Artyard Handmade: People always amaze and surprise you! Thank you k...

A lovely Valentine's day story

2012-02-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago our lovely pink flamingo was stolen from our window display by a "crafty", or perhaps "craft loving" thief! Today, on 14 Feb the pink bird in question was found taped in a black bag to our front door!? Needless to say it's mate in the window is ecstatic to have him back, but the mystery still lingers...
Thanks for returning our bird!

(See older blogs for reference to the previous story)

The Genius lives on...

2012-02-07T02:35:00.000-08:00

We were sent this link, and just wanted to share it with you all. Amazing talent! Enjoy...

http://www.vatican.va/various/cappelle/sistina_vr/index.html

Making summer on a wintry Monday!

2012-01-30T09:06:00.000-08:00

This morning brought it's usual Monday madness and while I stood in the freezing cold at the school gates I noticed this sign...like a shining beacon in the cold dark of winter gloom

And there it was... happiness to the core! I was transported to summer time, which inspired me to set about making some new bunting (high on the happiness scales!) for our Easter High Tea coming up soon! Thought I'd share my start and my tips with you:

Firstly you will need some lovely material - any scraps will do as long as you get some variation in florals, stripes, dots or patterns, and can cut a triangle approx. 25 cm wide.

I like to use pinking sheers and some binding or ribbon to piece it all together.

* Cut as many triangles as you think you'll need

* Fold the binding in half lengthways and iron to press down the fold

*Leave about 25 cm from the end of the binding and pin the triangles in place, inserting the edge of the triangle into the fold of the binding.

*Again, leave about 25cm of tape at the end (if you plan to tie it round trees in the garden, leave a little more!)

* Slowly run your sewing machine (set in straight stitch) along the line of the binding, securing the triangles firmly in place.

* Hang it in desired spot, make a cuppa and sit back and admire your handy work! :)

If it still seems tricky, pop in for our bunting making workshop and we'll set you on your way to making delightful bunting for weddings, birthdays, Easter, Christmas or...just because we love it!

What a day!

2012-01-26T09:51:00.000-08:00

What a weird and crazy day we had today. Our little village is a lovely suburban area with lots of trees, Richmond Park and the river near by, and as far as shop owners go, has a pretty strong community spirit. So popping next door to pick up a parcel that was delivered there the night before, or over the road to grab some cardboard from the appliance store is quite the norm! We know the lovely charity shop well too - always bringing us lovely things with ideas of what to do with them...it came as quite a surprise then to return to the studio and find one of our lovely luminous pink flamingos gone from the window!
Who would take it? A 'crafty' thief indeed!
It's not the most obvious thing to take, and not the most discreet, but we hope someone out there will let us know if they spot it...much needed for our new February window too.
We thought we'd post a Spot the Difference, so everyone knows what to watch out for:

Look out for our flamingo thief!

Organise, organise, organise!

2012-01-25T06:21:00.000-08:00

More than any other time of year, January always brings out the 'organiser' in me. I like to get everything in it's place. Somehow it makes me feel like the whole year will be more this way and so I have busied myself putting all my cans to use in a most delightful way - and since discovered the uses are endless.
We have made stationary holders, vases, gift jars, mini herb gardens...you name it! In my organised state of mind, I will have to number my steps:
1. Take one simple tin can...baked beans, tinned tomatoes, any thing goes.
2. Soak in hot water to get all the labelling and glue off.
3. Dry
4. Choose your favourite fabric, ribbons or paper that makes you smile.
5. Cut to size and stick around the tin.
6. Fill with pencils, pens, scissors etc
or paint in enamel paint, string a label on and make a mini herb garden for basil, sage, lavender etc.
or tie a wide ribbon around the tin and fill with delicate spring blossoms or roses for a gorgeous centrepiece!
or fill a tin with little treats, place a jam jar type fabric lid cross the top, elastic to hold in place, then tie with a ribbon and a parcel tag (I like to write the person's name on one side and a little message on the other side!) Surprise them! This is a simple, cheap and effective way to brighten anyone's day in the deep of January blues!

These are some other lovely examples I found that are out there

Save your tins and brighten up someone's day! xx

Artyard Handmade: People always amaze and surprise you! Thank you k...

2011-10-14T11:58:00.000-07:00

Artyard Handmade: People always amaze and surprise you! Thank you k...: An anonymous ‘donor’ posted a wonderful book to us which arrived today. It is something that touches our very ethos and whoever it was, th...

Artyard Handmade: The Beautiful Story of a Quilt ...

2011-10-14T11:57:00.001-07:00

Artyard Handmade: The Beautiful Story of a Quilt ...: My first experience with quilting was as a child on my mum's bed. She had a multi-coloured extravaganza - the biggest one I had ever seen ...

Artyard Handmade: Remembering Small Pleasures...

2011-10-14T11:57:00.000-07:00

Artyard Handmade: Remembering Small Pleasures...: Friday 12 August 2011 Today we went on a trip to the seaside...something about the sea brings me huge pleasure. The smells, sights, sounds...

People always amaze and surprise you! Thank you kind donor

2011-08-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

An anonymous ‘donor’ posted a wonderful book to us which arrived today. It is something that touches our very ethos and whoever it was, thank you so much! Green Crafting is an inspired insight into the simplicity of creating beautiful craft and having fun with things you already have, or most probably, already have thrown out!! It’s all about recycling and re-using. Let’s be honest, at first glance sometimes sustainability can be tiring, but perhaps we have to look at it all from a different angle. It can be about the excitement of creating something from nothing. Take the humble milk top for example...nothing but a piece of scrap? or a beautiful collage pieced together to create a 3D city or a holy old sock turned into a wonderful sock creature sure to delight any child, guaranteed!! In fact, you can come down on a Friday afternoon to our drop in sessions and make your own, we’ll show you how, and I assure you, you will never look at an old sock in the same way again! Doing our bit to save our planet doesn’t have to be a chore, we just need to change our perception!

Love your environment xx

The Beautiful Story of a Quilt ...

2011-08-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

My first experience with quilting was as a child on my mum's bed. She had a multi-coloured extravaganza - the biggest one I had ever seen that covered the bed all the way to the floor on all sides. This was my 'safe place' all through childhood where we spent many hours talking and crying and laughing and sharing, and if that quilt could talk...

My granny made it for her before I was born and it shared our entire life story on a daily basis.

When I married in 2002, my aunty (also a quilt maker) made my husband and I a very special quilt, using wonderfully symbolic pieces of material - old favourites of my granny's and my mum’s and nostalgic childhood favourites and embroided our names and the date into it and it has lived nearly 10 happy years on our bed, welcoming our 2 children and sharing many many memories.

This quilt exists as the same 'safe place' in our house, as I had as a child. A refuge from the world...and there is something so wonderful about it words cannot explain.

We have had a lot of interest in quilting for so many reasons... new babies on the way into the world, someone 'leaving' the world, a wedding - so many lovely reasons to make these albums of life.

Today our first one was celebrated at a baby shower. Old friends and family members shared the piecing together of the last few squares of carefully selected fabrics to complete their precious hand made gift for this new baby coming soon into the world. Followed by tea and delicious homebakes - it was the perfect way to celebrate the coming of a new life. We look forward to welcoming Baby Wilkinson very soon.

Special moments shared together leave lasting memories we can carry with us forever x

Remembering Small Pleasures...

2011-08-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

Friday 12 August 2011

Today we went on a trip to the seaside...something about the sea brings me huge pleasure. The smells, sights, sounds of the waves (and ideally sand) but on these nearby British shores we settled for stone, and after exploring the coastline, we got busy making wonderful painted stones and driftwood boats. These are lovely crafty things for the whole family to get involved with, and it always amazes me how little children actually need to have a great time. We all returned home, slightly over pink, but exhausted and totally content and happy. What a great day :)

I think we shall bring some beachy craft to the Artyard for an injection of summer inspiration to keep those wonderful beachy days alive. Watch this space...

Remember to appreciate life’s simple pleasures xx