• Hobbycraft Advent calendar
    Christmas - gingerbread - Handmade gifts

    Christmas ideas from Hobbycraft

    November 16, 2015 - By 

    As an avid crafter I love to see which crafts are going to be big at Christmas. On a very hot day in the summer holidays I went into London for the Hobbycraft Autumn/Winter press show which featured ideas for Halloween and Christmas. There were so many lovely things to see and I’ve been patiently waiting for the items to hit the shelves of my local Hobbycraft for weeks! Christmas ideas from Hobbycraft I’m going to share some of the many photos I snapped at the press show. First there was a large area dedicated to Advent calendars. Hobbycraft sell…

  • Christmas - gingerbread - handmade - Handmade gifts

    Gingerbread jumping jack decoration

    November 13, 2015 - By 

    I know it’s November but we got our Christmas decorations out of the loft at the weekend. I wanted to go through the boxes and have a sort out before the children start rifling through them, demanding we put up every Christmas decoration we own. I took out all our Christmassy craft supplies as the children want to start making Christmas crafts too. We love gingerbread and gingerbread crafts so today we’re going to share our gingerbread jumping jack decorations. They are a really fun craft, can be decorated however you like, and look great hung on the tree or…

  • Christmas - handmade - sewing

    Jenny Makes Prima Makes

    November 8, 2015 - By 

    Every month I challenge myself to make the Mollie Makes magazine cover gift. I’ve subscribed since it first came out and have a drawer full of unopened kits. The latest issue included a free calendar which was nice, but I missed my little crafty project. Luckily I picked up a copy of Prima Makes which had a cute little kit to make two festive finger puppet. Today I am bringing you Jenny Makes Prima Makes! Jenny Makes Prima Makes issue 9 Christmas 2015 The kit contained pieces of felt in light brown, light grey, white, dark brown and black. I…

  • Christmas - days out - handmade - sewing - Tower Hamlets

    Making handmade Christmas decorations with Jessie Chorley

    November 6, 2015 - By 

    A couple of weeks ago I went on a workshop run by Jessie Chorley. She is a designer/maker with a shop and workshop on Columbia Road. I’ve visited her shop a few times and was pretty excited to discover she runs workshops too. I signed up for a Christmas workshop. On arrival I was handed a little pack of paper items from which I could make three items: Stitched and collaged Christmas cards Collaged and stitched postcard decorations to be placed in your home once complete Decorating pre cut Christmas decorations that will then hang from a string in your…

  • Halloween crafts - handmade

    Getting ready for Halloween with DYLON

    October 26, 2015 - By 

    My children have been looking forward to going trick or treating for a while. This year it looks like we will be away over Halloween so, to make up for them missing out, I thought I would help them make their own Halloween costumes so we can have a little party whilst we are away. I’ve previously had fun experimenting with Dylon dyes so I thought I would make them costumes. Dylon sent us some plain white costumes along with a selection of Dylon dyes and a colourful Halloween palette for inspiration. When I showed my children the Halloween palette…

  • days out - handmade - kawaii - Lego

    Monday happy things

    October 5, 2015 - By 

    What a busy week and weekend! It’s lovely to sit down and take 5 minutes to remember the things which made me smile last week. We enjoyed an amazing meal at Strada at Riverside (More London) on Saturday. We had the best table in the house and were able to enjoy a delicious lunch with a view encompassing HMS Belfast to the Tower of London and London Bridge. I will be writing a full post about our experience this week but let me leave you with this image of our Burrata & prosciutto starter until then. We spent yesterday spotting…

  • Mollie Makes wall hanging loom kit
    crafts - handmade - Mollie Makes crafts

    Jenny Makes Mollie Makes wall hanging loom kit

    October 3, 2015 - By 

    Every month I challenge myself to make the Mollie Makes magazine cover gift. I’ve subscribed since it first came out and have a drawer full of unopened kit. But no more! I’ve been trying out the kits, learning new skills or using them to create something new – and having fun in the process! Jenny Makes Mollie Makes wall hanging loom kit Mollie Makes issue 58 included a Mollie Makes wall hanging loom kit. The kit included a laser cut loom and shuttle, three colours of yarn, a plastic needle and cotton. I tied the cotton around the teeth of…

  • Cath Kidston - days out - gingerbread - handmade

    Monday happy things

    September 21, 2015 - By 

    After a busy weekend it’s so lovely to sit and take stock of the last week.My 5 Monday happy things post is my favourite post of the week. I framed the horoscope papercut I made at the Handmade Fair in a simple glass frame which looks great but was impossible to photograph! It currently has pride of place on my mantelpiece although my children are itching to cover it in Halloween decorations. I enjoyed a delicious Gingerbread cupcake from our local farmers market My son discovered a pad of sticky notes and quickly used up a whole pad. I did…

  • days out - handmade - Local Review - London

    A day at The Handmade Fair

    September 19, 2015 - By 

    Today my sister and I spent a day at The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court. We had been looking forward to it for ages as it was a strictly *mums only* event, the children were left at home with daddy for the day. The sun shone and we headed to Hampton Court for our day of crafting and shopping. Our tickets included a Grand Make, Skills Workshop and a Super Theater session. Our first event was a Grand Make and we had chose Tibetan Poetry Bunting. We were given a ready made prayer flag and craft supplies to embellish it.…