How to Be a Thrifty Crafter, Part 1

If you're reading this, it's probably a fair bet that you're quite a crafty person. And crafty people often own all sorts of materials relevant to their creative interests, whether it be art supplies, wool and knitting needles, sewing patterns, paper or well - you name it. 

If you're like me, you also seem to gather crafting materials wherever you go. You never come out of Hobbycraft with just that glue you went in for. You often find yourself scrolling through the listings on eBay, drooling over pretty ribbons, stamps and novelty cookie cutters. And let's face it, few of us would like to tot up exactly how much we spend on craft materials over the course of the year. 

This crafting thing we do can get pretty expensive. Many retailers charge an absolute fortune for items too, leaving us feeling that if we want to finish a project to the high standards we set for ourselves, we need to spend cash.

One of my favourite ways to keep my art and craft supplies well stocked and ready for anything my imagination can throw at them is to buy from the kiddies' section of art shops. Glue, acrylic paint, brushes, paper, card and clay are all so much cheaper than in the 'grown up' sections. 

To be creative means to use your imagination to make something original. I firmly believe that your imagination is the only craft material you ever really need to make a craft project you can be proud of. Anything else is an added bonus. So I use my imagination to look at typical kids' craft supplies in a different way. Pom poms, dolly pegs, clay, balloons for papier mache, glitter, foam, googly eyes and felt can all be used to make some really professional-looking projects... and at a fraction of the cost.

Shops such as The Works, Wilkinsons, Hobbycraft and Homecrafts have great kids' art sections where you can not only pick up bargains, but bright, colourful art and craft treasures that will get you excited too, after all, they're meant to inspire imaginative play in children, so why not us! Just yesterday I picked up some stickers, glitter, a new paint mixing tray, some white acrylic paint and some card from Wilkinsons and The Works and the whole lot came to £4. Now I can play and experiment to my heart's content and not worry about wasting precious materials. 

You'll often find exactly the same product as in the more sophisticated arts section, but in different packaging. I get through a fair few paintbrushes, so I now only have a couple of expensive fine ones, and the rest of the time I buy cheaper multipacks I can use without feeling precious about them. 

Lastly, I often turn to shops such as those above for crafting related supplies such as disposable gloves, picture hanging wire, tester paint pots (brilliant - grab yourself a few!), sponges (Poundland), tin foil, wallpaper samples (those are free!) and items such as cheap lunchboxes for storing tiny beads and jewellery findings. By looking outside of the typical crafter's shopping haunts for your materials you can save a lot of money and find new ways to use interesting materials in future projects, too.

Join me on Monday when I'll be sharing a post on finding crafting supplies even closer to home... for free!

Do you shop for art and craft supplies in the kiddies' section? If you have any shop recommendations please share them below!

Have a brightly coloured, messy Friday,

Latest Smash Book Page: A Tea Party

P.S: I realised last night that I have now been blogging a year! Talk about an eleventh hour realisation there. Thank you to all readers, followers, penpals, fellow bloggers, retweeters and commenters for all of your support over the past year, it's been an amazing journey so far, and I have learned so much about myself, creativity and the world of blogging. Long may it continue! x

Gingerbread Cake

Here's a philosophical question for your Tuesday: 'What is Gingerbread?' Mention gingerbread to me and an image of a gingerbread man in his gingerbread house springs to mind. Said gingerbread man running away as fast as he can, being pursued by all manner of hungry beings. 

But gingerbread can also be... well, cake! Do you have a different name for this? I call both versions gingerbread, and think they are equally Christmassy. There's just something so festive about the flavour of ginger. 

The following recipe works particularly well if frozen - perfect if you want to get ahead on your festive baking, or just like to have something tasty in store in case your great aunt Agatha should drop round for tea. Or Christmas, in which case, you have my full sympathy. 

You will need:

4 oz butter

2 oz sugar

2 tbsp golden syrup

2 eggs, beaten

8 oz self raising flour

2 -3 level tsp ground ginger

Heat the oven to 160C. Grease a loaf tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Cream together the butter, sugar and syrup, then gradually beat in the eggs.

Sift together the flour and ginger, then fold into the creamed mixture. Pour into the tin and bake in the oven for 1 1/4 hours, until golden and springy to the touch.

If you want to take the festive spirit further you could add icing to the top of your cake and decorate with pieces of crystalised ginger. 

It seems that my work colleagues' diets have slipped somewhat now we're on the home straight to Christmas, and I've finally been given permission to take in baked produce (but only on a Thursday when two determined colleagues aren't in!) so I have no doubt I'll be knocking up a batch of gingerbread to take them instead of Christmas cards this year. I love taking a naughty slice with me in my lunchbox!






PS: I'd just like to say a whopping thank you for all your lovely comments, tweets, Facebook likes and emails since I opened my Etsy shop last Thursday. The encouragement, feedback, sharing and support has been fantastic, and made me even more excited about this new project. Thank you! x

Exciting News! Miss Beatrix Opens an Etsy Shop

I am pleased to announce that I have opened an Etsy shop! I have spent many hours making and painting my own buttons and am now able to present them to you.

The buttons are available in three different sizes, and while only a few are in the shop at the moment I have a whole notebook full of more designs in the pipeline, so you can expect more arrivals over the next few days.

I am also able to take custom orders, so if you have an idea for an image you'd like to see on a button just drop me a line - there's no extra charge!

Each button is individually made by hand and then painted - so each and every one is different, quirky and unique.

As a little celebration tonight's Creatives Unite will be a two hour special - a sort of Twitter party if you will - from 8-10pm. There will be virtual tea and cake aplenty, as well as a button giveaway.

Hope you can make it,







PS: Hope you liked Bea hosting in my place this week - she certainly enjoyed the biscuity fruits of her labours! x

Beatrix's Special Dog Biscuit Recipe

Hello! It's me, Beatrix again, hosting while Anna's busy this week.

Today I'd like to share with you my recipe for homemade dog biscuits. Money's going to be tight for lots of humans this Christmas, and more than ever are making their own presents. We furry friends like presents too, but they don't have to be expensive, because to be honest, I don't have a clue how that money lark of yours works. This recipe is made from things you'll already have in your kitchen. Humans can eat them too, so it's very important that you keep them in a special tin with 'Mine. Paws Off. Grrrrr!' written on it. Got it? Then we shall begin.

You will need:

• A handful of chopped parsley
• 1 large carrot, finely chopped (and a little extra if you have a guinea pig knocking around the place like we do. He gets grumpy if we don't share)
• A sprinkling of parmesan cheese (or a lot if I get my own way)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 8 oz wholewheat flour
• 1 tablespoon oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Water, to mix

1. Preheat your oven to 180C and grease a baking tray.

2. Mix together the parsley, carrots, cheese and oil.

3. Mix together your flour, oats and baking powder.

4. Combine the two lots of ingredients and add enough water to make a moist - not wet - dough.

5. Knead for one minute, then roll out.

The ability to be kneady is essential to the success of this recipe

6. Choose a snazzy cutter - I opted for stars (Anna says I am one) and hearts. Cut out your biscuit shapes and pop on the baking tray and in the oven for 20 - 30 minutes until brown.

7. (And this is the hard bit:) don't let your dog have a sample until they are completely cool. (Mean).

You can add or substitute ingredients to make any dog-friendly flavour you wish. Anna sometimes uses apple instead of parsley, and sometimes adds bacon, cooked chicken, chopped egg or ham. Mmmm... ham...

Before I go, Anna says I have to tell you that you're invited to take part in a two hour special of Creatives Unite tomorrow evening, 8-10pm on Twitter, to celebrate the opening of her Etsy shop. I don't know what an Etsy shop is, but she seems excited about it. I'm hoping it's edible.

Shake a paw to you for reading,

Love Bea. x

A Guest Post by Beatrix

Hello! Beatrix here. Anna is rushed off her feet this week (easily done as she only has two), as she's opening an Etsy shop on Thursday as well as going to work (which pays for my food) so I thought that seeing as this blog is named after me and everything, I'd volunteer to hold the fort here today while she gets on with it.

I know you're dying to know what I've been up to over the weekend, so I'll tell you.

Anna has been making doggie bandannas from vintage fabric, and here I am trying one on. 

I went on a lovely Autumn walk. There were lots of interesting smells and I snuffled and rolled around in the leaves. This is only my second Autumn and I can't really remember the last one, so it's very exciting for me. 

I wore my hand-knitted jumper, as it was quite chilly. As you can see from this picture I am on a lead, which I often wear on walks to stop Anna getting lost. She often wanders off so it's my job to look after her. 

While on this walk we met this. I think it's some sort of water-bound dog, but can't be sure. Apparently his name is Thomas, and he and his wife make a nest on this canal every year. 

I know some of you like vintage, so here's a photo Anna showed me of her great great Grandpa Salter from 1933, and his prize-winning dog, Kiss. I've got a kiss on the end of my name, but I think this is our only similarity. I like sitting on benches too, because then I can see the world as humans do. Apparently this dog won so many prizes that all the trophies were melted down and made into a silver tea service, which Anna's grandmother still has on display today. I won 'cutest pup' at a dog show last year for sitting nicely and making my ears look extra specially big. 

After all that I was worn out, so settled down for a good old snooze...

...Well, until Anna rudely woke me up...

I'll be back on Wednesday with my special recipe for dog biscuits - perfect if you're making all your Christmas presents like Anna is this year. Because we all know which present is the most important, don't we?

Love,

Bea. x

My Book Collection

Back in early October blogging friend Miss Imogen Smith started a new tag, inviting her readers to share what's on their bookshelves. I've finally got round to showing you mine! Brace yourselves and please excuse some of the photos being slighty fuzzy - I've been having a few camera problems this week and this one wasn't my usual.

I think my book collection is getting near the six hundred mark now. Like many book collectors I didn't actually set out to collect them at all; I just love reading. As a child I owned only a few much-loved books, but used to borrow and devour six books from my local library each week. When I moved to Sheffield aged nine and joined a new library I couldn't believe I was only allowed to borrow three, and had to get more on my mum's ticket!

My book collection only started to really grow when I won a writing competition at the age of sixteen. Part of the prize was a £100 Waterstones voucher. That, followed by a growing fascination with literature gained while studying for a degree in English... and well, the collection just kept on growing...

Reading and writing have always been my 'things'. I love stories of all shapes and sizes and think this is reflected in the variety of genres I own. Everything from historical fiction to classics to children's books live on my shelves. 

I'm not fussy about collecting certain editions, though the nicest editions I own have been birthday and Christmas gifts. I buy from second hand bookshops, Amazon, The Book People, charity shops, car boot sales and independent bookshops. Some books have been passed onto me by relatives.

I own a lot of fiction, but this is interspersed with non-fiction on all sorts of subjects, from social history to crafts, business to poetry. Although I hate the desperate term 'self-help books' I do own several and have always found them inspiring, especially because they allow me to look at life's problems and possible solutions from a different perspective. The only genre I own very little of is biographies - I'm not sure why but I'm irritated by the way celebrities start to churn them out around Christmas time!

As Anthony Powell said, 'books do a furnish a room' and I love how cosy mine make my living space look. I have two large bookcases - one in my sitting room and one in my office. They don't match, and I have plans to back at least one of them with vintage wallpaper at some stage. 

These days my books have to live more or less in alphabetical order otherwise they'd be a mess. It's funny though, that even if I'm looking for a book and can't remember the author I can usually put my hand on it without thinking, which just shows how the colours and shapes of a book collection can settle in the subconscious so I know it better than I think. I don't think I've ever been in a bookshop and been unable to remember whether I already have a title - each book I own is treasured.

People tend to assume that I never get rid of a book, and though it's true that there are plenty of books I would like to keep forever, if I read a book and don't think I'll read it again I have no qualms about moving it on to a grateful new owner. I think books are for sharing and enjoying. 

That said, I hope I've built a book collection that future generations of my family will love to explore, that I might inspire a young reader one day... and what a gift to pass on books are!

(And yes, they are hoovered regularly. It's a mammoth job each time!)

If you fancy taking part in the book tag please send a link to Imogen and me, and I hope you've enjoyed noseying around my collection.

Have a bookish Friday,