Book Review: Kirstie Allsopp Craft

Now, let me start by saying Kirstie Allsopp was the woman I wanted to be when I grew up! (I'm almost 30... clearly I haven't grown up yet!) If you don't know who she is, she started on UK TV in a property show called Location, Location, Location and in the last few years, she had her own show called Kirstie's Homemade Home (I have the book that corresponds to this series too if you'd like a review?) Homemade Christmas and finally, Kirstie's handmade Britain which this book is the result of. 

This book, simple titled 'Craft' is a 224 page hardback split into 8 sections:

Needlecrafts
Textile Crafts
Paper crafts
Food Crafts
Garden Crafts
Flower Crafts
Gift Crafts
Contributors

There is a nice 4-5 page personal summery on each section which I enjoyed reading.

I think the cover alone hints at the content of this book. I'm not sure what happened but it's all gone a bit 1940s W.I. mixed with the 1970s. The thing I loved about Kirstie Allsopp when she started the homemade series and indeed with the first book, was that she reintroduced craft to people who did have a stereotypical 'it's frumpy' attitude towards it. It seems with this book it's gone full circle and become... well.. frumpy.

As i've mentioned, this book directly relates to the last series she made where she went around the country competing in craft shows. These did tend to be a little stuffy and twee and again, the book reflects that. I would say it's a very traditional look at crafting. Yes I would love to make some cute bunting for the summer. No I don't really want to cross stitch a tin of sardines. 

The tutorials throughout the book are well explained and easy to follow, it's just a shame that a lot of them, personally, i'm not keen on making. They range from simple and relatively inexpensive to make; a ribbon rose and the bird feeder I tried a few weeks back to more skilled and more expensive to make items such as a silver leaf pendant and a mosaic chair.

The recipes are very traditional, pickled plums anyone? But by far the worst has to be a recipe for 'party jelly' - Jelly with sweets on the top but a lot of faffing around with plums and gelatin to make the jelly yourself.

One thing I DO want to make is the elderflower cordial! Whoop! +1 

The layout and photography in 'craft' is lovely. There's a lot more text than photos but it does suit the overall style of the book.

It really has disappointed me to give this book such a bad review but, for me, it really is a bit too old fashioned. If you happen to be a Kirstie Allsopp fan then of course this is a nice book for your collection. 

Tutorials ★★★★★

Practicality ★★★★★

Design & photography ★★★★★
Overall ★★★★★


You can purchase this book HERE.

What craft books have you purchased that you love?

Lisa X

DIY Secret Hollow Book

You'll need:

Hardback book (This is one I got in Poundland but you can also pick one up in your local charity shop!)

Pen or pencil

Craft knife

White PVA glue

Paint brush

Ruler

1) In a small dish, mix 50% glue with 50% water, just enough so the glue is runny.

2) Open your book and select the page that you want to be the the first one that will be cut out, for instance, mine has a thicker plain black page so this is the one I'll select. This will be glued down and cut through once the rest of the book is complete.

Apply glue to the 3 edges of the book, apply enough to soak in well but not so much that it's oozing out all over the place!

3) Once the edges are glued, use something like some wooden kebab sticks to separate the first couple of pages from the rest of the book so they don't stick together.

4) Close the book and place a heavy item on top while the glue dries, roughly 15-30 minutes.

5) Once the book is dried, open to the first glued page and draw a 0.5 inch boarder around the edge.

6) Using your craft knife and ruler, cut along the inside lines.

7) After you've cut round the edges, the middle of the page will come away.

8) Keep repeating this process being as neat as you can until you reach the desired depth or the final pages of the book. As you can see, I got a little bit sloppy with mine because I was rushing!

9) Tap out and blow away and small pieces of paper and paper scraps from where you have been cutting. Using some more of your glue solution, coat the inside edges of the book and give the outside edges a second coat. Leave to dry for a couple of minutes and apply glue to the rim of your book and glue down the page you left at the beginning. This will be cut through later.

Close the book, and put a heavy object on the top and leave to dry for another 15-30 minutes.

10) Once dry, cut out the top page of your book as neatly as possible.

11) The inside of your book may still need a little longer to dry so leave it open for another 15 minutes.

12) Once the book is completely dry you can fill it with anything you want to secretly hide away!

Enjoy! 

Valentines Gift Ideas For Crafty Girls!

Tell him to forget the chocolates and hold the roses (OK... maybe not the roses... getting flowers is always a winner!) and drop some subtle hints, i.e. leave this page open where he can see it, for a craft inspired valentines gift!

1) Frankie Magazine Subscription 

2) Overdose iPhone Case by Bianca Green 

3) Goal & Wish Clipboard by Decoy Lab 

4) Spooled Earphone Cord Organiser by Fred 

5) Impossible Project Polaroid Camera Set 

6) Singer Talent 3321Sewing Machine 

7) The Button Factory

8) Martha Stewart Dual Temperature Glue Gun

The best wrapping paper EVER!

I should be asleep by now but i've randomly just come across this wrapping paper by Gift Couture on Kickstarter... I need some of this in my life! I know a certain person who'll be getting his birthday present wrapped in this stuff!

I so want a McDonalds now..... night folks! X

FYI: If you're in the US, Kickstarter is well worth checking out as its a funding platform for creative projects! I wish they would open a UK version of the site! 

Share the Love: Pugly Pixel

I'm sure you've seen me mention this website many times but for those of you who haven't, it's definitely worth a post all of its own! This has to be one of my most visited sites, so of course it's time to share the love!

I am a complete blog design novice. I've always admired and been inspired by other peoples design skills and wished I could replicate them myself. Pugly Pixel is run by Katrina, a self confessed blog design enthusiast and the perfect place to learn some new design skills of your own!

Pugly Pixel offers a couple of beautiful, customizable blog layouts. Free. Amazing.

Along with the free blog layouts, Katrina has even put together amazing video tutorials on how to use and customize them! This sort of knowledge is invaluable and so generous for someone to provide. There is lots of tutorials on her YouTube puglypixeltv so I highly recommend you subscribe!

Pugly Pixel is also regularly updated with fantastic photoshop tutorials. Beautifully put together, well explained and again, such a lovely thing to be able to learn to do yourself. I'm learning to do things I never thought possible thanks to these tutorials.

The freebie section is utterly amazing, a bloggers treasure trove of goodies such as photo layouts, clip art and blog bling! 

As if the freebies weren't enough, there is also an 'Extras' section where for a mere $5 (Around £2.50) for 30 days, you can have access to a whole host of other goodies like photoshop brushes and pre made blog goods to download. I purchased this feature and I can honestly say I wasn't disappointed! I use one of the pre made photo layouts I got from here and I still have so many more bits and pieces to use as I indulge more in photoshop! 

I could spend all day raving about Pugly Pixel but, there is so much to discover, i'm going to leave you to explore for yourself!

You can also join Pugly Pixel on Facebook and Tumblr 

Enjoy!

Lisa X

Book Review: Everything Alice

I'd wanted this book for a while, so was really pleased to find it under the tree at Christmas! I've never been a huge Alice in Wonderland fan but something about this book captured my imagination. If you are already an Alice fan, this book is a must for your crafting collection!

Created by two crafters Hannah Read-Baldrey & Christine Leech, Everything Alice is a 143 pages long with 50 Wonderland inspired makes. Throughout the book, you really can feel their genuine love of Everything Alice and read some of the story behind the creation of the book. I really enjoyed this personal element.

At the start of the book, there is a page titled 'Craft Kit' but it doesn't included everything you'd need to make all of the items in this book but does 'suggest' what we should all have in out kits. (Mosaic grout isn't something I would have on hand!)

I think it's fair to say that these tutorials are more advanced and require a fair bit of preparation before you make them to make sure you have all the right supplies. If you are confident enough to try them out, they would make lovely and special gifts for someone. They may require a little bit more skill to make but the results would be well worth it. Tutorials have mainly text based instructions which I find can sometimes be harder to follow.

The book is also dotted party game ideas and  few simpler and quirky ideas for an Alice inspired tea party. I absolutely love the idea of these drink me cordials and I think they would go down a treat with children! I'd love to rock up to a party and see these on the table as much as a kid would!

I also love these teacup candles, definitely going to have to get myself down the charity shops to pick up some old china! These are being made for sure!

Another example of how some skill would be required for the crafts in this book are these amazing cookies! I would love to receive a box of these as a gift but i'm not sure mine would end up looking like this!

Sewing features quite a lot in this book so a sewing machine is a must. I love these aprons, maybe when i'm a more confident sewer I will try one! If you were going to a fancy dress party, there is lots of great ideas in this book to make your costume stand out! 

Overall, I am very happy to have this book in my collection and I thoroughly enjoy flicking through its pages. 

Tutorials ★★★★★

Practicality ★★★★★

Design & photography ★★★★★
Overall ★★★★★

You can purchase this book HERE.

PS. Me and Sean went as Alice in Wonderland & The Mad Hatter to a fancy dress party last year! Maybe this started my love of Alice?! Haha!

Welcome to my dream home...

Through the wonders of Pinterest, just because its fun, let me welcome you to my dream home! 

http://pinterest.com/thegluegungirl/dream-home/

If you have a dream home board I would love to see, so drop me a link in the comments! 

Also, if you want an invite to join Pinterest, just drop me an email and i'll happily send one your way! I need to share and feed my addiction with as many people as I can! 

Bake. Shop. Sleep.

I've been MIA for a couple of days because...

It was my cousins birthday, so I baked her a cake and popped round for a mini celebration!

I also baked some sugar free, diabetic friendly, chocolate & walnut brownies for a friend. I had to test it out first of course! Turned out really well! If anyone want's the recipe let me know!

The mothership has also been on a weeks holiday from work, so we've been spending some quality time together doing what we do best... shop! This was my attempt at not spending any money. I. Suck.

In my defense, these 3 were in the House of Fraser sale. My suede jacket was a bargain, reduced to £50 from £200! Mum treated me to that!  

Another pair of skinny jeans, this time from Zara. I like them tight at the ankle so this pair seemed perfect!

I've also been studding again! I've had this jacket from Mango for about 10 years! (Hoarder alert!) but I still like it so I thought i'd jazz it up a bit!

And finally it's 5.55pm and so bloody dark, all I want to do is get in bed and watch the Celebrity Big Brother eviction and the latest episode of Vampire Diaries! Zzzz...

Normal blogging to resume from this moment on! Hope you have all had a good week?

Lisa X