Last Saturday dawned bright and sunny here in the Twin Cities.
Kind of crazy for us to have sunshine and highs of 60 in February! But not to worry, we returned to snow, clouds and highs in the 30’s on Sunday. It seems that the beautiful spring-like day was special ordered just for my hat box party. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows, we even had them open to add a breath of fresh air.
I had everything all set up and ready to go for my guests. Everyone received printed instructions and a tiny hatbox that was ready to have the paper removed from the transfers.
Quarters were a little tight unfortunately. I wish I had a ton of space for stuff like this, but I just don’t. I had made the decision to include all 9 of the ladies who wanted to attend rather than limit the numbers. We squeezed in and made do.
Everyone started out by painting their hatboxes with Fusion paint. I had a few options for colors including Bedford, Linen, Champlain, Lamp White, Limestone, and even Laurentien.
(thanks for the photos Kim!)
Once the paint was dry we used Fusion’s Transfer Gel to apply the transfers. From that point, the gel has to dry for six to 12 hours, so I pulled out a hatbox I had prepped the night before and gave a demo on how to remove the paper.
Just look at the rapt attention on their faces! They were all very diligent students!
Once I demonstrated how to remove the paper, everyone got the chance to remove the paper from their tiny hatbox samples. These turned out so cute!
In addition to playing around with hatboxes, I also had a bunch of tester pots of Fusion paint colors available.
I wanted to give people the opportunity to play around with some color mixing and maybe create their own custom color for Fusion’s contest.
Unfortunately, I kind of missed the fine print on the contest not realizing that it ended on Monday.
Update: due to some confusion over the deadline for submitting your custom color, the contest has been extended. You now have until March 31, 2016 to submit the recipe for your color, the name of your color and a photo of something painted in it. Submit your entries on Fusion’s facebook page here.
Woops! Oh well, my sister came up with some nice blues anyway …
I think the highlight of the class was that everyone got to meet my favorite handyman Ken!
I happened to have a dresser on hand that he had recently fixed for me (come back on Friday to see it finished), and as I was talking about the amazing work he does a couple of ladies said they’d love to meet him. So I phoned him and ask him to pop over. I think he was torn between mortification at being the center of attention, and being a little bit tickled about all the attention! I told him that he now officially has a fan club!
I think that everyone had a great time. Most of the attendees have reported back that their hatboxes turned out great once the paper was removed the next day. A huge thank you goes out to Fusion for providing the paint and transfer gel that we used, plus some extras for door prizes. And a big thank you to all of the ladies who attended, it was a really fun afternoon!
q is for quandie 
Contest is still on through March!
Sent from my iPhone
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Just a clarification, you had to submit your photos of a piece painted in your custom color by the end of February. Throughout the month of March, fans can vote on their favorites on the Fusion Facebook page.
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Update! Due to some confusion over the deadline, Fusion has extended their custom color contest submission deadline to March 31, 2016. Voting will take place in April. Get your custom colors submitted everyone!
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It was fun to learn how to transfer images. My hatboxes turned out awesome! Thank you, too, for the tour of your home. You are a woman of many talents and your home reflects alot of them!!
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Thanks so much Jeanne, it was a pleasure meeting you! I’m glad your hatboxes turned out!
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How perfect that even Mother Nature was supportive. Definitely looks like an attentive group. Love those baby boxes. Makes me think I should have signed up too. I mean what’s 1100 miles give or take a few? Ha!Ha!
And isn’t Mr. Ken a handsome fella!
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I’ll be sure to pass your comment on to Ken, I know he’ll love it 😉
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Hi Karen,
I had an awesome time last Saturday, (the only thing that would have made it better would have been to have the class outside on your deck!). I think your space worked really well for our group and none of us felt cramped at all. It was great fun to see where all the “magic” happens and to visit the Q branch! Can’t wait to see how your dresser turns out! Thanks so much for a fun afternoon!
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I think I confused you when I asked if you knew my neighbor Karen! If you called me Karen all afternoon, I didn’t notice, but I also probably didn’t answer to it since my name is actually Linda 😉 And you are right Mary, it would have been perfect to be out on the deck! Why didn’t I think of that?
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As I have read your blog, I have always thought that Ken was like my Dad – fixing everything and doing it with such precision and care. Now seeing a picture of him – it’s confirmed. It made me a little teary eyed. I miss my Dad and his handiwork. I’m glad Ken is now known to your readers! Hi Ken!
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Oh my goodness, your comment made me teary. How sweet. I think when we have moments like yours, it’s a little wink from above. That Ken sure is adorable!
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I agree about the wink from above, Meggan! My Dad taught me much of what I know and I know he is watching over me and my business!
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Well, it sounds like I officially need to start a fan club for Ken!
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That is so sweet Kristin! I think of Ken as a surrogate dad myself. If he were still around, my dad would be the same age as Ken. And much like Ken (and your dad also) my dad knew how to fix all kinds of things. I often say that is becoming a lost skill, which is unfortunate.
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Wonderful, wonderful time at your place making our hatboxes. I looked forward to it for weeks and wasn’t disappointed! Fun meeting everyone and learning new skills to boot. Thanks for being the ultimate hostess with the mostess, and supplying all the paint, transfer gel, paint brushes, boxes and all the prizez. We just could not have had a more enjoyable afternoon!
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Thanks Terri! And thanks again for providing the veggie tray (I need to get your tray and spray bottle back to you!)
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What a fun day for a fun project! Loved seeing Ken-fan here too!
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Maybe I should get t-shirts made up for the Ken fan club!
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Loved “meeting” Ken. Hello, Ken! Linda, have you ever read the Kinsey Milhone ABC mysteries? Total brain candy, but entertaining, quick reads. (I think Sue Grafton is the author??) Anyway, Kinsey’s landlord is very admirable with Ken like qualities, and now I feel like I’ve met them both! 😀 Take care, Cynthia
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I have totally read those books! And oddly enough, I was just thinking about them the other day because I’m not sure I’m caught up on the latest. What letter is she up to these days? That’s such a great comparison, you are so right!
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Q,
So wishing I could have been in your class! Every time you show Ken’s AWSOME work I wonder what he looks like! What a sweetie! Count me as a member of his fan club! He is so talented and you are so blessed to know him!
Blessings
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All very true Shelly! I’ll add you to Ken’s growing list of fans!
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Quandi doesn’t have a can do attitude she has a Ken do attitude.
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It was a fun class. Nice to meet all the ladies too. Ken would probably blush at all the gushing. But secretly love it. Looking forward to more painting projects and warmer weather.
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