Students learn to make floral Christmas crackers during a festive workshop

With the festive season looming, stylish and innovative floral Christmas crackers were made at the first of a new series of seasonal flower arranging workshops at Combe St Nicholas Village Hall.

Inspired by their tutor Jackie Nicholls, ladies from all over the county learnt how to make delightful decorative designs, using fresh flowers, foliage and accessories.

Showing all the techniques in a step-by-step demonstration first, they were taught how to create a beautiful arrangement which could either be given as a unique gift, or could be used to decorate their homes over the festive season.

Amongst the attendees was Carole Hanna from Axminster who said: “I loved the atmosphere at this workshop. I learnt how to work with a small piece of floral foam and managed to produce a beautiful Christmas cracker. I was really pleased with my design and I’m confident I could repeat it. These workshops are such fun, value for money and I would definitely recommend them.”

Also from Axminster, Julia Yates added: “My end result was really good and I enjoyed the company. 10 out of 10 from me!”

Award-winning tutor Jackie Nicholls, from Ashville Design in Somerset, who teaches the workshops said: “We all had a lot of fun and laughs while making these crackers. I often like to teach things that are a bit different and trendy, and it just goes to show that anything is possible with a little bit of imagination.

“The results were outstanding. I was very impressed with the magical creations made at both workshops. This was definitely the perfect Christmas gift for someone who has everything. Well done and huge congratulations to everyone who came along!”

For details of upcoming workshops visit www.ashvilledesign.co.uk or call Jackie on 01460 67795 or 07906 259 683.