A little craft tutorial to help feed wild birds this winter...

Wild birds will thank you for this treat...bird seed cup cakes are easy,quick and very good for your tiny feathered visitors!


make a small hole at the bottom of your paper cup cake case. Thread a bit of twine through leaving the knotted end on the bottom outside of the case


Place case into a silicone cup cake case. This will help keep it shape will it solidifies and while you make up the seed cake.


Thread the twine loops onto a chopstick or skewer and place onto a couple of glasses. This will help keep the twine out of the mix and held into place.


Place a third of the seed mix into the paper cases. Maje sure you are using a suitable wild bird mix which feeds the type of birds that visit your garden.


Melt enough fat - vegetable based or lard- into a heat proof bowl in the microwave until liquid. Beat in a tea spoon of brandy, whiskey or rum. Do not add too much spirit as this is only to provide extra heat to the little fellows...we really don't want them getting drunk!Spoon in enough to cover the seeds.


Add more seeds to fill up the paper case and spoon on the remaining fat to cover completely.


Leave to solidify.


Once it's completely set and ready to go onto the branches peel off the paper case.
You might need to snip the twine to tie it onto the tree.

Now watch happy little birds get through a very cold winter. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

Au revoir Harrogate...

Thank you to everyone that made it to Harrogate and for making us feel so welcome! We had an fantastic time in this very pretty place. We managed to make it to Betty's and it didn't disapoint. Though Gok was in the building we didn't see him. Too many security guards and way too many people trying to get into the set.
I hope to visit again but in warmer times as slogging up a steep icy hill with a wheelie suitcase in tow is not the best way to see this gorgeous spa town!
See you again soon.
X
Debbie

Knitting & Stitching Show: Harrogate 2010

Goodness, my feet have only just touched the ground again after Dublin and now me and my spotty shoes are heading North! The Craft Guerrilla girls are packing our craft cases for the final Knitting and Stitching Show this year. We will be in Harrogate from Thursday 25th - Sunday 28th November demonstrating upcycling and customising clothes in the swishing salon and teaching various workshops (and plenty of Gok gawping if I know Debbie and Louise).

It is my pleasure to give you a sneaky peak of the designers that we will be showcasing at the exhibition. I'm pretty sure that you can sort out all your Christmas shopping just by visiting these wonderfully talented ladies, leaving you plenty of time to indulge in mince pies and mulled wine for the rest of the festive season!

Joanna Teague

www.joannateague.co.uk

I have always enjoyed making things. all sorts of things. I have always sewn and over the last couple of years my work has developed into small pieces using hand stitching. I use fragments of recycled cloth, pieced together and embroidered over with words and phases. Words and phrases that I want to absorb into me. Recently I have been exploring how I might use my work and so I have started to exhibit these panels with a local art group and with a small solo exhibition. I have also been collaborating with a local Mother and Baby group to explore the language of childcare.

Kandy Diamond: Knit and Destroy

www.knitanddestroy.co.uk

Kandy Diamond from Knit and Destroy makes machine knitted items with a sense of fun. When pushed by Craft Guerrilla for further for information, well, why type it when you can have a little stitched self in a vintage tea cup hold up a typewritten postcard all about you? Genius!

Louise Owens: Love Little

www.lovelittle.co.uk

Because it’s not about the big car, the big wage, and big factories in China. It’s about the little things in life. And so “LoveLittle” was born... During the last 6 months I have developed my style and my printing skills, and I now have a solid collection of hand screen-printed pictures, gift

paper, bags, baby clothes and cards. I am also learning traditional crafts like letterpress and book binding at a local workshop. I am truly passionate about what I do and love creating my quirky, naive and yet beautiful designs that people of all ages can appreciate.

Rowan Grant: KitschenSink

www.kitschensink.com/

Rowan was born in June 1982, to possibly the least creative two parents in the UK. Both worked full time jobs, so on holidays and mornings before school, Rowan went to Grandma’s. Grandma didn’t like the TV to get hot, so after Saved By The Bell, it was switched off, and the paints, pencils, knitting needles, pins, wool and felt came out. Grandma spent a lot of time showing Rowan how to draw, knit, sew and the like, and it’s all Rowan ever wanted to do with her time from then on (plus catching Pugwall whenever possible!).

KitschenSink Jewellery and Accessories are the result of quality time with Grandma, a fascination of colourful branded toys, and a desire to repurpose mass-produced materials into handmade, wearable fashion treats.

Tania Sneesby

www.taniasneesby.blogspot.com

I want to make people smile, to look at my work and feel a connection with the piece, be it a picture, a doll, or a brooch. My creations are playful and fun, I use a variety of new and vintage fabrics, to create beautiful tactile craft pieces. I don’t like to over plan my work, and prefer to start with a simple sketch, and let it evolve naturally, enjoying the flow of extemporizing, letting the fabric determine the outcome. I love the imperfection of working this way, leaving edges raw, and threads loose, emphasizing the hand made care and fragility of the work.

******

Now that I've tantilised your craft-taste-buds I'd better get myself to bed as I've got a train to catch in the morning. Hope to see you there!

Lisa Margreet

x

Lili Spain..."Memento Amour"

I love this ladie's jewellery. I first came across her work a couple of years ago quite by chance. Her work is amazing. Part sculpture,part fantastical almost dream like and with a touch of iconography... and the good news is that she's running a workshop!

Details below...

Discussion and Sculptural Jewellery Making Workshop

Using a miscellany of once treasured but now discarded objects; trinkets, vintage jewellery and ephemera, artist and self confessed hoarder Lili Spain leads a discussion and workshop which will breathe new life into forgotten things. Each participant will create and take home a unique and wearable sculpture.

Participants are invited to bring along a piece of jewellery, a trinket or a locket sized photograph to use as a starting point, then they will weave and sculpt a new narrative around it using items from Lili’s collection of treasure.

No prior jewellery making experience is required, just a little imagination and the ability to use a pair of pliers.

This workshop is part of a wide range of exciting events we have planned at the Freud Museum to coincide with the Objects in Mind exhibition which runs from 24 November 2010 - 27 February 2011.

Tickets:

£35.00/£30.00 Concessions or Friends of the museum.

Booking:

You can book online at http://www.freud.org.uk/shop/TALKS_AND_EVENTS.html

For further information please contact us at eventsandmedia@freud.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7435 2002

Advance booking is essential as the number of participants for this event will be purposefully be kept low

OH MY GOK!!!

I can't believe that I am becoming quite hysterical at the thought of possibly meeting GOK WAN! OK,maybe I won't meet him but he'll be there and so will we! His loveliness will be at The Harrogate Knitting & Stitching Show on Friday with Rock Chick come fashionista Brix Smith (another legend! I loved her in the Fall). Apparently they're doing a full on Fashion Fix catwalk show on Friday the 26th from 5pm. We'll be helping out with the swishing area so fingers crossed...he'll come by to say Hi!!!

For more details visit: http://www.twistedthread.com/

The art of writing a good press release, naming your event etc...

It's come to my attention that how ever much we try it's not easy finding your own voice especially when the platform is so huge. The Internet is a great tool and we've met friends, made a fair share of contacts and made our mark! BUT it's not easy protecting your creations, your intellectual properties, your image and now your language. When I say language I'm referring to tone...IE how your blog,your web site and even your press release reads.

Writing a good,easy to read press release isn't difficult. Lots of people just end up giving too much information therefore loosing the readers attention. Short,quick,blast of key information are essential.

Launching your brand: find your costumer. You might be offering a niche product but there's someone out there ready for it. Brand your self accordingly and coherently. Plus consistency is also good and find your voice and language you want to use and that your followers/customers can relate to and understand. Decide what message you want your creations or events to convey and make it happen.
Stick to it and believe in it! That's the first bit of advice and it's on the house.

For example we get a lot of people from other craft groups/event organisers, which will remain nameless for now, that come to our blog copy and paste word for word and even name their events quite similarly to our own in a feeble attempt to associate their events with ours. All it does is create confusion and unpleasantness. I hope that if you're reading this that you'll understand and respect what we're saying. Don't do it again or you wont remain anonymous.So what is it that you want to offer your customers? A copy of something else? It's easy to get lost and look at others work but looking for inspiration doesn't mean you can carbon copy it.
Initially I felt like it was a compliment,that others loved so much what I was writing that they couldn't find their own words to match my message. That's naive. It's frustrating and it grinds you down. By doing this they're just being lazy. What I propose to these people is that they contact me and I'll write them a nifty little press release but I'll write it for them in their own language and appropriate to their project but...there's a catch...you'll have to pay me or be really nice and offer me a trade off. It's simple.

But that's not what this is about but speaking of which ,and it all ties in nicely, is that if you do want to use our PR services visit our web site and get in touch. We can help you feel a bit more confident and help you on your own crafty adventure!
Now let us get back to the important stuff!

Countdown to Craft Guerrilla Christmas Craft EMPORIUM

It's official...we're excited about Christmas!!! Well, about the Christmas Craft Emporium to be exact!
It's only 16 days to go before the hand made gorgeousness begins!
This year we have a whole bunch of new guys and gals as well as some of the faves from last year. From children's clothing & apparel,jewellery,illustration, prints,paper goods,soft furnishings to beautiful hand made leather bags and shoes. It seems quite apt having such quality craft in the home of the man that started it all...I think William Morris would be proud!

Please note that there are quite a few events happening in the area and that some have named their event quite cheekily to sound like ours but I can tell you that they aren't associated with Craft Guerrilla. Whether or not it was on purpose...we'll never know but we wish them luck though why people can't come up with their own ideas is beyond us. Anyway...