Amanartis... if you haven't heard about it yet then you are missing a trick!

We are so excited about our friend Amma's new venture! She's one formidable chica and even though she's just become a mum and is a fabulous working designer maker she still found time -and the energy- to kick start an amazing new project in Watford.
So if you'd like to know more about Amma Gyan and Amanartis read on as she explains to us the idea behind the project...

How did it all come about?
Like most ideas it came from the need to find space myself. I'd been working in a studio that was owned by JJB however when they closed we all had to move out. So back to the home studio I went. However since moving to Watford I had made it my goal to get to know the creative scene and find out what was happening. This led me to becoming friends with the local arts development officer, who in trying to solve my studio issue introduced to me the building. It's grade II listed so has lots and character but it wasn't right for me with no lift access and I have a very small baby. So I thought about for a while and decided that although it wasn't right for me it had to be right for someone else and surely I wasn't the only person in the same situation. So there it happened I decided if i can't find a studio space in Watford, I'll start one up.

The stunning Amanartis premises...

We love people who D.I.Y. their own opportunities! So what's the aim behind the project?
To provide creatives with a base to work from where their business can grow by networking, exhibiting and collaborating with other artists and designers.
Provide business support and mentoring for creative start ups. Offer guidance for design graduates on turning their craft into a business.
Supporting local artists in providing them with a venue to exhibit and sell their work.
Provide work experience for students who wish to gain experience in the creative sector.
Establish a creative destination for design and craft lovers to come and purchase beautiful, unique, quality items.
To offer designer makers from all over the country a reputable venue in which to raise their profile and gain recognition for making and selling quality goods.
To provide a launch pad for design graduates to exhibit and sell their work.
To grow a loyal and discerning customer base.
To offer benefits to our members from associated partners.

A well appointed board room for conducting meeting...

One of the work space which will be available...

I hear you're planning a design fair too?
Launching in October 2013 is a new exciting event for hand made lovers in Herts.
Amanartis design fair will host 20 of some of the best design led makers in the country hosted in the beautiful grade II listed school hall.
Each designer will be chosen for their creativity, ingenuity and style broadening the concept of hand made and crafts.
The aim of the event is to not only showcase and sell beautiful unique items to the public but also to act as a place for designer makers to network and grow their business. If you think this is the venue for you then... please contact us for an application form!

Wow, that sounds amazing! Any last bit of advice for any budding creatives who want to make their hand made business a success?
I feel it's important to take yourself seriously, don't be shy, say your amazing, you may not believe but after a while you will because you are.
I'm still making bags and jewellery so I'm extremely busy especially as I'm also preparing for Hertfordshire Arts Open Studio in Sept.

A fully equipped modern kitchen...

...and a light, modern studio space!

Amma Gyan is the creative director behind Wear Me a hand made Leather goods company specialising in jewellery and quality hand made leather bags! We're so proud of our Amma and we wish her lots of luck... though I have a feeling she won't need it as she's one smart little cookie!

For further info please contact Amma via the Amanartis Face Book page:
www.facebook.com/Amanartis.studios
or via email: ammagyan@wear-me.co.uk

 

D.I.Y. Beauty... get ready for summer!

Living on a shoestring budget shouldn't mean that you need to go without a bit of pampering. Spas are wonderful but a bit too pricey for me at the moment as are expensive shop bought treatments but I'm in need of some TLC!
Many people think that more expensive means better... maybe so in some cases but not necessarily true when it comes to buying beauty and grooming products.
For a long time I've made my own face creams and other concoctions like hair rinses, hair masks, bath oils and so on mainly not out of necessity but because I wanted products which were purer and without additives or harsh chemicals.
And after this long hard winter we've just had my face is in dire need of attention!

Feeding your skin can be easily done with something as simple as mashing avocado, honey and essential oil together which makes a refreshing face mask or for tired hair rinsing your mane with a bottle of stout is a magical treat!
By rinsing your hair with stout in addition to adding B vitamins, the proteins found in malt and hops are said to repair damaged hair and boost the overall body of your neglected locks. Also the maltose and sucrose sugars in beer tighten the hair's cuticles so expect an enhanced shine like that of the wig of a Hollywood superstar... It's true!

Scrambling around in the Craft Guerrilla cupboards we found everything we needed and I'm sure you'll have some of this stuff in your homes too... Maybe not the green clay but I implore you that if you haven't some already to invest in it...it's a really good staple for so many treatments!

And because we love making our own so much here's the recipe for our latest home beauty fave... detoxing face mask! In the words of Mrs. Doyle "Go on, go on, go on" Give it a try!

Cupboard love! Inexpensive ingredients that you might have in your home...

A very important note: Because the clay draws out any impurities your face may go red and blotchy - mine did- so if you're planning a big date, job interview etc... do this at least 4 hours before your big meeting or preferably the day before!

Ingredients:
1 large heaped table spoon of fine green clay
Essential oil, you can use one suitable for your skin:
normal 1 to 3 drops of Lavender essential oil
greasy 1 to 3 drops of lemon or grapefruit essential oil
dry 1 to 3 drops of Mallow Leaf or Sandalwood essential oil
1/2 tsp of honey
1/2 tsp rose water
Pulp or gel of a freshly cut Aloe Vera leaf - if you have any available, we have a monster of a plant!- or a tea spoon of olive oil
distilled water

(NOTE: this will make a large amount so if you want to keep it for a week or so add one teaspoon of citric acid, a drop or two of vitamin E and store in the fridge... better still share with a girlfriend or a family member!)


Utensils you'll need:
1 wooden or plastic spoon (metal reacts with the clay therefore diluting the potency of the clay)
1 ceramic or plastic bowl
1 large soft bristled brush
1 soft brush to buff the skin prior to treatment

Here's how...
Mix all the ingredients together to form a silky and smooth paste which should resemble cake batter. Add the water a little at a time as you don't want it too runny.

*Extracting the Aloe Vera gel can be done by scrapping the inside of the tender leaf... it does resemble snot but it is absolutely amazing stuff!
Plus you can keep any unused leaves in the fridge as long as the cut part of the steam is covered with a paper towel or cling film. If you don't have an Aloe Vera plant you can use as stated previously olive oil instead!

Fresh Aloe Vera Gel extracted from leaves of a mature plant! Ours came from Spain as a little bub. It's now 18 years old and growing!

Scrape out the "gel" with a sharp knife...

Before you start treatment...
Massage your face with a soft brush (a baby's hair brush is awesome but a tooth brush you keep solely for your skin can be just as good) this will wake up your cells and get your system ready to receive the healing face mask!
Now you're ready to start the fun part...

This is the consistency you're aiming for...almost like melted chocolate or cake batter!

Apply enough clay to your face- paint it on generously- but avoid the eye and lip area. You should have an even coverage but don't be tempted to layer it on too thick!

Paint it on!

Leave to dry completely for about 10 to 15 minutes and wash off with warm water and pat dry. Make sure to not get any in your eyes...

Try not to speak or laugh... the lesser cracks the better!

Once completely clean and dry apply a light face cream or massage a bit of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil onto your newly invigorated skin! Also if your skin is a bit red you can apply some Aloe Vera gel which will calm down the redness.

For an extra bit of love get those cucumber slices on your eyes, sit back, relax and enjoy!

P.S.
My skin went super red -as you can see- but it was clear and glowing plus the redness went down pretty quickly... it had been a while since the last time I did a face mask so my skin was in terrible need of a "deep cleansing".
Your face shouldn't go red because of the clay but it's usually down to the toxins and/or can be hormonal.
It has been known that even people with normally "great" or "flawless" skin get breakouts after green clay face masks so don't fret... it's nothing bad or permanent it's just your skin getting rid of any horrible nasties from your body!

Bake it yourself!

I'm not one to shy away from cake... not even in the summer! I know that it's one of those comfort foods that people usually enjoy in the cooler weather with a cup of tea or even coffee... but you really do not need to twist my arm!
It's true that cake does taste better when it's not so hot, well I think so, but on the other hand I've never let the weather stop me from eating a slice (or two) however actually baking it is another story.

Pardon the pun but it's baking hot and turning on the oven in such ghastly heat isn't really something I look forward to but with this recipe the oven isn't on for too long. Phew!
For a truly quick summer bake I've gone for soft, gooey, chocolate rich brownies, the perfect accompaniment to our previous recipe for chocolate ice cream!

The magic with brownies is that the whole process is super quick - actually they taste better a little bit undercooked- and the ingredients are super quick to measure up, put together and slap in a tray! That's pretty much it and as long as you are organised -yes having ingredients at hand does help- and you follow this recipe then you'll be in and out of the kitchen in about 10 minutes.

I say whip it, whip it real good! Thank you Devo... but yes a good old MIX will do!

Pour into a pre lined baking tray...

Yummy dark and rich and ready to be baked!

After 30 minutes... hey presto! Cooled and ready to cut...

Dense, moist and very rich! I would remove them a bit earlier next time...

Because we love to post "healthier" versions too we're baking a gluten free version... and because I accidentally ordered a huge bag of fine corn meal (slightly coarser then corn flour) in my weekly shop I've been looking forward to trying some recipes which use alternatives to wheat flour.  So a great treat for wheat intolerant greedy guts (like me) and/or suitable for ceolics as it's gluten free!
I've gone for a straight up neat brownie mix but you can definitely experimenting with additional ingredients like dried cherries, almonds, pistachios and any other stuff you like. For example I quite like adding fresh blueberries and chopped Brazil and Hazel nuts for a cake version of a Fruit & Nut bar!

So here's what you need:

• 80 grams of softened unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup fine corn meal
• 1/4 almond flour/almond meal meal
• 1/4 cup baking cocoa
• half a teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• half teaspoon salt
• 200 grams of dark chocolate (either in chips or broken in smaller chunks)
• 1/2 cup sugar (I used half caster, half brown sugar for a deeper caramel taste)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to gas mark 6.  Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a bowl sift together the corn meal, the almond flour, cocoa, cinnamon if using, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a microwavable bowl combine butter and the chocolate chunks.
4. Melt in microwave stirring every 30 seconds until melted and mix well. You should have a smooth, thick mixture. Leave to cool slightly.
5. Beat the eggs. 
6. Stir in the sugar, vanilla, and beaten eggs into the melted chocolate mixture.
7. Add the corn meal & cocoa mix into the melted chocolate mixture and stir until well combined.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let cool completely. *You can refrigerate before actually cutting them as they'll be much neater though you can remove from the tin and leave to cool slightly and cut while still warm.

Happy baking!!!

A few of my favourite things...

I love the work of the artist Livia Marin... a brilliant Chilean artist who works predominantly with ceramics. Having stumbled on her work through a friend's Face Book post -see Face Book is not all that bad!- I went on to explore more of this artist's work.

Her beautiful fluid ceramics are something which I truly admire and as a ceramicist this is so what I would like to make: great, innovative, modern, thoughtful and meaningful art!
Actually my final year piece was based on the blue and white willow pattern so her beautifully reworked offerings are something which I find very pleasing to the eye as well as to the heart!

She also works with other material like resins and rubber though the ceramic based works are the ones which stand out for me... never the less the rest of her work is worth a look at!
This also opened up the whole debate of what is art and what is craft...why is one considered more intellectually valuable then the other, where do the lines blur, when did the term "artisan" lose it's value and how can we put back the ART in ARTisan? That is a debate we should have one day but maybe in a pub or a café where we can talk face to face rather then solely muse and philosophy about it on a blog. But yes it opens up all sorts of questions and please feel free to comment below and leave your thoughts!

So if you also share my love for all things hand made, especially the turned earth sort of stuff, then have a look at Livia's web page... www.liviamarin.com

Craftydermy!

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

Sewing World!

I received my first copy of the new look Sewing Magazine this 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!

Zips are sew scary...

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!

Thank you Gertie for a brilliant tutorial and you can find it here: http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/08/make-this-skirt-part-two-of-gathered.html 

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!