Stones and Roses

A few weeks back Aimee and I were at The Burrell with a couple of friends for a family workshop in the art of stone carving. We weren't quite sure what to expect and when we were handed a piece of soapstone 12mm x 115mm x 4mm we wondered what on earth we could possibly carve from it!!

With clipboards, paper and pencils in hand we headed down into the collection to look at some beautiful jade carvings and oriental ceramics for our inspiration. Knowing what we had to work with I chose a fish, Aimee and Sarah drew animals and shapes and Katie picked out patterns from some of the pieces. Drawings done we headed back upstairs for a quick masterclass from Louise before we began carving our own creations.

We sketched out a rough outline of our design on the stone before picking out carving tools files, sand papers and scouring pads to shape our stones. The soapstone is beautiful to work with and we all found the technique very relaxing and therapeutic. The trick is little by little and nothing too intricate, especially on the small pieces of stone we were using. I think Aimee and Sarah found it a little hard to create the shapes they really wanted so ended up playing with the tools, seeing what marks and cuts they would make. Katie etched some intricate patterns into her stone to make a keyring. Towards the end of the two hours, which just flew by, we finished our pieces by washing them and then oiling them. Louise suggested I wait till I got home and maybe rubbed boot polish into mine so that the scales I'd etched on my fish would stand out. As per usual we were last to leave and Louise let the girls collect any stone scraps to take home.

The day after Aimee and I did some carving in the garden with the soapstone leftovers, using emery boards, small drill bits and a craft knife. We made some very small fish and I finished off my fish from the day before with some brown boot polish.

Another lovely day and after looking at glittery stones in our new garden path Aimee created this fantastic picture of people dancing and a dog using stones.

As for the roses. It's been a while since I looked at the Attic 24 blog but Lucy had taken pictures of a walk she'd been on and I noticed a lovely crocheted corsage she was wearing. Mum and dad had invited us to tea later in the week and I thought the brooch would make a nice thank you for mum. The teeny tiny flower pattern is on the Attic 24 site and here are the corsages I made using small scraps of Debbie Bliss Andes, Ecobaby, Rowan Tweed and other bits and bobs.

Mum's

Aimee's

and one for me

Quick, easy and fun to make.