Craft room showcase

I have finally managed to start sorting out my crafting space now that I have almost all my craft things in one country. It wasn't easy - it involved a car journey, a lorry delivery and a flight! When we moved to the Czech Republic from France via the UK at the beginning of 2012 I knew that I definitely wanted a 2-bedroom flat again so that I could have somewhere to keep all my craft paraphernalia and also somewhere suitable to sit so I didn't keep losing beads and bits of Fimo down the side of the sofa all the time. I was really pleased that we were able to find a nice place that had a good sized second bedroom:

Blank canvas.

View from the window - a balloon floats by :)

Before investing in items of furniture, I decided to have a look around on the internet for inspiration. I came across a couple of fellow bloggers who had already posted about their craft rooms. Judi has an amazing craft studio in her garden with an array of storage and the best stock of craft supplies I have ever seen!

I want this! Photo courtesy of Judi Hodgkin

We don't all have the space for garden craft studios, but any space can be turned into a crafting zone. This time last year, Laura at Nimble Fingers and Steady Eyebrows blogged about her craft attic space:

Photo courtesy of Laura via: A corner of one's own   

I love the retro sewing machine and cute little personal touches used.

So, what about my craft space? What should I do with it? I have made a start as I really wanted at least a desk to sit at for the time being, but I want to do a lot more with it.

A tranquil corner

Trouble is, I have quite a lot of bits and bobs to accommodate as I am a somewhat eclectic crafter (cross stitch, sewing, Fimo modelling, jewellery making, paper crafting, candle making, mosaic, to name but a few!) so I need some nifty storage ideas and also some style inspiration.

This is where you, dear reader, come in! I have set up a linky thing at the bottom of this post (my first attempt, so hope it works!) and would love you to share links to your blog posts or online photos of your crafting space big or small, modern or shabby chic, professional or amateur. I'm also quite nosey, so it's a good excuse to peek into the inner sanctum of fellow crafters, ha ha! You will hopefully also pick up some ideas you can borrow ;)

Happy linking and don't forget to tweet about this post!

Bag a crafty charity bargain!

I went out to the post office in my local village yesterday afternoon and found these gorgeous RSPB pin badges on the counter. I couldn't resist them and at (a suggested donation of) £1 each, thought they were quite a bargain. They look great on a jacket, or you could incorporate them into some sort of crafty make - embellishing a bag or a handmade card, for example.

Goldcrest, great tit and chaffinch pins

When I got home I started thinking about all the other charities that must have online shops and was amazed at the great range of gifts I came across. A lot of online charity shops now have craft sections, which is ideal for a crafty type like myself :) After Christmas, most online charity shops have slashed their prices too, so it's a great opportunity to pick up a bargain and know that your money is going towards something worthwhile.

Here are my top charity crafty picks to start 2012 with a warm and fuzzy feeling:

Notebook: via Marie Curie

These notebooks not only look great, they are also made from recycled paper and cost an amzing £1.49.  A must-have for creative doodling, lists and planning.

Gift wrap pack: via Marie Curie

Gorgeous paper, tissue, tags and cards currently at a reduced price for presenting your handmade gifts.

Sewing Box: via Marie Curie

Store your sewing essentials for a bargainous £5! Sew cute ;)

Button Box: via Cancer Research

Do you use buttons in your crafting? Grab a bargain while you can!

The Cancer Research online shop was the best place I found for crafting supplies and the following are all currently reduced in the January 2012 sale:

Red retrospot tape: via Cancer Research

Empire Ribbons: via Cancer Research

Happy Birthday stamp set: via Cancer Research

If stitching is your thing, then cruise over to the British Red Cross shop to pick up this reduced kit:

LOVE letters tapestry kit: via British Red Cross

And finally, in case you need to be doing textiles crafting on the go, this adorable Magic Stitch Cordless Sewing Machine is currently £5 off in the RNLI sale.

Happy January sale shopping! If you come across any other charity crafting bargain buys, please share them in the comments below.

Christmas crafting bonanza

As some of you will know, this year I decided to do an entirely handmade selection of Christmas gifts for friends and family. This was partly because I haven't been working for a while and wanted to cut down on spending, but also because I wanted an excuse to try out lots of new crafts! I didn't blog about them at the time of making as I didn't want to spoil it for the recipients, but now that Christmas is over I thought I would show you some of my makes. I'm annoyed that I didn't get round to photographing all of them or getting pictures of them all wrapped up as I put a lot of effort in to the gift wrapping this year with handmade tags, paper and trimmings, but I was in the middle of an international move, so I think I can forgive myself :)

Let the Christmas present showcase commence!

Fabric covered notebook for my niece.

Fimo covered festive spoon and charms.

A joint effort with my boyf: pear vodka and winter spice liqueur for all the men folk.

Cross stitched card for my parents.

Decorated jar of handmade mincemeat for my French friend.

Handmade bracelet with charms for boyf's sister-in-law

Handmade earrings from recycled beads for boyf's sister.

Ribbon hairband for my niece.

Sewing case for my friend.

I really enjoyed doing all the hand sewing. This Russian doll kit was inspired
by  Flossie Teacakes needlecase tutorial.

Personalised cross stitch space invaders purse for another niece. Made from all recycled materials.

My friend Rob pointed me in the direction of this great idea for keeping track of what's in your freezer, which I made for my Mum. I used pictures of food cut out of French and German supermarket special offer brochures, then laminated them and added a self-adhesive magnet to the back. It was a fairly quick and easy make which I would recommend.

There are so many great tutorials and inspiring posts on the internet. Often my own ideas pop into my head, but it's always nice to know there is a range of practical help and projects that you can refer to or adapt whenever you want.

I really enjoyed making all my presents this year and will definitely do it again if I have the time.

Lovely arts and crafts stuff

I absolutely love making things, but this week I was thinking how much I love the stuff I make my stuff out of! I didn't realise just how many bits and bobs I had squirrelled away. I try not to let it take over the living room, as my boyf does get a bit annoyed with all the mess on the dining table. Here are a few snaps of my crafting supplies, which I think look just as appealing as what I will make out of them :)

A trug full of goodies

A jar full of birds

My faithful Huskystar and my favourite mug

Party hair band

If you are looking for a stocking filler for a young girl, or something for your little princess to wear in her hair during the Christmas party season, here is a quick, cheap and easy crafty make for you!

All you need is:

• a plain elasticated hair band
• some pieces of ribbon about 15cm long (if they are recycled then so much the better!)
• a pearl or large bead
• 2 beads with large holes through the center (I used two plastic, glittery star shaped beads)
• a short length of thread
• a small piece of felt
• a pair of scissors
• hot glue gun or strong glue

How to make the party hair band:

1. Take the lengths of ribbon and bunch them together with the pieces lying at different angles, crossing in the centre. 
2. Use one length of ribbon to tie a knot around the middle of your bunch to secure in place. Leave the ends of this ribbon long and use them to then tie the bundle of ribbons to the hair band. Cut the ends or incorporate them into the ribbon bundle if you prefer.
3. Thread the beads with large centre holes onto the ends of a couple of the ribbons and knot above the bead to secure into place.
4. Thread the pearl or large bead onto some thread and tie it around the ribbon bundle and hair band so that it sits in the centre of the ribbon bundle. Knot it securely in place at the back.
5. Cut a small piece of felt into a rectangle, round the ends using scissors and then pinching the ribbon bundle to push the ribbon ends upwards and inwards to surround the pearl, glue the felt in place on the back of the bundle of ribbons. This will cover the thread and knots and secure the decorative part to the hair band (see photos below).

Voilà! A pretty hair decoration for any discerning young lady ;)

I made this as a small gift for my 11 year old niece for Christmas. All the ribbons are from my ribbon store, collected from boxes of chocolates, clothing tags etc. You could make it more festive by using red, green and gold ribbons and adding small bells or choose ribbons that match a party outfit. I would love to see your creations if you decide to have a go!

Roll it, bake it, wear it!

I  suddenly felt the need this week to make myself a necklace. I wear a lot of grey, but also really like bright colours and thought that a necklace with muted shades and a pop of colour could be just the thing to wear for work this winter. I'm getting a bit of an 80s vibe from this design ;)

Using Fimo, I made a selection of round beads in grey, black, black mixed with pearlescent, granite, marble and  two larger beads - one fuschia mixed with pearlescent and a bright yellow one. I also rolled a couple of beads in silver leaf. It sticks really well to the modelling clay and you can bake it no problems. Once the Fimo had been rolled into balls I pierced them with cocktail sticks and put them on a baking tray ready to go into the oven. I think they look like funny olives on sticks!

The great thing about Fimo is that it only takes 30 minutes to bake and not that long to cool down, so fairly soon after I could start stringing my beads.

I put small silver beads in between each Fimo bead and finished it off with a silver catch.

My finished necklace. Can't wait to wear it out somewhere! :D