Hen Parties at The Shed

It was so nice to host our very first Hen Party in The Shed last week.

12 hens arrived, with Prosecco bottles tucked under their arms, for a few hours of crafting and chatting.

My brief was to include Tartan somewhere within the session, so I put a few suggestions forward to the party planner.

In the end it was decided that the Hens would make themselves a sash each, with Tartan lettering, so they could wear them when they continued the party later on in Carlisle City centre.

The plan was to split the Hens into teams with a designated sewer who was confident enough to to all the Applique work on the sashes, but with everyone seeming quite keen to use the sewing machine  (some for the very first time) they all ended up having a go.

The sashes were finished off with a big wooden button, so they got through quite a few sewing skills in that session - Applique, satin stitch sewing, button sewing and lots of ironing - and the did all look mighty smart in them too!

After a little refreshment break with big gooey chocolate cakes and more Prosecco, it was onto creating a fabulous Slate Heart each using the art of Zentangling (doodling with intent) to decorate.

There was lots of silence at the start of this craft as the concentration levels were high, but the chatter soon returned as they got comfortable with the pens.

The three hours just flew by and it was a lovely atmosphere.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and I certainly enjoyed the experience as everyone was willing to have a go.

A huge HELLO to the bride Kerry, hope your wedding goes fantastically, and big thanks to Lizzy for organising the event and allowing me to be part of the party.

A Tangle Workshop

I love Tangling - or Zen Tangling, or Doodling, whatever you want to call it.  And I love sharing the format with other people so they can enjoy the art too.

I like to use a metallic pen on black card as it creates the most wonderful effect - really dramatic.

These lovely ladies sat down and started to create.

Some chose a silver pen, some chose a gold - both worked equally well I thought.

And don't they look chuffed with themselves?  

The piece was never going to be totally finished as it takes a while to fill in an A4 sheet with tiny doodles, but good progress was made and I believe some have already been finished off at home.

From the left.... Lauretta, Winnie, Jenny and Vera.

Tangling is such a great past time, have you tried it yet?

Warwick Bridge W.I. Group

A few weeks ago I was invited to Warwick Bridge W.I. group to talk about crafting. 

Now, as much as I enjoy a good natter, I don't like talking about myself, I would much rather show people how to do something then chat as I go around seeing what they are doing.

So, that is exactly what I did.

I thought some Zen style doodling would be just the thing.  Everyone can Doodle, there's no right or wrong way of doing it, and you can either frame your magnificent masterpiece, or screw it up and put it in the bin  (yep, I have had people do just that!).  

So the night before I doodled a sample piece  (I thought I should mention it was the night before as there is wine in the photo and I didn't want you to think that W.I. meets are just an excuse for drinking!  This was my wine, in my house  ;)

Sample made, I'm pretty happy with it.

Off I went, did a quick introduction to myself, an even quicker demonstration, then handed everyone a pen and a sheet of black card and set them to work!

What a fun evening, full of doodling and chatter, and some fabulous work was produced.  I am hoping none of it went in the bin, I personally think it was all too good for that.

Thanks for having me Warwick Bridge W.I, I hope you all continue to doodle and I will maybe see you again sometime...

Shrink Doodle Jewellery

I was messing about with my stash of Shrink Plastic recently, and beside me on my desk was my Tangle Cards as I had been Zentangling.

So, my little brain thought I should mix and match and Zentangle some plastic to shrink.  Earrings, I thought, and drew a little shape.  Then I started to add my patterns..

...and a few more, and finally - too many   :)  Isn't that always the way?  You feel you should have left it at the step before.  Less is more, and all that!

Anyway, it's done now, so I did a pendant piece in the same manner.

Then I punched holes in them (this is the important part that I often forget, and you cannot punch holes in this stuff once it has shrunk) and baked them :)

Finally I added ear wires and a chain to complete the jewellery.   Could have some fun with this I think  :)

Zentangle on a Slate Heart

I have been eyeing up this slate heart in Hobbycraft for a while now, wondering what I could possibly do with one.  Then an idea just popped into my head  - Zentangle it!

So I grabbed a 20cm one and a Kuretake paint pen and got to work.

I  used my Tangle Cards - Yoga for the Brain - for the designs on this one.  The cards are great, you just pick your pattern, flip the card over, and follow the instructions on how to draw the Tangle.

Then I decided to do another for display in Hobbycraft, Carlisle.  This time I used the book Zentangle 1 for the most basic patterns.

It worked out quite nicely I think.

... but why waste a perfectly good side and leave it blank?  So I decided to Tangle that side too, this time I just Googled Tangle patterns and used some I found online.

It's really nice making these, you get totally lost in the process.

Wondering what else I can Tangle now  ;)

A Taste Of Crafting - new hobby course at Hobbycraft, Carlisle

I am holding a "Taste of Crafting" course in March in Hobbycraft, Carlisle.

It will be held over four weeks, (4 x 2 hour classes) and will cover a few new hobby's that you might wish to carry on with.  It is a great way of working out what you might like to do with your spare time.  You can, of course, just come to one or two classes if you prefer, but you do get a discount for booking the whole course in one go.

I feel it is always easier to learn when you can see something done and copy, also the opportunity to ask questions can be invaluable

So, why not treat yourself and come along.  There are only a few spaces left at the time of posting this, so you have to be quick  :)

Deposits are required, sadly because some folk book the spaces, fail to attend and someone else who was waiting misses out.  :(

The times and dates are:

• Tuesday 3rd March 2015 - 1.00pm-3.00pm  (Decopatch / Decoupage)
• Tuesday 10th March 2015 - 1.00pm-3.00pm (Patchwork)
• Tuesday 17th March 2015 - 1.00pm-3.00pm (Beaded Coil Bangles)
• Tuesday 24th March 2015 - 1.00pm-3.00pm (Zentangle style art doodling)

The price is £30.00 for this course, for all four weeks, or £10.00 per single session.  The price includes the use of any tools you might need and all materials to finish that weeks project.

You can pay your deposit by popping into Hobbycraft in Carlisle and paying, in cash, at the till point (it doesn't go through their till system so you cannot use a card I am afraid)  Or, alternatively you can pay online using Paypal, or a card  (you don't need a Paypal account) if you click HERE.

It would be nice to meet you if you decide to come along and join us  :)

An interview on local radio

Today I was asked to go, as a Hobbycraft colleague, to the Radio Cumbria studios and do a little chat/demo on Zentangle.  An art form of doodling if you like.

As I did a series of Blogs for one if their features a few years ago, I was quite happy and excited to go again.

Blimey, it was nearly four years ago!!   Doesn't time fly.  You can check out my blog about that one HERE.  (Ahh, and that jumper mentioned at the bottom, it never did get finished)

So I did plan to do a nice photo-full blog about it... and as often happens, the best ideas never go to plan.

I parked by the castle, which looks lovely in the sunlight.  Sometimes when you live in one place all your life, you forget to appreciate some of the beautiful things that your area holds.

Across the busy dual carriageway from the castle are the BBC Radio Cumbria buildings.  You have to go under an underpass to reach them (or over the Millennium Bridge, but the underpass is so much more interesting)

In the underpass is a glass brick wall, and behind it is Tullie House Museum.  And that big boulder thing right there is the Cursing Stone  (whoooooo)  I walked right past it, seemed friendly enough to me  :)

You can kind of see into the Museum, just enough to get you interested to go in and have a look around, which you should,if you get the chance.

On the other side of the pass are artefacts embedded into the wall.

And here we are.   Let's go in....

Now, this is where the photos stop, because as soon as I got into the studio I found out that the interview was going out LIVE !   Huh?  What?  Live?  Now?  Me, on Radio, live, now?

Panic!

Actually, they gave me no time to panic, I was shown a seat, microphone turned on and the questions started.

But I forgot to take any more photos  :(

You can hear the interview HERE, although it is only available for 7 days from today.  Click 'Listen Now' and you will find it at 02:33 minutes in  (that's 2 hours 33 minutes).  (Drag the bar to get to the correct time.)

And I said that Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas were from the UK, of course they are not, they are from the US.

October Tangles

Doodling in my new sketchbook  :)  Don'tcha just love a new sketchbook?  Or a book of any kind really - there is just something about new books.   And pens, don't get me started on new pens!

Anyway, here are a few Zentangles from October.

This one was done whilst waiting for my Tangle Cards to arrive - so I picked the patterns from the internet.

 They are, in no particular order, ORNATO, BB, CADENT, CUBINE ... and some others that I have forgotten the name of, and stupidly forgot to write down.

No: 2 in my book is, again, the product of "Mrs Impatient Me"  but this time I took some time to try and do a 'proper' one.  

With Zentangling the size has to be a certain size, around about 3.5" square, which is referred to as a 'tile'.  Which is why I purchased this little Daler Rowney sketchbook which is around 5" square.  Portable too  :)

You also start with a 'string' which is basically a pencil marked border with a squiggle in it.

Then you pick your pattern and start to fill it in.  You rub out the pencil lines when you have finished.

This time I used the patterns KNIGHTSBRIDGE, PRINTEMPS, EDDIES, HAIRY and  WAVES.

No: 3 was doodled after the arrival of my Tangle cards :)   These are cool little playing card size with a Zentangle on one side and the instructions on how to draw it on the other.

I am a bit unsure about this one to be honest, I should have chosen a more contrasting pattern for the centre I think - but hey, it's all about learning.

Patterns used on this one are ANNEE, CHAKRA, ITCH, BELLAPOSA, JUTE and BINGLEY.

Zentangle Class

On Monday night we held the 2nd Zentangle class at Hobbycraft.  Like the first, it went really well with everyone enjoying their new craft - even one poor lady who thought she was coming for a crochet class!

Busy, busy, doodling away.

Their finished work, although another lady worked so neatly and precisely, she only got a little bit done - but it was beautiful work.

Have you tangled yet?

Zentangling in my new sketchbook

On recommendation from a colleague and friend, I bought a new sketchbook to do some Zentangling in.  Of course I had to have new pens too, and 3 new balls of yarn coz that's the law.  Every purchase made has to contain yarn of some sort.  You know that right?

I did a Zentangle class in Hobbycraft last week, and thought it was about time I did a proper little sketchbook to take to classes with  me rather than bits of paper and scribbled patterns.  I might make me look a bit more professional  (I might even start wearing suits and power dressing yet..... on second thoughts, I will stick with my tie-dye and frayed hem jeans).

I had printed off some free Zentangle patterns from the interweb, but thought it would be nice to have them in this card format, so I just ordered these.

They were supposed to plop onto my doorstep by Saturday, and I have had notification of their dispatch, but no sign of them to date.  So last night I went back to my old printed off patterns and had a play in my new book.

Patterns I used was Knightsbridge (the checkerboard)  Printemps (spirals) Waves (the wavy grid thing) Eddies (the spermy looking things) and Hairy  (the leafy looking thing in the top right).  The cheeky little flower is not an official Zentangle pattern.

Do you tangle?

Zentangling

I did a Zentangle class at Hobbycraft yesterday, the first one of it's kind, but I think I will do some more as it was very enjoyable.

We sat down with a canvas each, a Sharpie pen and a whole host of patterns.

We started by dividing our canvas space into 6, in a random fashion, then continued to fill in the spaces with a different pattern in each.

I just couldn't let mine get finished with no colour, so I added a red border  :)

The finished Zentangles - Judith's, mine and Mabel's.

They did a great job didn't they?

The next Zentangle class, if you should fancy joining me, is on Hobbycraft, Carlisle, on Monday 28th October at £6.00-7.30pm.   It is £10 and you get a Sharpie pen to take home and your canvas to work on included.  To book, call  01228 812362