Fimo Fruit Workshop

On Wednesday, I held a workshop to at Tindalls on how to make fimo fruit canes. I used to make canes when I was younger, but I haven’t done it in years so I had to have a little practice on how to do it.

To prepare for the workshop, I made a little selection of fruits to show in the workshop. I also picked out a nice range of fimo colours for the workshop, I thought that if people wanted to make proper fruit then they could, or they could use whatever colours they want.

To start, I demonstrated how to make a fruit cane, and the students followed along with me. I also made a how-to sheet so if they got lost they could read it, or they could take it at the end of the workshop so they can make them at home. We started by making a simple fruit cane, so they could get the idea of how to do it. Then once they got the hang of it, they could experiment with colours and pattens to make what they like. The first cane started out slow, but it was just because they were just getting the hang of it. The hardest part was probably the rolling and cutting. It takes a bit of practice to work out how to get the rolling motion, but everyone did really well and ended up with some really good fimo pieces.

So my fimo fruits, I started by making a blood orange style fruit. I did a pink and yellow inside then a red rind. And for my second cane, I wanted to experiment with something different. I did an alternating yellow and orange segments, a green inside seperating them, and a red rind again. I was really happy with the bright colours of these and couldn’t wait to bake them. I also put some of these on some drawing pins so I can use them like the other fruits.

 

Mixed Media Sewing Workshop

On Wednesday, I ran a workshop on sewing. However, it wasn’t a typical sewing workshop, it was using watercolour paper instead of fabric. As this is a art shop rather than a sewing shop I thought this would bring in the products in the shop more.

I started by collecting all kinds of bits and pieces that could be used in the workshop. For the background of the pieces I like to use watercolour pens. My favourite being the ecoline pens. I think they make really nice backgrounds because they blend really well with water and I feel they are a lot less effort than watercolour paints. I also picked out a wide range of embroidery threads to used for the sewing. I chose I wide range of colours so people were waiting around if someone had the colour they want. I then picked out a range of embellishments, like buttons, ribbon, and felt.

The workshop was more of a playabout, rather than teaching, so everyone got on a had a go at making their own sewing pieces.

In the end, everyone came out with a completely different pieces, each in their own style.

 

Iris Folding Workshop

On Wednesday, I held a little workshop on iris folding. I have known this craft for a long time and realised that people probably don’t know about it or what it is, so I thought it would be a good idea to run a workshop in it. It’s super easy to make once you get the hang of it so I thought it would be perfect for people to learn on a workshop.

To start the workshop, I talked through the process of iris folding. I showed the different cards and templates that I had, and I let them choose a few of their own to start. I also got out my own examples to show them what they could look like. The pastel flower one was made for my summer workshops board for the store, and the ice cream was from my product of the month for patterned papers.

The workshop started out a little slow, while people were getting the hang of what to do and how to get the end result. I think the trickiest bit is starting it off, because you have to work out what colours you want where and how they start off. You also can’t see what it looks like until it’s finished because the template covers it, but it feels like a big reveal at the end after it’s finished then.

The day before I had cut out loads of iris folding strips in all different colours to use in the workshop. However, when we got half way through we ran out and I had to cut a load more out. The good thing is I know that if I run another workshop in iris folding, that I need to cut out more paper than I ever thought I would need.

I was really impressed with the end results and was really happy that everyone enjoyed it and each got to take a handmade card home. I also photocopied a selection of templates so they could take some home, and hopefully continue on the hobby.

I even got a little bit of time to make my own one with whatever colours I could get my hands on.