What fun we had on the Dirty Weekend!

Hello to you and thanks for stopping by.

I really can't believe July has nearly ended! IndigoBlu certainly has had a busy month. It started off with a 20% off all orders on the first weekend in July which was a great start to the month, then there was the news of a New Stamp Range and Fabric Painting Kit coming out so myself and the rest of the DT were busy creating samples for Kays next show and then Kay, Alfie and Lou drove up to Edinburgh for one of the IndigoBlu Dirty weekends which took place on the 14th & 15th.  Kay then dived stright into the One Day Special on Hochanda on the 17th and 18th (you can still catch the shows on re-wind online for another week) caught her breath on the 19th and was back working on the 20th and helped choose a winner for the 'I love IndigoBlu' Facebook group on the 20th. And two very lucky winners were chosen and were given some brilliant prizes.

So let me take you back in time to the Edinburgh Dirty Weekend. 

Kay, Alfie and Lou were given some great feedback and I wanted to share some of it with you so I asked a small group of ladies to share a couple of testimonials with you. So if you have been umming and ahing about booking one of this years remaining weekend or some of the New Year weekends have a read.

From Shirley Murdoch........

If ever there was a workshop not to be missed, this is it! When I saw the advert way back in November of last year I knew that I had found myself the perfect Christmas present - to me from me, with love, thank you very much.

Eight months of anticipation, excitement and a little bit of nerves and finally the wait was over.

The welcome from Kay, Alfie and Lou soon dispelled any nerves.

From this point on it was non-stop fun and laughter. The pace of teaching was perfect with plenty of advice and help on hand.

As someone who struggles when it comes to drawing I am over the moon with my creations.

Had I known what the project was to be beforehand I would have been running for the hills! As I look at my finished work I can't help but smile and feel extremely proud of myself. I learnt more in 2 days than I did in 2 years of art class at school. So, for anyone debating with themselves, stop procrastinating and jump right in.

You will be guaranteed a fabulous experience.

From Christine Patch.........

Enjoying a Dirty Weekend in Edinburgh

Not what you think! 

To the craft-uninitiated, the heading of this article might well raise a few eyebrows!  However, the 30+ seasoned crafters heading to Edinburgh on 14-15 July were confident they were about to enjoy two days of wielding paint brushes, stamps, ink pads and much more to create new works of art!   We were not disappointed.  

IndigoBlu’s touring Dirty Weekend was led by Kay and Alfie, ably supported by Lou Withers.  Most of us know them from television but it was great to meet them in person.    Kay and Lou are very experienced crafters and demonstrators whose enthusiasm is infectious. 

Saturday’s task was to attempt a portrait using one of IndigoBlu’s face stencils and their acrylic paints.  Kay walked us through each stage, showing how to join up the pencilled stencil marks to create a realistic face shape and then use a series of overlaid ‘portrait’ colour paints to create the face.   Kay and Lou walked round each table, offering support and advice (and initiating our table at least into the skills of the smokey eye!)

Once the face was complete, Kay demonstrated her flowing hair technique.   I have to say this is deceptively simple – my own efforts were not quite as effective!!!   At the end of the day, it was amazing to see how different each face and hair was, showing how easy it is to put your own individual stamp on your work.  Some of us decided to finish our pieces as home, adding in a variety of finishing touches.   In my case, that included gold Posca pen lines and fabric earrings.

Sunday’s project was a little more familiar to most of us.  Using IndigoBlu’s lovely luscious paints to decorate a small journal and then using a variety of paint, stencil and stamping techniques to decorate the inserts.

The crafting side of the weekend was, of course, very enjoyable.  What made it even better was the opportunity to meet fellow crafters and make new friendships.  

Crafting can be an isolating hobby so the chance to spend time with others who share your passion is a joy.  Many of us now are Facebook Friends.

All of us spent time in the small shop which Alfie manned throughout the weekend.  We took advantage of some generous discounts to fill our bags with canvas aprons to decorate, panels to use with the apron, paints, stamps etc etc etc.

So all in all, a very successful Dirty Weekend (although I have to say most of us left with remarkably clean hands!).    A huge thank-you to Kay, Alfie and Lou for two very enjoyable days and for travelling to Scotland – we were delighted to be able to support you and to welcome you with gloriously warm and sunny weather.

Haste Ye Back. 

From Sara Annau...................

I Loved the weekend. In particular, I never saw the point of those ‘face’ stencils until we did that portrait.

Hooked and want to do another now, I was thrilled with the result.

Have added thistles for extra Scottishness!

From Fiona Powrie........

Ok. Here goes. Had a fabulous time on The Dirty Weekend in Edinburgh. Spent 2 glorious days getting down and messy with Kay and Lou.

Learnt loads and laughed loads. Ate lots of biscuits and drank loads of tea.

Will remember the weekend for months to come.

I was having withdrawal symptoms the following weekend. I wish EVERY weekend could be a dirty one! Thanks xx

Thank you for letting me share some of your thoughts and photos ladies xx

If you are interested on going on a Dirty Weekend then there are still two running this year.

Maidstone 15th & 16th September - Details here

Exeter 17th & 18th November - Details here

The One Day Special was looming for Kay so just after finishing off the Dirty Weekend, it was a dash, well a very long dash back to England, load up the car with all the New samples and Goodies and head off to Hochanda. And what great shows Kay had lined up for us.

Brand New Design It Yourself Artist Aprons and New Stamps and Stencils. 

Kay had lots of sell outs over her shows but if you go over to the IndigoBlu website you can purchase any of the New Stamp Sets and Apron sets there.

Here are a couple of photos from the shows

Stunning Apron Kits, check out the DT's samples in the background.

Kay sharing hints and tips on how to decorate the aprons using the printed panels

Kay sharing the details on her own apron. 

These are a great way to express your creativity and have a practical use also. 

(Please note any price you see in the photos are the Hochanda Prices for the one time only ODS on the shows)

So before I finish up with July I just wanted to let you know a new Event has started on the 20th July until 20th August on the 'I Love IndigoBlu' Facebook page and its called 'Challenge Yourself '. All you need to do is be a member of the group and to create a New piece of work using IndigoBlu products using the theme NATURE, and the colours Green, Blue or Yellow. Hope to see you there and having a go.

Before I go, I just wanted to add a couple of little Sneaky Peek of Louise Withers Hochanda Show coming to us on Sunday 5th August at 12 noon and 4pm.

And for an extra cheeky little look, check out this link to see what Lydia Boode from the International DT has done in her new journal!

That's all for now!

Happy Crafting, Love Sue xx