Macrame Workshop

I'm so happy to share these pictures, last week my mum and I held our first macrame workshop and I'm delighted to say that it won't be our last! Four lovely ladies spent a gentle afternoon up in my craftroom learning the art of knotting and creating their own beautiful wall hangings. I was on hosting duties so kept everyone topped up with tea and cake and did to occasional bit of cord holding. Mum took everyone through the basic knots and then stepped back to watch four completely different designs take shape - I can't believe how different each of them were. The afternoon was calm and relaxed and everyone was encouraged to follow their instincts in coming up with a design, no patterns just letting pattern in the cord do its thing. By the time the class was finished everyone had a reel of cord on order ready to make their next design. 

As I said, I was in charge of hosting which made a change from being a teacher. I always want the room to be a reflection of what people see here on the blog and on instagram too so went for a slightly pink themed refreshment table (being as its February and all that!) . Making the most of my favourite dried flower crowns, dried flowers and a few roses that were just finishing to add a floral touch and then using mismatched plates and vintage teacups to keep it feeling relaxed. I also lit a candle as a delicious smelling room makes all the difference. 

We're definitely going to be holding some more classes so keep an eye out for more dates. Have a lovely weekend. xx

P.s - Pink Tie Dye Tablecloth Tutorial 

 

Three LOVE - ly projects for February

The best thing about February is the excuse to use red and pink in any project, here are three of my favourites to get you feeling the love this February...

Valentines Inspired Gift Wrapping

Wire Heart Necklace (this makes a great gal-entines craft project)

Soy wax candles 

Happy Making! x

Small ways to get through winter

It's so easy to find beauty in the abundance of summer, winter by comparison has always felt so desolate. This year I have changed my attitude to my least favourite season and discovered the magic in the delicate pockets of light and found enormous joy in the little things that only happen in the dark months. Today in old school blogging fashion I thought I'd share some of my favourite ways to beat the winter blues.

Get outside - I've written this approx. 346,583 times but being outside is the best remedy for winter. Nothing beats the feeling of being wrapped up and feeling the wind on your cheeks, I swear by layers from Uniqlo - I start with a thermal vest and keep adding!

70% off - whilst I don't shop as nearly as often as I used too, the ends of the sales provide rich pickings for all those things you couldn't justify full price - hello tassel earrings!

Planning the garden - I got my first pang of spring today but pacifying myself with plant lists, seeds from Lidl and a daily stroll around the garden to spot signs of life (of which there are plenty)

Reshuffle your wardrobe - By this time of year I'm so fed up with my clothes, this year I've eased things by putting away jumpers and tops that just aren't right and keeping out anything brightly coloured and soft. It helps so much!

Print your photos - Use this quiet time to print off all your favourite photos.  I recently used Inkifi for a photobook of our family photos and then did individual prints of my favourite blog images - I couldn't be happier with them.

Hot yoga - Cold walk, hot yoga, cold walk, warm bed, its truly blissful - try it!

Tackle that magazine stack - when it really is too grim to go outside find inspiration in all those magazine tears, I've yet to go through mine but cannot wait to see what treasures are hiding.

Fresh flowers - of course I love to grow my own (see this tiny white anemone that popped up) but I gave never resist a bunch of tulips with my weekly shop ( I always by British where I can).

Sleep - I almost forgot this, if 2018 was my year of no sleep I've been using 2019 to replenish my sleep reserves - I'm loving the heavy dark mornings (and afternoons) to cram in as many 'Z's' as possible.

Swarvoski Embellished Hairband

If you wanted me too, I could give you my life history in hairbands - all you have to do is ask!  This one will go down as the one that gave me my sparkle back. If you've read my blog for a length of time you may remember that a post about embellishing was never far away. The arrival of two small children pushed the need to embellish to a back corner of my mind but since discovering Swavorski crystals are available to buy at retail rather than wholesale things are about to get sparkly once again.

Just before Christmas I attended a Swarvoski evening hosted by the lovely Christine Leech of Sew Yeah, (she made this beautiful hairband which was such a treat to embellish) at Tea and Crafting in Covent Garden.  Getting to play with all the jewels is my kind of good time. I did spend most of the evening chatting which is why I only finished this last week but it was so interesting finding out more about the company and their processes. I've become increasingly aware about the materials I'm using in my projects - I've always reused and recycled but selecting materials which do less environmental damage and are traceable is becoming more and more important to me. Swarovski crystals are still made in Austria and I've love the fact that there is a full sustainabilty section on their website. 

Onto the make, I used a hairband kindly made and provided on the evening so I don't have an exact tutorial for the base but I did make this fabric hairband back in my blogs early years if you want to make one (I still wear it loads). If not there are sooo many hairbands around to buy these days - choose one which has loose fabric so you can stitch the jewels on.  For the design I decided to cluster my jewels on just one side of the hairband picking out the blues and turquoise of the pattern with stones, to provide some contrast I used beautiful star shape crystals and then dotted hotfix stars around the main pattern.  I always like to stitch my jewels as it means I can reuse in the future, I'd definitely recommend a hotfix gun, if you don't have one, fear not, E6000 glue will stick the stars on just as well. I've linked the crystals and the settings below but use them as a guide and let all the gorgeous colours inspire you - happy making!x 

I used...

5 x Pear Shape, Crystal Mint - Crystal setting

5 x Cushion Shape, Crystal Summer Blue - Crystal setting 

4 x Star Crystal, Golden Shadow - Crystal setting

10 x Hotfix Flatback Star, Crystal Golden Shadow

A huge thanks to Christine, Jane and The Swarovski team for providing the materials for this project. Words, styling and photography all me.

Three mindful craft projects for January

 Last week I had the pleasure of teaching some simple jewellery making as part of an intention setting workshop held at an amazing local place called Do It Like a Mother. I was invited last minute to attend the whole day which I'm so glad I did as it was really really inspirational. I've fallen so many times for courses with clever marketing that make me feel bad about myself before selling me another expensive workshop but this one was different. How? It took one simple question...

"If you could imagine talking to me this time next year, what things would have happened to make it the best year yet?"*

It's a big one - never before in my whole adult life have I been asked or asked myself that question and it feels life changing. After years of studying and working in fashion, which was my dream, then leaving the industry pretty quickly I've never felt in control of my destiny or asked myself what I wanted because I always thought that life had to be about having a "good job" or nothing. The answer to this question has taken some thought, it appeals to me as it isn't about setting goals or targets, its about invisaging and dreaming big. There's no failure, no dissapointment its about taking down boundries that I/we set ourselves and pushing past them. By knowing how I want my life to look and feel means I know what to look for and what to work for when those opportunities arise or even better creating them myself.

I wanted to share - this time of year can feel pretty swamped with other peoples goals which I find really intimidating. Also, if you're not ready to answer it now its always one to come back too. If like me you need to take some time to process here are three lovely DIY projects that give you time and space to think. If you want more then Keri is starting an online course call Thrive, starting Monday 21st January that you won't want to miss.

A simple guide to growing sweet peas (its never too early to get those seeds going!)

Simple beaded and silk necklace (I taught this last week)

How to create a flatlay (I find these the most calming of all)

*I've paraphrased a bit as I was finishing necklaces and couldn't write the question down

Gathering treasures and more macrames

Even with the most positive intentions there are times when January and winter can feel really bleak. My rememedy is to get outside as much as possible but when thats not an option gathering my favourite things - books, fabric and flowers and immersing myself in pages of colour, remembering the smell and feeling of markets in faraway lands or simply planning this years garden is enough for a grey afternoon. 

I gathered this selection of treasures inspired by a recent macrame commission my mum did before Christmas, each one is my favourite and always reflects the personal style of the person that has ordered it. I've never made one but and desperate to learn, which is lucky as my mum has agreed to teach me. But not just me you can come too...I'm going to hold a macrame workshop in my craftroom Sunday 3rd February, 1.30 - 4pm, £35 pp. There are four spaces available so I'd you'd like to come along drop me a message to secure your place, I'd love to see you. xx

You can see more macrame posts below

Mum's macrame

Cord and Jewel Macrame bracelet (this is one of my most popular posts) 

Mollie Makes Macrame T-shirt

Star Wall Hanging

This star wall hanging is still up (I love too much to take down!) so its not too late to share here. Keeping to my festive theme of using up what materials I had in my stash, this gentle star garland used up air dry clay decorations I made years ago along with metallic coloured sequins and crystal beads. I had originally planned it to be more detailed but when it came to hanging, its delicate simplicity won me over. 

I made the strands using tiger tail and crimps - first looping the tiger tail around a clay decoration and securing with a crimp then adding a mix of beads and sequins randomly along the length. To finish I looped and fastened the tiger tail over and old branch I'd painted and glued gold stars in the gaps. I also added a string of wire lights to the branch because you can never have too many fairy lights.

It's sat happily behind my Christmas table and after Christmas table and I plan on keeping it up for a little while longer. Being almost invisible it was really hard to capture so I made the most of the dramatic winter sun to show you how it contrast and glimmers in the winter light.