There’s always a great array of crafty downloads available at the Crafts Beautiful website and the lastest selection is no exception (I particularly like the Nov 08 backing papers pack. Very wintery and great for making a head start on your Xmas gifts and cards).

All you need to do is register with the site (free!) and they’re all yours, though please note they are for personal non-commercial use only!

Posted: September 23rd, 2008 under Supplies.
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Presentation is an important part of any gift and can elevate the most mundane of items into something that feels really special. Yet, not all of us have the patience or time to curl yards of ribbon and indulge their inner giftwrap goddess so what to do? Put it in a gift box! There are plenty of great box tutorials and PDFs on the net but to really make them pretty look no further than the great range of free decorative papers available to download from Margit Ammentorp. Perfect!

Posted: September 16th, 2008 under Supplies, Tutorials.
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With just a little over 6 months till the big day I have had to refocus my attention on researching various supplies for the wedding. Unlike the other chores, this doesn’t bring with it a hefty dose of stress and instead it allows me to browse copious antique shops, websites and other treasure troves in search of vintage items to go with my art deco theme. My favourite find has to be US website Accessories Of Old. If I wasn’t having to keep an eye on my budget I could go wild ordering things from their range of shoe clips, beads, hair accessories, dress clips, giftware and more. They have a bridal fashion section but you don’t have to be a bride-to-be to love this site as their items like vintage millinery flowers, ribbon and buttons would appeal to any crafter who like things with a retro twist.

Posted: September 15th, 2008 under Supplies.
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I had what can only be described as a disappointment on the size front on Friday. About a month ago I excitedly ordered what I thought was a load of almost life-size artificial birds. I had seen some online here in the UK but figured that even taking into account the shipping costs, this lot were a bargain and eagerly clicked ‘pay now’ without fully thinking through the listed dimensions. Cue me picking up a box of 12 which was roughly the size of a pack of cards. ARGH!

So, right now I’m trying to convince myself that great things can indeed come in small packages and Nicole Balch has certainly got me pro-minature with her recent Wee Girl project. I have some ideas about what I can use my mini doves for but given their cost they’re still never going to get me back my money. Have any of you had a similar issue? Have you ordered something that when it arrived wasn’t what you expected? Did you get your thinking cap on and find an alternative use or are they sitting gathering dust in the craft cupboard? Perhaps we should have a ‘not quite right’ supplies swap?

Posted: September 8th, 2008 under Supplies, Swaps.
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…you guys can. Please keep your peepers peeled for paper lace in either burgundy/wine or ivory/cream for me. Thanks guys!

Purple (and other colours) available from Etsy user Brookerpie.

Posted: September 2nd, 2008 under Supplies.
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It typical timing I am off down to Nottingham this weekend to see Him Indoors so will be missing the John Lewis Warehouse Sale taking place in Glasgow on Saturday and Sunday.

I realise the prospect of cut price washing machines and bargain cookers is not particularly crafty but the sign did also mention the magic word ‘textiles’.

Their warehouse is located on Lister Street and will be open to Joe Public 10am-5pm on Saturday and 11am-4pm on Sunday. Happy hunting crafters and be sure and let me know if it’s worth checking out next time around.

Thankfully I’ll have my own crafty adventures this weekend thanks to a great little craft/design guide to Nottingham which appeared on Design*Sponge earlier this week. Perfect!

Posted: April 10th, 2008 under Events, Supplies.
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As I seem to be on a roll of posting today (and I still have to post this week’s Theme Thursday – yes, it’s Thursday already!) I thought I’d post about another crafty gem here in Glasgow (I’m trying not to make the site quite so Glasgow-centric but, what can I say, it’s one hell of a crafty city).

Hamilton Taylor have a studio and workshop on the south side of Glasgow where they specialise in making fused and lampworked glass products. They recently launched www.off-mandrel.com where you can buy lampworking supplies, bead making glass and tools. These are also available at their studio, where they have a small retail space.

They are located at Unit 1, Kinning Park Business Park and are open Mon – Fri 10am – 5pm, Sat 11am-1pm (other times by prior arrangement).

The exciting news is that they are also teaching beginners glass bead making classes at the studio with bookings for April onwards.

There are one day courses available with the emphasis being on giving as much torch-time as possible. The course format begins with a brief orientation on safe set-up and operation of the equipment, and the studio environment, before melting glass, and making your first glass beads.

Tuition will advance at a pace to suit you, so you can be sure of a full grasp of each principal before proceeding.

As you complete each bead, it will go straight into a kiln to anneal overnight. Your beads will be ready for you to collect, or be posted on to you free of charge, the following morning!

Maximum student to tutor ratio is 2:1, meaning you will have our full attention for the whole day.

All materials and equipment, lunch and drinks included.

Class times: 10.00 – 17:00

Fee: £110.00

Interested crafters should email or telephone 0141 429 0102 to arrange a suitable day.

Posted: March 13th, 2008 under Events, Supplies.
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Posted: March 13th, 2008 under Competitions, Supplies.
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Lately I have been trying to work without patterns in an attempt to create something original with my work (be it patchwork, tapestry, embroidery or whatever) but the problem with this is recreating it when I actually produce something I like.

So, my latest attempts involve creating my own patterns and then trying them out. It’s a whole new way of working for me and I’m not entirely sure if it’ll allow me the flexiblity I’m used to, but at least if it works out I’ll be able to produce more than one item as opposed to my current one-of-a-kind collection.

Currently making this process a whole lot easier is MathSphere where you can download various types of paper to print out: graph, square, isometric, octagonal, hexagonal and many others…. perfect for all sorts of crafts and completely free – my favourite price!

Posted: March 12th, 2008 under Supplies.
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There will be a proper post and new COTW before the weekend but just wanted to tip off crafters in the Glasgow area that The Works in Sauchiehall Street are having a closing down clearout (yeah, yeah, I know that they say that all the time but this time it seems pretty genuine).

 I happened to pop in on my lunch and in amongst the marked down books and stuff I managed to get a good quality guidebook to Paris and French phrasebook for our forthcoming adventure for £1 each.

I had a rummage in the crafts section of the basement and their cutting mats and canvases aren’t heftily reduced but still cheap enough and the art and craft supplies had a few bargains.

I spoke to the guy behind the counter and he said they are marking down most of the rest of the stock on Saturday so worth popping in then if you happen to be in town.

C’est Formidable!

Posted: March 5th, 2008 under Supplies.
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