It's with great excitement that we introduce to you Cicada Books new publication: Craftydermy! As a veggie, crafter and lovers of taxidermy - I know, weird for a vegetarian to like Taxidermy but I can't explain it!!! - it's the perfect guilt free project book for people like me!
Craftydermy -2013 Cicada Books
Wire Bird by Hayley Dix
Taxidermy is very much of the moment.... you can't go into a pub, boutique or home without running into some sort of animal head or glass domed bird. Not everybody wants a dead animal in their home so this book has the best of both worlds as it marries the aesthetics; minus the cruelty; yet it's neither twee or childish!
Charles Fox by Emma Cocker!
There are so many animal related items out there and you know it's a hit once it's reached the high street shops which it has in a very big way!
Our love for the animal kingdom and for nature is one to be admired so what better way is there then that of making your very own homage?
Make your own with this tutorial by Kimberley Diamond!
Introduced by Tracey Benton the founder of Devon based gallery Atelier a small indie co which works with many of the featured makers....
This book is packed with fun and fab projects ranging from
bear feet slippers, tiger rugs, crock totes to pretty votive candles featuring a
party of bunnies!
Tiger Rug by Amelia Fever!
The only thing I would say that this book needs is... more content! Though there are lots of projects I feel there is so much more that I would like to see in there -maybe that's just because I'm greedy and like big fat books- but all in all it's a splendid book!
So if you'd like get your little paws into this book and start making some animal magic then check out Cicada's website: www.cicadabooks.co.uk
I received my first copy of the new look Sewing Magazinethis week and I have to say that I am suitably impressed! It's great to see how far the UK craft magazine scene has come!
Before we had lots of US publications flooding our magazine market but now there are quite a few national publications which can give any of them a good run for their money.
Sewing World is one of those... packed to
the brim with great looking projects plus it has something I
particularly love... pull out patterns! Yes, paper patterns which are
ready to use so it makes making even easier!
Also there's lots of interesting features like the one below where readers send in their handywork which is fantastic as it makes people feel part of the whole magazine experience...
It's a
pretty, friendly, easy to read mag and has tons of easy to follow
sewing projects so all in all it's a big thumbs up from us though the
only downside for me is the price.
Many craft based magazines tend
to go on the £4.95 price point and with so many to choose from after a
while it starts to add up... if you're anything like me it can get super expensive as I want to buy more then one publication a month.
If
it sold for £3.95 -even though it's only a £1 less then other
magazines- it would definitely make a difference not just in the pocket
but subconsciously too as I would feel I was getting a better deal. Anyway that's just my "on a tight budget" opinion!
However I will still go out and buy it...
It is a really good magazine so... it's a 9 out of a possible crafty 10 for this publication!
Ok so zippers are my Achilles heel...Well, one of them anyway! Yup, there I admit it... I'm not a master seamstress (or should that be mistress seamstress?) though I do like to sew and you know what they say "Practise makes perfect"!
And because I also believe it's in the genes -granny was an amazing seamstress so some of it has to have been passed on, right?- plus with the right amount of practise, persistence and a little bit of help from experts I do honestly think it's something I can improve on and maybe even master!
From an early age I've attempted to make made my own clothes. Growing up as a punk in a Benetton pastel infused surfing town was pretty much the push I needed to start making my own clothing! It started with basics like skirts - no zips may I add just a lot of elasticated waists, Lycra and lots of popper buttons and some safety pins too- then going on to harder stuff like tops and even a pair of stretch leggings... though I should say that if anyone had inspected my work closely that I would have been rumbled! The shoddy "freestyle sewing" I was employing worked as far as getting clothes on the body went. It was wearable but completely NOT how a dress maker would do it!
About a year ago I started a Drindl Skirt but never got around to finishing it...
I know, a year is a long time... but the culmination of putting on an invisible zipper and then finding out that the waist band was two sizes too big was too much to handle!
But in order for the skirt to fit me I needed to fix the waist band.
So back to square one because of this tiny alteration everything had gone skew whiff including the zip I had initially added so I threw a hissy fit put
everything away, then after a quick cuppa and a break I decided to go back in for round two! Ding Ding!!!
What I found helpful was A) being organised: have everything you need at hand -including lots of coffee! B)watching tutorials: on line you have a wealth of information from "you tube" to specialist sewing blogs including this tutorial on zippers!
And C) don't take it too seriously and allow yourself to fail... this way success is even sweeter when you achieve it!
The pressure to be a domestic goddess/ sewing superstar is immense...
our love for craft, sewing, making and watching programs like "The Great
British Sewing Bee", "Kirstie's home made home", "Super Scrimpers" etc.
etc. etc. has not only raised the bar but also created a few monsters
too! By monsters I mean people like me who strive to be perfect rather then experiment and go with the flow... but I am trying to be less rigid!
Think Kaffe Fassett a truly maverick spirit when it comes to embroidery... that man is a genius and he says "stuff you traditional techniques, I'm doing it my way!" (this is not a direct quote by the way...it's more what I imagine he would say!) but what he manages to do is create things of absolute beauty without getting hung up on the actual technique but he doesn't bodge it by any means!
We have so much to live up to now and too many great people to
compare ourselves and our work to so what I say is "Don't let that get
in the way of your enjoyment of making what you want to make"!
It's not a contest
and I'm not producing these items to sell, they are for me
to wear and for my own pleasure so it's with a sticky out tongue and two
fingers pointed up high to the sky that I proudly proclaim: "ZIPPER YOU HAVEN'T BEATEN ME THIS TIME!"
Plus for my first attempt at proper grown up clothes making -OK it took me a year but who's keeping track?- I think it's not too bad! Whaddya think?
X
Debbie
Tell us about your making adventures or what frightens the sweet crafty Bejezzus out of you and/or what projects have had you in a sewing melt down?
Feel free to share your crafting nightmares -and successes- in the comment section below!
P.S. I've ordered this cute Misses Dress pattern from Simplicity so...watch this space... next step is to make a dress then watch out Milan, London, NYC and Paris...Craft Guerrilla Couture is on it's way!
Finally the hot weather has arrived and London is prettier for it... so many gorgeous people in gorgeous summer frocks (and the boys look pretty awesome too... but not in frocks though!), it really is something quite extraordinary but the best accessory by far is some home made ice cream! But don't wear it... As I can confirm it is quite a task to remove a chocolate ice cream stain from a dress!
Because we love trying new things and as I am "babysitting" a friend's ice cream maker I thought I'd give it a go! I was thinking of trying a few fruity ones but in this household chocolate rules and so... I complied and made some super chocolaty stuff courtesy of the fab cook Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
I have to say that it got a huge thumbs up! Easy to make - even though I was slightly in a flap when I read the part of making a sugar syrup but it was more straight forward then it looked - and is so delicious... it's pretty close to a certain Danish Ice cream company but...better!!!
Though to me it was super duper it needed to pass my fussiest taste tester's approval which it did, he actually said:
"Wow, it's like eating frozen chocolate mousse!"
And if the other half's happy with it then mission accomplished so I highly recommend this recipe... http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/superrichchocolateic_14295
Easy Tiger, there's enough for everyone!
Plus as I had a bit of mix left over - it wouldn't all fit in the
churner- which means the old noggin started to work overtime!
I couldn't just chuck it away so I thought about experimenting with it and as it had eggs and butter it was a perfectly good cake base so to the mix I added 2 table spoons of self raising flour. The consistency should be like that for a sponge cake mix but still quite runny.
I trialed one straight away and it was pretty good though what I found next would completely change the recipe and I can confirm that it's well worth the wait! The first trial was good... it was more of a gooey sponge cake which hey... I still ate and enjoyed immensely but take it from me be patient and it gets better!
What I found is that if you let it set in the fridge overnight that it becomes more of a souffle, chocolate fondant type of dessert and that is absolutely a winner with me!
So what you'll need to do is: fill your ramekins about 3/4 of the way, cover with clingfilm, leave over night in the fridge to set then zap in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds (if you're making 2 at a time and you have an 800 W microwave it'll take circa 30 to 45 seconds).
Let's just say that it blows all those "cakes in a mug" recipes out of
the water... kind of reminds me of the Gü Desserts souffle pots! Warm, gooey, super dark chocolate heaven which will go
amazingly well with the above mentioned ice cream... though you might go
into a chocolate coma! Oh well... it'll be worth it!
You'll know by now that making is something of a illness around here! We love making and inventing though this next tutorial isn't ours to claim but we love it so much that we thought we'd share it with you.
Also because we know a lot of summer babies we thought as per usual that we'd make them their birthday gifts!
And if your lovely friend loves sewing as much as ours do then this is the bestest prezzie ever- and it works for boys too as they never seem to have sewing equipment at hand! - plus you can bookmark it for Chrimbo as it's also a good and inexpensive secret Santa gift too!
D.I.Y Mason Jar Sewing Pin cushion...
You'll need:
fabric
small mason jar
glue gun
stuffing
pencil/pen
scissors
•bits and bobs like pins, needles, cotton thread, bias tape, buttons and so on!
Place the inner top bit over the back of the fabric and trace leaving a small -circa 5 cm edge- and cut.
Cut another circle but this time to size...
you'll now have two circles!
dab some glue -use a glue gun for best results- around the red edge of your top...
...and fold over but remember to leave an open edge for the stuffing...
...like this!
Add some stuffing until nice and plump but don't over fill.
Glue the opening so it's not completely closed like...
...this!!!
Glue the smaller circle over for a neat finish!
Add small dabs of glue in the inner jar top and press your pin cushion top through. Press down firmly!!!
Remove any strands of glue to tidy up!
Ta Dah, that's it! Simple but very cute!!!
Add sewing supplies like buttons, spools of thread and even a small pair of scissors if you can!
We've been so busy of late that only now have we had the chance to finish off our Spring/Summer publication! Ha, you'd think that craft was all about sitting around making stuff, drinking tea, knitting and living
in a perfectly "frosted" Martha Stewart kind of world but far from it!!!
But it's ready, finally, and yes it's well worth the wait plus it's a corker too! It's got everything from recipes, tutorials, interviews and a few fabulous illustrations by some very talented folk. Thank you to: Bex Drawings www.belsartworld.com www.danniandcharlie.wordpress.com www.vickysworld.co.uk www.munano.weebly.com and Laurie Richardson
for their generosity in donating their work to our zine!!!
• Crafty! A sample of the content of our zine...•
You can buy your Craft Guerrilla zine from our shop on our website so
if you fancy some guerrilla reading get your sweet patooties to our web-shop and order your PDF copy from Tuesday the 9th of July!
Thanks Vicky Scott for your beautiful illustration!
••Please note that we are only selling our zines in a PDF format so to save on trees!!!••
As summer strides past it's middle... er yes, that's right, we've gone past midsummer and even though it hasn't felt all that summery... the great thing about this season is that it does throw us a few bountiful treats and if you're anything like me you'll be happy to hear that those treats can be foraged for free!
Yup, absolutely free though I do suggest that you check if anyone owns the land especially f it's not obviously public land, but everywhere I looked there were tons of elderflower trees and so I took myself up to the Walthamstow Village cemetery and began picking!
Walthamstow Village...ST Mary's Church cemetery. Great for Elderflower and blackberries too!
So this weekend get out there and get ready to make some cordial
which is an absolute summertime treat! Use it with soda water to create a
refreshing drink or drizzle onto ice cream, desserts or even in
cocktails. Yeah... that's pretty much why I made it... I do love a
cocktail and a white rum and elderflower cordial punch is something I'm
looking forward to drinking when it gets hot!!!
So here's a little recipe for you to try...
Elderflower Cordial...
prep time 40 minutes
steeping time 48 hours
ingredients:
1k /2 ¼ lbs sugar
1.5 litres / 6 cups boiling water
2 medium un-waxed lemons, washed
2 large limes, washed
30 large Elderflower heads, shake to remove any insects or dust
55g / 2 oz citric acid (available from a chemist or Wilkinson's in their home brew section)
Recipe:
Place the sugar into a large saucepan/stockpot or a large heat proof
bowl. Pour the boiling water over and stir until all the sugar has
dissolved. Leave to cool.
Grate the rind of the lemons and the limes with a fine grater, add to the sugar water.
Slice
the lemons and limes into thick slices and add to the water. Add the citric acid
and stir, then finally add the flower heads to the water and stir
again.Remove as much as the stalk as you can.
Cover with a clean cloth or lid and leave to steep for 48 hours.
Strain through clean fine muslin cloth into a clean bowl.We've used a colander with a jiffy cloth and strained it twice into a measuring jug to remove any bits.
Using a funnel, fill sterilised bottles (see note below). Seal and
store in a cool, dark place (not the refrigerator) for a few weeks or
freeze in plastic bottles to keep for longer (see note below).
Pick large heads which are in full bloom...
It's really easy to make and I for one am converted to making my own cordial now. In previous years I had thought it might be too complicated to make but as you can see from the recipe it's super easy. I'm planning on going to get some more so I can make some Elderflower Liqueur also there's another variant I want to try... I hear that if you add a couple of teaspoons of lavender flowers that it's even more yummy! Can't wait to try!!!
Doing the taste test!!! Mix with water to your own taste... we like it strong with plenty of rum though this one in the photo was just with cold spring water!
Once bottled keep your brew in a dark cool place preferably out of the fridge! We've added a brown paper label to help keep the light out...
Note:
To sterilise your bottles wash well with soapy water then dry in a medium/hot oven (gas mark 5 or 6) for about 10 minutes.
To
freeze your cordial either fill ice cube trays or if you're freezing it
in a bottle make sure to leave plenty of room as the liquid will expand
during freezing.
The best way to pick your elderflower
heads is to do it on a dry warm day as you want them to be at their
most fragrant. Also make sure they are away from any busy roads as the
elderflower tree will soak up all the nasty car fumes... yuck that's
something you really don't want to bottle and drink!
P.S. Please forage responsibly. Even though we love free stuff we're also aware that nature also needs these Elderflower to feed all the beasties who are dependent on it for food so please pick only what you need!
