How to Make a Cork Brooch with London Craft Club

The exhibitors of The Handmade Fair are back with some great tutorials for you Crafty Bs. 

Our last tutorial before the big weekend is Sonia of London Craft Club. London Craft Club was founded in 2014 by Sonia Bownes to help busy Londoners fire up their creativity. Now she and her team of crafty experts put on original, exclusive craft workshops and socials all round London. If you want to get creative, make gorgeous stuff and meet crafty friends over cocktails and cake, London Craft Club is a great place to get started! 

Here is a little taster with a tutorial for making a crisp sharp cork brooch.

How to Make a Leather Tassel Keyring with Rosanna Clare

The exhibitors of The Handmade Fair are back with some great tutorials for you Crafty Bs. 

The fabulous Rosanna Clare joins us today to show us how to make this fabulous leather tassel keyring. This would make such a great gift and I LOVE the colour used in the tutorial. 

You will find Rosanna Clare on stand W108 at The Handmade Fair! 

How to Create a Floral Doily Cushion with Cricut

The exhibitors of The Handmade Fair are back with some great tutorials for you Crafty Bs. If you haven't already planned your visit, don't forget to book your tickets using the special Crafty Bs discount code.

This week we are joined by Cricut. A world leader in personal electronic cutting machines, Cricut enables people to achieve their creative best. For 50 years, Cricut has sold tools that inspire creativity, including the Cricut electronic cutting machine, Cricut Craft Room design software, and the Cricut Cuttlebug embosser and die cutter. Today, millions of people use Cricut products to create projects, and Cricut products have won dozens of industry awards, including, most recently, the Best Innovation Award 2014 from Hobbycraft. You will find them at stand E31 at The Handmade Fair but today they are sharing how to create a floral doily cushion. 

How To Create Your Own Air Plant Terrarium by The Indoor Botanist

The exhibitors of The Handmade Fair are back with some great tutorials for you Crafty Bs. If you haven't already planned your visit, don't forget to book your tickets using the special Crafty Bs discount code.

Today's guest will be found on stand E80 at The Handmade Fair this September. With a totally unique range of planted terrariums The Indoor Botanist will bring inspiration, peace and the joy of nature into your home or workspace. In this post, they are sharing how to create your own air plant terrarium.

Making Home Link Up #31: Making Wind Chimes With Your Mini Makers

Welcome to the #MakingHome weekly link up!

Be inspired by posts all about moving house, home decor, DIY, crafts, family activities, recipes, gardening and more. It’s all here under one roof at Mrs Crafty B’s.

Don't forget to join in and link up your own posts. The linky is open from Friday until Tuesday. Find out how to take part at the end of this post which is a tutorial by Amy of Hooked showing us how to make wind chimes with our little ones. 

Making Home Link Up #30: Needle Felting Project For The Home

Welcome to the #MakingHome weekly link up!

Be inspired by posts all about moving house, home decor, DIY, crafts, family activities, recipes, gardening and more. It’s all here under one roof at Mrs Crafty B’s.

Don't forget to join in and link up your own posts. The linky is open from Friday until Tuesday. Find out how to take part at the end of this post. 

This week I have learned a new craft. Ok I am still learning but I am totally loving needle felting. I fully intended to give this ago around the time I moved house (ahem...18 months ago) but I found that the equipment you apparently needed was fairly pricy just for giving it a go. Last year I picked up a little kit to make a seascape picture which I thought would fit nicely with a decor scheme I had in mind in the utility room. The kit contained a foam mat, a single needle and holder (with a spare needle) a piece of felt and enough fibres to create the picture. It was just £9. This week I took it out of the pack on a whim and just, went for it. It was so easy and very therapeutic.

Making Home Link Up #28: How to Crochet a Heart Shape

Welcome to the #MakingHome weekly link up!

Be inspired by posts all about moving house, home decor, DIY, crafts, family activities, recipes, gardening and more. It’s all here under one roof at Mrs Crafty B’s.

Don't forget to join in and link up your own posts. The linky is open from Friday until Tuesday. Find out how to take part at the end of this post which is a fabulous crochet tutorial from Eve over at Little Miss & Mummy.

Today I'm sharing this really quick and easy pattern for a crochet heart, prefect for using up those odd bits of yarn you have lying around.

Making Home Link Up #27: How to Make Coasters with Fimo Clay

Welcome to the #MakingHome weekly link up!

Be inspired by posts all about moving house, home decor, DIY, crafts, family activities, recipes, gardening and more. It’s all here under one roof at Mrs Crafty B’s.

The linky is open from Friday until Tuesday. Find out how to take part at the end of this post by Angela from Garden Tea Cakes and Me who is showing us how to make coasters with Fimo clay.

Craft Hobby for Men - Star Wars R2-D2 Metal Model Kit from Qwerkity

At the start of the year, I told you that I would start to make time for myself again to get back to crafting and learn new skills. I am not a big fan of new years resolutions but I did need to make a change. I didn't have a time set aside to just indulge in something or learn something new. You may remember that this prompted me to start Crafty Bs online. A group of like minded crafters come together via social media every Tuesday night and share their projects and help each other along the way. 

Starting a new hobby, especially learning a new craft can be extremely therapeutic and is a great way to relax and focus the mind on something else away from everyday stresses. There is a huge misconception though that crafting is solely a 'female' hobby. Admittedly, a higher percentage of women craft than men but thats not to say its not a great way for males to switch off too!

Qwerkity have a great range of gifts for men and Hubby B couldn't wait to have a go at building a Star Wars metal model! If that doesn't sell it to the man in your life, what would?!

How to Make a Lampshade Using Wallpaper

A while back, I shared a post on how to make your own lampshade with a lampshade making kit. The kit and tutorial was based around using fabric. The lampshade proudly hangs in my front room and I decided that I liked the idea of having individual handmade lampshades in all rooms. Of course this means that I don't actually have any shades anywhere *doh*. 

After painting the Little B's room I took down their old lampshade that was more suited to their old nursery and ordered myself another kit. I wasn't really feeling any fabrics for the project and as we didn't have a 'theme' in mind I asked Baby B what he would like. Of course his answer was 'superheroes' and I remembered the test piece of Avengers wallpaper that I had picked up before we started decorating. I wondered whether I could make this work; and so the experiment began!

Make Time For Yourself With The #CraftyBs Online

Well happy 2016 to you! This year I am skipping the 'review of 2015' and the 'what I didn't do' post and I am jumping straight in with something new for this year on the Mrs Crafty B blog. Having taken a lovely long break from the crazy over the festive period and deciding that I have become completely overwhelmed with my schedule, I have concluded that I no longer make time for myself and that it is something I need to do. 

I KNOW that I am not alone in this. Many of you will be guilty of the ignoring the importance of time for yourself and getting swept up in the activity of day to day life, work and family. 

Every Monday evening, I miss my old Crafty Bs group (which still runs in Cambridgeshire) and I no longer have a set night for crafting or childcare to go out and join a local club. So here is my solution....

A Snowflake DIY Crystal Card Kit by Craft Buddy : A Review

I have found something special. Something sparkly, therapeutic, nostalgic and just downright pretty! I have been using a DIY Crystal Card Kit by Craft Buddy and I literally could not wait to tell you about it. 

How to Make Mulled Wine Scented Christmas Candles by Becster

This year I have homemade candles on my 'to make' list so I could not be happier that one of the contributors this week, Rebecca of Becster.com, is sharing how to make these cute little jar candles. A great project for #CraftyChristmas and what's more, we all love a bit of upcycling! 

Last year we were feeding Little Miss ready made jars of baby food after the complete failure that was baby led weaning! So of coure we went through quite a few jars - at least 3 jars per day so as you can imagine, our recycling boxes got quite full with these cute little glass jars. After throwing a few out (recycle I must add), I thought that there must be something I could do with them….. and so I came across the idea of making some simple homemade scented candles.

A Craft Box Subscription for #MiniMakers: A JacDo Review

Over the last few weeks my #MiniMakers have had the pleasure of dipping in and out of their very own JacDo 'treasure chest'. If you haven't yet discovered JacDo; this is one not to miss. Especially with Christmas around the corner.

Halloween 2015 With Dylon

Here at Crafty B's HQ we are big fans of dressing up. The Little Bs have a dedicated storage unit in their room with all manner of costumes and items to use in role play. With a few ideas of what the Little Bs might like I was keen to find out what Dylon had come up with for this years Halloween palette. I was not disappointed. 

Paper Bunting and Paper Garlands for Your DIY Wedding

Today I am being hosted by the lovely Gem over at Gem's Country Life Dream. 

Paper bunting or a paper garland is a simple but lovely decoration and easily made for those DIY weddings or parties.

Paper Garland

Pop on over and see how to make your own.

How to Make a Pom Pom Rain Cloud

You may remember a few months ago that I acquired a neat little gadget that gave me the ability to make up to 20 pom poms in one go. The Multipom has been hiding away for a short while with the busy summer we have had at Crafty B's HQ but the list of pom pom projects is ever growing. In this post I am going to give you a little instruction on how to make a cute little rain cloud with all those pom poms you will be making. Perfect with the coming of September. See, rain isn't all bad! 

A Simple Craft Guide For Beginners by Sykes Cottages

Here is something I thought you Crafty B's would enjoy. I have recently discovered this Simple Craft Guide which was put together by a collection of bloggers for Sykes Cottages. It gives you instructions for several simple craft projects to try your hand at. Perfect for a bit of inspiration or to get you into the crafting spirit.

Handmade 3D Butterfly Wall Art With Ikea

Very recently my niece became the proud owner of her very own bedroom! Adamant that she wanted it to be pink and yellow, I decided to make her something special to put on her wall. At first I thought I would make a box frame or some bunting; but then I spotted a pack of gift tags in my local IKEA store and became inspired to make this! 

Rose Gold Plated Star Charms Bracelet: Jewellery Maker Kit Review

I love trying all sorts of crafts as you will all know; but jewellery making is something I hadn't yet tried my hand at. It always seemed like you had to have an awful lot of bits and bobs with beads being sold in bulk and wires in metre roles and I never really wanted to commit; especially if it was making something that I wouldn't necessarily wear. Then I was given the opportunity to try out making my own jewellery with a kit by Jewellery Maker.