Guest Blog Post - Betty Bee

Crafting over cocktails

Traditionally when you think of a “crafter” you envisage someone working alone, perhaps in a cosy workshop with nothing for company except the radio. For many undertaking a craft project is a wonderful way to carve out some “me” time and tune out the white noise of everyday life.
It doesn’t have to be like this though and for those who enjoy sharing what they are working on social networking has made it much easier to “meet up” with like-minded individuals who share your hobbies. Crafters have been remarkably adept at changing with the times. Websites have sprung up, on-line forums exist and even crafters who specialise in fairly traditional arts casually refer to tit bits they have picked up on twitter or on the creative crafting site. So its no great surprise that there is an increased demand for social events, which include a craft element. Taking the world of cyber socialising and replacing our avatars with real people.

I’d seen a few of these events advertised and was quite intrigued. As I associate my hobbies with that pleasurable time when the rest of the world sleeps and I can be totally alone with my projects I wasn’t sure I liked the idea but a few friends had attended a local event and had been very enthusiastic.  So a few weeks ago I headed to a craft night in Liverpool. The premise was that we would be taught how to make lanterns whilst sitting in a trendy café, catching up with old friends and perhaps making a few new ones along the way.
I’m always excited to learn new things and as I did my hair and make up I thought how a few years ago I would have been making the same effort for a night of cocktails. Either crafting has become trendy or I am a young fogey (don’t answer that)
The night itself was surprisingly popular. I had gone along with four friends and when we arrived there were at least another twenty girls already seated with drinks, ready for the tutorial.
So what about the nuts and bolts of learning a new skill in a “girls night out “ type atmosphere. The demonstration on how to make a variety of lanterns wasn’t terribly thorough and even though I consider myself quite adept at turning my hand to new disciplines I wasn’t particularly clear what to do. The saving grace though was that detailed handouts were on each table so we were able to quickly work out what we needed to do and go and load up on materials, which were all, piled high on a supply table.

Maybe it was the company I was with or the pot of delicious apple and cherry tea I was able to buy from the bar but having arrived sceptical about social crafting I absolutely loved the exsperience of making lovely items whilst catching up with friends. Having all opted to glass paint old jam jars it was wonderful to see how different each of our finished lanterns were. One friend Helen decorated hers with red hearts and fashioned a clever little tea light holder using copper wire whilst another Claire went for a delicate green palette and a distinctly vintage flavour. For mine I decided to make a lantern for my little girl so using a little bit of decoupage decorated my lantern with pictures of cupcakes and a pale pink glass paint wash.

In terms of really digging deep and learning all there is to know about a particular craft these classes probably leave a lot to be desired but for a fun creative social experience meeting like minded people I highly recommend them and skipping home carrying my new lantern I had the lovely warm feeling you get from a good night out with none of the hangover the next morning.
Copyright Betty Bee 2011
Betty attended an event run by www.thecraftcreative.co.uk
To follow more of Bettys craft adventures follow her blog http://talesfrombettybeetowers.blogspot.com/

Guest Blog Spot - RedHeadThread

HI my name is Kirsty McGuinness, a redheaded mum of a 14 year old girl and an 8 year old boy. After being a stay at home mum for such a long time I wanted to get a hobby to keep me going during the long winter months so last year my mum got me a cross stitch kit as a challenge as I had always been terrible at sewing when I was younger! I loved it! It took me many hours but the final result was beautiful and everyone was very impressed! I tried a few more kits and started giving them away as presents to friends who had only every really seen cross stitch work their grannies had done and they all fell in love with the art form too. I am only 33 and a bit of a geek at heart so I began doing some stitches of things I loved like star wars, black books, the might boosh and cheeky sayings the kids have said and put my work online for people to have a look and a giggle at and since then my business has taken off in a huge way! I went live online in April and since have sold my work through the internet, in shops around my home town of Belfast and in many markets around the country and love every minute of it. It a very slow art form and each piece can take from 2-22 hours to make so there is a lot of love goes into each unique design. I have also started taking commissions from customers and have converted kids drawings into stitches, business logos and funny quotes from people’s family members and most recently have taken on stitching name places for a wedding! One of my favourite designs was for a lady who wanted me to stitch a Jim’ll fix it badge for her husbands birthday present which was such fun to do, so geeky and retro, right up my street!!

If you would like to pop over and see my work check out my website www.redheadthread.co.uk or facebook/redheadthread for up to date details of new designs and where I will be during the summer season selling my treasures at the many markets throughout Northern Ireland although I post all over the world !

Since starting my business it has opened up my eyes to so many amazing forms of art work I never know existed and through facebook have found some amazing items to buy for my home and met some fantastic friends. Check out Fat Free Felt, Dab and Dash, Pilfred and Fanni loves Fufu all completely different and offering gifts that you couldn’t get on the high street!

Guest Blog Spot - Claire Toplis

Hi meet Rainbow Fish part of my classroom display for the play corner. Now I have no art skills at all, but I managed to do this. I managed to sketch out the basic shape of Rainbow Fish and gradually painted it and added the detail. What do you think do you like it?

The theme this term is water So I was put in charge of this classroom display and play corner . The play corner is on a under water aquarium theme. Here are some photos. I designed the whole thing, I must admit Rainbow Fish is a great educational resource.

Note the cut out rainbow Fish characters on blue film ( which is the water ).

Here we go inside the aquarium shell material to the side and blue material covering the top. Honestly it really feels like an aquarium in there, shame I am too big too play in there. Look who it is! It is Olivia the bozz eyed Octopus though sadly her lips fell off.

Careful those giant waves don't sweep you away! more Rainbow Fish characters on the waves.

More Rainbow Fish art . I hope you have enjoyed my pictures and I hope it gives you ideas for your classroom or at home. It is so simple to do and encourages a multitude of play ideas and helps promote their leaning. I welcome your comments. Thank you.

You can visit Claires blog at http://ninjakillercat.blogspot.com 

Guest Blog Spot - Roood Boogie

We are Cara and Paul, the people behind Roood Boogie Bespoke Temporary Tattoos. 

 Along with the obligatory passion for all things arty, crafty and creative, we both come from the 9 to 5 slog in merchandise design, which covers an array of disciplines from product sourcing, branding, design and marketing.    

But outside of office hours, we’re just your average pair of rock n’ rollin’, hippy, internet junkie, cocktail-pitcher swilling, inked and pierced, music loving nerds – and that’s pretty much the spirit of Roood Boogie…

it all started when Cara was putting together gift bags for her mates hen night and we realised we had the means to actually make these one-off temporary tattoos, customised with the names etc of the bride and groom, and using our own artwork based on the hen nights vintage theme.  Needless to say, at the hen-do they went down a storm...

We were bombarded with enquiries, so started to look into the possibility of setting it up as a small business.  We looked around and, there are other companies who can produce temporary tattoos to spec, but none of them offer the service on small quantities.  

And to be honest it was all a bit dreary and business-like – none of them came from a true ‘tattoo art’ angle – it was all corporate logos and football club crests, and very little in the way of the free spirit art vibe that we have at Roood Boogie...  plus there were no bespoke temporary tattoo services in the uk with any social media presence, so we decided to step in and fill the gap...

And that’s when we began to really see the full scope of potential markets for the service - 

Things like

• ·         hen and stag night
• ·         themed parties
• ·         product and brand launches/promotions
• ·         a good merchandise line for bands
• ·         a fun product for illustrators and designers to promote or sell their work
• ·         and of course, a service to tattoo artists, who can have their flash sets produced as temporary tattoos, for re-sale as a kind of 'try before you ink yerself permanent' kinda thing...

It's this last concept that's really caught the imagination of a couple tattoo artists who we ran the idea past.  They loved it and ordered several packs on the spot.  

And we were lucky enough to get the awesome Joolz Denby on board with the idea – Joolz gave us license to use some of her New Model Army artwork and various tattoo designs, and these special edition sets can be found on our Etsy shop.  Plus it was Joolz’s endorsement which contributed to us getting over 100 likes within days of creating our facebook page, which is still our main web presence. 

So at the moment we’re busy scribbling and building up our design catalogue, with tattoos which can be bought off the peg or customised at no extra cost, or just used as inspiration for customers’ own designs – things like henna-inspired, maori and inca, floral designs, even working anaglyph 3D tattoos – which we are sure are truly unique!

On the whole we are overwhelmed at the initial success of the project, and we can’t wait to see how it develops.  At the moment we are looking to work with more artists and designers who would like to use their artwork for tattoo sets to be available through our Etsy shop.

But we’re also loving the personal, bespoke element of the service – so far we’ve produced personalised tattoos for festivals, bands, clothing labels, as well as smaller individual orders for people who want to trial different designs or tattoo positioning before they face the tattoo gun for real.

If anyone out there has any ideas and/or would like to collaborate, just give us a shout!

rooodboogie@gmail.com

facebook.com/rooodboogie

twitter.com/RooodBoogie

Guest Blog Spot - Betty Bee

Modern Life is rubbish so lets get crafting

It’s been a pig of a day, bad tempered and irritating in equal measures. For many people the only way to redeem it would be to crack open a bottle and put their feet up in front of the TV. That is of course unless you are a crafter.

A crafter will clear the dinner dishes away, put the kids to bed and then with the radio tuned in to something relaxing start working. Not that it feels like work. Whether you are crocheting a blanket, decoupaging a jewellery box or painting a chair you will quickly enter the craft zone and feel your troubles melt away.

The therapeutic qualities of arts and crafts have long been recognised and classes are run in hospitals, prisons, care homes and having been a life long crafter I’m a massive fan of using your crafts as a relaxation tool.

That’s not to say mastering new disciplines is always the fastest way to achieve blissed out contentment. We all know the black clouds that form when an idea doesn’t work out, or a project simply gets the better of us. Our crackle glaze goes lumpy or we sew our tapestry to our trouser leg but often even the moments when you are shouting at your sewing machine are good as they totally force you into the moment. There’s little time to worry about, love, money or kids when you are trying to get the tension right on an ancient singer machine.

For my part I get the most satisfaction from up cycling items. Turning discarded items usually destined for the tip into beautiful pieces you will use and enjoy.

It makes me feel virtuous as it’s a green way to get new things (and I’m a gal who loves to shop) and the feeling of satisfaction I get when I finish reupholstering a chair or make a cake stand out of mismatched pates from a car boot is really hard to beat.

Crafting is also a brilliant way to indulge your creative side and carve out a space that’s just for you. In a world where we are increasingly slaves to our phones and computers (guilty as charged) it actually forces us to step away from the laptop and engage our brain in a more practical way.

So the next time you feel stressed out, don’t buy up all of ASOS.com or eat that family pack of twirls, log onto Creative Craftin and see where the mood takes you. Its natures Prozac-trust me.

Copyright Betty Bee

Betty Bee regularly shares her craft projects on her blog http://talesfrombettybeetowers.blogspot.com and writes a regular column for Vintage Life Magazine “Betty Bees How to…” which show readers step by step craft projects

Betty Bee
0151 625 2842
www.vintagepamperbox.com The alternative hen party for sassy ladies
www.Bettybee.co.uk

www.Bettybeevintage.com

www.bopalena.co.uk

Guest Blog spot - Pam Harrow from Loves a good yarn.

We would like to welcome our first Guest Blogger, please meet Pam Harrow from Lovesagoodyarn.

Hi there, as a happy mum of 2 little ladies and a happy wife of one wonderful man, my other joy in life at the moment is crochet.

I have been able to knit since for what seems like forever but more probably since I was about 6 or 7, this has been an on and off affair for the last 30-ish years but it was last year when my mum showed me how to make a crochet chain to finish off a knitted toy that I fell in love with crochet.  It makes so much sense, I feel much more creative when I crochet, I have come up with my own patterns, something that I never would have considered with knitting.

To say I am 'hooked' is an understatement, ask my husband as he has to fight his way past all the yarn that is rapidly taking over our home!  It is because of this that I have opened my Folksy shop to sell the things that I make.

I always seem to have numerous projects on the go at the same time, some are easy to take out, others are too delicate/complicated so they stay at home, I am currently working on orders taken at the last craft fair that I did, in between this, family life and working as a minibus driver for a charity I am also trying to work in winter/Christmas (!) stock for craft fairs later in the year.

There you go, that is me, Pam Harrow aka Loves a good Yarn.

http://www.folksy.com/shops/lovesagoodyarn

https://www.facebook.com/lovesagoodyarn

Girls Sumer Hats and Free Flower Pattern

Well it is that time of year when the school has started to ask the little people to wear their sun hats when they play outside, so I decided to make the girls new hats for this year.  Last years hats were gorgeous but as I had made them from 100% cotton, one play outside with water and the cotton gave into the laws of gravity and dropped something dreadful!

So this year I decided to use a blended yarn, a cotton and acrylic mix, so the hats still look and feel like cotton but hopefully (fingers crossed!) the acrylic should help the cotton stay in the shape I make it.The pattern I used last year and re-using this year is the Sofie Floppy by Adrienne Engar and this pattern can be found here.I love this pattern and it suits my girls totally, here is them wearing their hats.

Now you will see that I have added pink and yellow flowers to the hats and it is this pattern that I am going to give you.Before I start I would just like to point out that this pattern has come out of the confused scrambledness of my head but I am not totally 100% sure that it is original or if at some point I have read this pattern elsewhere and stored it away until it surfaced again ( I do have my original scribbles and notes), so if this pattern bears any resemblance to yours or to someone that you know then I would like to apologise as I did not mean to copy.This pattern will be written in UK terms, US terms will be in brackets ( )Stitches usedslst - slip stitchch - chaindc (sc) - double crochet (single crochet)tr (dc) - treble crochet (double crochet)2trtog (2dctog) - work a treble but stop before the last yarn over and pull through 2 loops, work the next stitch to the same point then yarn over and pull through all 4 loops on hook.2 dbtrtog (2trtog) - work a double treble (wrap yarn over hook twice before starting) but stop before the last yarn over and pull through 2 loops, work the next stitch to the same point then yarn over and pull through all 4 loops on hook.I am using DK weight yarn with 4.00mm hook, but any yarn weight with suitable hook will do, tension (gauge) is not important.(For those that are going to use the photo tutorial, please accept my apologies for the fact that blogger has decided to change some pics from landscape to portrait and I cannot seem to change them back again!)

- 6ch and join into a loop with a slip stitch

- 1ch, 15dc (sc) into ring

- sl st in front loop only to close

- with new colour - (if changing colours)

Work the rest of this round in front loops only- *2ch in sl st, work a partial tr2tog (dc2tog) over next 2 sts - do not complete the final yarn over and pull through 2 loops, repeat in next st before final yarn over and pull through remaining 4 loops, 2ch and sl st in next dc (sc)

- rep from * 4 more times making 5 petals, sl st in 1st ch (change colour at sl st if changing again)

Now at this point you might be thinking this flower looks hideous, all straggly and ugly but bear with it, it will improve immensely when the back loops are worked into and pull it all back into shapeThe back of your work should look like this

Now with the yellow yarn from round 1 that you dropped before, sl st into the back loop of the sl st from round 2

Now working in the free/back loops from Round 2To make these petals visible behind the first petals these need to be taller so they will be worked like this- *3ch, work a partial 2dbtrtog (2trtog) (wrap the yarn over the hook twice, pull loop through, yarn over and pull through 2 loops 2 times in each st before yarn over and pull through remaining 4 loops), rep from * 4 more times making 5 larger petals.Your finished flower should look something like this

Now weave in your ends and Vóila, one double layer flower!The flowers can be done in 1, 2 or 3 colours and in each instance will give many different results depending on colours used.

And for those of you who just want the pattern, here it is just written out, no pics;

- 6ch, join with sl st into a loop

- 1 ch 15 dc (sc) into loop and join with sl st - optional colour change

Work this Round in Front Loop Only

-  * 2ch, 2trtog (2dctog) over next 2 sts, 2ch slst into next st, rep from * 4 more times - 5 petals

Optional colour change here 

- Work this Round in Back/Free Loops of round 2

- *3ch, 2dbtrtog (2trtog) over next 2 sts, 3ch slst into next st, rep from * 4 more times - 5 petals.

Fasten off and weave in ends.

If you would be interested in being one of our Guest bloggers please get in touch. You can email us at articles@creative-crafting.com