CHOCOLATE!

It's been an incredibly busy few months with very little free time, but Sam and I decided to treat ourselves to a rare day off- we went on Jacqueline Keenan of La Fleur de Chocolat's chocolate making course!

Chocolate Goddess

We know Jacqui from a few of our regular markets and I don't think I've ever managed to resist not going home with (most likely an empty) box or bag of scrumptious treats made by her.

To say I was in my element during the day would be a huge understatement. I LOVE chocolate.

Jacqui welcomed us all with proper hot chocolate (the best I've ever had) and delicious nibbles. She taught us all about how chocolate is made and then had us taste a variety of different chocolates. This was fascinating and it's amazing how many different flavours you can taste in the real deal when you have an expert guiding you. I've never been wine tasting but I imagine it's a similar experience.

What shocked us the most was how unpleasant the supermarket brand chocolate tasted to us all after trying so many fine chocolates. I didn't think I liked dark chocolate before but Jacqui was absolutely right that we just hadn't tasted the right sort!

During the rest of the afternoon, we made our own fruit ganache to fill a tray of decorated chocolates, as well as three chocolate lollipops. My favourite part was the decorating and I'd love to have another go at it! I tried creating all sorts of detailed designs but I think the simpler, more abstract ones actually looked the most effective.

Painting chocolate designs

Sam's designs

My filling of choice was raspberry and framboise, while Sam opted for mango and passionfruit so between us we had a good selection.

You have to bash the tray with a rolling pin to line each chocolate mould

I knew chocolate making involved a great deal of artistic skill but hadn't realised what a scientific process it is too, and how exact temperatures need to be reached and cooled to in order to temper your chocolate properly and give it a wonderful shine.  

I absolutely loved how messy it was as well- such fun!

We had a wonderful day with Jacqui- she couldn't have been more welcoming and it was a real pleasure to learn more about the greatest thing on earth from a passionate expert. We were also allowed to taste everything throughout the day (which of course we did) so I was on a sugar high for the majority of the afternoon. I can't recommend the experience highly enough, so if you're looking for the perfect gift for the chocoholic in your life, head on over to her website!

Lollipop toppings

Sam's chocolates

My Christmas themed chocolates

Lollipops

Our lollipops all set to go!

The Last Ever Art in Action

Life has been slightly hectic over the last few days with the arrival of our three absolutely beautiful rescue cats. I'm just about resisting turning into a full on cat lady, but it's a tough job!

10 week old Monty, 3 year old Whisper and 5 week old little Ink

A couple of weeks ago we went to the last ever Art in Action. I was absolutely gutted to hear that this year was the very last show due to difficulty in finding sufficient volunteers to run the event and I really hope it can continue in some other form.

It was Sam's first visit to the show so I enjoyed showing him some of my favourite makers and, of course, food stands.

Art in Action is set in the beautiful grounds of Waterperry Gardens. There are loads of different marquees filled with all of the artwork and demonstrations you could wish to see from glassblowing to illustration. 

My favourite tent is always the Market tent. This is the largest marquee with a fantastic variety of handmade items.

As this was the very last Art in Action, I did use it as even more of an excuse to shop. I can't show all of the photographs now as we stocked up on Christmas presents but here are a few from the day, and my favourite makers.

Elizabeth Welch makes stunning contemporary glass art, gifts and homeware. We really enjoyed chatting to her about what inspires her work. She is a big Game of Thrones fan and makes gorgeous tiny glass dragons! She was kind enough to let me try on one of her necklaces above. Check out her website to see more of her work.

After the first stint of shopping it was time to head for the shade and have a delicious lunch form the Aribica Spice Company.

We watched a really interesting raku pottery demonstration and did some more exploring after lunch. 

Before the end of the day, I had to return to Lucy Jade Sylvester's stand. I fell in love with her beautiful botanical and British insect inspired jewellery on my very first visit to Art in Action. I was lucky enough to visit her studio and had one of her beautiful dragonfly necklaces and some earrings for my 21st birthday present from my parents. I decided to treat myself to one of her delicate leaf necklaces as a memento of many happy years visiting Art in Action. I love it!

Hawthorn leaf necklace
Lucy Jade Sylvester

Treefest

Over the Bank Holiday weekend, we visited Treefest at Westonbirt Arboretum. This is a fantastic festival filled with woodworking demonstrations, tools, delicious food, music and various arts and crafts. There is plenty to appeal to arty shoppers and eager woodworkers alike and I thoroughly recommend a visit next year if you are able to go.

Here are a few pictures from the day. Thank you to Sam for being photographer!

Ralph Curtis aka 'The Mushroom Man' of the Yew Turn company was definitely the most charismatic demonstrator at the festival, entertaining all ages with his mushroom making!

Shepherd huts seem to to be very on trend this year and we enjoyed pottering around in a few.

Whisky Barrel Rockers of Scotland had a very eye catching stand featuring their beautiful garden furniture made from recycled whisky barrels.

The Tintern Woodland Studio also had a lovely stand with lots of sculptures of The Green Man and some beautiful jewellery too!

One of my favourites from a previous visit was World Fossils. This is a real treasure trove of fossils and unique pieces of jewellery.

There were so many amazing sculpures and pieces of furniture for sale as well as plenty of demonstrations to see how the pieces were made. I particularly liked the chainsaw sculptors!