Baby I Love you! Valentine's Special!

If you're seeking a quirky, off the peg gift for your loved one then have a look at our hand made romantic directory:

Miss Cakehead's Anatomical Heart Pop up shop...

When - 8th - 10th February
Where - 133 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG
For a truly wonderful selection of curated Valentine inspired treats by the fabulous "lady of gore cakes" Miss Cake Head come along to this East End pop up boutique.
You'll find everything you'll need to make your lover's heart skip a beat from gorgeous illustrated greeting cards, hand made designer mementos to having the opportunity of offering them your heart on a plate! Yup edible hearts....don't panic they are in fact made of cake!
Open for two days only so don't miss it!



Wonderhill Market Valentine's Edition...

Cards by Sew Smitten

When: 10th February 12-5pm
Where: Tooting Tram and Social
46-48 Mitcham Road, SW17 9NA 
This has to be one of our favourite markets in London. Not only are the organizers amazing people but the venue is also quite special too. Choose from a selection of goods from London's top designers right up to ethically sourced Vintage Clothing plus there is cake...and cocktails...and live music! Amazing!!! 


Or if you fancy making it your self then have a look at these tutorials:


Love heart Cheese cake... Click on the link for the recipe... "HERE"

Fabric heart garland... Tutorial "Here"

Fortune Cookies added to the breakfast in bed tray will make a nice surprise...
Recipe "here"...

And a selection of ready made smooch inducing gifts....


Miniature heart by Kivaford

A Diamond Ring by MOKOSHOP...

Leather Wallet for your fella by DNA Creations...

And some cufflinks too by Gwen Delicious...

Ceramic anatomical heart by Carolyn Wass

AND finally here are some kittens just for the hell of it and because...we LOVE kittens!
*Please don't buy kittens...but if you intend to make your lover a pet owner check with him or her before you go out and get one. If he or she is happy about it then please do but preferably find one from a cat/animal rescue.We love cats but we also LOVE responsible pet owners!*

image found on http://parisapartment.wordpress.com/category/valentines-day/

Happy birthday...to us!

That's right my little crafting kittens this year Craft Guerrilla is 5 years old! We're a little bit like the queen as far as celebrating Birthdays go because we do have 2 dates... our official BIRTHDAY which is in January and our PARTY DAY which is in March. Sorry Queenie but we can't let you have all the fun!

Don't worry though, we've already celebrated a little bit just to mark the occasion but we're saving ourselves for March when we will be throwing a CRAFTACULAR BIRTHDAY PARTY which you can all attend!
So keep them peepers peeled and don't forget...Crafting is awesome so lets celebrate!!!

**SIGN UP to our mailing list so you can get a personal invite!
 E mail us: craftguerrilla@yahoo.com  **

Who fancies a cuppa?

NEW to the Craft Guerrilla shop "My Rosie Lee" contemporary homewares!

Beautifully designed in the UK on English bone china these gorgeous mugs will have you reaching for the kettle with a smile on your face... what a wonderful way to make your tea break that little bit more stylish!!!
Available at our concession space at Black Duke & Cashman, 83 Grove Road, Walthamstow, London E17.
You know we also sell cakes in the shop on weekends don't you? Oooooh tea and cake...now we're talking!!!

new gorgeous black & white design available in our shop!

In the new year make a difference!

Last NYE after midnight and after the fireworks plus the obligatory sing along to "Auld lang syne" died down I was asked what resolutions I had for the new year.
Normally I don't participate as I think change should be something we partake in on a daily basis and not only once a year!
So when we were approached by The Craftivist Collective to help promote their "I'm a piece" project it was without hesitation that we readied our selves to tell you all about them and this wonderful project...

As a fellow crafter I’m calling on you to start 2013 by using what you do - craft - to help end world hunger! By partaking in the "I'm a piece" campaign you'll be joining others and we believe in strength in numbers so this project is right up our street!



Why?
* Because in a world were we know how to solve hunger we still have 2.3 million children across the world die because of hunger every year
* If world leaders invest in life saving interventions that work (like supporting small-scale farmers, teaching people about healthy eating etc) it could save 1 million lives each year

Why now?
The UK and our Prime Minister David Cameron are hosting the G8 Summit in 2013 where world leaders meet to discuss international issues
Cameron, has already said that he will put hunger at the top of the agenda of world leaders - we just need to make sure he sticks to his word & commits to the UK giving more international aid (a tiny 0.7% of our GDP) and championing the small and brilliant projects across the word already tackling hunger so more projects like them can be created and sustained.
Our deadline for getting all the jigsaw pieces in is 28 February which gives you time to do a few minutes a week or complete a piece one evening or weekend but will go in a blink of an eye too if we aren’t careful.

How can little-old-me be a piece of the solution?
You can stitch messages onto material jigsaw pieces which will be put together to make a HUGE creative, crafty installation alternative to a petition that Save the Children will show off to our Government, the public and World Leaders showing that hundreds, even thousands of us, want, with world leaders, to be a part of the solution to hunger, not the problem. You can also give a jigsaw piece to your local MP to remind them to be a part of the solution too or at least tell them about the piece you made for the installation.

This our piece that we presented to our MP Stella Creasy

For further information, templates and other ways you can help visit:  http://imapiece.craftivist-collective.com/

A bit about the Craftivist Collective...

Craftivist Collective is a group of individuals who believe in the power of craft to make a difference. They are known for their mini-banners and public stitch-ins, and aim to expose and tackle injustice and poverty through provocative, non-violent action. Fin out more here:  http://craftivist-collecive.com

Save The Children works in more than 20 countries, saving the lives of children, fighting for their rights and helping them fulfill their potential. You can find out more about the "Race Against Hunger" campaign here: http://www.savethechildren.org.uk

Happy holidays and looking forward to a new year!

Happy holidays everyone, we hope you've had an awesome year filled to the brim with crafty magic!
This year has been an interesting one... not always great but filled with life lessons which we can take away and learn from. It's all part of life and our experiences make us stronger and more in tune with what we actually want to do with Craft Guerrilla.
And so we've decided that things need to evolve and change plus we need to bring you a lot more so we can still function within our selves and as part of the growing London craft community. Plus we need to keep Craft Guerrilla independent but self sufficient!!!

A lot more in the way of posts/content will be added so our beautiful blog becomes more of a resource, a place of learning and above all somewhere you'll want to explore and stay for a while.
More pages are being added including a resource page where you can find great people/companies who can help you on your crafty travels.
We want you to make, bake and take away something which is of value...and not just a blog which is a great read! Yes recipes and tutorials are good but we know that for example sometimes trying to take your craft to the next level can be a struggle. There seems to be a world of information out there but sometimes it's hard to see the wheat from the chaff!

Our blog is pretty much an extension of our zine and if you've read it you might have noticed that we don't just cover craft. Oh yes we love cake baking, cocktail making, DJ-ing and finding great new design talent! Oh yes we're keen craft magpies and love hunting out all those shiny nuggets of creative awesomeness.
Speaking of which we're also looking into adding to our "guerrilla shop" and feature more designer maker products direct to the buying public. It's still a way away but it's in the pipeline!!!

We've been so lucky to work with lots of seriously talented people... "OK Jo" of Soupa Creatives was one of them and she created this fab cover for us!

In the new year we will be adding to the blog so it's a bit more like our zine which by the way you can purchase in our Guerrilla shop on our web site.
Keep your peepers peeled because we're on a mission... so if you'd like to contribute get in touch!
Please send us an example of your writing and a short bio of yourself plus why you'd like to work with us. Also if you'd like to submit any craft tutorials, recipes or be part of our resources page let us know what you can offer.
Unfortunately writing content and tutorials is an unpaid position but it's a great opportunity to get your writing and projects out there under the Craft Guerrilla umbrella.

"Kanelbullar" ...my current obsession!

I love Swedish cakes and these are my current obsession...once you've tried making them you'll know why! They are super easy to make and most importantly they are delicious!
So without further ado here is the best ever recipe for Swedish "Kanelbullar" that I've ever found. They yield a large number so what I did was half the recipe though as it takes 1 egg I left it as it is IE 1 egg and it was fine...all other ingredients where halved and the result perfect!


"Kanelbullar"
Scandi Kitchen recipe:
Makes around 40 buns

For best result, don’t be stingy with the filling and don’t try to use low fat anything: whole milk, good quality butter... 

We also prefer using fresh yeast, but if you can’t get hold of any, you can use dried. NOTE:Replace fresh yeast with 2 x 7g sachets of the instant dry yeast – and add this to the flour/dry ingredients and NOT to the wet mix. 

If you are new to cinnamon buns, don’t worry: there is a lot of cinnamon in these – and ground cardamom. You can hold back a bit if you are not sure you’ll like it as strong as we do – but remember... they’re called Cinnamon Buns for a reason.

The dough
50 g fresh yeast
1000 g plain bread flour

85 g caster sugar
1 egg
150 g unsalted butter
500 ml whole milk
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cardamom (optional).

Filling
150g butter (nice and soft)
4-5 tsp ground cinnamon
85 g sugar (we like to use brown sugar)

Decoration
1 egg for brushing
Around 100 g of pearl sugar for decoration or drizzle over a thick icing sugar and water glaze...I actually prefer this to the pearl sugar!

 
This is how you do it
Melt the butter and add the liquid (milk) – check the temperature (should be between 37-46 degree Celsius for optimal yeast).  Add the yeast and stir.

Once the yeast has dissolved, add the egg, sugar, salt, cardamom and most of the flour (hold a bit back for kneading, about a large hand full). Work the dough until it stops sticking and has a shiny surface – probably around 10 minutes by hand. Keep kneading, it makes for a better bun.

Please the dough in a nice warm place for around 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Place the dough on a floured surface and work through the rest of the flour. I actually used a large floured melamine tray so to contain the mess!

Cut the dough in half and roll out each piece in a rectangular shape, around 30 cm long and 12-15 wide. Butter the whole piece liberally and dust over with the cinnamon and sugar. Roll each piece lengthways so that you end up with a long sausage looking roll. Cut 2 cm big bites and place them carefully on baking trays (take care to keep them separated as they will rise).  

Let the buns rest for another 30 minutes until doubled in size.  You should get between 34-40 buns out of this batch.

Brush gently with egg and pour over a bit of pearl sugar on each bun and then bake in the over on 220 degrees (fan oven) for about 8-10 minutes (turn the heat down a bit half way if you feel they are getting too brown). Let them cool down under a clean tea towel – this will stop them going dry immediately.

If you are using an icing sugar glaze (which I've been told the Norwegians prefer) allow the buns to cool before drizzling!

Enjoy!!!

PS You can always freeze them and defrost by gently heating in the oven as they are best served warm. 

If you make a whole batch I doubt you'll have any left over but freezing is great especially if you need to have them on hand for a quick sugar rush! 

NOTE:
I found fresh yeast in the Polish shops. Very inexpensive (about 40p per pack and you'll get at least 2 servings from it) and it's great quality.

It's never FELT so good...

Needle felting is both a relaxing and a creative craft form loved by many and misunderstood by some. Contrary to belief it's not just for making beads or components for other projects nor is it all about naff poorly made dust collectors. I've seen a few of those but in general the majority of needle felting I've seen has been pretty amazing!

Amazing dogs felted by Gai: http://www.gaizymaimake.co.uk/gallery/

Mushrooms: http://kathrynivy.com/patterns/free/myriad-mushrooms/

Milo & Ben: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MiloandBen?ref=seller_info

So it's "relaxing" you ask? It's much more then that...I believe this discipline can help you release your inner sculpture or sculptress!
Yes, it does help reduce stress as there's a lot of stabbing but I see it as a form of sculpting and not just in the way you create the 3D pieces but also in the method used, in the squeezing, forming with your fingers and building up of the piece. In a way it's a bit like clay yet softer and drier...plus a lot less messy!

There is a massive array of roving, lots of colours, textures and types. That's what you call the main material...it's also used to make yarn so it's pretty much the wool before it's been spun!
I use a lot of the "basic" roving though I have used the heavier stuff which is made form different type of wool. Just like in knitting yard you'll have different types and weights: angora, sheep wool etc.
Sourcing your materials is easy as there are quite a few on line retailers. I've used Forest Fibers which are really helpful and will be happy to guide any novices if you ring them for advice. There are also different needle gauges. This blog post was an invaluable resource: http://sarastexturecrafts.wordpress.com/2009/12/19/dry-needle-felting-needle-gauge-choice/

Wool-in-legends: http://www.etsy.com/shop/woolinlegends?ref=seller_info

I discovered needle feting because of Charlotte Haines-Lyon who's a master and an artist. I watched in amazement as she took a hand full of what looked like candy floss and then made it into an actual 3D object. I was hooked (pardon the pun)! She's one clever lady and she's also an inspiring teacher. Because of her I started experimented with felting and have gone from making simple shapes like mustaches to more intricate birds and even miniature cat portraits made form cat fur... Now, now don't judge cat fur is actually cleaner then sheep fleece and yes these portraits were made from the actual cat's hair! Cats, especially Persians are great for harvesting fur and just like angora which is rabbit fur it's a really great material to felt.

Below is a little bird I made for a workshop back in August... If you'd like to make one we have a few kits ready to purchase. £6.50 includes all materials, illustrated instructions and postage (UK only. Please contact us for international postage when ordering).
Email us your order via our address...

For basic instructions on how to get started on needle felting visit:
http://www.themagiconions.com/2011/02/tutorial-needle-felted-toadstool.html 

Otherwise search for online tutorials on "You Tube" as there are quite a few!




Here's a fun felting with cat fur book which I absolutely love...

By Kaori Tsutaya

And my own cat fur felting experience...

The beautiful Jassie Mo and her mini self