Christmas Market

It is not just brussel sprouts available at the Christmas Market today here in Portadown.

Parchment agapanthus

Just finished my latest parchment project.

For this one I used the beautifully designed agapanthus by Groovi from Clarity Stamps.


Really enjoyed during the flowers on this.


Coloured the details on the back of the parchment using Spectrum Noir pencils.

Environmental Art

Environmental Art ... Or making a sculpture from beach finds

Again this was in Artists Avenue at the NEC March 2017



Here is my lovely tutor Sorriah showing me the ropes , well wool actually, but you get the drift, eh.




Now for the weaving bit ...... Check out the concentration!




Nearly finished the first creation.




Here's my second piece below being created back in Ireland. Love the starfish and the narly seaweed.

Chocolate making

Another workshop at the NEC .. This time ... Wait for it !

Chocolate Making ... With Welsh Chocolatier Paul from Church Road Confectionery in Tonypandy.


We learned the principals of chocolate tempering and then got to make our own chocolates.



Thelma made a batch of Passion Fruit Chocolates and I made a batch of Fruits of the Forest.
After the chocolate making process Paul asked us to come back to his stand later where he presented us with these beautiful boxes of our own sweets.
What a treat and don't they look professional ?





That's the thing with these craft exhibitions ... You never know what you will see and what new skill you will discover ....

Every day is a school day!

Block printing

Called at the lovely block printing stand at the NEC on Friday and booked on a workshop to understand the basics of block printing.








Here are some of the lovely samples of the girls work that were on display to inspire visitors.









We were given some basic instruction and then given a small piece of cotton to practice on before deciding on whether to decorate a bag or tea towel.

Below is my first attempt...... I quite liked the over printing technique with the first layer green and them overprinted with the pink.





I decided to do a tea towel print and chose several different botanical themed stamps ... There were so many to pick from!





Each end is different .. As I wanted an organic look, green was the obvious colour to go for!






Really enjoyed the workshop and the results .. Obviously the tea towel is way to nice too use.

Rowandean

Thanks to Katrina from #Rowandean embroidery whom I met at the recent Hobbycrafts show at the NEC on Friday ...




Thanks for teaching me those stitches and as promised here is my finished project ..







Love your kits !

Sewing meets main stream media

At the recent Hobbycraft show at the NEC I was very surprised to see this maxing piece of embroidered work by the Embroidery Guild.
















First, I love the Game of Throne series and second I have found a new passion for embroidery.. Win win!







The work is truly amazing. And quite frankly haunting ..







Nice to see art in all its forms takeoff on a contemporary level ...

Spring bunny

Last week I met up with the lovely ladies from House of Zandra. As many of you know Sandra is now concentrating on her felt kits.



I could not resist this lovely Spring rabbit ( well maybe he is a hare.. He has very long ears )
Only took a few hours to make him and loads more felt left over to make him a wee friend.


I think he looks lovely in my homemade flower arrangement ... All from my garden, including the moss.

Royal School of Needlework

Thanks to the lovely ladies from the Royal School of Needlework for the workshop on raised embroidery and the lesson on how to complete the stem and fly stitch.




Thanks for your suggestion about the seat frame.

I managed to source one at the show and have tried it out already. It's much easier now I have 2 hands to sew with.




Thanks you so much for your outstanding patience.

Really have learned a lot in a short period. Much appreciated.