Crafting is one of my favourite activities. It is creative, calming and nothing beats the feeling of finishing something with your own hands.
When I was invited to join a few blogger friends for an evening of festive crafting, it would’ve been crazy to say no. It was just what the doctor ordered: crafts, friends, bubbly and mince pies!
Sometimes you just need to do something creative to unwind from daily life, even if it’s something as simple as personalising a pair of plimsoles. Fat Buddha Store has a wide variety of art supplies (as well as clothes) and sent me these Posca markers to play with. They can also be used in a variety of surfaces and are not necessarily indicated for fabric but as they won’t be going in the washing machine anytime soon, I thought it was worth a try.
I rarely buy crafts magazines these days, because much like Pinterest, I think ‘that is amazing, I need to make it’ and that’s pretty much it. Recently I came across these two magazines in the supermarket and they caught my eye. I have seen Molly Makes before but I don’t really buy it because the projects are cool but most of them I’m not too interested in making. However this clothes DIY special edition sounded a lot more interesting. . The other one, Daphne’s Diary is brand new and I was curious to see what it was all about, so I brought them both home.
Molly Makes – DIY Fashion special edition
I loved this magazine. I just did. It’s colourful, it has the right amount of retro inspired articles and it features a few bloggers and other creatives. The clothes style is quirky and the project ideas are simple and easy to make. I really like the design as it is simple and makes the colourful photos really pop out.
Daphne’s Diary – a magazine full of inspiration and style
The contents of this magazine are a lot broader and go from gardening, recipes, interior design, some DIY, all with a vintage shabby chic vibe. Some articles are really interesting – like the one on Bucovina Easter eggs, I own a few that I brought back from Romania years ago and I was pleasedto read a bit more about them. I like the variety in the magazine and its style, although I find the design too busy, too many twee cutesy items decorating borders that really didn’t need to be there.
Do you usually buy crafts magazines? If you do, what would you recommend?
The last time I went to Lisbon I arranged to do a little visit to my friend Isabel, who runs a little shop called Amores de Tóquio (may be be translated as Tokyo Loves), near the flea market. She is the creative force behind it – every single object in the shop has been hand picked by Isabel, and the majority handmade by her own hands. I took some photos of the shop and some of the details (there are too many to show here, going in there is a real feast for the eyes!) as I think it’s the kind of thing my Blogland friends would like to see.
I’ve met Isabel for the first time through mutual friends and at the time she used to run stalls at craft fairs and I loved her stuff since the very beginning. I’m not surprised that the business grew as she is so very talented and the objects she produces are very pretty. She is clearly inspired by Japanese aesthetics and particularly origami, something I find myself drawn to.
Here I am with Isabel, in her shop. You can see the lovely hat I left with, handmade using Japanese fabric.
If you ever find yourselves in Lisbon, don’t forget to pay Isabel a visit and see what is new in the shop (it is one of the shops around the old fruit market, right in the centre of the flea market). You can always see what’s new online on the Facebook and blog pages.
Hello the Mushroom is a blogger turned urban artist. Check out Instagram at @hellothemushroom for frequent updates on artistic endeavours and adventures!
