I f you came along to the Alphington Open Studios event at ACC in December last year you would have seen some really beautiful recycled timber chopping boards made by local artisan Jane Hausegger.

In Term 2 she has offered to run a workshop for us here at ACC, to teach people in the community how to select, cut, finish and dress recycled timber to safely use for kitchen products (that make amazing gifts) such as coffee paddles and chopping boards.

If you are interested in developing your timber skills you’ll love this course that has a focus on simple, beautiful and sustainable creations.

The workshop is on Saturday 6 May from 10am-12pm in our Community Shed and it costs $130 (which includes all materials). You can book in here.

Our beautiful Sill.Life living artworks have survived the summer … still looking gorgeous amazingly - the peeling paint on the frame is just adding to the artistry I think!!

I took a little video of them last week and posted it on Instagram here - after Lee upgraded the ‘vases’ at the back that are made from recycled tetrapaks (donated by the Alphington Foodstore next door - and have you seen the reno and met the new owner yet???).

If you have some beautiful blooms in your garden, particularly some long lasting hardy blooms - why not add them into the mix next time you are passing?

Thanks once again to Yarra City Arts for supporting this community arts project!

Hi Leanne here! As you probably know, on Friday mornings we have an open house at ACC, where people come along and craft and make things in the shed, and garden with Clare etc. … and then at 11.30am we get together for morning tea in the garden - and a laugh and a chat. It’s really lovely to keep up regularly with neighbourhood friends over food and a cuppa - some people enjoy it so much they come along just for the morning tea part of the session!

This year we’re wondering if there is anyone in the community who would be interested in volunteering to cook/coordinate our morning tea/early light lunch.

At morning tea we generally have:.

• Something sweet (cake, biscuits etc.)

• Something savoury (toasties, spanikopita, sausage rolls etc.)

• Fruit (whatever is in season), and

• Tea 🫖 and coffee ☕️ of course.

On Fridays we open at 9.30am. The role would involve cooking and then setting up some platters and loading up our trolley with all the things (catering for around 15 people) … and sending it out into the garden at 11.30am. Our cooking volunteers are of course very welcome and enthusiastically encouraged to join in morning tea as well.

We’re flexible about how the volunteer role(s) could unfold … Maybe a couple of people could work together, or a couple of people could alternate weeks or one person might like to commit weekly and run the whole thing.

Also … if you aren’t available on Friday mornings but enjoy baking perhaps you’d like to cook something at home and drop it off regularly? This would be super helpful and lovely too!

We have a budget for the program to cover the food costs, so there is no cost to volunteering - apart from your time (which I am sure will be rewarded with appreciation from those who attend).

If this sounds like something you might enjoy contributing to, please let us know! You can email Leanne here. And … include your phone number so we can have a chat. That would super!

Thanks in advance.

The annual Alphington Show and always hilarious Alphington Dog Show are once again coming up at the end of March. So … as you sit at home of an evening think about your hobby - be it crochet, knitting, whittling, baking, preserving, gardening or bread making - you should also think about entering!

Imagine how proud you would be to be crowned the local 2023 WiNNER of best local jam (for example).

You can find all categories and download the application forms on our website. So keep a look out for the details … and we hope you join in!

We’re holding our first jamming session for the year on Thursday 16 February. If you’d like to come along and help cook up a storm sign up on our website.

And … if you have fruit trees or access to homegrown veggies to make relishes etc. we’d love to be the recipient of your backyard bounty!

Give us a call on 9499 7227 or pop past or email. If we know what to expect we can plan our cooking around it … thanks. Hope to see you soon.

Oh .. and also, if you have small jars we’d love ❤️ them …