Upcyling challenge....

Spring has finally sprung in the UK which makes it a perfect time for another #CraftBlogClub challenge!

We're going to be upcycling!

Spring is a great time to have a clear out and find old stuff.  Instead of throwing things out why not upcycle? 

What you choose to upcycle and the craft techniques you use are up to you.  It could be revamping an old pair of jeans, turning that sad looking plant pot into fab crafty storage container or refurbishing an unloved piece of furniture.

• We will be revealing our upcycled projects in our Twitter chat on 25th June 2018 and If you have a blog also present your lovely project in a blog post by this date.
• Please mention #CraftBlogClub in your blog post and link back to this page.
• Let us know how you’re doing throughout the challenge on Twitter. Don't forget to use our #CraftBlogClub hashtag.

Anyone can join in the challenge, don't worry If you've never joined a #CraftBlogClub chat before, everyone is welcome!

I hope you will join in and I can't wait to see what everyone makes!!...

#CraftBlogClub challenge ~ crafty resolutions...

It's time for our first #CraftBlogClub challenge of 2018!

The challenge is.... "Crafty Resolutions".

Following the popularity of this challenge in previous years, we thought it would be perfect to start 2018 challenging you to learn a new craft or technique.

Whatever your crafting resolution, this challenge is hopefully the motivation to get you started.


The Rules....

• Learn a new craft, or,
• Try a new technique within a craft you already enjoy, or,
• Use that new machine / craft tool you haven't taken out of the box yet, or,
• Pick up a craft you haven't done in a long time.

• We will be revealing our makes in our Twitter chat on 20th March 2018 and If you have a blog also present your lovely project in a blog post by this date.
• Please mention #CraftBlogClub in your blog post and link back to this page.
• Let us know how you’re doing throughout the challenge on Twitter. Don't forget to use our #CraftBlogClub hashtag.

As it is a new craft/technique and the thought of having to complete a project may be terrifying, don't worry, the whole point of the challenge is to have fun learning a new skill. If you don't have a completed project we still want to see your work in progress.

If you don't have time to learn a new craft or don't have one in mind, why not go back to something you haven't done in a while? Dust off those sewing machines / crochet hooks / knitting needles / paint brushes etc and get crafting.

Anyone can join in the challenge, don't worry If you've never joined a #CraftBlogClub chat before, everyone is welcome!

I hope you will join in and I can't wait to see what everyone makes!!...

Psst.... If you don't know what #CraftBlogClub is and you like the sound of this challenge, we'd love you to join in and you can find out more here.

#CraftBlogClub Secret Santa....

It’s that time of year again and we are SO excited here at Craft Blog Club! This year marks our fifth Secret Santa, can you believe it?! I think it’s safe to say it’s our favourite #craftblogclub challenge of the year.

Here is how to join in:

• If you want to take part please email us at craftblogclub@gmail.com.  Please include your name, twitter name, email address and postal address. Email us by 8pm on Tuesday 7th November 2017. 
• We will then email everyone back by Thursday 9th November with the name and address of the person you are making a gift for.
• You then make that person a Christmas gift, this can be anything you like and made from any craft. It would be lovely for everyone to receive their gift in time for Christmas, therefore we have set a deadline for posting the gift by Wednesday 20th December 2017, which the last day for posting 1st class mail within the UK. 
• Make sure you include a note revealing who you are.  Who you make for won’t necessarily be the person that makes for you.
• Please only sign up if you can make and send a gift by the deadline. As crafters we all know how much time and love goes into making something handmade so let’s make sure no one misses out.
• Anyone can take part, don't worry if you have never joined our chats or taken part in a challenge before, we'd love for you to be involved.

The real excitement then begins as we all receive a special handmade Christmas gift from our Secret Santa! We ask that you write a blog post about the wonderful gift you receive and about the gift you made. We suggest you do this after Christmas (so not to spoil any surprises) and by Tuesday 9th January 2018, which will be our first #craftblogclub of 2018. It will make for a great first chat of the year to discuss our makes and gifts.

I hope you are as excited about this challenge as we are. We love seeing all the amazing gifts you lovely lot make for one another.

Want to know more about the #CraftBlogClub? find all the details here.

and the winner is....

Thank you to everyone who has entered the #CraftBlogClub giveaway to win a copy of Jenniffer Taylor's book, Girl With A Sewing Machine.

All the entries have been put into the List Randomiser on Random.org and the winner is.....

(drum roll)

.... Andrea Kay*!

Congratulations Andrea!  Please email me your details via craftblogclub@gmail.com and I will send you this great book.

Sorry if you haven't won but don't worry, you can find Jenniffer's book here.

Before you go, don't forget you can join our #CraftBlogClub every Tuesday 7-8pm on Twitter.

P.S. The amazon link is affiliated.

*Update 29/08/2017: The original winner, Claire Davies, did not claim her prize.  After trying to get in touch with Claire numerous times we decided it would be best to do another draw with the original entrants on 29th August 2017. Andrea was drawn using an online random generator.

Girl With A Sewing Machine Book Giveaway....

We're very excited at #CraftBlogClub HQ, Jenniffer Taylor and her publishers have kindly given us a copy of her new book to give away!  

This is a great book for beginners and anyone who is looking to improve their sewing skills. By the end of this book you will have a greater understanding of garment construction which will unleash your creativity and the ability to create your own unique wardrobe. You can read my full review here.

There are a number of ways you can enter this giveaway and the best part is each one will be counted as one entry, so do all three and you will be entered three times!

1. Please leave a comment below about why you would love to win this book
2. Share this post on Twitter, tagging @craftblogclub and using the hashtag #CBCgiveaway
3. Give the #CraftBlogClub Facebook page a like and leave a comment on the giveaway post on why you'd love to win, or like one of the other comments.

Deadline for entries is 31st July at 11:59pm (BST)

The winner will be picked at random using random.org and will be announced during the Twitter chat on 1st August at 7pm (BST) as well as on this blog and on Facebook.

Good Luck!

Time for a spring clean....

Previously, #CraftBlogClub has run a Spring clean Swap challenge but we have decided to make this years #CraftBlogClub Spring Clean a little bit different. This year we will be hosting the #CraftBlogClub Spring Clean during our chat on Tuesday 4th April. 

During the chat we want you to post a pic of any unwanted/unused crafty materials that you want to get rid of. Make sure you use the two hashtags #CraftBlogClub and #SpringClean. Then if someone thinks they could make use of whats in the photo, they tweet you back.

Privately you then share contact details and post the item. You get to have a clear out and someone else can make something fabulous with your unwanted materials.

If you have signed up for a #CraftBlogClub Spring Clean challenge before we would have arranged for you to receive a surprise package in the post and given you the details of someone to send a crafty parcel to.  This year we thought we would give this a go, it might work, it might not, but either way it will be a bit of fun.

All we ask is that you don't charge for the items. We suggest that the person sending the items covers the postal cost unless it is overseas or for large items, in which case you can agree who will cover this between you. 

This isn't an opportunity to sell items but to encourage us to look at your unused stash, have a spring clean and encourage one another to reuse and recycle. What might have been gathering dust in your stock might be just what another crafter is looking for. It's all just a bit of Spring Cleaning fun!

This has come at a perfect time for me as I desperately need to have a clear out so I can be more organised and get new storage for the craft den.  

If you have never joined us for a chat or it's been a while, it doesn't matter, everyone is welcome.  We hope to see you for the #CraftBlogClub 2017 Spring Clean on Tuesday 4th April 2017 from 7pm GMT.

#CraftBlogClub Challenge ~ crafty resolutions....

It's time for our first #CraftBlogClub challenge of 2017!

The challenge is.... "Crafty Resolutions".

Following the popularity of this challenge in previous years, we thought it would be perfect to start 2017 challenging you to learn a new craft or technique.

Whatever craft you want to learn this challenge is hopefully the motivation to get you started.  Alternatively, you may have received a new craft tool/machine for Christmas that you still need to take out the box, it's time to get it out and give it a go!

As it is a new craft/technique and the thought of having to complete a project may be terrifying. Don't worry, the whole point of the challenge is to have fun learning a new skill and if you don't have a completed project we still want to see your work in progress.

If you don't have time to learn a new craft or don't have one in mind, why not go back to something you haven't done in a while? Dust off those sewing machines / crochet hooks / knitting needles / paint brushes etc and get crafting.

Anyone can join in the challenge, don't worry If you've never joined a #CraftBlogClub chat before, everyone is welcome!

The Rules....

• Challenge;
• Learn a new craft, or,
• Try a new technique within a craft you already enjoy, or,
• Pick up a craft you haven't done in a long time.

• We will be revealing our makes in our Twitter chat on 14th March 2017 and If you have a blog also present your lovely project in a blog post by this date.
• Please mention #CraftBlogClub in your blog post and link back to this page.
• Let us know how you’re doing throughout the challenge on Twitter. Don't forget to use our #CraftBlogClub hashtag.

I hope you will join in and I can't wait to see what everyone makes!!...

Psst.... If you don't know what #CraftBlogClub is and you like the sound of this challenge, we'd love you to join in and you can find out more here.

#CraftBlogClub Secret Santa....

Happy New Year! I hope you have enjoyed the festive break and 2017 has started well for you. I hope this year is a happy, healthy and crafty one!

To start the year off it's time to reveal my #CraftBlogClub Secret Santa.

My Secret Santa this year was for the lovely Kay who has been one of our guest hosts on #CraftBlogClub. I made her a Christmas decoration....

I painted an MDF bauble and stamped it with a funny sentiment in black ink.  I used green irridescent and silver metallic acrylic paints giving it a satin finish.

Along with it I sent a Made By Mrs M notebook, I love these, I have some myself. They are a handy size to keep in your bag and I thought a great place for Kay to keep ideas for blogging, crafty projects or whatever else she would like to use it for.

Notebook by Made by Mrs M

Tonight is the first #CraftBlogClub chat of the year and we will be sharing our Secret Santa gifts.  Don't worry if you haven't taken part we will also chat about any handmade gifts we made or received for Christmas.

If you have taken part in this year's Secret Santa please link your blog post below so we can all go and check it out.  This is the best part of the challenges, seeing what everyone has made.

Tonight's chat is over on Twitter from 7pm (GMT). If you have not joined us before we are a friendly bunch and welcome newbies all the time, you can find out more about our club here.

The final days of #100PatternsofCBC....

I can't believe it's the end of #100DaysofPatternsCBC and that I managed to complete all 100 days (even if I had to play catch up a few times!).

Here are my last 20 photos from the challenge....

Days 81 to 84 ~ A pretty plant growing through a fence / lots of leaves / close up of an autumn leaf / lots of multicoloured leaves on the ground.

Days 85 to 88 ~ A pretty mug found in the supermarket / tree trunk / two days of scarf patterns.

Days 89 to 92 ~ A throwback to my trip to Lisbon two years ago and a close up of tiles / mmmm chocolate! / day 91 was also my birthday and the butteflies were from wrapping paper / close up of packaging for fancy tea.

Days 93 to 96 ~ close up of crochet, love the colours of this yarn / fat quarter / creased stripes on a mans shirt / close up of a tree trunk.

Days 97 to 100 ~ An amazing quilt at No3 Royston / a hand drawn map of Hertfordshire from the 1920s on a tote bag / floral fabric / a close up of a beaded Christmas decoration by my clever crafty friend Debbie of Debbie Claire Designs.

The challenge has taken us from Summer through to Autumn, I have found patterns and inspiration everywhere! If you have enjoyed this challenge you can check out my previous posts here and all the photos from everyone who took part on Instagram here. 

This challenge has Inspired me and I have set myself another challenge ~ #100fizzijaynepatterns! 

This new challenge will start in the new year and I will be designing and creating my own patterns.  It's not a 100 day challenge, I don't want to put myself under that sort of pressure but through the course of the first 6 months of 2017 I will create 100 patterns using various techniques and taking inspiration from #100DaysofPatternCBC. I'm feeling inspired and can't wait to get started!

Days 61 to 80 of #100DaysofPatternCBC....

As we head in to November we are in the final few days of the #100DaysofPatternsCBC. Where has the time gone?!

Here are my photos of patterns from days 61 to 80....

Days 61 to 64 ~ King's Cross station's impressive ceiling / building in the new Kings Cross development / pavement at a crossing / close up of a hydrangea.

Days 65 to 68 ~ Brick work of St, Pancra Renaissance Hotel / rows of beer barrels / a friend's blind / looks like ice cream sprinkles but I came across this in a department store advertising Clinque.

Days 69 to 72 ~ A close up of the seat from a Northern Line Underground train / a manhole cover / another manhole cover / leaves.

Days 73 to 76 ~ A stripe pattern made up of ivy, brick and leaves / close up of a marrow / somones's gate / it's another photo from #MadebyMrsMPhotoWalk, the ceiling of Clapham South tube station.

Days 77 to 80 ~ Butterflies from a visit to Jimmy's Farm / Another photo from #MadebyMrsMPhotoWalk, I think these tiles were at Balham station / Ivy / More butterflies. 

The challenge ends on 17th November 2016, so if you would like to join in over the last few days all the details can be found here.

Psst.... Have you noticed I'm sharing my photos in a larger format, what do you think? do you prefer them large or would prefer me to go back to a smaller size?

#CraftBlogClub Secret Santa....

It’s that time of year again and we are SO excited here at Craft Blog Club! This year marks our fourth Secret Santa, can you believe it?! I think it’s safe to say it’s our favourite #craftblogclub challenge of the year and tonight my co-host, Katie, launched the latest Secret Santa challenge. 

Here is how to join in:

• If you want to take part please email us at craftblogclub@gmail.com.  Please include your name, twitter name, email address and postal address. Email us by 8pm on Tuesday 1st November 2016. We will then email everyone back by Tuesday 8th November with the name and address of the person you are making a gift for.
• You then make that person a Christmas gift, this can be anything you like and made from any craft. It would be lovely for everyone to receive their gift in time for Christmas, therefore we have set a deadline for posting the gift by Tuesday 20th December 2016. Make sure you include a note revealing who you are.  Who you make for won’t necessarily be the person that makes for you. Sadly, last year a few people never received their gift, so please only sign up if you can make and send a gift by the deadline. As crafters we all know how much time and love goes into making something handmade so let’s make sure no one misses out this year.
• The real excitement then begins as we all receive a special handmade Christmas gift from our Secret Santa! We ask that you write a blog post about the wonderful gift you receive and about the gift you made. We suggest you do this after Christmas (so not to spoil any surprises) and by Tuesday 3rd January 2017, which will be our first #craftblogclub of 2017. It will make for a great first chat of the year to discuss our makes and gifts.

Anyone can take part, don't worry if you have never joined our chats or taken part in a challenge before, we'd love for you to be involved.

I hope you are as excited about this challenge as we are. We love seeing all the amazing gifts you lovely lot make for one another.

Want to know more about the #CraftBlogClub? find all the details here.

Days 41 to 60 of the #100DaysofPatternCBC Challenge....

We're now over half way through the #100DaysofPatternCBC challenge!  Don't know what I'm talking about? The challenge is to share a photo of a pattern every day on Instagram and/or Twitter. Here are my photos from days 41 to 60...

Days 41 to 44 ~ A packet of baby wipes that are always on my desk / washi craft tape / closed blinds / new paper clips arranged (not that I was procrastinating).

Days 45 and 46 are new packaging for orders / Days 47 and 48 are of patterns that I created myself using stamps and ink

Days 49 and 50 ~ A die cut pattern / rows of yarn in a shop

Days 51 to 60 are all from the October Made by Mrs M Photowalk. There will be a blog post on this very soon but here are all the patterns I saw....

Days 51 and 52 ~ A close up of tiles at Clapham South Tube Station / Stairs at Balham Underground Station

Days 53 to 56 All found at Tooting Market ~ Colourful crates stacked up / flamingo pattern / close up of street art

Days 57 to 60 ~ Pretty floor tiles at a patisserie / tiles under the rail bridge at Balham Station / table at a florist next to Clapham South Station / new building at Collier's Wood

If you missed my previous round ups you can see my photos from days 1 to 20 here and days 21 to 40 here.

If you wish you had joined in, it's not too late! All the details can be found in this post.

Check out all of the amazing photos by everyone so far by using the hashtag #100DaysofPatternCBC on Instagram and Twitter, or use this link to go direct to the images on Instagram. 

Days 21 to 40 of #100DaysofPatternCBC challenge....

It's time for another round-up of the current #CraftBlogClub challenge. I can't believe we are nearly half way through already.  

These photos come from a trip to Norfolk, a week in Wales, one from the archives as well as from my craft den.

Days 21 to 24 ~ patterns in the sand / a uniform row of trees creating a pattern / old knitting patterns that were passed down to me from my Nan. I remember her knitting an outfit for my dolls from this pattern / bridge

Days 25 to 28 ~ a polka dot table cloth / a slate footpath / a close up of a tapestry / a top in a charity shop window display

Days 29 to 32 ~ a row of colourful beach huts / a cracked pattern in a glass window / a geometric pattern on a geometric shaped lamp shade / a slate wall

Days 33 to 36 ~ My watercolours / wooden beams / a pattern in a wooden gate / a throwback to when I went on #MadebyMrsMPhotoWalk

Days 37 to 40 ~ I was having a sort through my papers in the craft den and came across two pretty floral designs and a harlequin pattern. The Happy Birthday repeat pattern was a design I was working on for a customer order.

If you are enjoying these posts why not join in? It's not too late, all the details can be found in this post and don't worry if you miss days, it's supposed to be fun and inspiring!

Check out all of the amazing photos by everyone so far by using the hashtag #100DaysofPatternCBC on Instagram and Twitter, or use this link to go direct to the images on Instagram. There are some beautiful photos of inspiring images and patterns in unusual places.

Days 1 to 20 of the #100DaysofPatternCBC challenge....

Recently I launched a new #CraftBlogClub challenge and if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen my photos for the #100DaysofPatternCBC. The challenge is to share a photo of a pattern every day on Instagram and/or Twitter. Here are my photos from the first 20 days.... 

Day 1 - 4 patterns of.... a fat quarter that I bought just because I love it / my favourite mug to have my morning coffee in / my favourite pen / creating my own pattern for a phone cover using honeycomb crochet stitch and funky yarn

Days 5 - 8 patterns.... I spent a lot of time on the motorway that particular day! Inspiration can be found anywhere / I was sat in my conservatory and accidentally took a photo of the roof / nature's pattern in the sky / I love the colours and patterns of this selection of fat quarters.

Days 9 - 12 patterns.... creating my own patterns for new birthday cards / found this sewing pattern in my craft room / interesting pattern in a tree trunk / a reflection of my lamp on to my glass cutting mat

Days 13 - 16 patterns.... from the Art Deco photo walk / the sun shining through the blinds making patterns on the carpet / creating my own background patterns on this coaster /  a beautiful tiled house from a trip to Lisbon a few years ago

Days 17 -20 patterns of.... a pattern in a field / the back of my to do list pad / the beach / a tiled floor

I'm enjoying this challenge it encourages me to look at the world differently and I'm finding patterns everywhere!

It's not too late if you want to join in, all the details can be found in this post and don't worry if you miss days, it's supposed to be fun and inspiring!

Check out all of the amazing photos by everyone so far by using the hashtag #100DaysofPatternCBC on Instagram and Twitter, or use this link to go direct to the images on Instagram.  There are some beautiful photos of inspiring images and patterns in unusual places. 

#100DaysofPatternCBC challenge....

It’s time for a new #CraftBlogClub challenge and we thought we could try something different which will hopefully inspire us all!

The challenge is to share photos based on a theme every day for 100 days. If you miss a day or pop in and out that is fine it is supposed to be fun, not another thing you have to fit in to your day.  

The theme we have picked is 'pattern'.  We thought this would be something that you could easily find and take photos of regularly regardless of the type of craft you do. It can be fabric prints, something on your craft table or anything that inspires you when you are out about like some fancy brickwork, interesting patterns in the street, basically any pattern from anywhere. Hopefully this will inspire your creative work as well others.

How to take part…

• Take a photo and share on Instagram and/or Twitter.
• Use the hashtag #100DaysofPatternCBC so we can see everyone’s photos.
• This challenge will be running from 10th August until 17th November 2016.  Don’t worry if you miss a day or can’t do it every day just share your photos when you are inspired to.
• Anyone can join in, it doesn’t matter if you have never taken part in a challenge before or joined our chats (although it would be great if you would like to join us on Tuesday nights for a chat, all the details about us are here).
• Have fun!

I can’t wait to see your photos!

I’ll be officially launching and chatting about the challenge in tomorrow night’s chat. I hope you can join me from 7pm(BST) over on Twitter.

Upcycle project ~ squeaky dog toy....

My new puppy, Jenson, has inspired my latest crafty make for the latest #CraftBlogClub upcycling challenge.

The challenge was launched by Jenniffer Taylor of the #SewingRevolution and Sewing Bee fame and all we had to do was upcycle anything.  So using an old pair of jeans and fleece jumper I decided to make a squeaky dog toy.

What did I use....

• Old pair of jeans. Denim should be hard wearing enough for my teething pup
• Old fleece jumper for the chew ties
• Matching thread
• Polyester toy filler
• Dog toy squeaker. I used Kong replacement squeakers which I bought from my local independent pet store but they are also available online.
• This tutorial by Laura Griffin which includes a template.

It was a great opportunity to dust off my sewing machine.

Laura's instructions were easy to follow and it only took me a couple of hours to make.

The Finished Dog Toy!

I think it was a big hit with Jenson! As soon a I gave it to him he ran around with it and then hid under the dining room table to play, making sure no one could take it away from him! 

I enjoyed getting my sewing machine out again, I don't use it enough. I am now on the look out for my next sewing project.

Have you taken part in the challenge? Even if you haven't taken part in the challenge but have done an upcycling project I'd love to see it, please share your links below so I can check them out.

Disclaimer: The Amazon links in this post are affiliated