I still haven’t worked out what to do when I grow up! I’m mainly a writer, an artist, and a fairytale dressmaker with various crafty hobbies! Here (and on YouTube) I share bits of my life, thoughts, and what I’m learning along the way. Let’s find magic and inspiration; join me for this creative living adventure!

 

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Glastonbury festival wedding dress
Making the Glastonbury Festival bag dress – version 2
June 19, 2019
Wishing Glastonbury Festival isn’t over, on the Monday afternoon when most people have gone home, the kids and I usually take a walk through the festival site. It’s sad to say that some people STILL aren’t taking any notice of the ‘Love the farm; leave no trace’ mantra, and during the years when we were given free tote bags on arrival, unfortunately many were left behind. Rather than let them go into landfill, from 2015 to 2017 I decided to pick up as many as I could carry to turn them into a festival dress…
camera choices for bloggers
Finding the perfect camera system for youtubers, vloggers, bloggers & photographers.
June 17, 2019
Are you a blogger, photographer and vlogger? The big camera question! Do you, or do you not carry two cameras around with you at all times? Are you struggling with choosing which camera you need? I love photography and want to take with me a decent dslr to shoot in raw with a choice of lenses and allow me to take creative photos for my personal enjoyment as well as for my blog. However, I also vlog most of my life for my YouTube channel, and need to carry a camera for that as well. Can we combine them both? What should we do?
Hidden stories of the stones! A mixed media stone circle painting & Avalon Archeology
February 18, 2025
Hi! This week I have the process of a mixed media painting of an ancient stone circle. It took me a while to finish this one and I tried lots of different art supplies! And there are clips of our visit to the Avalon Archeology Centre in Somerset. As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Please support this channel for free by subscribing, clicking the thumbs up and the bell notification button. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends. Thank you! :) For extra free content, videos and behind-the-scenes updates, sign up to my newsletter here: https://helenhobden.substack.com/ To bring an enchanted world into your life with beautiful art on your walls, browse my paintings here: https://www.helenhobden.com/ If you would like to watch an extra 60 or so sewing and art videos, please go to https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Browse for your unique bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund to help keep this channel going, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun
Graduating in Italy!! Also visiting Foligno, Fabriano, Gubbio & Marmore Falls.
February 11, 2025
Join me for a few days in Italy! I explored the beautiful towns of Foligno, Fabriano and Gubbio in the Umbria region, and also visited Marmore Falls. Plus of course it was the graduation evening of The Mastery Program! This is the online art course by The Milan Art Institute I've been talking about for a while! I have photos and a few words about it on my blog: https://open.substack.com/pub/helenhobden/p/graduating-in-italy?r=1lbf4t&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Please support this channel for free by subscribing, clicking the thumbs up and the bell notification button. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends. Thank you! :) For extra free content, videos and behind-the-scenes updates, sign up to my newsletter here: https://helenhobden.substack.com/ To bring an enchanted world into your life with beautiful art on your walls, browse my paintings here: https://www.helenhobden.com/ If you would like to watch an extra 60 or so sewing and art videos, please go to https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Browse for your unique bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ If you'd like to know more about the online art course I took for a year and a half - the Mastery Program by the Milan Art Institute, please follow this (affiliate) link: https://milanart.samcart.com/referral/SnsmCxWa/7Vqa9f6vKfq3WYcs Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund to help keep this channel going, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun
Complete & Honest Mastery Program Review ~ The Milan Art Institute online art course
February 1, 2025
Find out more about The Mastery Program: https://milanart.samcart.com/referral/SnsmCxWa/7Vqa9f6vKfq3WYcs This is a thorough and completely honest review! Hopefully in this video I answer any questions you may have about The Mastery Program by The Milan Art Institute - their online art course. If you're interested in something in particular, please click SHOW MORE as just below I will list topics I cover and the time you need to jump to. Beginning - What is The Mastery Program? 6:07 Is The Mastery Program right for me? 7:59 Is it worth the money? 9:25 How long is the course? 9:51 How much does The Mastery Program cost? 11:55 What are the teachers like? 12:52 Customer Service. 13:49 How to make the most of the course & whether to pay monthly or outright. 17:44 Notes if you're a beginner at art - a beginner's course included. 18:29 Bonus content included 19:19 Materials. Do I buy kits from The Milan Art Institute? 21:24 Can you use water mixable oil paint? 23:24 How to find affordable art supplies. 25:42 How much space do you need? 26:57 Positives and negatives of The Mastery Program & overall thoughts. 33:55 How much time each day to I need? 34:25 How has the course affected my life? 37:05 Do you learn to paint in the same style as Dimitra? Will you find your own art style? Any questions, please leave them in the comments, and here's that link you need again: https://milanart.samcart.com/referral/SnsmCxWa/7Vqa9f6vKfq3WYcs As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Please support this channel for free by subscribing, clicking the thumbs up and the bell notification button. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends. Thank you! :) For extra free content, videos and behind-the-scenes updates, sign up to my newsletter here: https://helenhobden.substack.com/ To bring an enchanted world into your life with beautiful art on your walls, browse my paintings here: https://www.helenhobden.com/ If you would like to watch an extra 60 or so sewing and art videos, please go to https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Browse for your unique bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund to help keep this channel going, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun
Styling a hippy maxi dress
Styling a hippy maxi dress
May 20, 2019
I bought this dress from a magic shop under the shadow of a pirate castle in Lanzarote when we were on holiday last year. By that I mean that it was one of those shops with a tiny front and a little plank door and you have to duck low to get inside. Then you find the shop is massive and goes back and back and back until it comes out onto another street entirely. Anyway, it was from there, but if you want to try and hunt it out out, the label says Elora…..
Glastonbury Festival site panoramic photo
Glastonbury Festival site, Panoramic photo 3, 2019
May 14, 2019
It’s fun to see the second team of fence builders have started on the opposite side of the Glastonbury Festival site this morning – it amazes me how they manage to make it meet – I suppose they must stop at an entrance gate. Anyway, I’m a bit embarrassed to confess that the tall tower in my Instagram Story yesterday, I think is just an electricity pylon that’s always there! It just looked different from a different angle and in the evening sunlight! The scaffolding construction though is definitely new….
official Outlander outfit
Styling khaki check / tartan for spring – an Outlander outfit
May 14, 2019
Have you seen the Starz Outlander series on telly? Or read the books by Diana Gabaldon? Chris and I have watched the four series through twice, and have begun to listen to the audio books in the car on our little jaunts around the country! When a clothing catalogue from the company EMP came through the door last November and I was browsing through for Christmas presents for the kids, I literally squealed in delight when I saw a page full of official Outlander clothing!….
Preparation for announcing my art website & a trip to Italy. Mixed media painting process.
January 28, 2025
It was a busy week! I had more paintings to finish ready to list on my art website, which I was about to announce! I photographed my art and prepared a painting to take to Italy for an exhibition as part of my graduation from The Mastery Program by the Milan Art Institute. I also share the mixed media art process of the magical landscape painting that I chose to take. As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Please support this channel for free by subscribing, clicking the thumbs up and the bell notification button. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends. Thank you! :) For extra free content, videos and behind-the-scenes updates, sign up to my newsletter here: https://helenhobden.substack.com/ To bring an enchanted world into your life with beautiful art on your walls, browse my paintings here: https://www.helenhobden.com/ If you would like to watch an extra 60 or so sewing and art videos, please go to https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Browse for your unique bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund to help keep this channel going, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun
Sewing my Graduation dress! ~ Mixed media painting process of a seascape
January 21, 2025
Hello! This week I'm in my sewing room making the dress I wore for the Mastery Program art course graduation event in Italy. I upcycle unwanted luxury fabric to sew a new dress. Let me know if you'd like me to make your special occasion dress! (Or have a look at custom options at Threads of a Fairytale.) I also show the mixed media process of a seascape painting, and include a couple of family vlog clips. As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Please support this channel for free by subscribing, clicking the thumbs up and the bell notification button. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends. Thank you! :) For extra free content, videos and behind-the-scenes updates, sign up to my newsletter here: https://helenhobden.substack.com/ To bring an enchanted world into your life with beautiful art on your walls, browse my paintings here: https://www.helenhobden.com/ If you would like to watch an extra 60 or so sewing and art videos, please go to https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Browse for your unique bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund to help keep this channel going, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun
Visiting Open Studios ~ Mixed media painting process ~ An ethereal landscape
January 14, 2025
Hello! This week we're visiting open studios as part of Somerset Art Works, Art Weeks, Art Festival! (They need to work on the title!) I'm also sharing the process of making a mixed media painting - a landscape of Lytes Cary Manor in Somerset including a painting timelapse. As always, thank you so much for watching and spending your time with me! Please support this channel for free by subscribing, clicking the thumbs up and the bell notification button. If you enjoyed this one, please share the link with your friends. Thank you! :) For extra free content, videos and behind-the-scenes updates, sign up to my newsletter here: https://helenhobden.substack.com/ To bring an enchanted world into your life with beautiful art on your walls, browse my paintings here: https://www.helenhobden.com/ If you would like to watch an extra 60 or so sewing and art videos, please go to https://www.patreon.com/HelenHobden Handmade by me: Browse for your unique bohemian clothing purchases here: https://threadsofafairytale.com/ Tip jar! If you would like to contribute to my hard-drive fund to help keep this channel going, it would be gratefully appreciated. :) https://paypal.me/Oshun
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