A Big Thank You!

Hi Everybody   This will be my last newsletter as Flutterby Crafts and I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to show you all the new signage that has been put up over the shop.  It is looking really good.   It was wonderful to see so many people at the shop on Saturday.  Including some lovely surprises (Julie, Deborah and Honor all travelled such a long way).  It was lovely to receive so many gifts and cards.  It was quite overwhelming at times.  So overwhelming that I know I did not manage to speak to everybody or to thank enough of you.   So I am going to be signing out with a big THANK YOU to everybody that has supported me over the past 9 years - Staff, Customers, traders, demonstrators, teachers and everybody that I cannot remember.  All of you have given me so much during this time and I will cherish my memories forever.   I know that Cate and Nicky will take care of you all and that a warm welcome will always be available at The Mulberry Bush.   With love and best wishes from   Lynn xx

Special Announcement from Flutterby Crafts

Hi Everybody   Well, a little bit of showing off going on here.  I wanted to share with you all a painting that I did at an event I went to, a few weeks ago.  I was given the opportunity to sit in a class and this painting was the result.  I hope you like it.   Anyway, a newsletter!!  And this could be quite a long one, so I would suggest you put your feet up, sit back and relax.   As you all are aware, if you have been reading my chats over the past couple of years, my life has been going through a bit of a change for a while.  Hubby retired, new house, additional puppies (although, not so puppy now!) and much time spent with my family.  All of which have been adding to my busy life.    It has become more and more difficult for me to keep up with the tasks that are required to run the shop, the workshops, newsletters and everything else that needs to be done.  So, I have decided that it is time for me to step back and retire!!   BEFORE you all get excited, everything will be carrying on as normal but under the wonderful care of Cate, with Nicky beside her.   Cate, for a number of years now, has taken care of all our Scrapbooking and the Wedding corner.   Many of you will all also know that, for a few years now, Cate and I have been working together with the internet site:       Cate will be taking over the shop and she will be taking it under the umbrella of The Mulberry Bush.   So, for all of you, the only change will be the name. Oh, and the fact that you will not have grumpy old me there, moaning about how soon Christmas comes around!   All of this will be happening over the next week.  I will be here in the shop this weekend and around at times during next week, with Thursday being my last day - well that sort of is it!  But I cannot go with out some sort of a do, so.......   I will be playing Lazy Lady Muck (retired, don't you know?!) and Cate will be telling you all about the exciting things that are coming up and the new lines that she will be introducing!   Shhh...though, I have got a bit of an insider start on you all and can give you a quick preview of some of it:      Now, aren't these just gorgeous??!!     There is also some lovely tissue paper (ideal for decopatch!), but I am not going to show the picture for that - being very selfish, I fancy these myself!!   I know that there will be a ripple of worry going through those of you that are booked for the NEC coach trip.  DO NOT WORRY, nothing is going to change with that!  It will be my last act as Flutterby Crafts at Lower Henwick Farm.  So I will see you all on the 10th November!! (There are still 4 places left!!)   So, now, what have I got in store for myself (just in case you should be wondering)?  Well, for a little while I will be very quiet, taking a break.  I am wanting to take a bit of time to catch up on my crafting and playing with my paints.    I will probably try for a part-time job (I will need to have some people around me) so you will probably see me around town.   A friend and I want to take a couple of trips out to visit things like reclaimation centres, junk yards and antique centres.  Find STUFF to paint and decorate.   So many things to do!!  And now, hopefully, the time to do it!!   Well, I think that has given you all a big enough shock for one day!!  I think we all need to go and have a cuppa tea!!   Remember to come see up on the 2nd November!!   Have a good weekend.   Lynn xx   ps...We still have a little bit of wool left, so if you want any I will have it in the shop tomorrow (Saturday 26th) and it will all be at £1 per ball - a few bargains to be had!!  See you there. xx

My Diary 2014

Last year a very dear friend of mine, Margaret Hammond, showed me what she had done with some diaries that she had purchased from one of her local shops.

This year I decided that I would combine Margaret's idea with some of the techniques that Liz had taught us in class, earlier in the year.

The result is that I will be carrying around with me a very personalised diary for the coming year.

How good is that?

If you fancy having a go at this, remember that you will be looking for the Jo Sonja's workshops at the shop - alternate Wednesday afternoons and the 2nd Saturday in every month.

Great fun.  Lynn xx



Star Papier Mache Candle Holder

Here, is a beautifully decorated Star Papier Mache Candle Holder using napkins by Lynn Courtney.

Lynn has decorated the Candle Holder using Jo Sonja's paint for the base colour, and then applied this pretty Poinsettia napkin/serviette.

We have a selection of napkins/serviettes in the shop and online.

We have a wide selection of Jo Sonja's artist paints and mediums for your crafting projects.

Finally, Lynn brushed over the design using Jo Sonja's gold paint, to add to the rich colours.

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If you would like to learn more about decorating your projects using napkin/serviettes please give Lynn a call on Tel No : 01635 860900 and she will give you the date of the next Home Décor workshop.

You can also follow our Facebook Page for more updates.

Decorated Wooden Hearts

Here is a beautiful decorated wooden heart by Nicky Hayden using papers by Kaisercraft. 

We have in stock, large and small wooden heart blanks, with hanging twine ready for you to decorate.

Large - Approx size 21 x 8 cm

Small - Approx size 12.5 x 5.5 cm

Nicky has decorated the front of the heart using beautiful scrapbook pages 

by Kaisercraft - 'On This Day' collection together with some pretty lace.

Nicky has painted the back of the heart using Jo Sonja's paints and mediums :-

Burnt Umber and Island Sands - Jo Sonja's paint

Décor Crackle - Jo Sonja's

Crackle Medium - Jo Sonja's

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If you like making altered art projects, just feast your eyes below at what we have in our shop ready to be altered with paints, papers and napkins.

Please pop by our shop or visit us on-line at Flutterby Crafts.

Introduction to Art Journaling

Hi Everybody I hope you are all well and thoroughly enjoying the summer holidays.  Doesn't it make a change for us to be having some warm weather while the youngsters are off school?  I know we keep having rain showers, but they are warm ones!!   Well, we had a good day on Saturday with the Stix 2 and Woodware demonstration.  Michelle did a great job and, since then, we have all been busy playing with our glue guns making pearls and fake brads!!     For those of you who were interested in them, the acrylic stamp storage sheets should be in by the end of the week and the Woodware Christmas stamps by mid-next week.     So now it is time for me to talk about next weekend and give you a reminder that Liz will be here running her 'Introduction to Art Journaling' workshop.  This is what she has written about the class:   Introduction to Art Journaling  Art Journaling is becoming an increasingly popular activity and loads of fun!  There are no rules, no rights or wrongs, just loads of ways to make art!  Whatever your age, whatever your ability.  And don't be fooled by the word 'art' - it is for everybody.  It is about playing and having fun.  It is free flowing where anything goes!!   Come along to this 2 ½ hour workshop and learn how to get started.  We will create a range of backgrounds using Jo Sonja acrylics and then work through a selection of techniques to help you make your very own works of art.  You will use your pages to make a small book that you can take home and continue to use as your very own Journal.   The image shows different stages of the Art Journal and you will be guided through creating your own designs.   The workshops will run from 10am 'til 12.30pm and 1.30 'til 4pm, Saturday 10th August.  The cost of the workshop is £15 for 2 ½ hour workshop, with all materials supplied.  Bargain! I am looking forward to next Saturday.  I am going to have a fun morning playing up in the workshop with Liz. Well that is all for today.  I know it is only a quick one, not one of my usual ramblings - but I have a feeling there will be a few short sharp ones during the holidays, so I will probably be back in front of the 'puter next week. Have a good week, enjoy the sunshine.   Best wishes from Lynn and the Girls. xx

New wooden and papier mache items.

We have had delivery of some gorgeous wooden and papier mache items begging to be altered using Jo Sonja's paints, napkins, pretty papers, stamps and embellishments.

So, I popped into the shop on Saturday afternoon.  On the hottest day of the year!

  What do crafter's do best? Silly question I know, yes CRAFT!

Lynn was desperate to decorate one of the new wooden birdhouse hanging ornaments.

A bit of time spent on applying Jo Sonja's paints, in between a lot of chatting, 

.......no surprise there, then!

Ta da!

 Looking good on display.

 Jacky working wonders on her beach themed money box.

Love the painted stripes, Jacky.

 And Sue was making a Christmas canvas....yes, I think too much sun and heat 

had gone to her head!

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If you would like to have a go at decorating these or similar items, please give Lynn a call and she will let you know when she will be running her next Home Décor Workshop.

Telephone : 01635 860900 

Decorated Blackboard

The other day someone asked me why I had some MDF boards in the shop, well this is why.......

...they are perfect for turning into notice boards.  Some Jo Sonjas black Gesso, Clear glaze and a cheap paint roller set will give you a perfect blackboard finish.....



.....add a (in this case) stencilled image or stamped image, a few gems (a bit of sparkle never goes amiss!)  and voile....now I can remind the kids that I like flowers!!

 



But if you don't fancy making a blackboard........how about decorating a box or a tray?

We have lots of wooden items available in the shop.

Decorated Tissue Box

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, the other Saturday, we had the lovely Jeanette White from Crafty Needs visit us to run a workshop decorating a Tissue Box.

 

 

Here she is helping Deborah with her work.

 

 

Now, Jeanette has picked some lovely colours to work with - but they did not match my new spare bedroom (I must get her better organised!), so I had to make a few changes and this is my version.

 

Now, I was fairly chuffed with it (modest!) - but then I showed it to GC and he declared it one of my best pieces!!

 

The boxes were made by Jeanettes lovely hubby, Alex (who you might know from Eureka Crafts Templates).

 

Wooden Tissue Box - size 27x14x 8cm

Simple box holder with hole ready for you to decorate as you wish with paint, papers and serviettes available in the shop or on-line.

The tissue boxes were painted using the Jo Sonja's Acrylic paints (I used Aqua), then we used Decor Crackle followed by a layer of Opal.  Finally a layer of Crackle Medium was used.

 



Once the paints had been dried and the crackle effect made, we stamped up on the plain layer of a serviette and applied that to the box using Jo Sonja's All Purpose Sealer.

 

A few flowers, a ribbon box, some pearls and voila!! one beautifully decorated tissue box.

Here is a small collection of Wooden and Papier Mache items waiting to be decorated using Jo Sonja's paints, papers, napkins, stamps and embellishments.

 

And if you would like to learn about using these products, take a look at our workshop list:

http://www.flutterbycrafts.co.uk/#/workshops/4561861463

 

Come and have fun with me and my guest teachers, on my Jo Sonjas classes.

 

Lynn x

 

Altered Rocking Chair - Acrylic Paints

Well, here you are - for all of you that have been following the renovation of the child's rocking chair - this is the finished article.

The chair has sat in my attic for around the past 25ish years and then in the workshop, waiting, for this transformation and I am so pleased with the final effect.

It is hard to believe that it started out looking like this:

I began by giving it a very gentle rub over with a bit of sandpaper (I am basically very lazy, so I did not put too much effort into that!!), then I gave it two quick coats of Cornflower Blue.

I then did some crackle effect, under a Soft White, on the seat, arms and head rest.  I used both Decor Crackle (a sandwich crackle) and the Crackle Medium (top coat).  It gave me a mixed range of cracks.

.

I then sponged some Soft White over the Cornflower Blue on the struts, legs and rockers.

Shock, horror, these photos actually show me working!!

Then, once it was all dried, I added some serviettes using All Purpose Sealer, and finally gave it a bit of a rub-back to show a bit of the Blue through the White.

Beautiful, even if I do say so myself. 

The chair is now sitting in the shop and all the little ones that come in cannot resist a quick rock!!

All this was achieved using the fabulous Jo Sonja's Paints

And my next challenge is to paint up this unit that holds the paints!!

Watch this space.

Lynn xx