The Handmade Fair 2015 - Live Craft Mash Up

It was a case of Knitter vs Glitter this weekend as I returned to Kirstie Allsop's Handmade Fair as one of her Craft Experts to take part in Friday's Live Craft Mash Up, sponsored by Mollie Makes magazine and HobbyCraft, and this time I was up against the fabulous (and feline friendly) Deadly Knitshade. We were both given a plain polysterene wreath to decorate, in front of a live audience in just 45 minutes.

In advance of the Mash Up we were asked what materials we'd like, I opted for the stuff I love best: sparkles, spangles, glitter, confetti, sequins and lots and lots of gemstones, while Deadly Knitshade brought in yarn (obviously!)

As she wound her wreath with a pre-knitted fluro magenta panel, I got messy decoupaging the base - both of us crafted while being interviewed by our Mollie Makes host.

I hadn't tested out my design, just did a few sketches and developed a concept, inspired by both of our mops. DK is usually seen with blue hair while I'm currently rocking purple and green. Together we are a human peacock so I took my lead from that and whipped up a themed wreath.

Due to time restraints it wasn't the neatest of craft projects but I did manage to cover the base, create some giant peacock eyes lined with sequin trim and filled them in with think confetti glitter, stick on lots of gems (whilst also welding some onto the table), before completing my design with a feature section made from peacock feathers and my piece-de-resistance, a felt peacock which I had stitched the night before in front of the telly.

Meanwhile Ms Knitshade transformed hers into a monster door knocker complete with bulging eyes and slithery bits.

The Knitter just pipped the Glitter to the post and Deadly Knitshade was crowned the champion of the Mash Up. 

 I loved her creation and was pleased with mine too - I'm going to hang it proudly in my pad somewhere. 

Think you don't have time to craft? Although we both did a wee bit of prep, we still managed to create crafty showstoppers in under an hour, see, it's possible! 

Afterwards we hung out at the Fair, hooked up with some fellow crafters including knitter Louise Walker, printer Zeena Shah and animatronics/designer maker for film and TV, Emma Brassfield. I also had a good old natter with some other crafty folk which was superb.

A fine afternoon of living the crafty life. I have a few more craft events appearing in my diary in the lead up to Christmas which is nice, including guesting at my local WI, hopefully running a workshop for a well-known brand and possibly recording a video too. Exciting!

Thanks to Lauren & Emma for taking most of these pics - if you were at The Handmade Fair at Hampton Court, I hope you had fun and extra special thanks to everyone who came to see us : ) 

Pretty in Peacock

Ever since I ran a Paper Plate Peacock crafting session at the Geffrye Museum a few weeks ago, I have become obsessed with peacock colours. I’m drawn to pretty purples, gorgeous greens, brilliant blues and terrific turquoises. Not only am I currently dressing in these colours, I’m also eating and drinking them too! I’ve even had purple streaks put into my hair to break up the red! Yes, these are my colours of the season and to entice you into my way of thinking I thought I would share my peacock crafting with you. It’s a fun, cheap project to do with children. I made mine into a wall hanging but some of the kids who came to my class extended the ribbon hanger and wore them around their necks creating a peacock costume.

What you need:

Paper plates

Peacock coloured papers – green, purple and blue, shiny and non shiny

PVA glue

Pencil, scissors, hole punch

Ribbon

Goggly eyes

Body on main plate with the beginnings of the feather

Step 1: Create feathers

Fold a paper plate in half and draw oval shapes from the fold line up until the edge of the plate where tip of the oval should be. These will vary in size, some will be small and others much longer. You’ll need about 18, with a few additional smaller ones to fill in gaps. Lay each feather onto green paper, draw around, cut out and glue on so that each feather is covered.

To create the ‘eyes’ draw different size circles in the different papers and glue these on in layers, ensuring the centre-piece is shaped as shown. Stick these onto the tops of the feathers.

Peacock eyes made by layering circles of coloured paper

Step 2: Create body

Draw the peacock body on shiny blue paper and glue in the centre of your main plate. Arrange the feathers around the peacock and glue in place, fill in gaps with smaller feathers as needed.

Step 3: Finishing touches

Make a beak from orange paper and glue on the body along with two goggle eyes.

Punch two holes in the back of the plate and feed a ribbon through, tying together to form a hoop so you can hang your peacock.

Mine is dangling from my living room window and makes me smile in the mornings. Every home needs one, make yours today!