Creative People

I have a good friend, Nickie, who can do the most amazing things with photos and paper. She used to run classes from home but decided earlier this year that she wanted to get back into the workforce as her youngest child is now at school. Evie used to go to her after school classes and has made some amazing things, even though she is only 6 and was 5 for all of the year she did classes. Nickie is brilliant with the kids and Evie learnt so much, the classes weren't just about quick sticking they learnt lots of skills including design layout and what products to best use for sticking different mediums, this along side the normal skills of cutting, sticking, painting etc. This picture shows some of the brilliant things she created through the year. She also made christmas decorations, a suncatcher and mosaiced riverstones amongst other things I cannot recall.

When the classes finished Evie was very upset but Nickie now runs kids holiday classes at Scrapbook Studio where she works. The concept of the class is simple, Nickie creates a design and then the children are open to interpret it in their own way, they are supervised and offered guidance but the finished product is very much up to them, their only contsraints being the products they have available and their imagination. This past school holiday Evie attended one and made this fabulous mixed media canvas which is currently being showcased on my bookcase.

Hard to believe it was made a 6 year old isn't it? Evie also recently expressed an interest in knitting and sewing and can generally be found carrying her bag of paper, pens, glue etc. around with her. I hope she continues along this creative path as she gets older and I hope she continues to have wonderful people like Nickie around to show her the way.

Craft markets and chocolate shops

A friend and I had a stall at our first craft market this weekend. We possibly chose the wrong weekend to test how it would be as it was Labour Day weekend so a lot of people had gone away for the weekend, on top of this it was raining heavily so I suspect people also decided to stay in the dry.

It wasn't a complete disaster, we both sold items just not quite as much as we had hoped, having said that we had both voiced the opinion that we might sell nothing so at least it was better than that! I think we are both prepared to try again, after all you cannot expect miracles and I have been told by other stallholders that it can take time to build up a clientele. All our prep is done now though and we are all ready to try again and see what happens.

On the plus side my partner bought the kids down to see me and stopped at the local chocolate shop so we got yummy freshly made hokey pokey (that's honeycomb to all those in the UK) covered in chocolate and the most delicious honey, strawberry nougat, yum. The market we attended also had a lady making super fair trade coffee, creamy and fresh and not too strong, overall I would say we had a good morning!

I also finished my Bead Swap item. I am a member of a team of New Zealand beaders/jewellery makers who hold regular beadswaps. We send each other a little pack of beads on a theme and then see what each comes up with. To see what we made this time go to https://www.photoshop.com/user/beadhivedivas and have a browse.

Day One, so it begins

OK so I have been telling myself for a some time that I really need to start blogging and getting myself out into the beading and poymer clay community but though that is exciting it is also a little scary. Exposing myself, through what I make, is quite daunting but I feel that it is time.

It 's busy busy busy here recently, not only working but trying to spend more time creating with the clay and get ready for our first craft market as well. I sometimes wonder if it isn't too much but figure you have to just go for it; so here goes... Oh and don't forget trying to spend time with the family and our new puppy. Well nothing to lose, might as well just get on with it .