This is a fun project which involves simple skills. Suitable for youngsters with a little assistance, but equally appropriate for adults. Personally I have used this decoration in several ways — as a unique Christmas greetings gift to friends — as a decoration for the tree and as a festive fridge magnet. I have created…
‘ojo de dios’ — Standalone tutorial — suitable for kids If you are looking for relaxation, but are hopeless at knitting or crochet, this very simple craft might be of interest to you. I have led a couple of workshops suitable for all ages, in the art of the traditional ‘Ojo de Dios’ (God’s Eye)…
The idea of these bookmarks in a Japanese theme, came to me following the terrible Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami of 2011. The world was rallying around in an effort to assist in whatever way possible to help Japan. My own very humble and limited contribution came through the sale of these bookmarks which I created…
Feel almost bad about having had such a good day yesterday – we went off early morning on the bike and only just got back indoors in time for our evening meal. Visited a big regional market where I bought some nice yarn and haberdashery bits – and we picked up some nosh which we…
Managed to get the tutorial done for the papier maché baubles if anyone is interested. You will see that I have suggested inexpensive toilet paper to create the paper base, but of course other paper, preferably from recycled sources is a good alternative. Just be aware that the build up of thicker paper is going…
A fun and simple upcycle/recycle project for schools or grandmas with the little ones etc. Take a pile of paper clips and link them together to form a long ‘chain’ necklace — you can do multi-strands if you have enough clips. Then take an old magazine or some other sort of paper (recycled gift wrap…
Been searching high and low for these images and have found them at last tucked right at the bottom of my hard disk! They normally surface once a year for the kids to colour in and make cards or just for the fun of scribbling. Useful for Mums too if they need a quiet moment…
In recent years I have fallen in love with the honest, rustic appeal of recycled cardstock for the Christmas cards (and not only) that I make. This year I have added some other recycled materials to my cards — scraps of fabric, and in the case of the Christmas cards — the scraps have a…
Many of us have become aware over the past couple of months, either through personal observation or via the media coverage, that the period of lockdown seems to have had a positive effect on our environment. Animals have been leaving their natural habitats to venture into city centres, no longer clogged up with traffic and…
Just in time, here is a sweet project for the children to do — possibly with a little help — a Spring or Easter project with eggs and bunnies and flowers. A bit of colouring, a bit of tracing, a bit of glueing to make the project just messy enough to keep everyone happy. My…
Isolation continues to keep us all indoors, and that of course includes children who are home from school since all the schools (in Italy anyway) have been closed until further notice. Many teachers have organised themselves — and their students — to continue on a home learning basis in the hope that the kids will…
Bound eggs [Tutorial] These pretty bound eggs don’t have to come out just at Easter, and of course, they don’t have to be bound in satin cord. Why not go for the rustic country look with jute string? Another interesting version could be with long skinny strips or recycled fabric — your imagination is your…
Every now and again I make an assault on my collection of books in an effort to organize them a bit better. Don’t usually have much success as books are one of my great weaknesses and Amazon frequently drops a few more onto the doormat – vicious circle really. But this one caught my attention…
If anyone is interested, I have just added a pompom tutorial – I have set it all up in a downloadable pdf file for you – free for the taking, and have fun with the pompoms – they are always such a cheerful addition to scarves and hats and sweaters for both children and adults…
Been wanting to make some of these little guys for ages, but I was finding it hard to get hold of the felt colour I wanted. At long last my suppliers came up with the goods and I was able to ‘bake’ half a dozen. I also decided to set up a little kit for…
I may have mentioned that for a number of reasons we have been downscaling our home. One reason was the need (albeit theoretical) to pack our 30 years of marriage into a barge. A more immediate reason has been my daughter’s 99% move away from home. By my calculation, the remaining 1% can be put…
JesS and I have been doing quite a few things, though she tends to limit herself to flashes of inspiration for earrings. I’m the one who pulls out the sewing machine, and this is what I was up to last month… I call them travel buddies to take along with you during your short breaks…
Greetings with a difference and they don’t come much more different than this one! Your seasonal wishes will certainly stand out with this cute (ouch!) washing line full of Santa’s smalls – and larges too! These will be custom made as and when they are requested, but that shouldn’t affect the delivery times so within…
Well it’s just about that time again, and we are getting ourselves ready for the Craft Market to be held in Via Garibaldi here in Venice at the end of this month. We have a fairly good stock of bits and pieces, but were surprised at the last market by just how many earrings went,…
Taking a look around the various crafters’ (and not only) blogs, I see that one of the biggest problems a lot of us face is the storage. I am no different – having a small home with no built in storage such as cupboards and so on, I have had to invent ways to store…
Just in the process of doing some more Christmas cards and have used some of my lovely pure cotton prints for die-cut baubles. These cottons are all gorgeous Tyrolean type micro-patterns which I manage to pick up locally. Just love them. They bring to mind mountain chalets and big log fires – maybe even a…
So here is my wallet card. Now I have to find some stuff suitable for card making to tuck inside the two pockets on the front before swapping this with some good soul in the challenge group!! This handmade paper is very attractive, but not very easy to work with when you need precision cuts….
Well if ever rain stopped play, I can say with confidence that is exactly what happened today to put a stop to our last craft market of the year. Gale force winds, lashing rain and a particularly bad bout of high water just put us out of the game! Even if there had been no…
Couldn’t believe it — the whole of last week was absolutely glorious with brilliant sunny, even if not very warm, Spring days. Yesterday morning we woke up earlier than usual to get ready for the flea market and were frustrated to see that the wind had got up and was putting the whole day in…
![Publications [words & pictures]](https://www.craftworkshopsinitaly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/cover.jpg)
‘PolandroidVenezia’ ‘through the window’ ‘Istantanea di un duca morto’ ‘China Gallery’ ‘la mia casa dov’é?’ ‘Decorazione dell’Oratorio di San Ludovico in Venezia’ ‘Visitors’ Book’ [what do you think of our hospitality]
My pictures are useful to me as observations of physical places and as visual inspiration for character studies.They are there as instruments to assist me when I need a little more time to find the right words.They give my memory a jolt when I want to recall minor details and fleeting moments.If you enjoy looking…
Woke to a brilliant morning and just hope that it will be like this on the Venetian hinterland as well as today I am off to Vicenza with hubby, daughter and her boyfriend. The boys are going to be bored to tears, but no one twisted their arm to accompany us. They had just better…
Yesterday morning started off just fine with a business meeting here at my desk to discuss a web site for a well known local restaurant. Looks like it is going to be fun, and will probably also give me the opportunity to get out the camera for a few pics for the graphics. Lunch was…
