Happy New Year!

Well, it's a new year and time to get back to work. Before I start planning new workshops, I just wanted to share a couple of photos of the stall I had at a Christmas gift fair in December. This was my first time at a craft fair (I have previously sold things online and in shops) and I really enjoyed meeting customers and seeing their reactions to my products.
If anyone is interested in looking at my etsy shop, the address is http://www.louiseisobel.etsy.com/

Paper Plate & Wool Christmas Decoration

This project uses very simple sewing to great effect. To prepare, I cut Christmas Tree shapes out of paper plates (I happened to find some gold ones) and punched some holes around the shape. I provided students with wool in festive colours and large plastic sewing needles. Students sewed in and out of the holes - some did it very systematically and some did it quite randomly - both techniques give a good result. After they had finished sewing I encouraged them to stick a few (hundred!) sequins around the plate. A loop of wool for hanging provided the finishing touch. Because the plates are gold foil they were quite hard to photograph but I hope you get the idea!
I had kept the cut-out tree shapes (of course!) and we used these to make some lovely Christmas cards.