Live it: Craft Candy App Launch Party

This week we were lucky enough to get invited by Zoe of Craft Candy to the launch for their new phone app so we thought we would tell you all about it.

If you haven't heard of Craft Candy, then you should definitely check it out. It's a website and now app where you can find your nearest and most relevant craft workshop. It is now nationwide and so you can find workshops not just in London but further afield - including all of our workshops. You can find by location or by Craft such as paper or jewellery, amongst many others. We had a ball at the launch in London!

Firstly we were greeted by a lovely goodie bag which we managed to wait until afterwards to check out! -albeit only to the nearest pret for a drink and a cheeky look through!


There was Gin provided by Jensen, who are a south London brand and as H loves Gin, it was a very lovely treat.

Then onto the cupcakes by The Teas Knees and I think by now you will know we are a cake fan! They had Red Velvet, Banoffee Pie and Lime & Coconut flavours and we tried a bit of them all! Well, you can't review without testing all the goods!

Lets take a moment to appreciate the Gingerbread twitter tree! What's that I hear you ask? We were intrigued too! The lovely lady from Maid of Gingerbread was writing all the tweets about the launch as they were happening and then adding them to the tree. People could then take away a gingerbread speech bubble to eat and it was lovely gingerbread!
We realised we had made it, as we got our name in icing on the gingerbread twitter tree!

The lovely Zoe gave a brief talk about the app and then left us to enjoy more delights from the night.

We then went over to Stars and Scars to make a shrink plastic charm! H decided on an anchor with the blog brand name on it, which is now a delightful necklace to be worn on blog outings and more!

Throughout the night we got chatting to many different crafty people; we saw Inma from The Old School Club; met some of the Shoreditch sisters, Charlotte who had the most amazing Liberty print satchel and Louise who is an avid reader of our blog - hello; and we said hello again to The Make Escape crew (check out the sparkly shoes below). There were plenty of people we didn't catch up with though, so do come say hello here on the blog or at the next event!  We are very friendly, honest.

I couldn't end this post without showing you what we got in the goodie bag!  It would just be unfair really wouldn't it!  So, here goes: Jensen Gin cocktails recipes, DMC cross stitch kits, Crafty Pint needle case and information, a reel of decorative tape, iPhone cross stitch case, Mini Urban 'Naughty word' cross stitch, business cards from all the sponsors and a Craft Candy button card and Bow Tie.
That should keep us busy for a while!

Big Thanks go again to Zoe at Craft Candy, we had a fab night and we wish you all the best with the app and of course the website.  Looking forward to the next catch-up.

H & Sammy
Live it.  Love it.  Make it

Make it: Easter DIY's


It's Good Friday and that means a lovely long Holiday weekend, so no excuse's not to get your DIY on! As H said yesterday getting your craft on is a great way to relax so I have been surfing round some of my favourite crafty blogs and picked out some cool makes to have a go at in between courses of chocolate.  Aside from these gorgeous DIY's these blogs are some of our favourites, so head over and show them some love.

Hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend

Sammy xxx

How to Relax over the Long Weekend

Image courtesy of www.wallpapers-biz.co.cc
It's nearly the Easter Weekend, yeah!  Which means hopefully for most of you a relaxing weekend ahead and for those who have to work, good on you and hopefully you will get a bit of time off soon. As its a loooooooong weekend here in the UK, I thought a little post about relaxing would be quite nice and a little different for a Thursday.  

Calorie Free Easter Gifts


H and I are both trying to be good girls this year, so we are avoiding chocolate temptation. We have asked our friends and family not to buy us chocolate this Easter, and we won't be buying any for them.  However a few gifts will be given. Whilst searching for confectionery alternatives we have come across some super sweet goodies that wont break our diets. 

H's pics for alternative Easter treats are...

The Tea Towel above is from Not on the High Street which is a great alternative and great for washing up after family lunch on Easter Monday.

Or one of the lovely Tapestry Clutch Kits from our friends at the Craft Closet

Tapestry Clutch Kit



and Sammy's choices....


How adorable are these Floral bunny ears from Paperchase, or try this tutorial to make your own.


This cute Bunny Jumper from Newlook would make such a cute gift, and lasts way longer than an egg.

I have a new niece and she is a little young for chocolate, but no one is ever to young for a fluffy bunny in a basket! Mummy bunny &baby in a basket by Little Ella James on Not on the High Street.

Are you going for a Chocolate free Easter this year? or are you going to fill up on as much of the yummy stuff as possible... the diet can always start tomorrow.

Happy Easter
H and Sammy xxx


TV shows Loved and Lost

My name is Sammy and I am a TV addict!

There we go I have admitted it, I love TV, everything from QI to Geordie Shore, I have no shame, I will watch rubbish TV until the cows come home. I like great shows and rubbish shows alike, American and British shows, documentaries and reality TV, sitcoms and dramas, anything goes!
Usually Easter weekend for Steve and I means a two day TV show Marathon (we are currently re-watching Band of Brothers for the third time)  This year however I am helping my Dad to do some refurbishments at our shop, so the marathon is on hold. To help fill the void, I thought I would share some of the American shows that I have loved and lost.

The first is probably on most peoples list as the show that defined a generation, and will live on in syndication for the rest of time as the epitome of American sitcom. FRIENDS.
Still my favourite show of all time, in so many ways. Each character is perfect in their own way, I could never choose which one is my favourite. Each episode is a gem to be treasured. I have been watching this show from its first airing in the UK almost 19 years ago.  I was 13 and back then I don't think I even got all the jokes, but I knew that I was watching something special. It was a show that my generation identified with, we all wanted these six people to be our friends. We cut our hair like them, we wore what they wore, some of us even painted the walls of our flats purple (yes I did that) and 9 years ago we sat down and watched our six favourite friends get their happy ending, accompanied by millions of breaking hearts and more than a few tears as we all knew that nothing else would ever take its place in our lives. Every time I watch an episode to this day I still laugh out loud, I know what's coming and I have seen each one a thousand times, but it still makes me giggle like no other show has ever done.

Chuck has a super sweet place in my heart, possibly because I have a little ( read huge) crush on Zachary Levi, but mostly I think because it's a show my Hubby and I watch together. We found it late on, Season 3 was already under-way when Steve downloaded it on to our apple TV and we spent a whole week watching them in marathon mode (one after another, after another) into the early hours of the morning. Another group cast that just played off each other so well, the main cast were of course brilliant, but for me it was the staff of the Buy More that often stole the show. The romance between Chuck and Sarah that you always hoped would work out; Captain Awesome; the constant references to all things Star Wars, it was a Geek fest and we loved it!

Dawson's Creek is another show from my youth that I will probably end up forcing my kids to watch, this show helped me to figure out what growing up was all about. Yes they were all drama queens and used a vocabulary well out of reach of teenagers, but who cares, it was a lovely example of cheesy teen angst at its best.  I have all six seasons on my apple TV and still watch it to this day. There is an episode playing on my TV as I type.

If Dawson's Creek taught me how to be a teenager, Sex and the City taught me how to be a grown-up! From those first cringe worthy episodes where Carrie used to talk to the camera (remember that) to that final strut away from camera up a New York city street it was a  joy to watch. Luckily we were also treated to two films, and a soon to air in the UK prequel of sorts, meaning we can carry on our enjoyment of this show. But nothing will ever replace the 30 minute episodes with S.J.P. and crew that let us enjoy fashion, dating, and friendship like no other show possibly could.

Only one season of My So Called Life was ever made, it didn't matter, that was all it took for this show to make an impact. In just 19 episodes it tackled Homosexuality, abuse and unrequited love like no show had before it. It was the epitome of 90's grunge as far as the wardrobes were concerned, with a sound track to match. If you watched this show when you were a teen however the only thing you will remember is Jordan Catalano! You couldn't help but fall, just as Angela did, for the bad boy with a heart played by Jared Leto, the now front man of rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. A young Claire Danes and Jared Leto were the stand out players in this motley crew of a cast, not surprising that they have both gone onto big careers.

My love of J.J Abrams started here (I literally can't wait to see the new Star Trek Movie) I know some of you will have hated or just simply not 'got' this show, but I cant help it, I LOVED IT! fascinating to the point that I was reading the forums to figure out bits I had misunderstood. In the same way I love the film Inception, I loved Lost before it. The weirdness, the plot twists, the totally frustrating cliffhangers, all of it. I will give it to you that the ending sucked, but it will never take away from that opening scene of seeing Dr Jack waking up on an island to find the wreckage of flight 815 strewn across that beach.

I have lots of favourites and these are just a few of the ones that I miss the most I suppose, the ones that have a special place in my personal TV history book.

Do you agree, do you miss these shows, what are your favourites, what did you love about them? 
One day I will find a way to talk about my favourite TV show, that for now is still on air Supernatural... one day.

Sammy xxx

all Images from IMDB.com, the greatest website on earth!

Link for the week: Lists, Lists and more lists


This week's link is something very close to my heart!  Lists.

Now, I love a list and have many!  Lots for work, for the blog, for myself, shopping lists, of books and films, to remind me to buy things and book things, they go on!

Friends have recently been telling me of  lists for things they want to do before they are the next birthday, usually 30 things to do before you are 30 I think.  But some of my friends have passed that and are now on 31 before 31 and 32 before 32 etc.  This is one list I have never done.  I think it might just show how much I want to do and not get around to any of them.  It's like the pressure of New Years resolutions but the older you get the more adds/stays on your list.

Anyway, I was looking on the old internet and came across this article on the BBC News website:


It's about the art of list-making from an exhibition in Washington, USA in 2010 and has some really interesting things about people who make lists and their personalities.  I just thought you might be interested.

What's your list of choice?  I love making lists of things I need to do, but I always add a few simple ones or things I have already done, so that it makes me feel I am achieving something.

Live it 
H

Work with us...

You may have noticed a new little tab appear on the top of our blog...
We wanted to let you all know about all about the ways which you can get involved with us, or get us involved in what you have going on.

Work with Live it. Love it. Make it.
Contact us via email: liveit.loveit.makeit@gmail.com

Want to write for us?
We love having you guys share your views and experiences with us and our readers.  Do you have your own blog? Are you new to blogging and want to have a go before you jump right in at the deep end? You can submit a piece to us via email (including pictures please) don't be shy!

Want us to write for you?
We LOVE writing our blog and would be happy to share any of our features with your readers. Is there something you would like our opinion on?  We are unique as a blogging duo as we can give two opinions for the price of one.
Want us to feature you? 
We have monthly features and we always love to meet new people. At the moment we are running two features: Who's Who - a feature all about you. We are always on the lookout for designer/makers to feature. All it involves is a simple email questionnaire and sending us a few pictures including one of yourself. Craft Spaces - we are nosey and want to see where all you lovely creative people do your thing.  Email us and we will let you know what you need to do.

Want us to feature your product?
Do you have a product or service that you think our readers might like? Is it cute, crafty, Vintage or just plain fun? We are a creative lifestyle blog, please bear that in mind when contacting us.
Want us to attend your function or workshop?
It's in our name... Live it! we love going to craft fairs, launch party's and workshops.
As we are a creative blog, so crafty events are our bag. We cannot attend every event we are invited to, but we will try our hardest to come if we can. We are based in the south of England, UK. Again something to bear in mind when contacting us. We will want to bring our trusty cameras with us, If that involves a press pass, please make sure that is a possibility when inviting us to your event.

Want us to review your product? 
We love finding new products and places to buy them, we are both shopaholics (Ok Sammy is a shopaholic)  and we love telling our readers about them! We are experienced crafters but we are always interested in learning new techniques and playing with new innovations in craft.
We like books, fashion, stationary, paper crafts, sewing, and so much more. Check out our about us page to give you an idea about some of our other favourite things.

Want us to run a workshop?
We have a vast range of crafting expertise under our belt and we are happy to share them with you. Do you need a workshop leader for a class, are you interested in us bringing our workshop set up to your event? Get in touch and we will see if we can work something out.

Want us to run a workshop for your Hen party?
Are you looking for a fun creative activity for your Hen party? 
We offer a range of workshops tailored to hen party's, fabric corsages, bow ties, garters and more
contact us for more details.
Got an idea you wanna share??
Do you have an idea you want to work with us on?  Get in touch, we are always open to new ideas!
Don't be shy, We are lovely people . 
Hope you are all having a great weekend 
Looking forward to hearing from all you.
H and Sammy xxx

Love it: Wilko's New Homewares


Spring is well on it's way and spring means one thing, Spring cleaning and with spring cleaning comes a yearning to buy new goodies to place around my newly sparkling home. As I was wondering around Wilkinson's the other day buying some storage boxes for the shop I spotted the new batch of home-wears and found my self grabbing a basket (oops!) Here are my pick of their surprisingly stylish accessories.

So will I see you in Wilkinson's this weekend?
Have a good one 
Sammy xxx

Love it: Vintage Vehicals


It's no secret that I love a Vintage car.  Maybe it comes from a childhood with cars all around me, from my dad and brother making go-karts and fixing motorbikes to Sunday's watching Formula One.  It probably all started even before I was born as my Mum and Dad met at Foden, who made Trucks up in Cheshire - they would be classed as Vintage now as they are so old and no longer made.


I love hearing about my parents first cars that they drove and what my mum's dad used to drive on their farm growing up.  There is just something about our family that is steeped in automobile's. Then of course my Dad worked in Formula One and so I think that was always going to have influence on my life too.

One of my first Event's jobs also included working on a Transport Festival over in Basingstoke- which meant I had a lot of cars, trucks and motorbikes to look at over a usually sunny day in mid May (Sunday 12th May this year).  It was co-run with the Thorneycroft Society who was made up of some of the ex-workers from the Thorneycroft company that used to be based in Basingstoke.  It was one of my favourite events to work on as the guys were amazing to work with and they definitely knew their stuff.

Since then I have had my eye on buying a Vintage number, but I think I need to grasp some more knowledge of how to fix cars alongside a plentiful supply of money!  I love Vintage cars but they can be expensive.  So for the meantime, I will stick to checking them out at car shows and in films where I can appreciate them from afar!

One of the dream's would be to drive off down route 66 in a Vintage Cadillac, cruising down the highway so to speak and due to my 'burn like a peach' nature with a big hat on of course!

What's the dream for you guys out there, it doesn't have to involve cars like mine but its nice to have that idea in your head right?

Love it
H

Who's who: Laurel Howells


This month's who's who is Laurel Howells who is a Designer-Maker, Illustrator, Photographer, Collage artist and all round creative hailing from Taplow in Berkshire - Just near Sammy and it turns out went to the same Uni as H, small world hey!

Laurel is a designer who sells her homemade wares online and at craft fairs and pop up shops, so do watch out for her work.  She also does freelance illustration work.

How did you start?

I graduated from university 2 years ago in Graphic Design and afterwards I felt a bit lost.  I've always felt more passionate using craft and collage handmade techniques, so at the end of summer 2012 I decided to give it a go as a full time designer-maker and I am loving it.

What's next for you?

I hope to continue and develop my brand even further and expand my product lines and designs, to continue having fun and to hopefully progress in more freelance illustration work, currently I am designing website illustrations for a fair trade boutique shop in Glasgow who were fond of my quirky linear illustrations.

What advice would you give yourself if you could go back to the beginning?


To not worry
To follow your dreams and passion
There is no failure in life
The only pressure is the pressure you put on yourself
Have fun
Don't regret any career moves

You can check out Laurel's work at: 

I think you will love her quirky designs just like we do and so do go and have a look and please do let us know what you think in the comments below.

Live it.  Love it.  Make it
H & Sammy

P.s.  If you would like to be featured in our who's who, then please do email us over at liveit.loveit.makeit@gmail.com and we will see what we can do!

A Great Loss

Normally we keep our blog light and happy. 
Today I am sorry to say I have a sad post to write. 

On Saturday 16/03/13 My Grandpa passed away from Pneumonia.
As you know My family have just celebrated our birthday's. My Grandpa turned 92 on the 2nd of March and we all enjoyed his company that weekend. He had an amazing life which I am looking forward to sharing with you all soon. We are all so sad that he has gone, but I am so thankful that we got to have him as part of our lives for so long.

I'm sure you will forgive me for not wanting to share something light and fluffy today, 
but I will share a poem.

For My Grandpa

I know we are all feeling a little bit sad,
That we've lost our Grandpa, our friend and our dad

But Grandpa would want us to know he's in a good place
And that he watching us all with a smile on his face
As we have made him so proud, as proud as can be
That he has raised such a beautiful and special family

Thinking back now I really must say
I feel lucky and privileged to have known Grandpa to this day
For in my life, you have played a special part
The memories I will treasure and keep close to your heart

Although he has gone we will always be together
And his spirit will live on each one of us forever
When you look to the sky, look for the brightest star
As that will be Grandpa looking down on us from afar

And now I would like to thank the good Lord above
For blessing us with our Grandpa with his kindness and love
Dear God, if it is not too much fuss
Take extra special care of our Grandpa as he is very dear to us

Grandpa if you are listening say a prayer for us every day
Be sure to protect us and guide us on our way
We know when God called you, you had to go
But we want you to know Grandpa we miss you and love you so
by Ilona Blake

COMPANY #stylebloggerawards

Some lovely news at Live it. Love it. Make it. HQ this week as we have been nominated for a Company Magazine #Style Blog Awards 2013 in the blogging duo category! 
We are beyond excited as Company is one of our favourite Magazines, and you guys can help us win!


You can click the picture to take you to the voting page. There is also the opportunity to nominate other blogs too.
or click here and it will take you to the page to vote for us.
You need to copy and paste our blogs URL which is below for you convenience.

Last year all the nominees were then shortlisted and winners chosen from those shortlists, for us even getting on the shortlist for our category would be a massive honor. So please take a moment and pop over to the Company's Website and give us your vote.

H and Sammy xxx

Link for the week: Wish Bracelet


I found this weeks link whilst surfing around the internet - Like you do. I thought this project was really cute and so simple to do that it was definitely worth passing on.


It would make a really lovely quick gift for someone or even just making for yourself.  So, go forth and make a wish!

Make it
H

Photo from www.ohhellofriendblog.com

Favourite Friday: Sewing Machines



At Sew Crafty we have a gorgeous vintage Singer sewing machine on display that has been in my family for generations. It belonged to my Great Grandmother and  my Mum took her sewing O-level on it.
The shape of a sewing machine is quite iconic isn't it, you can tell what it is even from it's silhouette. So this week I have put together a collection of my favourite sewing machine goodies from around the web, enjoy.

Have a great weekend.
Sammy xxx