Craft and Gift Fair at Haydock Race Course on Sunday

Hope to see you there!

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Making Easter Masks

We’ve been making masks for Easter today. Don’t you just love this time of year. Spring is on its way with all the spring bulbs starting to appear, the days are longer and the weather is warmer and soon the clocks will go forward. It is great to be able to go for walks in the warm sunshine now. What have you all been up to?

Easter Egg Mask:

Spring Lamb Mask:

Rabbit Mask:

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Weaving Easter Baskets & Painting Eggs

At the after school club I run, we were weaving Easter baskets and painting polystyrene eggs to give as Easter gifts today.

The kids loved it and produced some great Easter Egg Decorations.

Here’s some pictures from the workshop:

 

Here’s a link to the kits if you want to purchase one yourself.

Have fun Easter Crafting! Add a comment and share what you’ve been making or any ideas for Easter.

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Ideas for making Easter Cards

I’m enjoying making preparations for Easter. I have been making some simple Easter cards.

If you fancy making some Easter cards and want to make life easy by using a kit, like I did; I used this Easter Card Making kit at Glass Jar Gifts

Have fun! Let me know what Easter things you are making by leaving a comment.

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Decorate Easter Bonnets

I had fun this week with a Easter Bonnet Decorating workshop at my local primary school. Here’s some pictures to share:

The kids decorated the bonnet with ribbon and cut tissue paper into strips and rolled into balls and glued onto the hat.

They then decorated with flowers:

and added some Easter chicks:

The kids stuck Easter card embellishments onto pipe cleaners and stuck them onto the hat.

and here’s one of their finished master pieces!

Doesn’t it look great. They had such fun and were so proud of their work. It was lovely to see.

Hope you’re having fun preparing for Easter. Let me know what crafting bits and pieces you are working on

Also don’t miss my give away from Glass Jar Gifts.  See this link to enter. Just add a comment stating what prize you want to win and if your name is pulled out of the hat, you’ll win it! Please note this is for UK only.

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Craft & Gift Fair at The Lowry this weekend

If you’re in the Manchester area this Friday / Saturday / Sunday; pop along to the Craft and Gift Fair at the Lowry Shopping Mall.

Feature: Glass Jar Gifts + Super Giveaway

Hi Everyone,

Today, I’d like you all to meet Glass Jar Gifts.

You’ll find in Glass Jar Gifts’ Shop beautiful craft kits, hobbies in a jar. There’s gifts for kids, babies and pets.  They come beautifully presented, with a gift ribbon and gift tag. 

Each jar contains everything you need to make something or get you started on a new hobby or lots of things on a particular theme. They’re great value because everything is in the one jar without you having to buy lots of bits and pieces separately.

They are a great way to treat yourself and provide hours of fun. It is a jar that keeps on giving.

Over the next two weeks, one lucky woollywotnots reader has the chance to win a glass jar gift.

All you have to do is pop over to Glass Jar Gifts and then come back and leave me a comment telling me which Glass Jar Gift you’d like to win.

This giveaway is open to everyone in the UK.

The winner will be chosen at random and announced at Woollywotnots’ blog on Wednesday 24th March.

Don’t forget to sign up for their newsletter which is always full of goodies.

Good Luck in the giveaway!

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Brooches are back! Make them for Easter

Brooches are back!

These are Vilenebased,cut into any shape you wish, painted in your chosen shades and brightly beaded. With some careful preparation you could make several of these simple brooches in an afternoon, in time for Easter.

You will need the following:

Pelmet Vilene, small piece (say 20cm)

Silk or acrylic paints, ink or dyes in a selection of colours

Tube Uhu clear adhesive

Assorted small beads

Very stiff card (eg mountboard offcuts)

Fancy edge scissors or pinking shears

Brooch fasteners Acrylic varnish or clear nail varnish

Brushes or sponges for painting and varnishing

Paper for reinforcing

Don’t forget to cover the table with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth before painting or varnishing. Cant wait for the paint to dry? Use a hairdryer, holding it well away so as not to distort the fabric.

1. Paint Vilene randomly in a variety of colours and leave to dry. I usually paint several small pieces in a range of different colours to make an assortment of brooches.

2. For each brooch, cut a shape in Vilene. Keep it simple, as stiff card has to be cut to the same shape.  Trace shape on to card. Cut Vilene strips or shapes to decorate using fancy edge scissors or pinking shears.

3. Glue Vilene strips or shapes in place on the brooch leaving space in the centre for bead decoration.

4. Sew or stick a cluster of beads on to your brooch choosing a variety of colours and shapes.

5. Cut out card and glue to back of brooch. Glue fastener on to card and reinforce by gluing a paper strip over back of fastener as shown above.

6. Paint the card (now the back of brooch), not forgetting to colour the edges, to neaten.

7. Apply varnish to the back and front of brooch including the beads. For a really shiny appearance you’ll need to give it several coats.

All good art and craft supply shops will provide Pelmet Vilene, brushes, inks, dyes, cards, beads, fasteners and scissors

Have Fun!

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World Theatre Day – March 27

Saturday 27th March is World Theatre Day. What will you be doing to celebrate the occasion?

According to the Bard, ‘All the world is a stage’, and on March 27 people the world over underpin the theory with celebrations marking World Theatre Day.

Up to 100 countries recognise World Theatre Day in many different ways, with events ranging from lavish professional productions, through tiny amateur companies putting on plays, musicals, opera, dance, concerts, street theatre, mime and circus performances. For example, in Bangladesh, the streets of Dacca are colourfully adorned with a procession of more than 1000 actors and actresses in theatre costumes.

In its mission statement, ITI seeks : “to promote international exchange of knowledge and practice in the domain of the performing arts, to stimulate creation and increase cooperation between theatre people, to make public opinion aware of the necessity of taking artistic creation into consideration in the domain of development, to deepen mutual understanding in order to participate in strengthening peace and friendship among peoples, to join in the defence of the ideals and aims of UNESCO.”

Every year World Theatre Day celebrates the power of the theatre in bringing nations, cultures and peoples together in deeper mutual understanding.

World Theatre Day was first celebrated in 1962 following a proposal by President Arvi Kivimaa of the Finnish Centre of the International Theatre Institute. Kivimaa received widespread support and March 27 was instituted as an annual event.

There are 97 ITI’s worldwide, each organising their own celebrations for World Theatre Day. But, whatever part of the world they are in, each begins proceedings with the ‘International Message.’

Every year, a message is prepared by a leading director, actor, actress or playwright. The message to theatrical communities is translated into many languages, printed in hundreds of newspapers and is used to unite theatre, radio and TV audiences the world over.

The inaugural message of 1962 was written by Jean Cocteau alongside the opening of the famous ‘Theatre of Nations’ season in Paris. Since 1962, Cocteau’s message has been followed by contributions from other great names from the world of drama, such as Laurence Olivier, Arthur Miller, Peter Brook, Eugene Ionesco and, last year, the highly-acclaimed French director Ariane Mnouchkine.

Remember, Shakespeare’s words from As You Like It: “All the world’s a stage And all the men and women merely players They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts.”

What role will you be playing when the curtain goes up on March 27?

Go on, add some drama to your life and celebrate World Theatre Day.

Links:

Make your own finger puppets

Make your own toy theatre

Make your own animal characters

Make your own fairy doll

Make your own hand puppets

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St. Patrick’s Day – March 17 What’s it all about?

I wonder, will you be joining the ‘Green Party’ this March – millions around the world will, and it’s nothing to do with saving the planet!

For March 17 sees the annual global ‘Greenfest’ of  celebrations in honour of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. What the man himself, the most devoted and humble of God-fearing priests, would make of the parties in his name, surely beggars belief.

For centuries, St Patrick’s Day has been honoured by Irish – and non-Irish folk – and has become synonymous with all things Irish. The ‘wearing of the green,’ parades, shamrocks, Guinness and good luck all play a major role as the faithful pay tribute to Ireland’s favourite son.

 

But, who is Patrick, anyway?

He was born in the late fourth century and is reputed to have lived in Western Scotland. Legend has it, at 16 years of age he was taken by Irish pirates and sold into slavery, working in solitude as a shepherd for six years.

He developed a profound faith in God and, spurred on by visions, escaped back to the mainland. Patrick travelled to Europe to train for the priesthood and, on his return to Britain, was inspired in a dream to realise his life’s mission – the conversion of Ireland to Christianity.

Patrick was not the first to bring Christianity to the Irish pagans, but he was arguably the most effective. He impressed King Laoghaire, using the shamrock to demonstrate the Trinity; one stalk, but three separate leaves, one God but with three entities – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Hence the significance of the shamrock in the March 17 celebrations.

Laoghaire remained a pagan but allowed Patrick to set up a monastery in Armagh and to travel around Ireland, overcoming the influence of the Druids, destroying their rites and converting the Irish..

Patrick’s mission was highly successful and he has been revered by the Irish ever since his death around 461 AD. Folklore declares Patrick was responsible for driving all snakes from Ireland. The snake or serpent was a sign of paganism and the story is probably symbolic as Patrick put an end to the worship of such symbols.

How and where Patrick died is a matter of dispute, but it’s generally accepted the date was March 17, a day of remembrance and celebrations ever since.  The biggest events are, of course, in Ireland itself where St Patrick’s Day is a public and religious holiday.

Over the centuries, the Irish have spread throughout the world and taken their festivals, history and traditions with them.  American cities with large Irish communities, for example New York and Boston, hold massive celebrations, even to the extent of dying rivers green, painting the roads green and drinking green beer!

Wherever you are on March 17, raise a glass to St Patrick and enjoy the craic!

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