Craft Supplies With A Difference!

We just can't help ourselves where crafts are concerned!  In fact, when we go to the shop, we often come back with a few craft supplies - even if it was just a trip to Tesco!  This has meant that we have collected a rather odd selection of item.

Of course, you need a certain amount of imagination for crafting and it's great fun to think up unusual items!  You might even think of a way to overcome that annoying craft problem you've been struggling with, using supplies you hadn't considered before!

On one trip to the shops we bought four wooden spoons, two very cheap wooden rolling pins and some clothes line.  The thinking behind this?  We could paint the spoons in exciting colours, we could use the rolling pins to put up our wallhangings, and we could use the clothes line to put round the edges of bags to keep them in shape.  It's worth a try at least!

On another Tesco trip, I bought a bundle of towels that were reduced.  My hope is to make little bags out of them for cosmetics or toiletries or something!  It is all very theoretical at the moment as they are still in towel-form on my bedroom floor!

It's also a great idea to recycle (or is upcycle the right term?) as this gives you an even better sense of achievement!  I have a chest full of old clothes and bed sheets and everything else that is remotely fabric-y!  I use these mostly for making rag rugs but you can also use them to make bags, bookmarks, scrunchies, notebook covers...you name it!  Just make sure there aren't any holes in the material before you start as there is nothing worse than making a stunning handbag only to find that the front is ruined with holes!!  And, of course, you must save the buttons off any old shirt that is too tattered to wear!  This is a great way to craft on a budget!

So my most unusual craft items would have to be the washing line, rolling pins, bunch of towels, any clothing (including some rather laddered tights!)  Oh, and a small dog bowl I use for melting soap or wax!

What are your most unusual craft supplies?

Tips for Crafty Time Management

Firstly, happy Valentine's Day! I shall be celebrating by walking the dog this evening, but I have loved seeing people's Valentine's day craft creations on Twitter! Unfortunately, I haven't been able do much crafting this last week.

Our little puppy – Orlando – is usually the reason I'm too busy. When a friend asked me this week if I had done any spinning I had to own up that, as I couldn't use my spinning wheel around Orlando, I hadn't managed to do any. This reminded me that I wanted to do a blog entry about overcoming the problem of time management! I acknowledge that I am useless at managing my time effectively myself, so Ginny has been good enough to share some of her advice:

Knitting is a time consuming hobby, or at least it is for me! I tend to take twice long over one stitch as most people and anywhere up to five minutes to complete a row of the baby's dress I'm in the middle of making. So it stands to reason that time management is crucial to my creativity. Here are some of my best hints:

Never begin a project without wanting to finish it. It's great to have plans but don't start with the actual making of it until you are ready.

Get your tools together before you start - you don't want to be halfway through and realize you have got to do more shopping.

Multi-task where possible. Since the arrival of our little puppy my feet have become amazingly dexterous so that I can be playing pull games with my feet and be knitting with my hands... I'm still trying to perfect the art of knitting with my toes - just kidding!

Steal moments. Time yourself to knit a row and if you have 5 minutes free and it takes three and half to knit a row, use this 5 minutes! Chipping away at knitting will finish your project surprisingly quickly.

Learn something new at the start of a day. Because knitting is, by its nature, a repetitive craft, if you have something new to learn o it in the morning. By the evening with a few stolen minutes you will have perfected it.

By far the most important tip is not to be discouraged. If you can't find time to craft right away try different time management patterns. Knit a row (or two or more) while the kettle boils or while the microwave is on. If things don't work - don't give up!

Well, here goes...!

Hello there!

I am new to this 'blogging' so I'm a little unsure what to write. It is my aim to post on here at least every Friday but to begin with, I suppose we should introduce ourselves.

Wriggle Wraggle is designed to be a fun craft blog, created to relate our journey of establishing our craft business, with craft tutorials dotted here and there and filled with amusing, occasionally embarrassing(!), anecdotes of our crafty endeavours.

We are three sisters – a music teacher, a youth worker and a gardener – and we all share a love of crafting, mostly inspired by our Mum who has encouraged us with everything creative.

As you see from the photo we never grew up! Meet Charles Edward the red panda puppet and Teddy Deer! We have, of course, made them an entire wardrobe of different clothes and, whenever we are crafting, these little bundles of fun are not too far away!

Between us, we love to knit, sew, paint, draw, take photographs, rag-rug, make jewellery and make cards. We are always on the lookout for new crafts to try and I am particularly looking forward to getting to grips with my new spinning wheel. No doubt there will be another blog entry about the ups and downs of this particular craft effort!! (Let's hope there are more ups than downs!)

This is a big learning curve for me, as I have never tried writing a blog before. My aim for the Wriggle Wraggle shop is to have it established for my 21^st birthday in July – not a conventional 21^st birthday celebration but then we never were conventional anyway!

So, here's to many hilarious and crazy craft projects – let's just have fun!!