Got Kids? We've Got Art Classes for Them at French Gypsy Designs!

Now enrolling for February classes!

 

After teaching for over 30 years, I realize that while I love the work that I'm doing at French Gypsy Designs, I've missed working with children. So... I've decided  to combine my personal passion for art ,with my love of teaching and working with children, in order to create an affordable art program in the Santa Clara neighborhood. (This program will be offered in addition to the adult classes that FGD currently offers.)

 

 

My goal is to provide a safe environment, where kids can come and work with a variety of materials and art mediums, to create their own "masterpieces". I truly believe that everyone is an artist, and that children need to have access to art, and the ability to create it!

 

At Gypsy heART School of Art your child can come and create with clay, paints, canvas, beads, and more....the sky's the limit! Classes may include the integration of art with literature, math, science, seasonal celebrations, and/or cultural themes. The last Friday of every month will be a Science & Art class where we'll integrate the two in order to create something beautiful.

 

Class sizes are limited to 8 participants in order to ensure individualized attention and supervision. A light snack and all materials are included in the class fee. Advance registration is strongly recommended!

 

What a great way for your little artist to spend a Friday afternoon!

~ Varina

New Year...New Outlooks...New Ideas...New Dreams!

 WooHoo!!!

Helloooo 2015! 

I'm so excited about the coming year and all the possibilities and promise that it holds!  I want you all to know that awesome things will be happening this year at French Gypsy Designs!

Last year was a tremendous first year, and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful, talented people,

work with a "ton" of fabulous products,

and create so many beautiful things.

I've learned a lot over the course of this first year and I have decided that my guiding philosophy for the coming year will be:

And so......

As French Gypsy Designs continues to evolve and grow in 2015,  I'll continue to offer the very popular decorative furniture painting classes, using van Gogh chalk-based paints, as well as Vintage Market & Design Furniture paints. I'll also continue to offer the line of General Finishes Milk Paint products in the studio. All of these products are specifically designed to make your life easier when redesigning a piece of furniture. 

But...that's not all!

I'll be expanding the list of adult classes to include new products and more project-based classes. I've also made some changes in our existing space to create a larger, roomier studio space to allow for more participants in a class.

But...but....that's not all!

  

 I'm not quite ready to do the "big reveal", but I will leave you with a little hint:

 Details coming soon!Stay tuned...

Until then I'll be following my gypsy soul wherever it may lead...

Varina ~ The French Gypsy

I'll Bet You Didn't Know You Could Do This!

Our household absolutely LOVES Halloween! It seems that as they grow older, many kids don't engage with this holiday to the extent that they did when they were younger. Not my kids! It's always interesting to see how they decide to dress for Halloween.

 Two years ago, my youngest son decided he wanted to be Jesus. So, I made the robe and the sash, we bought the facial hair, and straightened his hair (He has VERY curly hair...and a lot of it!)

Last year he decided to be Jack Sparrow. We bought the wig and boot toppers, and I made the shirt and vest, and he wore pants that he already had.

This year he decided to dress as the Joker. We prowled the thrift stores and came home with a jacket, vest, pants, shirt, and tie. Yay!!!! No sewing this year! The plan was to dye the jacket and pants purple, and the vest green. Great, but I couldn't find the green dye locally, so had to order it online.

Wednesday night I started the dying process and guess what .............. it didn't work! I'm guessing that it had to do with the types of fabric, but now what to do???

Then I started thinking about how painting fabric on furniture is so popular right now, so I decided to give it a shot.....van Gogh to the rescue!

Yes, you read that right.....I got out my van Gogh paints and PAINTED the jacket, pants, and vest. Victorian for the purple and Laundered Money for the vest.

I wasn't sure what my son would think, but when I heard him say "sweet", I knew that we were in business.

Wonder what next Halloween will bring!

Happy Halloween!

The French Gypsy

Journey to the Olympic Peninsula

Okay.... so I confess.... I could travel to new places, see new things, meet new people 24/7, and never get tired of it. The husband laughs when I really like a new place, and tells our youngest son, "This is where Mom wants to move!" It's true! When I find a new place that I love, I do fantasize about what it would be like to live there. So, on our latest adventure, I did find a new place to fantasize about .... but I'll get to that later.

We headed out last Thursday with big plans to explore the Olympic Peninsula, and then catch the ferry across to Vancouver Island, and specifically Victoria. I've always wanted to travel to Victoria,  and I really thought we could fit it all in. (Anyone in my family can tell you that I'm famous for trying to shove as much as possible into one little trip-LOL!) This was a "winging-it" trip and we had no reservations-big risk for the 4th of July weekend!

We arrived in Port Angeles and immediately headed for Olympic National Park with fingers crossed that we'd find a campsite on this holiday weekend. We were in luck! In fact, we had lots of choices! We set up our campsite and headed into town to get a "few things"... specifically, DINNER! After driving most of the day, we were starving!


The next morning, we got up and headed deeper into the park to Hurricane Ridge. What a drive!!! Such incredible natural beauty really gets me all choked up. A wave of contentment, euphoria, and true joy washed over me. This is my kinda natural high! I can't completely describe it to someone else, but I'm sure that there are many of you who understand! I loved the way the clouds just shrouded the mountains...

We hiked the ridge and the panoramic views are just stunning!

 

 

Originally, our "plan" was to take the ferry across to Vancouver Island, but we decided that we really didn't have the time to do it justice, so we're saving that trip for another time. Plan B...drive to Sol Duc Hot Springs and soak...and see if they have a room available in the lodge. We decided to stop at Lake Crescent Lodge along the way and check out their lodging availability. Oh wow-what a beautiful lodge and enchanting setting! We were very excited to find out that they had a room available....just not exactly in our price range!  Strike 1!

Oh well, onward to Sol Duc! We should have known when we drove into the parking lot...it was chaos! We took one look at the pool, where people were stacked like sardines, and knew that we didn't want to join them ... didn't even ask about a room! Strike 2!






Back in the car and head on down the road! I had checked out another lodge before leaving home, called Lake Quinalt Lodge, and they were totally booked...but you just never know-things change, right? I decided that I wanted to check it out, too. So, we stopped ... and guess what? They did have a room! I took one look at the folks having their glasses of wine out on the deck overlooking the lake, and knew that I'd just LOVE to stay here. But, for some strange reason, we decided to keep going. Crazy, huh? Strike 3!

Over the next couple of hours, we regretted that decision, not once, but several times! Finally, we arrived in Astoria, Oregon and stopped at the first hotel we saw. We were exhausted, and all three of us desperately needed a shower and a hot meal! My relief at discovering that they actually had a room available, was quickly replaced by utter shock when he told me how much it was! At this point, I really didn't care-I knew I wasn't budging....just tell me where to sign and give me a key!

Well, it turned out to be a real blessing, because Astoria is a little gem of a town. I fell head over heels in love! (This is my new place to fantasize about....wonder what it would be like to live there?) We had a hot shower, a delicious meal at Baked Alaska, and a great night's sleep....in a bed! The next morning we discovered that the historic downtown area was packed with vendors for their Saturday Market...be still my heart!

After spending a few hours there, we headed for Eugene, arriving home a few hours later.

What a great adventure... can't wait for the next one!

    

Until next time...

The French Gypsy

Giving Yourself the Gift of a Workshop

Now that French Gypsy Designs has been open for a couple of months, I have to say that I'm loving the positive interactions with customers, and especially, teaching the workshops. In today's world, we can learn just about anything on the internet. There is an abundance of videos, tutorials, and blog posts showing and/or telling people how to paint or faux finish furniture. These all have value, but in my opinion, something's missing.

What's missing is the hands-on learning that so many of us need to experience when trying to learn something new. There's such tremendous value in the creative interaction with others! With all of our email, texting, smart-phones, and internet videos, it just seems that we are becoming less social as a society.

As a former teacher, I have always seen the value of sharing in a learning environment. Teaching painting workshops is no different. Sharing in a creative learning environment gives the learner the encouragement, support, and "safety-net" that he/she needs, in order to feel safe in taking creative risks. It's fun to share ideas .... to try out another person's idea that we might not have thought of. We "feed" off of each other's creativity in this type of setting. We also learn from our mistakes, as well as the mistakes of others. It's helpful, inspirational, and it's just lots of fun!

My participants learn from me, I learn from them, and they all learn from each other. One of the most exciting things that happens during the workshop "creative flow", is when someone feels knowledgeable and comfortable enough to try something that they normally wouldn't try.

They might pair colors that they normally wouldn't put together ....they might try a technique that challenges them ... just to see what the outcome might be.

When they're able to acknowledge their inner artist and realize the unlimited possibilities of their own creative talents .....  well, it makes my heart swell!

Remember that you are worth it! So, treat your inner artist to a workshop in the near future. It's good for your soul!

Until next time ~

Varina ~The French Gypsy