Win £25 To Spend At Sew Essential

http://www.crafternoonteahostess.co.uk/sew-essential-giveaway.html

 

I'm delighted to post about the fantastic Sew Essential Giveway I'm running on the blog this month.

After visiting the online store and meeting the team in prep for the #sewessentialmeet,  I'm giving you the chance to win your very own selection of goodies from the online store up to £25!

                                                         ENTER HERE !

If you are like me and love to make with fabrics, threads and yarns you need to enter! The giveaway is open to the end of March 2016.

Sew Essential stock a huge choice of haberdashery, sewing patterns, fabrics and crafts from trusted brands such as Gutermann threads, Brother sewing machines and Fiskars scissors.

I've put together my wish list of vintage style craft patterns and embroidery essential's for forthcoming Spring projects. This is my selection and yes you can get all this for under £25...

M6977 McCall's Bow Bag This is adorable and with four styles in one it makes a great beach bag or Mummy bag for Summer trips out.

1221Simplicity Vintage Apron I love these aprons and as my Crafternoon aprons need an upgrade for the Summer, I have my eyes on this style.

Stock Scissors I swear by these and also need another pair for dressmaking and snipping corners out of collars and cuffs. I always use these for embroidery projects and carry a pair with every project. So if you have more than one project on the go, you need more pairs!

Wooden Embroidery Hoop 4in I want to start going tiny on projects and wooden hoops looks so classy plain or you can always decoupage them!

Gold Eye Embroidery Needles As every thread needs to be worked with a gold eyed needle in my opinion, it stops friction and breakages of the fibres to give a smoother finish.

How Do I Enter?

All you need to do is to tell us in a sentence, ' What you perfect Crafternoon is', over on the this form.

For extra entries find the follow @sewessentialuk on twitter, facebook or instagram and comment below that you have!

Good Luck! The winner will be announced on the blog on the 1st April 2016. Sorry we are only open in the UK. For full t and c's * see terms and conditions of the giveaway.

**STOP PRESS**
We only have 2 places left at the #sewessentialmeet this evening (Sunday). If you want to book a place see Thursday's post.

Have a great week!

Samantha
 

#SewEssentialMeet; A Sewing Meet Up...plus a giveaway!

           Announcing The Sew Essential Sewing Meet

 

I'm super excited to announce today that Sew Essential have launched the #SewEssentialMeet. If you love sewing, sewing shopping, trying out new skills plus meeting fellow sewists, this is the meet for you.

The #SewEssentialMeet  will be hosted by Sew Essential at their showroom nr Leicester with myself and Kat from AKraftyKat . I've been really excited about sharing this, I visit the showroom last week and the shopping experience is incredible! We have tried to make the day varied and for all levels of sewist with a lovely afternoon tea included for good measure.

So over to Lucy at Sew Essential to tell you more about the day...

' The day will start at 11:30am with coffee, tea, pastries courtesy of Sew Essential and, if you wish, time for shopping in our Aladdin's Cave (AKA warehouse) of goodies. We'll then head upstairs to our showroom for some hand hoop embroidery (basic kit provided by Sew Essential), a demonstration of the new Husqvarna Epic embroidery machine for anyone who would like to see it in action (we're not expecting anyone to buy one, but thought it may be of interest to see the Rolls Royce of embroidery machines!) and the opportunity to discuss Angela's embroidery machine makes with the talented lady herself.

After much tea, chatter and craft we'll head out for a vintage afternoon tea at the Lakeside bistro just around the corner at 3:30pm. Vintage table linen and china plus cakes, scones, sandwiches and endless tea and coffee in delightful surroundings with like minded crafty folk - what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon?! The fun doesn't stop there though - we're also putting together goody bags for our lovely attendees to take home and enjoy after the event!

Places are limited and we've had a lot of interest so please let me know if you would like to join us and secure your spot by  emailing me at lucy@sewessential.co.uk. Once I have a list of attendees I will contact you to arrange collection of a £10 deposit to confirm your place. The afternoon tea is a total cost of £12.50 per person - £5 of your deposit will be paid towards your afternoon tea with the remaining £7.50 to be paid at the venue on the day. The other £5 of your deposit will be donated to charity and we will also have a raffle to raise further funds on the day. '

Thank-you Lucy!
 
To find out more information on the day and to book you place check out Lucy from Sew Essential's blog post or contact Lucy at lucy@sewessential.co.uk . Places are very limited, so we advise you to be quick!

We will be announcing more about the day in the coming weeks.

here's a sneaky peak at the warehouse from my visit

Who Are Sew Essential ...

I was over the moon to be invited over to Sew Essential 's showroom and an Aladdin's Cave of a

warehouse to chat about our sewing meet up and have a look through the thousands of items they have on stock.

 

Sew Essential is family run online sewing store based in the heart of the UK near Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire stocking  pretty much everything you need for all your fabric based sewing needs! From Sewing to Patchwork & Quilting to Home Craft supplies Angela Lucy, Ed and the team really do have it covered. It isn't everyday you get the chance to look around a warehouse of craft.

 

  

We are celebrating the launch of the #SewEssentialMeet with a giveaway...

                             

 

Yes win £25 of Sew Essential goodies from the online store by telling us in one sentence what your perfect Crafternoon is? Just enter

here !

 

I'll be telling you what my wish list would be over the weekend, I'm off to pick out some lovely product.

 

All the best!

 

Samantha xoxo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Blog Layout, New Domain for 2016 ... Work In Progress

Hello,

One of my to do's for 2016 was to update my blog and have a Spring clean. I started my blog in 2012 and it's needs a refresh.

 I'm currently working through the blog and ... ta-da 'Create It Samantha' now has it's own domain www.createitsamantha.co.uk .  I am still working through the layout and images.

This blog is about my crafting adventures, creating a home, creating a family life and creating a business. I've lots of lovely new content planned, I hope to see you soon.

I'll leave you with a few photos from my home and studio from last week -

Pinks and pastels to start January

My view from my desk, my teacups that I use as buttons holders and plant stands.
 

On Sunday I started to plant Spring bulbs outside for the first time this year .

 

Have a great Tuesday,

Have you updated your blog for 2016?

Love,

Samantha x
 

It's Been A While

Hello, yes it's been a while...

 

So three and a half years ago I started to blog here on my little corner of the web. Why? I was a new Mamma to my little girl and wanted to share my DIY's, crafts, parenting and mostly home inspired makes. I started in July 2012 and 'Create It Samantha' was born in January 2013 (originally called 'Create It Mummy').

And here we are the week I launched my blog, my beautiful Little L on her Christening day wearing my Christening gown (she looks so tiny) with bunting made from all the hanky's my late Gran gave me (and I have a lot). Looking back, I was so excited to be creating my blog and leaving behind my old job to devote time to my family.

Then in September 2014 as my little creative business grew and I was time hungry,'Create It Samanth'a started to get put to the side for quotes, invoicing and creativeness for my young business. I am sure I'm not the only one who has a blog that has suffered.

I've met some amazing people through blogging, meets ups and crafting and been lucky to work with some amazing brands. Back then I joined twitter chats, facebook groups and learnt a lot. My blog gave me the connection with other people just like me around the world.

 

I loved to share my makes and now my Littler L is a little bit bigger I have a stack of DIY's from my home, dressmaking creations and Mamma days that I want to share. Plus a fancy new camera I'm really itching to use.

 

I want to blog on so many aspects of my life. Like how I've sold two houses in less than 18 months in less than 10 days, how we are making over our home to be a space for our family, how I am sewing a new wardrobe for myself and Little L plus all the behind the scenes of life being the founder of a creative little business (that I can't believe is happening!).

I'm really looking forward to this chapter of our lives on my blog; creating a creative and happy life here in Derbyshire with my family.

Thank-you for reading these and I would love to hear your blogging journey,

 

Samantha x

 

My June Round Up

 

June was a month full of vintage events, sunny days and lots of making. It was also a year on from me starting out on my catering journey serving afternoon tea and my blog anniversary too.

 

My favourite festival Eroica Britannia came back to Derbyshire full of retro fun and so much nostalgia is was crazy to fit it all in one showground. I loved it!

 

 

I also hosted a Father's day memory chalk board Crafternoon with a vintage tea.

 

 

And finally the Creative And Crafty Blogger Meet was here after six months of prep. I hope everyone who attended loved the day and goodie bags.

 

 

I have to say the best bit of the day was meeting all the lovely #ccbloggers again.

 

 

I printed this tote shopping bag as a birthday pressie.

 

 

And made Father's day cakes for Mr.S just how he likes them. A treat for the fella!

 

Today's been super hot and hooray for the summer sun...

How was your June?

Samantha x

 

Fathers Day Man Cupcakes

Evening,

I hope you have had a great start to the week? Yesterday I made man style cupcakes with Little L for Daddy's Father's Day on Sunday. They were so much fun for both of us, she's only three and starting to understand what it all about! I've secretly hid these cakes in the freezer so he doesn't find them and so far Little L hasn't told him too!

 So why a man cupcake? I've been with Mr. S for eight years this Wednesday and I now know pretty much what he doesn't like about cake. 'Minimum or no icing on a cake, crunchy toppings or even better crunchy cake centres, cherries and a little tipple'. Does this sound familiar? It's fair to say that swirly icing with sparkles isn't his thing, it's just too sickly and calorific.  So this is my solution...

Chocolate & Cherry Cupcakes With A Brandy Swirl

Firstly follow the recipe for perfect sponge cakes using three eggs and then add 20 glace cherries halved.

Then three dessert spoons of nutella or chocolate spread, one tablespoon of brandy and stir until it looks like a swirl.

Spoon a dessert spoonful in each case and put into a oven at 180C or similar to your own oven's manual.

After 15 -20 minutes or until a knife comes out from the centre of the cake clean the cakes are ready. Bring them out the oven and place on a cooling rack.

We made 24 cupcakes, 12 muffin size and 12 cupcake size. The photo only has 22 as we tried one of each (well you have to!)

Once cooled, we decorated with honeycomb crunch and little chocolate pieces.

I hope you enjoy making these for the Dad's in your lives as much as we did and they freeze well for a few weeks so if you want to save some for later. I will comment below on his reaction on Sunday.

Thank-you for stopping by! This blog post is linked up on Fizzy Peaches #lifestylelinkup. Why not link one of your posts from this week here to?

Love,

Samantha

My Mellow Yellow Insta Week

Good Morning,

Last week was a happy week, the creative blog meet went really well, it was my Mum's birthday and the balance between work and family life was feeling right. I started to post a unplanned theme over on my Instagram of mellow pastel yellows.

On Monday I started my crafty hand regime with Weleda's citrus refreshing body oil, applying a few drops to my nails and cuticles before I sat down at my desk. I am now seven days into my regime and love the mini-pampering I'm getting. I must admit I am starting to get used to it and my finger tips feel so soft from all the stitching they are doing!

On Wednesday, I attended the Summer Market evening for exhibitors, excuse the quality of the picture. It is an honour to be invited back again with my stall for a second time. I do feel really lucky as I am still such a new business. They gave us these little sweetie bags with sherbet lemons in. How pretty!

After the talk, we were allowed around the venue, The Roundhouse in Derby. It's the oldest railway roundhouse in the world and a beautiful restored space which is now used for events in the heart of the city.

I felt really lucky to stand on the turning circle in the middle of the huge domed space looking down  where the rail tracked used to in use. I wore my new rock'n'roll skirt to the events in pastel yellow (not insteading to match the goodie bags!) with cream bow pumps . Really looking forward to the 5th July and meeting all the lovely visitors to this year's Summer Market.

As it was Mum's birthday, we went for afternoon tea and present giving in a beautiful lodge in Derbyshire. I gave Mum this handmade tote bag that I'd made. It's from a new class I've just started hosting and Mum loves receiving handmade. I love printing with fabric paints, I made this one with a vintage bow and buttons on in her favourite colours.

I posted this on my Instagram this morning, of my beautiful yellow roses from last year's Father's Day and I am hoping with a little sunshine we will get the same for Sunday.

Bye from my yellow week,

Love,

Samantha x

Our Blog Meet Charity Crafternoon At Breadsall Priory

Last Sunday Creative Bloggers Got Crafty In The Most Enchanting Of Settings...

I hope you are having a lovely sunny week so far. I wanted to drop by to share all my pictures and more after a fab-u-lous Crafternoon Blog Meet on Sunday in the beautiful setting of Breadsall Priory near Derby raising money for the Mollie Makes Crafternoon For Comic Relief.

From the recent edition a boho inspired textile hoop

 This is our third Creative And Crafty Blog Meet (#ccbloggers) I've co-hosted with Kat. Here is my post capturing an incredible day spent eating cake, being pampered, crafting for a good cause and enjoying the ambiance of the oldest Marriott hotel in the world.

On arrival we had drinks served (the ginger beer was my favourite!) with views looking out onto the patio and grounds of the estate. It was a really lovely relaxed setting for everyone to get to know each other in real life.

My view on Sunday morning at the #ccbloggers welcome drinks

Breadsall Priory treated everyone to an afternoon tea of dainty sandwiches, a selection of scones, mini lemon tartlets, delightful little puddings and sweet treats. All baked on the premises so they are as fresh as possible, I loved the attention to detail and variety. Served on Denbyware and traditional afternoon tea stands, the afternoon tea was perfect to set the bloggers up for an afternoon of crafts!

scrummy!

We started the afternoon with local Derbyshire company Weleda  pampering our crafty hands with their organic alternative therapies, natural products and remedies.

Ellie from The Mummy Diaries samples the hand treatments

 Crafty hands get a lot of use and need to be soft so not to snag on fabrics, yarns or papers. Firstly, advisor Annette showed how to dry brush, then bathe your hands in Weleda’s beautiful natural body washes. After rubbing refreshing body oils in citrus and almond into nails and cuticles, the group were ready to craft!

Charlotte from English Girl At Home sampling Weleda's hand treatments

Taking inspiration from the Etsy global party brief of colour, kaleidoscope and paper and using projects from Mollie Makes. The bloggers enjoyed a Crafternoon of making, chatting, swapping blogging tips and listening to fellow creative’s businesses and creative projects.

Crafting in the Morely suite at Breadsall Priory

We crafted with pretty papers from the  Readicut range and learnt how to paper weave! I hadn't even thought about this before the meet and love the effect for cards, scrapbooks and hangings.

 

paper weaving Readicut's pretty papers

And hoop embroidery art with Korbond's sewing supplies. It was great to see everyone made something different and for some of us it was our first time using hoops to stitch with.

Readicut also provided a goody bag of knitting goodies from the Lily Sugar’n’Cream range and Bernat baby soft yarns. I am really looking forward to working with these to create something for my little Miss Crafternoon. I had a lovely lilac yarn in my bag so I am going to get my knitting pins out this Summer.

Home DIY company Polyvine (www.polyvine.co.uk) got the group into scumble glazing and paint effect with a demo. I am saving this product to get a retro effect on some wooden letters I've had made for the living room.

We also heard about local creative projects Lunar21 and Inspiring Derby as well as from Alice from Bless You Arts.

The event raised over £100 for charity and I really enjoyed working with all the brands and the venue to make the Crafternoon!  Thank-you to everyone for coming, crafting, eating cake and sharing your passion in craft and creativeness.

Looking forward to the next.


Here is the blog roll from the day ,

Kat
www.akraftykat.co.uk
Emmawww.lilyallsorts.com

Elliewww.themummydiary.co.uk

Charlottewww.englishgirlathome.com
Hannahwww.daintyandivory.blogspot.com/
Philwww.fireflyphil.wordpress.com
Samanthawww.crafternoonteahostess.co.uk
Clairewww.ninjakillercat.co.uk
Alice Bless You Arts Boutique
Jenn
www.lunar21derby.org.uk

If you want to get involved (and we love meeting creative bloggers), follow the group on #ccbloggers over on twitter. Or if you are a Midlands creative and love sewing join Charlotte for her #sewbrum meet on Saturday 31st October.

I'm off to get crafty!

Samantha x

You're Invited To The ...Creative And Crafty Mids Blog Meet 7th June

 

After a lovely holiday and a relaxing family break to recharge, I am really please to share with you our new creative and crafty blogger meet details.

I am proudly working with Marriott Hotels to bring a day of creative craftiness and a chance to meet bloggers in real life, share tips and make new blog friends. We promise a day in the beautiful surroundings of Breadsall Priory in Derbyshire with an amazing lunch, a Crafternoon supporting the Mollie Makes Crafternoon Tea for Comic Relief and we are also supporting the global Etsy Party to.

So if you have a blog, Etsy shop and are creative, we do have limited tickets available. They are only £10pp inc lunch, goody bag and leisure pass.

Email me Samantha at crafternoonteablog at gmail.com

See you there!

Samantha