Crafty Hen Dos in Newcastle: A creative alternative to the boozy bar crawls
You can never have too much time with your besties and an alternative crafty Hen Do is the perfect time to create a bonding opportunity for the bridal party and celebrate the bride to be.
Grab a bottle of Nosecco (we use sharps), relax and create bold modern Lino prints together that will become a daily reminder of the memories you’ve made with your favourite people.
Up to 8 of you can enjoy this special experience together in the comfort of your own home.
Michaela’s Hen Party
In this 2 hour session, Michaela and her hens created a series of Lino prints for both the bride to be and themselves to take home and turn into a gallery wall.
Table set up with tools and materials for a Lino print workshop for a crafty hen party
Arrival
The ladies arrived, excited and eager to have a go.
The table was all set up with the materials and equipment needed and I was ready to welcome them all and get to know a little about them before we started. Some were a little shy, others were full of energy. Some had tried Lino print before and others were adamant that they could not draw. This is always the first myth that I dispel. Everyone has the potential to be able to draw but some people have had more/better guidance and practice.
The Workshop
We started by exploring the tools - how to fit the different gouge heads, how to carve a simple straight line and experimenting with different shapes and marks.
Woman using an essdee gouge tool to practice carving different lines and shapes on scrap Lino.
After that, we got chatting about our favourite beaches (that was the chosen them) and I passed around some photos for inspiration. The ladies also looked on their phones for some of their favourite beach photos.
I guided them through sketching out their designs, explaining what layouts and levels of detail worked well with the Linocut process before we traced off the design onto the Lino.
Next it was time to apply the skills they’d tried out on the scrap piece. Each person moved at their own pace and I moved around to support, give tips and troubleshoot where needed.
Then came the colour, starting with one block colour and then moving onto ombre blends. I gave demos at each stage and showed what happens when you over or under ink the block.
Heather Moore, printmaker, giving a demo on applying an ombre ink effect to a Lino block
From then on the ladies were concentrating on creating a few prints and playing with different colour ways. The room was filled with laughter and smiles (and a little bit of inky mess - just as well we were using water based inks!).
The Results
Despite their worries about whether they could create something they were happy with, everyone achieved a print they loved. To finish off, I showed how, with one of each print, they could create a gallery way. They also got to take away my easy to follow guide on creating a gallery wall - stuffed with tips on hanging, layouts and framing choices.
Hen Party Lin Prints Arranged Ready To Be Hung As A Gallery Wall
What The Hen’s Thought
Bonuses
There are 2 amazing bonuses that all of the hens came away with:
Gallery Wall guidance pdf - an easy to follow guide with layout ideas and hints and tips to create a gorgeous gallery wall.
Bonus discount code to use against my products - an exclusive discount code to use when shopping on my website for original art and gifts.
If you like the sound of the workshop and want to book one for you and your friends then click the button below. There are a range of packages including hen parties and baby showers. I also offer one to ones in my studio.