Make it: Top 10 Cement DIY's

Letter Candlestick / Gem Ornament / Lamp / Love Heart Necklace /  Planters / Lace Voltives / Festive Ornaments / Candle Holders / Door Knobs / Cement Lamp Shade / 

Just occasionally, the craft world finds a new favourite material, like Washi tape, gold spray paint, Sharpies and tissue paper before it, the DIY-ers material of the moment is definitely cement.  From door knobs to jewellery this hard, grey, rough material, more at home on a building site, has stolen a place in our hearts. And now that you have seen what these master DIY bloggers have created with it, I am sure you will agree.

Sammy xxx

Make it. Dalmatian Spot Trainers

Zebra is out as the black and white animal print of choice, guess what is in?? That's right my revelation of once owning a pair of dalmatian print trousers was apparently just an admission that I was years (15 years) ahead of fashion. Dalmatian print is THE animal print of 2014. So today I am DIY-ing a pair of, don't panic, not trousers, but the far more acceptable outfit update, trainers.

Make it: Pancakes

It's pancake day tomorrow, which just means it gives me the extra excuse to eat and make pancakes for the whole of my meal!

I do like the usual crepe style pancakes but I have been trying out some different recipes this time, again, this is probably just so that I can eat more pancakes!

I got this recipe for American style pancakes from Marvellous Miss M:

For 2 portions (6 pancakes), you will need:

1/2 tablespoon of baking powder

tiny pinch of salt - you might want to leave this out if you are using salted butter or any kind of margerine

1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

1 large egg

15g margarine or melted and cooled butter

150ml milk

113g plain flour

butter / margarine to fry

whichever toppings you want! Personally it's just good old lemon and sugar for me.

Mix all the ingredients together in a blender or with a whisk.  Cook as usual.

For a healthier choice, I found this recipe on Pinterest somewhere.  There are so many versions of this, that you can really make it your own.

Makes about 6 small pancakes:
1 Banana
1 Egg
fresh or dried fruit. I used dry fruit for this one but I think some fresh fruit would be nicer. Just my preference!

Squash the banana and add the egg till its mixed, add the fruit and voila.  Just pop a few spoonfuls in a pan and cook as usual.

So that gives you a few things to try tomorrow evening.
Yummy
H

What will it take to make Crafting Cool?

For the longest time, maybe for all time, it has been seen to be ultimately 'cooler' to have something made for you than to have made it yourself. Designer clothes, handbags, jewellery, homewares and even food. To be seen with these ready-made products in your possession is and always has been desirable. I am as guilty as the next person when it comes to lusting after a Chanel handbag (knowing I will never be able to physically part with that kind of money for something I just put my stuff in) or an Anthropology bed throw (Arrosa Quilt anyone?) The question I find myself asking, on quite regular basis (usually when I am cruising the Net a Porter website) is...Why?

Why is it more desirable to have something made by a stranger in a factory in Asia than to use our bare hands to create something completely unique? Don't misunderstand me, I don't think everyone should make everything for themselves, or that designer products are in some way inferior, far from it. But why do so many people find it so hard to see the value in handmade products? Why if something is handmade is it seen as less desirable, less valuable than something from a brand or a fashion house?

Obviously not everyone feels this way, and certainly some high end designer products are made with as much care as handmade ones, I suppose the difference boils down to four things.

• Environment : Lets face it a high-end designer boutique suggests high quality, high value, high prices. Craft fairs, even good ones, suggest (to some) market stall prices, and 'home-made' quality. Even a well put together display on a trestle table is a far cry from a shiny white flagship store. They do it by fooling us into believing the 'exclusivity factor' with the image that less is more. You will rarely see a shelf in Dior laden with twenty bags, three per shelf if you are lucky, a very different look from a heaving craft show stall. It is hard to imagine someone paying  (the price of a small family car) for a handbag displayed on an upturned milk crate (unless it was in the Tate modern) or crammed on a table with twenty of exactly the same but slightly different clutch bags. 

• Branding : Many of the biggest fashion houses have been around for a long time and spend billions of pounds on branding and promoting their products. They can command premium advertising space in fashion magazines and have top models and celebrities be seen in/with their products. People know their names. Chanel, Gucci, Burburry, these brands are international and renowned. They can afford to tempt us into believing that by owning a designer product that we will be admired by our peers. 

• The Cool Factor: Explaining this is as hard as explaining to X factor contestants why they have been voted off the show, despite their phenomenal voice. It is the difference between the popular kids and the not so popular ones. It often has little to do with quality and more to do with perception. Until a few years ago Vintage was just called 'second hand'. It is about how trends influence peoples perception. 

• Conventionality: People in general like to be safe, they like to follow the crowd, owning a designer bag aside, they like to be considered 'normal'. Art and crafts are in general the polar opposite. Craft is unconventional, unusual, controversial, boundary pushing and unique. To some this is a little scary, they know where they are with a recognised brand, they know that people will admire their pricey purchase and it will be seen as a status symbol. With crafts they are not necessarily guaranteed that ego boosting response. 

In order to make crafting cool, we have to change the way people think about hand-crafted products. As crafter's we have to be brave about our own works worth, be braver when pricing our creations and honest about what it takes to produce our creations. If we don't value our work, why should anyone else! We need to take a good hard look at presentation and be proud to tell the story of how much love has gone into our wares (we crafts people are a rather self deprecating bunch). We need to take on the tricks of the high end designers, our customers need to know they are going to feel special and admired for their choice to be pro craft. Crafters are lucky that 'trends' have been in our favour in recent years, but trends come and go. We need to be pro-active and not let go of all the hard work that has been done to make crafts desirable to all. 

We would love to know your thoughts, leave a comment below or come chat with us on Twitter @livelovemake

Sammy xxx

How We Wear... Black Jeans (and H&M Jumpers)

H and I normally discuss the outfits we are going to wear for these features, this is what happens when we don't, we both turn up in the same jumper!  This month was supposed to be styling black jeans, but has turned into black jeans and H&M jumpers.  As you can see though we still choose different colourways and style them in different ways, if anything it just proves the point of this feature even more. 

H says: I am mostly a blue jeans wearer, but every now and again the black jeans come out, so I like to pair them with something a bit more colourful and obviously I love the colour Blue and so this Jumper had to be bought.  I love the fact is is really long and I can tuck my hands into the sleeves to keep me extra toasty.  I bought the necklace at a Vintage fair in Reading and just fell in love with the shape in it, it always makes a jumper look more interesting too.  The boots were a 'not sure whether they are me' buy, but the biker style is just right.  Sometimes the things you are not sure about, can be just the right things for you.

H wears: Jeans from Dorothy Perkins, Jumper from H&M (similar), Necklace - vintage, Boots from River Island.

Sammy says: I love colour and print with black jeans and of course at this time of year warmth is key, a shirt under a jumper is a great way to add a hint of pattern without it being too full on.  It is in fact H's fault that we own the same jumper in different colours, she persuaded me to buy this one on a shopping trip just before Christmas.  Since then I have worn it non stop, I just love the colour!  I have been teaming it with collared shirts and statement necklaces, I'm not normally a shirt wearer but New Look Inspire have some great prints and colours in at the moment.  Converse are my go-to footwear, this pair are my faves, I love the grey with the coral duo tongue detail.

Sammy wears: Jeans (jeggings) from TU at Sainsbury's, Shirt from New Look Inspire, Jumper from H&M (similar from Oasis), Trainers from Converse (similar), Necklace from Forever 21.

Make it: Children's Robot Jumper

A few weeks ago I thought I would get a bit creative for a friend of mine's little boy's birthday.  There is something so nice about making gifts for children, especially when you know they will really appreciate it.  I decided that instead of making something from scratch, I would customise instead.

So, I thought what better thing to do than to make a robot to applique onto a jumper that I had bought from H&M.  If you want to do something similar, then here is what you will need:  Jumper or T-shirt - you can find this jumper here, Felt - a few different colours, fabric glue, Googly eyes with shanks, scissors, pins, paper, pen/pencil, needles, embroidery thread, sewing thread and a sewing machine or very patient hand sewing skills.

Firstly, design your pattern on paper, I used squared paper to help with the straight angles for a robot, but use whatever works for you and your chosen design.  Then choose the colour of your base layer, I decided to make the robot out of grey and use 2 layers to make it really durable for a child's jumper.

After I had pinned the pattern piece to the felt, I cut it out and glued the two layers together with fabric glue to keep them from moving around.

I then made some buttons and other bits to make my robot a little more fun.  I glued these on and then made sure they would stay on, by sewing them on too.

I then cut two slots for the eyes and pushed my googly eyes through and attached the washers on the back.  I used these type of eyes instead of stick-on as I didn't want them to fall off!

I positioned my robot in the middle of the front of the jumper using pins and then began to zigzag stitch around all of the outside of the robot and over the middle panel to make sure it was all secure.  With hindsight I should have used Bondaweb to hold it in place on the jumper as it did end up moving about - even with using pins.

That's it.  Quite a simple customisation to do in a few hours of an afternoon and it makes a dull jumper look great.

Have you done anything like this recently, let us know in the comments or show us on Instagram or twitter by using #livelovemake.  We would love to see them.

H, xxx