Pipsqueaks Blog Book Tour - Book Review and Mini Challenge

I am very excited to be a part of a world-wide blog tour for Sally Dixon's new book Pipsqueaks ~itsy-bitsy felt creations to stitch and love.

I am also excited to be able to have a digital copy of the book to give away! Details at the end of this post.

Sally lives in South Australia, and originally trained as an early childhood teacher. As well as having created this book full of tiny patterns, she also makes them to sell in her online Etsy and Madeit stores ~ Sally Dixon Creations.

Some of the adorable little things you can make

Sally set me a challenge to go along with my review (how can you review something without trying it yourself?!) The challenge was to make three items from her book, one from each chapter; Somewhat Pipsqueak, Perfectly Pipsqueak and Utterly Pipsqueak.

Challenge accomplished; Sew cute!!

I actually had fun making these three little fellas. You'll note I said 'actually', as I was concerned that my sewing skills would not be up to the task, however it turns out, they were! If I can make them, it bodes well for anyone to give it a go.

The ice-cream was my favourite!

For this review, I was provided with a digital review copy of the book Pipsqueaks, from C&T Publishing.


The Good

Sally's introduction provides a comprehensive list of all the techniques and items you'll need to make all 30 + of these tiny creations.

Each project is set out step by step with images as well as written instructions. This makes it very easy to follow and complete.

I think there is something for every skill level here, and I'm pretty sure my 10-year-old self would have adored this book during the school holidays!

Little Bunny (actually the bigger little bunny)

The Not So Good

I like a book I can physically get my hands on, especially when it comes to crafting. Getting around an e-book is still a bit New World for me! I did compromise and print out the pages for the ones I made.

(Sally has a hardcopy of the book too, if you prefer physical to digital)

In progress

Things That Would Have Helped Me

Perhaps some alternative suggestions for embellishments when you don't have beads or other bits like mini pom poms on hand. There are a few general ideas in the introduction, however a few gentle reminders or suggestions for each project would have been amazing.

A #hashtag for sharing images of completed creations. I'd love to see what other people have made and how they interpreted the patterns.

Loved working with felt

All Up

Quick to make and super cute! There are lots of things in this book to love. I also feel that it would make a great gift for a crafty youngster (don't forget to throw in some pieces of felt!)

Sally's Elephants, perhaps when I'm a little more
confident with my pipsqueaks!

You can go on tour along with the book too, check out the other blogs that are on the trail;

11^th May 2016: C&T Publishing - (Concord, California, U.S.A.)

11^th May 2016: We Bloom Here - Margaret Bloom (San Francisco Bay, California, U.S.A.)

12^th May 2016: My Handmade Adventure - Karen Wasson (Melbourne, Australia) - You are here!

13^th May 2016: 60 Degrees of Inspiration - Joanna Riley (Shetland Isles, Scotland, UK)

14^th May 2016: Buttonsy - Anna Day (London, England, UK)

15^th May 2016: Madeit - (Lennox Head, Australia)

16^th May 2016 Sally Dixon Creations - Sally Dixon (Adelaide, Australia)

Now with thanks to Sally and C&T Publishing, you too can be lost in an itty bitty Pipsqueak world. All you have to do to be in the running to win a digital copy of Pipsqueaks, is leave a comment on this blog post.

Competition closes on Monday 23rd of May 2016 when a winner will be drawn at random.


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Hammered Leatherworks - DIY Kit Review

It's March and I've made something... This one was terribly easy but it still totally counts! 

I have been itching to get my hands on one of these DIY Hammered Leatherworks kits for a while now, and found one in my letterbox this month with thanks to the Maker's Mailer.

Hammered Leatherworks DIY Kit Review

Hammered Leatherworks is based in Western Australia and is run by husband and wife team Adam and Bec. They make DIY leather kits which range from the little pouch that I made, to pencil cases, to more intricate purses, wallets and even handbags.

Each kit has four different coloured leather options, and all their leather is sustainably sourced.

Without further ado, here is my unbiased, unpaid and unaffiliated review of the Hammered Leatherworks Leather Hipster Pouch Kit.


The Good

Sustainably and ethically sourced leather, a big tick from me for this.

Free how to videos, along with little tips on the Hammered Leatherworks website. While all the instructions are in the box, it's nice to watch a little video so you can be certain you get it right!

Everything you need is in the box (apart from scissors, but I think everyone has scissors right?)

The finished product is very sweet and durable. (and doesn't look dodgy, even though I'm no 'sewer')

Crafting in the great outdoors... with technology!

The Not So Good

I'm still very much on task with reducing my waste, and unfortunately, the contents of the box came in a plastic bag. It's not over packaged with bits you don't need, just the plastic, oh the plastic.

However I have found when ordering things online from small businesses, they are extremely obliging in packaging things without plastic if you ask, I'm sure Hammered Leatherworks would be just as obliging.

Check out that stitching

Things That Would Have Helped Me

I would have loved the ability or option to personalise it somehow.

I did have some issues trying to watch the videos back on my phone, so perhaps just a few pictures online with a basic 'how to' would've helped me. This would also help people who don't have the plug-in or have issues accessing online videos for one reason or another.

Hey Hip Pouch

All Up

I had fun making the hipster pouch, something a bit different for me. While my input was pretty minimal with this particular kit, I still feel pretty stoked with it. 

I would love to try another more intricate kit, and have heard through the grapevine that they are looking at making kits for mobile phone cases. I'll be first in line for one of those!

You can purchase a Hammered Leatherworks kit directly from their website, they also have a list of stockists, so you can pop on into a store near you and pick one up if you want to get started right away!

Do you have a favourite DIY kit?

Craftsy; Crochet Class Review

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know that I'm not really on par with crochet. I somehow managed to hook my way through making a pear, a cake and an apple, however I'm still not entirely sure how!

A pear in progress

Possibly almost 8 months ago now, I got myself an online Craftsy crochet class to try out. It's been sitting on the inter-web waiting for me until now.

I have looked at online classes in the past, I even signed up to sew school online. I started this so diligently, and then life and things went a little pear-shaped. Sew School is still on my 'to do' list and I will get there.

For now though, here is my frank, unbiased and unpaid and unaffiliated review of 'Improve your crochet; essential techniques' by Edie Eckman

Craftsy - Logo from website

The Good

It's there forever! It didn't matter that I got it way back when, there's no expiry date on a Craftsy Course. So you can watch it as many times as you want. You can watch the same bits over again and save some bits for later.

It's filmed very clearly and separated into easy to follow segments.

The materials sheets; They supply conversions, patterns and instructions that Edie uses in the tutorials.


The Not So Good

I looked at the classes available, and as a novice crocheter, I though this was the best course to help me go further. It turns out, it wasn't really the course for me.

I got a little lost in navigating the actual site. It took me a little while to get used to the navigation for the videos which seemed to change if I went from desktop to a mobile device. There is a short video showing you (very quickly) how to navigate through, however it wasn't easy to locate.

The terms!! I'm already so confused with crochet terms and most of the patterns I work from are UK and this one is all done in US terms (they do supply a conversion chart in the class notes.)

I did make a few small samples during the course
However I completely misplaced them! So no pictures

Things That Would Have Helped Me

I personally would have benefited from a class that taught me how to create one single thing using crochet from start to finish, illustrating the techniques along the way. Even if it was just a good old granny square! That way I could have understood much more about how the techniques could be used when making other projects.

Something else I would've found helpful, would have been little subtitles converting terms into UK patterns, for example, If Edie was saying "work a double crochet" A subtitle would come up on the screen 'UK Triple Crochet'.


All Up

If I were more competent with crochet, I think this would have been much more useful to me at the first run through. That being said, I know it will be useful in the future, and after going through the whole thing, I now know what's covered.

It's gotten me interested in getting the crochet hook out again, and once I'm a bit more steady with it all, I'll certainly be taking another peak at Improve your crochet; essential techniques.

Still not entirely sure how I managed this fella!

***

If you are thinking of doing a Craftsy Class, I would recommend it. However before choosing one, my tips would be;

- Take advantage of all the information Craftsy provides, for each course. They cover frequently asked questions, what materials you will need, as well as ratings and reviews.

- See if you can borrow books from the library or read items online written by the person who is taking the course you are looking at, you can find out more under 'The instructor' on the course info page.

- Under 'Help' find the little video that shows you how to navigate through a lesson.

***

Have you completed any online craft courses that you would recommend?