Whats on our desks - April

 

Another look at our desks this month and a little behind the scenes action.  So, lets take a look at what's been on our desks this month.

H - I thought I would do a little behind the scenes shot for this month including some air dry clay that I have been enjoying using.  Sometimes I find it easier to have everything set up for blog posts the night before and so I can just get straight on shooting in the morning of the weekend.  Its about getting all the equipment out and making sure camera battery is charged and tripod and notebook are by my side.  Sometimes I find it easier to write a step by step first with a shot list and other times its just for writing notes or ideas down while I go.  Just before I got started with this little lot it was a chance to have my favourite weekend breakfast of poached eggs on crumpets and a big old brew to keep me going.

Sammy - My desk at the moment is my sewing desk, I have been sewing up a storm on my little Janome. The black and white fabric is a dress for myself that I have had cut out for ages and have finally got around to finishing off this last weekend.  It is a jersey fabric from our friend Maude and the pattern is the Colette Myrtle. I am so happy with how it turned out, it is my new favourite dress! As well as goodies for myself, I have been sewing up samples for Sew Crafty and some tutorials for  later this month. 

What's been on your desk this month, any new ideas and fun projects?  Let us know in the comments, as we all like to be a bit nosey!

H,xxx

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Review: Upcycle by Rebecca Proctor

We love a good craft book here at Live it. Love it. Make it. HQ, and this month we were given Upcycle by Rebecca Proctor to review prior to it's release on the 10th August (so not long to wait!) and so we shall tell you what we thought!

The book itself is a firm hardback with matt thick pages, which is always a great thing as far as we are concerned.  It would look great on a coffee table aswell as for making all the projects!

The projects are new and different to alot of other books and it has an emphasis on up-cycling for the home using things that you may already have or can find very simply.  Including projects for shelving, chairs and lamps.  This Copper-pipe clothing rail is right off the pages of a New York apartment magazine spread.  Makes you want to go out and buy copper-pipe right!?

All of the projects have how-to pages after the beautiful pictures of what you can make - my only worry would be could you make it look as good as they do? ha ha.  Simple steps with photographs and drawings take you through each project clearly.

The great thing about the book is that there are some industrial pieces and more homely pieces to make.  From the difficult through to the quiet simple to do.  This means that there really is a project for everyone, no one should feel that they are not able to get one of them done.

This simple pallet shelf is a great example of this and so on trend at the moment - it also helps that H has been wanting these Nesting dolls for like, ever and so it just makes the project extra cute.

These crate stools are super easy and make a boring dull crate look so lovely for maybe an outdoor party!  You could add different coloured rope and spray paint the crates perhaps?

You may recognise this last project from the current Mollie Makes (Issue 56), It's so cute and has all the templates and takes you through all of the steps to make this cushion.  Breaking it down makes these things more simple and less scary to do, which always helps.

All in all, we loved the Upcycle book, some of the unusual projects would be more at home in perhaps an office space, but that's the beauty of the book, it suits all styles somewhere in the pages.  As we mentioned the feel and the look of the book really is beautiful and so it would make a great gift to get someone's inspiration going.  With H's new place, we think she may be tackling a few new projects soon.

We have just shown a few of the projects we like here, if you have the book, what's your favourite?  and if you have tackled that star cushion let us know in the comments below how you found making it.

H & Sammy

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Make it: Holiday Scrapbook Tutorial

For every holiday I have been on for as long as I can remember I have made a scrapbook when I got home to keep all the little mementos I have picked up and of course house all of my favourite photos of the trip. Why I choose to scrapbook instead of just putting the photos in an album is that I like to record my memories and highlights along with my photos. Also I love using fun papers and embellishments to give a flavour of the place I have visited too.

Cut Out & Keep Crafty Superstar + book review

We have something a little different for you this Monday.  We have been working in collaboration with the US website Cut out & Keep and will be their Crafty Superstar for this week.  This basically means we have a tutorial a day going up on the site for the next 7 days! exciting.  We can't wait to see what the Cut out & Keep readers think!

and talking about Cut out & Keep, they also have a book out this week, Around the USA in 50 Craft Projects.  We were lucky enough to be sent a copy and so we could have a little look-see before it came out.

There is a great Index section which pulls out all the areas of the USA and where the projects are from.  Obviously for us UK folk it is all very different to some of the projects we would get here, but that's what makes it fun, right!

The paper used for the book is like alot of the craft books around, that nice thick matt paper, which unfortunately seems to have dulled some of the pictures, but I love the feel of this paper, so that's a good start.  

The projects are quirky and fun and are all quite simple to make, which is always nice.  They go from food recipes, to craft items and present ideas.  Mostly they have these round pictures that take you through the steps which is a nice touch.

The whole book is quite thick and has so many different projects that there is bound to be something for everyone.  I really like the shopping list style tags for each project, it's the simple ideas that make books different.

A few of my favourite projects are the Cowboy hat bowls for Mexican food, Neon sign chalkboard and movie night ideas to name but a few.  I think some of the projects would definitely work better for the USA audience, but really that is the where these guys are from, so that's not a bad thing.

It's a really fun book and so great for a present idea for some very different projects which are simple to do.  Plus if your having a party, some of those recipes are just that little bit different from the norm and so would make for great party pieces.

Don't forget to check out the Cut Out & Keep website this week too for our Crafty Superstar projects.

H

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Review: Pretty Organised

This month we were given the opportunity to review the Pretty Organised book by Jane Hughes.  It popped through the doors of Sammy's shop, Sew Crafty and was a pleasure to leaf through and gain inspiration from.

There is a lovely index with small pictures of the projects divided into the rooms in which the projects would fit.  This is a great way to divide up the different ideas and so it gives you a great excuse to see what that next-room-you-just-have-to-get-finished needs.  There is a mix of quick simple achievable projects and things that would take a little longer, so something for everyone.

The projects themselves are clear and easy to follow.  Each project has written instructions and a few pictures to help you along, aswell as the tools and materials you will need.  We loved this wall box and H found a very similar box in Homebase the other day for all of you that fancy having a go.

This Wall pocket organiser is so good to use up those little bits of fabric left over for the pockets and would look great in a children's bedroom or an adults of course.  You could make as many pockets as you like and make it fit all your bits and pieces too.

Just look at this storage trolley too!!!!  Everyone was going crazy for the Ikea Raskog trolley last year, but you could make your own!  Perfect for the laptop to have a rest or just to look oh so pretty in the corner!  Perhaps a drinks trolley for parties?  I know, so retro, but we are in those times, right?!

Next up is a project that I think Sammy might love and its not just due to the stickers involved!  The Meal planner, we all know that leaving it till the evening to decide on what your having for dinner is a recipe for disaster and so planning not only saves you time, but money aswell, alongside throwing away less food and that is no bad thing.  If you have a family it can be a godsend to fend off any 'what are we having for dinner' questions too.

All in all, the Pretty Organised book is lovely.  Some great projects and easy to understand instructions all really help, along with the lovely paper it is printed on and the fact that it is just a book which, well, just has our kinds of projects in.  This would make a great gift for someone who is moving home or trying to get organised.  But then, there are also some great projects so that they can make them for you too, so its a win win if you buy it as a gift!  The main problem is choosing which one to do first!

H & Sammy


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Let's meet... The Sewing Directory

We thought we would start off the year with a fresh start to our interview series with a new name and some new faces to learn more about.  So get yourself a cup of tea and a biscuit and lets meet Fiona from The Sewing Directory.

Book Review: Makery

You may have well caught The Makery on Dragon's Den a while ago and seen that amongst their shop and kits, they have a book out called 'Makery - Over 30 projects for the home, to wear and to give' by Kate Smith (the founder of The Makery).

So, we thought it would be a good idea to do a little review for you.

The book doesn't have the same branding as the venue, which is a little confusing (this also came up in Dragon's Den), so that is a shame, but it still looks great.

The front cover obviously suits me as it's plenty of blue items, just up my street.

A great contents page is always a good winner with me as it's nice to flick through the book, but it's also good to be able to look up a specific project you have seen.  The pictures throughout the book are clear and very pretty, with a mix of general shots and pictures of the projects you will be doing.

I like the fact that there is no 'Craft tool' or 'get you started' pages in this book, as sooo many books do that to fill up the pages I feel.  I like that they are targeting the book towards people who already craft and so they don't need that kind of thing taking up pages.

Some of the projects I have seen before in other books, but that is inevitable I guess these days, but there are some great new projects to do aswell.  The Cuckoo Clock and Toy truck pincushion are particular favourites, along with some shrink plastic jewellery and the Stag Head.  I think I will definitely have to give the Cuckoo clock a go when I get my own place - got a while I would think!

When you find a project you like, there are plenty of steps and diagrams (along with pictures of all the tools you will need) to follow.  The steps are easy to read and give you great advice along the way, which is always nice.

The paper weight of the pages in the book are lovely and it has that really nice matt texture to it, which makes it lovely to flick through and feel very much like a craft book.  The book is Paperback though and I must admit I prefer a hardback craft book, but again that is just preference.

Another of the great things about this book is that all the pull out patterns (at the back) are full sized.  So no having to scale up on a photocopier for this book.  Let's face it no one has a photocopier at home and so how are people meant to scale patterns up!  It is definitely a plus for the book.

All in all, the book is easy to read and has some great projects and so I would give it a definite thumbs up.  Hopefully we can have a go at the projects soon and see what we can create!

Have you read this book?  Or do you have another book we should check out?  Lets us know in the comments below.

Off to dream of a Cuckoo clock!

H

Book Review: Red Ted Art Book

Last week I won the Red Ted Art Book by Maggy Woodley from a competition on a blog we follow called Minieco.  I'm a sucker for a competition and haven't won anything before, so it was a lovely surprise and a great book for planning some more activities for my work at The Lightbox.

Live it: A fun Craft Day

With our Christmas break we decided to have a little craft day as it is becoming a new tradition for me and Sammy.  We have been friends now for over 14 years and so we love to hang out and get creative just as much as we like to enjoy events and doing this very lovely blog.  Sometimes we have to stop ourselves and actually hang out like normal friends, which has been one of the perks of the recent Christmas and New Year break, lots of time to do that!  yey

We have a few tutorials coming up for you with what we did so we don't want to give too much away, but we thought you might see a little of what we get up to when left to our own devices!  Sammy's poor husband must think I live there sometimes!

Firstly we started with sandwiches and cake, afternoon tea style!  Sammy made a selection which were delish and if you know us by now, we like eating just as much as we like being creative!  I think we were meant to tuck into these all afternoon but they were mostly finished before we even got started!

Then onto a bit of creating, we got a few projects under our belt which we have been meaning to do for ages!  Some snap purses that neither of us have done before and a Kindle case for H's mum's Christmas Present based on one that Sammy had done previously - watch out for the tutorial for that.  

Then there was various chatting, more tea and a bit of needle felting.  I am afraid neither of us really took to this, but I have seen some really good needle felted goodies.  I just think that maybe it's not the craft for us, after all not all crafts are for everyone.  Even we can't love everything, although we do try!

So what did you get up to for your Christmas and New Year break?  Did you get up to any new crafts or just crafts you know and love?  It would be great to hear what you got up to, so please comment below and say hello if you haven't before.

H & Sammy