Our 2019 Christmas Master was a Winter Wonderland theme, and we spared no effort or expense, to make this an elegant and classy affair!
Every Master Class we literally take the shop apart and transform it into something completely different. This year our theme was a Winter Wonderland, which meant that we could decorate with a gorgeous palette of greys, whites, silver and a hint of blue. We tackled the H.A.S Creative Studio first. Took out all the desks and transformed it into our dining area for the day.Setting the table is always one of my favourite things to do for every Master Class Experience. It’s all about the layers, textures and colours for the table setting. Each place setting also included a Christmas Cracker (which we managed to ‘jimmy’ and added a glue stick for each delegate too). Every year, I hand make something for each delegate, and this year I decided to make a little frame for their place settings in the Winter Wonderland theme. A little something the ladies can take away and remember the day by. You can also see in the background of this photo, the Advent Calendar we did in last years Christmas Master Class – it worked perfectly on our ‘mantle’ this year.We painted some pine cones white and dipped them in faux snow to add down the tables this year. Such a simple idea, but such a great effect for the table. The silver charger plates were also a winner and really added an extra touch of elegance to each setting.Here you can clearly see the handmade Christmas Frame that each delegate got to take home and add to their Christmas decoration collection. And how lovely are those napkin rings?!?! That was a great find! They went so perfectly with the natural grey linen napkins that were placed on top of the plates at each setting. I also have to say that the glittered snowflake runner was a great find (thanks Cilla!). Love, love, love that runner! Oh, and not to forget those tiny silver easels which held each delegates Christmas Frame – so elegant!Here is a close up of the snowflake frames which doubled as a name place setting, that I made for each delegateWe hung a grey linen cloth down the back wall, added some glittered snowflakes which we die cut from glittered foam and then placed some classic Christmas elements on the mantle. The white deer that we placed around the store are a firm favourite of mine! And I was so thrilled to get to display our 2018 Christmas Master Class project – the advent calendar, as the centerpiece of this display. It just couldn’t have worked out better!How gorgeous does that deer look on the table?! They really ‘popped’ against the silver snowflake runner.We decorated every corner of the creative studio (which was transformed into our dining area for the day), even on top of the microwave lol! This grey and white Santa decoration with his textured jumper and oh so adorable boots really makes me smile. Especially with his bag full of goodies. And getting to use all the silverware from home was a treat too.Lights, lights and more lights! This elegant glittered white tree worked perfectly next to the champagne bucket. And check out that massive glass full of Lindt chocolate balls! We always like to spoil our delegates every year and the white and blue Lindt balls went down a real treat as always. And what would a Master Class be without a little Prosecco?! Only the best for our delegates!Check out the embellished white album in the left of this photo – this was a little surprise for the ladies towards the end of the day… Our delegates were welcomed early in the morning, with some home baked mini breakfast quiches, some coconut and vanilla macarons, some classic mince pies and of course… some Eggnog! What on earth would Christmas be without a little Eggnog?We really wanted to add lots of warm lighting around the displays to add that warm Winter’s touch which worked so beautifully shining off the silverware. Such a wonderful contrast.Massive thanks to ‘B’ for the exquisite silver tea set which she gave me for my birthday – I am in love with them and they were the perfect addition to the tea station this year. I can see these being used again and again for our Master Class events – so beautiful!We completely dismantled the front of the shop as we do every year, to prepare the delegates stations. I was so excited for this, as we got to test run the new Futura desks which will now be used in classes in the creative studio. These desks are AWESOME! A tempered glass surface with multiple tilt angles, as well as a flat pull out drawer, and 2 additional side drawers, PLUS compartments on either side of the desk to store your odds and ends during a class. They are a game changer for us!It takes us an average of 12 hours every year to transform the shop from a retail space, into a crafting and dining haven for our Master Class delegates. So when I step back and have a look at the results I am always so amazed! We are a small team – but when we set our minds to something, we certainly get it done!The delegates project kits were displayed on their stations ready to get cracking. The silver wooden crates consisted of the kit for the main project of the day, the ‘Winter Wonderland Scene’. We added each delegates name to their crates, so they could easily identify their station. Also on their desks, was a packet filled with some crafty Christmas treats – because it is Christmas after all! Each delegate was also given a special discount voucher for the day. Every year we add some kind of bonus / special which is only available to the delegates on the day of the event. This voucher was slotted into the silver envelope on their stations and adorned with a glittered die cut snowflake. There was also a scroll which was the Schedule for the day – we rolled that up and also added a die cut glittered snowflake. Love is always in the details, so we make sure that every aspect of the event is looked at in detail to ensure we give our delegates an experience they wont forget! Also note the AWESOME new Sizzix Heat Tools at the stations – these are also now a permanent addition to our creative studio. These dual speed heat tools are perfect for drying paper / paint etc AND must a must have for heat embossing!The delegates Discount VouchersThe delegates Schedule scrolls You will notice that every kit we prepared for our delegates, had a hand made tag attached to it. I made every single one for each delegate which they could reuse as general Christmas Tags / Card Toppers for friends of family. But I also had another option up my sleeve for these which I will tell you about later…Every year we decorate around the TV which is used to show the delegates the step by step images which really helps them when assembling their projects. We had loads of glittered and mirrored perspex snowflakes laser cut for the back wall as well as a gorgeous Winter Wonderland cut from mirrored perspex which honestly couldn’t have turned out better!We added a white bookshelf to the left of the TV and adorned it with all things Christmassy! Our 2019 Christmas Projects on display! Also… make a note of the beautifully wrapped Christmas boxes on the top shelf… this was part of the added surprise we announced in the afternoon…The metal stand on the right of the TV was adorned with grey and white Christmas Gnomes – are these not the cutest, most adorable things you have ever seen?! I adore these little guys! And the gorgeous white poinsettia’s worked perfectly to display around the store too.Those little noses!!!We offered coffee and Eggnog to the delegates while we waited for everyone to arrive before opening the doors to our own H.A.S Winter Wonderland!The first thing everyone does is take out their camera’s and get some photo’s of the decor, stations and dining areas in before everyone starts to settle in and unpack.This is one of my favourite parts of the day… every time! Just to stand back and watch everyone’s faces as they enter and see what awaits them! THE best feeling! A room full of excitement!All the ladies then got to enter the dining area which they also, cannot wait to see every year, and have an early morning treat before all the heavy crafting got started.With 3 projects to get through in one day, we certainly had our work cut out for us! So we got stuck into our first project of the day nice and early!The energy in the room is really something that I cant describe! It’s a natural crafting high lol!Tammy getting stuck in at her first ever Master Class Experience!Before we knew it, it was time for our morning tea break! We had a few yummy treats for the ladies to choose from. Home made Brie and Cranberry Pinwheels / Home made Pigs in Blankets / Home made chocolate brownies with Santa Hats and what would Christmas be without a little Shortbread and of course, some more Lindt balls!We never want our delegates to walk away hungry and with so much crafting to be done in a day, we need the fuel!These home made brownies rock my world! With over 8 slabs of Lindt chocolate in these little babies… you must know how rich and decadent they are!What would Christmas Master Class be without a surprise present or 2 or 3?! We had a beautifully wrapped present waiting on each delegates chair at morning tea.Hardly any of the ladies wanted to open their gifts – they said they were far too beautiful to open lol! Lucky a few ladies got stuck in and opened them to show the ladies what was inside… A Wendy Vecchi Make Art Staytion!!! I have to say that I use mine almost every time I craft now, so was super chuffed to be able to give each delegate one of their own!You get a Wendy Vecchi Make Art Staytion, you get a Wendy Vecchi Make Art Staytion, everybody gets a Wendy Vecchi Make Art Staytion!This is how we wrapped every delegates Wendy Vecchi Make Art StaytionEveryone enjoying a well deserved break and a few yummy treats!Looks like Mandi and Paula liked the Pinwheels!Then it was back to crafting and finishing off the Winter Wonderland Scenes…Busy bee’s completing their first project of the dayI always love this part… once all the elements have been created and you start to put the project together and see it suddenly come to life!Big smiles as the Winter Wonderland Scenes were completed! Great job Glenda and Melanie!A very proud Hayley and Elna with their completed projects!Trish and Tammy with the first projected of the day under their beltsPaula and Mandi with their completed Winter Wonderland Scenes – they really turned out great!Looks gorgeous Gill!Now these look like two very happy ladies!Awesome job B!This was our first and main project of the day. A beautiful frosty Winter Wonderland Scene which the delegates can use again and again as Christmas decorBefore we knew it, with one project completed and another well underway, it was lunch time! On the menu was… Slow Roasted Lamb / Roast Fillet / Schillaci Vegetarian Stuffing (a firm family favourite at our house) / Minted Peas / Chargrilled Sweetcorn with fresh parmesean shavings / Smashed Butternut with cinnamon and a touch of chilli / Asparagus with the CHEESIEST cheese sauce ever made, and good ‘ol Rosemary Hasselback Roast Potatoes!Leave no crafter hungry!A little behind the scenes pic of the leg of lamb being prepared for a long, slow, 5 hour cook!3 Large Grain Fed, Organic Beef Fillets all roasted with a touch of Dijon mustard, Rosemary and some Himalayan Pink SaltThis year we added a little lunch time treat… a mini Gin Bar!As the ladies poured into the Dining area, they also spotted some more gifts on their chairs – I was SUPER excited about this one!Too pretty to open Mrs Furness?I loved wrapping these Bigz Dies and was very chuffed with the resultsThanks Tammy for getting stuck in and opening your gift so the other ladies could keep theirs wrapped lol! Yup… each delegate received a Bigz XL Alphabet Die from Tim’s last release! This was the die that we used to create the names on each delegates crate and also the same die we used on the second project of the day – the Festive Treats Holder! With a retail value of about R1 400.00, this was an extravagant and ‘oh so useful’ gift that each delegate received! Needless to say the ladies were thrilled!Cheers ladies! Merry Christmas and thank you for joining us for our 2019 Christmas Master Class Experience!SO many giggles at the lunch table! Not sure if this had anything to do with the gin or Prosecco? Lol! A fabulous and eclectic mix of ladies is bound to make for some good times indeed!After lunch we managed to complete our 2nd project of the day, the Festive Treats Holder and get a good start on the last project of the day, the ‘Believe in the Magic Hoop’. It’s a massive task to get through 3 projects in 1 day, so a massive shout out to all the ladies as EVERYONE finished all three projects!The Hoops came out beautifully! Great job Dendi!The colour scheme this year was also echoed in the projects. So elegant, so classic and a great addition to your Christmas collections ladies!Before we knew it, it was late into the afternoon and time for pudding! This year we tried a new recipe… Gingerbread Trifle. What a hit this was! Super decadent and obviously a little bit ‘boozy’! Home made Gingerbread Cake made all the difference in this one!We also made a Vanilla and Blueberry Candle Cake for this year’s Christmas Master Class Experience. 4 cakes stacked on top of each other, each sandwiched together with a rich blueberry jam, then coated in a vanilla icing with white Lindt chocolate poured over the cake to make it resemble a candle! And as always, a few extra treats like chocolate coated nuts and more Lindt chocolate balls!Not much of a baker myself, I was VERY relieved that the cake turned out so well!ANOTHER Christmas gift from H.A.S! Each delegate received 3 x Tim Holtz Thinlit Christmas Die Sets!!! Yup – 3! We were very blessed to have been able to spoil each delegate with gifts valued at over R3 700.00 each this year! But more over, the time, effort and love that goes into all the details of the day far out weigh the value of the gifts. From sourcing the presents, to wrapping them, to making every tag, place setting and preparing every kit, to making every treat that is served throughout the day and ensuring we transform our store into a crafting paradise for the delegates that attend. Love is in the details. Master Class is an Experience.We announced an additional surprise at afternoon tea… I had made a tag or card topper for every gift and every kit that we prepared for each delegate. These tags were made in the theme of the day and the idea behind them was two fold. One, the ladies could use them again as tags, or attach to cards and give them away to family and friends this Christmas. But I also had a little something extra up my sleeve… I made a mini Prima Album using all the elements from the day which were made into 5 kits and available to the delegates on a ‘first grab – first sold’ basis. Just a nice way to record the events of the day and have something to look back on so nothing is forgotten.This mini Prima Album will certainly make storing their 2019 Christmas Master Class memories a breeze!These were the wrapped kits that we available for purchase and displayed sneakily throughout the dayLove is in the details, so even the kits for the Mini Prima Albums were wrapped beautifully.Here are some close ups of some of the tags and card toppers I made…Hours and hours of love and attention went into making these for every delegateThis tag was used on the gift bag of free crafting goodies that each lady receivedEvery single element was die cut, embossed, painted, stamped and assembled with love and attention to detailThis was the tag used for decorative purposes in the main kit for the day. I still love this old Tim Holtz Stamp Set of the vintage Santa!I used this card topper to wrap the Wendy Vecchi Make Art StaytionsIt took us over a week to complete just the tags and card toppers alone! But I couldn’t have been happier with the results!Master Class is really about the people that attend! We are blessed to have a wonderful group of ladies that join us every year and make our Master Class Experiences so successful.15 VERY happy ladies with some of their completed projects!The three 2019 Christmas Master Class projects that EVERY delegate completedA wonderful 2019 Christmas Master Class Experience!What better way to end the day than with a relaxed and celebratory drink!
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