Room for Improvement

I've been invited to take part in the Room for Improvement challenge by MoneySupermarket. They've chosen around 200 creative bloggers in the UK and given them £50 to improve a room in their house. MoneySupermarket's aim with the Room for Improvement project is to showcase how creative we are as a nation when working on a tight budget.

So last Friday my £50 arrived in my Paypal account and I set to work deciding which room to makeover and how to make the pennies stretch as far as possible. Since moving into our new house we've done quite a bit of decorating but the spare bedroom that I use as my craft room hasn't been touched. And the 1970s decor, whilst being bright and cheerful I guess, isn't to everyone's taste! Here's a picture of what the room looked like before:

I like... #7

I like... the deer who visit the field at the bottom of my garden.

One of the things I love about my new house is that we live on the edge of a village and look out onto farmland. It's wonderful not to be overlooked and to have such a green view. This is what I see when I look out of my craft room:

Folksy Five #18

I've been interviewing Folksy artists and makers again. This time there's a great variety of mediums used, from paper to driftwood. And there are even two male sellers, which seem to be a rare breed indeed! I hope you like these shops and will take a moment to browse their wonderful handmade products - just click on the shop banners to head over to Folksy and see more of their work.

I like... #6

I'm back from my hols in the rather wet and windy Northumberland. Had a great time though and it was lovely to have a proper break. And just look what I found in a fab second hand bookshop in Berwick...

This vintage atlas from 1942 was an absolute bargain at just £2! It's funny looking at all the old countries and seeing how much has changed. It's pretty tatty and some pages are falling out, which means that I don't feel quite so bad about cutting it up. Watch out for some new notebooks soon, giving this old tired atlas a new life and chance to be loved again!

Do you like reading craft related blogs? Looking for a few more bloggers to follow? Pop over to Handmade Monday and you'll find a great collection of blogs you might be interested in. 

I like... #5

This week I'm liking my corner punch.

I have a few craft punches. Probably not as many as most card makers. Just the basic heart, star, flower shapes. They all get used occasionally, but my x-cut corner punch stays permanently on my desk.

I'm not sure why, but things with rounded corners just look so much nicer. Square corners are very ordinary, and somehow rounded corners just give that extra special touch. I'm thinking I might even use it to round the corners of my new business cards. Perhaps not all 200 though, that could take a while!

~

Just a little note to say that my shop is now shut until Saturday 18 May as I am off on my holidays. I also won't be blogging as I'm taking a proper break, so you won't hear from me next week.

Interesting reads #5

Welcome to another monthly round up of interesting craft related articles and blogs I've been reading recently. As I come across posts that I think would be of interest to you lovely readers and followers I make sure I save them so that you can enjoy them too.

A simple guide to small business accounts

from Lil Vintage Makes

A free video training series on getting more people to read your blog

from Polly Dugdale over at Cukooky

Fresh flower honeycomb decor DIY

from Studio DIY

Make a fabric necklace

with this tutorial from Simply Homemade

Excellent advice on how to double your sales

from the Marketing Dodo

DIY for making upcycled paper beads

on the Daft Crafts blog

Folksy Friday: Store and organise

I'm sorting and tidying my craft room at the moment. It's taking a long time because I hate tidying. I'd much prefer to be making. I love things to be organised, I just wish someone else would do it for me!

So for this week's Folksy Friday I thought I'd look for some handmade storage solutions to help organise my craft stuff. If I could get to the point where I can see the desk, that would be a start! Links to these lovely handmade items are below.

Rustic wooden storage box by S.H.Cope

Fabric storage bucket by Astrid Weigel

Storage pot with cork lid by Julia Smith Ceramics

Mini fabric storage box by Hilly Handmade

Triple drawer box by Boxio

Peg board with hooks by Girl with Beads

Medium storage basket by The Crafty Little Cottage
Upcycled antique plane desk tidy by Mists of Time

I like... #4

I shouldn't go on the Fred Aldous website. It's just too tempting. But I needed some more red and white bakers twine, and I had monkey points to use. (Don't know what monkey points are? Think nectar points, only cooler). As I popped the twine in my basket I noticed this amazingly coloured stringy stuff.

It may have just found its way into my basket... The colours are so bright. I can't wait to make something with it.

If you're looking for excellent quality craft supplies, pop over to Fred Aldous and be prepared to lose a few hours (and pennies!).