Last week I had the opportunity to attend a workshop run by Marie Wilkinson from TLC Marie (Tactile Learning and Creativity) at the Dardanup Shire Hall as part of the Dardanup Shire's range of free short workshops. Marie is an artist who is very generous with sharing her techniques, and I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours creating with a lovely small group of ladies. These workshops are so much fun and you go home with something you have made.
At the workshop we learnt how to hand print wrapping paper and I would like to share the basic steps with you here. It is so easy when you know how!
There is a simple and economical range of supplies - * sea sponges - collected from the beach and washed, or I think you could use a shower sponge * acrylic paint - doesn't need to be an expensive brand * sheets of light weight cartridge or roll of brown paper * some old cardboard rolls to make into shapes * something to use as a pallet - ie a takeaway plastic container lid, which can be washed and reused. * gloves if you want to keep your hands clean * a flat surface to work on * some A4 paper to practise on!
Yes sea sponges! If you are near a beach you may be able to collect these, and rinse them well to get ready for use. Or I think you may be able to use a shower sponge. First we dabbed the paint onto the paper. You can have multiple layers of paint and as thickly covered as you like. I tended to be rather light handed with my dabbing. But make sure you dry the paint (you could do this with a hair dryer) and rinse the paint off the sponge between colours. There is no right or wrong, just go for it and have fun.
The next step is to use some shapes to make patterns over your sea sponge prints. This can be done easily with shapes fashioned or cut from the end of a cardboard roll, or you could use cookie cutters. Anything that you can put into the paint on your pallet and transfer the shape onto your paper.
At this point I would highly recommend practising on a smaller piece of paper first so see how it all works before you commit to your final piece of paper. I probably got caught up with this flower pattern on both my white and my brown piece of paper, and didn't have time to experiment with anything else, but I liked it. The patterns can be as formal or random as you like.
So there you have it! easy! You could make greeting cards this way too. My best advice is to not overthink, just do, and enjoy! Put some nice music on in the background to wrap you in your inspirational space.
Thank you so much to Marie from TLC Marie for the very enjoyable morning and workshop. And the Dardanup Shire for their fabulous library workshops.
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Life in Reflection Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you. If you are a blogger you can also link your blog to Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global.
November is a beautiful time for roses, I shared a few on display in the Ferguson Valley Open Gardens a couple of weeks ago - Ferguson Valley Open Gardens and they are beautiful in my garden too. So I thought for today I would share a few for you to enjoy.
And a beautiful red rose bouquet for my friend's wedding, made by a mutual friend. Glorious.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Just a short post from me today, few words, just flowers to enjoy. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
Life in Reflection Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you. If you are a blogger you can also link your blog to Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global.
At the chiming of the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, November, we pause for one minutes silence to remember those who have died in conflicts. It isRemembrance Day(also known as Armistice Day), an important date on the Australian calendar. The 11th of November 1918 was the day that the fighting ended on the Western Front in Europe signalling the end of World War 1.
Following the war the allied nations chose this day and time for the commemoration of their war dead and so we observe this each year to remember those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts. You can read more here - Commemoration Remembrance Day - Australian War Memorial
From its association with poppies flowering on the First World War battlefields of Belgium, France and Gallipoli, thered poppy has become associated with remembering the loss of life and the destruction.
"In soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their fallen comrades which had soaked the ground. The poppy flower grew rapidly and in large numbers across the graves of thousands of soldiers, leading it to become a symbol of sacrifice and loss."
In the photo above you can see one of two remembrance walls at the Australian War Memorial in our capital city Canberra, where are recorded on bronze panels the names of over 102,000 Australians who have died in conflicts. On one of these two walls you can find the name of your family member and place a poppy beside their name, as we did when we visited. This is the closest we can come to the burial place of my great uncle who died in WW1 and my husband's uncle in WW2, so it was a moving experience to be able to do this.
This year a display of 62,000 handcrafted red poppies are being displayed in the Australian War Memorial's grounds symbolically representing Australian lives lost in the First World War. You might like to view this short video about 62,000 poppies symbolising 62,000 lives lost.....
In other places around Australia too, community groups have made their own poppy displays, on this year 2018, 100 years since the ending of World War 1.
In Western Australia the Returned Service's League, also have a 62,000 poppy project to be displayed in the ground's surrounding the State War Memorial in Perth. Many thanks to RSLWA on Facebook for sharing this image.
But I wonder, as conflicts continue around the world, have we learnt anything from the death and maiming of so many thousands, soldiers and innocents, and those that came home broken in body and spirit.
When we were in Spain, Malta and Italy in May this year we saw lots of poppies, in fields and along roadsides.
More often than not we were zooming by in the tour bus, and there was no stopping to take photos. But on a couple of occasions we saw them where I could take photos. Below here are poppies near the The Colosseum in Rome, and in Pompei.
On Sunday 11 November, I will be thinking of my Great Uncle Norman who died in the first few days of the Gallipoli campaign. He was only 19. I never knew him, but the memory of him, and the loss of his young life, always brings me to tears at times like Remembrance Day and Anzac Day.
In Western Australia where I live, the Department of Communities has contracted Perth company Impact Communications to conduct a cascading poppy lightshow. Places where it has been displayed are: Exmouth's Vlamingh Head Lighthouse, Geraldton Museum, Kalgoorlie Town Hall, Albany Town Hall, Bunbury's St Patrick's Cathedral, Fremantle's WA Maritime Museum, finishing with Perth's St George's Cathedral on Sunday evening. Below you can see the display at St Patrick's Cathedral in Bunbury. It really was beautiful.
A river of hand-made poppies flowing over rocks at Peppermnt Lane Lodge in the Ferguson Valley where we held a small ceremony on Sunday at 11am.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Do you have a day like Remembrance Day in your country? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
It is a perfect time for the trail as we are at the height of spring, the gardens are looking gorgeous and the paddocks are green and lush. The Ferguson Valley is becoming known for its wines and the grape vines are looking fabulous right now. It really is a lovely time of year to be visiting The Valley.
I was invited by Kim at Peppermint Lane Lodge, who is on the committee and who I have worked with before (Ferguson Valley Plated) , to go out to the Ferguson Valley to take photos of two of the venues participating in the trail.
First off the beautiful garden at Kivulini on Wellington Mill Road. Jane showed me around her garden, which has lots of lovely walks, sitting places and quiet spaces, some formal parts and some more blending into the natural environment.
Can you see the tall bush in the centre of this image down at the end of the grass? This is a Warratah. I think this was the first time I had seen this magnificent flower as it is a plant from the eastern side of Australia.
The first written record of the plant’s Aboriginal name ‘Waratah’ which means ‘red-flowering tree,’ was made in the notebooks of the First Fleet's Lieutenant William Dawes.
There are also animals hiding in the garden beds
And a walk along the river
I also visited Ferguson Farm Stay on Henty Road. Rosa's garden and function centre is a favoured venue for weddings, and her rose gardens are gorgeous - a definite visit for rose lovers.
There is an amphitheater with magnificent views overlooking the Ferguson Valley to the coastal plain and the Indian Ocean - the perfect venue for summer outdoor performances.
Ferguson Farm Stay is of course perfect for families and children - with chalets, tennis court, playgrounds and animals.
This emu seems to be saying - "what are you looking at?"
On my way home I came across this beautiful rambling rose by the side of the road near a farm gate. After the formal gardens I love the wildness of it.
Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed this look at two of the gardens on the Ferguson Valley Open Garden Trail. Kim at Peppermint Lane Lodgehas invited me to have a stall promoting my products in her garden along with other artists. Thank you Kim. Kim has lots going on in her extensive grounds for the Ferguson Valley Open Gardens, with artworks, walk trails and special surprises. I hope you will stop by if you are in the area and say hi!
I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week. I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!
