Time for a little throwback! I've been so busy the last few months that I never got around to posting about this Christmas wreath making workshop I ran. This was part of the Hobbycraft 12 makes of Christmas workshops, which allowed customers to have a go at a range of Christmas crafts during the lead up to the holidays.

Having made many wreaths in the past I was asked to run the Christmas wreath making workshop back in November and I have to say it was brilliant and a lot of fun!

These workshops include all sorts from advent making, fillable decorations, Christmas eve boxes, cracker making and many more. Hobbycraft have run these Christmas workshops for a few years now and are well worth checking out. This particular workshop cost £15, which I have to say was an absolute bargain when you take into account the number of materials they each used to build up their wreaths.



The table was filled with a whole range of floral picks, pine cones, dried oranges, floristry wire and much more.

After running through the basics of wreath making I let the groups loose to create their own wreaths in whatever way they liked.

It was so interesting to see what the favourite themes were. Many seemed to love creating a neutral modern frosty winter wonderland look.  But the traditional red was also a big favourite.




Both groups absolutely loved the workshop and were thrilled with what they had created. I think they were all a little surprised at how easy it is to make something so stunning that can be used year after year. I have to say I too felt rather inspired by what they had all created afterwards!

The photos you see here are only a small sample, in total 20 wreaths were made! 

I'm a little late posting this! I've had a crazy couple of months and so have been somewhat neglectful of my blog. Oops! I had to share these with you though as they came out brilliantly.


I actually ran a workshop making these just before Halloween and it went down so well! The great thing about these designs is that you only need one cutter, and that's the fmm mix n' match face cutter. This clever cutter enables you to be able to cut 100s of different toppers, ideal! You can buy them in many places including - Amazon, Lakeland and Hobbycraft from round £5.50.


To make these cakes I used the ultimate chocolate cupcake recipe, piped with orange coloured buttercream. I used a Dr Oetker gel to colour the icing, which worked fine but wasn't as good as some of the other colour gels I've used before. It's not as concentrated so I found I had to use a fair amount to get the desired colour.  For the toppers I used:

• White, Orange, Red Green and Black Renshaw Ready Roll Icing 
• Wilton Candy eyes
• Orange and Black food pens 
• Edible glue (and a small brush)

A good tip is to use a rolling pin that has guide rings at either end, this means you can get all of the icing the same thickness. And remember to put a little icing sugar down to stop the icing sticking to your work surface!

Also, Ready Roll Icing has a long shelf life so any leftovers can be stored in airtight containers to be used for future projects.

And that's it! These were so much fun to make and great to make with kids as well.

My second workshop at Hobbycraft Plymouth took place a couple of weeks ago, and this time I showed the class how to make cute and practical zipper pouches. I love these pouches, they are great beginner projects, as they teach new skills but are also quick to sew up.

Once you've mastered the basic construction the possibilities to customise them are endless! To making patchwork versions, quilted, using waterproof linings or block fabrics. They are perfect for trying new techniques without using too much fabric and ultimately building confidence.

Each pupil in the class had a little instruction booklet so they could all follow along at their own pace and take away after the workshop. 



Zips can be a little daunting for beginners, but they are simple when you take it one step at a time. And there's the added option of adding tabs at each end like you see on the pouch below.  



For this workshop, I pre-cut the pieces and made little kits for the pupils to choose from. If there's anything I've learned from sewing it's that the tracing and cutting is the most time-consuming part!

This meant everyone who attended was able to get straight into sewing, take their time and most importantly enjoy sewing it all together.


And here are the finished pouches! Three people attended including one guy which was lovely to see. They all did so well and the final pouches all looked great. The look of achievement when it all comes together never gets old! 

I had some rather exciting news back in July! I had been chosen to be a Hobbycraft Artisan. It's part of a whole new program which I can't go into just yet, but part of it means that I'll be running craft workshops in stores.

Although I plan to teach a whole range of crafts, primarily I'll be teaching sewing. There are so many people out there who buy sewing machines and end up being too frightened to get them out of the box, which is such a shame!

I've always been a believer in starting basic and building up skills. So I decided the first workshop I would run would be How to Sew Bunting.


So I set the date of 18th August, opened up for bookings and was so happy to see the amount of interest. I've helped countless people set up their new sewing machines over the last 5 years and couldn't wait to start making actual projects.

I want to make it as easy for people as possible. I know from experience how frustrating it is walking away from a workshop and forgetting half of what was said! So I have made a little step by step instruction booklet and templates for people to take away for each of my workshops.


I had a group of six people and it was lovely to see everyone getting stuck in! The fabrics and colour combinations people chose were beautiful.  I always love seeing the choices people make as it's all inspiration for future projects.

And perhaps best of all three young girls attended and it's great to see youngsters getting crafty and learning new skills.




After two hours we had four lots of bunting all sewn up. Everyone loved it and I can't wait for the next workshops!