Bright & Beautiful Weekend!

I know it's Monday morning and a bit grey and damp (well, it is here anyway) but what a lovely weekend it was!

It started well with a private viewing at Coopers Yard Studios, where Duncan Thrussell, Jacqui Sinclair-Clarke, Lisa Ridgers and Penny Alspaugh held an Open Weekend. It was great to catch up with some of the Arts-in-Action crowd and meet a few new people too, but the main attraction was the wonderfully diverse artwork from this talented group of local artists.

Saturday was my February felt-making workshop and I was lucky enough to spend the day with two lovely ladies who were keen to learn this addictive craft and made it a really interesting, fun day. They went away pleased with their 'makes'.....and probably ached all day yesterday!

Sunday was a gloriously sunny day down here on the coast and I walked along the seafront and river, taking photos in the sunshine and marveling at the crowds so early in the year. It could have been a weekend in May, it was so busy! I popped into the Look & Sea gift shop, to check on my photo-cards and deliver my new photo-magnets, which they will also be stocking this year.

Now, back to work....

Studio Refurb

It's time to get my 'studio' (posh word for garage!) refurbished so I can start producing more silks and felts and running more workshops. I'm also planning to open it up as part of the Littlehampton Arts Trail in May, so that's an added incentive. I need bucket loads of white paint for the ceiling and walls, a few shelves added, a large water container (no plumbing in the garage) and lots of colourful bits on the walls to inspire me.
I've managed to get the strip-light working - having bought a replacement tube that I didn't actually need! - and cleared away all the winter cobwebs, dead insects and assorted rubbish, so I'm ready to roll with the paint. I'm really looking forward to turning a boring, dead space into something vibrant and productive.

Textile Fun

Had a great time this morning playing with my new Paverpol textile hardener. It's a bit like PVA glue - all white, sticky and messy - but dries transparent and rock hard. I managed to get it all over me and the kitchen, as well the textiles, but what fun! It's usually used to make figures or sculptures using fabric but I made a couple of very nice linen and lace bowls. I have to wait about a week for them to fully harden off, but they'll then be suitable for indoor or outdoor use. Now what else can I use it on.......? (keep it clean please!!)

Give your Kindle a New Coat

It's the new season so why not re-style your Kindle for the Spring/Summer with a new handmade coat? More stylish than the high-street versions, these little couture creations will turn your Kindle into an original accessory. They make a great gift too - wouldn't your Mum just love one for her new Kindle? (Hint: Mother's Day is 18 March this year.)
Click on the links to see more.

Red Hot

Romantic Paris

Linen Look

Coral and Turquoise

Nouveau Blue

Retro Floral

Phone & Kindle Cases

I've been busy over the last couple of days making lots of little phone cases and a few Kindle cases too, to fit the new smaller Kindle. The phone cases seem to be quite popular - they've been selling really well - so I decided to make a few more to keep 'in stock' for any craft fairs coming up. The Kindle cases are lovely to make, they're really just larger versions of the phone cases, but look great all stacked up. It can get a bit repetitive making them, but I do enjoy it - choosing the fabrics, the linings, the trims, then just methodically piecing them all together - it's really quite relaxing! Having said that, I'm now ready to get creative again, so no more phone cases this week.
There are still some available in my Folksy shop, so why not have a look and treat your phone to a new outfit for Spring!

Too Early to Think about Beach Bags?

No....I don't think so. There must be a few of you planning an early holiday somewhere warm and exotic (lucky you!) and where else will you find a nice new beach bag at this time of year? It's practical, stylish, completely unique and it folds up nice and flat for packing...what could be better? Check it out here...

'Coral Wave' Beach Bag on Folksy

Or maybe something more seaside-y instead? How about one of these.....roll on summer!

'Seaside' Beach Bag on Folksy

'Seahorse & Fish' Beach Bag on Folksy

Website Update

Yes...the websites actually worked! I'm amazed, but very pleased. I now have two working websites - the original one for my textile art (www.christineshephard.co.uk), which is a very simple one with just three pages and a slideshow of some of my artwork; and the second one is an online shop for some of my classier bags (www.ciessetextiles.co.uk) which has a few more pages and all the paypal buttons and links added.
I'd love to know what you think, so please take a look and let me know. (Don't be too harsh!)

Weebly Website Fun

I finally took the bull by the horns and had a go at creating a website. I decided on Weebly, as it looks good and I'd been told it was easy to use, so I went ahead and set up a site for my textile art under my own name www.christineshephard.co.uk. It was fairly straightforward, mainly uploading photos and adding a bit of text around them. I like the way you can just drag & drop elements onto each page and move them around easily. It's also very simple to link things to other sites and add pages. I had to do some slightly tech-y stuff to link it to my existing domain name, but the instructions were very clear and easy to follow. Mind you, I've yet to see whether it was a success as it takes a while for the changes to kick in. At the moment, my domain name still takes me to the 123reg. website - hopefully this will change soon!

Flushed with supposed success - I'm an optimist! - I decided to carry on and set up a selling site for my handmade bags. As before, I happily added all the details and photos but hit a bit of a wall with the 'selling cart' add-on. I've read the instructions and the guides on Paypal, and I'm sure it's really simple but, for some reason, I'm a bit nervous about adding it. Maybe my brain has had enough for today...let's have another look at it tomorrow!

Spring Greens

The colour for spring 2012 is GREEN...in all its wonderful shades and hues, from pale spearmint to olive, lime and emerald. The shops are filling up with lovely fresh green clothes and accessories, so I'm joining the green party and showing some of the lovely green creations in my Folksy shop at the moment. Here are just a few of them....visit the shop at www.folksy.com/shops/ciesse to see more.

Amberley shoulder bag with pleat detail

Flora knitted handbag with fabric flowers

Carolina padded handbag in green and orange

Grassmere large shoulder bag

Hand-felted cuff bracelet

Mobile phone or gadget padded case

Green knitted furry scarf

Upcycled felted wool scarf kindle case