May invited us around her table, to see how the card was made.
“You are now going to begin to design your first greeting card. First tip, work on your card ½ a cm from the edge. It will draw the eye into the design or image you want the recipient to see.” I could see what she meant: I was looking towards the image.
May was talking all the time as she went through the different stages in making the greeting card.
“Now it is your turn to make your first greeting card,” she concluded.
I returned to my work space anxious but excited to start. May had given plenty of instructions but I was happy that I would be able to follow them. I realised that my hands were no longer shaking and that I was looking forward to seeing what I could actually make.
to be continued…..