Forget Resolutions what are you looking forward to this year?

[Mad Dilys]

Is anyone doing anything new this year?

I am looking forward to trying some new Art projects and have everything ready Inshallah.

I've started practising stencilling on a few small examples of butterflies, using all kinds of stuff that's new to me like Sparkle Glue!

Small mandalas are appealing, don't take too long, look good with very little effort and I haven't done anything like it before.

I just need a few more canvasses and I am ready for Pouring technique with Acrylics - I have a good stock of pain and the extra like chains and so on. Very excited about that.

Then I want to do some clay modelling and perhaps later some modelling with wire.

I used to made moulds when I was a teenager and fancy doing that if I get time. I hope to be very busy.

I've got to find out how to put pictures on here again, my brain is completely blank on that score at the moment.

[Ruby Slippers]

At the moment I feel in limbo, waiting for so many things to happen, which will then determine what plans I will make for the year! P.s. Would anyone like to put a pin up DH's bum for me, please???

[Mad Dilys]

How about one of those lovely Victorian hat pins?

[LovelyLadyLux]

I've gone to a Beading session with the Metis women at Tsa'Walk. It is learning oral traditions of beading. Will be going again in two more weeks for an afternoon. As an aside the food there is traditional and delicious.

[Ruby Slippers]

Much more info required please, LLL! The classes sound fascinating and so does the food!

[Mad Dilys]

Yes indeed Ruby, it's got my attention too. I love traditional beaded products and preparing food.

I asked my daughter last night if I could make cakes for the monthly group meetings at her house when I move in with her and I got an enthusiastic yes! I really miss baking. Not keen on eating cakes though could be tempted by a bit of lemon drizzle cake now and then.

[Grandad]

Now come on girls, I already told you that I intend to lose a little more weight this year and you go on about flavoursome food and lemon drizzle cake.
As for the topic of this thread, I am afraid that my sight is not up to any form of craft hobby or DIY. With just one eye I have no 3D and even using a screwdriver I have to "feel" the screwdrivwe onto the screw.
Happilly I can still use my computer and have some short focus glasses that help with that. I have been spending quite a lot of time on family history stuff. Nothing of great note is emerging but many interesting human stories of how life was back in the eighteenth and Victorian nineteenth centuries. Perhaps I will relate some of these stories on here for your interest.......
The only thing we have to look forward to right now is a 4 night break in a riverside lodge on the Avon at Stratford upon Avon in April. Other holiday options are under consideration.......

[FABlux]

We leave here on 8th Jan and come back end of Feb so looking forward to getting my new seeds sown in the propagater as soon as we come back and getting out into the garden after that.

Would love to see your human interest stories Grandad.

Hope you sort pictures MD, still want to see a mandala

[Mad Dilys]

This is the best I can do at the moment FAB https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=manda ... es&ie=&oe=

[LovelyLadyLux]

Pre-Christmas I went, of an afternoon, to the "Tsawalk" Learning Center which is basically a Conference type venture developed between the Aboriginal Center and the Metis Women as they were putting on a workshop re: beading ornaments.

Bit of info in quickie Readers Digest form: When European settlers (mostly men and particularly French) came to Canada (am talking 150+ yrs ago) they married Indian/First Nations/Aboriginal women. Once a First Nations woman married a white man she was expelled from her Tribe or Band, all rights and priviledges (here called her STATUS) she had were taken from her and her children were NEVER recognized as being Indian. They were referred to as "Metis" and there were/are thousands on the Prairies. Sadly unfortunately Metis were not recognized by their Mother's Tribe which was the prevalent population on the Prairise at the time nor were they particularly recognized by white society either. Very marginalized group so much so there was the Riel Rebellion of 1885 of Metis people as well as the Cree and Assiniboine Nations against the Gov't of Canada. Lots of battles, lots of bloodshed with the upshot being the Canadian Gov't executed by hanging Louis Riel (the leader of Metis) and a couple of the First Nations warriors too. With these battles and executions it did conclude the Canadian Governments efforts to colonize the Prairie provinces of Canada and basically institute European law in this huge area.

It took until the 1980ies for Women of First Nation descent to regain their Tribal "status" and have themselves and their children re-recognized as "First Nations" people. This allowed Women who had a First Nations heritage to apply to their Bands to have their Status returned to them. Other than again "belonging" to a community it allows the children free university, free medical, freely cross between Canada and the USA, don't pay sales tax (which is 12% for the rest of us) etc etc etc BUT in order to get these "perks" they must produce a "Status Card" which says the officially belong to a Band.

Anyway - I probably exceeded the Readers Digest format - they have a center here and one of the Elders was and is offering the ORAL tradition of beading. Not allowed to write anything down as this is an oral tradition only. They had about 30 women there, gave us the seed beads and she showed and explained how to start a simple beading circle and how to thread back and forth through the beads. It was quite hard to SEE the seed beads and I did see some of the women there using hard magnifying glasses.

The food was fantastic - smoked salmons, elk and buffalo sausages, veggies, pickles and on and on.

I'm going back for another afternoon of beading on the 11th. I think we're going to learn to make basic earrings. First Nations beaded jewelry is a big thing here.

[Ruby Slippers]

Thanks for such detailed information, LLL! That sounds fascinating! You will have to take some photos of your work for us to see!

[bigken]

Travel for me, I feel I need to see more of the world and its many cultures, So on our return from the land of fire and ice on the 22nd January I will set about planning what I can squeeze into my 5 weeks annual leave I get.

[FABlux]

This is the best I can do at the moment FAB https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=manda ... es&ie=&oe=

Thank you, They are really beautiful, I had no idea.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I love Mandalas. Been thinking about trying to do them. Have enough "rocks" around here to paint on

[Mad Dilys]

I haven't got any stones but I've got a packet of air drying terracotta "clay" and thought I'd make some roughly heart shaped stones to decorate. We have Stoned beggars outside the shop next door...…. but they are no help at all.