The Pinterest Party...

I'm more of a stay-at-home-and-read-books kinda gal than a party-goer, but an invitation to a Pinterest party in London definitely had me interested!

The fact that it was in London swayed me.  I figured I could combine it with spending some time with my daughter and granddaughter - which was lovely as I don't see them often enough.  It did involve sleeping on an airbed in their kitchen/dining room, which was the only real drawback (the noise of the fridge, the thoroughfare to the loo, the lack of sleep...).

Oh, and the cat.  It's possible I may have a cat allergy.  Gorgeous cat though...

I am now seeing digital stamp designs in pretty much everything I look at.  

This particular cat will feature quite often in my designs, I think!

OK, I know you are probably more interested in the party than my temporary domestic arrangements...

I arrived in plenty of time, and got chatting immediately to the lovely Nicola from Belle Noir Bride and Clare White from Whiter than White Weddings (I seemed to meet a lot of wedding bloggers...)

And it wouldn't be a Pinterest party without some crafting, would it?  Drawing with Sharpies onto glass/ceramic was something I saw first on Pinterest.  Nicola and I both enjoyed making over some shot glasses...

Nicola honing her crafting skills...

and although mixing creativity with wine was fun, it wasn't the best of mixes if you were after a genius design and finish.  Good job I wasn't...but I could've happily stayed doodling on glass all night.

it came with instructions for baking to make the design permanent

The setting was amazing.  We were at Kings Place, overlooking the water. This isn't the best of shots but

this one (below) probably gives you a better idea of the stunning waterside setting. The evening was warm, just perfect to take advantage of the verandah right on the water's edge.

Busy waiters and waitresses attended to our every need, inside and out.  They brought wine, beer, cocktails, soft drinks and tray after tray of food.

Unfortunately, the only gluten free option seemed to be a teeny tiny vegetable and halloumi kebab.  Yep, just the one - I didn't see that tray again.  Absolutely delicious but not nearly big enough to line my stomach and ...well, that's my excuse.  I had two wines and was definitely a little bit tiddly!  But I don't get out much...OK, I'll stop with the excuses now.  There really is no excuse!

And - squeal! - there was an ultra-gorgeous mini sweet shop!

with free sweeties, of course

This was so cute, I took photos from several angles and I will definitely be creating a digital stamp inspired by this actual teeny tiny shop! I told you, I'm seeing possibilities everywhere for my new digi stamps range!

see the fairy lights too? They looked gorgeous

I met up with Sabrina who runs the Wolves in London blog. Sabrina was the only craft blogger I met there - why, oh why did I not find more craft bloggers? - but do check out her blog!  I love her blog but I loved chatting to her more.   We should have more of these parties and meetups!

I also met another wedding blogger - Kat from RocknRollBride - I was completely in awe of Kat, simply because she manages to not only earn her living from blogging, she employs her husband too.   Now that is what I call a successful blogger!  She also teaches workshops on blogging, which look pretty amazing and inspiring. Kat's blog is well worth a read even if weddings are not on your radar - she blogs business tips too.

Evan Sharp, co-founder of Pinterest, gave a talk.  It was fascinating to hear how it was set up not with any sort of global aim in mind, but just as something he wanted to do and share.  They never had an official launch, just played around with it, gradually improving it, and - well, you know the rest: it ended up becoming much more successful than he'd ever imagined!

The one criticism I have of these sort of events is this: it's quite easy to miss people you would love to meet. I think it would be great to group together bloggers of  the same genre for a group session at the beginning (maybe with a little ice-breaking activity) and perhaps then it would be easier to mix.  It's quite hard to walk up to a complete stranger and introduce yourself, especially if you have no idea who they may be.  Name badges aren't really enough.  The Pinterest staff were really helpful though, and tried to ensure people weren't standing there feeling lost and alone!

The main point of the party from Pinterest's point of view was marketing.  There's a Pinterest blog campaign launching soon, which is one of the things this party was all about   Watch out for it on several different blogs (most people have their instructions already on this one, but I don't.  I don't know whether I've been missed off or whether my instructions will come later on).

The other reason for the party was feedback - we were plied with alcohol and then invited into video booths to chat about our views on Pinterest.  No, I didn't.  Video filming scares me a little bit.  If I make a fool of myself the video makes it permanent!

And what was in that goodie bag?  A rather cute little Pinterest board with press-out pins

no, none of my images have ever been repinned 52,333 times, either

and a Pinterest T-shirt.

I've not tried it on yet, but I suspect I either need a really good diet or that Pinterest tutorial where you cut a T-shirt up both sides and insert some pretty fabric into each side seam to make it bigger ...

yeah, it's an extra small...

PS: Yes, I found my way there and back on the underground, even while slightly tipsy.  I was rather pleased with myself and only had to ask directions once. 

Handmade Monday 114

Hello! Welcome to Handmade Monday!

Well, it's not hard to figure out the highlights of my week include my visit to London and the UK Pinterest party on Thursday evening.

Pinterest goody bag

Do you use Pinterest?  I can't imagine life without Pinterest, which probably makes me sound like a bit of a geek without a real life. Interestingly, it was probably my slightly obsessive pinning habit that got me onto the guest list - funny how staying at home and drooling over cool images can lead to a posh party invite!  It's a crazy world!

I think I need to do a separate post on the party and introduce you to some of the amazing bloggers I met there.  Watch out for it this coming week.  Oh, and my Pinterest boards are here, just in case you haven't discovered the joy that is Pinterest.  Is there anyone out there who hasn't yet?  I'm currently finding it invaluable for collecting inspiration for my new digital stamp images.  It's like a giant digital scrapbook - with links!

Back to London.  London is a place full of surprises.  Traffic and tall buildings, of course -  and...er, herons...

out for lunch in south west London

and farm animals...

with lambs and goats happily feeding from their mums

aah!

I very much like the way perfectly gorgeous snippets of nature are dovetailed into sometimes quite a small space creating what seems like a mini-getaway that can be enjoyed by many.  I have never really understood London living (to me it seems busy, cramped and overpriced with a liveliness and culture that might of course appeal but at what cost?) but I am beginning to see why my daughter loves it.  She's a city girl at heart, though, and I'm just not.

This was another surprise...

the world's first unattended city shop.  

Hope they've taken the keys out of the ignition...

I didn't visit the honesty shop, but maybe next time.   It's housed in an old double-decker bus parked in a place that hosts a weekend market with craft stalls and things that are just a bit different - so I'm told.  I wasn't there over the weekend this time, so maybe I'll visit it next time I'm in London - it's just a short walk from where my daughter lives and most of the walk is along that heron-populated river.

In other news, if you'd be up for some digital stamp testing for me, please have a look here for free digi stamps in exchange for feedback.

Oh, and yes, the vanbag got finished - more on that soon!

And that's it from me for now - over to you for Handmade Monday's lovely blog hopping...

Free Digital Stamps...

... in return for letting me know what you think of them!

I'm looking for testers for my brand new range of digital stamps.  If you are into card making then I would value your opinions, whether you already use digi stamps or not.

However, if you already do use digi stamps, then your opinions might be really, really useful to me!

a little peek at one of the stamps
(the actual stamp won't have the watermark all over it!)

Please email me at wendy@1stuniquegifts.co.uk if you are interested in helping me out in return for free digi stamps.  You'll be sent download links to 8 stamps, 5 of them are black and white line drawings, ideal for colouring yourself, and three are colour for using as backing papers or similar).  I'll also send you a list of questions about your opinions, which I'd be really grateful if you could answer for me.

Once you have the stamps, you can use them as you like (but please don't pass on the stamps in a digital format to anyone else).  You can use them on cards, gift tags - anything, really, and you can sell whatever you make with them at craft fairs or in your online shop too because I'm offering the stamps with an Angel policy (there will be more specific copyright info on the website when it's published).

The website for selling my new digital images is probably about 3-4 weeks off.  I'll let you know as soon as it goes live!

PS: If the email link above doesn't work for you, copy and paste my email address:

wendy@1stuniquegifts.co.uk

into the address bar on a new email. 

Fabric and Pebble Jewellery: Tutorial

OK, I hold my hands up -  these are not real pebbles.  They're made from polymer clay (Fimo or similar) and if you'd like to make some pebble buttons for this project, it's really easy - the instructions are here.

You could make the pendant and brooch multi-colour to match pretty much everything or just in colours you wear a lot of.  Whatever you decide, this is something that can be made mostly from tiny scraps.

OK, so you'll need:

scraps of fabric
scraps of heavyweight interfacing (pelmet or craft weight)
sewing machine with black thread
small pieces of felt
brooch finding/safety pin
leather thong or necklace strap (maybe from an old necklace?)
Pebble buttons (or just ordinary buttons if you prefer)

This is how to make the brooch:

Cut out three basic shapes - hearts are good, but they could really be any shape you like.  Also cut interfacing to back the largest of the three.  The eagle-eyed will have spotted there are four layers in the finished items - we'll get to the felt backing later.

Sew the pieces together, starting with the largest and the interfacing.  Stitch using a straight stitch and black thread.  Sew several times round for the sketchy look.

Carry on until the hearts are sewn together, layering them.

Sew the pebble button in the middle.

Sew the fabric backing on.  Trim it so it's just slightly larger all round than the main heart.

Sew a brooch pin on the back.

To make the necklace, the process is exactly the same, but with different shapes and more pebbles, until you get to the backing.

But before sewing the backing on, make little rectangles from fabric and felt (as above)

Fold the stitched rectangle in half so it makes a loop and insert it between your necklace and its backing.

Thread a readymade necklace thong into the loop, or use ribbon, plaited embroidery floss, or a chain.

And if you don't want pebbles, or can't be bothered making them - then buttons may be more your thing!

If you were confused because my largest shape was the flowery one earlier, that's because I changed my mind about the colours mid-make - which is why I have this second brooch!

I could see this becoming addictive!

Handmade Monday 113

Hello!  Welcome to another Handmade Monday.  Come on in, make yourself comfy and enjoy browsing all the blogs at the bottom of this post.  If you are new here, you can find out more about Handmade Monday here.

This week I've been drafting a pattern.  Can you guess what it is?

More clues?

Well maybe if I show you my graph paper drawing that I measured everything out on?

It's going to be a campervan tote bag!  I hope I finish it for my Pinterest party next week (I'm rather excited about that!).  If not, then I can always pin it (possibly in more ways than one, if it's not finished!)

that gorgeous blue star fabric is from Abakhan

As you can see, I have got round to putting a numberplate on it!  I didn't have any real idea what I wanted my numberplate to be, but VAN BAG somehow seemed appropriate!  The pattern will be available for sale as a digital pattern in the next few weeks but there's quite a bit of work left to get it to that stage!

I've also made a start on something quite exciting...

*cue drumroll*...

The Handmade Harbour website!  This will be for my sewing patterns, digital stamps for cardmakers and (eventually!) books, too.  I'm really excited, but there's still quite a lot of work before it can be unveiled.  I'll be asking for digital stamp testers and design team members quite soon, so if you think you might be interested, keep checking this blog.  I will also need sewing pattern testers soon too!  

It's all starting to change from feeling overwhelming to seeing light at the end of a very long tunnel, but there's still a long way to go!  I'm enjoying the journey now, though - and that's a really good thing, I think.

Meanwhile, it's over to you for Handmade Monday...

Tutorial: A Place for the Spare Keys!

My parents are in their eighties and sometimes muddle things up.  We were a little worried about them getting out of their apartment if there was an emergency - Dad had Alzheimer's and can never find anything at all (sometimes he hides things and sometimes he packs bags with all manner of things, just to complicate matters) and Mum takes forever finding her keys in her handbag.

So I stepped in with a couple of quick projects which I hope will help.  This is the first - somewhere for the spare door keys to go.  This will hang on a hook on the back of the bedroom door, ready to access and very quick to find in an emergency.

It takes very little fabric to make: you'll need a few scraps (could be recycled from old clothes or other projects) a small piece of felt (optional), approx 20cm of binding or ribbon for the top loop and some heavy interfacing.  A button or perhaps a few beads will finish it off nicely.

This is how to make your own spare key holder:

Cut out a piece of fabric measuring approx 30cm x 6cm (accuracy isn't that important - longer, wider, shorter, narrower are all OK!).

Fold in both long edges and press; then fold both folded edges in again.  Press.  Stitch to secure.

Press like this, then stitch

Cut out two squares of fabric and a piece of heavyweight interfacing each measuring approx 10cm x 10cm.

you could leave out the second layer of fabric, it will still work

I drew a flower shape on mine - to make life easier, you can cut a template from paper first and trace around that.  You could use any shape though - a heart would be good, or you could leave it as a square.

Fold the stitched strap in half and place the two raw edges into the squares, inside where your stitching lines for your flower (or whatever) will be.

Sew around the drawn image, three times to produce the sketchy outline, and enclosing the raw edges of the strap.  I got a bit carried away and sewed a few more details onto my flower, which were less than perfect, but worked out OK in the end!

  Trim carefully around your stitching.

Sew a piece of bias binding, tape or fabric to make a hanging loop (you could even use string or ribbon). Stitch onto the back of the flower - in the centre, as this will be covered at the front with a button.

it's  a bit messy at the back but we will cover it

Sew a button or some beads into the centre.  My button (or is it a bead?  I'm not sure, but it has a shank like a button at the back, so I think it's a button!) came from a pack kindly supplied by Wholeport.  They are not really my style, but as soon as I saw them I thought of my mum - I knew she'd love them.

the button adds a bit of interest

Finish off by sewing a piece of felt to the back.  This is optional, but it does serve to neaten up the back, as well as providing a bit more design detail and a bit of contrast colour.

Trim the felt after sewing

Attach your keys by slipping the large loop onto the split ring on your key fob.

Not only ideal for older people, I think this spare key holder might be a good idea for all of us.  A set of door and window keys hanging on the back of the bedroom door might make it quicker for any of us to exit safely should there be an emergency.

It turned out there was another bonus to this.  Because it was made by me (and Mum was touched by the effort I made) and because she thought it was pretty (she loved that little flower button!!) I think she's more likely to remember it's there.

How Exciting!!

Forgive me if I'm a little over-excited, won't you?  I'm off to London next week for a party - courtesy of the Pinterest team, no less!

I don't have much of an idea of what it's about, but I do know this: they've invited 150 UK bloggers and they're providing treats, goodies and activities (no idea what, your guess is as good as mine!).

Blogging might connect people...

but it's good to meet up in real life too!

Did I mention I was excited?  I don't have any photos of me jumping up and down (be thankful!) so a laptop shot will have to suffice.

Pinterest is launching a blog campaign in the UK in May (which I guess is why they are throwing a party for bloggers!).  I couldn't pass it up though, could I?  Not when Pinterest is one of my very favourite online places!  (You can see my boards here)

Oh, and the excitement doesn't end there - London is where my middle daughter lives, so guess where I'll be staying!  It will be so very lovely to spend a couple of days with her and my youngest granddaughter (who is apparently learning to speak Slovakian at a faster rate than she's learning English - her dad is Slovakian!).

this is me with my two gorgeous baby granddaughters!

If you've followed this blog for a while, you may possibly recall that I'm not quite sure of my ability to navigate ahem, ok then -  terrified of the London underground system, which might be the only (rather large) drawback to the whole trip.  How do people ever make out those underground maps?  It's entirely possible I will miss the Pinterest party altogether and spend the whole time whizzing around on the tube.

PS: I don't know why they invited me.  Perhaps it's an indication that I spend far too long pinning stuff...

PPS: Let me know if you are going too.  It would be really good to meet up!

Handmade Monday 112

Welcome to Handmade Monday.

I told you about my Mum and Dad's diamond wedding celebration last week.  Well, it was a great success.

flowers with diamonds

The chip cones were very popular and elicited a lot of comments (all very favourable!).  Some cones were even taken away to be kept as souvenirs!  I realised, after chatting about them, that I may be able to make similar ones as printables for other people too (possibly personalised as well as generic) - it's amazing how one idea leads to another.  This all started when my sister suggested fish and chips in newspaper!

A greaseproof paper lining kept them looking good...

I completely forgot to take closeups of the cones in use

but managed to crop a photo for this image!  
(his finger is covering the shop's diamond doorknob!)

Chip cones seeing some action...

I think Mum is reading hers, and Dad has finished, 

but Keira (on the end) is eating from hers!

The cupcakes Rhiannon made - her first ever decorated cupcakes! - were very well-received indeed.  I'm told they were as yummy as they looked (unfortunately, my gluten allergy stopped me from sampling them personally!).

And here's Mum and Dad looking happy at their wedding before I was even born (we had the wedding album out on display for everyone)...

1953

And here they are now... 60 years later!

2013 (he's enjoying that cupcake!)

And one of their great-grandchildren, Emily...

The Eton Mess was a huge success with all age groups!

We played Mr & Mrs (Google it if you don't know what I'm talking about - it's an old UK TV show!) which went down much better than I had hoped - people wanted more, even though three couples played!  Unsurprisingly, Mum and Dad won.  I say unsurprisingly, not because of sixty years of marriage but because the questions had to be easy enough not to confuse Dad, with his Alzheimer's.

fabric, glue and imaginary beaches!

I've also been busy making - lots of fabric and glue and of course some sketchy stitching! I talked about my vanity case here, but this week I also made fabric-covered plant pots, and a beach-themed luggage tag and passport holder (all for Craftseller magazine). That's maybe a story for another day as I've prattled on for long enough!  It's your turn now so please do ...