Susan’s So Thankful Give-Away #14: Random Arts’ Wholey Paper

I spent much of today taking a class at Random Arts in Saluda, NC. Saluda is a great little town up in the mountains about 2 hours drive west of Charlotte; it has some wonderful shops in its historic downtown, and an amazing number of gourmet restaurants for its size. 

Random Arts is a shop that offers “assorted goods for creative mindfulness,” mostly mixed media supplies, including tons of delicious antique/junky tidbits – ephemera, vintage papers,  paper packets for altered books, collage art, mixed media, book arts & book binding, rubber stamps, hand made papers, stamp pads, art supplies, die cut packets, assorted vintage playing cards… you get the idea.

I was there to take a soldering class to make little pendants. First, we created small collages, put them between thin layers of glass, and taped the edges with copper tape. I used an image of one of my art quilts on one side:

And a little collage on the back:

After this, we soldered over the copper tape. My results were not too great. In fact, I think I was the worst student in the class… but it was really fun. I bought supplies and will “try, try again” until I get better results. I think I was supposed to be gliding the solder on, and I was pressing too hard, so that I actually melted the copper tape! Anyway, here’s how mine turned out:

This is the second workshop I’ve taken at Random Arts; I took a great class with Jane LaFazio there last summer. Since then, the shop has moved into its new digs, a craftsman style bungalow with a bright orange front door, and lots of space inside to spread out. It is such a welcoming and fun place... you can spend hours looking at everything, and absorbing the creative vibes, and getting great ideas. 

Can’t get to Saluda? Some of the shop’s goods are offered on their website and their eBay store.

Lots of cool stuff!

Hello? Hello?

A birdcage holds rolled sheets of music

The spacious new classroom

Painted pendant banner with necklaces

Paper globes atop a bookcase

Tree branches decorated with paper leaves and other lovely things

Window treatment with mixed media flowers

Here’s Jane (below) with one of her new products: Wholey Paper. The package contains rare, vintage punch paper. She has no idea what its original use was; do you? It could be computer punch paper, but I'm not sure. It would be great for altered books, printing, texture, stencils, weaving, or plaster embellishment. When I told Jane about my give-away, she kindly offered up a pack for me to give away!

 

Owner Jane Powell with her “Wholey Paper”

A pack of Wholey Paper

Look at what you can do with Wholey Paper!

Here’s your chance to win! Leave a comment after this post and tell me if you do any mixed media projects that need Wholey Paper. I’ll pull a name at random at 9 p.m. on Sunday Dec. 11, and send you the pack. AND THE WINNER IS: usagypsy!