Mollie Makes

Mollie Makes is a new magazine aimed at people who love "making, thrifting, collecting and crafting". These happen to be my favourite hobbies so this description was certainly enough to convince me to purchase the first issue.

Molllie Makes is an eclectic and aesthetically pleasing feast for the eyes; it perfectly blends vintage inspired crafts with elements of contemporary design culture. This magazine stands out alongside the shelves of other craft magazines currently available in the UK. Up to now the choice of craft magazines has been disappointing to say the least; most are old fashioned, uninspiring and to be frank a total waste of time and money. Some American craft magazines show potential but for a UK audience are always somewhat frustrating because of our differences in suppliers, fashions and terminology.

Mollie Makes brings together beautiful photography, tasteful graphic design with content that inspires, instructs and observes the handmade lifestyle in a relevant and 'down to earth' manner. The way that it mediates between a craft and lifestyle magazine stops it from becoming overtly prescriptive or predictable and stimulates creativity.

In the first edition I particularly liked the 'Happy Garlands' craft and a wonderful feature on how to have success as a seller on the online craft shop Etsy. The idea of showcasing someones 'workspace' on the back page is also a totally inspirational feature.

Overall i found Mollie Makes to be quirky, fun and fresh and it will certainly appeal to the current generation of women (and perhaps some men!) who find the 'make do and mend' culture quite irresistible!

High Chair - Spotty Fabric - Recycled & Recovered

I am a little bit picky about high chairs and was determined to find one for Martha which blended in well with the rest of our lounge and one that I would be happy to have up all the time. This wish at first seemed unlikely as most wooden highchairs are pretty expensive. So I decided to keep an eye out on ebay and gumtree and I did eventually spot a wooden high chair at a bargain price in Cambridge! The high chair is lovely but the removable cover was a bit grim so this afternoon i covered it in some gorgeous fabric from CallyCo (in Cambridge) and it is (in my opinion) transformed! The photo above shows Martha testing out the new chair cover and looking rather pleased! Perhaps the fabric isn't the most practical for the inevitable food spillages it will suffer but it is v.pretty and i can always put it in the washing machine!

Order of Service - Lace and Ribbon

 Order of Service - Weddings

Recently I have been busy making wedding stationary. I have almost finished making the Orders of Services pictured above. I have really enjoyed this project and hope to make lots more wedding stationary this year. See my website www.marthaandme.co.uk for inspiration!

Wedding dress photo - A pretty hanger idea

Bridal - Wedding dress hanger for those special photos.......

I have recently started doing coat hangers again. I have even had the opportunity to spread the coat hanger craft to people in Cambridge and last week organised a 'coat hanger session' at 'mums and baby' group i attend. This particular hanger is one i have made for a certain bride-to -be this summer! A pretty hanger for the wedding dress will really make those popular wedding dress 'hanging on the door' photos special.

Victoria's Birthday

For my sisters birthday I have made her a bracelet to match the outfit she is wearing to our brothers wedding this summer. I have chosen the beads from The Beaderie in Cambridge. The Beaderie have a fantastic selection of glass beads which they source from all over the world. The staff are particularly helpful and friendly and will order things in specifically for you. If you are in Cambridge I would definitely recommend a visit!

Easter Tree

This is inspired by an email my friend Erin sent me with an idea for decorating branches with paper leaves and flowers.

Cork board/ bulletin board project

?Quick and simple craft project to make a boring old cork board lovely and colourful! No sewing needed - just pin the fabric and ribbon straight on! Then add photos, letters and all that junk scattered about the house!

Homemade ribbon/tags style blanket

Martha sat in the Bumbo with her taggie blanket

My latest project has been making a little taggie blanket for Martha. It is made out of some cream scrap fleece and 'odds and ends' of ribbon which I found at the bottom of my sewing box. The ribbons are attached between two pieces of fleece making them really secure and chewable! She seems to really like it - so project success!

New website coming soon!

I have just purchased the domain: www.marthaandme.co.uk

This site will be used for selling my crafts and also for my latest venture; wedding stationary.

If you are interested in talking to me about wedding stationary and how I can design something unique for your special day either email emily@marthaandme.co.uk or phone 07719822044.

My prices are very competitive and I can tailor the design to match your style and colour scheme. I can also make personalised invitations/cards for other occasions.

buttons buttons buttons

I have just treated myself to this button shaped 2in1 punch/embosser by martha stewart. I really can't wait to use it!

Fun February

So far February has been rather fun in the craft department. The month began with an order for wedding invites which has inspired me to perhaps look into making cards/invites on a more professional basis. The gorgeous ribbon and lace are ordered for this set of invites and i'll begin making them soon.

Last weekend i did a craft fair at a cafe in Worthing; i really enjoyed it and will definitely go back to do some more. My top sellers were the heart pictures, earrings and cards,

Tuesday was the first meeting of craft club (spouses from ridley who love craft!). We met at our house and devised an amazing programme of craft!

I have been really inspired this month and this is my current list of things i want to make

- bunting for the craft room & birthday bunting

- finish rag rug

- another sock animal

-cards using my new stamps & cutter

Recycling broken china: mosaic tray

Sneak preview - Things for my stall at Green Cuisine craft fair

These are some of things I will be selling at my next craft fair (13th feb, Green Cuisine, Worthing)

Anything i don't sell (i assume that'll be quite a lot) will be listed on etsy/folksy/or similar craft website in the near future!

Wedding invites

Over Christmas my brother and Katie got engaged and are going to get married this August. On Sunday we had fun making 100 wedding invites the first of many wedding craft sessions i'm sure!

I haven't posted since November but i do have a good excuse for once!! I gave birth to Martha on 16th Nov and since then things have been hectic to say the least! We are getting into more of a routine and soon i am sure i will have a little more time for craft. To give myself a target i have signed up for a valentines themed craft fair at Green Cuisine in worthing on 13 Feb (10-4) Call in and say hello if you are in Worthimg!

Recycled coffee sack coffee warmer

I have been making things out of recycled coffee sacks for a while now but the idea of a cosy for a coffee caffetiere has only just sprung to mind. I have made these two designs with Christmas presents in mind.......The sacking fabric is stuffed with normal quilt wadding and sewn on a standard sewing machine. The warmer is tied to the caffetiere with a button and loop fastening. This can be adjusted to suit different sized coffee makers.

This weeks craft projects.....

Purses

Recently I have been making more purses to sell at a craft fair in the New Year - I really enjoy making them in different types of fabrics. The purse on the right is made from some lovely vintage hand-stitched linen which I found in a charity shop in Cambridge. The beautiful cross stitch design is really elegant and has a wonderful antique vibe.

If you would like to purchase a purse made in your choice of fabric/design then email me (cost £10 per purse made to order - your choice of buttons, threads and fabric).

Candle making

I have been saving odd pots/dieshes for ages with the intention of turning them into candles & I have finally got around to transforming them! I used white candle pellets (from craft

shop) which i melted on the hob and then I poured the melted wax into each container with the addition of a new wick. It is a good way to reuse old pots but as craftting goes the skill level and creativity needed is limited and I would soon get bored of this technique!

Traditional heart design apron

To make the template for this project i simply traced around an old apron; this gave me the shape and size I needed. I then hemed the edges and used ribbon for the ties. To make it more interesting i used bondaweb to attach the hessian and heart and then sewedit all in place. Overall a very easy and effective little project......