My crafty hen do!

Think pink!

Any excuse to dress up in pink top-to-toe! My hen do was filled with spangle, sparkle and sewing!
I signed my unsuspecting hens up to a 'secret activity' held in Greenwich Market and all they were told was that they too had to turn up wearing pink. (Signs courtesy of my friend Charlotte!...green one indicates I passed my hen do...hooray!)

The secret it revealed!

 The surprise was a 'Fancy Pants' workshop where each hen designed and sewed her own luxury undies!

Pink lady: Miss Libby Rose

It was held at sewing princess Miss Libby's Rose's perfect pink palace and she was on hand to show us all how to make the naughty knickers.

Hmm....delicious!

Libby's scrumptious craft house in Greenwich Market is filled with tasty trimmings, fluffy things, sequins, buttons, ribbons, charms, handmade clothes and gorgeous cotton print fabrics...all at our disposal for our pant making.

So much fabric...so little time...

 Despite all the spangly, sheer and saucy fabrics, this spotty number was the biggest hit.

Cutting edge

First up we used patterns to make our pants, to our desired fit from a bigger 'hot pant' style to something a little more 'little'...

Sew good

 Then it was on to the machines to stitch them up!

Charlotte

Ms Charlotte can be seen here against a gorgeous fabric mural made by Libby...hmmm how I want one of those!

Loppy Lou

 Loopy Lou Lou is a dab hand with ceramics and jewellery but took to the machine like a duck to water!

Rukia

Bless her! Ruky has never sewn in her life, and I must admit I was worried for her, but she clicked with the machine immediately and sped right ahead!

Helping hands

 I spent more time gossiping with the girls than working on my own pants but am pleased to report I put my own craftyness to use by lending a hand replacing bobbins and the like!

Show us your pants!

And here are the girlies showing off their fabulous creations! There was spots/stripes/strawberry print, bond girl pants and very slinky tie up numbers.

Sewing pants was hungry work but luckily we had a vast quantity of vegan cupcakes (which I forgot to photograph) from Ms Cupcake, also found in Greenwich Market.

Boys!

 Of course one can't make pants all day so come night...we did what every bride-to-be deserves; spending an evening with some hunks...sadly those pictures are censored : )

Officially too busy to blog : (

With my winter wonderland wedding mere days away I have finally found a couple of spare minutes to say I can't believe I'm actually too busy to blog : (
Yet while juggling a full time job, freelancing, and the immense tower of wedding planning, rest assured I have not stopped crafting, quite the opposite! I'm busy making a ring cushion, button holes, flower girl baskets....even my own bridal fascinator but it wouldn't be a surprise if I revealed it all before the wedding. So images to come in 2011!! I'm just going to leave you with a quick snap of some non wedding crafting, I did a couple of weeks ago. I helped my friend Laura sew her first blanket, it's for her brother who has a ginger beard and recently became a dad!

(Btw, the only wedding part of my wedding planning I am revealing is that as part of my 'winter wonderland' theme, I have indeed dyed my hair blue!)

Trip down memory lane

Wow! What a fabulous image! It's taken from a card given to me by my sister, by graphic designer  Tamara who runs Ink and Stylus. It's based on her own machine that is 105 years old! My mum's Singer was her pride and joy, she wouldn't let anyone near it! It saw her through her many years as a home seamstress as well as making her own clothes and repairing ours. 
Her's is very similar to this but came with a huge table that you sit at. It's currently lying derelict but one day I hope to have it in my home, I don't think it works any more but it's still a very special antique. 

Sticky situation

I've always had a soft spot for stickers though I thought my older sister was slightly mad when she used to collect the stickers found on fruit - she filled a whole exercise book with them, no duplicates either! But this is possibly one of the most amusing sticker uses I've seen. I recently went on a visit to Eagle Heights (a bird and wildlife sanctuary with an emphasis on eagles) and this is what the visitors do on exit, graffiti a wall with their entrance stickers.
I wonder who went first and how long it's been evolving?
If you've done any good sticker spotting then share your stories here!

Summer crafting highlights

Over the summer months I've been busy spreading the crafty gospel by running an assortment of crafts classes across London for children, young people and adults.


My favourite was the 'boho chic jewellery' course I ran back in July as part of the Greenwich Summer Uni programme which gives young people under 25 the chance to learn new skills for free through a variety of courses.


What I liked about the course is how my students were really inspired by my own work and used my love for bright colours and bling to create their own unique jewellery collections.


The student above became fascinated with acrylic stones and used them to make some amazingly sparkly items! 

Another one of my students who was just 15 created had a natural talent for design and composition and made this beautiful necklace, which I think is so much nicer than a lot of the hand made pieces you get in gallery gift shops.

On closer inspection you can see how she embroidered into each bead to add detail.

This student kept it more simple by adding anything and everything on to ring and earring findings.

On the 'Bollywood Crafts' course my students had the chance to make some of the projects that feature in my book including these gorgeous decorative bowls, handbags, books and photo frames.

One of the fun parts of running the courses was souring the materials. I picked up these rolls of sequin trims for just £1.50 each from Creative Beadcraft - superb value - you get 100m on a roll and if you buy 1m from a haberdashery they normally cost 40p per metre. 

I also ran a textile project over six weeks with mothers from a local school in East London in conjunction with The Women's Library. The project entitled 'My City' was an exploration of each woman's relationship with her local area. 

The best thing about teaching crafts is seeing students produce work they are really proud and getting inspired by their ideas myself! It's been a fantastic summer of crafting but I'm now going to wind down on the teaching front until next year.....come the Autumn, I have some other exciting projects to plan - crafts for my wedding!  

Discovered: boyfriend with crafty genes

I am obviously marrying the right man! He has recently been getting in touch with his crafty side and enrolled on a raku pottery course where he made me two elephants as he knew how much I loved the ones in the Elephant Parade but couldn't afford to get one for me at auction!

Inside they have an amazing sheen, all pearly and magical looking, they join perfectly in the middle to create a whole elephant or can be two separates. 

And for himself he made an amazing pot to keep his porridge oats in. Considering he's not done any clay work since school his talents are truly impressive : )

All in one shop!

Yesterday whilst on the way to  friend's afternoon tea party in Bethnal Green, East London, I saw a hand drawn sign that said 'vintage clothes', I followed it down an alleyway to discover a secret retreat which is a bit like someone's house converted into a special 'all in one' shop.
It's part art gallery (current exhibition consists of hanging fabric dolls - pictured), part vintage boutique and upstairs there's a retro 50s coffee shop with sofas and magazines for chillaxing. But that's not all!! There's also a hairdressers offering styling and cuts from £5-£15 - bargain.
A brilliant place to hang out, esp a Sunday afternoon. Exhibitions change regularly - updated on their website.


Well worth a visit, a proper 'hidden gem'! 
www.10gales.co.uk
Address: Arch 10, Gales Gardens, E2 OEJ.