Join our creative instagram community in March

It's the first of March and I'm sat here writing this and watching the snow whirl down outside. All the local schools are shut and we have a red weather warning in place for the South West. It's all a bit of a shock to the system as we're usually starting to feel some Spring warmth creeping in at this time of year. Can't complain though, it all looks very pretty from the comfort of a warm home...

The cold weather means I can stay indoors and get some crafting done. Although I suspect many of you don't need the excuse of a cold-snap to get creative.

February was a busy month for our Instagram hashtag. So many beautiful craft projects in our feed, it is always a real struggle to narrow it down to nine images for the grid. I love being part of this creative community and thank you to everyone who joins in each month.

Below is a small selection of the creative images tagged throughout February.

You can find out who the makers are behind the images by following this link

This month we welcome Jenny as guest co-host throughout March. She is a a doctor by profession, but when she has some free time, she loves nothing more than making things with her hands. You can read her blog here and head over to Jenny's @forthejoyofcraft Instagram feed to see more of her crafty makes.

If you enjoy sharing creative images on Instagram, then please feel free to tag as many crafty images with #craftingismytherapy_march throughout the month. At the end of the month, my co-hosts Jennifer Jain, Jenny and I will choose our favourite images and put together a round-up post over on Instagram. You can find my Instagram here

– Please share the love and comment on images added to the #craftingismytherapy_march feed.
– If you share your images and use the hashtag #craftingismytherapy_march 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!

Follow me on Pinterest to see blog posts, tutorials and much more...

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.

Crafting is my Therapy #10

Welcome to the tenth “Crafting is my Therapy” blog link-up.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful month or making and creating.

We enjoyed reading all your blog posts from the October link-up. Welcome to all our new linkers, including Hillview Embroidery and Growing Family who joined us for the first time last month.

This month I have been using vintage fabric as a template for my embroidery stitches. I find the bold, floral patterns of fabrics from the 1960s and 1970s lend themselves perfectly to hand embroidery. It offers me a lovely template to work with and the only limit is my imagination. What have you created recently? We'd love to see your crafty blog posts...

I wanted to help spread the word about Mind's upcoming Crafternoon event. The idea is to gather friends and family together to raise money and awareness of Mind's important work with mental health issues. Here at "Crafting is my Therapy" we support the idea that creativity can help to promote happiness and wellbeing. As this quote from the Mind website illustrates, crafts can absorb and distract us:

"Crafting gives me a huge sense of satisfaction. It helps me feel productive and also acts as a distraction when needed. All of which is really important for my mental wellbeing"

Hosting a Crafternoon sounds like a fun way to help support Mind, I have applied for my fundraising pack and I'm hoping to hold my own crafty afternoon very soon. I will of course blog about the event. My late-father suffered with clinical depression, so Mind's work is very close to my heart. Mental health issues affect one in four of us, it's important everyone experiencing a mental health problem gets support and respect.

If you are interested in supporting this fantastic initiative, please head over the Mind website for further info...

Have you created anything crafty this month? Sewing, knitting, crochet, painting or pottery…please join in and share your blog posts.

The focus of our blog link-up 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 4th November at 7pm (GMT) 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.
– The focus of the linky is crafting for pleasure, so please don’t link up with posts promoting handmade items for sale.
– 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

Crafting in October: embellishing vintage fabric with stitches

As someone with a huge collection of vintage fabric scraps and offcuts, it makes sense to use them in my crafting. I have been making and selling handmade homewares on Etsy since 2007 and I've always used retro fabrics. I have amassed heaps of pretty scraps and I never know what to do with them. Until I have time to sew an enormous vintage fabric quilt, I will make do with using some of it for embroidery practice.

I find the bold, floral patterns of fabrics from the 1960s and 1970s lend themselves perfectly to hand embroidery. It offers me a lovely template to work with and the only limit is your imagination. It's also a no-stress project that you can pick up and put down whenever you want. So far I have added chain stitch around the flower and a little circle of French Knots in the middle. Over time I can add more or move onto another flower on the fabric and create new effects with different stitches.

As ever, I find hand sewing relaxing, even though I have less time than I've ever had with starting a college course in September. I also have lots of ideas for handmade Christmas gifts, but I have no idea where I will find the time. I don't like the conflict in my brain when I have ideas but no time to complete them. But it's something I hear from lots of other crafters, so I know I'm not alone. If I could find a way to go into a parallel craft universe, that would be amazing. Until then, I grab some stitching time as and when I can...

One of the things that has caught my eye on Social Media this month are the "Crafternoon" events to raise awareness of Mind and mental health issues. I will write more about this on my Crafting is my Therapy blog post, which will go live tomorrow (Friday 4th November). You can read about organising a "Crafternoon" by following this link

I am linking up to November's 'Crafting is my Therapy' with this blog post. If you blog about crafts, we'd love to have you on board. The linky will open on 4th November at 7pm (GMT) and stays open for the whole month – giving you plenty of time to get involved.

Do you pin? I would love to connect with you over on Pinterest...

Crafting is my Therapy #7

Welcome to the Seventh “Crafting is my Therapy” blog link-up.

I hope you’ve had a wonderful month or making and creating.

It was nice to see new craft bloggers getting involved in July. We loved seeing everything you’ve created. I particularly liked Deborah Champion’s post about sewing a tiny suit for her doll. Plus it was her first time linking up to Crafting is my Therapy.

This month I have linked up with my latest hand sewn hoop featuring a pretty butterfly motif. I attempted Satin Stitch for the first time in many years...

I also wanted to mention it's National Stitch Day on 6th August. The National Celebration of Stitch is designed to raise awareness of the Embroiderers’ Guild, demonstrating the delights of stitching, textiles and embroidery. Events will be taking place across the country and this event at Bristol Museum sounds particularly lovely and I'm going to try and go along...

Last month we also held a Sugru giveaway. There were 6 posts (not including the hosts) added to our link-up in July. Using the random number generator, I can tell you that the winner is…Zeens and Roger! A selection of Sugru packs will be heading her way shortly.

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 blog link-up 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” link-up will open on 1st August 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 link-up 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 link-up (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

Crafting is my Therapy #6 + Sugru giveaway

Welcome to the Sixth “Crafting is my Therapy” blog link-up.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful month or making and creating.

- June has been a hectic month for me. I have so many things I want to make and not enough time. I’m really grateful I started the Crafting is my Therapy project because it does spur me on to sit down and create. Even if it is just for half an hour. It doesn't have to be a perfectly finished piece of craft, just tapping into your creativity for a few minutes can help with your wellbeing. I did manage to sew this little “Crafting is my Therapy” hoop. It’s embellished with vintage buttons that belonged to my late-grandmother. I am hoping to make a start on a piece of embroidery featuring a butterfly motif in July.

In June we had a lovely selection of crafts added to our link-up.
It was nice to see new craft bloggers getting involved with our crafting community.
We loved seeing everything you’ve created.

This month we are holding another giveaway. The lovely people at Sugru have donated a fab prize. One lucky winner will win:
Sugru Starter Kit
Sugru Magnet Kit
Sugru 8 Pack in a range of bright colours

Never heard of Sugru?

“Sugru is the world’s first mouldable glue that sticks to almost anything and turns into a strong flexible rubber overnight. Invented for people looking to repair and improve stuff, it’s used by people in over 160 countries - from homeowners planning DIY projects through to people making small improvements to gadgets, appliances and even toys.”

Sugru is amazing stuff. Jennifer, my co-host, has used it many times and is a big fan. You can see her crafty Sugru makes here. Sugru actively welcome customers to share ideas with others. You can see tons of ideas on their website...I particularly love their “Craft & Making” section

You can find the Sugru giveaway rules at the bottom of this post...good luck!

Last month we also held a colouring book giveaway. There were 10 posts (not including the hosts) added to our link-up in June. Using the random number generator, I can tell you that the winner is…A Saucy Stitch! Two colouring books will be heading your way shortly.

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 02/07/2016 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 the Sugru kits 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 the 31st July 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.

Crafting is my Therapy #4 + Giveaway

Welcome to the fourth “Crafting is my Therapy” blog linky.
I hope you’ve had a wonderful month or making and creating.

This month we are holding another giveaway.
Up for grabs is a fab selection of crafting materials including:
Stabilo colouring pencils // Blu Tack Glu Dots // Blu Tack Foam Pads // Sellotape Clever Tape // Three rolls of decorative fabric tape // Two Sharpie pens, thin and thick // Metallic marker pens // Pack of ribbons // Large decorated wooden buttons

For a chance to win, simply link-up below with your crafty blog posts.
Full entry rules can be found further down in this post.

This month I have been:
- Working on my “it’s Cool to be Kind” embroidery hoop. I was inspired by selfless acts carried out by people who are either paid or unpaid carers. Kindness is something I value in my own life and it can often be overlooked. Head over to my blog post to read more. I'd love to know your thoughts on this subject, either as a carer or as someone who is cared-for. I'd also like to hear about experiences where an act of kindness has made a difference to your life.

Last month was our busiest link-up so far. We loved seeing everything you’ve created. My favourite links from last month’s Crafting is my Therapy are:
– I was genuinely moved by Amy Loves to Sew’s post about the handmade artwork she created for her baby daughter. So much thought & effort went into the piece. This is the real beauty behind making something yourself…you can put lots of love into it.
– As a vintage fabric fan, I adored Zeens and Roger’s patchwork knitting bag, head to her blog to find out more…
– The Messy Brunette worked her crafty magic on her haul of prizes won from a blog giveaway. I make no secret of the fact I love her hand painted jars and take every opportunity to tell her so. Hopefully she will put together a tutorial on her blog soon
– And finally, Simply Blossoms blogged about an ingenious way to colour match yarn before you start a knitting or crochet project. Take a look at her post to see the idea in all its colourful glory.

April's Giveaway Winner
Last month we also held a giveaway. There were 8 posts (not including the hosts) added to our link-up in April. Using the random number generator, I can tell you that the winner is…Amy Loves to Sew! A bundle of crafty goodies will be heading her way shortly.

Have you created anything crafty this month? If you sew, knit, crochet, paint, work with ceramics…please join in and share your work.
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, I love seeing work in progress, planning posts or tutorials too.

Please 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>

Giveaway Entry Rules:
- The prize is a box of crafty goodies as detailed 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 or using the badge, and it must link back to one of the linky hosts. The linky will remain open until Thursday June 2nd 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.

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. Want 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 the first Friday of each month 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 )
– 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