A creative January

Toni2 Comments on A creative January

January is cold in my workshop, so I tend to spend my time planning for the classes ahead, decorating and sometimes even having an early spring clean. This year has been slightly different. I seem to now have several jobs!
As a natural extension to my craft business I am now running an arts and crafts session once a week for adults with learning difficulties, which is a steep learning curve but great fun – very different to the specialist craft sessions I run here in my garden workshop, it’s much more about getting our hands dirty and being creative just for fun.

Mandala stones

I am also continuing my writing work – today I have been battling with the German Resistance – I didn’t even realise there was one until today! I have also returned to my allotment job at y.e.s, this time around we are working with all age groups so I think it will work out much better. I also continue to work on the craft business, planning dates and doing all the admin involved – fortunately I have found time to do the dreaded tax return.
Oh and then there’s the voluntary stuff…I’ve been painting the old school library as it was looking a bit bare!

All this and I’ve been trying out some sessions for the new jewellery and enamelling club which can be booked here – you don’t need to come each time but it is worked out to give you the opportunity to add to your skills but on a slightly lower budget – based on 2 people attending and a slightly shorter session. Take a look to see which sessions are coming up soon.

Torch fired enamelling

Book a Craft Class for that last minute winning gift!

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It’s still not too late to book a craft experience voucher with me for a Christmas gift – prices range from £50 upwards depending on the course and duration – all are detailed on my website. A craft experience is a fabulous gift for any crafty friend or family member, especially as they will take something home that they’ve made as well as picking up a new skill, all organised at dates to suit them.

These classes are available:

Enamelling (glass jewellery)

Flamework (making glass beads)

Feltmaking (needle and wet felting)

Encaustic art (painting with molten wax)

Silver clay (making pure silver jewellery).

Payment can be made in the following ways. You can pay online at www.curly-girly.co.uk via Paypal. I can send you an izettle invoice to be paid by card.  Or via bank transfer. Once paid I will email over a gift letter detailing exactly what they will learn in a class and how to book a date to suit.  Don’t forget to give me the details of who the gift is for and who is sending it so that this can be included in the personalised letter.  What are you waiting for?

New dates for 2018

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2018 DATES at CG Crafts, Colchester

I’ve been busy with the diary this morning – blocking in dates for scheduled classes but don’t forget if you have a gift voucher, or just want to book a date to suit, get in touch and I will try to tailor the class day and content to suit.

Price shown is for one but if more come the price per person is reduced so even more reason to bring a friend!
Sat 3rd Feb 10 – 2.30pm Silver Clay Beginners (incl 10g PMC3) £ 95*
Sat 10th Feb/ Tues 27th Feb Enamelling & Jewellery Club (see dates below) £ 60*
Sat 24th Feb 10 – 4.30pm Silver Clay Rings £125*
Sun 25th Feb 10 – 1pm Flamework (making glass beads) £ 75*
Sat 17th March 10 – 3.30pm Feltmaking £85*
Sat 24th March 10 – 2.30pm Silver Clay Beginners £95*
Sun 25th March 10 – 1pm Flamework £75*
Sat 21st April 10 – 3.30pm Encaustic art £85*
Sun 22nd April 10 – 1pm Flamework £75
Sat 26th May 10 – 2.30pm Silver Clay £95*
Sat 2nd June 10 – 3.30pm Enamelling £95*
Sat 16th June 10 – 2.30pm Silver Clay £95
Sun 17th June 10 – 1pm Flamework £75

NEW FOR 2018 – Enamelling and Jewellery club


Monthly classes (one Saturday or one weekday) to develop both your Enamelling and Jewellery making skills. Contact me for more details.
£60 per person (I need 2 minimum to run) £46.50 each for 3.
£5 discount when booking 3+ sessions.
2nd Saturday of each month with the exception of May. 10 – 2pm
Sat10th Feb or Tues 27th Feb– Enamelling (the Basics)
Sat 10th March or Tues 27th March – An Enamelled Tile/picture
Sat 14th April or Tues 24th April – Cloisonné
Sat 5th May or Thurs 24th May – Torch Fired enamel
Sat 9th June or Tues 26thJune – Soldering
Sat 14th July or Tues 17th July – Student’s choice
• CLASSES MAKE GREAT PRESENTS FOR YOU OR A FRIEND! YOU’LL GET A TAILORED GIFT LETTER EXPLAINING ABOUT THE CLASS.
• GENERAL GIFT VOUCHERS ALSO AVAILABLE. Go to booking page.

Where does the time go?

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I am always amazed at how quickly time flies, especially at this time of year. One minute we are settling the children in after the summer holidays and the next minute, the planning for our families November birthdays and then Christmas events galore…it seems only moments ago I thought I had ages to get my prototypes made for Christmas fairs…to be fair for once I have actually made some Christmas themed jewellery but never in the amount I was planning….ah well there’s always next year!

I thought I’d share a few photos from some recent classes/events with you.

Last week I taught at the beautiful Flatford Mill (Constable country), we did a full day of Encaustic art and these are some of the resulting pictures. For next year’s classes at Flatford Mill see their website.

I also helped run some taster sessions at the Craft event at ExCel London, last Friday, resulting in some lovely enamelled pieces.

Plus there’s the classes in my garden workshop, recently I have done some Encaustic classes as well as a tailoring a class to a request for enamelling on silver clay and embedding stones.   I really love the clock, which was made using a mould and an old piece of costume jewellery.

Don’t forget all of these classes can be booked either on my website or by emailing me so that we can tailor dates and times to suit. Prices per person are reduced the more people that attend, a perfect excuse to bring a friend or two.  Gift vouchers are also available directly from me – I write you a gift letter, detailing the class and how to book.

 

 

February Programme here at CG Crafts

ToniLeave a comment on February Programme here at CG Crafts
Date Class Time Cost for one Cost per person for 2 attending Cost per person for 3 attending Other info
Saturday 3rd February Silver clay Beginners 10 – 2.30pm £95 £85 £75 10g of silver clay included in the price.
Saturday 10th February Jewellery Club: Enamelling the Basics 10 – 2.30pm N/A based on minimum of 2 £60.00

 

 £46.50 A further £5 discount per session if you book 3+ sessions for Jewellery club only
Sat 17th/Sun 18th February Available for Class vouchers and dates to suit
Saturday 24th February Silver clay rings 10 – 4.30pm £125 £95 £85 10g of silver clay included in the price.
Sunday 25th February Flamework – making glass beads beginners 10 – 1pm £75 £45 N/A Beads will be annealed and are then available for collection/to be posted out.
Weds 28th Feb Jewellery Club: Enamelling the basics 10 – 2.30pm N/A based on minimum of 2 £60.00

 

 £46.50 A further £5 discount per session if you book 3+ sessions for Jewellery club only

My pricing structure, is based on the more people that come the less you pay per person.  If you want to have a one to one, or are happy to come on your own then you pay a little more – not as much as many venues but a bit more to reflect having total tutor attention.  If you want to save costs, simply bring a friend or 2 and the costs per person go down.  I am also happy to advertise any dates to suit, so that if you don’t have a friend with the same interests I may still be able to get more students to come to share the cost – I can’t guarantee this but I can try, you can also help by sharing the info so that others might join too.

All over the place

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Life in our house is never boring, quiet, relaxed…

We’ve had a busy half term including trips to the seaside, halloween parties, visiting friends and of course crafting.

I am now back to normal (relatively) and planning the rest of the year and things for 2018.  I am also just taking on some new writing work so we’ll see how that all fits in.  Anyway the main point of this post is to remind you that November is PRICE FREEZE MONTH so if you’d like to book a class, or gift voucher for 2018 now is the time to do it.  I have some dates pencilled in the diary which I will add to the website over the next week but if you are interested in what is on offer, or indeed want to book a date to suit, get in touch and we can have a chat.  Happy crafting. Toni x

November price freeze and new pricing structure

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I have been stressing about prices for courses for some time now.  As a small business I really want to run classes whether there are one or three people booked but I do have to make these classes cost effective.  I have now come up with a pricing structure, which I hope suits everyone.  If you want to have a one to one, or are happy to come on your own then you pay a little more – not as much as many venues but a bit more to reflect having total tutor attention.  If you want to save costs, simply bring a friend or 2 and the costs per person go down.  I am also happy to advertise any dates to suit, so that if you don’t have a friend who wants to join you I may still be able to get more students to come to share the cost – I can’t guarantee this but I can try, you can also help by sharing the info so that others might join too.  Hope this makes sense. I am happy to take your feedback and will be freezing prices in November so if you want to book a Christmas present or voucher, I will honour that fee (as long as it is paid now in full) for 2018.  I will also be posting more details about the new jewellery club soon.  Very excited about this.

CURLY GIRLY CRAFTS COURSE PRICE GUIDE
Course Duration Price for One to one Price (per person) for 2 students Price (per person) for 3 students Other info
Silver Clay Beginners 4 hours £95 £85 £75 10g of silver clay included in price
Silver Clay Rings 6 hours £125 £95 £85 10g of silver clay included in price
More Silver Clay – including embedding and enamelling on silver clay 5 hours £125 £95 £85 10g of silver clay included in price
Enamelling 5 hours £95 £80 £65 Make up to 3 pieces
Flamework (making glass beads)

·         Beginners

·         Further

·         Sculptural

 3 hours

Price includes annealing and removal of beads

 £75 £45 If there are 3 of you ask me for a price – I only have one torch though! Make approx. 6 – 8 beads
Encaustic Art 5 hours £85 £65 £50 All Encaustic materials included. Equipment available to purchase on the day.
Feltmaking – Needle and Wet felting 5 hours £85 £65 £50 Both wet and needlefelting included.  All Feltmaking materials included
Encaustic Art 2.5 hours £55 £40 £35 All Encaustic materials included. Equipment available to purchase on the day
Feltmaking – choose either needle or wet felting 2.5 hours £55 £40 £35 Either needle felting or wet felting

 

 

 

Toni’s Enamelling and Jewellery Club
Session info Duration Price for One to one Price (per person) for 2 students Price (per person) for 3 students Other info
Enamelling/Jewellery Club Various but approx. 4 hours 2 person minimum £60 £46.50 A further £5 discount per session if you book 3 or more sessions.  N.B the 2 person minimum still applies.

 

Lots more classes added to the website

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Now is a great time to book a class at Curly Girly Crafts (Colchester), as I shall have to soon revise costs for 2018!  All classes are great value as the are based on between 1 – 3 students with resources and a cuppa included. There’s plenty of tutor attention and possibly even one to one!  Book online or email me for more details.

D A T E S at CG Crafts, Colchester

Tues 19th Sept  10 – 2.30pm    Silver Clay Beginners                                                       £85

Sat 23rd Sept    10 – 3.30pm     Enamelling Beginners/Improvers                                £75 – SOLD OUT

Sun 1st Oct        10 – 4.30pm     Silver Clay Rings                                                              £95

Tues 3rd Oct      10 – 3pm          Encaustic Art Beginners                                                 £69

Tues 10th Oct    10 – 1pm           Flamework (making glass beads)                                £55

Sat14th Oct       10 – 3.30pm     Feltmaking                                                                       £69

Sat 21st Oct      2 – 5pm              Flamework (making glass beads)                               £55

Tues 31st Oct    10 – 2.45pm     Enamelling                                                                      £69

Sat 4th Nov       10 – 2.30pm     Silver Clay beginners (incl 10g PMC3)                      £85 – 1 space left

Sat 25th Nov     10 – 3.30pm     Encaustic Art Beginners                                               £69

Sun 26th Nov    10 – 2.30pm     Silver Clay Beginners ((incl 10g PMC3)                    £85

Other dates at CG Crafts

  • Weekdays – Tues and Weds. Courses and dates to suit – contact me.

Limited weekend dates available to book courses to suit – contact me with your preferred dates.

  • Keep a lookout on the website for more dates being added soon!
  • CLASSES MAKE GREAT PRESENTS FOR YOU OR A FRIEND! YOU’LL GET A TAILORED GIFT LETTER EXPLAINING ABOUT THE CLASS.
  • GENERAL GIFT VOUCHERS ALSO AVAILABLE.

*Discount if 2 or more people book together, or if you book 2 classes for yourself (5%) except for silver clay due to the cost of the silver.

Celebrating birthdays with silver clay!

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Had a lovely day today, teaching Becky, Jo and Sheila the wonders of Silver Clay, made even more magical as Becky turned 21 today.  She’s made some jewellery, which will always remind her of what she did on her special day.  But they aren’t the only ones who’ve celebrated birthdays with me recently. Carol and her sister Kay came along a couple of weeks ago and Carol made these lovely 3D pieces of silver jewellery.  It really is amazing stuff and I cannot believe what can be made in just a few hours!  Well done everyone.

Sparkly weekend

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We’re just getting back to normal here at Peers’ Towers, unpacking suitcases, hanging out washing – all those tasks that follow a busy summer of visiting, holidaying, crafting and adventuring.

This weekend I will be running 2 fully booked silver clay classes which I am very much looking forward to, but the weekend after has unexpectedly become free due to a venue change so it would be great to fill it with students.  If you’ve been thinking about booking a class in Enamelling, Feltmaking, Encaustic art, Silver clay or Flamework, just let me know and we’ll get something booked in.  The date in question is Saturday 9th September, or Sunday 10th September, so if you’ve been struggling for some time for yourself whilst the children have been home, perhaps this is just the little treat you need.  Email me for more details and availability.