Book Fiesta 3: The Curious Collection with Liz Constable

The rumors are true! It’s already time for Book Fiesta 3! This time, we’ll be enjoying some cozy fall weekend vibes from October 24-25, 2026. This is an intimate workshop capped at just 12 participants.

Ticket sales begin on August 13 at 8pm ET. Tickets are All details are below.

[Ticket sales are one per person/transaction to give each person an equal chance to attend. While we make every effort to ensure ticketing is fair, we cannot take responsibility for internet glitches, billing issues, or other challenges. Tickets are non-refundable, but may be transferred in writing up to 24 hours in advance. We will maintain a waitlist to aid with this process, but participants will need to transfer funds directly. Reach out if you need help!]

Description

Book Fiesta 3: The Curious Collection invites you to explore tiny treasures, snippets of paper and cloth, bits of nature, and all things mini as we build our own shadow box displays out of little boxes, itty bitty drawers, or whatever else you have handy. Curios are small objects that are special, rare, strange, or otherwise interesting. It’s short for “curiosity,” a word Liz and Christy both love! We’ll be building our own “curious collections” housed in shadow boxes we design ourselves.

Liz fell in love with the idea of shadow boxes because:

1. They’re playful and open to personal interpretation.

2. It’s a great way to use random or special items that need a home.

3. You can work from scratch or use a pre-existing box (or boxes).

4. You can extend your creativity further by using a hollowed out book or other unique enclosure.

5. You can explore any themes that inspire or delight you.

This is an open-ended exploratory workshop where Liz will be working along with the group, creating her own shadow box from a variety of boxes she’ll bring from home. She’ll demonstrate in real time how to solve issues as they arise and share where her ideas and inspiration come from on the fly. She’ll also make mini books to fit her spaces. It’s an organic class in which you’ll take the driver’s seat and her role will be to advise, offer solutions/ideas/suggestions as requested, and cheer you on. If you’ve taken an in-person workshop with Liz before, you know that this is where she shines!

Liz loves Halloween, so she’ll be leaning into that and the fall (“Autumn” in New Zealand) and she’s looking forward to working with different language, colors, and symbols than she might use at home where October is in the middle of spring! You might want to consider a theme of your own to help guide (and minimize) your supply list.

You can make a shadow box as big or as small as you want depending on your interest and how you’re traveling to the class. There are lots of examples of shadow boxes online (on Pinterest especially). Take the time to really look into the ideas and concepts and see what you feel drawn to. We’ll share some additional inspiration as we get closer to the class.

What to Bring

• Boxes in a variety of shapes and sizes, that could work together as a cohesive unit. Jewelry boxes, match boxes, sturdy-sided gift boxes, chocolate boxes, etc., are just a few of the directions you might take. You may also prefer something like a wooden type drawer, speciman shelf, hollowed out book, or any other shallow receptacle. You can even make boxes of your own!

• Paper, paper, paper. This is the perfect opportunity to use up the small bits of delicious papers we all have lying around. Look for wrapping paper, dress pattern paper, dyed papers, joss paper, handmade paper, postcards, stationery, napkins, greeting cards…

• Paint. Regular craft paint in a few of your favorite colors to match your theme or objects.

• Specialty glues/mediums you prefer to work with.

• Bookbinding/crafting basics: cutting mat, cutting knife, scissors, awl, ruler, needle, bone folder, small brushes for glue/paint. If you want a specific color of thread for binding, please bring that along as well. *If you don’t have some of these items or are concerned about air travel, we will have some extras available for use.

• Any small items you want to include such as keys, thimbles, bottles, beads, shells, feathers, wire, photos, etc. These may be themed or just items of interest.

We will have our traditional paper swap table, as well as a place to swap curios. You may also swap curios directly with each other.

We Will Supply

• Gesso

• Glue (PVA) – Again, if you have other preferred mediums, please bring them along.

• Some decorative/specialty paper and cardstock

• Basic glue/paint brushes. Note: Our typical glue/paint brushes, may not be suitable for detail work. Please bring small brushes if required.

Logistics

• The workshop takes place on October 24-25, 2026

This is a rough schedule for the weekend. Please note that while start/end times are confirmed, the schedule may shift slightly each day to accommodate our creative processes!

Please note: Book Fiesta 2026 in June sold out in a matter of minutes. If you’re passionate about attending, we recommend purchasing your ticket as early as possible.