This week I had a wonderful afternoon chatting with Canal folk artist Duncan Burrett, who is owner and captain of a delightful narrowboat called 'Zendu' that is moored on the River Stort. Duncan has lived on the boat for 22 years with wife Zena. Ralphy and I often stop to admire Zendu, because not only is she the prettiest boat along the canal, but Duncan also sells a wonderful selection of old antiques and wares on the top of his boat which he paints in the famous 'Canal folk art' style. I have always loved the colourful vibrant style of Canal folk art but I didn't know anything about it until meeting Duncan. So when he invited us aboard to show us his work and give us a demonstration, I jumped at the chance. 

Duncan is a self-taught artist and used to specialised in oil paints and animal portraits. But it wasn't until 20 years ago he turned his hand to creating and selling canal folk art. "It started 20 years ago when I was sat on the boat painting a teapot, a lady stopped by and asked if it was for sale, so I told her to come back in 10 minutes and it would be!" Now he even demonstrates in schools, and is often commissioned by other boat owners. Duncan decorates all sorts with this style, especially old fashioned wares such as old watering cans, tea pots, urns, and even old boots ... and he also encourages people to bring their own objects along for him to paint. I had a lovely afternoon with Duncan, we chatted about his life, about the realities of boat-living, the interesting history behind folk art and how to paint in the folk-art style. He also makes a cracking cuppa tea! Read on to hear all about it ...

Happy July you lovely lot! 

Well, what a July it has been. After moaning about the the weather in last months post it appears the weather-fairies heard me, because the UK has been blazing hot this month! who knew old blighty was still capable of having more than just a few days of summery weather? the girlies have been donning their hats and flip flops, and the men have been sporting their sunburned heads and naked beer bellies (always a treat of course :-)) and over at AHC HQ we've been up to all sorts, though mostly furniture makeovers. Here's our month in pictures ...

A couple of weeks ago I was delighted to be invited down to my local Coopers department store to cut the ribbon for their new craft department. I walked down the red carpet as the crowds lined the streets and cheered me on (!) .... okay well that's not quite true, it wasn't as glam as all that, but my little craft club 'The Cottage Crafters' were there in full attendance because we are over the moon about the new craft department, as will the rest of our local crafters be when they discover it for themselves.

Hello all, I hope this finds you all well in your worlds. We've had a lovely month of May in AHC headquarters. Hubby and I escaped to the country for a few days to celebrate our anniversary which was just what I needed ... we stayed in a gorgeous little cottage in a little 'chocolate-box' village in Suffolk, which I'll be sharing with you soon. We've also had some lovely walks and I've enjoyed some crafty challenges this month too! Here's my month in pictures ...

A few weeks back I was invited to take part in a blogger challenge by the Luxury Silk Bedding company Gingerlily. I love a crafty challenge so I was more than happy to join in the fun. We were sent a box of silk flowers and some other bits and bobs, and with the Chelsea Flower Show as our inspiration we were told we could create anything we wanted using the silk flowers as our main element of inspiration. 

For a day or two I kept wandering past the flowers on my craft table, while I waited for them to shout out to me and tell me what it is they wanted to become - I toyed with a fairy garden, then a summer dining display ... but these flowers were so pretty I wanted to wear them ... so I asked myself in what scenario could such flowers be worn? of course ... weddings and festivals!! So here is my floral crown - inspired by the fresh flower crown I made for my own wedding day. This would be perfect for a flower girl, a bride, and I'll certainly be dancing around wearing it at festivals this summer :-)