Concrete Class Recap

Happy Wednesday everyone!  Did any of you catch the season premier of Craft Wars last night!?  Tim and I were really wanting to watch, but without cable it wasn't really an option.  But we're super excited to catch the clips on TLC's website!

Anyway, as promised I am posting some photos from our first DIY Concrete Class that we held this past weekend.



Of course with it being our first class, Tim and I were nervous about how things would flow, but other than going a little longer than planned the class was a major success!

To start things out Tim briefly covered concrete safety, the different types of concrete, and when to use the different types of concrete. Doesn't he look so authoritative and handsome!? :)



After Tim covered some of the initial concrete facts, the crew was able to get out of their seats and do some hands on practice of different techniques they would need to create a beautiful finished product.  The hands on aspect of our class is absolutely the most important.  Seeing photos, even if they are step by step, never compares to the face to face help of a professional like Tim.



After covering some general concrete tips and hands-on activities, we moved into the instruction each person would need to actually create the piece they had chosen when they signed up for the class.  Attendees had the option to make a concrete letter, vase, or lamp base.



Tim is so good at teaching people.  I can't tell you how much he prepared for this class.  It was very important to both of us that we give people their money's worth and very detailed instruction.  I know there may be a tendency to think creating concrete pieces is simple and self explanatory, but believe me when I say there are so many things that can go wrong.  Luckily we've done all the troubleshooting for our attenders and therefore are able to provide a frustration free experience! :)

Now Tim did most of the talking when it came to this particular class but I was able to jump in and talk about creative ways to use concrete.  I was also able to do a whole segment about one of my absolute favorite products- Ardex!  

You would be amazed at what this stuff can do!  And the best part is, you don't have to be a concrete pro to use Ardex.  You should definitely come to our next class and check it out! :)

Of course, I wanted the attenders to see just how user friendly this product is, so we had another hands-on activity using Ardex on a wall.  With just a few quick tips, Meghan and Chet picked it up in no time! :)

So, as you can see we had a great time last Saturday and everyone took home a custom concrete piece they made with their own hands! :)  

At the end of the class, I asked the attenders to fill out a questionnaire to let us know what they thought and to give us constructive criticism.  I told them not to include their names so they didn't feel like they had to be super nice.  Tim and I were very pleased with their responses. Here were some of our favorites- 

"You can walk into the class with absolutely no knowledge of concrete and leave ready to take on your own projects at home."

"Concrete 101 is an excellent class for anyone wanting to learn.  I knew nothing going in and now I have the confidence to try a project on my own.  Thanks, it was a blast!"

When asked if they thought the class was a good value this person said, "Definitely, I've already thought of several projects I could do to save money." 

YAY!!! Doesn't that make you want to come to our class!?  We'll be putting another one on the books really soon! :)