OMG! We are in an Actual Book

So, spoiler alert in the title there. This month the newest addition to the Mollie Makes book library is published and we were invited to create two exclusive projects to be featured. Alongside, some of our industry buddies we have two projects featured in Mollie Makes - How to Sew.  Goals right there people, goals!

How Blogging Can Help your Handmade Business - Feature in Craftseller

If you head down to your newsagent this weekend, don't forget to pick up the October issue of Craftseller magazine, not just because it's a great crafty mag, but you may see an article with some familiar faces.

We were asked a few months ago to weigh in on the subject of how having a blog can help your handmade business.  Something we love to talk about!

The piece by Karen Dunn includes some other amazing Girl boss bloggers, the lovely Kat and Kat founders of Blogtacular, Camilla Westgaard from the Folksy Blog and Alice Tams from Birds in hats.  I know we are biased, but it is well worth a read if you are in any doubt as to whether blogging is for you and your brand.  Spoiler alert.  It totally is!

As if you needed another reason to head out and grab a copy there is also a great interview with Amanda Overs of I Can Make Shoes, who's workshops have been on our wishlist for ages.  Definitely on our Christmas list now!

We would love to know if you have a handmade business or brand and how your blog has impacted it, or if you find social media and blogging just a bit overwhelming?  What have you learnt about yourself or your customers via your blog?

Sammy and H xxx



Bloglovin / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Google+ / Instagram

Love it: Simply Sewing Magazine

I have a quick question for you, is there room on the heaving shelves of the craft section in your newsagent for yet another sewing magazine?  My first answer if you had asked me a month or so ago when I first heard about Simply Sewing would have been a big fat no.  However, as I saw images and samples coming my way via their publishers and on social media my initial thoughts wavered.  Finally on Wednesday the real thing landed on my desk and I have to say I was reeeeaaally hoping it was going to be as good as the promise...

The great news is that it surpassed my expectations, like, a-lot.  I was excited to read pages of good looking projects, realistic projects that are actually wearable using stylish fabrics.  Packed full of really great tips and tricks for beginners and seasoned sewers.  A good variety of clothing, home sewing and crafty sewing projects make the first issue a nicely rounded overview of what is to come in future issues.

It is not Tilly Walnes on the cover (although they could be twins!) She does grace the pages with an interview and a great up-cycling project.  I don't want to show you too much because I don't want to spoil it for you all, but how cute is this little bunny bag below!  I have seen a few versions of these but I love the grey and blue colour scheme they have used for this series projects.

I think it has hit a great gap in the sewing magazine market, a sweet spot for those of us who spend hours on blogs and Pinterest yearning for the 'sewers' version of Mollie Makes.  The layout is clean and crisp with great photography throughout.

The clothing projects are trendy but not too fashion forward so as to limit their appeal.  I think their crafty cousin (Mollie Makes) would be very proud of what they have given us in the début issue.  I only wish they had gone with a different name for a magazine, with such style it could have taken a more unique title. The project on pg 43-45 offers up a far more interesting option for a possible title??

They are onto a winner signing up one of my favourite bloggers Portia Lawrie for a regular feature and for now at least there are a bunch of great sewing tips in the back pages.

You may have noticed there was no photo of the free fabric that came with my issue... well I couldn't help myself and whipped up a couple of quick zip pouches, a drawstring bag and some embellishments with my freebie.  What will you make with yours?  They have their own hashtag set-up too, tag your craftiness with #sewcialsparkle .

So, yeah, I'm a little smitten with this new offering, I can't wait to see what's up next.  To find out why I am so excited pick up your copy from all good news agents now or sign up for a subscription and get the first 3 issues for £5, Bargain!

Have you already grabbed your copy??  We would love to know what you think, Let us know in the comments below. Seriously tell me what you think, I am off the International Hobby, Craft and Stitch on Monday and I want to take all my comments and yours to the team behind Simply Sewing. Have a great weekend.

Sammy xxx

P.S. To be clear for anyone who remembers a magazine a few years ago under the same name, this is not the same magazine and it has no affiliation with the publisher who ran that magazine.  Simply Sewing is published by Immediate Media, who were the owners of the late Cloth magazine before it's run was cancelled.


Bloglovin / Twitter / Facebook / Pinterest / Google+ / Instagram

Our 500th Post & OMG! We are in Mollie Makes!

We are a little over-excited today as it is not only our 500th post here on Live it. Love it. Make it, but it is also the day after one of our longest standing blog goals has been ticked off our list. We have a four page feature in Mollie Makes magazine!!  Our Fabric Envelope Bunting tutorial 'Bunting with a Twist' is on page 45-47.  If you get a chance to take a look we are sure you will love it, there is also a little interview about us on page 48 too!

H and I first got a glimpse of Mollie Makes before it had even been published at the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia back in 2011.  Future Publishing were showing off mock ups of their brand new magazine at one of the stands, we both fell in love with the styling and design of what is now the Queen of the crafty news-stand.

Since that first issue it has been a big goal of ours to appear on the pages of Mollie and in the month that our blog turns 3, we have been featured in our favourite magazine, we are over the moon! We don't want to spoil the surprise so these are only little teaser photos, to see the full feature pick up your copy in all good newsagents now.  Even better, follow the link in our side bar and subscribe for monthly Mollie Makes fun.

Thank you to the lovely team at Mollie Makes for making our dreams come true.

H and Sammy xxx

Craft Magazines

You may have seen us asking you on Facebook and Twitter recently about craft magazines? We have been thinking and talking about them a lot lately. One of our favourite magazine's Cloth, recently went under as the publishers found it wasn't getting a good enough readership. We were gutted, Sew Crafty had been stocking Cloth since the very first issue and we blogged about their new look launch back in January. At the moment their website is still up and running so its worth taking a look as there are some awesome downloads still available. 

Back to the topic at hand, despite the loss of Cloth, there are still so many craft magazine options available.  Sammy as we know is a bit of a hoarder and reads tonnes of magazines every month, so we raided the collection and want to talk about a few.   

We are going to chat about general crafting magazines today, there are lots of specific genre mags out there like Sew, Simply Knitting, Scrap 365 etc. but they are for another post or we will be here all day. 

As well as print magazines, the new generation of mags are now available digitally. Sammy has started to get her subscription to quite a few of them that way, as it helps her to not have so many paper mags taking up space in her craft room. Although as you can see from these photos it doesn't always help!

Sammy: I can read them on my ipad, it also means I can use the links on the pages to take me straight to the websites featured in the mag.  I have discovered so many new sites since I have had it digitally. I used to have to make a note of anything I wanted to look up before and didn't always get round to it.  I can take my whole magazine collection with me on my travels too, so on a long train journey I can take my pick of back issues, not just the most recent one I have in my bag.

I subscribe to Mollie Makes, Gathered (a weekly digital only mag from the publishers of Mollie Makes) Homemade with Love, Craftseller, Crafty, Homemaker, Handmade Living  and Scrap 365.

H:  I tend to only read the real magazine as I do love a real life paper based goodness - plus I don't have an ipad which won't help with a digital version.  I am a bit like it with books too and am resisting the Kindle urge.  I must admit though to not reading as many magazines as I probably should as I find they sometimes have similar projects or that it's just too much of an expense some months.

Lets talk a little more about the Queen and Princess of modern crafting magazines.

Mollie Makes was a trail blazer in the 'New' crafting scene. It burst on to the market a couple of years ago with it's Apple cozies in hand (literally) and beautiful photographic styling.  It is the Mag that every designer maker/blogger/crafter wants to be a part of.  Love it or hate it, it has done wonders for an industry that just a few years ago was viewed by so many as a fuddy duddy home for members of the WI craft tent.  From the first issue they have introduced us to so many new and exciting crafts and crafters alike.  From interviews with crafting royalty Jazz Domino Holly to the girls from Drink, Shop & Do and letting us in to the homes and workshops of the best crafters from around the world, you can't deny that Mollie still deserves her crown as the Queen of craft magazines. 

More recently Mollie's little sister, Gathered (digital weekly) has taken up a place in Sammy's heart. A weekly dose of all the best things about it's big sister in smaller bite-size chunks. With small weekend projects and quick read snippet interviews it is a joy to download every Friday.

If Mollie is the Queen, Craftseller is fast becoming a challenge to the throne (allegedly out-selling Mollie last month) After a facelift a few months ago, it seems to have gone from strength to strength.  Taking a twist on the Craft mag genre and offering us more than just crafts to do as a 'hobby'.  Giving us hints and tips on how to make a living in the crafts industry. They seem to have a great relationship with their readers, which I think is the magic ingredient to this previously plucky underdog of a magazine.  Taking a leaf out of the blogging handbook and creating a community around the handmade selling circuit.

Crafty Magazine is the new kid on the block, now on it's fifth issue, aiming towards more 'on-trend' driven crafts and design.  In a manner, Crafty is to design what Mollie Makes is to vintage, but in all honestly we can't see a real difference between this and Mollie.  That is not a bad thing, more classy projects, more well written interviews and features, nothing wrong with that!  We know that some people find they love the way one mag speaks to them over another, but I hope they find their own voice before they go the way of Cloth. 

Homemaker is one of Sammy's current favourites, the clue is in the title, a homier vibe about this one. As well as craft projects they also cover interior design and baking, with a nod to Pinterest. A lot of the imagery in this mag look like they have jumped of the screen from our favourite on-line procrastination destination. Their craft projects are delightfully varied, from crochet to soap making to wood carving, they cover a wide spectrum. Most of the recent issues have come with a Print and pattern portfolio packed with extra projects and pattern pages, as well as features about the designers responsible for them.

Making the classiest of all the craft mags, their projects often use higher end product and techniques and H just loves staring at it.  Full page photographs and always attractively presented projects. Making is a delight to read.  We think the word is aspirational, every time you read this mag you will want to paint everything in your house white and go out and buy a bunch of flowers. Usually accompanied by a supplement of some kind with extra projects on a specific theme taken from and highlighting some great crafting books. It is the magazine equivalent of a coffee table art book, but whilst combining style and substance.

From one end of the spectrum to the other Simply Homemade is gagging for a makeover. It is... 'cute'. Sammy has issues with the term 'homemade' as it has a slightly less professional feel to it's far nicer term Handmade. In-spite of this, Simply Homemade holds its rightful place in this line up.  It is always jam-packed with ideas that are great for new or weekend crafters, people looking to try out new techniques and ideas. Their projects can often be a little garish and their layout is dated in comparison to some of the other mags in this post, we still find it amazing that this is from the same publishers as Crafty, but that doesn't take away from the ideas and projects being great.

Handmade Living another one that's had a recent facelift after first being launched over two years ago. They market it as more of a lifestyle magazine - with some crafts thrown in for fun, it does exactly what it says on the tin. With sections on gardening, cookery and beauty it covers more than just crafts, but in a more 'homely' way that say Making does. It has a softer more gentle approach than some of the others with muted colours and floral borders. We are dying to see their newest sister magazine 'Pretty Patches' due out in the Autumn.

So those are our thoughts on our favourites, what are yours?

Which do you buy? Which do you like? Which don't you like? Are you going to take a look at any of these? Do you subscribe? Have you gone digital?

Tell us what you think...

H and Sammy xxx

Disclaimer: We have NOT been sponsored to write this post by any of these magazines or their publishers. Our opinions are all our own. We genuinely read all of these magazines as well as many others. We have chosen to promote these magazines of our own free choice.

Favourite Friday: Inspiration and Relaxation

Something a little different for my Favourite Friday this week, my Favourite ways to relax and get inspired. We have been so busy lately, which is great, but I have hardly had time to just take time out and enjoy the calm.

It is hard to remember that taking time out for yourself is just as important as working all hours. It's often the case that if I am struggling to work something out or finish a project, that stepping away and clearing your mind for a bit can be more helpful than working on, full steam ahead. It can fill you with ideas and solutions that are only visible when you take a step back. On that note, these are the things I will be doing over the next few weeks to get myself back on track.

Reading Craft Magazines:

There is nothing better for me than sitting down with a cup of tea and a stack crisp new Craft magazines filled with articles and images designed to inspire! I always start at the back of a magazine and work my way forward, then when I'm done I go through from the front with a pack of sticky notes close by to mark pages and make notes.

Pinterest:

I'm pretty sure I'm not alone in the amount of hours I have lost pinning images to virtual pin-boards!?!   I have been on Pinterest since the beginning and I still can't get enough, I Love going through pages and pages of inspiration and ideas.

Watching movies

I am married to a gadget-aholic which has it's advantages, like when he bought an Apple TV... I thought 'oh here we go another fruity gadget' but we are on version number three and it is hands down the best thing he has ever bought! I can rent a movie at the flick of the remote, it doesn't take up any space at all and you can get TV shows, music, radio and pod-casts on it as well.  Basically you can view you entire i-Tunes library including pictures on your TV through this little box! I love nothing more that sitting down in front of our TV in my Barker lounger and watching a movie, Popcorn in hand of course.

Scrapbooking

I am a member of Studio Calico, a monthly kit club based in the U.S. Every month I get sent a selection of awesome co-ordinated  paper-craft goodies in the post. I love this company in particular because they pull together some of the best names in paper-craft and include them in the kits. The likes of  Dear Lizzy, Amy Tangerine, Basic Grey and their own lines are some of the best products around. It is so fun to create things like mini books, cards and gift wrap out of these kits. I get totally stuck-in and hours can pass while I am creating in my craft room.

Re-arranging and Tidying

It may not sound very relaxing, but for me tidying my craft space can be very therapeutic. I put a good movie on, something like Dirty Dancing and sort out some pretty things. Whether it's rummaging through my button jars or sorting my fabric stash, I always come across a little something that sparks an idea. I always clear my desk first, so that if I do find something to make that just cant wait, I have a clear desk to work on. I am so lucky to have a space all to myself to indulge in my creativity.

I really want to hear from you guys today!

leave a comment below and let me know what you do to chill out and get inspired.

Hope you all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend <3

Sammy xxx

Review: New Look Cloth Magazine

I have been stocking Cloth magazine at Sew Crafty since the first issue, our customers love it! So I was apprehensive when I heard that the Mag had been bought by a larger publisher, was it going to lose it's charm? Was it to lose the feel that we loved about this magazine with just the right amount of dress making, up-cycling and crafts?

I needn't have worried.  Aside from it being bigger in size than before {it used to be A5, now more the size of Mollie Makes}, it is still jam packed with Yummy projects and Gorgeous Photography.

Packed with great ideas for up-cycling your clothes,

Any magazine that has a 'this months Loves' page this pretty is off to a good start in my book. This issue comes with the cutest paper doll, included in her paper wardrobe are some of the items that you can make over the coming issues, such a lovely touch!

A great look inside the Wardrobe of Costume buyer and designer Arianna Cadwallader. She owns a Vintage  monochrome Chanel dress to.die.for!

Packed with great ideas for up-cycling your clothes, with this issue offering a flower appliqué Jacket, some clever Military styling {see front cover} a Cute iPad case and some lush ideas for those winter essentials, Tights.

 

I am thoroughly smitten with the new look Cloth, I can't wait to have a go at some of these projects. Look out for it in your local Newsagents soon or pop over to Cloth's website for a great subscription offer.

Loving it all things Cloth

Sammy xxx