This blog has been created to accompany our website www.miniatureworkshops.com and will bring you the latest news of our Oxfordshire miniature workshops. This is a brand new initiative organised by Celia Thomas of KT Miniatures and Robin Britton of Coombe Crafts.
THE LITTLE OLD GARDEN SHED WORKSHOP - WATERPERRY GARDENS
The sun shined and the day was truly magical at our very first all day workshop held at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. Even though the clocks had gone forward one hour the night before, meaning that we had all lost an hour's sleep, everyone managed to arrive on time and everyone set to work immediately.
Here is a compilation of lots of photos taken on the day - it will give you a taste of what it was all about.....enjoy!!!!!
Everyone worked so hard and created wonderful sheds full of character and realism!
We hope that everyone who attended can go onto use the skills and techniques learnt yesterday, in their own future projects.
WELL DONE LADIES....THANK YOU FOR MAKING THE WORKSHOP A LOVELY & TRULY MAGICAL DAY TO REMEMBER!
BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN RAFFLE
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO ANNOUNCE THAT
£41.00
WAS RAISED IN OUR BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN RAFFLE YESTERDAY. THANK YOU LADIES FOR YOUR SUPREME GENEROSITY. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE RAFFLE WINNERS .....
DORCAS, KAREN & MEL!
Miss Havergill kept an eye on us all!
We look forward to seeing many of you at our next workshop - The Little Vintage Hall Workshop on Sunday 29th April at Thame Guide HQ.
SORRY FOLKS - ALL PLACES ARE NOW BOOKED FOR THIS NEXT ONE!
We hope to bring you news of more workshops very soon.
Now that Spring does really seem to have arrived and we can look forward to lovely long days, this is a special reminder to the ladies who are coming to our workshop at Waterperry Gardens on Sunday........ please remember that our clocks all need to be put forward an hour on Saturday night!!!!!
One of Celia's tiny c1930s German clocks
Excitement and anticipation is mounting for "The Little Old Garden Shed Workshop" being held at Waterperry Gardens on Sunday.
We're really looking forward to the day - it seems to have been in the pipeline for so long now - a huge amount of preparation has been undertaken and everything is now ready but am sure we will have a thoroughly enjoyable time.
Raffle Prizes With A Difference
As all attendees to our workshops know, we always hold a small raffle in aid of Breast Cancer Campaign with our own original miniatures as prizes. However, this time we have arranged for some rather lovely garden themed prizes in recognition of this very special venue. We've chosen a £10 National Gardening Token, a super Vintage Style Planter With Chocolate Cosmos and a pack of Notelets. Of course we selected them from the lovely Waterperry Garden Shop, after a super coffee and cake in the wonderful Tea Room.
Both definitely worth a visit ladies!!
So, without further ado.....we look forward to seeing all of you who are booked to come on Sunday...for a prompt start at 10.30am in the Waterperry Classroom Block....right next to the loos in the main car park! You can't miss it. Don't forget the complex/tea room etc. is not open until 10.00am, but we recommend that you come for 10.00am and grab a quick cup of coffee/tea first before you come to the classroom.
With just a few days to go before our first all day workshop at Waterperry Gardens on the 25th March, excitement is mounting and last minute preparations are being tweaked.
Endless shed panels, windows, doors etc. have been pre-cut and packed. Both of us have spent much time counting.....and counting again to ensure that every kit has the correct components!
A view of the 1/24th scale shed in an aged white washed finish.
Much thought has gone into your kits and the way that the components (including various accessories)are assembled. We have tried to create the design in order to make it as easy as possible for you to put together. Regardless of whether you are an absolute beginner or more experienced, we feel that you will not only learn a lot from the new techniques we are about to teach you but most of all, you will enjoy the experience too.
A view of the 1/2th scale shed in an aged wooden finish.
You will be given a choice of finishes for the exterior and the door so no two sheds will end up the same. By the end of the day you will have a totally unique and amazing work of art, that hopefully will give you years of pleasure.
Left side view of the 1/12th scale shed.
A newsletter has been emailed out today with additional info on. For those of you who do not have email, a printed version will be winging its way to you through the post shortly.
We cannot stress enough the importance of bringing either an apron or old shirt or similar to cover your clothes. This is going to be the messiest project to date!
For final details on how to get there, please see Waterperry Gardens own website.
Last week we were delighted to welcome Michelle Rice to Thame when she came to collect our'On A Cold & Frosty Morning....' vignette, after placing the winning bid in the Sealed Bid Auction. Michelle donated the mighty sum of £300 which is being donated to Breast Cancer Campaign. It was a lovely morning for us and a most generous bid, and we wondered if she, like others who contributed so willingly to the fundraising efforts, had a special reason for doing so.
As you can read in her own words, kindly sent to us for publication and to raise the profile of this worthy charity - she has indeed. We were very moved by her words (which we have edited a little for reasons of space and confidentiality) and by her beautiful poem.
Thank you Michelle.
My name is Michelle. I fell hopelessly in love with this tiny frozen back-yard from the moment I first laid eyes on it; when I realised that the money raised by the sale would go to Breast Cancer I decided that I really did have to bid! I can't tell you how much it meant to have the winning bid! Not only had I won something so precious but I had contributed to a cause that means a great deal to me.
You could walk down any street .......and ask people you met along the way and I would guess that all of them would be able to tell about someone special...that they knew, who had been touched by cancer. I have watched friends lose mums and sisters, I have had friends who have won the battle and friends who have lost. I myself have had a scare....the fears that I had ... will never leave me.
Someone close to me, with a beautiful young family has fought off cancer three times and is now having to fight again. It breaks my heart each and every time I look at them and see just how brave they try to be......how heavy the load is to carry.......I'm not deeply religious but every night I pray..... the overwhelming noise that must come to Him every night from people like me all over the world must be deafening.
It is for this reason that this campaign and any like it are so close to my heart. With breast cancer it is so easy to empathize as a woman; women are incredible creatures....mothers, wives, daughters, sisters, partners and friends - we are the supporters, the carers....and so, so much more....when the unthinkable happens, the thing that we all think only ever happens to someone else....
I would like to thank both Celia and Robin, this is something I will treasure forever. They have both done such a lovely thing for such a fantastic cause! I'm not a great writer but I do enjoy it. This poem was inspired by Brian the Blue Tit and the much loved olive (the little tree) whose sacrifice was not in vain!
This was the moment she stopped....and paused....
This was the route she walked
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone
Pounding the floor
Each step
Like each beat
Determined, definite, strong
Each day she fought the battles
That would one day win the war
Her war
Her war and her journey
This journey
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone
This was the time when the battle was at its fiercest
The tremendous, engulfing, deafening noise
The voices above the din
Voices of those who relied on her to win
Hers was a heavy step
Her bag was light
But her burden WAS so very heavy
All the noise and commotion had all but drowned out the rest of the world
On her journey
This journey
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone
But
Today was different
This was the moment she stopped....and paused....
Like the tree
She stood motionless
Silent, solid, cold
Fading away into the distance the sound of the struggle and strain
Suddenly
The world sang gently in her ear
The cold hard breeze danced delicately about her face and through her hair.
As she watched him
Tint, vulnerable, fragile
Like an alien in this hostile, frozen, brittle scene
But
A fighter, robust, a survivor
All at once she was looking in a mirror
A mirror that Mother Nature herself held up in front her
A single
Deep
Breath
In
Out
Her moment of epiphany exhaled and displayed in the air around her
There to remind her
She WAS alive
Like him
Tiny, vulnerable, fragile
Like an alien in this hostile frozen, brittle scene
But
A fighter, robust, a survivor
And all at once
This small insignificant patch of the world
This small insignificant patch of her world
Dull, mundane, forgettable
That she passed
Every day
Twice a day
Auto pilot
Alone
Became
Spectacular, inspiring, beautiful
A work of art
Every crumpled leaf
Every cracked paving slab
Every thing
And like the frost that claimed every crevice and cranny
She now owned it entirely
This WAS the moment
This is where she would make her stand!
She resumed her post
Head held high
And let out an all mighty battle cry
It rumbled and echoed through her
As she stood in silence
Boadicea would have been proud
She marched onwards
Pounding the floor
Each step
Like each beat
Determined, definite, strong
Yes
Today she was victorious
Today she was very much
Alive!
