Join our Instagram crafting community in August + Posca Pen Giveaway

August is here - doesn’t the Summer seem to be flying by? A new month means a new hashtag for our creative Instagram community. We'd love to see your crafty makes throughout August - just add the tag #craftingismytherapy_august to include your images in our gallery.

This month we are collaborating with Posca Pens to giveaway a ‘uni-Posca Pastel Packs’, which includes a set of Signo Pastel Ink pens and a pack of Pastel Posca PC-5M pens. These pastel pens are perfect for summer crafting. Posca pens work brilliantly on all sorts of surfaces so you could use them for decorating stones and shells from the beach. Why not try drawing some summery designs on your windows (it washes off!). The Pastel Ink Pens would be perfect for writing those holiday postcards or filling out a holiday journal or scrapbook.

I wrote a blog post last Summer when Posca kindly sent me a set of their pens to review. I absolutely love these pens, click here if you’d like to take a look at my review from 2016.

I'd also like to introduce our new co-host for August - Teresa from @shirleyrainbow_tb. Teresa is a regular contributor to our Instagram community. Here Instagram feed is full of crochet and embroidery projects and I always love the colour palette she uses within her work. You can see more of Teresa’s creative exploits over on her blog. We also have to say a big ‘thank you’ to July’s’s co-host, Jen from Crafticland, we’ve loved having her on board!.

In July we welcomed lots of new faces and I’m constantly inspired by all the images added to our gallery. The grid below shows just a small selection of images from July’s hashtag. We’ve had another busy month again with over 300 images tagged with #craftingismytherapy_july. Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous pictures with us. Click here to see the gallery in full…so many amazing crafts to look at

Top row, left to right: @makingpolly, @a_saucy_stitch, @themessybrunette

Middle row, left to right: @jellybean_junction, @craftpod_, @sumoftheirstories

Bottom row, left to right: @zeensandroger, @shirleyrainbow_tb, @sunna_crochet

I know lots of you have beautiful Instagram accounts and I love the supportive nature of the creative community over there. Please feel free to tag as many crafty images with #craftingismytherapy_august throughout the month. At the end of the month, Jennifer and I will choose our favourite images and put together a round-up post over on Instagram. You can find my Instagram here

The focus of our hashtag is crafting for pleasure, basically taking some ‘me-time’ to unwind in our busy lives. It doesn’t have to be a finished project, we love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

– Please share the love and comment on other people’s images added to the gallery.
– If you share your images and use the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_august on any social media channels that would be great. This will help us to grow the community. We will retweet all your posts via Twitter if you mention us (@pouchvintage/@JenniferJain )
– And finally, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, you’re more than welcome!
Jennifer Jain’s links are here too: Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

Giveaway terms and conditions
The prize is a set of Pastel Posca and Signo Pastel Ink pens.
To enter the giveaway you must tag at least one relevant photograph on Instagram with the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_august.
At the end of the month we will pick a winner at random from everyone that has used the hashtag.
The winner will be contacted by direct message on Instagram.
Giveaway is only open to residents of the United Kingdom
If the winner does not respond within 28 days then we reserve the right to reallocate the prize.
The prize will be provided and dispatched by uni-ball
The giveaway will remain open until 11.55pm (GMT) on Thursday 31st August 2017.

Join our Instagram crafting community in July

I can’t believe we’re into July already, June seemed to fly by. A new month means a new hashtag for our creative Instagram community. We'd love to see your crafty makes throughout July over on Instagram. Just add the tag #craftingismytherapy_july to include your images in our gallery.

This month we are delighted to announce we are working in partnership with Sugru to host a giveaway. One lucky person will be able to win a Sugru Create and Craft Kit. To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is to share a crafty photograph on Instagram using the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_july (please see full terms and conditions below).

Sugru is a mouldable glue and a brilliant product for crafters. The Craft and Create kit will help you to discover new techniques to fix, craft, emboss, texturise, design and upcycle. If you are looking for inspiration, head over to Sugru’s ‘Craft and Design’ gallery. I particularly love the idea of creating hand stamps, which you can see below...

I'd also like to introduce our new co-host for July - Jen from Crafticland. Jen is a regular contributor to our Instagram community. Jen’s website is full of tutorials designed to encourage you to get making. The idea behind Crafticland is think about the crafty supplies you may have sitting unloved in a cupboard somewhere & matching them up with a tutorial from Jen’s website. It’s a great idea and Jen is big part of the creative community over on Instagram.

June was a busy month for our Instagram community, we welcomed lots of new faces and I’m constantly inspired by all your creativity. We also have to say a big ‘thank you’ to June’s co-host, Rosina from Zeens and Roger. She did a sterling job of spreading the word about our community. Head over to her Instagram feed to see more of her colourful crochet creations.

The grid below shows just a small selection of images from June’s hashtag. I love seeing the wide variety of crafts...thank you so much for sharing your beautiful images with us. Click here to see the gallery in full…

Top row, left to right: @crafticland, @themessybrunette, @sewpopby
Middle row, left to right: @shirleyrainbow_tb, @sfmgs, @iamtheodoragoeswild
Bottom row, left to right: @sumoftheirstories, @jellybean_junction, @ella_makes

I know lots of you have beautiful Instagram accounts and I love the supportive nature of the creative community over there. Please feel free to tag as many crafty images with #craftingismytherapy_july throughout the month. At the end of the month, Jennifer and I will choose our favourite images and put together a round-up post over on Instagram. You can find my Instagram here

The focus of our hashtag is crafting for pleasure, basically taking some ‘me-time’ to unwind in our busy lives. It doesn’t have to be a finished project, we love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

Grab the Crafting is my Therapy badge to display on your blog:

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.meyouandmagoo.co.uk" rel="nofollow" title="Me You and Magoo"><img src="http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t474/pouchbags/crafting_is_my_therapy_blog_badge_ONE_zpszefd7734.jpg" alt="Me You and Magoo" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

– Please share the love and comment on other people’s images added to the gallery.

– If you share your images and use the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_july on any social media channels that would be great. This will help us to grow the community. We will retweet all your posts via Twitter if you mention us (@pouchvintage/@JenniferJain )

– And finally, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, you’re more than welcome! Jennifer Jain’s links are here too: Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

Giveaway terms and conditions
The prize is a Sugru Create and Craft Kit.
To enter the giveaway you must tag at least one relevant photograph on Instagram with the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_july.
At the end of the month we will pick a winner at random from everyone that has used the hashtag.
The winner will be contacted by direct message on Instagram. If the winner does not respond within 14 days then we reserve the right to reallocate the prize.
This giveaway is open to international entries.
The prize will be provided and dispatched by Sugru.
The giveaway will remain open until 11.55pm (GMT) on Monday 31st July 2017.

Join our Instagram crafting community in June

I'm a little late with writing a post for June's hashtag due to the half term holiday.

We'd love to see your crafty makes throughout June over on Instagram.

Just add the tag #craftingismytherapy_june to include your images in our gallery.

We will pick a selection of our favourite images throughout the month.

I'd also like to introduce our new co-host for June - Rosina from Zeens and Roger. Rosina supported our craft-related linky from the beginning and is now a regular contributor to our Instagram community. I'm a big fan of her colourful crochet projects, head over to her Instagram feed to see more...

May was our busiest month yet and our gallery was chock full of gorgeous creative projects.

The grid below shows just a small selection of images from May's hashtag.

I love seeing the wide variety of crafts...so much creativity!

Top row, left to right: Zeens and Roger, The Messy Brunette, shirleyrainbow_tb

Middle row, left to right: Cherry Peg, Crafticland, Making Polly

Bottom row, left to right: Rainbow Vintage Home, ella_makes, Yarn and Blarney

Last month our guest co-host was Maura from The Messy Brunette. She has written a lovely round-up of her time as co-host, head over to her blog to find out more.

The focus of our hashtag is crafting for pleasure, basically taking some ‘me-time’ to unwind in our busy lives. It doesn’t have to be a finished project, we love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

Don't forget to add the #craftingismytherapy_june hashtag to your creative images over the next few weeks, all crafts welcome...

Join our Instagram crafting community in May

A new month means a new hashtag for our Instagram crafting community. The focus of our hashtag is crafting for pleasure, basically taking some ‘me-time’ to unwind in our busy lives. It doesn’t have to be a finished project, we love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

I'm delighted to announce that Maura from The Messy Brunette is joining us as guest co-host in May. I've long admired Maura's blog and love seeing the creative projects she works on each month. I think there aren't many crafts she can't turn her hand to! If you love crochet and embroidery, then do head over to her Instagram feed...because you're in for a treat.

Join Jennifer Jain, Maura and I over on Instagram by tagging your images with #craftingismytherapy_may.

If you'd like to see last month's gallery in full, you can head over to Instagram by following this link

Below is a grid of a selection of images added using the #craftingismytherapy_april hashtag...

Each month the hashtag will change to reflect the month we are currently in. At the end of the month Jennifer Jain and I will feature a selection of our favourite images...

What are you making at the moment? In April I completed my 'Helping' embroidery hoop.
Even though it has taken me a while to finish, I'm really pleased with the way it has turned out.
I'm going to stretch the finished piece onto a canvas to hang on our wall.

If you'd like to see more, head over to the Me, You and Magoo Instagram account to see more of my craft projects.

– Please share the love and comment on other people who join in with the hashtag.
– If you share an image please use the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_may on any social media channels, this will help us to grow the community. We will retweet all your posts via Twitter if you mention us @pouchvintage, @JenniferJain or @messymaura
– And finally, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, you’re more than welcome! Jennifer Jain’s links are here too: Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook. And here's Maura's: Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

Join our new Instagram crafting community

We're currently taking a break from hosting the "Crafting is my Therapy" blog link-up.

But we're still keeping the creative vibe alive over on Instagram.

Join Jennifer Jain and I over there by tagging your images with #craftingismytherapy_january.

The focus of our new hashtag is crafting for pleasure, basically taking some ‘me-time’ to unwind in our busy lives. It doesn’t have to be a finished project, we love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

Each month the hashtag will change to reflect the month we are currently in. At the end of the month Jennifer Jain and I will feature a selection of our favourite images...

What are you making at the moment? I am currently a bit obsessed with making pom poms. I haven't made one using two pieces of cardboard since I was a child. I had forgotten how much fun they are to make. I love winding the wool around and around and then cutting the yarn to reveal the fluffy pom pom.

Making pom poms is a great way of using up all those spare bits of yarn you may have hanging around. You can experiment with mixing colours, they look great with clashing shades, anything goes!

To make a pom pom using the 'old school' cardboard hoop method, you will need:
* cardboard, cereal packets are ideal
* two circular objects to draw around, one larger than the other. I used a ceramic tea cup and an egg cup to make the 'doughnut' template. Make sure you cut out two 'doughtnuts' to wind the wool around...
* scissors
* wool, any shade and texture, the more colours the better!

They are really simple to make. Just take the two cardboard 'doughtnuts' and start winding the wool around and around. Build up the wool to the thickness you require. The thicker the wool is wound around the cardboard, the denser the pom pom will be. Once you have finished, carefully cut the wool from the cardboard. Be sure to slide the scissors between the two pieces of cardboard when you cut around. Once the edges are all cut, take a piece of yarn and tie the middle part that is between the cardboard doughnuts making sure you have a nice knot. Snip the cardboard doughnuts off.

Any doubts about how to make a pom pom? Take a look at this WikiHow tutorial for more images

Have fun! Be warned, making pom poms can become addictive :)

If you'd like to see more, head over to the Me, You and Magoo Instagram account to see more of my craft projects.

– Please share the love and comment on other people who join in with the hashtag.

– If you share an image please use the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_january on any social media channels, this will help us to grow the community. We will retweet all your posts via Twitter if you mention us @pouchvintage or @JenniferJain

– And finally, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, you’re more than welcome! Jennifer Jain’s links are here too: Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

Looking back at my craft projects in 2016

I started 2016 determined to be more creative. I wrote a post in January about wanting to overcome negative thoughts. One way to create more positivity in my life was to pick up my needle and thread and get sewing again. I find hand stitching relaxing, yet over the past few years I rarely make time for it...

I was inspired by an Anne Lamott quote I had seen on the Story of Mum Facebook page. It talked about embracing a 'big, juicy creative life'. Who wouldn't want to do that?!

For me, hand sewing is a form of mindfulness. I find concentrating on the stitches helps me to focus on the moment. I also like the sense of accomplishment when I reach the end of a sewing project. I run my fingers over the stitches and feel proud of my handiwork. Once one project is complete, my mind jumps to the next idea. It's definitely an outlet for my creativity.

In 2016 I wanted to aim to create at least one sewing project a month. I also wanted to blog about my creations and encourage others to make more time for creativity - our 'Crafting is my Therapy" blog link-up was born.

Now we're heading into December and 2016 is coming to a close, I wanted to look back at the sewing projects I've created over the past twelve months. I know my crafting output isn't huge, one look at Pinterest or Instagram shows me that some people create vast amounts of embroidery and crochet. I love admiring it though and you can't really compare yourself to others. The hand embroidery I've created has given me lots of pleasure, so that's all that matters...

I kicked off 2016 creating my "Sewing Mends the Soul hoop pictured at the top of this post...

February's Craft Project was inspired by the Beatles lyrics "Love Is All you Need".

In March I blogged about my vintage fabric applique rabbit hoop.

I also created a post in March about Learning new embroidery stitches

In May I put together a blog post about "It's cool to be kind: why we should value carers". This is a subject I feel strongly about as my husband and I are both support workers. This was one of my most popular posts of the year and I had lots of positive comments and reaction to the post.

My project for June was chain stitch spirals and french knots. I discovered the joys of sewing onto a favourite piece of vintage fabric...

In July I made a hand embroidered butterfly hoop. I think July's project is the one I'm most proud of...it combines stitches I had never tried before until this year.

In August I didn't sew a single stitch. The school holidays got the better of me I'm afraid...I did create this 'Sewing is my Therapy' hoop back in June, so I'll add it in here.

In September I wanted to learn more new stitches. So I had a go at learning ribbed web and lazy daisy stitch.

October and November have seen me return to my favourite past time of embellishing vintage fabric. Again, it is a great way to practice some of the new stitches I have learnt in 2016.

I hope you're enjoyed the review of my craft projects in 2016. I would love to know what you've been creating this year and if you've learnt any new crafty skills.

I will be linking up to December's "Crafting is my Therapy" with this post. December's link-up will be the last one we're hosting for a little while. There will be more details about a new Instagram community to replace the linky whilst I take a break from blogging. More details can be found in Friday's post when #craftingismytherapy goes live...

Crafting is my Therapy #8 + Posca Pen Giveaway

Welcome to the eighth “Crafting is my Therapy” blog link-up. A big thank you to everyone who linked up in August - I know it can be a busy month with holidays, days out and making the most of the sunshine...

I have to hold my hands up and say I haven’t sewn a single stitch in August. I had all sorts of plans and ideas, but the school holidays defeated me on the sewing front. Not that I’m complaining, we’ve had a great time. Lots of trips to the beach, playing in the park, picking fruit and veg at the allotment, sunny (yes, sunny) camping trips…I just haven’t had a moment to sit down and stitch!

Having said that, we’ve still had a crafty Summer with lots of colouring, painting and drawing. One thing we have loved is crafting with our Posca Pens. They draw on pretty much any surface you can think of…glass, stone, wood and plastic to name just a few. We put our Posca Pens through their paces and you can see my review post here.

Posca have also kindly offered us a set of their pens to giveaway this month. Simply link up with a craft related blog post and you could be in with a chance of winning...

Have you created anything crafty this month? If you sew, knit, crochet, paint, work with ceramics…please join in and share your blog posts.

The focus of this linky is crafting for pleasure, basically taking some ‘me-time’ to unwind in our busy lives. It doesn’t have to be a finished project, we love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

Grab the Crafting is my Therapy badge:

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.meyouandmagoo.co.uk" rel="nofollow" title="Me You and Magoo"><img src="http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t474/pouchbags/crafting_is_my_therapy_blog_badge_ONE_zpszefd7734.jpg" alt="Me You and Magoo" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

I co-host Crafting is my Therapy with Jennifer Jain. She writes the popular craft blog Jennifers Little World

Jennifer hosts our Pinterest group board. Would you like your blog posts to be seen by over 700K followers? Craft Bloggers linking to #craftingismytherapy are welcome to join our board. It's a great way for your posts to reach a wider audience...

The “Crafting is my Therapy” linky will open on 5th September and stay open for the whole month – giving you plenty of time to get involved.
– You can link up with maximum of three posts per month, old or new.
– Grab the linky badge or link back to our blogs on your post.
– Please share the love and comment on other people’s posts.
– If you could share your post and the linky (using the hashtag #craftingismytherapy) on any social media channels that would be great. This will help us to grow the community. We will retweet all your posts via Twitter if you mention us (@pouchvintage/@JenniferJain )
– And finally, if you would like to follow me on Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, you’re more than welcome! Jennifer Jain’s links are here too: Twitter, Pinterest and Facebook.

An InLinkz Link-up

Giveaway Entry Rules:
– One winner will receive a pack of Posca Pens described above.
– The winner will be chosen at random from eligible entries to the linky this month.
– In order for an entry to be eligible it must be a relevant post, it must mention the "Crafting is my Therapy" linky either by text link or using the badge. It must link back to one of the hosts. The linky will remain open until 11.55pm (GMT) on Friday 30th September 2016.
– If the winner does not respond within 28 days we will redraw and reallocate the prize. There is no cash alternative. Invalid entries will be discounted.

Happy New Year? Not sure about that one...

Another year rolls around again...I'm staring at the start of 2014 and I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. 2013 was an eventful and at times very sad year for me and I'm still feeling the repercussions of events that took place. I also think this mid-winter time of year can make many people feel low. There's the lull after Christmas when all the decorations have gone and the bank account looks a bit bare. I'm not one to let myself get too down, but at the at the start of 2014, I do feel incredibly flat and unmotivated. It's really not like me, I like to press on with things and aim for goals. My crafting mojo seems to have deserted me at the moment and I'm really looking for something new to inspire and invigorate me.

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions, and despite feeling a bit glum, I do have some ideas for 2014...

* I've got a new found love of yoga and I like to follow my DVD once or twice a week. As a busy parent, I find just taking some time out for myself has a huge impact on my wellbeing. Plus I feel stretched, refreshed and relaxed after completing a session of yoga.

* I'm also toying with the idea of meditation. I know very little about it, but I've been reading a lot about "mindfulness" recently and I think meditation could help me with that. I'm often my own worst enemy, too hard on myself, too quick to criticse what I'm doing. Sometimes I just want the internal monologue to shut the heck up! So, meditation and lots of walks outdoors are on the list for 2014.

* I'm also really keen to keep up with my writing. I'm considering writing more parenting-based blog posts and may even start a new blog so that I can keep my crafting and parenting ideas separate. I feel the need to vent some stuff and I need a space separate from "Pouch" to achieve that.

* I've signed up for an online course in creative writing and I haven't had the time to embark on the course yet. 2014 is the year I *make* time to look at it! If writing is a dream of mine, then I'm the only one who can make it a reality. I need to stop procrastinating and get on with it.

* On the crafting front, I'm considering launching a range of personalised cushions. I've made hand embroidered wedding and children's birthday cushions for friends...but I'm not sure I want to leap into selling them. Making them has been a labour of love and something I've enjoyed making just 'for the fun of it'. I've been contacted by a wedding website about selling my cushions, so I know there's a market for it. But I feel like I need a break from sewing at the moment, like I say, my crafting mojo has done a runner at this present time, but we'll see...

* 2014 brings the year my daughter starts school. In nine months she will be in full-time education. I can't say that the thought of it doesn't break my heart, because it does. We've had such a blast over past few years and I'm going to miss her terribly in the daytime. But children grow up and it's the next phase of her life. And the next phase of mine and I need to find a focus for my time. So I'm going to be dusting off my CV, signing up for more voluntary work and maybe even embarking on some training.

So, onwards and upwards into the New Year!