Craft Guerrilla hit the road!

Craft Guerrilla with the aid of Toyota and their Positive Ideas campaign went out into London to storm bust stops, train stations and anywhere else we found commuters waiting! Toyota lent us a couple of cars for the day so we could get what we do out there on the streets! Getting out of the Craft Guerrilla bunker with all our stuff is quite a chore so this was a perfect opportunity...

The whole idea was about bringing a bit of positivity to people through craft. By getting people to make something quick and easy while they waited we also brought to light the positive impact and benefits that "using your hands" has and how important it is to get back in touch with the simple things! Believe it or not making, especially craft, is a very healthy pursuit and using CRAFT as a therapy is nothing new.

Me and our fab Guerrilla Karen Dunn

Two lovely commuters at Marylebone Station

Craft Making in Brixton at a bus stop

We want to encourage more people to "make while they wait" because of it's stress busting qualities. Let's face it, we all spend way too much time waiting around for public transport and getting angry about it so getting people to relax and enjoy their wait was absolutely amazing and fulfilling...
PLUS it shares the love between people in our city, our beautiful Ye Old London Town which we absolutely love!

Everyone loves a moustache even guys with already quite generous facial hair!

Brixton bus stop hosted our very own pop up "crafternoon"

We thank you London...and remember: Do something positive, do something nice!

If you'd like to watch the other videos which include our fabulous friends Knit The City visit the Toyota web site:
http://www.toyotapositive.com/gb/gadget/

Something for the weekend...

As Spring seems to be on it's way this weekend we'll be looking at ways of getting our green fingers busy!
We love gardening though as city dwellers we are like many others - without access to a garden -
and so we're always on the look out for alternative ways of getting back in touch with mother earth.  And because we are very much city kids we like to do things a little bit more "urban"!

http://www.annagarforth.co.uk/

Moss graffiti is a better alternative to traditional graffiti, though I am a fan I feel that nasty chemicals in paint are not very Eco friendly so that's a big no no for me! Having dabbled in the late 1980's I loved the artistic freedom that came with graffiti. As many artists experiment with new ideas I think this one is definitely one which is open to lots of growth and with any luck it will spread through (boom boom, sorry but it had to be done!) towns and cities adding more greenery, beautiful public wall art and much needed oxygen.

If you'd like to find out how to then follow these easy step by step instructions:

• One or two clumps (about a small handful) of moss
• 2 cups of buttermilk
  • You can also substitute with yogurt (vegan yogurt can be used)
• 2 cups of water
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• Corn syrup (optional)

1- Gather up as much moss as you can find or buy.

2- Wash the moss to get as much soil out of the roots as possible.

3- Break the moss apart into manageable pieces and place in blender.

4- Add the buttermilk/yogurt, water/beer and sugar. Blend the mixture until completely smooth. You'll want it to have a paint-like texture.

If the mixture is at a consistency where you feel it will drip, add corn syrup until the consistency you desire is reached.

5- Use a paintbrush to apply the moss-paint to the surface on which you wish your design to grow.

6- If possible, check back weekly to either spray the design with water (to encourage moss growth, especially if you live in a dry environment) or apply more moss-paint.

(view original tutorial: www.wikihow.com/Make-Moss-Graffiti) 

Friday's Craft Crush

OK I'm going to have to be absolutely honest with you and come clean... I'm not a great knitter! There, it's out. I can just about do a stocking stitch and knitting patterns make me break out in a cold sweat but I really do want to learn! My mum's a nifty knitter so she usually provides all my woolly needs... hum, I wonder if that's the problem, if she wasn't so darn good would that have prompted me to pick up my own needles and learn?!
What I need is inspiration and one book I've had the pleasure to view has done just that:
 "The knitted home" by Ruth Cross

She's my new girl crush and has managed to make me want to pick up those knitting needles and get clacking! Sumptuous photos of beautifully hand knitted home accessories and not a tea cosy in sight...

What Ruth has managed to do is compose a book which looks attractive and makes projects look achievable! Believe me for once I haven't closed a knitting book after reading the first set of instructions... I actually think I may tackle and succeed in making quite a few projects from this book and they are far from basic.
I really love the way she uses textures to add layers of interest to the home and this book has all that and more... I really can't wait to get started!
Now where did I put those knitting needles...

The Knitted Home, Ruth Cross (Jacqui Small Publishing)

To order The Knitted Home (9781906417727) for £16.00 including p&p*, telephone 01903 828503 and quote offer code JS197. 

 Or send a cheque made payable to: Littlehampton Book Services Mail Order Department, Littlehampton Book Services, PO Box 4264, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 3TG. Please quote the offer code JS197 and include your name and address details. 

*UK ONLY - Please add £2.50 if ordering from overseas.

Something for the weekend...

As you probably know we love illustration just as much as making and baking! It's another one of our passions and because of it we're always on the hunt for new talent though this time it came to us...

I am so proud to have been immortalised by this lady and absolutely love the portrait she drew of me.

Craft Guerrilla by Bex Shaw

 

Bex captures everyday situations and transforms them with water colours, pen and ink in such a way that her subjects seems to reside in another era... her drawings are quite dreamlike and always make me smile!

Blue and white china...

Windows filled with cakes, blue and white china cups, pretty dresses, book filled cases, sweetly whiskered cats, musicians and jazz dancers... all exquisitely drawn and alive on the pages of her drawing pad.
You can usually find Bex Shaw at Clerkenwell Vintage Fair capturing the souls and hearts of many visitors at her little table near the ballroom entrance door. If you do see her make sure to smile, she might just think you a worthy subject and add you to her collection!


So if you're looking for something to brighten even the drabbest of weekends, let's face it...we've had a few recently, then get you peepers onto her Flickr site and prepare to be delighted: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bexshaw/

Clerkenwell Fair

Ottolenghi in detail

And the winners are...

Drum roll please...
and  the winners are...
3rd place: Mary Mcdermott
2nd place: Katie Moss
and 1st place winner...Sevren Halsey!

Lets not just single out these gorgeous people though lady luck definitely pointed her finger at them but lets also look at the other winners...
we think the kittens (and a few dogs and bunnies) have also lucked out too! Thank you to all our friends who donated a shed load of beautiful hand made goodies for the TOMBOLA prizes and also to all the lovely people who helped spread the word and purchased tickets. You are all awesome!!!
We didn't manage to raise a small fortunate but all in all £90 goes a long way especially when the charity in question depends so much on donations like this one. So it's with a happy, warm and slightly furry heart that we donate all proceeds raised by our little competition to the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.
If you'd like to donate to the charity please visit their website and contact them directly.
Again, thank you all so much!!!

Friday's Craft Crush

Hello! I’m Jeanie B - writer and crafter living in East London - delighted to be here guest blogging for Craft Guerrilla.

Why not grab a pocketful of Crafty pic ‘n’ mix with CraftCandy - I have!

Maid of Gingerbread - yummy sculptural gingerbread

Last year I found myself at a conference in Leeds and after everyone headed to the pub to get pissed unwind, I was left twiddling my thumbs (beer’s not my thing). I fancied a swing dance class or craft session somewhere, but short of trawling through Google or accosting crafty vintage locals, I hadn’t a clue where to go…

…Which is why Craft Candy is such a good idea.

Crafty blogger Zoe Arch has been busy developing a brand new type of craft platform around the idea of word of mouth crafty info, which serves crafters like you and me, businesses and the wider community. 

Craft Candy has a website where you can find out what craft events or workshops are taking place locally but you can also download their free App which makes finding craft events neat and easy to navigate.

The App has links to social media tools like Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and FB so likeminded crafters can keep in touch. It’s a whole lotta crafting cool in your pocket and if I’d had this functionality in Leeds last year I might have found my way to a Craft Café somewhere instead of watching bad TV in my hotel room.

I attended the Craft Candy launch last week and we got some wonderful treats. I had the best banoffi pie cupcake ever from TheTea’s Knees, no word of a lie.

The Tea's Knees wonderful cupcakes

Once I was home my daughter rifled through my Goodie bag and bagsied the mini cross stitch from Urban Cross Stitch.

Hand crafted goodies

A craft listing site is only useful when it is chock full of varied things to do across a wide area, so if you’re running workshops or have a regular craft night, register with Craft Candy to get your event listed and that way the service can grow and grow. 

Zoe’s motto is “if you don’t charge people to take part, then we won’t charge you”. Put simply, it’s free to list free of events on both the Craft Candy website and the Apps.

The universe is currently filling up with Craft startups and communities which is great for us makers and hobbyists (I’m out to reclaim the term hobby), but ultimately confusing as every other venture is Craft or Make something. 

I get Craftsy and Craft Candy mixed up with Craft Blogs and Make Lounges mistaken for Make Spaces and Make Places. I have the same trouble with Vintage outlets, which all seem to have vintage in their moniker. I’ll make it my mission to compile a list of innovative named outlets, ones I find easier to remember.

Craft Candy’s branding is sharp and recognizable, I love it when that happens.

I am off to Leeds again next month for the same conference, this time I may be able to navigate to craft events if they are happening nearby. But what if I get happy feet – come on all you start-up geniuses out there – where’s the Swing Dance listing app? 

Jeanie B - swing dancing writer who crafts between drafts - find her on Make It Up follow @jitterbug65