This Christmas, one of the best gifts we can give each other is being mindful of our impact on the environment. While so many of the decorations we can buy are moving away from being throwaway pieces, there’s still something lovely about crafting something completely natural and sustainable which looks lovely and festive too.
Read MoreOne of the best things about Christmas craft projects is they naturally lend themselves incredibly well to a focus on sustainability, recycling and reusing. Cardboard packaging is abundant, nature offers plenty of greenery for foraging and the shorter daylight hours mean time spent hunkering down at home being creative. Today I’m sharing a step by step for creating a natural, foraged Christmas wreath. There’s nothing more satisfying than a brisk winter morning walk, gathering and foraging in nature and then spending a cosy afternoon creating a beautiful wreath to hang pride of place on your front door. I’ve shared this natural wreath tutorial and more sustainable Christmas craft ideas on Hobbycraft’s Ideas Hub and will show more craft ideas in the lead up to the big day itself over on my Instagram so do follow along.
Read MoreThe final weekend before Christmas is prime crafting territory for me. The presents are (mostly) wrapped, work has slowed down and I can take a little time to enjoy being creative and adding some seasonal cheer to my home. On my list to create this weekend is a sustainable natural wall hangings. Made with dried oranges, cinnamon sticks and foraged natural treasures such as pine cones and berries these decorative hangings add maximum Christmas impact with no environmental detriment. Created for the Hobbycraft Ideas Hub, this how to is wonderful for all levels of crafters who enjoy sustainable creations which celebrate nature’s bounty at this time of year. Perhaps the best thing is that they are totally unique to you and reflective of your surroundings.
Read MoreWelcoming December and all its magic this month! I’m heading into the month slightly overwhelmed (I’m not going to lie, it’s been a very busy few weeks) but looking forward to some slower days embracing creativity, nature and most of all the Winter Solstice on the 21st December.
Read MoreYou will probably already know that Uni-ball pens are a much-loved part of my craft kit and many of my projects incorporate their Posca and Pin pens. As well as recently creating the plastic-free packaging for Uni-ball’s new extra fine brush pen I was delighted to also be commissioned for a wonderful festive project showcasing these two pen brilliant ranges which I think you are going to love.
Celebrating a sustainable Christmas with Uni-ball, I have created five ways to recycle and transform the cardboard so many of us online shoppers will have an abundance of over the coming weeks into very merry crafts. Each of the five projects projects are designed for complete beginners right through to seasoned craft enthusiasts and the full tutorials will be featured on Uni-ball’s site.
I’ve included a sneak peek of each of the five festive projects below but do head over to the Uni-Ball blog to find the full step by step guidelines. And because it’s the season of giving, you will also be able to see more of these sustainable cardboard Christmas ideas on my Instagram.
Read MoreThis Christmas I’m making every effort I can to be more sustainable and with so much potential for waste over the festive period, my thoughts turned to crafting homespun Christmas decorations from things otherwise destined for the bin. The perfect craft for beginners, this Scandi-style sustainable Christmas garland DIY I created for Hobbycraft is a quick make reusing throwaway cardboard which can be decorated in your own unique style. It fits perfectly with the Nordic focus on crafting, reusing and foraging and I’ll be making more in the run-up to Christmas with left over packaging and my trusty Posca pens.
Read MoreJoin me in celebrating winter and embracing the sense calm and tranquility January offers with a 4 week course of mindful creating.
Designed as a completely immersive creative experience, this series of seasonal and mindful workshops will help you find and celebrate the light and magic of midwinter. Throughout the month you will be encouraged to embrace seasonal changes, deepen your creative connection with nature and create your own joy and light despite the soft cloak of darkness this time of year brings. There will be time spent outdoors in nature, foraging materials to inspire your seasonal crafts and your creativity will be further cocooned with 6 hours of live video workshops.
Read MoreThe hand painted candle trend is going no where and it’s not hard to see why! They are the perfect conversational touch to a mantlepiece and a simple way to flex your creativity. For a festive twist, hand painted advent candles are a wonderful way to countdown to Christmas and welcome in the season of merry, plus they make delightful gifts.
Read MoreEasing into November after a wonderful October celebrating Halloween with lots of workshops painting pumpkins, crafting garlands and creating spooky decorations. It’s been the most gorgeous autumn weather so I’ve been enjoying lots of time spent outside running aka nature therapy.
So as we head into November I’m welcoming it with excitement for seeing the changes in nature and celebrating them through creating. I’m also starting to think about christmas crafting, mostly because I want it to be enjoyable and relaxing so slowly preparing and starting in November means I’m not going to be feeling overwhelmed in December.
So if you need some seasonal inspiration and ideas here are some ways to embrace the month ahead…
Read MoreI was delighted to be commissioned by Mollie Makes Magazine to create a DIY craft tutorial on how to make a dried grass garland centrepiece ready for festive gatherings over the next few months. Using dried bunny tails & pampas grass from Hobbycraft I crafted a 1 metre centrepiece that can be used time and time again for your tablescaping decorations, team it with darker table linen for a wintery feel or when spring comes around pair with light pastels for a whole new style. You'll find detailed step by steps along with 12 images showing you how to craft your own dried garland inside the issue ….
Read MoreNow Halloween is over and the spooky garlands have been put away for another year comes the month of November. Although I love decorating for Christmas I’m not quite ready to get the tree out yet so for me November is all about bringing some of the outside in to create a cosy creative home that’s reflective of what is going on outside. These can be small touches like the autumn branch on my mantelpiece, dried ferns in vases or heading out foraging for springs to create larger seasonal celebrations. Here’s some of the ways I will bringing the outside in this November…
Read MoreAs we move through October, Autumn has well and truly arrived I’ve been enjoying the crisp sunny mornings out running and a sunshine filled studio for the month. I’ve also been busy teaching my Nature Journaling workshop over the last four weeks, it has been lovely connecting with a wonderful group of women each Saturday and working through creative ways to document the season from mark making, abstract painting, botanical line drawing, curating journals and brush lettering. I’m feeling a little sad that the month together celebrating the season as has come to an end but definitely feeling inspired to keep working and creating in tune with nature as we move into the darker days…
Read MoreAs October aka spooky season has arrived, I thought I’d start sharing some of the ways you can get creative in the lead up to halloween and where better to begin than with simple creative ways to decorate pumpkins from painting floral patterns, graphic designs, brush lettering and botanical motifs.
Each of these techniques could be applied onto real or ceramic pumpkins , I personally love a ceramic pumpkin because you can keep them year after year. However if you do use a real one and need to create a base colour I would suggest using a spray paint for a quick drying even coverage.
Read MoreLook what’s landed in the studio today! Well I’ve actually had the fabric samples for a few months now but that doesn’t have the same dramatic drum roll effect does it?
So I’m very excited to be able to share that my new fabric collection in collaboration with Nerida Hansen is now live and available to order, The fabric collection features 4 pattern designs inspired by the fruit and florals of summertime, from lemons to abstract foliage, florals and of course some daisies for good measure. View the full collection now.
Read MoreYou’ve probably noticed that over the last couple of months I’ve been pretty busy teaching 25 Brush Lettering workshops with Hobbycraft. It’s been so lovely to share my love of Brush Lettering with so many people and also watching everyone else fall in love with Lettering as they learn. I’ve had lots of messages asking about how I combine Brush Lettering into my craft projects so I thought I’d share this simple Brush Lettered Jewellery dish DIY taken from my first book Modern Brush Lettering. Its the perfect craft for combining your new found love of lettering with clay crafts…
Read MoreEmbrace the cosy evenings and craft your own mini abstract embroidery this Autumn. You don’t need to be a stitcher to enjoy this craft project, its ideal for beginners or anyone looking for a moment of mindfulness as it uses just one simple stitch and technique. So grab a cuppa, head to the sofa and sit down for an evening embracing the relaxing craft of abstract embroidery. There’s no right or wrong, this craft project is all about using colours that bring you joy, exploring shapes and creating something beautiful for your shelf.
Read MoreAs Autumn approaches it’s time to think about ways to celebrate, craft and embrace all that the season brings including the darker evenings. And ofcourse what better way to embrace the darkness than craft your own light, literally! Welcome Autumn by making your own scented candles in just a few simple steps, this DIY is also a great way to upcycle old glass jars giving them a new lease of life and bringing cosy candle light into the darker evenings ahead…
Read MoreI’ve had such a wonderful few weeks teaching 24 online Brush Lettering workshops with Hobbycraft and so many messages asking about what materials to use & other pens to try that I thought I’d share a few of my Brush Lettering kit essentials…
The great thing about Brush Lettering is that unlike lots of other crafts you do only need 2 materials, your pen and paper so making sure you get the right ones is really important.
Read MoreSeptember has arrived and I can’t be the only one who still gets the back to school feeling? I love it, it feels like a chance to refresh and re focus into the new season with a sense of excitement. August flew by mainly down to being so very busy which I’m always grateful for but I’m looking forward to a slower September…
So whether you also want to slow down or just creatively celebrate here are some ways to embrace the month ahead…
Read MoreFancy making your own painterly gift wrap? With a few simple shapes you can paint your own floral pattern perfect for gift wrap that most definitely will steal the show. I always think it is a lovely way to add a personal touch to gifting and everyone I’ve made it for has ended up keeping the painted sheets or reusing them for their own wrapping. Here’s what you’ll need to get painting…
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