Friday, March 7, 2025 - Paint a Lucky Little St. Patrick's Day Gnome! (Register Here)
Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, paint ONE of the Lucky gnome statues (of your choice) with the guidance of concrete guru, Sharla Forster! She will then take them back to her shop and seal your paint job. Pick up of your completed concrete piece will be within 1-2 weeks of the date of the class.
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 8:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Cost: $35+tax=$36.75 per person, includes all supplies to paint ONE gnome statue!
Tuesday, March 18, 2025 - Crazy Chicken Canvas Paint Night with Michelle! (Register Here)
Join us for this fun guided paint class to paint a set of crazy chickens! We'll be using acrylic paint on an 11x14" canvas, and will be led by our wonderful instructor, Michelle Schwengler, from Free Bird Illustrations in Leduc!
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 9:00 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Paint your own Concrete Highland Cow statue with the guidance of concrete guru, Sharla Forster! She will then take them back to her shop and clear-coat them to seal your paint job. Pick up of your completed concrete piece will be within 1-2 weeks of the date of the class.
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 8:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Create your own needle felted songbird! This is a great class for beginners (but not great for children, as we are working with felting needles). Alana will guide you through the class to create a songbird of your choice with help from a pattern combined with your unique creativity and touch! We'll have some guide books to help you decide which bird you'd like to needle felt, but you could find some reference images ahead of time if you like!
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 9:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Hosted by: Alana Tollenaar
Cost: $45+tax=$47.25 per person, includes all supplies to make one needle felted bird! (~5.5"x3.5"x3.5")
Paint an Easter critter of your choice with the guidance of concrete guru, Sharla Forster! She will then take them back to her shop and seal your paint job. Pick up of your completed concrete piece will be within 1-2 weeks of the date of the class.
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 8:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Paint your own Concrete Bullfrog statue with the guidance of concrete guru, Sharla Forster! She will then take them back to her shop and clear-coat them to seal your paint job. Pick up of your completed concrete piece will be within 1-2 weeks of the date of the class.
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 8:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Cost: $55+tax=$57.75 per person, includes all supplies to paint your own concrete bullfrog statue!
Saturday, April 12, 2025 - Meet Keith the Red-tailed Hawk!
It's FREE to meet Keith the Red-tailed Hawk, but donations to the observatory are appreciated! No registration required.
Join us between 11 AM and 2 PM to meet a live bird of prey in the store at 15-100 King Street in Spruce Grove!
This opportunity is being offered in partnership the Beaverhill Bird Observatory.
Sunday, April 13, 2025 - Needlework & Night Owls Embroidery Class! (Register Here)
Create your own embroidered owl on a 5" hoop! This is a great class for beginners. Our instructor, Jasper, will guide you through the class, teaching you basic embroidery stitches to create any owl you would like, with help from a pattern combined with your unique creativity and touch!
Time: 11:00 AM Start - 1:00 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Hosted by: Jasper June, The Lil' Embroidebee
Cost: $40+tax=$42.00 per person, includes all supplies to make one embroidery hoop owl piece!
Tuesday, April 29, 2025 - Tree of Life Wire Bending & Beading Workshop with Laura! (Register Here)
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 9:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Hosted by: Accomplished Edmonton Wire Artist, Laura Ouimet, from We-Met Wire Work
Cost: $85+tax=$89.25 per person, includes all supplies needed to make a beautiful 7 inch round beaded Tree of Life wire art project. This class must be paid in full upon registration due to the cost of course materials and time required to prepare for the class. Pricing includes all materials and instruction.
What to Bring: Students are asked to bring well fitting gloves. The wire can be greasy so please be prepared to get dirty.
Friday, May 2, 2025 - Choose Your Own Adventure: Hippo, Penguin, or Elephant Concrete Paint Class! (Register Here)
Decide if you'd like a Hippo, a Penguin, or an Elephant statue, and join us to paint your own with the guidance of concrete guru, Sharla Forster! She will then take them back to her shop and clear-coat them to seal your paint job. Pick up of your completed concrete piece will be within 1-2 weeks of the date of the class.
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 8:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Cost: $60+tax=$63.00 per person, includes all supplies to paint the statue of your choice!
Sunday, May 4, 2025 - Inukshuk & Cactus Soapstone Carving Class with Barry Kostiuk! (Register Here)
Come and join us for a FULL DAY fine art class here at Backyard Birds! Carve your very own Inukshuk or Cactus statue out of soapstone with the guidance and direction of talented soapstone artist, Barry Kostiuk. This class is limited to 8 participants only, to give you as much individualized attention during the class as possible, and allow you to hone your craft throughout the day.
Time: 10:00 AM Start - 3:00 PM End (Note: This is a full day class! ~4-5 hours, including a lunch break!)
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
Hosted by: Barry Kostiuk, Carvings in Stone
Cost: $120+tax=$126.00 to make either one Inukshuk or one Cactus (both are 10" tall, ~5-6" wide, ~2" thick)
What to Bring: Barry provides the stone for carving, as well as all of the carving tools you will need. He does ask that you please bring a bath towel to carve your piece on, as well as a hand towel to wipe your hands on as you are working! Also, your clothes may get dusty as we work, so please wear something you don't mind getting a little dusty!
Paint your own Concrete Highland Cow statue with the guidance of concrete guru, Sharla Forster! She will then take them back to her shop and clear-coat them to seal your paint job. Pick up of your completed concrete piece will be within 1-2 weeks of the date of the class.
Time: 6:30 PM Start - 8:30 PM End
Meeting Location: Backyard Birds Nature Shop (15-100 King Street, Spruce Grove, AB)
