Kirsty’s Craft Birthday Parties: Happy kids and parents from Birmingham to Sheffield and further!

A fab collection of hand-felted cushions made at Aimee's 11th birthday party. Brilliantly creative kids!

I know it sounds like blowing my own trumpet but I just can’t help having a warm glow inside myself when I have just finished one of my AllSensesArt felting parties; it is such a rewarding feeling to know that not only is the birthday girl or boy happy and satisfied but their friends and mum, and dad and even their grandma is excited and happy too. 

My felting parties seem to be even better than expected!

“Couldn’t think of any negatives as everything went even better than planned!”
Sarah Brindley, Cannock, West Midlands May 2014

When people book me to do a felting party for their child they will usually have Googled something like ‘Craft Parties’. They might also have Googled ‘Craft Parties Midlands’, ‘Craft Parties Staffordshire’, ‘Craft Parties Derbyshire’ and more but actually I have travelled all over the UK to deliver AllSensesArt felting parties. Fife in Scotland, way over in the East of the East Midlands and up to Sheffield in South Yorkshire too. 

Parents who like my parties like something a bit different.  They know their child and know what they and their friends like. They know that their child likes making things and loves to create and usually has friends who are into making and crafts too and a felting party is usually a completely new experience for everyone. 

When I describe an AllSensesArt kids felting birthday party I always say that they are lively and full-on. Not mayhem but simply buzzing with creative energy. And what we achieve in two hours of craft activity always amazes people. 

Me, Kirsty E Smith, having fun with Sienna's friends at her felted bag party 

“Just wanted to say a huge Thank you for  the fabulous workshop you carried out for Laura’s party yesterday.

All the girls had a wonderful time and I  had some lovely texts last night from their moms thanking me and saying how the girls were still buzzing and hadn’t  stop talking about it all evening!!!!

They are all so proud  of their cushions and the parents were amazed to see what they had produced when they collected them.” 
Jaki Hingley, Stourbridge, West Midlands 

Happy and proud children at various AllSensesArt craft birthday parties

It is such a nice surprise to start with just fluffy sheep’s wool fibres and use just soap and water to make, not only make a piece of hand-made felt, but to actually make an item such as 
-a cushion
-a bag
-a piece of jewellery-a picture
or 
-a mini-beast creature.

there are so many many gorgeous colours to choose from 

The children have an exciting time working with materials that they usually haven’t handled before. 
And everyone always loves the soapy water rubbing part of the process of making hand made-felt. Felting is a very sensory process. 

The various stages during an AllSensesArt kids craft party are:

-First choosing colours

-Then learning how to break the wool fibres into short tufts and lay-out a bed of fluffy fibres.

-Designing a picture or pattern is a favourite part of the process for children who enjoy designing,and planning.
In an AllSensesArt party you learn how to ‘draw’ with wool.

-Next wetting the wool, adding some lovely mild soap and rubbing to felt the fibres together. This is such a relaxing process and totally different from other craft processes. 

At yesterday’s cushion making party Aimee and her friends burst into song while they were felting; this is not the first time that I have had a merry band of felters who enjoy it so much that they start to sing!

-And then before their very eyes the fluffy wool fibres have transformed into a piece of hand made felt.

When making a felted bag we wrap up a rock to begin with. 
Well that’s an unusual craft party idea! 
And we make a felted bag with no sewing at all.... okay we do sew on the button at the end.

a rock wrapped up in sheep's wool fibres. All ready to be transformed into a cute and colourful bag 

Detail of Sienna's felted bag. It was her 8th birthday party. 

"It was lovely to meet you and be introduced to a new skill. The flow of the party worked really well, the only downside it went far to quickly! You engage well with the children and adults making us all at ease and encouraging us to just enjoy it which we all did. There were some proud girls (and one Grandma) at the end of the party. They make a wonderful substitute for the standard party bag and could be used to put a few goodies in!  Oooh and my hands felt so smooth with the use of Olive oil soap!
Sarah Brindley, Cannock, West Midlands May 2014

Sienna's craft party for her 8th birthday

At a felted cushion making birthday party the children first make their piece of hand-made felt, then they cut a matching shaped piece from some shop-bought felt. Next they sew the front and back together using running stitch and then they stuff their cushion and sew up the gap.

Build-a-Bear is nothing compared to an AllSensesArt Felted Cushion Making party!

Stuffing the cushion with some super soft filling

Sewing up the last gap to complete the cushion

For more craft party options and more feedback from previous parties visit www.allsensesart.com

and you can also watch a short video of one an AllSensesArt Felted Flower Jewellery Craft Parties. 


Prices start at £105 for 7 children with £15 per additional child.

I travel all over the country to lead kids creative craft parties - most are in The Midlands, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire but don’t hesitate to contact me even if you live further afield as travel costs can be discussed. 

e mail Kirsty Smith  allsensesart@btinternet.com
phone 0773 995 9951

If you want an extra-special, very unusual and memorable Craft Party for your child then an AllSensesArt felting party is the perfect choice!

Mental Health improved by Wonderful Scenery and Creative Activities

A sneak preview of one of the countryside inspired felted pictures made during our day in the Peak District.

Borderland Voices, the Leek-based Community Arts for Health and Mental Wellbeing charity is an amazing organisation! 

When I first read about it and the work that it has done over the past 16 years I knew that I wanted to work with them if at all possible.  Based in Leek in Staffordshire their lovely bright art room is haven for anyone who is suffering from any form of mental distress as it is a place where they can regularly spend time on creative activities. 

The art room (previously a vegetable shop) has a deep bay window which they use for an ever changing exhibition of creativity. 

"The projects on offer provide a safe, supportive and friendly environment for those taking part – which gives people the ability to express their emotions in artistic terms, something that is especially useful during times of emotional distress, such as bereavement. The fact that there’s no referral process, as well as the knowledge that those involved can drop in or out at any time, means that everyone can be included as much as they feel necessary." Excerpt from their listing on the ArtsHealthandWellbeing website. 

Andy Collins is the coordinator at Borderland Voices and working with her was a real pleasure. Andy devised a way that we could make the felting activity, that I had proposed, a full day and also a very special offsite activity in the heart of the Peak District National Park. Firstly she linked with Rethink Mental Illness in Leek so that some of their service users could also take part and next she devised a plan where our felting day could be part of 'A Breath of Fresh Air' (a project part funded by Ecominds and the Peak Park’s Sustainable Development Fund)

Fresh air, exercise, being in the countryside and creativity often go together but it is certain that they each contribute to a better sense of wellbeing and can definitely contribute to improved mental health.

Andy booked a minibus and planned the creative trip to The Dove Valley Centre in Sheen. 
I drove up from Lichfield and wow what wonderful scenery! We had an enthusiastic group of fourteen, including Andy, Elspbeth from Dove Valley Centre and also our minibus driver. 

The fresh air and scenery was inspirational 

A poem was written on the day too. 

No one had made hand-made felt at all before so after soaking up the scenery and a cup of tea we got started by making some pre-felt. 

The rubbing motion is rhythmical and always relaxes people

Then I showed the group various ways of ‘painting’ with wool fibres. There are so many options, blending small tufts of coloured wool fibres to get subtle shades, cutting shapes from the pre-felt that we had made in the morning and also using some interesting textured knitting yarns to add surface texture and lines. 

Some hand-spun jacob wool yarn used here. (photo by Andy Collins)

A good use of shapes cut from pre-felt for this design

As we were part funded by the Peak Park’s Sustainable Development Fund we were aiming to take our inspiration from the countryside around us. Even though we were working indoors this was still easy as the barn studio is upstairs and so we had a clear view from the windows. 

You can almost feel you are out in the wide open countryside here 

Really colourful and with a couple of sheep on the horizon too

At the end of the day we had more tea and cake and it was great to look at everyone’s felted pictures and have that wonderful sense, not only of personal achievement, but also of shared creative experience. 

This man is a keen amateur photographer and decided to play with inverting colours. 

This creative lady took inspiration from some geraniums in pots in Dove Valley Centre courtyard. She is a keen card maker and applied her design skills to felting.

Me (Kirsty E Smith) admiring everyone's felted pictures. (photo by Andy Collins)

It was a lovely day and I was really pleased that images of the felted pictures featured on the Borderland Voices calendar. And I also had the pleasure of another creative session with the group a few months later up in their art room in Leek. In that session we made some multi-coloured felted balls which we made into hanging decorations and also a few multi-coloured felted bead bracelets too.

  

Fun and rewarding creative sessions for young people in hospital

'Magic' Ball mini-beasts are one of my most popular felting activities and are especially good for drop-in sessions

Since 2008 I have been one of the artists who have had the privilege of working with young people while they have been in Birmingham Children’s Hospital; these creative sessions have been some of my most rewarding experiences. 

I am sensitive to people’s needs and can pick up on feelings or anxieties quickly and have an ability to put them at ease. 

I also see everyone simply as people and ideally I prefer not to say ‘young’ people or ‘older’ people. I feel that we are all people just at different stages of life. 

I work with all sorts of materials when making my own mixed media sculptures but over the years I seem to have done most of my outreach projects using the unusual medium of felt-making. I have found that felting is an amazingly versatile medium and I have developed my own methods to speed up the process - this has been especially useful when working with people with limited attention spans. I have also developed techniques which make it easier for people with limited physical abilities. 

Felting is a process which starts by participants first being intrigued by the wonderful range of colours of soft sheep’s wool fibres. 

When we get onto the wet part of the felting process everyone seems to get very relaxed and absorbed; the rhythmical rubbing with lovely Olive oil soapy water never fails to relax.

Making sure that we get results quickly is important too as sometimes I am working with a group of people who have very short attention spans or who have anxiety disorders. This sea themed felted wall hanging was made very speedily by a group of young people in Heathlands Ward at Parkview CAMHS clinic in Moseley, Birmingham (one of the largest Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the country).

Before and after pictures of the fishy sea themed wall-hanging

I have also worked on other wards. In one afternoon I worked with three young people on Irwin Ward and we made this wonderful space inspired sparkly wall hanging. 

Detail of space themed felted wall-hanging

I had gone all prepared to make something 'Doctor Who' inspired but when I arrived Callum (not his real name) had gone on a home visit. Being flexible and having ideas up your sleeve is pretty important when you are working in hospitals. The three young people who made this space picture came and went from the session as their energy allowed (they were all suffering from anorexia). But no matter how low in energy they were they all made a felted bangle at the end of the session too! It is always especially nice to make something that you can take home with you at the end of your time in hospital.

Getting the staff involved too is an additional reward when running creative activities in hospitals. Again at Parkview I worked with young people in Ashfield ward; there was only three in this group but they all had very different interests and needs. I was so proud of Alex who, on my second visit, made this Aston Villa felted picture. 

I made yellow pre-felt in advance of the session. This meant that Alex could trace the shape of the Aston Villa lion and then cut the shape from the pre-felt using his paper template. 

His confidence was extremely low but with the encouragement of one of the support team he managed to move from a simple felted ball to a felted picture. Raising his confidence and leaving him with something that was a concrete reminder of his abilities was exceedingly important. 

Sophie had big ambitions and worked away very quietly and made her own 3D felted cat in the same session- again one of the staff encouraged her by making his own felted cat alongside her. This was a great example of working alongside someone; just by sharing the experience you are helping them to gain confidence, you are both doing something new for the very first time. 

Two of my most admired felted wall hangings have been made by children on Ward 7, a clinical ward, in the main, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham Children’s Hospital site. For this Summer Arts Project my brief was to engage as many patients as I could; to go to the hospital with no preconceived ideas of the theme of the wall-hangings but at the end of the day the expectation was that I would have facilitated the making of two wall-hangings which would be on permanent display in the ward and be seen by children of all ages. 

I took a selection of images along with me- Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Mario and Spongebob amongst others.

Very quickly I had a group of three girls aged about 10 and they were very keen to make a Hello Kitty themed wallhanging, I also had a student nurse in the group and she was very enthusiastic too. We worked around children going off for treatments but that can be tricky as I wanted to make sure that everyone was involved will every stage of the process.

Hello Kitty wall-hanging.
Top- dry wool fibres laid out. Bottom- after the wet felting process

With the first wall-hanging completed we were able to show more patients what we had made and in the afternoon a couple more joined my little ‘felting posse’. Believe it or not we worked from a tiny image on someone’s smart phone. I had admired her new Muppets tee-shirt (it just had Animal on it) and that was where the idea of making a muppets wall-hanging came from. It is amazing what you can do with just an image on a smart phone to work from! 

I was especially pleased that we made Miss Piggy’s necklace using circles cut from sparkly fabric. I have found that you have to go to hospital art sessions with a wide range of materials... just incase ...as you never know what you might need!

Ward 3 - now called Ocean Ward - is  one which I have worked in on several projects in 2008, 2009 and 2012.

I am still so very proud of the felted glove puppets that were made in the All About Me project. After my first session with the young people in this ward I discovered that football was a what most of them were especially interested in. I took a note of favourite teams and players and went along to the next session armed with images printed onto cotton fabric. The young people were wowed that I even knew the players numbers (I did need to research this!) When finished, the glove puppets were able to play table-top football with the big stuffed felted ball that Amir had made in the first felting session. 

Some of the young people had dexterity problems but that didn't stop their enthusiasm and everyone was really proud of their achievements 

On Ocean ward we have made quite a range of creations, Mini-beasts, cushions, felted flowers purses and another large felted wall-hanging. 
This was based on a fantasy digital game and everyone in the group added to the design. 

Even boys like making their own special purse

Cushions and flowers made by children in Ocean Ward. Part of the 'AllAbout Me' creative sessions at Birmingham Children's Hospital

Completed wallhanging designed and made by children in Ocean Ward

Here you can see how everyone's ideas were included in the fantasy PC game wall-hanging design 

And finally, even at Christmas a stay in hospital can be made more fun; we even made our own small felted Christmas Stockings. 

It is my philosophy that everyone, whatever their abilities and personal circumstances, has the right to learn a new skill and to have the opportunity to make unique artwork of their own. My mission is, “To nurture and encourage people’s imagination and creativity in a fun and enthusiastic way”. 

I feel privileged to have been part of these young people’s lives especially during a hospital stay which will have been a challenging time in their lives and I look forward to leading more exciting creative sessions with children (and indeed people of all ages!)

www.allsensesart.com 

Felted Wall-Hanging inspired by Monet's Waterlily Paintings- a fantastic School Project

This impressive felted wall hanging was made in a day by 24  four and five year olds (120cm W,  85cm H)

It’s great that I love working with children! 
One of my fun days last summer was working with 24 Reception/Year 1 children at Beech Street Primary School in Eccles (on the outskirts of Manchester). 

Teacher and School Arts Week Co-ordinator, Gill Douglas, contacted me and asked if I could help and of course I said yes! 

We decided that the children would make a wall hanging inspired by Monet’s waterlily paintings. 

Working in schools is interesting as there is always so much going on but often the logistics of fitting in and around things (like pirate parties and PE lessons) can be a challenge. Luckily for me Gill had left me with some fantastic staff who helped me to sort the children into smaller groups and to work out timings for bite sized chunks of felting throughout the day.

Working with six children at a time I gave them a simple introduction to Claude Monet. I had taken a selection of library books and had also printed off some relevant pictures. Even though the children were aged just 4 and 5 I really wanted to give them some interesting information and images of Monet. 

Well Monet had a BIG beard and he had a BIG garden! 

and he painted big paintings too!

Although I had photos of waterlilies I would really have loved to have been able to take a real waterlily flower into the classroom!

I explained that Monet was an artist who made his pictures with paint but we were going to make our wall hanging using colourful wool fibres. 
At this point it is always better to just get started with the physical act of felting. 

I had separated the wool fibres into greens for the waterlily leaves and pinks and purples for the flowers, so with each group we either made flowers or leaves. 

Wool fibres laid in a swirl; a simple way to make felted waterlily flowers

Softly felted waterlily flowers made by the children

We made lots of these flowers and leaves and laid them out ready for the afternoon. 

At lunchtime I got the classroom ready for making the big wall hanging so that as soon as my first group came back from their pirate party they were ready to go! I definitely wanted to make sure that every single child had taken part in every stage of the process.

Once the table was covered in a layer of white wool fibres we then changed to a pallet of blues and purples. This was fun as the children really do enjoy breaking the wool into small tufts. (This part of the felting process is called ‘laying-out’) and they were pretty impressed that we were working on such a large scale.

We used a range of blue coloured fibres to lay over the white layer (these were laid at right angles to the white layer). Now we had a ‘pond’ and next we had to decide where all of the waterlily flowers and leaves had to go. I showed the children Monet's waterlily paintings again as I felt it was important to remind them of what we were doing. The felting can all get a bit exciting  and I just wanted to remind them of the ‘big picture’ ie our Arts Week project.

One of Claude Monet's waterlily paintings

Again I feel that it is very important for the children to take ownership of their own art so I let them place the felted flowers and leaves on and then together we adjusted the position of some until we were happy with the composition. At this point I was really pleased that the teaching assistants felt happy to tell me their observations and they helped with the composition too.
Next I stood up on a chair and looked down at it to give the design a final check.

Once happy with this we got onto the big job of wetting, soaping, rubbing and rolling.

The laid out design completely wet and soaped with Olivia olive oil soap

Logistically this is the hardest bit of making a large collaborative piece of felt as there just isn’t space for 24 children to roll at once. 
Miss Morris, my fantastic teaching assistant, came to the rescue; as the children took turns with the rolling she and the rest of the children launched into a cavalcade of songs. They were absolutely fantastic and the singing made the rolling all so much easier and lots of fun, especially for me!

Rolling the wet and soaped design up in a bamboo mat

We stopped and admired our felt. Wow! There was no denying it, it was pretty impressive and all made by 24 children aged just 4 and 5.

Finished felted wall hanging (120cm W, 85cm H)
It is still damp here so would look even better once dry.

Before I left Beech Street school I hand-sewed a strip of cotton fabric onto the back of the top edge of the wall hanging. Then I threaded a length of dowelling through it and left it with two hooks ready for the school's brilliantly helpful janitor to hang up once it was dry.  

And finally how lovely to get this e mail from Gill Douglas, the School Arts Week Co-ordinator. 

"The work produced is fantastic and the wall hanging has already gone up! 
Thank you for your wonderful work & enthusiasm - everyone had a great, productive time!"