FABULOUS WOODLAND SHROOM with Alex Hellawell – Saturday 12.15

2-hour workshop – cost £36.00

Add a little woodland scene into your home, with a beautiful Shroom dome. In this 2-hour workshop you will be using Quick Cure Clay (QCC) to sculpt your own unique piece of magic and release your inner artist.

In this workshop you will:

Sculpt your own Shroom with Alex’s guidance
Paint your Shroom using acrylics
Glue organic materials around the base
Finish off by placing a glass dome over your piece.

Advisory Note:

Not suitable for children under 12 years of age due to the heat of the clay and hot glue. Adult supervision is required. Open to ALL abilities.

Meet the Tutor

Alex Hellawell

Alex is a mixed media clay artist who creates whimsical, colourful, dark imaginative sculptures. She uses clay, paint, paper and found objects to craft sculptures and wall pieces, these can be playful, quirky and charming or dark and brooding.

Craft Academy Half Day Workshop – Simple Paper Flowers with Paula Milner

Paper Floristry – Saturday 2nd Nov 2024 – 1:30pm

This half-day paper floristry Masterclass is inspired by Paula’s new book ‘Simple Paper Flowers’ (published Sept 2024). You will learn a variety of techniques to create beautiful paper blooms, from tiny daisies to blowsy peonies – floral creations for whatever your occasion!

Celebrity book quotes:

“I adore paper flowers – and Paula’s book brings absolute crafting joy! Her flower tutorials capture that delicate balance between delightfully realistic and yet simple to make.” – Kirstie Allsopp

“Oh my! I may have found my new obsession… Simple paper flowers has me bewitched with Paula’s beautifully fresh, modern and achievable style… I have eagerly awaited her debut book… it’s stunning!” – Stuart Hillard

This workshop will take place at our 31st October – 3rd November Birmingham NEC show which includes access to: The Creative Craft Show, Sewing for Pleasure Winter Edition and Simply Christmas plus sister shows Cake International and Bake International

Under Paula’s guidance you will cover:

Paper types and materials used to construct a variety of paper flowers.
The papercrafting techniques used throughout the book.
Time for you to create your own flowers using the techniques demonstrated and used throughout the ‘Simple Paper Flowers’ book. You can work at your own pace and make as many flowers as you would like as time allows.

Demonstrations will include:

Using basic paper and card to create a Daisy (and how to adapt this for a Gerbera and tiny daisies)
Using floristry crepe paper to mould and create a Rose (and how this can be adapted this for a Peony and other flowers)
How to utilise the grain of the florist crepe for texture and make a Clematis flower (and how to adapt this for a Lily, Leaves or Poinsettia)
How to incorporate different centres (such as a felt ball) to make an Anemone (and how to adapt this for a Poppy)
How quickly and simply you can create foliage (leaf and grass styles) in both card and crepe to add variety and texture to your creations.
Going beyond the book – changing scale, thinking about colour varieties
Displaying your floral creations – how to adapt and create smaller blooms into a buttonhole, and larger ones into a posy or bouquet.
Creative ideas for using your flowers.
Paula will also happily give guidance on recommended suppliers for materials.

Half day Academy Workshops include:

Cake and refreshments, all equipment and materials including: card, papers, crepe, wires, glue, and any other consumables.

On the day, each attendee will also have the opportunity to receive a signed copy of Simple Paper Flowers (published Sept 2024) for a show special price of just £10! (Normal retail value £16.99)*

Additional signed copies of the book will also be available on the day, at the full price of £16.99.

Academy workshop tickets also include a Complementary ticket to visit the main show on the same day.

*Show book offer to attendees of this The Crafty Lass Half Day Masterclass only and limited to one copy per person.

Important Note:

This class is suitable for beginners over the age of 16.

Meet the Tutor

Paula Milner

Paula Milner is a crafter, designer, author, tutor, sewist and illustrator.

In 2015, Paula established ‘The Crafty Lass’ with the aim to inspire adults to get creative in their busy lives. Paula has worked with some of the biggest names across the craft industry including as a Kirstie Allsopp ‘Expert’, Hobbycraft, The WI, and her nature inspired fabric ranges with Craft Cotton Co can be found in shops across the UK. Most recently, she has released a collection of hand carved woodblock designs with The Indian Block Print Co and is now an author with GMC Publications Ltd.

Paula is a Brand Ambassador for Brother Sewing Machines, part of the Cricut Crew and a Cricut Contributing Artist. The Crafty Lass has won a Theo Paphitis SBS award, had various national press, magazine and radio features, and briefly appeared on Channel 4’s Kirstie: Keep Crafting and Carry On.

LEARN HOW TO MACHINE STITCH A TEXTILE LANDSCAPE PICTURE with Julie Cole, Dropped Stitch Artists – Saturday 9.45

This workshop is designed for anyone wishing to experiment with machine embroidery. Using painted Bondaweb, Tyvek, organza, lace sheers and handmade cords you will create a 15 x 15cm textile seascape picture.

Advisory Note:

Suitable for over 16’s only. No previous machine embroidery necessary, although some prior knowledge of using a sewing machine is required for this workshop.

Meet the Tutor

Julie Cole

Julie Cole is a member of the textile group Dropped Stitch Artists, and is a textile and mixed media artist living in South Lincolnshire. Being a visual type of person she finds herself very much drawn towards creating texture through mixed media art.

She loves mark-making, mono-printing and making her own creative fabrics to work with through dyeing eco-dyeing and printing. Julie’s inspiration for her work comes from embracing the countryside

EASTER BLOCK PRINTING WORKSHOP with Anna Weatherley-Hastings, The India Block Print Co. – 11.15

During this 90-minute workshop you will explore Easter and spring designs from The Indian Block Print Co. Using their hand carved printing blocks to block print some Easter cards and tags, plus a fun Easter tea towel.

Advisory Note:

This workshop is suitable for children over the age of 12 with parental supervision.

Meet the Tutor

Anna Weatherley-Hastings

Anna has been part of The Indian Block Print Co. from the beginning. With over 10 years experience running block printing workshops she will share her in depth knowledge and tips with all things Block Printing.

Zips In Three Ways With Mercedes Ferrari-Plumridge- Saturday 11.35

90-minute workshop – cost £24.00

[Max 10 people]

Join Mercedes and learn the tips and techniques for three different methods of zip insertion. Starting with the centred zip you will then move on to the lapped zip and then finish with the invisible zip. All three methods will be useful additions to your garment and home-ware sewing.

Advisory Note:

Suitable for over 16’s only. Experience using a sewing machine would be useful.

Meet the Tutor

Mercedes Ferrari-Plumridge

Mercedes was a contestant on series 5 of the Great British Sewing Bee (2019). She lives just outside Brighton with her husband Graham and their two cats, Maggie and Erica. Having worked in IT for over 20 years and serving as a reservist for 13, Mercedes has a passion for all things technical and wants to know the ins and outs and whys of everything. Mercedes enjoys utilising fabrics from all sources in her sewing projects while using traditional and developing new techniques.

Sewing for self-care: Sew an Eye Mask and Reusable Skincare Pads – Saturday 13.30

90-minute workshop – cost £24.00

[Max 10 people]

Sew a mini self-care kit for yourself or to gift to someone else. In this class, Lauren will guide you into make a silk lined, padded, wrap around eye mask along with sustainable reusable makeup/ skincare wipes.

Advisory Note:

Suitable for beginners, over 16’s years.

Meet the Tutor

Lauren Tedstone

Lauren Tedstone, quarterfinalist of series 9 of BBC’s Great British Sewing Bee (2023). Her machine, given to her many years before by her grandmother was finally put to use in late 2019 when Lauren taught herself to sew. Starting with small projects for her children, Lauren then went on to garment sewing and is on a journey to curate and create a complete handmade wardrobe. A big lover of fashion trends, she loves creating key timeless classics that have professional finishes and longevity. Lauren is also a family orientated person, often sewing for her children and family.

Jetted and Welt Pocket Masterclass with Mark Francis- Saturday 9.40am

90-minute workshop – cost £24.00

[Max 10 people]

Join Mark Francis from the Great British Sewing Bee to perfect your Jetted and Welt pocket skills. These simple and beautiful pockets can be tricky to perfect but with this workshop all the mysteries will be removed. You will be working with Calico fabric and receive full instructions to take home and keep.

Advisory Note:

Not suitable to children under 16 years. Intermediate skill level, you must be comfortable using a sewing machine but looking to learn more.

Meet the Tutor

Mark Francis

Mark’s practical sewing experiences began quite late in life, but his relationship with sewing began when he was a small child. However, needlework was not something that little boys were encouraged to do in the 1980’s.

Many years passed until he found the confidence to finally learn to use a sewing machine, and he discovered his passion for making clothes and costumes. Then, a few years ago, Mark’s husband entered him for series 6 of the Great British Sewing (2020) and life hasn’t been the same since!

Mark now works across the sewing industry, teaching, presenting talks and developing his growing range of sewing patterns.

BOXY ZIPPED POUCH with Adam Burch, aka Adam Sews – Saturday 15.25

In this fun workshop, Adam will show you how to create a fabulous boxy pouch using 10-inch squares of fabric; this is a great way of using up left over layer cake squares from other projects to create versatile pouches for storing all your crafty tools.

Advisory Note:

Suitable for over 16’s only. Experience using a sewing machine would be useful.

Meet the Tutor

Adam Burch, aka Adam Sews

Adam is a Bagmaker and Quilter, his main focus is bags made from quilted foam, giving structure to the final makes. He designs and writes his own Patterns. He also has a love for quilting and incorporates quilting into most of his designs. Adam will be demonstrating his quilted bag making skills in his workshops.

Make & Take: How to choose a colour scheme with Embroiderers Guild – Saturday 9:30am

Duration: Between 1 hour- 1.5 hours

Cost: £10

Information about this workshop:

Want to choose your own colour scheme but don’t know where to begin? This project helps you choose the colours you love to give you colour confidence for your future projects.

Make and Take session times:

Friday 1:00- 2:30

Saturday 9:30- 11:00

all ability levels, incl beginners

You can book & pay for these sessions at our stand H17 but we have limited spaces!

Make & Take: Create a Landscape picture with Embroiderers Guild – Saturday 11:30am

Duration: Between 1 hour- 1.5 hours

Cost: £10

Information about this workshop:

Using a ring frame, which will act as the picture frame upon completion, we will help you use fabric strips to produce a stunning landscape to hang on your wall.

Make and Take session times:

Thursday 11:30- 12:30

Friday 9:30- 11:00

Saturday 11:30- 12:30

all ability levels, incl beginners

You can book & pay for these sessions at our stand H17 but we have limited spaces!