• book review - crafts - sewing

    Making It! by Mollie Makes

    A while ago I set up my own Etsy shop to sell vintage supplies such as Scrabble tiles and playing cards. I’ve had a couple of sales, and I have plenty of stock which needs to be listed. I really want to push my little shop to the next level so was excited to see a new book from Mollie Makes. Called Making It! the hard facts you need to start your own craft business, this book sounded perfect for me. I’m a huge fan of Mollie Makes. As well as my monthly subscription to their lovely lifestyle and craft…

  • crafts - Kids crafts

    Our Mini Masterpieces

    I was sent a ‘mystery’ art and craft product from Galt Toys range of children’s art materials in return for sharing a fun creative competition with my readers. We received 24 Chunky Crayons which are perfect for small hands (although they’re not suitable for children under 36 months). Every month Galt Toys host a fun competition where you can download a template and recreate a famous painting by the world’s most loved artists. This month they will be focusing on ‘Sunflowers’ by Vincent Van Gogh. You can download the picture from their website and let your children get as creative…

  • crafts - handmade - sewing

    Summer sewing

    I don’t have a particular project on the go at the moment. Last week I finished my maverick star dolls quilt for Little Sis. It was a bit of an impromptu make and now I don’t know what to make next. Instead of crafting I have been reading, mainly the new Quilt Now magazine and Mollie Makes blogging bookazine. I love the new quilting magazine and have been picking up some great tips from Mollie Makes blogging. I have a couple of subscriptions to craft magazines such as Mollie Makes and Love Patchwork and Quilting but I can’t help browsing…

  • crafts - days out - handmade - Paper craft

    Afternoon tea with Kirstie Allsopp

    Yesterday afternoon I was delighted to be invited to have afternoon tea with Kirstie Allsopp (and 49 other crafty ladies) at the V&A. I’m sure you’ve heard of The Handmade Fair which is taking place this Autumn at Hampton Court Palace. As a Super Pinner (are you following me on Pinterest?) I was able to spend a really fun couple of hours enjoying an afternoon of tea, cake and crafting. I love paper cutting but so far I haven’t been very adventurous. I was excited to learn how to create beautiful paper cut-out bunting with the help from artist Poppy…

  • competition - crafts - Dolls quilts - handmade

    Win a bundle of Truly British fabrics from The Bead and Button Company

    You know how much I love to sew. I’ve been making lots of doll quilts for my daughter as the size means I never get bored! I was recently sent an amazing fabric bundle of 6 Truly British Fat Quarters from The Bead and Button Company to craft with. The Truly British fabric selection contained 6 different fabrics, each measuring 45cm x 55cm and 100% cotton. The selection was really good and I decided to use five of the pieces to make a maverick star doll quilt from my favourite craft book Doll Quilts. It was surprisingly easy to put…

  • Back to school crafts - crafts - Handmade gifts - Kids crafts - Reception - School crafts - tutorial

    Back to school with a DIY pencil holder

    This is a funny time of year. My 4 year old is going through his last week of Nursery and we have 6 weeks of fun before he starts Reception. It’s both exciting and sad as we start a new chapter as a family. With him starting Reception we have a list of essential items to buy. I have really happy memories of the start of a new term. Do you remember shopping for a new school bag and lunch box? My favourite part was always shopping for new stationery, nothing beats the smell of a brand new pencil case,…

  • crafts - days out - Local Review - London

    It’s the Sample things…

    Last weekend I attended a workshop at Tate Britain. It was one of a series of workshops run in conjunction with their latest exhibition – British Folk Art. British Folk Art at Tate Britain This is the first major exhibition of British folk art. What is British folk art? I’m not sure I’m any clearer after visiting the exhibition, but I would still recommend it to anyone with an interest in British history! image source The exhibition guide states that: Folk art has often been neglected in the story of British art: by uncovering this treasure trove of folk art objects, this…

  • crafts - kawaii - Patchwork & Quilting - sewing - Spring

    Spring Stitching Club quilt – finished!

    Over the past couple of months I’ve been slowly embroidering hexagons for Wild Olive’s Spring Stitching Club quilt, a fun weekly stitching club. I finished the embroidered panel but needed to put the quilt together. I’m not great at finishing projects so I blogged about my progress in the hope it would encourage me to complete it. I’m pretty pleased to say I finished my quilt over the weekend! It’s lovely to see it finished after working on small hexagons for weeks. It’s actually come together quite quickly and I really love it (as does my 4 year old). After I…

  • crafts - Kids crafts - Nature crafts - tutorial

    Painting with flowers

    We’re fully embracing the warm summer weather and having fun with some summer crafting. It’s lovely to see our garden bursting with colour and we decided to pick some flowers and try painting with them. The children were excited about painting with something other than a sponge or paint brush. Painting with flowers materials: Flowers or leaves Acrylic paint Paint tray Paper Painting with flowers We headed out into the garden and looked for flowers we could pick. We found daisies and dandelions and other things I don’t know the name of. We picked them with enough stalk to hold…