Sugar & Spice Advent Calendar Box
Live Online Class: 40 × 2.5hr Sessions
or
Self-Paced Plus: 5 Modules, Monthly Q&A
and Private FB Group
£3,450
A house of stitches, secrets, and wonder — where every drawer holds a moment of magic.
Sugar & Spice is an extraordinary 18- month long project that allows you to create a magical embroidered Advent Calendar Box adorned with beautiful embroidered festive motifs. You will have drawers to pull out, lids to lift, doors to open and secret compartments to discover. Kelley will guide you step by step as you slowly and carefully bring your Gingerbread House to life. The joy lies in the fact that you are encouraged to take your time and relish the creation of each individual element. Throughout the course, you will learn about Box Making , as well as exploring an extensive repertoire of embroidery techniques including Appliqué, Goldwork, Stumpwork, Surface Stitches, Beading, plus additional mixed media elements. The house itself is designed to open at the front, revealing its inner drawers, while the roof lifts away to expose further hidden spaces — including secret drawers and concealed compartments just waiting for you to personalise with your own festive treats. Mounted upon its own embroidered platform and accompanied by two moveable trees, this heirloom piece is both an architectural and embroidered achievement: a celebration of craftsmanship, storytelling, and the timeless joy of Christmas. It is a piece to bring out year after year, becoming part of family traditions and treasured seasonal rituals.
There are two learning pathways to choose from as well as the option to pay in instalments.
(Above image is partially AI generated. Actual complete project photograph pending.)
Details…
aimed at:
ALL LEVELS
Sugar & Spice is designed for confident beginners through to experienced embroiderers.
Although this is an ambitious and richly detailed project, every technique is taught step by step, with the assumption that you may never have tried it before. Whether you're learning Goldwork, Stumpwork, Appliqué, Beading or another technique for the very first time, you'll be guided carefully through each stage with clear demonstrations and plenty of encouragement.
If you've already completed a few embroidery projects and are comfortable with basic stitching, you'll have all the skills you need to begin. Curiosity, patience and a willingness to learn are far more important than years of experience.
For experienced embroiderers, Sugar & Spice offers the chance to explore an extraordinary variety of techniques, materials and creative ideas in one project. With so many different elements to discover, there's almost certainly something new waiting to delight and challenge you.
Ultimately, this isn't a race to the finish. It's a project to savour, one tiny drawer, one little story, and one beautiful stitch at a time.
course at-a-glance:
GROUND & FIRST FLOOR
Basic Box Construction
Appliqué, Goldwork, Thread Painting, Surface Stitches.
TOP FLOOR
Intermediate Box Construction
Fabric Manipulation, Stumpwork, Surface Stitches.
ATTIC & ROOF
Advanced Box Construction
Mixed Media Techniques.
OUTER CASING, PLATFORM
& TREES
Assembling and Finishing Touches.
LIVE ONLINE
Thursday Evenings 7-9.30pm (UK)
from October 2nd 2026 to July 20th 2028
or
SELF-PACED PLUS
5 Self-Paced Modules (inc kit) plus Monthly Q&A Support Sessions (dates/times TBC) & private Facebook group.
dates/times:
requirements:
STANDARD EQUIPMENT
Embroidery Scissors, 6” Hoop (hands free), Large Square Frame, Magnifier (optional), Thimbles (optional)
SPECIFIC MATERIALS
A full kit including pre-cut and numbered card pieces is included in the cost of the course.
Students are saying…
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Excellent Artist and Teacher
Kelley’s classes are the best. I’ve taken two classes from her over two years. Her demonstrations are clear and easy to follow. She has perfected her on-line teaching style. I’ve found her to be kind and patient and she frequently throws in a little example or historic fact to keep things interesting. My fellow students have ranged from beginners to advanced stitchers and I believe everyone has been happy with the instructions we’ve received.
Sherry S
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Wonderful Goldwork
I took Kelleys Goldwork sampler course which covered all aspects of Goldwork and a few extras such as how to mount your work. A well designed course, very well delivered and a lot of fun. It has definitely improved my Goldwork skills! Kelley is enthusiastic and very helpful.
Barbara
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What a Brilliant Experience!
I've just finished the class portion of Kelley's Goldwork Sampler and I'm really sad it's over. I have done a number of 2 day classes in this technique over the last few years, but I found working in this manner (Zoom classes at fortnightly intervals over nearly a year, with video clips of the techniques available through the portal) meant that if you found there was something that didn't make sense later, you could check back, or more importantly, ask a question at the next lesson. I've picked up on a lot of tiny things that have led to some very satisfying improvements in the quality of my work, learned some really useful techniques, and got links to sources of otherwise hard to find equipment. (Especially useful as I'm located down under in New Zealand.) Thank you Kelly for a wonderful experience - I had a blast!
Betty S
