Printing with leaves etc.

This bold robin perched really close to me

Beautiful, bold dahlia

Close to me bee

Leaf prints lesson

This week we printed with leaves. It's really easy and produces great results.

The trick is to find thicker leaves and paint the underside of them then press down onto any sort of paper. These were done on white copy paper. 

I got the girls to draw a tree trunk and then print leaves in three different shapes onto it. I think it worked well.

All these photos appeared on my Instagram feed @jenny_handmade_happiness

I post often on Instagram but not so often here. If you are already on Instagram please follow me. I say this because most of you reading this don't live in the UK. Most of you live in the USA.

Wishing you a good week.X

Teaching and inspiration. Make paper beads.

Making  paper beads with family

Favourite flower and collage

Spotted a white tailed bumblebee

Making more masks with Kaffe Fassett fabrics. These are drying outside

A huge dahlia in a bunch of flowers from the Harrow Inn at Steep

Even my children who reckon I always take blurry pictures think my photography is better lately! Funny how the colours of the flowers I love are echoed in whatever I am making. See above.

This week my 'art' session with my four year old grandaughter was making paper beads. It's quick and easy as long as your child can use scissors. She used felt tips to cover a piece of A4 copy paper with colourful patterns, then we cut it into triangles and rolled them tightly round a felt tip and glued the pointed end with pva.

  I used paints (see above) and coated each bead with sealer. I also found that you can use plain white paper to quickly make beads and then paint the finished article. Much quicker. I am thinking celebration garlands with these beads or perhaps part of a Christmas decoration for the tree.

I notice now how the colours of the beads are similar to the colours of sweetpeas, 

Fingers crossed one of the Handmade Happiness events at the Physic Garden in Petersfield will be allowed. It's a wait and see time. I am hoping that at least the November 14th event will happen. Watch this space.

I am making these colourful masks to sell at the next HH event. The picture above shows the latest batch washed and drying on the line before being ironed and having the elastic attached.

I walk to the Harrow Inn near Petersfield every week for fresh flowers. The Harrow has a big garden full of colourful flowers and vegetables which are used in the pub and sold to fundraise for Macmillan Nurses and the Rosemary Foundation (hospice at home) with all proceeds going to charity. That huge dahlia called out to me yesterday. I had to have it!

Colourful masks and colourful flowers

Zinnias

Masks I made with Kaffe Fassett designed fabrics

Cherries seen when out walking

The Chilterns

I feel a  bit confused at the moment. I heard on the radio that hundreds of scientists now believe the virus is airborne. If this is true there's no point social distancing. It's thrown me a bit. I wonder when we'll ever feel completely safe?

Meanwhile my joy of the week has been buying flowers from this pub near me called The Harrow at Steep. I've walked there twice recently and returned home with bunches of beautiful garden flowers which they sell in aid of local charities.  I love the colours in these zinnias. I've also bought sweetpeas and dahlias and now my house is full of flowers in vases in all the colours of the rainbow. It's been so long since I bought anything other than food that I don't feel guilty about spending money on flowers at all!

Nature has healing powers. I'm sure everyone feels happy to be outside. I often wish I knew more so I could correctly identify trees, birds and plants. So this week the local library re-opened (hurray!) and I got out three books with photographs of trees, birds and plants. Hopefully I'll soon be able to put a name to what I see on my walks.

I hope you are finding joy too now that things are slowly returning to normal.

The latest

Making more masks

Found these when sorting

Beautiful wall of hollyhocks in Sheet

Met these sheep on a walk yesterday

Walking down a disused railway track

Spotted these wild cherries

Being out in nature is the best thing when life and the future seem uncertain.

Sorry I'm repeating myself. But everything feels more positive when we are outside and it's safer too.

I have made many more masks since the picture above was taken including some in Kaffe Fassett fabrics which are very colourful. Here in the UK it is compulsory to wear masks on public transport and personally I feel better wearing a mask in a shop too although you don't have to.

Yesterday I went on a long walk with a friend. It rained all day but we sheltered in a wooden bus shelter for a picnic lunch and kept on walking. Exploring new places to walk has been one of the joys of lockdown for me. I feel lucky to be able to do that.

I hope there are some hidden upsides to being restricted for you to. 

Take care and I hope you stay well too.X