Summer is the ultimate party season for me. From weddings, to festivals, to summery picnics and BBQs, to (ahem) my birthday there is so much to celebrate. For someone who loves all things bright, beautiful, sometimes sparkly, and always eye-catching, throwing clever and cute handmade additions into any gathering is a bit of a dream. So I was over the moon to be invited along to … Continue reading Books: Paper Parties with Berin Made
What’s in a card? They can make us smile, laugh, feel loved, remember someone, give us courage, and encourage us… I’m always so appreciative if someone gives me a card, whether it’s for a birthday or even just to cheer me up. I’m sure I’ve said before that I have a (completely unfulfilled) aspiration to make and give more handmade cards. It should be an … Continue reading What’s in a card?
I am slowly getting my maker mojo back in shape but something that has always given me a boost of inspiration, and made my bookshelves look so on point is a new craft book. I love seeing the imagination and ingenuity of other creatives and my hope is always that I will be left desperate to try some of the projects and full of ideas to … Continue reading Books: Tie & Dye by Lizzie King
A few years back at The Handmade Fair a completely stunning rag rug wreath caught my eye. It was made by Elspeth who founded Ragged Life in 2014 after getting into rag rugging as a teenager. I really love Elspeth’s style and fun, colourful takes on the rag rugging technique – she’s also been on my blog talking about her favourite projects, and we hung out when … Continue reading Book Review: Rag Rugs, Pillows and More
Lizzie Lees’ book Collage Carnival is a real gem of cool creativity. A book that calls you to cut, colour and paste to your hearts content is a dream for anyone who wants or needs some quick messy making in their life. Imagine a cross between the wreck this journal series and gloriously designed adult colouring books with your favourite childhood bumper sticker book and … Continue reading Book Review: Collage Carnival
I have long admired the beautifully curated Instagram account of Esther Thorpe aka Origami Est. Her contemporary takes on the traditional artform of origami are a joy to behold and she always manages to inspire with her colour palettes and creative ideas. So it was with great excitement that I picked up Esther’s new book: Paper Home. I was expecting a range of modern and … Continue reading Book Review: Paper Home
Molla Mills might just be my crochet guru for 2016. Her fun and contemporary designs take crochet onto a whole new level for me. I was given her book, Modern Crochet for my birthday and on first glance I really wasn’t sure whether, as a beginner, I’d be able to manage the designs. I mean yes I’ve been flirting with the world of crochet for a while, … Continue reading Books: Modern Crochet by Molla Mills
One of my goals for 2016 is to capture more of life through photos and to then find more creative ways to get them off my camera and phone and into the real world. I’ve been sharing ideas like my insta-wall, printed canvases and photo gift tags so I was delighted when Snapfish challenged me to come up with a way to use their products to either … Continue reading PhotoGems: The Ultimate coffee table book with Snapfish
The craze for adult colouring books has grown and grown this year. Book shops have been stocking up ready for Christmas for months (could this be the hit go-to stocking filler for creative people this year?) and I’ve received dozens of emails with free downloadable designs, and discussions around the benefits of colouring in as a technique to de-stress and aid mental wellbeing are popping … Continue reading Let’s chat adult colouring books
I really love cooking – it’s a bit of a sunday night ritual to cook up a big batch of something nourishing and delicious that can be my lunches for the start of the week. Cooking from scratch also always makes me feel like I’m looking after myself more (even if I’m actually making something not that healthy!!) because I can see what’s going into … Continue reading 5 recipe books to nourish
Little Free Library is an amazing movement that began in Wisconsin, America in 2009 when a chap named Todd Bol built a model of his school, placed it outside his house and filled it with books that could be read by others in his community. The idea was, for obvious reasons, loved by his friends and neighbours and so now this gorgeously simple and generous idea … Continue reading Little Free Library spotted in Finsbury Park
Mastering cross stitch has been sitting on my to-do list for a while so I decided to splash out on a book or two to learn the basics and be inspired about the possibilities. My first book choice for cross stitch after googling and surfing all over the internet was Storyland Cross Stitch from What Delilah Did. What Delilah Did is the creation of fabulous artist … Continue reading Discovering Cross Stitch with What Delilah Did
Here’s my first pompom tutorial to make use of the mountain of poms I made after my new craft book: PomPoms!: 25 Awesomely fluffy projects arrived! Prepare to fill your house with pompom bunting!! This tutorial is so quick and easy that I completely forgot to take pics en route to pompomdom. So I’ve explained each step below and included the amazingly useful pompom hot-to … Continue reading Crafternoon How-To: Pompom bunting!
Crafternoon Cabaret Club 