Peony Season
Hello Colorful Friends:
I hope your last days of spring are going well. Here at the farm, the peonies are almost finished for the year. It has been a good one. What a gorgeous flower.
This week I have been painting lampshades. I plan to sell them on the internet soon. I am working out the pricing now. Each one is a bit different and they certainly do add a splash to any room they go in. I'll let you know when they are up for sale and where. Want to make your own? See below for how to info.
Over on the blog, I've got a giveaway going on for one of my Happy Houses. This giveaway goes along with the announcement to the world (well, my little world) about the opening of my new Etsy shop called Colorful Pottery. Check it out here. Check out the blog post to enter here. Contest ends tonight at 11:59.
Also this week on the blog, I shared how I painted my Faux Wallpaper in our LIbrary. See the header photo above. Check out the post with before, during and afters here.
If you are thinking of coming to our Leyden Glen Farm for a Retreat, I suggest signing up soon. Here is the page for more information. There are 5 spaces left in the Crewel Embroidery Retreat August 8/9 and 3 spaces left in the Knitting and Color Retreat September 26/27.
FABRIC PRINTING RETREAT - Come join the Colorful Fabric Fun!
I had such fun teaching Fabric Printing in May that I have added a second Fabric Printing Retreat in July. Come to the farm and learn my super simple technique for printing fabric of your very own design. You will print a canvas bag and fabric for a tea towel or pillow. On Day Two we will experiment with other techniques including block printing and fabric painting. TWO DAYS $375. Includes lunches, snacks and beverages. Check it out here. For where to stay, see this page. THERE ARE 3 SPACES LEFT. Hurry, hurry. FYI - This year, I have 5 students returning to the farm who have been here on past retreats. How cool is that?
Here are some interesting things I found on the web this week.
• I watched the movie Mr. Turner, a British film about JMW Turner, Britain's most famous landscape painter. As he grew older, his style gave a nod to the coming Impressionist Art Movement. It's not a happy go lucky film but it is beautiful. I wish I had watched this interview with Producer Mike Leigh and Timothy Spall here before I saw the movie.
• Evidently, big prints are back! Especially on lampshades. I am all set.
• Listen to the interview with James Rebanks, author of The Shepherd's Life: Modern Dispatches From An Ancient Landscape with Tom Ashbrook on NPR here. The NYTimes reviews it here.
ª Over on 365Cookbooks, there is a nice recipe for Lamb Kebabs with Mint Chimichurri Sauce. Check it out here. And I bet the Chimichurri would be awesome on just about anything.
• Elderflower season is almost here. Do you do anything with these wild and shaggy flowers that often grow along the sides of the road. Over on The Women's Room blog from the UK, there are some nice ideas for using Elderflowers. Check them out here.
• Have you seen these interesting looking sheep called Swiss Mountain Sheep, otherwise known as Valais Blacknose? Recently photos of them have been floating around the internet and boy are they sweet looking? It seems that this breed will now be able to compete in the Royal Cornwall Livestock Show in the UK. You can read about that here.
With colorful wishes,
Kristin Nicholas
Want to paint your own colorful lampshade. You will find the instructions in my new book Crafting a Colorful Home. Order on my website. Signed copies are $27.95. Free Freight. Illustrated bookplate. Free postcards.
Check it out here.
If you don't do Paypal which I know many people still are not comfortable with, you can still order. Here's how:
Send a check for $27.95 written to Kristin Nicholas to PO Box 212, Bernardston, MA 01337 along with your address. I will send you the book.
