March FabUlousness recap: Moulin Rouge – c'était Magnifique!

WOW, I’ve got so much to share that I'm gonna break it down into a couple of posts!

First up is Moulin Rouge, hosted by Kim Caldwell.  This was an over-the-top,
elegant affaire where 70 women were transported to the days of  decadent French charm.  The entire room was decorated in deep burgundy, rich gold, fleur de lis, Eiffel Towers and tons of feathers.

                                                                 
                                                                    Our table, Day 1
                               Moi, Charlene, Debby, Kim, Lulu, Holly and Christine

                                          Day 2 with one of the Moulin mannequins  
The event started with a vendor night overflowing with yummy supplies and hand
made items.  Here’s just a sampling from Dyanna Cooley of Broke Jewels and Deb Hodge of Breathing Beside Us.

  

Our first day of classes were a stunning necklace, Tres Jolie, by Shea Fragoso, and a cute 3-D paper project, Show Time at the Moulin Rouge, by Jenny Heid & Aaron Nieradka.

There was a short dinner break and then the much anticipated swaps!  There were
tags, banners, canvases, paper dolls, garters, bracelets, necklaces, journals,
mini books, jewelry boxes and pillows.  And they were all absolutely amazing! 

I participated in Le Bijoux Box swap hostd by Denise Hahn.  How cute is her sign made with chalkboard paint on a silver platter and blinged out -- Love it!

I received a gorgeous box filled with frozen charlottes and vintage findings from Lonnie Jenck.  You can see the box I made for my partner, Valita, here.

 

I hosted the FabUlous Vintage Pocket Pillow Swap and my girls pulled out all the stops!  Here are all the pillows wrapped up pretty. . .

And here are all 14 of them on display . . . (open the photo to see all the FabUlous details).

One of the most notable swaps in our group was between Maureen Kosewic and Karen France (neither of them have blogs!).  Just to show you how talented these girls are, Maureen went the extra step and hand wrote the most detailed and fascinating story of how all of the items on the pillow were collected by it's French owner in the 1800's.  I asked her to read the story as she presented it to Karen and everyone in the room was totally captivated.  Great job, Maureen!

 
I swapped with my partner, Andrea Villareal last.  This is the beautiful pillow she presented to me and I love it!  Thanks so much!  You can see the pillow I made for her here.

As the hostess of my swap, I made a pillow for Kim and everyone contributed something to add to it.  Here’s the finished pillow and coordinating pillow case . . .

And while the swaps were going on, Christine Rose Elle conducted a stunning fastenator hat make ‘n take.

 
Day two classes were a dry erase marker board made with a vintage piano roll,
She Does All She Can-Can, by Kerry Lynn Yeary and an adorable paper clay doll with her very own stage, One Last Number, by Colleen Moody.

 

That concluded my amazing Moulin Rouge experience.  The last day of the
event was an optional all day shopping trip on a luxury bus, but I was on a plane
at o'dark thirty to New Orleans!