Forthcoming Events
… and other interesting stuff:
22 Feb
1 Mar
3 Mar
16 Mar
Make It & Stitch It 2019, Farnborough Int. Ex. Centre
Farnborough, Hampshire (2 Day event)
Spring Craft and Gift Fayre, The Forum
Bethel Street, Norwich
Spring Craft Fair, Field Place
Worthing, West Sussex (4 day event)
Craft Fair, Cressing Temple Barns
Braintree, Essex (2 day event)
Thanks to ukcraftfairs.com for the info
(Please check details before you commit - BADFA are not responsible for any changes to, or
cancellations of, the events shown)
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Valentine’s Day idea - Love Spoons
FolkIt have made dot work and brush
strokes popular again, but here is one I did
earlier - about 1995 actually! I used dots to
embellish a painted wooden spoon, and
this design is just right for Valentine’s Day.
The dots take the plainness off the handle
without detracting from the miniature
design on the bowl. These dots
were made using a hand
embossing tool (or dotter!). The reducing size of the dots was produced with the
round end of the tool, dipped in acrylic paint, and as the paint was used, each dot
was smaller than the last. The ‘gypsophila’ around the entwined ribbon and rose
was applied in a dotty fashion with a fine liner brush.
Stuck for something to paint? Why not raid the kitchen drawers for a wooden
spoon? Hand crafted ‘Love Spoons’ were given as a sign of affection or love. It is a
Welsh tradition, traced back to the mid 1600s, for carved spoons to be given to the
lady of your desires. The spoon was the main eating utensil of the period,
so it symbolically inferred that the man would look after his true love.
The carved spoons often have hearts included in the design, as a symbol
of love, and diamonds as symbols of good fortune. I
chose a rose, also a sign of love.
As I am a painter not a carver, I had the added advantage
of colour, which can be used to further enhance the
message conveyed with your spoon. White, silver, pink
perhaps for purity and innocence, gold, parchment and
velum for elegance. Black and red for passion.
Ooo-er, mustn’t get carried away - it’s only a spoon!
(This article by Kim, first appeared in March 2012 issue)