Christmas and New Year Opening Hours

Barleylands has another late night opening until 8pm on Thursday 17th December. On Wednesday 23rd we will also be open until 8pm, there will also be a Farmer's Market and you may even catch a glimpse of Father Christmas!

Our Christmas opening hours are shown below. Please note that from 29th December until 3rd January we will be opening a little later and closing a bit earlier.

Wednesday 23rd December - 10am to 8pm
Thursday 24th December to Monday 28th December - CLOSED
Tuesday 29th December to Thursday 31st December - 11am to 4pm
Friday 1st January - CLOSED
Saturday 2nd January and Sunday 3rd January - 11am to 4pm
Monday 4th January - CLOSED
Tuesday 5th January onwards - 10am to 5pm

Loyalty Card Bonus

For those of you with a Craft Arena Loyalty Card, you can pick up a bonus between Christmas and the New Year. Just spend over £5 between 29^th and 31^st December and you will receive double stamps on your Loyalty Card. Don’t forget that when you fill a card, you will receive £10 off your next purchase.

Craft Arena Sale

Our sale will start on Saturday 2^nd January, so drop by to pick up a bargain. There will be 3 for 2 offers as well as substantial discounts on selected items.

Denise

Metal Magic

I've just got in some wonderful metal paints and patinas. Metal Effects® Reactive Metallic Paints are water based and contain real metal particles. These paints will tarnish naturally over time when exposed to the elements or the process can be speeded up by applying Patina Ageing Solutions & Activators which will speed up the oxidation process to create beautiful, authentic Patina, Baroque and Rusted Iron finishes on any paintable surface including fabric. Reactive Metallic Paints can be applied using a brush, roller or spray equipment and are suitable for interior/exterior surfaces.

The sample shown is a piece I worked on using these paints with Alysn Midgelow-Marsden at Ally Pally. I stitched into velvet, adding rolled pieces of felt and stitching, painted with the Bronze Metal Effect paint and used the Blue patina fluid on top. I finished it off with a little Treasure Gold to highlight the contours.

I can't wait to play with the other colours!

Denise

New Quilting Arts

The latest issue of Quilting Arts is once more full of inspiration, with articles on using water-soluble pigments for colouring fabric, to fibre art pillows filled with aromatic herbs. You can also find out how to use stickers as a resist to add text to fabric use needle-felted backgrounds as a foundation for stitch. With many other techniques and articles, this is another jam-packed issue.

Denise

Sari Yarn

Sandy Draper (Chair of Basildon and District Embroiderers' Guild) dropped in this afternoon to show me some of her work. She had been on a workshop with Jill Sweet and learnt a technique using rug canvas using a large needle with a crochet hook at the other end. Sandy decided to try this with the sari yarn she had bought a little while ago, and I think the result is stunning!

If you have a project made with products bought at Craft Arena, do bring them in to show me and I can share them here.

Denise

Late Night Opening

Barleylands is open late tonight (Thursday 26th) and every Thursday until Christmas until 8pm and also on Wednesday 23rd December. Even more opportunities for you to come over and stock up for the work you are going to do during the Christmas break, or buy unusual presents for your friends and family for Christmas and birthdays.

I have made some sketch books, diaries and address books, button necklaces (including a new style knotted button and bead necklace) and also button brooches and hand painted silk brooches.

Denise

Stitch with the Embroiderers' Guild

I've just received the latest issue of Stitch with the Embroiderers' Guild, and as usual it is packed with brilliant projects and information. From stumpwork sheep, applique using DIY objects, crazy patchwork, plastics. goldwork and even cup cakes, this is a jam-packed issue.

Denise

Christmas at Barleylands

4pm on Friday 20th November is the start of Christmas at Barleylands Craft Village. Father Christmas will be arriving, and our Christmas lights will be switched on by a very special guest. There will be live music and local school choirs will perform. Join us for a glass of mulled wine and mince pies until 8pm to enjoy the atmosphere and start (or finish) your Christmas shopping.

If you can't make Friday, the festivities will continue over the weekend from 10am to 4pm and the Craft Village will be open until 8pm every Thursday from 26th November up to Christmas and on Wednesday 23rd December.

With live demonstrations on Friday, Saturday morning and Sunday, why not drop in and see what is going on?

Hope to see you then,

Denise