What is it about the end of August that makes so many of us skip ahead to start thinking about Christmas? (Hello, it’s Emma here, doing a Blog-takeover for one week only)
One minute we are in summer dresses, sunglasses and flip flops, contemplating installing air-conditioning in the studio, and the next we are literally planning where we’re going to have Christmas dinner this year! Poor old Autumn hardly gets a look-in.
We have just started thinking about Autumn Wreaths in the studio and yet we are getting daily emails asking about our Christmas Workshops. Ok, so Melinda has embraced this early planning a lot more than I have, although I am starting to understand that people like something to look forward to, and also know that Christmas lasts only a few short weeks, so if time is tight then planning get-togethers in advance is vital.
With that in mind I have just finished finalising our Christmas Workshop dates, and have really enjoyed adding new workshops to the diary for 2024. For those of you who do not like to contemplate Christmas until November, I sincerely apologise, and sympathise, but for the rest (the ‘planners’ I shall call you from now on) shall I tell you about them?
Christmas Calligraphy Workshop £75pp
With a brand new shiny tutor, the effervescent Millie from Papermill Calligraphy we are thrilled to be running a Christmas themed Calligraphy Workshop. You will be guided step-by-step on how to form letters and words, and apply the principles to create beautiful cards, gift tags and a Christmas bauble.
Sunday 24th November
Stained Glass Decorations £75pp
Local Stained Glass worker Roland has developed a 3 hour workshop especially for us to make hanging Christmas decorations - although this is a relatively short workshop it will give you a taste of the techniques used in more complex stained glass, a great introduction to see if this is a craft you want to explore further. The coloured glass used in the session are really stunning, and it’s so much fun combining colours to create your pieces. To allow lots of tutor time we’ve limited numbers to just 6 per session.
Thursday 28th November
Friday 20th December
Back for 2024 is our popular Gingerbread Wreath Workshop £80pp, run by cake-whizz Sally Davis. She prebakes all the elements of this tasty workshop so you can spend 3 indulgent hours decorating the ginger biscuits, layering them up to create a unique (and long-lasting if you can resist eating it!) wreath. It’s a real talking point and makes a fabulous gift.
Sunday 22nd December
Weave Willow Christmas Decorations £55pp
We’ve been repeatedly asked to offer a shorter willow workshop and so we’ve worked with our Willow tutor Clare Shilvock to offer you a couple of 3 hour workshops. We’ve only got one day for these willow workshops: 6th December so don’t delay in booking your places to make willow stars and wreaths or freestanding Angels or Trees. They have real Scandi-style and look so stylish either unadorned or dressed up with twinkly fairy lights!
Friday 6th December
Willow Mini Deer £150pp
Over the years guests have also asked again and again to make a full deer, not just the Stags Head, so Clare got to work and is ready to show you how to make your own mini deer, with or without little horns! We’re only offering this on one date:
Thursday 12th December
Firm Larkswold favourites are also in the diary -
Fresh foliage Christmas wreaths (of course) with all the trimmings! £75pp
From Saturday 30th November - all workshop dates and times are on the website
Christmas Scented Candles £75pp
From Wednesday 27th November, or earlier by arrangement!
Glass Fused Christmas Decorations £85pp
Saturday 12th October
Friday 1st November
Block Printing Table Runners & napkins, or tea-towels, bags, cards, tags & giftwrap £75pp
Come and print Christmas things with us anytime you like, but officially from Friday 29th November
Eco Collage Art Workshop £55pp
In the meantime we also have another new workshop to tell you about run by talented local artist Penny Lindner. Penny creates beautiful collaged artworks using her favourite Waitrose magazines (other supermarkets are available!) and we're delighted she's coming to the studio to run sessions for us. A brilliant craft to get started with under Penny's experienced eye, with no outlay for kit to continue your new obsession at home, although it is the perfect excuse to buy colourful magazines to recycle into unique artwork!
Friday 25th October
Sunday 10th November
Autumn Sugarcraft Workshop £75pp
Learn how to make sugar flowers & pumpkins to decorate cakes and more with our wonderful cake & sugarcraft tutor Sally. This is a brilliantly satisfying workshop packed with lots of hints and tips to create beautiful decorations to wow your friends!
Sunday 6th October
Autumn Wreaths £75pp
We’ve got lavender drying and hyacinth flowers to hand ready for our Autumn Wreath Workshops which run through September & October only. These are a mix of fresh and dried foliage on a natural willow wreath which dry further in situ and can be enjoyed for months to come. These Autumnal Wreaths have a special place in our hearts and they always look stunning. Why not get a group together and enjoy some Larkswold time together?
In other random news we’ve noticed an increase in last minute bookings, including people trying to book groups (like Hen Parties) in at only a few weeks notice. Although we obviously try to accommodate this it’s just not always possible - so if you have a family event coming up, or think you’d like to do a workshop with a group of friends or a work ‘do’ then please get in touch early if possible! I hate having to say no to you!
Melinda and I had a really fun evening last night at Baking, Making, Shaking WI in Bishop’s Cleeve - what a brilliant group! There were around 45 attendees and we were asked to give a Block Printing demonstration - which we did and then followed up with getting everyone to print a greetings card to take home. I think it's safe to say they enjoyed it, and so did we, except for the washing up afterwards which is always the downside of any Block Printing!
I’ll leave you there as I have a few cakes to bake for our busy weekend ahead, dogs to walk and kids to collect from school… as always, thank you for your continued support. As a small business we really do appreciate each and every one of you, your kind words, Social Media likes, comments, shares and guests you send our way.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Emma
Shamelessly loving this!
Oh wow 🤩 just worked out how to comment on the blog. So of course it’s very well structured, beautifully written AND informative- yep, it’s Emma blogging, not Melinda 🤪. What would people like to hear about in next weeks blog?