We Forked and Talked, Part 2--The Goodies!

In my last post, I left you in suspense about the contents of the big yellow bags we each received at the Fork and Talk event in Little Rock last Saturday (hosted by Craft Gossip and sponsored by EK Success Brands.)  Let me show you everything I got, starting with the bag!  It is one of those big, reuseable shopping bags; I never have enough of these!

We got this nice assortment of scrapbooking supplies; most of the items pictured below are stickers (yes, even the ones that look like cake decorations!), but there is also a large package of ephemera, and some beautiful Martha Stewart glitter.

We also received three heavy-duty paper punches in different designs, several rubber stamps, and a large ink pad.  My favorite in this group is the stamp set on the far left; you can use it to turn index cards into recipe cards, and the food images on the stamps are really cute!

Then, there were the two embroidery kits (in the back); one makes a pillow and the other is for embroidering kitchen towels (I love that one!)  There was also a kit to make a ring, and the item in the foreground is a finished flower clip to put on your bag or shoe or shirt.

Yes, there's more!  We all got a great set of perler beads, some Martha Stewart pie-shaped boxes for goodies (not just pie!), and a big, wonderful pad of scrapbooking paper.  I will use that for all kinds of things other than scrapbooking (which I don't do!)

The picture below shows my favorite thing in the bag: an American Girl Crafts kit, containing a nice wooden box, and lots of  stencils and paints to decorate it with.  I know I will have fun with this, but I can't guarantee mine will come out looking like the picture (I have a feeling mine will include weird things glued all over it!!)

I'm showing you this "Java" kit last (below), because we were all asked to evaluate it.  We started working on it at the Fork and Talk event after the lunch, and it was a good group activity since we could chat while we sewed.  The kit includes pre-cut felt pieces to make a coaster and a coffee cup cozy, and the thread.  It should also include directions and a needle--but my kit was lacking these!!  One of the ladies at my table was kind enough to let me borrow her needle for a while so I could get started on mine.

The kit is well-thought-out and easy to do.  The instructions give you the basics, then advise you to look at the picture to decide which color thread to sew where--I like that, because I hate to read directions! 

This would be a good kit for any beginning sewist, young or old (although I don't think many young girls drink coffee, but they could make this as a gift for an adult.)  I hope that a person who starts sewing with this kit would use the experience as a stepping-stone to explore other ways of using felt, and fabric, and sewing in general.

Just before everyone left the restaurant, we posed for a group photo.  I'm in the back on the right.  I love this picture!  It captures the happiness and energy we all felt from spending time with other crafty-minded women!