Crafty Creatives Box 14. WARNING: contains spoilers!

Howdy there!

This month, Crafty Creatives has gone all-out Western! I was fully unsold AT FIRST, but I've definitely changed my tune!

Despite being home pretty much all week, i had to pop out for a bit yesterday. And, of course, the box arrived whilst I was out. A few hours later, i successfully reclaimed it from the post office, having avoided all spoilers (a weakness of mine...). I needed to pop into the supermarket, and with suspense killing me, i hastily pulled out the art card, and read it quickly.

I'm not going to lie: I was pretty disappointed. I thought it was a bit of a boyish box, all Cowboys and Indians, and it just didn't really appeal to me.

But when i got it home, and had the chance to rummage, i quickly realised it was less cowboys and indians, more patterns and textures. Fab.

Also, I LOVE turquoise. It's not a colour i would have associated with this theme, but there's a lot of it in the box and it blends so well :D

So, what's in the box?!

This Kit: a dreamcatcher.  I have to say that I'm not really 'into' dreamcatchers, or the whole Spirits thing... but i thought it was a great idea for a kit, and will be searching out options for the components. The kit states that there should be two types of suedette lace, and I only got one? But my box did contain some extra wool (pictured), so maybe it was replaced? Hmmmm!

 Mini bonus Kit: rope basket! love the look of this, excited to try this out this afternoon!

Two types of denim: not sure what to do with this yet, but have a lot of spare denim in my house at the moment, so I'm sure it won't go to waste.

Printed fleece in a Native American pattern: The colours on the fleece are really rich. Going to save this until i can work out a way to use it as a feature on something.

 Turquoise beads: LOVE them. such a great colour! 

A tiny little bear charm: Very cute, reminded me of a cave painting.

Bronze star studs: I never really think of using studs, but now I have some I think I might just have to try them out!

Double-sided craft papers: Lovely, great quality. The one on the left is my definite fave!

 Suedette floral trim: I really like the trim! I'm in the process of 'upcycling' some of my old pairs of jeans, and this might come in handy for some pretty edging.

Feather charms: I do love them, but some of them are not the best quality (as you can see above). Will be using some of the better ones to make some earrings, i think.

What did you think of the box? Do you have any exciting plans / ideas?

Having been away for most of July and August, I'm pretty behind on my makes from my Crafty Creatives boxes, and blogging about them! Hoping to catch up soon!

Fran xx

P.S. - The background fabric is a scarf that I love. Doesn't it just compliment the theme so well?!

Crafty Creatives Box 13 - Happy Birthday!

This month saw the arrival of the Crafty Creatives box 13. It is a year since these two lovely ladies started their business, and so it's birthday time! To help us celebrate, the box included a special balloon!

 

Normally the boxes have one kit and as well as lots of other items ( as you can see here, here and here), but this special box has FIVE kits, as well as a few special little treats too! The box is floral themed (as was the first ever box!), so all the kits are to make different flowers!

The items for each flower were separated in the box (to not loose the 'rummaging' ability!) but i have photographed them as kits. So, what's included?

The art card, featuring the faces of different Crafty Creatives; A leaflet guide as to how to construct the kits.

1. Felt Flower
The box includes two different colours of felt for this kit. This looks like quite a quick and easy make.

2. Stocking Flower
Stocking flowers have intrigued me for a while so i'm excited to try these! Included is thick wire, stocking fabric (i got white), stamens and floral tape.

3. French Beaded Flower
Again, a technique I've never tried, but can't wait to. This flower appears pretty fiddly and seems like it would take a lot of time, but produces such a beautiful end result. The box came with thin silver wire, seed beads in two colours (i received pink-purple and light blue) and also requires the floral tape (as mentioned above).

4. Paper Rose Flower
I ended up making quite a few of these for our wedding, so definitely don't want to relieve that experience right now...! They are beautiful flowers, but quite fiddly and it is a skill in itself to not have the flower completely uncoil! Included for this kit was coloured card for the flower (my box came with yellow), green card for the leaves, and a hair slide to fix it all onto. I think i'll be gluing something else onto my hair slide :)

5. Crepe Paper Flowers
I've tried variations on these flowers, so will be good to try this way! a polystyrene ball and crepe paper ( i got cream) were included to make this kit.

The extra treats!
These included:
- 3 large, wooden, floral-patterned buttons. These are nice and chunky!
- a hummingbird charm. Would really suit a long necklace chain
- 15 diecut textured flowers from Stix2, mine were white. Not sure what to use these for yet...
- cream floral pendant. Would really suit a statement item, like a hair clip.

 

So, that was the box! Whilst I definitely do prefer the setup of the other boxes (with one kit, and lots of random items), I enjoyed receiving something a bit different for a one-off. What did you think?

Life has been a bit crazy here, and what with a busy term and then being out of the country for 2.5 weeks, it is very unsurprising to admit that i'm pretty behind on my craft projects, especially the ones from my Crafty Creatives boxes. However, a spare few weeks, combined with a bad ankle injury, means that i'm house-bound and looking forward to having time to tackle my to-do list, and hopefully catch up on blogging! Watch this space...

Happy 1st Birthday Crafty Creatives!

Fran xx

Crafty Creatives Box 12

After catching up with my backlog of reviews in yesterday's post,  today I am sharing my thoughts on the latest Crafty Creatives Box...

Box 12, entitled 'The Treat Box', took it's time in coming! I received a 'red slip of doom' on Friday, and as i was away all weekend I didn't get my hands on my box until Tuesday (yesterday!). After all the positive and raving comments on Twitter and Facebook, i caved and read some blog spoilers, so my creative juices have been mulling this box over this weekend!

Here are the contents...

 Gorgeous Art Card by Louise Williams

The Kit - a sweet-inspired cross stitch! I've done a lot of cross stitching in the past, so looking forward to this one! i have tons of embroidery flosses so will probably mix up the colours a bit...

Macaroon fabric fat quarter - i LOVE macaroons! This fabric has a good weight to it, and is so pretty! can't quite decide what to use it for yet as i don't want to waste it!

 Cookie cutter - i love butterflies so excited to try this!

Recipie card by Cathryn Dresser - i was a huge Cathryn fan during the Bake Off! I've also just started using spelt in things, so intrigued to try these biscuits out!

2 Chupa Chups - how yummy!

 Double sided craft papers - very pretty and colourful designs. Will add it into my papercrafts stash whilst i think on a good use for them.

Three cake slice charms from Susan King - I love Susan's work and have been an admirer for quite some time, so was VERY excited when i read about these in the blog spoilers! I was reaaaally hoping for two of the same colour and was so excited to get two pink & blue! These will be swiftly turned into matching earrings! I also received one pink and mint green charm, which will be put to one side whilst i think of something special to do with it!

Cupcake grosgrain ribbon - i have a vast and growing collection of ribbons, so this pretty length can join the happy family! However, I am loathed to use my ribbons as i love them so much!

5 ice cream buttons - how lovely?! I have a few ideas for these, mainly to use in forthcoming projects, so will share what happens to them in the future...

12 alteration tags from Stix2 - i was going to buy some of these, so was happy to find some in the box! I have plans to washi tape and ribbon them! perfect for gifting ear studs.

Colourful juicy beads - no real plans for these, but i really like the shine on them (the photos don't do them justice!), so will use them in future

'M' print cabochons - I have to be honest, but i was so disappointed with these... I saw how everyone (well, everyone i've seen!) got an array of colourful ones, and i LOVE colour and had some big plans for these... and then mine turned up and were black and white :( anybody want to do some swapping? Even just a couple?! I'd be very grateful!

So there we have it! despite the 'M' cabochons disappointment, I do really love this box, and it feels very summery! Next month is the Birthday Box, and I'm very excited to see what that one has to offer!

Crafty Creatives - Boxes 10 & 11

Hello there!

Well, i can't quite believe so much time has passed since I last properly blogged.... i finished my course at the end of May, and was going to just jump straight back into blogging, but was just at a loss with where to start as i had so much to catch up on. Over the next few weeks, i have posts lined up to fill you in on life and where my creative streak has taken me recently, but i figured it was best to start up again where i started off originally! So, here is a photo heavy post of #ccbox10 and #ccbox11...

Crafty Creatives box 10....
So, box 10 arrived in April, just as my work got crazy. Initially, i felt a little underwhelmed by the 'Blue' theme, but as i trawled through the box i found it gave so much inspiration and pretty much everything lent itself to something i would like to make! Here are the contents....

Art Card by Catherine Moody; 

3 Americana acrylic paints (I love the middle one!); 

mini canvas

 

Nepalese felt balls (which i LOVE); 

tiny beads from Musha Makes; 

2 bluebird pendants (i really like the pale blue ones that a lot of others received, so still trying to find some inspiration for my navy birds)

2 pieces of A5 blue craft paper; 

3 tubes from Stix2 (one glitter, one seed beads, one caviar beads); 

samples of white & blue Jumping Clay; 

fat quarter of blue dotty cotton, as featured in the background of these photos!

The kit was for a bluebird mobile. i ended up adapting this slightly, and so the photo above is of the leftovers! Will share my creation soon!

Crafty Creatives Box 11...

Box 11 arrived in May, and the 'Glamour' theme just screamed Gastby! It certainly got me excited for the film (which I loved!)! I haven't really touched this box yet. Whilst I loved it's contents and the theme, I felt like i needed an 'occasion' to wear / use some of the items. So, most of it has gone into my stash, ready for some inspiration or a glamorous occasion! Box 11 included...

 Red rose cabochon; 

10 gorgeous Swarovski crystal beads; 

fat quarter of black velvet (featured in the background!)

 Chunky sparkly beads; 

silver stardust (anyone got any inspiration for this?)

 

Findings; 

jump rings; 

2 silver-plated rhinestone teardrops; 

red inkpad; 

lace stamp

 A close up of the pretty lace stamp

 

Art Card by Lianne Williams;

removable photo glue from Stix2; 

beaded fluffy trim

Also included, but not shown, was the kit to make a beaded hair slide. That is a work in progress, so will share when it is finished!

What did you think of these boxes? Would love some inspiration for box 11!

Fran xx

Crafty Creatives Boxes 8 & 9

Since it was my Crafty Creatives boxes that inspired me to set up this blog, it seemed apt that my first proper post should be about them!

Crafty Creatives is a monthly subscription craft box (costs a very reasonable £10 plus £2.95 p&p), filled with a variety of items to craft with. Each box is themed, so as well as the anticipation of the contents, it's always exciting to discover the theme too! Every box always includes an art card which doubles up as a list of box contents, and a little kit to make something specific - so even if the rest of the box stumps you, there's always something to get the creative juices flowing!

#CCbox8

So, Box 8 arrived mid-Febuary, and the theme was Spots and Stripes! As i opened my box i was overwhelmed by colours - a perfect way to brighten up a dull & wintery day! The kit was to make a polymer clay necklace. I've never worked with this before, so am excited to try it out!

 

#ccbox8 - Spots and Stripes

 The polymer clay kit from #ccbox8

I've been really busy this month, so haven't used anything from this box yet, but the ideas are certainly forming...

#CCbox9

Box 9 arrived on Tuesday to much intrigue. The theme this month is Steampunk, something I've never heard of before, but has a large following (i discovered upon researching!). The art card contains this great definition: 'What the 21st Century thinks that the Victorians thought the 21st Century would be like'!

Here are the contents...

 Art Card by Britta van den Boom

 The CC kit: decoupage! This is something I've wanted to try for a while, so i'm excited to get stuck into this.

 Beautiful tweed fabric with copper threads running through it. I'm mulling over what to do with this - i love it and think it's too beautiful to waste!

 Copper wire, which I'm planning on putting towards a project I've got planned; some leather cord which I think would make great bracelets for my Husband / brothers?; crackle glaze, which i've never used so am excited to try!

 Beautiful lock and key charms

 Leather scraps and some pipe spacer beads to add to the bead collection

 Clock and bulb charms. I love these, and am planning on making them into long necklaces.

 Foil transfer sheets, which i think would be great for creating a 'distressed' look on a photo frame; teeny tiny watch parts, which I'm not quite sure what to do with just yet...

So, there you have it! Lots of ideas brimming and formulating for both boxes. I'm loving searching round Pinterest for more ideas - I'm definitely a visual thinker!

What are you planning on making from the Steampunk box?