I received a free painting class to facilitate my review. All thoughts are 100% honest and my own. When I visited Charles City with the North Iowa Bloggers, we were treated to a painting class at Rustic Corner.  This place is like no other shop I have ever been in.  First of all, it's huge.  And there is so much to look at, I'm sure you could walk through it for hours and still find something new each time. The downstairs boasts a plethora of gifts, candles, cards, home decor, and some really cute fleece mittens that I didn't buy but will probably be making a special trip back to Charles City to get. ;)

What makes it unique is that it's not only a store....The upstairs is a crafter's heaven.  Any type of craft/art medium you can think of, she has.  And a large area for creating.  My favorite.

After grabbing coffee at Aroma's in Charles City, we headed to the Rustic Corner to create.  I can't think of a better way to spend an afternoon than creating with friends.

We were greeted by Tami Vetter, owner of the Rustic Corner and Robin Macomber, owner of the Art Box.  Tami gave us a little history of the building they are housed in, but to be honest, I was so distracted by all of the beautiful items in her store and the anticipation of painting, I didn't do a very good job paying attention.

And then we painted....

The class was great.  I loved how easy Robin made it to follow along and create a painting that would resemble what it was supposed to, yet was unique to each of our styles.     I really took the "less is more" approach and did each step without fretting too much about it.  It kept me calm throughout the process and I really enjoyed myself. We took a break mid painting to check out the 1950's cop car that Tami and her husband own.  They let us play around in it. It was fun to make the siren go off, and really fun to see it in the homecoming parade later that day! I've learned that creating is a process.  And it's different for everyone.  I've also learned that the more I let go, and let flow, the better things turn out.  It's similar to yoga, if you drop the judgment, and comparison and just do what feels right, the end result is exactly as it should be.  I'm happy with how my painting turned out because I created it. It's not perfect, but it's mine.  Creating has been a big part of my healing process.  This was so much fun to create a piece of art around nature.  It is not a coincidence that one of the first North Iowa Blogger events that I went to was a painting class in New Hampton.  It was only a month or 2 before we said good bye to Amy and David.  This class came at the perfect time in my healing, and was the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

Thank you Tami Vetter for hosting us, and also thank you to Robin with the Art Box for being a great instructor.

A Natural Plus received free products for review purposes. All opinions expressed are solely from A Natural Plus. My opinions are my own and were not influenced by any form of compensation. This disclosure is done in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 10 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.