One of the book covers made on Laura's workshop using melted plastic bags  I need your help - I need to contact Laura Manning whose students work I featured on the blog last year. I have very cleverly lost her email address. If you are reading this Laura could you email me or if anyone knows Laura could they pass the message on?   I have some very special friends - I could hear the postman trying to force something through the letterbox and low and behold it was a parcel from Chris Gray of Mabon Arts  https://shop.mabonarts.co.uk/ (Chris is teaching one of the free workshops at Fashion, Embroidery and Stitch) . I roared with laughter when I opened the parcel - I know Chris only sent me these packets as they would be good to melt, nothing to do with the contents . . . .  the card was FAB too - Than you so much Chris!    Decovil lite dyed and then decorated with some of my newspaper samples. The whole sample was then covered with Lamifix - an iron o

Newspaper layered with painted Bondaweb printed onto with a wooden printing block. It is very easy to forget simple parts of a process - such as the fact you need pressure - albeit gentle, to print. My great printing session collapsed quite quickly when I realised I didn't have the strength to press down on the blocks. It didn't help that I had already ironed the papers onto the Heavy Pelmet Vilene Plus which meant they were also very stiff. You do need a more cushioned surface for sucessful prints. It doen't really matter as I will be putting these samples through my die cutting machine to make the shapes for my jewellery but I did feel a fool . . . . . This is just a brief post to show that I am still alive and getting slowly better although obviously not firing on all cylinders just yet!!!    x x x

Transfer printed Evolon decorated with silver transfer foiled Hot Spots! This is a just a catch up post - I will continue with the West Dean workshop later when I have had time to sort through all the photos. Being a bear of little brain and what brain I have left is soggy with a cold, it has only just occurred to me that my followers on here are not necessarily subscribers to my newsletter and therefore won't be aware of my special offer this month. I am giving away a free Hot Spots! Playpack (value £6) with every order received on www.nid-noi.com between the 15th and 25th January. I am so pleased with this product I want everyone to try it. There is a free film to watch if you can bear it on the top left of this blog showing you how to use them - you can fast forward to the demo . . . . The pack contains 2 x A4 sheets of medium spots, 2 x A4 sheets of small spots, 2 sample pieces of heat transfer foil, hints and tips and a free gecko template.

    Layers of printed and painted Bondaweb and torn newspaper ironed onto heavy iron-on interfacing . I LOVE this piece by Christine Because my clever students produced so much excellent work I will make this a two part post. My course had been brought forward from July to January and consequently I only had four students on my course. This was a great opportunity to get a lot of work done and fun for me. I usually teach ten to fifteen students in a group which is fine - but you don't get much time with each student. This was a real treat. Coupled with the fact all the students had been on a previous course with me in October, they all knew the basics of Hot Textiles which meant we could cover a lot of ground quite fast.  Newspaper printed with a leaf block - strips of which were used to create the beautiful work at the top of this post   Painted Bondaweb also printed with the leaf block.The Bondaweb is then carefully lifted from

 old dyed newspaper torn and layered with painted Bondaweb and then torn and layered . . . Just a quick post to say we have had a FAB morning working with painted Bondaweb and old newspapers. My girls have been layering up large squares which we will be sticking to heavy iron-interfacing to make boxes - once the interfacing is dry as we dyed it this morning.           We have also been printing onto the layers . . . .  more later . . . . .   x

    Decorated newspaper ironed onto heavy pelmet Vilene plus and cut to shape with a die cutting  machine I am just packing up the car ready to leave to teach at Denman College  www.denmancollege.org.uk for the next couple of days. I will be teaching my Hot Textiles 2 workshop to a small group that I first met on Hot Textiles at Denman at the end of last year - they are coming back to play. We should have a wonderful time as they already know the basics. We will be able to move fast and cover a lot of ground, I am very excited - some FAB work should be produced. I'm going to take my heat press and die cutting machine in case the group want to try any of the my newspaper processes with painted Bondaweb.   Decorated newspaper brooches . . .       . . and more . . .  I will report back as we go along - we should have a great time in class - and then of course there is the food  . . . .  the beautiful grounds . . . . sigh! what a way to start this years teach