Medieval glitz!

I've managed to get a few hours of beading done over the last couple of days....

...and am very pleased with the results so far!!

Here are some of the Medieval Tri-Fold Book samples  for my Arts Alive workshop on the 1st & 2nd November.

Remember that chequered piece made from the bits rescued from the bin?....

....I've now beaded the intersections and put some tiny rhinestones in the middle of the punched-out designs.

I also decided to "distress" a Markal tile piece....

...but with gold leaf and beads!

My prancing critter got blinged-up with some couched gold braid....

...and I've now got some prepared tissue ready to go with some gold foiling done.

I'm sure that Medieval times were very, very stinky, dirty, difficult and uncomfortable....

....but MY take on the period is one of absolute opulence!!

Artistic licence.....:-)

Home and Happy!!

Well....

...it seems like I haven't been in my workroom for absolutely AGES!

But...

...we had a wonderful break away....

...and I thoroughly enjoyed my workshops and talk (even though my slideshow fell apart a bit!)

You've already seen photos of the workshop at Aberystwyth....

...so here are piccies from my lovely day with the Wirral Embroiderer's Guild.

They had opted for a printing day....

...and, boy, did they print!! :-)

They threw themselves into pots and pots of paint...

...getting wonderfully filthy....

...and produced some gorgeous colour combos.

 Sheets of delightful spears...

...and other bits and bobs....

Good job it was a fine day.....so that the foam blocks could dry outside after being washed.

Even the foam sheets from underneath turned into veritable works of art.

The last hour of the day was spent at sewing machines....

....but I have to wait for photos of finished pieces (as so much time was spent having fun with paint that there was very little time left for anything else!).

Thank you SO much for inviting me ladies...

...I loved every minute of your company!! :-)))))

x C

ps....... I'm sorry if I haven't responded to emails or comments lately, but my wifi connection was a tad sporadic while I was away. I'll try to catch up now that I'm home for a while....

A little play.......a little work.....

Yes, I know! I haven't been keeping up with my bloggy stuff again....

...but I've been a tad busy, with a little bit of play (well, quite a lot of play actually!)...

...and a bit of work that was very enjoyable indeedy!

We've been Gladdyvanning in Snowdonia for the last two weeks and have managed to visit a number of places that had been on my "1001 places to visit/things to do before I die" list.

The first one was a visit to Portmeirion....

Quite a bonkers little place....but absolutely beautiful...and such lovely weather too!

The following day we went through Beddgelert, where we just HAD to stop for refreshments by the lovely old bridge....

 ...then crossed over a not-so-old bridge onto Ynys Mon (Anglesey).....

...to visit THIS

Bryn Celli Ddu....a neolithic chamber tomb. Mmmmmmmmm......another one crossed off the list (along with Barclodiad-Y-Gawres further on around the coast).

After a few more days of wandering around some of the most spectacular countryside.....

...I had my first bit of "work" with the delightful "Aberystwyth Stitchers"....

...with whom I had a thoroughly enjoyable day offering a helping hand while they made some "Lavender and Lace" panels!

And here they are....smiling widely behind a table covered with their gorgeous stitching.

Well done ladies.....I'm looking forward to coming back!