me + my boys: Cute Winter Wonderland member example...

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Cute Winter Wonderland member example...

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Hey, it's Julie here,

I hope you are having a great week so far! Here's what's new at Clever Poppy this week...

In this newsletter:

On the Blog: How to dress your hoop
Member creation combining felt with embroidery
Exciting guest artist reveal for next month
Mesmerizing glassblowing art reel
A fun icecream craft activity to do with the kids
In our world: Birthday celebrations 🥳

Guest Pattern for September...

We are thrilled to announce that next month's pattern is going to be in collaboration with guest artist, Sophie Timms of @mindfulmantra_embroidery!

I have been friends with Sophie for a few years now, ever since we discovered each other in the embroidery world. I've always felt connected to Soph, because we are both juggling motherhood and a career change from the legal world. I just adore her style, which is all about whimsical, cohesive designs with beautiful soft colour palettes. In particular I have always loved her fall patterns, which is why I knew she would be the perfect artist to design our next fall-inspired embroidery pattern! I cannot wait to share what she has created for you all next month, it's going to be such a wonderful addition to our pattern library! We will also have a new pattern kit available to purchase in the shop.

If you'd like to see some more of her work for yourself, you can go to her Insta page here.

On the Blog... How to dress your hoop

If you are a beginner to modern embroidery, one of the first things you will need to learn is how to dress your hoop.

This is an important step to learn, as your fabric needs to be nice and tight in your hoop like a drum so it is easier and more enjoyable to stitch on.

And we've got you covered with our blog article here, which gives you a step-by-step rundown of how to do this. Once you've learnt this you'll feel more confident to get started learning the basic stitches!

GO TO BLOG

What have our Makers been up to?

We are in love with this incredibly cute version of our 'Winter Wonderland' design, shared by member Judy. It's so lovely when we see member's experimenting and getting creative, combing different textures like felt with embroidery!

She said: "I just finished my first Super Confident pattern, and I really enjoyed it. I love working with felt; so, I make a little cabin out of felt rather than embroidering one. I think I will stitch the new summer scene next. #WinterWonderland"

What's inspiring me on the creative front...

I don't usually let my kids spend too much time watching videos online, but after discovering this reel by @syclom_art showing the art of glassblowing, my son Harvey and I were just sooo mesmerized by watching these we actually couldn't stop! It's just incredible to see the process of how glassblowing art is made. You can check out more of their videos on their Instagram page here.

Something helpful...

If you are looking for a fun yet simple craft activity to do with your little ones, then this 'Scrape Painted Ice cream' craft idea shared by @happytoddlerplaytime is the perfect activity for any season. They also have lots more fun play ideas shared on their page, which you can check out here.

In our world...

It was birthday week here at Clever Poppy HQ – with Amy turning 33, and my own big 4.0. ticking over! I still can't believe it, I feel like I'm 25 in my head. But I can report that so far my 40's are just as great as any other decade. It's still early days, but I've got high hopes haha.

I was super spoilt on the day too, with Matt and the kids taking me out for a dinner and surprise activity – which turned out to be karaoke! It took me right back to the days when I lived in Japan in my early 20's…minus a whole bunch of cocktails 😉. We all had fun belting out our fav songs. And no prizes for guessing who liked the limelight most (you might be able to tell from the photos hehe).

Back in the studio I've been cranking a bunch of patterns along, including the two amazing new guest patterns we have lined up for the remainder of this year. On that note, if there's any guest artist you'd love to see us collaborate with, please do hit reply and let me know? There are many factors I take into account when choosing who to work with, but hearing your wish list would be really helpful too!

Thanks so much

Julie