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.

Fimo à la Française

At the moment I am really into modelling with Fimo. I bought a new book last week: Créations en Fimo and there are some really great projects in there. Even if you don't understand French, the pictures are enough to give you a good idea. The author doesn't go into a lot of detail about technique anyway, so it's trial and error at first!


So far I've tried making the Russian dolls, but instead of making the bag charm as outlined in the book, I made them into small flat buttons. I'm going to sew them onto a plain blue cardigan I have that could do with brightening up.

I also had a go at some of the large buttons from that book. The black ones turned out well, but the transparent Fimo didn't really work as the pattern sort of blends in with the background. I'm thinking of sewing the black ones onto the front of some white trousers I bought recently.

My most recent creation is covered handles for dessert forks. Starting with 4 different colours (I chose Fimo Effect granite and marble with Fimo Soft 61 and 62) I rolled the Fimo out to make equally sized sheets. I then laid them on top of each other in a sandwich.

Using a sharp knife you cut 3mm wide strips across the sandwich and lay the strips next to each other to make a repeating stripey pattern. You can then wrap this around the handle of your cutlery and bake.

Here are my finished dessert forks with stripey handles:

I'd better make a cheese cake or something so I can try them out ;)