Who fancies a relaxed get together in the beautiful Botanic Gardens to kick off another great year of My Crafternoons!?

Instead of having to book into a workshop when we're only just easing back out of that post-Xmas haze we're currently enjoying, we're keeping it simple.

Come and join us for a free crafty picnic on Tuesday 7th January from 7pm until sunset.

No need to book, just turn up.
Feel free to bring along a craft project you're working on, something to show and tell, or just some drinks and nibbles for a relaxed picnic supper.
Hamilton Botanic Gardens just off Thompson & French Streets, Hamilton VIC.
All welcome, especially friends of friends :)

BYO drinks and nibbles (alcohol is allowed in the gardens until sunset) and I'll provide tunes, blankets and materials for some relaxed creativity free of charge.

Bring a cushion or low chair if you're not cool with sitting on a picnic blanket, and aim for the lawn area in the centre in front of the Rotunda.

It should be nice and s...

2019... what a fabulous send-off we gave you!

Our venue for the last Crafternoon of the year was just PERFECT... if you haven't yet been to Koopman's in Dunkeld, go immediately! Not only are the views of the Grampians National Park to die for, but the old motors building is now full of inspiring art, ceramics & plants, there was plenty of space for our art supplies, Lisa's sewing set-up and individual craft stations while we whipped up bespoke Christmas stockings!

That's not even to mention the main reason you go to a cafe - the food and coffee (and chai and kombucha and juices and milkshakes) are blood good. Our gorgeous hosts, Eve & Jennifer, served us up a grazing board of nibbles, platters of pulled pork sliders and pumpkin tarts, and an abundance of home-baked treats like Lindt chocolate brownies, baileys truffles, berries and chocolates. OMGYUM. 

Lisa, the creative wizard behind doggy business, Two Happy Hounds, was our stitching supreme all evening, and we can't thank her enou...

We LOVE this time of year, when Christmas is around the corner and the craft shops are bursting with festive fabric and crafty kits and decorations! We've been stock-piling festive fabric, lovely ribbon and all sorts of sparkly and Christmassy bits for our next Crafternoon... be excited!

This year we're having a festive party after-hours in Dunkeld's newest cafe - a beautiful, timber-clad, light-filled space with amazing views of the Grampian mountains; Koopmans Dunkeld! 🎄

Here we will enjoy a delicious grazing table and a barista-made hot drink or chilled mocktail whilst creating our own bespoke Christmas Stockings!

We have pre-made cotton stockings so all you need to do is add your own touches- it's so easy that this Crafternoons is suitable for absolute beginners, and kids over 10.

We will have lots of festive fabric, sequins, ribbons, lace, fabric paints, buttons and adhesive elements - even Christmas pegs from which to clip paper cut-outs or bunting... the options are endless!

...

Coleraine's newest cafe; The Catching Pen, proved to be the perfect spot for our afternoon of sewing for our lovely relaxed Scrunchie Crafternoon. Hayley made us feel very at home as we took over the half of the cafe used as a community space, nestled in with great tunes and delicious hot drinks, platters of homemade slices and copious crafty materials!

The lovely ladies who joined us picked out their favourite fabrics, hand-stitched their first scrunchie over relaxed chatter, then learnt how to make the pattern for, cut and sew different types of bows. We took things up a notch for other scrunchies, using sewing machines to wizz through them like a happy little sweat shop fuelled by chai lattes and brownies.

The creations made were simply lovely - from crushed velvet and silk to cotton and organza filled with sparkles, they were as unique as the ladies who stitched them. We used a lot of recycled material from vintage dresses, pre-loved clothing and bed-linen, plus some new fabric and u...

Our next monthly craft workshop is going to be at the Catching Pen Cafe in Coleraine, a wonderful light-filled, rustic cafe ran by some lovely local ladies who are welcoming us in for a special Crafternoon!

We'll be making our own hair accessories to go around buns and ponytails, both with and without cute bows, learning simple hand-stitching techniques.

We'll use both new and upcycled fabrics (scrunchies make great eco-friendly gifts) and you will make around 3 scrunchies in the workshop to take home. Feel free to bring along your own fabric or old clothing from which to craft your new creations if you wish too!

We'll also have some freshly-baked sweet treats by the talented bakers at The Catching Pen and everyone can order a delicious hot drink of their choice... scrunchies AND munchies!

Tickets are $35 including all materials, tuition and refreshments, everyone welcome whether you're a crafty novice or a pro. This one is even suitable for teens who can safely wield a needle!

Keep...

Sunday's celebration of the past 5 years of workshops was beyond wonderful.

I looked around at the big group of lovely locals, previous workshop hosts and friends who came along to eat cake and be merry, and just felt my heart bursting with happiness. It's moments like that which make the hours of work that go into running monthly workshops totally worth it, and make me feel lucky to be part of such a vibrant community here in the Greater Hamilton region.

At the workshop people made party hats, learned to crochet, made pom pom bouquets and pimped the pinata, or just enjoyed hot drinks and copious cake whilst exploring the crafts made previously (and a couple we will make in future), pitched their ideas for future crafternoons and enjoyed the #throwbackparty of our slideshow!

Thanks to Cindy for teaching her crochet skills one-one-one to those keen to learn, to Jess for the quadruple-mix sprinkle cake and for the set-up and pack-down help with the lovely talented Rachel, to Lisa for the am...

We love crafting because...

1) Making things feels GREAT!

Creative activities produce dopamine, a feel-good chemical which acts as a natural anti-depressant. Every stage of crafting feels good for us - buying new supplies, anticipating a craft date, physically making something, learning how to improve, admiring our creation, sharing our successes and giving handmade items to friends and family. Happiness at every step!

2) Crafting is therapeutic.

It’s been scientifically proven that getting into the flow of creativity has multiple benefits for your mental health and wellbeing. Whether you’re physically expressing yourself through paint, moulding mud into ceramics or mindfully colouring in, you’re guaranteed to feel better having done something creative, therapeutic and relaxing with your hands!

3) Creativity is good for your brain.

Whether you’re solving a problem (wondering how the hell to attach a pompom to a keyring) or challenging yourself (like following a tricky knitting pattern)...

Over the past 5 years we’ve ran over 50 monthly workshops around the Greater Hamilton region in Western Victoria, learning heaps of new creative skills and making some awesome things (and awesome friends!)

It's been an absolute blast, and not one workshop has gone by where we haven't learnt something new, had fun and met some wonderful people. THANK YOU for coming along, for spreading the word, for sharing your skills and for your continued support!

Since August 2015 we’ve tackled:

🌸 pom pom bouquets & garlands
🌼 painted paper collages
🌸 tassel rope necklaces
🌺 body scrubs, paper pendants & marshmallow snowmen
🌻 hand-stitched teabags
🌼 dreamcatchers
🌸 himmeli pendants
🌺 terrariums
🌸 hand-stitched owl hand warmers
🌺 macrame planter hangers
🌼 marbled milk bottle vases
🌻 personalised doormats
🌺 paper flower fascinators
🌻 grapevine wreaths on a wine tour!
🌸 kokedamas
🌻 piñatas
🌼 wall hangings
🌸 painted plant pots
🌺 air-dry clay ring bowls
🌻 cake-decorating
🌼 boho bag...

We are DELIGHTED to be celebrating a special milestone in late 2019... it's our 5th Birthday!

Time FLIES when you're having fun, and we've been running monthly creative workshops around the Greater Hamilton region for a whopping 5 YEARS  - crazy!

Since our first ever pom-pom bouquet workshop in August 2013 we've held over 50 monthly workshops.

From making DIY projects like wreaths and terrariums to honing creative skills like crochet and painting, we've been connecting lovely locals, creative types and makers. We've hand-made gifts and whipped up bespoke homewares, we've even shook our own cocktails and fired our own pizzas. Most have only ran once, and a couple have been so well-loved we've put a new twist on them and brought them to the masses again - check out the full list HERE!

It's been BLOODY WONDERFUL, and it's time we celebrated with a Birthday-themed crafty get-together!

We're taking over the lovely Jack & Jude's for a couple of hours of sociable creativity on Sunday 22nd...

A HUGE thank you to this month's guest artist; Alyshia Bensch from Studio Marlo, for sharing with our group of happy crafters some of her tips and tricks for creating bespoke mixed media collages.

Alyshia shared with us beautiful examples of her own work, some inspiring books and resources on collaging, heaps of materials and a little know-how, and guided everyone through the process when they needed advice.

We delved deep into mountains of craft supplies; papers, card, foil, paint swatches, paper punches, magazines, books, paint pens, markers, acrylic and watercolour paints, transfers, glues and sealant... and the artworks produced were amazing!

Fuelled by sweet treats and unlimited tea and coffee, we nestled into the wonderful train station-turned-art space; Off The Rails in Dunkeld, sang along to "Totally Stress Free" (on Spotify: would recommend) and had a glorious afternoon.

Check out some pics from the day- thanks to all of the lovely ladies who booked in, you were a great bunch!

Ther...