The field opposite the tower. The second day started with a 'show and tell' of the work from yesterday. It was a surprising amount of work. We then got on with experimenting with Tyvek. I wanted to show the group how to raise the surface of a Bondaweb based piece of work. As Bondweb is ironed, it is flat, and sometimes you need extra texture. Small strips of Tyvek or Tyvek beads can help.  Introducing Tyvek might not have been my best plan . . .   I also mentioned how to make corsages . .  and they were off!!!! Not in the direction I was planning!!    Two of yesterdays Hot Spot! samples.  My plan for today had been for the group to have a quick play with Tyvek and then get on with a considered, stitched sample using painted Bondaweb - Huh!!! Fat chance!!    Olivia making several corsages at once.    Pip going into mass production.            As you can see, they...

  Just a little glitter . . . I hope you are sitting comfortably, this is going to be a long post - On Saturday I taught a one day version of 'A new starting point' my new(ish) workshop based on using newspaper creatively, to a fab group called Genesis Textiles Workshops. This is a very active and organised group based in Solihul.     You always know that a workshop is going to go well when the biscuits and coffee come out first thing. . . . You will be getting used to seeing (hopefully not bored with) images of my passion for newspaper, I hope that you will notice that no piece of work or sample is the same. The following images are created using my 'pretties and backgrounds' technique - which basically uses painted Bondaweb and torn newspaper with all kinds of gorgeous glittery bits and pieces. Gilding flake, glitter, sequins . . . .                      Then of cours...

Old, dyed and painted newspapers layered with painted Bondaweb, glitter and sequins. I have just got back from a brilliant workshop, it was one of those days where everything went smoothly and at a gentle pace - we all had such a great time. There were eight in the group and they all got on well with each other and shared things like their dried hydrangea flowers and glitter. It makes such a difference when a group get on well together. The workshop was at Foredown Tower and we were looked looked after by Jayne who runs the tower and is also a very good friend of mine. The day started well with hot chocolate and muffins!!!!  Jayne had some clotted cream leftover from cream teas she was serving yesterday so we had to finish it off - it would have be very rude to say no - chocolate muffins with cream, and before 10 o'clock. Oh! we were SO bad! I did start teaching soonish after 10 - we didn't want to rush our naughtiness.  The idea of the workshop ...