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Craft Gifts Lunchtime Lusting Origami Paper

Lunchtime Lusting – Valentine’s Day: To give and to get

Because it’s ok to hint, right? With Valentine’s Day drawing near, I’ve put together a little list of some of my favourite unique, handmade and alternative gifts – to give and to get!

‘Chocolate bar library’ from Fortnum & Mason, £5.50 each. What more would anyone want? Well, how about:

It’s £3 from the Literary Emporium. In fact, you could just point your other half to their site. All of it, please.

  • Are you told old to get soft toys? Are you, though? Really? What about… Robot plushies:

Well I’m in love. This little guy is from an American Etsy store, but they do ship to the UK. Hurrah!

This versatile little dish could be used for so many things: jewellery, keys, food… it’s microwave and dishwasher safe and £10 from Present Indicative.

  • Roses? Sure. But be original and get some that can be a keepsake, like these origami roses from yours truly:

These are £10 from The Craft Fantastic Etsy store – vase included! They’re also available in ‘pretty pastel hues.

 

Remember to leave enough time for your handmade gifts to arrive! The cut off date for The Craft Fantastic is midnight, Thursday 9th Feb for guaranteed delivery.

 

Categories
Craft Craft fairs Gifts Origami Paper

New year, new events

from-the-craft-fantasticA slightly belated Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fabulous festive season. Craft Fantastic HQ is all go for 2017, with new products and new fairs. Here are just a few things in store for this year:

mkhandmadeandvintage

 

This will be my first time exhibiting at one of these events. They’re hugely popular and always full of fantastic handmade goodies and vintage finds. I can’t wait!

For the second year running, The Craft Fantastic will be at Castle Ashby. Crossing my fingers the weather will be as good as last year.

Brand new for 2017 are more origami gifts. I’ve framed ‘Lover’s Knots’ – perfect for a Valentine’s Day or 1st anniversary gift. Alongside the frame is a small, simple paper flower arrangement.

Handmade origami gift

I’m in the process of adding them to The Craft Fantastic Etsy store. These are available in different colours, and I can do custom orders – email me for details.

 

Categories
Craft Craft fairs Notebooks Origami Paper Weddings

Autumn Wedding Show -The Centre MK

wedding-fair-ad-pic

This weekend, The Craft Fantastic will be among a huge array of stalls at the autumn wedding show in Milton Keynes, ready to help make your wedding dreams a reality. Come along to Middleton Hall in The Centre MK and see what’s on offer!

I’ll be taking orders for handmade origami wedding flowers as well as having a range of extras available, such as hand-bound guestbooks, origami garlands, and bridesmaid gifts.

Origami wedding flowers collage 1

The show opens Friday 14th at 9:30, and closes at 17:00 Sunday 16th. Full details can be found on the event organisers site here, or The Centre MK site here.

 

 

Categories
Craft Inspiration Origami Paper Tutorial

DIY Halloween decor

Halloween orange & black paper garland
Halloween orange & black paper garland

Crafters around the world have been busy working on their Christmas stock for quite some time already – but hold up! We have Halloween to go first!

If you have enough time on your hands, it’s really easy to put together these simple ideas for a seasonally spooky home. I’ve been scouring the web for ideas and I think this list shows a great range of different styles to suit any house this Halloween:

tapehand

 

There are some fab easy makes on here – my favourite is the cardboard zombie barricade!

These pretty pumpkins are so simple. If you’re not a fan of carving, this one’s for you.

fancy-pumpkins

Loads of ideas here for a frighteningly good Halloween party for any age group! Pumpkin ice buckets, orange jack-o-lanterns and more. How about these ribs?

ribs

I hope these sites have given you some inspiration. Don’t forget to check out my seasonal page over on The Craft Fantastic etsy shop, featuring my handmade Halloween garlands and spooky fang charm notebooks.

Categories
Craft General Origami Paper

10 Things Only Hardcore Crafters Will Understand

  • Your skin is mostly glue.

Remember when you were a kid and you used to let PVA dry on your hand then peel it off? This is your life now.

Glue hand

  • Accidentally drinking the paint water is an everyday hazard.

Paint water

‘Don’t drink the paint water’ mug by Doofery on Etsy.

  • You put down your tools and they immediately vanish, then magically reappear after you’ve torn your hair out looking for them for five minutes.

  • You move the furniture to clean and find little hoards of scrap paper/wool/material/string.

Material scraps

  • You take said scraps and ‘tidy’ them away. Because you NEVER KNOW when a 2cm x 1cm piece of material may come in handy.

Scrap project

  • You have a different pair of scissors for every possible material. Woe betide the person who uses the fabric scissors for paper.

Do you realize

  • Whenever you enter a craft store you feel like this:

Happy Dance

  • No matter how many supplies you have, there’s always something else you need.

I want more

  • Whenever Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ comes on the radio, you hear this:

  • Finally, no matter what the problem, you know that Pinterest will have the answer.

Pinterest saviour

Categories
Craft Gifts Origami Paper

Handmade Paper Goodness – First anniversary gifts

 

Origami paper flowers

There’s a different theme for every anniversary. I just Googled it to see. It’s CONFUSING. Who’d have thought? There seems to be UK/USA/traditional/modern…

Now, I’ve been married 5 years, and I’ve tried to get something appropriate for each year; and to be honest, I pick and mix from all the lists I’ve found. However it does seem that out of the various suggestions, paper is generally the winner for the first wedding anniversary.

It’s an easy one to do yourself. A couple of the easiest ideas would be:

  • Make a card! Handmade is lovely to receive, and if you’re ever going to do it, this is the occasion for it.
  • Write a letter! Everyone loves post, and a letter to your other half celebrating a year of marriage would make an amazing gift.

…and if you’re not up for that, then of course the lovely crafters of the world have got your back.

I put together this treasury on Etsy to give you same idea of what’s out there:

First anniversary treasury

If you don’t already know, paper is my main medium! And, as it happens, I’ve just launched a range of handmade first anniversary gifts over in my Etsy store. I’ve made origami coasters/vase mats, miniature hardback books with coloured pages and some paper bead necklaces. I’ll be adding to my collection over the next week or so – look out for more paper bead jewellery, origami flower keepsakes and more!

Ombre beads in box

Categories
Craft Inspiration Origami Tutorial Weddings

The Wedding Season – DIY finds and alternative ideas

Wedding sweet table

I love a handmade wedding, I really do –  and I know I’m not alone! So many people are now realising that they can contribute to their own weddings to make them unique and personal. The great thing is you can do as much or as little as you can; it’s still just as satisfying.

I’ve created a Pinterest board (how I wish it was around when I was planning my wedding!) full of wedding inspiration, ideas, tutorials, and, let’s be honest, stuff I just love the look of. I’ve also included some of my wedding items which you can find in my Etsy store, along with other great handmade items you can buy.

Here are a few of my faves from the board so far:

  • Wildflower confetti – make cones out of a sheet of paper and fill with pretty petals.

Petal confetti

  • Looking for musical inspiration? This book contains some great song suggestions, plus a few hints and tips on the big day. Includes a foreword from Rock ‘n’ Roll Bride’s very own Kat!

Wedding music book

  • Try your hand at making these gorgeous wedding favour lollies – get the tutorial here.

DIY wedding lollies

 

If you’re looking for something simple to make with inexpensive materials, I’ve got a tutorial here for you – origami heart cards. They’re very quick to fold once you get the hang of them, and can be used in various way. Hover over the pics in the gallery below for step-by-step instructions:

 

These would make nice simple (and cheap to post!) save the date memos:

P1040401

You could use these to decorate the tops of your favour boxes (simply glue together if you don’t want to use as a card):

Favour box decorationOr, use them for a place setting – or a place setting/box topper combined. You could even write a personal message on the inside:

Place setting

 

The nice thing about these is you don’t need to get special origami paper – you can even cut down bog standard printer paper into squares. This is great for getting the exact size you want – just experiment!

 

Enjoy x

 

Categories
Craft Craft fairs Notebooks Origami Paper Stationery

Updates! Recent makes, stall bookings, latest Etsy stock

Lilac guest book spine

 

I’ve been busy making Coptic-bound notebooks lately – and they’re all up for sale in my Etsy store. All hand stitched, I’ve done an A6 one and a couple of A5 books; use them for what you will – notebooks, sketchbooks, guestbooks, journals – they’re all very versatile! Here’s a peek at the newbies:

As well as stock, I’ve been playing with my new origami paper – making these gorgeous gingham elephants!

Origami elephants

I’m thinking they’ll make lovely greetings cards – what do you reckon? What other things do you think I could use them for?

Last but not least – I’ve booked a summer fete for later in the year. It’s a local affair for a good cause; my stall fee went straight to the hosts Just Giving page for SWAN – syndromes without a name, supporting undiagnosed children. It’s on July 24th at The Elgar Centre in Northampton, more details on their Facebook page.

Categories
Craft Craft fairs Notebooks Origami Paper

Castle Ashby Craft Fair, May 29th & 30th 2016 -Date for your diary!

Castle Ashby

I’m pleased to announce that The Craft Fantastic has a stall at the Castle Ashby fair the the end of May! This craft fair falls on the Bank Holiday – Sunday 29th and Monday 30th May. Also, THERE WILL BE FALCONS. Falcons!

Run by Palladian Events, the fair will be set in the beautiful Castle Ashby walled gardens, and over the 2 days there will be a fantastic range of quality crafters from all over the country, plus food, music, demonstrations, a falconry display… what more could you want?

Castle Ashby marquee

 

I’ll have a full range of handmade notebooks, journals, sketchbooks, miniature notebook necklaces, as well as origami flowers for all occasions.

It will cost just £5.50 for adults (£5 concession, under 10’s go free) to gain access to the show and gardens. Cross your fingers now for good weather!

 

Categories
Craft Gifts Origami Paper

Last minute Valentine’s Day gifts

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, there’s not much time left to order your gifts! There’s a range of handmade goodies over at my Valentine’s page. As Valentine’s Day is on a Sunday this year, I suggest ordering by Monday Feb 8th to guarantee getting your items on time.