Meet The Amazings

As one of the most overused words in the English language, you could argue the term ‘amazing’ has lost some of its sentiment, but not when it comes to this truly incredible group of people...

Like something out of a marvel comic, The Amazings have been brought together for their invaluable set of skills in order to pass on what they know to the next generation. They are doing this by providing us with courses and classes ranging from the classic to the curious, with lessons in woodturning, bookbinding, interior design, and even perfume making available in and around London.

without colour we are lost

The Amazings was born out of a simple idea. Society has always learned from its elders. But along the way that connection between generations is often lost – which means sometimes losing rich, valuable, and rare skills. Skills such as those of Christina, The Amazing's resident interior designer, who has spent the last ten years creating beautiful spaces for people to live in with a focus on colour, attention to detail, and the notion of space.

Christina, Interior Designer from The Amazings on Vimeo.

One off classes start from as little as £15 and what’s more, the team are offering 20% off all courses until 7^th January, simply enter the code ‘FacebookHQ’ at the checkout when you visit The Amazings’ website. So perhaps this year we should all try something old, to learn something new!

Don’t forget to like and follow The Amazings on Facebook and Twitter for daily updates from the team.

Autumn leaf bunting

Oh my... autumn leaf bunting. Hello new craft crush.

How gorgeous is this autumn leaf bunting from Sea Field and Tribe?

Crispy leaves in muted russet tones plus delicate stitching, and the wonderful expectedness of it all make for a massive hit in our book. We think blogger Chelsea might be a bit of a genius.

Pop over to Sea Field and Tribe to see how it's done.

Hand warmer DIY

Brrr... there's a definite chill in the air these days! Craft your own home-made heat pack to keep you cosy.

Fellow Fellow has come up with the perfect solution to stop our fingers getting chilly in the nippy autumn air. This super simple heat pack DIY will tuck into your coat pocket to warm you up in no time.

Great idea, right? We'll be honest, though - we were sold from the minute we spotted blogger Claire's beautiful choice of Liberty style fabric.

Pop over to the Fellow Fellow blog to find out how it's done (we for one were mega-surprised to find out what goes inside these little pouches!) plus oodles more crafty gorgeousness.

Alternative pumpkin decorating

BOO! Halloween is fast approaching. Time to get planning! Whether you're past your dressing-up years or not, it'd be wrong not to mark the occasion with a carved pumpkin or two. We've shunned traditional approaches and rounded up the coolest alternative pumpkin decorating DIYs on the web.

Kicking off our round-up is the very dedicated (and artistically blessed) Alisa Burke. We've never seen such a spectacle as Alisa's painted pumpkins. Not so much a DIY as a gaze-in-awe-and-don't-even-think-about-attempting-it, we'd be distraught when it was time to throw these away.

For a much more achievable take on the metallic on white design, click over to Paper'n'stitch. A little white paint and a Sharpie or two is all that's needed for these simple and chic metallic spotted pumpkins.

Ramping up the glam factor a notch is A Field Journal. This sparkly pumpkin DIY combines a pale base with a liberal sprinkling of glitter for an eerie shimmer.

Not dramatic enough for you? If you really want to make a statement, check out Monograms and Manicures. This chevron pumpkin comes in neon pink with a heap of gold glitter to boot. Pair with a green spotted design to really start your Halloween with a bang!

Craftivist Jigsaw Project

The Craftivist Jigsaw Project is an amazing new campaign from the Craftivist Collective.

The Craftivist Collective has launched their Jigsaw project in support of Save the Children's Race Against Hunger.

Some of the biggest names in UK craft have joined forces to try and get hunger at the top of the agenda at the next G8 meeting taking place in the UK next year.

This isn't any regular charity project. As you'd expect, to get involved you'll need to get your needle and thread out!

The Collective is asking crafters to stitch 3 jigsaw pieces with campaign messages. One will then be included in an art installation to raise awareness of of the problem. Another will go to your local MP to ask them to be the positive change they'd like to see in the world. The final piece is for you to keep for yourself, as a reminder to be part of the solution.

Visit the Craftivist Collective website to join the Jigsaw Project now - you can follow everyone's progress on Twitter (#imapiece).

Autumn cross stitch charts

The Making Spot is our first stop for cross stitch charts, crochet and knitting patterns.

Our latest Making spot finds are these vegetable and leaf cross stitch charts. A little stitched motif is a fab way of personalising something - simple and so versatile. Allow us to demonstrate with some ideas...

Off the top of our heads, we're thinking:

1. Birthday card for a green-fingered friend (mount on card)

2. Hand-made art for the kitchen (keep in the embroidery hoop, hang on wall)

3. Pretty personalised napkins (find plain napkins, embroider in corner)

See what we mean? Pop over to The Making spot to download the cross stitch charts and get inspired by a whole heap of other crafty projects while you're at it.

Gathered by Mollie Makes is here!

Gathered by Mollie Makes has finally arrived! We're a little giddy about getting our hands on this excellent new digital craft mag.

Gathered is a new weekly magazine for the iPad from the geniuses behind Mollie Makes.

There will be three new craft projects for you to feast your eyes on each week, plus interviews with your favourite designer-makers and plenty of interactive loveliness. Best of all, it means we now have much less time to wait to get our Mollie fix!

Gathered is available to buy NOW through the Apple Newsstand - subscribe now and get 5 free issues!

You can also keep updated with all the latest news through the Gathered Facebook page and Twitter feed.

We're a little biased, but we think this might just be the most exciting launch since our own.

The Simple Things Etsy lookbook

The Simple Things has curated an autumn lookbook for Etsy UK!

Etsy is where all the coolest and most talented indie makers and designers hang out. The Simple Things team are all massive fans, so we were honoured to be asked to curate an autumn lookbook for Etsy UK.

Want to see what we came up with? Click over to the Etsy UK Facebook page to see our pick of the best quirky, quaint and downright lovely products to in the cooler months in style.

Air freshener pouch DIY

This air freshener pouch tutorial from Sincerely, Kinsey is a cute way of making your home smell sweet.

Sincerely, Kinsey is always full of beautiful craft and DIY ideas, and none more so than this air freshener pouch DIY. The little cotton bags with retro stamped labels are surely the loveliest way to keep your rooms sweet-smelling.

We can't wait for festive season, when we can fill our pouches with cinnamon and spice and enjoy the aroma of Christmassyness all over the house!

Pop over to Sincerely, Kinsey for a photo how-to and more crafty inspiration.

WIN an iPad with Gathered by Mollie Makes (closed)

Our sister mag Mollie Makes is launching a weekly digital craft mag, Gathered, and giving you the chance to win an iPad!

Gathered by Mollie Makes is a brand new digital craft magazine exclusive to the iPad, coming soon. Each week, the Mollie Makes team will bring you an interactive mag full of inspiring crafts, interviews with designer-makers and new projects to inspire you to get crafting!

To mark this exciting occasion, they're offering you the chance to WIN a brand new iPad, and a whole year's subscription to Gathered along with it. To find out more and enter into the draw, visit the competition homepage.

Gathered will be hitting Apple Newsstand  store later in October, so follow on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news!