The joy of proteas ...

Proteas are the national flower of South Africa & they have always been special to me. 

I blogged about them after a previous trip to South Africa - proteas in many guises. 

I have them at home too, a reminder of my roots. Daughter had them at her recent wedding too …

I have a generous vase of faux silk proteas in the living room, they look real with the red & silver foliage branches too. 

I recently sewed two cloths with proteas, as well as doing them as my glass painting design. 

In this blog post, I shared buying some unique wire & bead proteas I bought at a craft market in Howick, Natal, South Africa. 

I had previously visited the same market with both my parents & revisiting brought back memories of my parents choosing a hand crafted picnic basket there that I still use. My now late Dad chose the beaded proteas with me & they are a reminder of that shared experience. 

The 2 vases are in the same space, the beaded ones on a side table next in the corner by the clock, the faux ones on a console table along with the assorted drinks etc. 

My good friend Ellie messaged to say she had been out browsing & had found 3 large wire proteas like the ones I have & she immediately bought them as a gift for me. 

It is special when friends know your home well enough to know your likes. She came by for tea this week & brought them over. 

They are a perfect match to mine - slightly larger but perfect. 

I am naturally delighted but then realised the vase I have for them will not be able to take another 3 stems because the beaded ones have chunky stems. 

I switched the faux & beaded ones vases but that did not work out either. 

On my travels today around a local market town chunky vases were on my list to keep an eye out for. 

I struck lucky when I spied a generous vase in passing one of the charity shops. It was not as heavy as the ones I have but a more generous size & at only £4, I had to have it. 

Once home, it was washed & then I tried out the vases - the heavy jug shape vase that had the faux proteas could hold all the beaded ones - now a weighty 10 stems. 

The charity shop vase could hold the 9 faux protea stems as well as the red & silver foliage too because the neck was wide enough. 

It will need some weighting down with pebbles in time, but that is a minor adjustment to this elegant new vase. 

The previous narrow necked vase (left) is replaced by the heavy jug shaped vase to hold the 10 stems.

 

After faffing with the various protea stems in the two vases, they could be returned to their 2 spots in the living room & they look impressive with their generous stems.

What a thoughtful gift that goes well in my space. The curtains will soon change from the neutral creams to heavy berry coloured ones for winter to keep out the chills & the proteas will hold court with their elegant ways. 

Am I the only one inclined towards certain flowers & colours. Tell all. Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated. 

Dee 

A glass painting morning ...

 

I love taking courses & regularly sign up for various ones I am interested in. I think it is being a life long teacher with an inquiring mind & a willingness to learn new things. 

My friend Ellie & I have done several courses together; hand sewing 'Gentlework' day, a wet felting day, goldwork embroidery & she spied this glass painting one locally in our county town of Shrewsbury. 

It is a new one for me as I do not have any experience in this but I am always up for a challenge. 

Floral Glass Painting Workshop

Join us for a relaxed, morning of glass painting. You’ll use gold outliner and jewel-like paints to create a floral design with a beautiful stained-glass effect. At the end, you’ll take home your own framed piece – a perfect handmade gift or something special to keep for yourself.

No experience needed, just come along and enjoy a creative couple of hours in good company. All materials are provided.

I love info that says 'all materials provided' because you really do not know what is needed. 

✨ Artist Bio – Emma Williams

Local artist Emma Williams is well renowned for her award-winning creative window displays and murals, which bring colour and imagination to Shrewsbury and beyond. Alongside her public artwork, Emma enjoys teaching in small group settings, where she shares some of the artistic techniques she uses in her own practice. Her workshops are designed to promote mindfulness, creativity, and positive mental wellbeing, offering a welcoming space for people of all abilities to explore their creativity.

I had never even visited the library in Shrewsbury even though I take visitors to the statue of Charles Darwin just by the door. 

It is a hidden gem opposite the castle. 

The tutor Emma was very welcoming & we were soon all deciding on our floral pattern choice that was dictated by the size of the glass frame - 6x4. 

I had checked out the details the night before & decided  to trace a protea design as I am rather partial to proteas. 

We had the choice of gold or black outlining & I went with gold & had to modify my design to fit in, Outlining done & dried off with a blow drier then it was time to decide on colours & if they were to be matt, natural or pearlised too. Emma mixed up paints in tiny holders as we needed colours. 

Being the first time I have done it,  I needed to go over some of my gold lines as they contain the coloured paint  & I then used 2-3 pinks for the proteas, mixing the lighter & darker as I worked with it. 

The green is a little patchy to my mind & the gold stands out against it but I am pleased to have completed something I am happy with. 

Ellie & I both decided that it is something we will try again as it was very calming & enjoyable, with lots of potential. 

Ellie opted to do a rose as a gift & hers was soon taking shape in shades of yellow. 

Each floral painting was very different, depending on the flower chosen & the paints used. 

I am always fascinated how we start off with the same choices then end up with individual items. 

The end products of the small group of 8 of us was all very different & beautiful. 

Life long learning means doing things out of your comfort zone & leaning in to the new.  

I have already eyed up a few other courses there so who knows ... 

I spied this photo on a local facebook group - we were captured at our course in the library. The images on the glass are done by the course tutor. 

I asked for permission to share it here & Eddie sent it on to me. What a coincidence to be captured at our morning. 

Thank you for stopping by, it is appreciated. 

Dee 🖌️🎨🫟🧑‍🎨