What's on my desk

We thought we would introduce some new things in 2016 and so this series is all about a little behind the scenes of what we do, so lets dive in to what's on our desks this month.  Now, as bloggers and day job person we have a few desks and so I am sure we will share our different spaces each time - to keep things interesting!

 

First up is Sammy.  My space has changed quite a lot lately as it has gone from just being my home desk in my craft room to being my second desk when I work from home.  I am challenging myself to keep it clear of clutter, which is really hard for my 'messy bedroom' teenage self.  I have been working on some things for a couple of magazines which I can't show you, but in-between I have been practising with the We Make Collective Calligraphy kit.  I am loving getting back to working on my hand lettering skills, it's a nice break from working on the computer all the time.  I have another desk at our Sew Crafty office, but it is covered in paper work at the moment, but maybe next month we will take a look at what's on my desk there.

Now over to H.  I thought I would show the day job side of my desk, my actual work desk is just scattered with paperwork and so I thought my studio space desk would be way more fun to share.  I work at The Lightbox, as you may already know and a part of my job entails designing and planning workshops for children and adults.  At the moment we are planning our next what's on brochure - so I am already thinking about what we are going to make in the summer holidays - so you get a sneak peek here, shhh, no telling!  So this chaos you see in the picture is me making samples to photograph for the brochure and deciding what we can actually make in the time we have for workshops.  Also it means delving into our store and finding all the materials I can use for the workshops.  It's all very colourful and usually means using Pinterest alot to adapt things I find to make sure it is easy for 4 year olds or interesting enough for 12 year olds which can be a challenge. 

We hope you enjoyed that little peek into what we are up to right now, What is on your desk? We would love to see, tag us on Instagram @liveit.loveit.makeit so we can take a look.  You can also check out our Office Pinterest board for a bit more inspiration to make your own office look cool - although I feel no ones office ever looks as good as those!

 

H & Sammy, xxx

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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.

Review: Check my box

We were sent a lovely little package from the guys at Checkmybox a few weeks ago.

Hannah and Francesca from Checkmybox make modern D.I.Y. Jewellery and Accessory kits for people to enjoy making their own pieces and learn some jewellery making techniques along the way. They work out of a studio in the famous Custard Factory in Birmingham, with their kits and workshops keeping them very busy. The Checkmybox kits are so on trend that we are sure these girls are on the up.

Their website is beautiful, with lovely images of their kits and ready made jewellery. They also run workshops from their studio and have kits designed for hen parties! We are in love with the takeaway box style packaging.

We chose the Ombre Seed Bead Bracelet Kit to test out as everyone loves a bit of Ombre don't they!

In the Kit you will find:

Instruction leaflet

Seed Beads

Crimps

Curb Chain

Jump rings

Tigertail

Lobster clasp

The instruction leaflet takes you through step by step and the only other thing you will need is a pair of pliars and a flat surface.  The bracelet is simple to make and as long as you have the patience with smaller beads (Sammy loves beading and H has to yet be persuaded) it will not take you too long at all.

H: I cut the Tigertail to the length that was suggested in the instructions but I found that this made it difficult as it was a little too short to get the recommended (10 of each) beads on and be able to grab it in the crimps.

Sammy: I just cut the Tigertail piece into 6 by halving and halving again to get the lengths, this gave me much more to work with and you can always cut away anything that is too long.

H: You get more beads than the suggested, so you could always add more if you want.  But the suggestion in the instructions of 10 of each looks good. To clamp the crimps onto the Tigertail is easy and once you have done one strip, you know what to do and so its easy to do all six.  You will then have to plait the beads I  would suggest having your jump ring ready to put on before you plait as it will come undone if you let it go.

Sammy: I found the Instructions to be very easy to follow, with cute little recommendations along the way. As a reasonably experienced jewellery maker I found it kept my interest, as it wasn't too simple. I did find the plaiting in this kit a little tricky as the jump ring they were attached to kept twisting as I plaited, so I clamped it in a bulldog clip that I had taped to my desk to give it some stability, then it was fine.

H: We have both made the bracelets up, just as instructed, but as I can't wear anything that isn't Sterling silver, I am going to change the chain to cord and swap the rings for silver ones so I can wear it.  It was a great little kit though and would be a great gift idea for someone who likes the idea of making their own but does not have all the equipment.  It might even inspire them to get a kit to move on with.

Sammy: I have made a lot of bracelets in my time and I don't usually buy kits, but I felt like this one with it's attractive packaging made me move out of my comfort zone. I really enjoyed having a go at a new style and using different techniques. I will definitely be making some more like this using some supplies I have for myself, and sending my friends to CheckMyBox to get their own kits.

Make it

H & Sammy

Disclaimer: We were sent the Checkmybox Ombre Bracelet Kit for the purpose of this review.