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in art, Chicago, Dabble, gifts, holidays ·

Holiday Ornament Making with Dabble!

It’s been snowing in Chicago all weekend, and the only things that could draw me out of hibernation were yoga on Saturday and a holiday ornament-making class on Sunday that I found via Dabble.Co. I’ve written about my Dabble classes before (Read: SUP Yoga and Photography) but I have since become a Super Dabbler, which is an ambassador for the platform that gives you access to any sort of activity you might be interested in trying. I will be taking complimentary classes found on Dabble and sharing my honest reviews and experiences with you. I was so eager to get started that I picked a class a week after beginning as an ambassador and brought along my friend Rachael from Tea for Two, a lifestyle blog here in Chicago.

We drove on the snowy streets of Chicago to a home studio in Wicker Park, where we were greeted by Katie Netti, the instructor. She has workstations set up with all the supplies you need: clear ornaments in two sizes, tweezers, cotton swabs, wooden picks, all sorts of little decorations for your ornament, ribbon, glue and so much more.
craft supples, miniature environment ornament, holiday ornament
Some of the supplies I picked for my mico-environment holiday ornaments.

 

You can either make one large ornament or two smaller ones. Katie suggests practicing before you actually start gluing things in, and it helps to get the hang of handling such tiny objects. I actually ended up creating two large ornaments. My first creation broke through no fault of my own (it had a tiny crack) so I was able to recreate my vision in another ornament. Luckily it happened with enough time left to spare. Katie let me take both home, as the broken one was still intact (just the top part where the removable top clasp attaches). Once you insert all your decorations, you insert the clasp and pick a ribbon. You can also attach a bell and a hook as I did. Katie even sends you home with a box and bubble wrap to safely transport your creations.

It can be tricky to get your objects to stay put, and I had glue all over all of my tools when class was done. I made a bit of a mess,  but I liked my creations.

The first ornament I made (in process).
My finished product contained moss, three tiny cardinals that Katie pre-made (and then re-made for me), mini pine cones, a tree, mini apples and snowflakes.
The class is $25 for students, and I think it’s an incredible value considering you spend two hours with hands-on guidance and all the supplies you need. (You are free to bring your own as well.) You go home with one or two ornaments and probably some new friends. Katie also offers you tea, water or coffee to sip while you work, and if you’re lucky you might get to meet her cats, which are typically placed in the room during class. She took them out at the request of all the students, who wanted to meet them and weren’t allergic. I would happily attend this class next year.
Dabble is primarily in markets such as Chicago, St. Louis, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver and others, but the platform is growing to other cities nationwide.

Have you tried Dabble.co? What class(es) did you take? If you’re interested in trying a class and you live in one of the Dabble cities, use link bit.ly/MaretteDabble10 for 10 percent off a class!

 

Related Dabble posts:

Air Plant Class
Braiding 101
Intro to Climbing
Modern Lettering
Fused-Glass Dish Class
Photography
SUP Yoga
Holiday Ornaments
Sushi-Making
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