Hey Hey!

Hey hey! 

Just a quick update on what i've been up to recently! The weekend just gone was a lovely loooong weekend (off from the day job from Friday to Monday!!) so we made the most of it and went on lots of sunny walks. It's so nice to get outside in the fresh air!!! We went up to Lord Stones on Saturday and it was beaaaaauuuuutiful!! I'd never been before but i would DEFINITELY go again! And they had the cutest little gift shop (bagged myself some lovely green tea with pomegranate :D)

Got some lovely photos too, it's been great to practice with my camera :) Here's my favourite photo of Tom and his Dad, Arnie.

In other news! My etsy is once again stocked full of goodies! Including some more of the Super Sale Lucky Dip boxes, which i've decided to keep on because of how popular they are :) Wooo! Check it out HERE!

Ready, Steady.....Knit!

So this week i had the lovely opportunity to gatecrash one of King Crumpets 'We Knit!" Knitting clubs. I've worked with King Crumpet in the past and just love her passion for hand made craft and spreading the joys of DIY. I was able to snap a few photos of the group and the knitted work that Hannah (King Crumpet herself) presents and sells.

Image copyright to King Crumpet Craft Events

King Crumpet was established just over a year ago, and has already made a massive difference in the arts and crafts scene in Hartlepool.She's already given a load of local and independent traders opportunities that they have never had before in this small sea side town, and shown people how important it is to support your local and independent business'.

Hannah's Knitting club offers tutoring to all abilities in both knitting and crochet. Completely self taught, Hannah is one of the best and most skilled knitters i know for her age. Her work oozes cute and quirkiness. One thing that really struck me when peeping in on the knitting club was how well Hannah presented herself, and how confidently and passionately she spoke about the subject she was teaching. I immediately had confidence in her and knew that i if i had any problems with my knitting projects then she would know how to help, and if she didn't, she would definitely do her research and find out!

It was also really cool to see Hannah wearing one of my very own Rosebud Casson necklaces!!

So, down to the deets! It takes place at the Peoples Centre in Hartlepool, Raby Road. (for those of you that arent familiar, its the lovely big building just over the road from Morrisons, right next to the Town Hall and Police station.) The knitting club is £5 a session, each session is 2 hours from 7pm to 9pm. It started off as the first Thursday of every month (as mentioned on the flyer above) but due to popular demand this has been boomphed up to every first and third Thursday starting from May! Right, I know what you are thinking. What do i get for my fiver? Well hang on ladies and gents, i'm about to tell you!

For your measly little fiver, you get the chance to have group discussions about knitting projects and tips/techniques (and also a good natter about everything under the sun with fellow likeminded people!), knitting ideas and handouts to use and take home with you, guaranteed one to one time with the amazing King Crumpet herself (as well as one or two other incredibly experienced knitters) delicious cake and as many cuppas as your heart desires (who can do crafting without a good steaming cup of tea in front of you!?) and all the materials to get you started including knitting needles and yarn. How AMAZING is that?!?!? Its an absolute bargain. 

Not only that, but there will be many opportunities to take part in projects, exhibiting work, trading at craft fairs and shows and also organizing and taking part in Charity Drives to raise money for various local charities. From just sitting in on one session it already sounds like they have a load of exciting ideas just bursting at the seams and waiting to be taken on!  

All abilities are welcome to the knitting club, and so far there have been a couple of attendees who had absolutely zero experience with knitting, but are now well on their way to feeling comfortable around a few knitting needles! The group seemed like a lovely and friendly bunch and i could tell they all totally loved coming to the club, so no wonder they were begging Hannah to put it up to twice a month!!

 

For any more information, enquiries, commissions or just to take a nosy at Hannahs other work and events, check out these links!!!

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Hey!

So i mentioned in the last post that i'd been spending alot of time with my lovely family! I've had an awesome week and so sad that some of them had to go back down to the south! (They live in the beautiful seaside town of Ilfracombe, North Devon....not jealous at all!)

Anyway, it gave me an awesome chance to practice with my camera and my 50mm lens, it's about time i got this baby out for some fresh air this year! So here are a couple of my favourite snaps :) Can't wait to get scrapbooking hehe!

Super Sale!!

Hello all! What a lovely week its been! This week i've had a few days off to spend some time with my family that have been visiting from Ilfracombe, North Devon :) It's been awesome! 

In addition, to celebrate this lovely week i've decided to put on the biggest sale YET at Rosebud Casson! Okay, okay, there are other reasons too ;)

I've got so many ideas coming out of my ears, nose etc etc..... So i thought what better than a spring clean?! Make way for some new exciting stock with a mass sale of the old stuff. 

I am offering over FIFTY POUNDS worth of stock for just TWENTY POUNDS!!!! Thats right!!! Can't get much better than that ;)

Click on the banner below to get to my etsy shop and check out those awesome super sale boxes!!!!

Tibetan Sand Paintings

Hi guys!

So the other night i was getting my daily fill of the new TV Series 'House of Cards' (do you guys watch it? I totally LOVE it. I was a bit sceptical of Spacey's southern accent at first but....hey. the guys a genius) And in the most recent episode i've watched there was some Tibetan monks making a sand painting all the way through, stationed in the White House. I was totally blown away!!! I'd never seen anything like it before. I immediately picked up my phone (isn't it crazy we can just get any information we need at a click of a button? Gone are the days of rummaging through encyclopedias and dictionary's!) And googled it.

Source: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/149674387587676263/

So basically the monks begin by tracing an outline for the Mandala, and then layer coloured sand to form the beautiful painting, using metal, flute like instruments called chak-purs. In Tebetan this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which translates as "mandala of the coloured powders". The paintings can take anywhere from days to weeks to complete. 

After the paintings are painstakingly constructed, they are deconstructed almost immediately after completion! This is carried out as a metaphor of the impermanence of life and to remind us nothing is forever. The sand is swept up and place in an urn. Half is given to the audience of the closing ceremony, and then half is carried to a nearby body of water released to be carried throughout the world for 'planetary healing'.

Source - https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515240013595247417/

I found this video on youtube of a timelapse of the construction of a Mandala. I hope you all find this as inspiring as i do!

Whitby Adventures!

Hi guys!

So recently me and my S,O celebrated our three year anniversary. Three years! For some it sounds like not much, and others it sounds like a loooong time. But to me its been such a fun adventure (eek soppy alert!!!) He is without a doubt my best friend and the last three years have been amazing. So, to celebrate i secretly organised a little weekend in the beautiful seaside town of Whitby!

I thought it would be fun to become proper cheesy tourists for the weekend. It's so nice! To be honest i'd only ever been once before and i can't believe i haven't taken more trips here. It was literally just over an hour in the car (and also the furthest i've ever drove woop woop! I felt like Samwise from Lord of The Rings when he leaves The Shire...)  and there's so much to do!

We, of course, went for the obligatory fish and chips at the one and only Magpie Cafe. Known for the BEST fish and chips in Whitby, and although i didn't try any fish and chips from any other places in Whitby so can,t judge, i don't doubt it! It was delicious. I went for cod (i'm not a big lover of fish but will partake in the odd cod and chips every once in a blue moon, and you can't not when you visit Whitby!) and Tom went for Monkfish. I was be-a-u-tiful!!! I would recommend it to anyone visiting, but i'll warn you about the queues! We got really lucky and got in before the rush but afterwards every time we walked past it the queues where down the street!

Next up after wandering around the beautiful cobbled streets and nipping into some lovely galleries and shops, my sweet tooth was aching. I originally had my eye on some ice cream stalls but then we stumbled across this quirky littler patisserie called Marie Antoinettes Patisserie. It was soooo nice! It took me ages to choose what i wanted but i ended up going for a double chocolate brownie cheese cake and i was NOT disappointment!!!

I really wanted to get a picture of the outside of the Patisserie because it looked lovely, but unfortunately there was a big white van parked right bang in front of it!

Next up was the Whitby Abbey! Of course how can you visit Whitby and visit one of its most famous landmarks. First established in 657AD, it is oozing with history. It's easy to see why Bram Stoker was inspired by its Gothic beauty when writing the fantastic novel 'Dracula' (one of my favourite books, and unfortunately i missed out on visiting the "Dracula Experience" !!) It's amazing to stand in the ruins and imagine what it would have looked like all those years ago when it was freshly built. The brickwork is gorgeous, and sort of creepily reminded me of a human spine!

Next up of course is the sea. Coming from a seaside town myself i always feel at home next to the sea. I can't imagine what it must be like to not have the nearest beach within walking distance of my home. It always seemed so alien to me when i'd meet new people from inland who only ever saw the sea or a beach when they were on holiday. I think 90% of my memories from growing up with my friends were from the beach! (Our beach is the rainy beach of Seaton Carew, Hartlepool. Always been quite grey and wet weather, but beautiful nontheless and a stones throw away from nature reserves, Saltholme and North Gare (otherwise known as the 'Blue Lagoon'.)) As always, Whitby's beaches did not disappoint :)

(the obligatory holiday selfie)

To finish it off, on the night we booked ourselves in at a lovely little Thai restaurant attached to Whitby train station called Kam Thai. It was AMAZING and i highly recommend anyone who is looking for a place to eat in Whitby to go here when you are a fan of Thai food. The staff are amazingly accommodating and the food is just BURSTING with flavour.

I think all in all it was a top notch weekend!

The Rose and Muse.

www.theroseandmuse.com