Feel Fabulous Fridays
2024-01-12 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-01-19 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-01-26 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-02-02 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-02-09 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-02-16 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-03-01 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-03-08 09:30 - 15:30 (Europe/London) and 2 more dates | Toolerstone House, Norley Road, Sandiway, Cheshire, CW8 2JN, United Kingdom
Our Feel Fabulous Fridays are all about taking time out for yourself in the beautiful, tranquil surroundings of Toolerstone House.
Book a class (or 2) and enjoy our Coffee Shop, which is open exclusively to those who have booked on to one of our sessions throughout the day. Have a light bite, a brew and enjoy the garden view. We will be serving from 9am until 2pm with last orders at 1:30pm. Please note that we will close at 3pm.
Please note that ALL bookings for Feel Fabulous Fridays need to be made directly with the tutors via the links provided in the details in the Event Details Tab.
We recommend you wear suitable attire and bring your own exercise mat.
If the weather is kind we will hold the classes outside on the lawn.
All classes are low impact and suitable for all abilities. As with all exercise please ensure you are fit & able to take part and if you have any concerns about this please contact the individual tutors as directed below.

Snowy Winter Landscape with Allie Pottinger
2024-01-16 09:45 - 15:45
This is a wonderful time of the year to sketch and paint the landscape, observing the delicate silhouettes of winter branches against a snowy back drop. This Winter wonderland workshop will explore lots of watercolour techniques for different changing moody skies, treatment of trees and beautiful snow scenes.

A bit more detail
Join friendly and experienced Cheshire watercolour artist Allie. She will share her skills and give you guidance throughout your day, in the light and spacious studio space. All dates are suitable for complete beginners to intermediates. Includes art materials, a freshly homemade lunch and refreshments.

About the Tutor
Allie graduated with a BA hons degree in illustration and spent time pursuing her love of art in London. Allie says the “Drawing, painting and sketching is all about enjoying your topic”. Allie loves to paint in a garden or whilst on a dog walk – capturing the natural changing of the seasons whether it is summer with its delicate florals, insects fluttering around them, or sitting on a snowy hillside working on a landscape view.
Allie has had her work featured in many exhibitions including Young Illustrator of the year exhibition at Smiths Gallery, Covent Garden, The Association of Illustrators Gallery in London, The Arts Centre in Bollington, Cheshire. She has also exhibited paintings at ‘Summerfields’ in Oxford and at the Royal Collage of London in aid of the Art for Youth.

Timetable of the day
9.45 A warm welcome
10.00 Introduction and demonstrations of watercolour techniques and outline of the day.
10.30 Allie will share her process for drawing & capturing winter skies, trees and snowy landscapes. You will have time to practise, explore and have fun with what you have learnt.
11.15 Coffee will be served
11.30 Continue with demonstrations and plan with Allie your ‘masterpiece’ for the afternoon.
13.00 Delicious homemade lunch in the refectory, with a chance to walk in the garden weather permitting.
14.00 Creating the body of work. More guidance and demonstrations including details and extra top techniques to give depth to your finished painting.
15.00 Putting the finishing touches to your work
15.45 The workshop ends, however; your love of painting will continue

What is included?

All materials & tools
Aprons are provided for the day if required
Refreshments & a delicious lunch
Free onsite car parking
The most important bit, your very own piece of art to take home

What do I need to bring?
You can bring your favourite brushes if you wish.
Experience level
We welcome all levels of experience from beginners to the enthusiastic professional.

Hare Willow Weaving Workshop
2024-01-17 09:30 - 16:30
The willow Sarah uses is from the Somerset Levels and is a renewable and sustainable crop. It is the ultimate green product absorbing carbon from the atmosphere as it grows.
The sculptures are made entirely of willow. Sarah’s workshops are run at a steady pace and are suitable for beginners. You will be expertly guided through every step to create a wonderful sculpture of your own.
About the Tutor
‘Willow has a fluidity that can’t be matched; it can twist and bend and turn to be reworked into whatever shape I desire; I am literally drawing with sticks.”
Sarah Gallagher-Hayes is a local willow sculptor. She has been creating sculptures for over 20 years and has been commissioned to make sculptures for Kew Gardens, Chelsea flower show and RHS Wisley gardens to name a few.
Timetable of the day
09:30 A warm welcome to @:Toolerstone with refreshments
10:00 Time to start your sculpture
13:00. Delicious homemade, lunch in the refectory
16:30. Workshop ends but, you can take your hare home!
What is included?

All materials & tools
Aprons are provided for the day if required
Refreshments & a delicious lunch
Free onsite car parking
The most important bit, your very own willow sculpture to take home

What do I need to bring?
Thin gardening gloves would be of benefit as the willow can be tough on your hands.
Experience level
We welcome all levels of experience from beginners to the enthusiastic professional!

Lino Print Workshop
2024-01-23 09:30 - 16:30, 2024-03-26 09:30 - 16:30
Join us for a wonderful workshop where you will learn the basics of lino printing with our tutor Kirsty Hall. Lino printing is a very relaxing pass-time, creating print after print with different inks. In this workshop you will create a design of your choosing. It could be a wild hare, a fox, country scene, pattern or abstract landscape– the choice is yours!

Log Bottomed Willow Kindling Basket
2024-01-24 09:30 - 16:30
The perfect introduction to basketry & you will go home with an elegant basket made from beautiful willow & incorporating interesting traditional/contemporary weaves.
Working from a log section bottom the difficult job of ‘upsetting’ (putting in the upright stakes evenly spaced) the basket is already done for you. You will spend the day learning weaves & finish off with a chunky border. Handle holes or hazel handle may be attached if you wish. An easy start to learning the traditional craft of basketry. Please note for those who work at a slower pace there will be a simpler version of the weave/border.
Please note that this workshops assumes that you are able to move around the room/stand for periods of time & have good mobility in your hands/fingers. Should you need any assistance with this or need adaptations before the workshop please make us aware.

Gardener’s Willow Tool / Foraging Basket
2024-01-25 09:30 - 16:30
The perfect introduction to basketry & you will go home with an elegant basket made from beautiful willow & incorporating interesting traditional/contemporary weaves.
Working from a ply base the difficult job of ‘upsetting’ (putting in the upright stakes evenly spaced) the basket is already done for you- it also means that you have a sturdy base to put on the ground in your garden & know your sharp tools wont ‘escape’ through the bottom!
You will spend the day learning weaves & finish off with a trac border. Leather short strap or hazel handle may be attached if you wish. An easy start to learning the traditional craft of basketry. Please note for those who work at a slower pace there will be a simpler version of the weave/border.
Please note that this workshops assumes that you are able to move around the room/stand for periods of time & have good mobility in your hands/fingers. Should you need any assistance with this or need adaptations before the workshop please make us aware.

Botanical Vase and Coasters Pottery Workshop
2024-01-30 09:30 - 15:30, 2024-03-05 09:30 - 15:30
Inspired by the beautiful gardens at Toolerstone we will be exploring nature to identify flowers and foliage that we will then use to create lasting impressions in clay.
Using your imprinted clay your tutor will guide you through hand-building pottery techniques to create vases and coasters. You will then add colour to the surface decoration enhancing the botanical theme and producing a range of items that will look stunning in your home.

Smart Phone Photography With Jane from Love Your Lens
2024-02-08 09:30 - 16:00
Join us by the log burner in our cosy, chalet-style Brew Shed with our tutor, Jane, for a photography workshop that will show you how to get the most from your smartphone.
Do you wonder how people take such amazing shots with their phones when you are looking at Instagram and Facebook?
We all know smart phones have great cameras and can supposedly do all these wonderful things but where do you even start with it?
How do you know what to do with things like composition, depth of field, and what to do when the light is tricky?
If you ask such questions then this is the Smart Phone Photography workshop for you. Jane will take you step by step through the day and you will learn …

How to use all your phone camera features.
How to take photographs of a wide range of subjects and how to cope with different kinds of light conditions.
How to compose your image creatively.
How to edit your photos to enhance them and make them stand out from the crowd.
You will then edit a chosen image in Snapseed to create a beautiful card

Early Spring Flowers Watercolour Workshop
2024-02-13 09:45 - 15:45
In this relaxing and informative workshop our tutor, Allie Pottinger, will demonstrate many creative techniques, including how to capture the finer details of spring florals, textured background washes, creating your own beautiful, nature-inspired masterpiece.

Introduction to Leather Workshop
2024-02-14 09:30 - 16:30
Our one-day leather workshop focuses on making premium small leather goods, such as a wallet, notebook holder, card holder or passport holder.
Join us for a wonderful introduction to leather in this workshop with Jason Stocks-Young of Diamond Awl. You will learn the core basics of traditional leather working techniques including marking & cutting, preparing leather for hand stitching, bevelling, burnishing and finishing. Make a leather item of your choosing and you can personalise it with your initials or you could choose the initials of a loved one as this would make a wonderful gift.

Hare Willow Weaving Workshop
2024-02-15 09:30 - 16:30, 2024-03-27 09:30 - 16:30
The willow Sarah uses is from the Somerset Levels and is a renewable and sustainable crop. It is the ultimate green product absorbing carbon from the atmosphere as it grows.
The sculptures are made entirely of willow. Sarah’s workshops are run at a steady pace and are suitable for beginners. You will be expertly guided through every step to create a wonderful sculpture of your own.

Nature Inspired Wire Workshop
2024-03-06 09:30 - 16:30
Join us in our glass room for a relaxing and nature inspired workshop. You will create wire sculptures reflecting florals and seedheads influenced by the gardens here at Toolerstone. Learning how to handle various gauges of wire.
Our tutor Judith will guide you every step of the way.

Garden Bird Embroidery Workshop
2024-03-07 09:30 - 16:30
Join us for this gentle day of stitch focusing on the familiar birds that we see in our gardens. Choose from a set of images brought in by our tutor, Rachel, who will guide you step by step to transfer the image onto fabric using Bonda web and a sponge and water.
Learn to split the embroidery threads and embellish the bird image in a wooden embroidery hoop with 2 simple embroidery stitches, running stitch and French knots.
Each person will have a wooden block to paint. The embroidered fabric is then cut into a square shape and then ‘glued’ onto the block.
The final block can stand on a shelf or go on the wall.
This is a good workshop for those who are not confident with embroidery, as the photo of the bird is underneath and even a small amount of stitching looks successful.
We all love to see birds in our gardens, as they busy themselves next building or searching for insects. Bring the Spring into your home as the weather warms up.

Bee Beauty Product Making Workshop
2024-03-13 09:30 - 16:30
In this workshop you will learn how to produce a range of practical beauty products using beeswax, pollen & honey (from the hives at Toolerstone?) combined with a wide range of beautiful cosmetic & botanical ingredients using a variety of techniques.
Items made may include: Lip Balm, Temple Balms, Glycerine Soap, Honey & Sugar Scrubs, Shampoo Bars, Hand & Body Balms, Baby Bellly & Bump Balms variety of salves & unctions! Expect to take home at least 8 items.
You will be working in pairs, but will choose your own scents, colours & ingredients working from/adapting tutor tried & tested recipes.
Please note that this workshops assumes that you are able to weigh & measure ingredients accurately & that you are able to move around the room/stand for periods of time. Should you need any assistance with this or need adaptations before the workshop please make us aware.
Those who are allergic to citral should not attend the workshop.

Botanical Beauty & Spring Spa Products
2024-03-14 09:30 - 16:30
In this workshop you will learn how to produce a range of professional quality beauty spa/pamper products using a wide range of beautiful English botanical ingredients using a variety of techniques.
Items made may include: Glycerine soaps, salt or sugar scrubs, whipped body butters, massage oil, cuticle balm, hand cream, foot soaks, temple balms, hot oil hair treatments, clay masks & bath teas. Expect to take home at least 10 items.
You will be working in pairs, but will choose your own scents, colours & ingredients working from/adapting tutor tried & tested recipes. Please note that this workshops assumes that you are able to weigh & measure ingredients accurately & that you are able to move around the room/stand for periods of time. Should you need any assistance with this or need adaptations before the workshop please make us aware.
** Those who are allergic to citral should not attend the workshop **

Hare’s Head Willow Weaving Workshop
2024-03-21 09:30 - 16:30
The willow Sarah uses is from the Somerset Levels and is a renewable and sustainable crop. It is the ultimate green product absorbing carbon from the atmosphere as it grows.
The hare’s head sculptures are made entirely of willow. Sarah’s workshops are run at a steady pace and are suitable for beginners. You will be expertly guided through every step to create a wonderful piece of willow art of your own.

Open Garden Mondays
2024-04-15 10:30 - 14:30
We are excited to announce that we are opening up our gardens on Monday afternoons from 10:30 to 14:30. For a small contribution of £10 (book in advance on line) you will be able to come along, enjoy coffee and a cake (included in the price) and escape for a few hours in this lovely, green space.

There is a small gift shop stocked with artisan products from local makers. We hope that you may wish to bring a camera and get stuck in to some photography, or maybe use one of our portable ‘sketching’ chairs and settle down for an afternoon of art.
Simon, our Head Gardener, will be hosting garden tours and answering questions for any keen gardeners. In warmer weather feel free to throw down a picnic blanket and chill out under the shade of one our willows down by the pond.

Spectacular Seascapes Watercolours with Allie Pottinger
2024-04-16 09:45 - 15:45
Join us for a day painting coastal scenes with Allie, who will share her process for capturing a spectacular seascape. Demonstrating different skies to set the mood, you will learn how to create a good composition & how to capture distance. You will have time to practise, explore and have fun with what you have learnt.
