Solid Copper Window Box Style Planter
Category: Artisans blogs
Coffee and Catch Up – Interview with Dottie 3.11.2020
I had the very good fortune to be the first interviewee as part of the “Meet the Makers” IGTV series, where Dottie gets to catch up with her sellers over coffee, or in my case a herb tea, and chat about our personal journeys and how the path led us to be selling on The British Craft House.
This is the full version so you’ll need to grab a coffee as its a 20minute chat but we cover why I’m passionate about painting pretty, powerfully positive energy stones for wellbeing and where I would like to develop next year with ‘favourite vista’ prints from original artwork…oh and a bit of a James Bond name drop too!
I do hope that you enjoy! Oh and if you are interested in my books here is the link to my website carolinetrowbridge.com where you can choose which format you’d like, hardcover, paperback or kindle…Don’t forget to message me directly for the Hardcover offer 2 signed by author copies for £16. caroline@carolinetrowbridge.com
Hope you enjoy!
Caroline xo
Do you still send Christmas cards?!
As thoughts turn towards the festive season and I start adding Christmas items to my British Craft House shop, I had a question for you – do you still send Christmas cards?!
As a card maker, I don’t really have an excuse not to! And if you have read any of my previous blogs you’ll know I’m a big fan of sending cards just because! But over recent years I’ve had more and more conversations with people who have moved away from sending Christmas cards, whether it’s because it’s too time consuming at an already extra busy time of year, they prefer the ease and efficiency of sending an email to stay in touch or because they are trying to be more green.
So, if you’re sitting on the fence this year debating whether to make the effort, let me tell you why I think you should consider keeping the Christmas card tradition alive! Christmas cards are a great way to stay connected, and this year that’s probably going to be needed even more than ever. And it’s not just about reaching out to close friends and family – we all have friends and acquaintances who we wished we had more time to stay in touch with, and Christmas serves as the perfect opportunity to touch base with people and let them know you are thinking of them and what you have been up to over the last year. Admit it, who doesn’t look forward to that one family Christmas card every year that comes with a full on annual letter for you to have a good old nose at what certain friends have been up to?!
Everyone knows how busy the festive season can (usually!) be. In ‘normal’ times, it’s pretty impossible to attend every holiday party, dinner and festive drinks as you find your social calendar inundated with ‘pre-Christmas catch ups’ so for those you can’t fit in, sending a card is a great way to send best wishes for the holiday season without running yourself into the ground! In fact, the first Christmas card commissioned in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole came about because of this (you can read more about this here) and featured three generations of the Cole family raising a toast with the central
messages of the festive season being celebration and charity.
Studies have proven that receiving a card can spark an emotional connection and generate positive feelings, increase self-esteem and help to stave off feelings of loneliness and isolation. As the year draws to a close and it seems unlikely that we will get to celebrate Christmas as usual this year, it seems an even more important time than ever to think about sending a card. And lucky for you, you are spoilt for choice with a massive range of cards available for all tastes! If you are looking for something handmade I have a selection of mini Christmas cards available, or take a browse through the wide selection from my fellow card makers on The British Craft House here. Charity cards are a great option if you want to use the opportunity to donate to your favourite charity at the same time as sending some happy mail or if you want to send cards whilst keeping the planet in mind, check out somewhere like the Thoughtful Human and their range of plantable cards! There are also some great ideas on how to recycle and up cycle your own Christmas cards once the holiday festivities are over here.
So there you go, hopefully some incentives to have you reaching for the pen and stamps this festive season – let me know below if you still send Christmas cards and I’ll leave you with this fun Christmas card fact: do you know why robins appear so frequently on Christmas cards? Because during the mid-1800’s, Royal Mail post men were nick named “robin redbreasts” because of the red waistcoats they wore as part of their uniforms, so robins began appearing on cards as symbols of the men who delivered them!
CPWF studio open again!
Yesterday Kelly & Sarah, the directors of Cardiff Pottery Workshops Foundation, received confirmation from the Welsh Assembly Government that CPWF is able to remain open to all customers from all areas of South Wales including those in local lockdown areas. This is the result of being an educational facility with high quality classes alongside promoting and supporting mental health and well-being, and is deemed a ‘reasonable excuse’ under local lockdown rules.
I am so pleased for Kelly & Sarah that their business can resume.
Cardiff back in lockdown
I am mourning the inevitable – Cardiff is back in lockdown from 6pm tomorrow due to the rising number of new COVID-19 cases here. Sadly that also means that I will be unable to access the studio since it will be closing for the duration of the local lockdown.
I restarted work in the studio on and have felt very COVID-safe there, with fantastic precautions taken under the direction of Kelly & Sarah, the studio directors. Having made some satisfying work over the past weeks, it leaves me with a huge gap again with the studio closure.
I restarted work in the studio on and have felt very COVID-safe there, with fantastic precautions taken under the direction of Kelly & Sarah, the studio directors. Having made some satisfying work over the past 12 weeks, it leaves me with a huge gap again with the studio closure.
I have every intention of making work at home during the local lockdown, hoping that it will not be for too long.
Watch this space …
Thinking of You Week
Established in 2014, every year the Greeting Card Association runs Thinking of You Week, usually around mid September. Its aim is to “harness the emotional power of cards” and to “create a wave of love, caring and happiness around the world” which is something I think all of us can get on board with! It encourages people to send cards to different people throughout the week, for no other reason than to let someone know you are thinking about them.
If you follow me on social media or have checked out my online shop, you’ll know this is something I am a big believer in and try to encourage people to stay connected through sending some good old fashioned snail mail – I even have a range of cards perfect for sending just because!
As I mentioned in my last blog post, there are many great reasons to still send greeting cards – it’s the perfect way to let someone know you care, is an easy way to make someone smile and according to the GCA, “science has shown that receiving a handwritten card creates a lovely warm positive boost!” So there are plenty of reasons to get involved and it’s the perfect excuse to keep in touch with loved ones.
There are usually various events taking place throughout the week in schools and local shops, and many of the big card retailers also get on board to show their support – find out more ways you can get involved here, including using the Thinking of You Week toolkit to help spread the word.
But the easiest way by far to get involved is to just send a card! And to help you do that I have plenty of just because cards available in my British Craft House shop,so go on, why not #sendacarddeliverasmile?!
All about CarolesGlass
Hello, I’m Carole and my little stained glass business is called Carole’s Glass. You will normally find me busing in my conservatory come studio in West Sussex creating something pretty from stained glass to bring colour into you home or garden.
Over the years I have tried lots of different crafts but once I found stained glass that was it, I was well and truly hooked.
The method I use is the copper foiling technique also know as Tiffany Style. Each piece of glass is cut by hand, so no two pieces are the same making them unique. Each piece of glass is then ground to take off any sharp edges, washed, foiled and solder together, washed again and polished.
I always supply a window hook so you can hang your suncatcher as soon as it is received. However please remember to wet the plunger before pushing firmly onto the window.
If you see something you like but perhaps would like it in a different colour or combination of colours just drop me a line as I’d be more than happy to make to your requirements.
If you are buying a piece of my glass as a present and would like to send it direct I am more than happy to gift wrap and include a message.
Why Re-Energize You?
Hey, thanks for checking out my blog post! I’m Caroline, creator of Re-Energize You! I thought I would use this post as an opportunity to expand on all things ENERGY:)
What is energy? Why do we need to re-Energize?
Essentially, we are all energy- from our thoughts to the sound of our heartbeat. The vibration or frequency omitted denotes how well we are feeling. Maintaining a higher frequency keeps your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual body on point in order to achieve ‘optimum wellness’.
So how do we raise our vibration?
Meditation, creativity, exercise, eating healthily, drinking water, being around positive people and keeping a positive mental attitude can all help us stay in the ‘wellness zone’ and keep us ‘high’on life.
Of course this is easy to say but sometimes hard to do. We fall off the wagon, we stop looking after ourselves or get annoyed and irritated by life which can bring us down till we are so low in energy that we may bring others down with us. At worst we get run down and may be prone to physical illness.
Re-Energizing is about taking responsibility for our own wellbeing. When we reawaken and become aware of who we are in order to recognize our true life’s purpose.
How can Energy Stones help me?
Energy Stones are essentially from nature, chosen, hand painted and attuned by me to flow Reiki- a Japanese healing art meaning Universal (Rei) Life Force Energy (Ki) With the intention of receiving Reiki, holding the stone or consciously placing it in your room, nightstand or mediation space, you are connecting to the intention in that stone from when it was attuned.
During this connection, you may feel more relaxed, or more focused or energized- whatever you intended to receive from the Reiki. Personally, I like to hold at points throughout the day so I keep a stone in my purse particularly useful when navigating emotionally challenging 2020!
So energy stones act as an anchor: a mindful tool that brings you back to a state of awareness of who you are and why you are here and what is truly important in this present moment.
A powerfully positive pebble for our times that will re-energize you, keep your vibration high and promote your overall wellbeing- oh and they are very pretty too!
Love and positivity,
Caroline xoxo
Hello!
Poured Paint Jewellery
Hello! what very strange times we are living in at the moment and it seems for some time to come as well. It’s been lovely this week as I have had a week off from the day job and spent time with my granddaughter, we (in Wales) have only just been allowed to meet indoors again so I was able to spend the whole day with her, we played games, created a few of our own and painted, absolute bliss!! after all the fun we had I was inspired to get my paints out for some grown up painting.
Well when I say grown up it’s no less messy as this time I wanted to try paint pouring lol! What is paint pouring I hear you ask, well you mix different colour acrylic paints with pva glue, pouring medium, oil and water to about the consistency of heavy cream, then you add small amounts to a cup in random colours, then literally pour it over the canvas!
My paint pouring video
There are a few different techniques you can use, but so far I have only used the one by upending the cup and moving it around the canvas, then use my blowtorch which draws the oil to the surface creating what’s known as cells. I absolutely loved it! it was great fun, very messy but the finished pictures are amazing, so many colours all creating the most wonderful patterns.
It wasn’t long before I realised this type of art would make some really interesting jewellery so I picked a few (of the 15 I did!) and have put them to one side for making jewellery. As for the jewellery, I felt these needed fairly simple settings so I created some shallow bezels with sterling silver. Just two pairs of earrings and two pendants for now, but there will be more to come in the future and as usual I’ll mix the metals up a bit and include copper and brass when I have time to make more.
Once the silver settings were made I cut the paintings up into small circles and then set these little circles inside the silver settings with resin to both protect them and add some dimension to the finished pieces. I have to say I’m thrilled with the results, next on my list are brooches, scarf rings, keyrings and some bracelets I just need to find time to make the settings now.
As for the paint pouring, I’m definitely going to be doing that again! though next time they will probably be bigger, I’m thinking coaster size and I’m sure I have some 8×8 frames stashed away somewhere!
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed reading about my foray into paint pouring.