Building Skills 101 Class - Pallet Tray

I started teaching a class! This was a HUGE stretch for me!!!

Last year, I felt The Lord nudging me to teach a class for women.  A class where they could learn how to use a few tools and build a little project to take home.

I draaaaggggged my feet.... Then our pastor did a series of messages on finding our gifts and talents.  Are we using them or wasting them?  Hmmm.....  Then a dear friend told me to stop dragging me feet and do it!

It's so hard to stretch sometimes.... All the fear and questions... What if this or what if that?

My motto for this class is:

'Building confidence and building relationships through building a project.'

Being a stay at home wife (empty nester), I can kinda live in a bubble...  I'm alone quite a bit.  I actually really enjoy being alone, but I know it's important for me to have friends and interact with people.  I don't want to be a hermit!

This motto applies to me as well!  I am trying to be intentional, push myself out of my comfort zone, and grow. 😊 So, who cares about the 'what ifs'!

I know I'm not professionally talented in building skills, but over the years I have picked up a few things.  Hubby has been a tremendous teacher and has helped build my confidence.  I'm not afraid to try new projects, in fact, I love the challenge!  Plus I know if I get in a bind, he'll bail me out! 😉

So, I set a date and asked 5 of my best friends to come...  3 were available!  Basically, I wanted them to be my guinea pigs....

Was this a good idea?  Would my directions be clear?  Would they have fun?  Would they learn? Is this something they think ladies would be interested in?  I had sooooo many questions!

I wanted the project to be simple, inexpensive, and useable.  I chose a pallet tray with handles.

The ladies would learn about several skills:

Measuring
Using a chop saw
Sanding
Staining
Waxing
Clamping
Gluing
Using a nail gun
Using a drill

There were so many things to do in making this little pallet tray.  It was a great night! You should have heard my one friend when she used the nail gun! WOW!!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!

Nail guns ARE awesome!!!

They answered all of my questions and encouraged me that this was DEFINITELY something that women would enjoy.

Their support and encouragement has been invaluable!  I don't think I could've done it without them!
Thank you, besties!! 💗💗💗

So I went for it and had my second Building Skills 101 Class!! There were a few more women and it was a terrific night!! 😊

The ladies worked really hard on their trays.  Some had never used power tools and it was so fun to teach them and see their confidence grow! (Poor lighting in the garage... but you can definitely see that smile!!)

Here they are staining and chatting!

Then using a nail gun to assemble it together.  I'm so proud of these ladies!!

They all did such an great job!  Some were a little nervous about trying the tools, and I told them they didn't have to, but they all pushed themselves and did it! They have a lot to be proud of!

Look at what they made! And look at their faces!!!  This was so worth it!

Many of the ladies have told me since that, this was exactly what they needed.  What an answer to prayer!

Last night, I had another class and we made a market caddy. It was so much fun! I'll share that one later!

Thank you, thank you, thank you...  to all the ladies that have encouraged and supported me!  And to my #1 cheerleader... My hubby!  He's believed in me since day one that I started this lil 'ol blog and he helps in so many ways, from cutting wood, working on designs, crunching numbers, all of it and sooo much more!  He's the best!

But I wouldn't have done any of this, if people weren't in my corner encouraging me along the way.  I'm hoping that this class encourages women to stretch themselves and to be more than they dreamed!

Blessings!