Cutting Up at the Castle

It's tea time at Castle in the Air, and Ulla Milbrath has just wrapped up today's class, "Introduction to Paper Cutting." She's been working with cut paper silhouettes in her home studio for some time, but today was the first time she's taught the art.

Six students arrived at the studio this morning and, using scissors and X-Acto blades, were guided through a simple cut-out of a swan. Later, they tried a more complex cut-out, one that required some interior cuts. Before the day was out, they'd finished a silhouette collage by embellishing a portrait with other images they cut out from pieces from Ulla's collection, and started on a larger project that they can finish at home.

Ulla says she loved how different every piece looked, even though they all began with some of the same elements. Some of the pictures came from Silhouettes, a Dover book by Carol Belanger Grafton that Ulla recommends. She wasn't the only one who enjoyed the day. One excited student even exclaimed, "We had more fun than we could have even imagined!"

Do you want to try it right now? Ulla's let us turn one of her simple collages into a silhouette for you to download and cut out yourself! Click here to try it!

Rap-tap-tap!

Throughout the day, visitors to Castle in the Air have been startled by recurring banging and buzzing noises, which seem to be coming from behind the northern wall of our upstairs studio. What could be happening? Kobolds haunt the mines of Germany (just like their cousins, the knockers, do in Cornwall), making lots of noise before a collapse. Perhaps some kobolds have tunneled too far afield and found their way to Fourth Street! Or maybe the goblins from George MacDonald's wonderful book The Princess and the Goblin are digging their way in to steal someone away to their underground kingdom. If we've got any goblins in our walls, we have to guess that they're not here for mischief but to herald some more fun-loving changes at Castle in the Air. Don't run away!

A Testimonial

This weekend Castle in the Air is welcoming back master calligrapher Bill Kemp, who flies in from Albuquerque a few times a year to teach classes in the studio. Bill will be teaching copperplate script this time, and when he returns the weekend of July into August he'll teach Spencerian script and flourishes.

Spencerian script was developed by the American calligrapher Platt Rogers Spencer in 1840 as a writing hand appropriate for business and social correspondence. It was the standard into the 20th century, when it was edged out by the Palmer Method (which most of us remember from school days) and the rise of the typewriter.

As we were preparing the summer class mailer (which is on press as I write this), we came across a fun old "testimonial" from a Spencerian student back in the script's heyday. You can click on the picture to get a closer look. Mr. Morgan's had quite good success with just five weeks of practice!

"One for my master, one for my dame..."

I spent the morning in the loft studio at Castle in the Air, assembling the first bags of mixed colors of wool from our shipment. It's so easy to think of all the fun needle-felting projects I want to make when I see the different colors in combination. My girls are coming to the store tomorrow, and will help me put together more bags. Many hands make light work!

The City Doll's Kitchenette

I was upstairs in the Castle in the Air studio today, sorting through our collection of vintage clippings, photographs, postcards, and other what-not to make some ephemera packs for the store. One of the most charming pieces was a folded sheet of paper titled The Little Delineator, the children's supplement to a March 1923 edition of The Delineator, a popular women's magazine. Here's something for the kids to do on a rainy March day using a cigar box and some other household rubbish. (Click on the images to get a closer look.)

The Castle Crier: Valentine classes are here!

For everyone who loves to visit Castle in the Air's upstairs studio for classes with our amazing crafting and art teachers, the wait is over! If you're on our mailing list, you can expect your copy of the spring class flier within a few days. And if you can't wait that long (and if you've signed up on our email list), check your inbox for your copy of The Castle Crier, the Castle in the Air's brand new email newsletter!

The first issue of The Castle Crier includes information on five special Valentine's Day-themed classes that begin next week. There are plenty of seats still available for the classes, in which you can learn these fun and festive crafts (pictured left to right):







* A deliciously lovely needlefelted strawberry cake box (taught by Caron Dunn)
* A papier-mache heart box with delicate paper cut decoration (taught by Ulla Milbrath)
* A "lover's eye" brooch to remind you of your sweetheart (taught by Ulla Milbrath)
* A Valentine optique to celebrate romantic love (taught by John McRae)
* An antique-inspired velvet heart box (taught by John McRae)

Because not everyone who wants to join in the fun can make it to our store classes, every issue of The Castle Crier also features a special craft that you can make at home. This issue's project is by our needlefelting queen Caron Dunn, who will teach you how to make the precious little Valentine's heart charms pictured at the top of this post. You can attach them to a charm chain, a love letter, or anything that could use a little more love. Visit The Castle Crier for all the details!