When one of our best girl friends asked to hold her wedding decoration preparation S+S Hq we jumped at the chance! Here is a sneek peek at what we will be making for her big day…. simple and mighty pretty indeed.

The idea is to mix a collection of found, gifted and hoarded treasures to create an ethically sound and sustainable wedding, and in true indie wedding style, a little bit of creative ’freestyle’ goes a long way! These decs’ have to be as easy to disassemble and recycle as humanly possible, so no tape, staples or unessential faff.

Here is the first of several ‘How to’ posts from our Crafty Hen’s at S+S theme. You will also be excited to hear that all this leads up to some exciting new events coming in August!….. Details to follow.

Its almost May which seems crazy in itself! Hot off the S+S press here are our listings for what we hope to be a sunny month jam packed not only with jubilee madness, but a juicy serving of all things creative.

During May Tom Says Darn It!’s second darning class will be held on May 25th but at the slightly different time of 7 til 9pm.

Inspired by brightly coloured and highly ornate Mexican Sugar Skulls this project is the perfect crafty way to personalise your phone.

You will need:

A perforated plastic phone/iphone case aka hard mesh snap on case (who’d have known!) These can be found easily on Amazon for approx. £2 http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=perforated+iphone+cases&x=0&y=0

A sharp embroidery needle with a medium sized eye, and a selection of brightly coloured sewing and embroidery threads (floss)

This project uses 2 embroidery stitches… running stitch and cross stitch.

Start from the outside working a row of running stitch around the very edge as a border. These cases are great because you can only stitch through a hole! Knot the very end of your thread and in an up and down motion (wave like) motion sew a running stitch through every hole.

http://www.fidella.com/webstitch/stitch02.html#running1 Stagger several rows of different colour threads to create a jazzy chevron style boarder. The more contrasting the colours, the better the effect!

Now using cross stitch, fill in the main body of the case with stripes. http://www.fidella.com/webstitch/stitch04.html#cross2

Work in rows, wrapping the long ends of your threads around the case to keep them from tangling as you work. To finish a colour and change your thread, sew into the back of the last stitch over and over a couple of times. Try to keep it neat!

It might be worth drawing out your design on a piece of paper before you begin sewing… and trim back all long threads at the end.

Happy stitching.

A deliciously fruity take on a trad’ pud’ perfect for using up all those hot cross buns bought on special offer in a moment of madness! Very simple to prepare and amazing with ice cream.

You will need:

2 medium eggs
350 ml milk
4 Hot cross buns 1 tbsp brown sugar
Medium sized baking dish
Butter or marge
*ice cream to serve*

Slice your buns in half and butter. Now cut each half into two pieces (semi circle chunks) Start by lining the pieces around the edges of your dish and work your way inwards. Pack them closely but not too tightly, you need to leave room for your mixture to expand. Pre heat the oven at 160 oC.

Now pour your milk into a measuring jug, crack in two eggs and beat til combined.

Pour this mixture evenly over your neatly filled dish and let it sit for 5 mins to soak up the liquid.

Sprinkle with sugar and pop into the oven. Check it at 15 minutes. After 20-25 minute your pudding should have risen and be golden brown on top. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Ready!

Serve with ice cream. Go on.

In a first of a series of ‘How to’ Tutorials we bring you this Navajo style Necklace.

Navajo prints are key this season and this necklace is the perfect way to bring a little ‘neo-native’ into your outfit. Plus it’s handmade AND crafty!

It’s really simple to make –  you just need to know basic crochet to make the chain and the rest is easy peasy knotting. So pick your colour scheme, click on the first image and scroll through each one to get making!

Have fun making your’s and don’t forget to tweet us a pic, post a photo of your finished necklace on our Facebook page or pin it onto our craft projects Pinterest board so we can see!