SweetMyrtle

aiming high

today i was lucky enough to be involved in running 3 arty sessions facilitating the creation of art canvases as part of hamphire county council's Aiming High Programme for young disabled people and their families. it was a great day and a chance for families to come, take part & enjoy activities together.  as well as art there was pottery and drumming workshops today.

here are some of the pieces created at the art workshop.

layers and patterns were built up by printing using bubble wrap and paint. stampers and feathers all featured strongly too.

arn't they wonderful? the glitter proved to be very popular too and i am still finding glitter on me this evening!

this was the first Aiming High day that i have been involved in and i thoroughly enjoyed it.

for further info on Hampshire's Aiming High programme click on the link here. and watch the inspiring inclusion in action dvd.

october 1st

well hello to October and hello to you dear friends who i have made through this space here. I hope you are all well and that life is good.

 image taken by my 10 yr old of the changing of the seasons & used with her permission in exchange for  cookies

 it seems that  i disappered for most of September, not intentionally but life has been so terribly busy.  another 'good' busy you will be pleased to hear (though i still have no cooker but not long to wait now!)

Alice and i have run lots of crafty and sewing courses during September and although i am a little tired i have really been enjoying it! I feel very fortunate to be combining two things i love; creating and sharing with earning an income.

Teaching brings many rewards including seeing the look of pride on a persons face when they have mastered a new technique and when they realise that 'they CAN' do it, getting to meet many different personalities of all ages and all the conversation that this brings and also helping me to  challenge myself and allowing me to experiment and develop my own learning so i can share this with others.

it's funny but i remember that as a child i enjoyed playing 'schools' with my dolls. I would make registers and plan lessons.  perhaps this is always what i have been destined to do? I read somewhere  that our childhood games often hold the key to what we may enjoy doing as proffessions as adults. I find this both fascinating and interesting. as a child i also loved making things...

The down side to being busy is that i have not been taking any photos. I got my camera out for the first time in weeks a few days ago to photograph some winter brooches i have been making.

I am so drawn to wools, suede and velvets at the moment. these are the first batch i have made. I have lots more cheery flowers  cut out in autumnal colours ready to stitch up. all the fabrics i have used are either recycled from garments, small pieces from swatch books or remnants, some are vintage too such as the ticking. they are backed with either wool, wool felt or recycled felted woollens and of course the buttons are salvaged too.

I am hoping to add some for sale to my not on the high street shop (if i can remember how) and my own site(s) at sweetmyrtle & aliceandginny (also if i can remember how as it has been a long time since i have added any thing for sale). now i need to work out pricing and sort out some images to upload.

I designed these little flower brooches some time ago now and if you wish to make your own you will find the patterns and instructions in our first book  'Sew Fabulous Fabric'.

The project is also included in the lovely little beginner sewers box set 'How to Sew' . Both books are published by David and Charles and are available  from www.rucraft.co.uk

and if you do stitch any up we would love to see them and if you email us we can also add your pictures to  our flickr page.  (which needs filling up a little!)

edit to add wow i have just seen that the embellishments book  (which the brooch project is in) from the 'How to Sew' box set is now available as an e-booklet 

Wishing you all a happy weekend

g x

summer bunting

bunting is so very popular these days and is a great way to cheer up an occasion or decorate a room.

last night alice and i ran a 2 hour bunting making session focusing on ways to decorate and personalise a  simple string of bunting.

we demonstrated  how to apply stencils, how to apply imagery with applique and embroidery and also showed some fun ways to add text.

each participant created a string of 7 flags  choosing fom a large selection of fabrics. some of the results are here on the aliceandginny blog if you fancy taking a peep.

the nice thing is that the four samples we created to illustrate the techniques to the class were created for our own children. i have now hung the two i made in my daughter's bedrooms, i wonder how long it will take them to notice?

a new friend and some bead fun!

for some time i have been meaning to properly introduce you to Clare (pass the pattern)

Clare is a vibrant, talented journalist who writes for a variety of publications including Knitting World.

you can read all about her  here  and read about some of her commissions here.

Clare contacted Alice and I regarding a feature for Cloth magazine  and spent a day with us in my studio last month.

  She experienced the double act that is 'alice and ginny' which to the uninitiated is rather like watching tennis, accompanied by incessant talking (usually from me!) Luckily she survived and has now written a wee piece on us which includes my Sewing notes  cover tutorial. Cannot wait to see it in the Summer issue of Cloth.

as Clare lives nearby she came to our Monthly Make workshop at The Westy on Monday. the 2 hour session called Bead Fun was based on the necklaces that i love to make using felt and paper beads.

each of the 30 women attending created either a necklace or a bracelet to take home with them.

Clare's  funky orange creation coordinated with her red hair perfectly.

here are a few more creations.. i am afraid that the photos are poor quality as we run the class in the bar area, which doesn't mean that i was drunk but it accounts for the weird lighting.(which i have tried to correct ... badly!)

 

 

 it was such a fun evening with a great vibe and the ladies all left proudly wearing their handmade jewelery.

do please pop over to Clare's Pass the Pattern blog for lots of inspiration  and an interview with our gorgeous editor, the fantastic mrs fox... you won't be disappointed and if you get a chance pop over to our alice and ginny blog to read about another wee bit of press.

oh ... and have a wonderful weekend

gx

surrounded by hearts...

i am really enjoying all the heart craft  love going on in blog land just now...

i have also been surrounding myself with hearts...

last monday we ran a 2 hour valentine workshop for adults... i wrote about it here and here...

this weekend we have a family workshop and are going to create lots of different types of hearts  with scrap fabrics, paper, threads and glitter . the 2 hour workshop covers min age 3 , max age 100, so we have to be prepared for many levels of ability and experience. i have had fun experimenting and this is one of the ideas that we will be sharing with the group... i thought i would share a' how- to'  create one yourself as it is so simple to achieve and really fun to do.

1. Cut off a 7 inch square of self -adhesive  clear book covering *( layering  with pva onto recycled clear plastic bags would be the alternative though in our 2 hour workshop we are limited for drying time).

2. Layer this with thread, fabric scraps, wording, tissue paper, heart shapes, whatever you have really. I used some dried rose petals for mine and cut out shapes from magazines. Add a sprinkling of glitter. Make sure that you leave some areas clear so the self adhesive can stick to itself, also it looks pretty allowing some light to shine through.

Other ideas you may like to consider are wee drawings, writing a message or the name of your love. Creating these with kids would be fun as they always seem to come up with  such great  ideas. A point to note is that if you wish it to be hung at a window then just be aware that the reverse side will also be visible, so layer with this in mind.

 

3. Cut another 7 inch square of self- adhesive book covering and carefully lay in over your work. Smooth out as it rolls of the backing sheet to remove air bubbles. Don't worry too much about getting it to look perfect as an extra bit  of texture looks great.

4. Draw out a heart shape onto card (i used an old cereal box). Lay it over your collage and draw around this with a felt pen. Cut out,  attach thread, hang and admire.

So very easy and lots of possibilities for creating different sizes and perhaps stringing them all together. Why not add a wee pom pom on the bottom too like i have on this one ?

 

 if you do make some please let me know as i would love to see your results...

have fun!

gx

a little loving....

alice and i  are preparing to teach a couple of valentine workshops next month... so lots of heart love going on here... i am really looking forward to february... it is also the month of my birthday (42nd year, i cannot believe, how did that happen?)... it's going to been a busy month workwise so i do hope i can relax and enjoy a little of my own family loving too.

thank you for all your wonderful comments and inspirational words on my last post...i love cathleen's word ~ 'savour' and i think i shall add simone's word, 'action' to my list too....

inspired by taking action i have finally tackled something i have been meaning to do for some time...

yes ... i have started an alice and ginny blog  here....

this space will showcase all things alice and ginny related ... please do pop over and see what we are up to and see some of the projects created at our workshops. teaching is a very large part of my life just now and i am loving it and learning so much.

 just one last thing about the image above.  I posted it to my flickr account and was asked if i could include it in a flickr group called camilles appeal... the current theme is love and the group was set up for a little girl called camille who has a tumor and to raise awareness about brain tumors in the under 5's. this terrible illness has also affected two families  within our small community...  one little girl tragically has not survived but the other is doing really well and is now back at school. to read  about camille and her family's story and to find out about the purpose of the charity please click here.

 thank you x

gratitude and my creative space...

i have written about my creative space recently but i really am so grateful to have it after years of working from the kitchen table and having to clear up before each meal (or not, as often was the case... you know, just pushing it all up one end to find a little space for our plates)

i really am using it more than ever at the moment even though it is very cold in here as we only have minimal heating. most people would probably not find it cold but as a wrote back at the flour loft some time ago , i do suffer from cold feet. So today i am also grateful for thermal socks!

i wanted to share another little area of my space today which is the pin board above my cutting table... this is a practical pin board where i pin up current work, notes , reminders and also inspirations... it is ever changing...

 

at the moment i am working on creating some more necklaces from recycled paper beads, felt and papier mache for a craft fair that i am doing at my girls old school later this week. i have hung a few on the board to remind me to make some more.
the love cushion is a sample for a valentine workshop which i am running next year and the dove wreath was a sample for a wreath making working shop which alice and i ran on saturday which was great fun. 

we had a full class of 12 ladies on saturday who all created a fabric wreath to take home with them.  we supplied a good variety of fabrics and some basic templates to start their ideas off but encouraged them to spend time thinking about their design and to make something individual to them. they created some amazing work and some photos from the day will  be added to the workshops gallery page on the alice and ginny website very soon.

today i am also thankful that the sun is shining and even more excitingly that Paws is now allowed outside. his leg has pretty much all healed so he is off out and being a proper cat again.

I also am grateful for all the friends and support and lovely comments that i receive here at sweetmyrtle. as a thank  you i am going to do another giveaway... this one is exciting for me as it is a huge project that i have been working on with my pal alice... yes... it is our new craft book 'Home Sweet Sewn ' which is officially launched next week.

so  in my next  post i will tell you a little about the book and  the  giveaway... so please do pop back.

wishing you all the loveliest of tuesdays...

 ginny x

p.s. for more creative spaces please visit kootoyoo.

gratitude and angels...

today i am thankful for the opportunity to teach... i adore teaching and find it immensely rewarding.

yesterday's angel collage session was great... here are a few images of a couple of nearly completed pictures with only the finishing glittery touches still to be added...

the kids were really pleased and seemed to really enjoy the collaging process. i am really pleased with how the  leafy wings turned out...

i had collected oak leaves, beech leaves, wisteria leaves and maple leaves... and each child chose which ones to add to their picture. the staff are going to  display  them on a wall in school so i shall go back and take some final pictures next week.

i also wanted to share this post from the frugal family fun blog which i saw this morning about creating a gratitude activity jar... a brilliant idea! please do go and take a look.

wishing you a happy thursday. x

junk jewellery ~ workshop

alice and i ran a junk jewellery making workshop this week for older kids. i sampled up a necklace using a couple of techniques....

rolled fabric beads wound with thread to hold into position... these can be made in any fabric though felted wools work particularly well.

and also paper beads ... have you ever tried making them?.. they are so quick and easy to make...here is a quick tutorial...

 

to make some you will need:

~ a thin skewer  ... i found some wooden ones in the kitchen normally used for veggie kebabs!
~ some old glossy magazines... i have 3 copies of elle decoration which i have saved for ages... the spreads are so vibrant and colourful and perfect for paper beads.
~ some glue... i used white glue

method:

1~  choose some colourful pages from the magazine and tear out. either using the width or the length of the pages (this will depend on whether you want fatter or thinner beads), cut some strips 1.5cm wide tapering evenly to 0.5cms. sometimes i cut across the width of the page to give a 20cm strip, other times along the length to give a 30cm strip... experiment with the length and also the width of your strips... there are no rules... see what works best for you.
2.~take the wider end of your strip and carefully roll it around your skewer with the side of the paper you wish to show on the outside... make sure it is tightish but not too tight... ensure that it will slide on the skewer...keep winding the paper around evenly until you get to the last 5cms. add glue to this and finish rolling.
3~ gently slide the bead to the tip of you skewer and with a little watered down glue paint on a glaze... this will help protect your bead and make it a little more durable.
4~ take off skewer and dry... i tape a long thin piece of hemp twine to the side of my work table and keep adding beads as i make them.
5~ once dry, usually after a few hours, make into jewellry!

we also taught the girls how to make simple papier mache pendants covered with recycled papers and scraps of fabric.

the girls at the workshop were all 11 and 12 years old. they were a lovely group and created some great pieces of work..here are a few images of their creations...

yesterday my smallest girl wanted to make a necklace too for her friend's birthday present... this is  her design...

...and today i have been prepping for a workshop next week... sewing softies with 7 to 11 year olds in 2 hours!!.. hmm i think we may have been crazy to come up with that one... we shall see, we have designed the softie in kit form so hopefully it will all be acheivable?! 

 wishing everyone who pops in here a very happy weekend  x