Lovely bloggers network Joe Blogs contacted me a while back and asked if I'd like to attend their craft event at @Bristol in Bristol (duh!). I leapt at the chance. It's not that often there are blogging events that close to me. Plus, a chance to craft without the kids crawling over me for a couple of hours- yes please!
The day itself actually worked out well for us as a family (something I do worry about with blogging events is them taking family time up) as we have @Bristol family membership so whilst I was getting my craft on, Pete took the boys around the delights @Bristol has to offer (we love it there and I have to say it's very worthwhile getting membership but that's a post for another day!).
The craft event itself was actually hosted with The Crafty Hen (who run craft workshops) and Laura Ashley. I'm not all that knowledgeable about Laura Ashley so I was excited to see what their fabrics would be like!
I wasn't entirely sure about what we would be crafting but when we arrived we were told that we would be making a cover for a notebook and some Suffolk Puffs. I didn't have a clue what on earth a Suffolk Puff would be (let's not make any crude jokes here!) so I just thought I'd focus on the notebook.
Covering a notebook is, in theory, relatively simple. But double sided sticky tape is a beehatch to work with, excuse my French. It took me a lot longer to get the job done. It's probably made harder by the fact I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I wanted my finished cover to look good! There were some beautiful fabrics to choose from (all from Laura Ashley's current collection) and some cute accessories like buttons and ribbons. We had access to needles, thread and a glue gun. We received a demo from the ladies of The Crafty Hen (who were great, very patient and helpful!) and had a handout with simple instructions on. In the end I quite liked my cover!
After a little lunch break (a chance to catch up with lovelies like Ella, Kath, Lucy and others we got back to the crafting. Now it was time for me to find out what on earth a Suffolk Puff would be! The answer is that they are circles of material on which you sew a running stitch around the edge - this is then pulled to create a scrunched up "puff" shape. Once you have created your puff you can use it in as many ways as you can think of. A rosette, a hair piece, a broach. Decorated with ribbons, buttons and net. I found myself really falling for these puffs because they are so simple and yet so effective. I can think of so many ways I could use them and I think that they'd make lovely presents. I ended up making three in different sizes and then creating a facinator which actually, I'm damn proud of!
It was a great afternoon. Thanks to all involved! My crafty juices have started flowing again!
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