Categories
Craft Inspiration Notebooks Stationery

An introduction to bullet journals

Hand bound good ideas notebook

If there’s such thing as a natural bullet journaler, I am one. Long have I been a lover of lists; a maker of orginised notes; an extravagant underliner; a margin doodler.

What is a bullet journal? Well, it’s pretty much whatever you want to make it. Start with a notebook, something to write with, and get creative. A completely blank notebook is my personal favourite, as it’s the most versatile; however some people prefer gridded or lined paper.

Leather spine key bullet journal

Though it may have started that way, it’s actually not just lists of bullet points. There’s a trend for people using notebooks to create a personal space for them to write and draw and catalogue. Layouts and doodles. Headers, banners and frames. The best thing to do is to try a few things out – just get going and you’ll soon get a feel for how you want to go and what you’ll use your journal for. A few bullet-pointed lists and a few doodles to go with them. Take inspiration, but have a go at making your own systems so that they work for you. What to put in it? Lists, logs, plans, charts, dreams, goals… I actually started with a list of the lists I wanted to make.

Bullet Journal list of lists

Leaving enough space for bigger projects is essential, so think about what you need in advance. A new one for me this year is a garden plan; I’ve laid it out so that I’ve got space for each month, and within that month space for a list of jobs that need doing and things that need planting. I’ve a small garden, so I didn’t need a huge amount of space:

Bullet Journal garden plan

 What else is there? Pens? There are so many! Sharpies are good for bold, solid lives. Stabilo fineliners are my favourites for a wide choice of colours and a slim line. And the Uniball Eye in black is the best I’ve found for your everyday black pen.

Stabilo set

As for blank notebooks, head on over to my etsy store to browse handmade notebooks, sketchbooks or journals in a selection of covers and sizes – there’s bound to be something to fit your bullet journal needs, and if not, email me for a custom order!

Blue floral coptic main

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 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
Books Craft Notebooks Paper Stationery Weddings

Handmade Wedding Guestbooks – now available!

Floral ribbon guest book - £18
Floral ribbon guest book – £18

Lately I’ve been working on my wedding stock and I’m pleased to announce that I’ve got the first handmade guest books up for sale on etsy!

These have both been covered in beautiful paper, with lovely open-view hand stitching and ribbon fastenings.

Wedding book pink heart ribbon

Guest book stitching

These ones are A5 and are £18 each – P&P is £2.50. You can order these ones from my etsy shop, or contact me directly for custom orders if you would like a particular colour/style.

 

Categories
Craft Notebooks Paper

New design! Hand bound map journal

Leather spine

 

Up till now, I’ve been making simple notebooks or amending existing templates to create my own notebooks. But now I’m working for myself, I’m starting to have time to create my own designs and templates. This is the first!

Map journal

Friends and family have kindly donated old leather bags for me to up-cycle; as soon as I saw this yellow leather, I knew it would work beautifully with the map print paper I bought in Amalfi a few years ago. I’d been hoarding the paper for the right project and this was definitely it.

Yellow leather spine

 

Taking what I’ve learned over the years I’ve been making notebooks, I combined a flexible leather spine with solid boards front and back, covered in that beautiful quality map paper, finishing off the corners with leather for durability (and because it looks gorgeous!).

Map notebook corner

Hope you like it as much as I do! I’ll be making more of these and also designing new books, so keep a look out  🙂

Categories
Craft Notebooks Paper Stationery

New Year, new notebooks

I’m currently working to stock my online shops with my handmade notebooks, plus I’ve got some products into a shop in town – so it’s all go! Here are some samples of what I’ve been doing:

Light leather

Leather 1

Leather 2

 

Bright coptic

Coptic spines

Categories
Craft Origami Paper

Oh My, Origami! New year, new makes

So far this year I’ve been trying out lots of new origami! Here are just a few samples of what I’ve been making:

New flowers

Bunch of flowers

Two tags

Paper pig

Mini Vase