This is a list of our Gen Con workshops for 2017. If you are going to Gen Con, we’d love to have you at one of our workshops! If you are not going to Gen Con, but are interested in any of these workshops, drop Mandy a line and we can figure out a time that she can teach you or your group any of these topics.
Note:
Message to Registered Players:
You will receive everything you need to start and finish this project. Most people will complete the project during the 2-hour workshop. If you have taken a workshop with me in the past, you may find parts of this workshop familiar, but you will also gain new information.
Introduction to Weaving – Learn Pinweaving, Nail Loom, & Using Different Patterns & Materials
Weaving is a fun & easy way to play with beautiful yarns. We will create 2-3 small woven projects as we learn the basics of weaving. The tools you get in class are yours to keep!
We will start by using a nail loom to create a simple weaving that you can easily make a mountain of woven squares out of all your favorite yarns and bind them together to make a larger project. Then we create a pinweaving – a fun free-form method of weaving that allows you to create fun shaped projects, like jewelry!
Thermo Plastic 101 – Introduction sculpting with heat activated plastic sheets and pellets
You will receive samples of thermo plastic in sheet & pellet form as well as tips for using the materials. You will have plenty of time to experiment with the materials or make a small project.
This workshop is very open ended. Past participants made the following items: Flowers, a knife, repaired a toy, a fireball that lit up with a spare LED from his costume, fangs, finger extensions, and more. This really is a fascinating material, and a great way to learn how to use it is by sitting around with a bunch of new friends experimenting together! For those of you interested in other sculptural techniques and materials, consider taking our “Choose Your Own Adventure with Epoxy Clay.” (You can create a base structure out of Thermo Plastic and a long lasting & detailed outer shell with epoxy clay.
Create a Custom Doll Wig – How to create a wig base & wig out of any materials for any kind of doll
Custom doll wigs allow you to turn almost anything into a whimsical new do for your doll, and when you get sick of it, you can just switch it out for a different one!
Because the wig base needs to be made ahead of time, you will receive a head form and pre-made wig base plus instructions on how to make one yourself. You will get to keep the head form which can be used to show off your wig or make a new one. Basic hair options will be provided, but if you want to get funky, feel free to bring your own materials. Feel free to email me first if you need advice.
Tiny Tophat – Create & customize a top hat style fascinator with needle felting
Needle felting is used to sculpt with wool. We will felt & decorate a tiny top hat to create a personalized fascinator. Of course, if you want, you could always turn it into a top hat for your pet…
Needle felting is extremely fun, but creating something detailed the first time you experiment with it can be frustrating. We will start with a simple form to create the base of our project. You will learn the basics of felting without the fear of creating something unrecognizable. From there you can choose to continue felting to create the decorations for your hat or choose from an assortment of other materials Whatever you create will look awesome!
Leather Roll-up Travel Journal – A 17th century pirate inspired bookbinding technique
Using just leather & paper, we will create a historically inspired refillable travel journal. The cover will double as a pencil holder while the leather lace we make will both bind & close our book.
For this book, we will learn a variety of bookbinding techniques that can be used to accentuate many of the other book styles I teach. We will prepare pages from larger sheets of paper, create leather lace, and experiment with the function and structure of the cover. This book will have less pages than the other books I teach, but the pages are much bigger and of higher quality.
Wooden Coptic Book – A classic bookbinding technique with hard covers & a beautiful exposed spine
Create an impressive hard-cover Coptic book. This is often thought of as a difficult binding technique because of the sewing pattern, but you will successfully finish your book during the workshop!
Coptic stitch bookbinding is my favorite binding style. The covers can be made of soft material, but the glory of this binding is that it is the easiest style to turn ANY hard material into a book cover. We will use wood for our covers. Please note: of all the bookbinding classes I teach, this is the one I don’t teach differently from year to year, so if you have taken it before, you might want to pick a different class this year. Unless you just want to make another awesome coptic book! 
Longstitch Wool Journal – Classy bookbinding technique. A modern book with contrasting cover & spine
Using felted wool as cover and inserted spine of this book puts a modified spin on this binding style. This technique is perfect for a beginner or experienced book binder.
The felted wool used for the cover will give the book the structure of a hardback and the comfort of a softback. This year’s variation on the style adds a fun design detail while also making it easier to bind. If time permits, we will create a unique closure for the book as well.
Wood & Leather Strap Binding Journal – Medieval inspired hardback book
Wood covers, Leather straps & exposed stitching along the spine give this book a rustic look you will be proud of. Time permitting, we will create a special closure for the book.
Medieval books are a celebration of materials, construction, and craftsmanship. With their hearty materials, pronounced ridges along the spine, ease of use, and attention to detail. These books are truly an inspiration! It took a long time for master artisans to create these fine works. In this 2-hour workshop, we will create a lovely, yet simplified, book inspired by much older tomes.
Choose Your Own Adventure with Epoxy Clay – Dragon egg, jewelry, modify a toy, or finish a project
Epoxy clay is a fun material to work with! Inspired by last year’s free spirits, this year, we will supply the materials, ideas, & advice you need, but let you experiment on a project of your choice.
Making a dragon egg is a fun and foolproof project for using epoxy clay for the first time. We suggest first timers stick with this project, but for those of you who have some experience with the material, have researched the material a lot, or have a specific goal in mind, feel free to go off track! We will provide the materials for the dragon egg project. If you want to do a different project, please contact us ahead of time so that we can plan accordingly or tell you what you should bring. If you are taking our “Thermo Plastic 101” class, think about using the Thermo Plastic to create a base structure of your epoxy clay creation
