Pottery Painting Party

2020 has not allowed for many children's parties has it?! However, we were lucky enough to be invited to celebrate a special friend's birthday in October via a Zoom Pottery Painting Party, which we joined from Wales. Using kits from Blue Owl we enjoyed a fabulous morning of painting and games. Jessica kept diving off to go and check on the subject that she was painting, Dad's cat Monty, and I created a #DrawWithRob inspired coaster. We collected them post-firing this weekend. So pleased with them!

These paint at home kits have been one of the positives of lockdown and 2020. I have loved getting the blank pottery and paints to bring home. It has meant I could spend hours designing and painting pieces in multiple sittings. It's been excellent therapy and we've now got quite a selection of unique pieces in our home as well as a few gifts ready for our Christmas giving.

 

Painting at Blue Owl

For the past few months Jessica and I have been attending the storytime sessions at the rather fabulous Blue Owl Pottery Painting Cafe in Great Horkesley. Jessica really enjoys her mornings there, which we do on the first Tuesday of the month. The children have a few books read to them based on a theme for the month before painting a related item and enjoying a drink and a biscuit. I get to relax and enjoy their lovely coffee of course! We went once when Jess was younger but she didn't have the interest to do it every month back then but it's been a lovely thing to do in the run up to her starting school in September. 

Last month the books were all about Dads and the children were given the opportunity to paint a pen pot for Father's Day. This was the first time that she'd tried a sticker resist method and also the first time we'd used sponges to paint with. The colours are so much more vivid than with a brush because the sponges force you to use so much more paint. She also drew a mouse on her pot, which I then traced over using the writing bottles. We were both so pleased with the gift that I just had to share it on here. Here it is, front and back...

Little Sew n’ Sews, Epping

I’ve driven past this shop too many times to count but had never visited until I found myself needing to match a cotton earlier this week. The charity shops in Epping are always worth a quick nose about in so I thought we’d head up there for a change. Well, I have to say that the owners of this shop get a huge thumbs up from me. They were so friendly and their shop is brimming full of fantastic crafting essentials. So much so that it was a bit of a task to keep Jess from pulling all the exciting bits and pieces from the stands and shelves! This is definitely going to be my regular stop for thread, fabrics, ribbon etc. from now on. It was a lovely shopping experience. Thanks!

Click on the image at the top to take a look at their website.

Another superb piece of craftsmanship by Michael Hill of Compton Framers, Chirk

Having been so impressed by their work on Archie’s birth sampler a few years ago, I decided to use Compton Framers in Chirk to frame my red kite. It is framed tight to the stitches with a simple black frame and a spacer between the frame and aida to prevent the stiches being squashed by the glass. They stretched the fabric for me and mounted it on board that helps the stitches stand out. The glass itself is special artist glass that has superior UV protection and allows the true colours of the design to shine through. Only the best for my kite you understand! I picked it up yesterday and it now hangs in pride of place in our lounge – at last!

The Craft Bug in Chirk

On one of my weekend jaunts up to visit Mum I had a few minutes to spare in Chirk and thought I’d pop into The Craft Bug, which I thought was a tiny little crafting shop. It turns out that it’s a little cavern jam packed with goodies. The girl manning the shop offered me a coffee the minute I walked in, which was a really nice touch. The back room has a crafting area where they hold classes and crafting groups regularly. I loved it.

Find them at 23 West View, Chirk, LL14 5HL. They also sell online – click the image at the top to check it out for yourself. 

Needle felted mouse

Another trip to Leek and another new craft to add to my repertoire. This time it’s needle felting. Lib treated me to a needle felting kit for my birthday, which included a big foam pad, four terrifying barbed needles (shown below) and a bag full of felting wool. She gave me a quick lesson and then I made a mess of my first two attempts at creating needle felted pieces. Just for the record, it really hurts when you prick yourself with these needles, believe me!

I was also introduced to a little piece of heaven in the form of a craft shop in Leek, which also runs craft workshops if you’re ever in the area. It’s called Bibelot and I’m pleased to see that they are online and have their own blog, which I have now added to my feed on the right hand side. It’s absolutely fantastic!

Anyway, I set about a second attempt to felt when I got home this evening. David is a big fan of knitted mice so I thought I’d make him a felted one. This is so much better than yesterday's attempts and I can only get better (I hope). The little creature is also pictured below with David’s youngest knitted mouse.

Use of a different framer…

My laptop has returned so I’m feeling inclined to blog again. Whilst David’s been away I’ve done a few more hours of kiting but that’s not what I’m going to share today. I was up in Wales this weekend and finally saw the results of the cross-stitch that I’d taken up there to be framed for Archie. Up until this piece I’ve had everything framed at Frames in Loughton. I do find their service very good but they are a little expensive so I thought I’d try somewhere different.

Mum had spotted a new framers open up in Chirk (actually moved from elsewhere I think) so we popped in. I was really impressed with the framer, Michael Hill, who was very professional and knowledgeable. He had a huge range of frames and other options, including some amazing artists glass. I opted for conservation glass (high UV protection) for this piece, which kept the costs just below Frames. I was tempted by the expensive stuff but it’s so amazing that a tiny mark of highlighter pen on the canvas shone like a beacon! I’ll definitely opt for it when I finally get my red kite framed.

The colours aren’t wonderful in my photo but the frame was a perfect match for one of the reds in the cross-stitch. He did such a good job that I wanted to share his work and highly recommend him. He’s certainly earned my return custom. See what you think…

Thanks to Katryn for holding it up for me!

Should you have anything that needs framing and are within reach of Chirk in North Wales give him a try. He’s open 9am to 5pm Tuesday to Saturday…

Compton Framers, 10 Station Avenue, Chirk. LL14 5LS.