Making paper flowers with A Alicia at Crafternoon Cabaret

Hurrah! I finally got to visit Crafternoon Cabaret. A fun monthly Saturday afternoon get together that involves crafting and live cabaret.
(This is what I made. But more on that later...)

The event takes place upstairs in a room at The Library, a pub on Upper Street, near Highbury & Islington tube in London.

And it's single-handedly run by Hannah (who made her fabulous reversible, length changing apron with very useful pockets.) This means she organises the craft activities, books the entertainment, liaises with the pub and does all the publicity. Six month's in, the event is always sold out, (possibly out-growing it's home), has a regular following and has received some excellent publicity.

For October, Crafternoon Cabaret hosted their first guest, Anna aka A Alicia, who many peeps in the craft community will be familiar with. She was promoting her new book which shows simple, tasteful ways to add crafty touches to your home and she adapted two of the projects for us.

These were paper cut lanterns and amazing card flowers (so simple yet utterly gorgeous).

When I arrived some people had already sat down and I joined a table which was occupied by three flatmates who were rather impressively spending some time together away from their home.There was a huge pile of craft materials to help yourself to plus instructions to make the projects, with A Alicia on hand to help out.

Not being much of an instruction person I skipped the steps, had a good look at the samples and attempted to make my own. I discovered that you can be as brutal as you want to cardboard (I've been way too timid in the past!) - it will keep its shape!

Time went sooooooooo quickly. In fact the quickest it's gone for me in ages!

As promised this was not just an afternoon of making, there was music too and we were treated to the cheeky tunes of Mr Meredith who sung about his Darlek lover and  what makes a proper man...

...which he concluded was someone like himself who can pull off sequins. Well sung!

Here are those flatmates I mentioned with their creations.

I also managed a peek at what other tables were up to and discovered these two wonderful floral fascinators.

Mine was a bit more like a strange collar turned headdress.

Which you can see better here. I totally love the card flower technique, that is one I will be using again and again. To try it yourself, cut out circles of varying sizes, cut sections out of them all the way round then fold these up and stitch through. The the leaves were done similarly with a crease along their centres.

There are so many positives I could say about Crafternoon Cabaret. Here's some of them:

• Hannah the organiser is lovely
• The timing is great 2-4pm so you don't need to wake up early on a weekend and you still have loads of time afterwards to carry on with your Saturday
• Two hours cost £10 which is a very decent 'hourly rate' 
• Materials and instructions are provided - after the sessions you can keep the instructions, go home and make more!
• There are so many things to do in London but sometimes on a Saturday you just want to sit down and chill rather than be walking around galleries or shopping or sitting in a pub...I mean why sit in one and chat when you can chat and make at the same time?
• The cabaret element added a nice touch making it feel like you'd done a whole activity 
• You get to take home what you make

The next Crafternoon Cabaret is on Saturday November 8th and has a Movember moustache theme. Check it out! A Alicia has some more workshops planned too so look her up while you're at it.

My Vintage Shopping Spree At Old Spitalfields Market

Three weeks ago I won a £200 shopping spree at the new Pop Up Vintage Fair, which is held at Old Spitalfields Market, London, on the 3rd Saturday of the month.

All I had to do was send a Tweet and answer the question: Why do I love Vintage?
Mine had something to do with the fact each piece is full of stories...and that it looks good on me! I was given a challenge - to spend all £200 in one day on what can only be described as one of the most exciting days of my life!!! I felt like a VIP the moment I arrived, until I left laden down with shopping four hours later.

 

First stall to catch my eye was the incredible Spark Of Vintage. The owner Nadine  (pictured) blings up vintage bags & hats with Swarovski crystals. The second I laid eyes on this case (which has the words 'Sexy Women') painted on the top, it was love at first sight and it was my first snap up of the day for £30.

I did four circuits o the market before deciding what I wanted to try on. Thankfully, unlike some markets there was a curtained changing room. The patterns on these two dresses were gorgeous but sadly they didn't fit me - vintage clothes can sometimes be made for tiny frames : (

So I opted for this fabulous felted fascinator instead (£3)

An incredible pleated collar jacket (£38) from Gin Lane Vintage

A seriously cute sweater (£20)

A fabulous printed dress that I wore last weekend (£20)

 This amazing Harris Tweed satchel (£30)

and a hippy chic printed cotton top (£12)...I know I know. I've had 3 different hairdos in the last 3 weeks....I can't explain it other than my hair has it's own life. It does what it wants when it wants!

The market also has a fabulous collection of homewares and collectables. This huge pink crocheted blanket was bought from Rare and Racy who sold the most stunning vintage cups and saucers but sadly I didn't need any. So I stuck to this prety blanket; a steal at just £10.

I've always wanted an ice-cube pineapple - it's the ultimate in kitschyness. So I decided to give this one (£18) a home after eyeing it up for a good couple of hours. I lost their card but I know these two ladies go around to fairs in a camper van selling cool stuff so look out for them!

This lady was lovely and from her stall I also bought a long red St Michaels button up top/jacket which I haven't worn yet hence the lack of pictures, a snuggly woolley hat and a couple of metres of stunning retro print fabric which she pointed out, I could make a couple of cushions from.

 

Vintage vixens won't just be spoilt for choice by the impressive range of fashion, accessories, jewellery, collectables and homewares at Pop Up Vintage. They can also get their hair done by Candy Pout. Perfect if you've got a night out ahead. Sadly my hair is too short at the mo for up-dos.

Here are my buys laid out at home, I spent every last penny and have been using nearly all of what I bought (minus the red belted dress and the fabric but that will happen soon.) I can't stop wearing my new patterned dress and have worn the jacket twice at two glamorous events, my book launch and my guest appearance at a WI meeting earlier this week.
So glad I found it, it's fitted into my life perfectly.

Here are the Need To Know dates for your diary. 

Old Spitalfields is amazing enough as it is, and regularly hosts special events. 
Pop Up Vintage Fairs is one of them. 

I know there's alot of vintage markets & fairs in the capital and it's hard knowing which ones to go to but here's why I liked this one in particular:

1. Location: Spitalfields is buzzing on a Saturday so it's not just Pop Up Vintage you can enjoy - there's all the other stalls and shops and Brick Lane is mere minutes away which makes for a perfect weekend trip.

2. Size: It's a comfortable size - sometimes vintage markets are so huge halls they feel too overwhelming. This one is compact and is not just about clothes. It's the perfect intro to Vintage for newbies.

3. Choice: Despite the size there's a good collection of stalls covering clothes, jewellery and homeware. I did feel that there was too much emphasis on garments from the 1980s rather than true vintage but I guess that was bound to happen sooner or later.

4. Stall holders: They were genuinely friendly, chatty and open to talking about their products. I didn't see a single sign which said 'No Photos' which I always find so ridiculous and off putting. In that sense it's great for bloggers!

5. Prices: I know I had vouchers so I was lucky, but it was a very affordable market - lots of brooches for £5 and plenty of bargains £10 or under. Shopping is far more pleasurable knowing you're not breaking the bank. Oh and it's free entry too!

www.OldSpitalfieldsMarket,com

On a different note it's been so nice blogging again! It's been over a month since my last post but this year as has been a tough one where time has been concerned. I finished one book and am gearing up to hand the next one in.
I miss blogging so much but several things had to go and blogging was one of them. So it's been an extra pleasure doing this one : )

Crafty Elders

This week I started teaching two new classes, both for adults. On Wednesday mornings I am running sessions at The Geffrye Museum for the over 50s Asians Women's group - they are all amazing crafters already, in fact they could be teaching me rather than vice versa! One of the ladies has just become a grandma and she brought in an ultra sweet cardigan and booties that she had knitted, her best friend also knitted the same as a gift for the new arrival......and the most amazing part was that they didn't use patterns but the sizes are perfect. I can only dream that one day, my knitting will be just as good.

The course I am running is connected to the brilliant 'Eco Homes' exhibition currently on at the museum. If you think you've seen in all when it comes to recycling, you haven't! It's a really inspiring collection of recycled objects and information. There is a great section where they have jars of materials and I was amazed to discover the uses that coconut shells and fish scales have! Check it out if you don't believe me, the exhibition is free to get into.

My second class with a younger women's group on Thursday mornings and this week we did some hand embroidery. The night before I crammed lots of stitches - it was a bit like revision, I had mainly forgotten them so had a quick recap of the usual suspects. Luckily for me, most the participants have better memories than me and as soon as their fabric was in a hoop they were of! Results to be shown here soon if I can get my camera to work : (

If you're an older person (i.e. over 50) or know someone who is who fancies getting crafty on Saturday, tell them to come along this Saturday 30th January to a fabulous craft day being held in Northwood, (i've never been there but it's on the London Underground Met Line!), that's my brooches on the right. All info on flier, should be a terrific day : )