\\ 30 CRAFTY THINGS TO DO BEFORE I'M 30 \\

Back in February my favourite craft magazine Mollie Makes brought out their 50th issue, and with it a list of 50 crafty things to do before you're 50. I've been feeling a lot of pressure lately (from no one else but myself) about all the things I think I should be doing creatively, instead of actually telling myself to just forget about all of that and concentrate on simply having fun doing what I love.

'create' banner by SummerBoyfriend on Etsy

There are quite a few things on my craft to-do-list that I've been wanting to try out... and in the spirit of simply having fun I've decided to get stuck in! In roughly six months I turn the big 3-0 and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to make my own list of 30 crafty things to do before I'm 30.

Six months gives me just over one crafty thing to do per week, which should be easily achievable! I'll be popping back to this project once a month to update my progress and share my crafty endeavours with you. I've made the list quite varied with a mixture of smaller and bigger projects, plus things I can do at home and things I'll need to venture out for. It's also quite vague in some places to just allow myself to go with it!

I hope you'll enjoy following along. In no particular order...

\\ *shows an idea from the Mollie Makes list which I've also included in my own \\

Weave some wall art*

Have a good nose round designer-maker's studios* (so handy that we've got Artists' Open Houses happening in Brighton next month!)

Get subversive with embroidery*

Make a patchwork quilt*

Recover my old blanket box

Become a craftivist and get behind a crafty campaign* (I've already been following the Just A Card campaign but want to support it more over the next few months)

Make some typography/alphabet cushions

Get back into crochet

Go on a photo walk*

Host a craft and cocktails night*

Refashion a charity shop find* (I'm going to hunt out some frames to repaint/upcycle)

Work on/finish my stitch sampler

Sew something inspired by maps

Take my camera out of manual mode*

Learn how to make tassels and trim all the things!*

Re-learn to knit

Make more gold things!

Paint with watercolours

Make a motivational print* (I'm going to change this slightly into a wall hanging)

Write more letters* (my typewriter is calling)

Visit at least 3 craft fairs

Have a go at fabric dyeing* (my mum dyes her own fabric so I'll be taking advantage of her skills for this one!)

Finish making a neon pompom garland for the bedroom

Make a piece of jewellery

Do a project/tutorial from one of the MANY craft magazines I have stashed away

Make something inspired by constellations

Make handmade envelopes from my paper hoard

Make a tea cosy!

Practise hand lettering

And finally... blog about each project!

P.S. I've also been inspired by the lovely Kalee Bones who is in the midst of her #YearOfCraft, check it out here.

\\ BECOMING A MOLLIE MAKES AMBASSADOR \\

My Mollie Makes collection.

If you happen to follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, this won't be such huge news for you, but a few weeks ago I was having a pretty rubbish day when the email of my dreams popped into my inbox....

It was from the team behind my favourite craft magazine EVER, the infinitely delightful Mollie Makes, with a fantastic opportunity to become their first ever ambassador! I honestly think I had to read the email about five times before it started to sink in that they'd actually asked me. Needless to say there was nothing that would have stopped me saying yes in a billion zillion years.

Becoming an ambassador for Mollie Makes means that I can represent them at events and generally spread the word about the amazing work the team and magazine do to support designers and independent makers across the UK. One of my personal goals for this year is to shop local or through independent UK makers and businesses and the magazine is often one of the places I turn to for sourcing these when looking for gifts. I’ve been an obsessive reader of the magazine and its inspiring approach to crafts ever since my mum (my crafty role model) came home with the very first issue for us to share. We both fell in love! I've had a monthly subscription ever since so becoming an official ambassador for them is an absolute dream!

Photo via White Stuff.

My first event as an ambassador was working with the fashion and lifestyle brand White Stuff, who held a tea party at their Brighton store for some of the city's best bloggers to preview the new Tea Ceremony Spring/Summer collection. Adding a little something different they asked Mollies Makes to host a small craft workshop for the bloggers, as they shopped and nibbled on a delicious afternoon tea courtesy of Brighton’s Metro Deco tea room. The theme was embroidered lettering in a contemporary, tattoo-inspired style that could be used to upcycle clothes for a new lease of life! Obviously this was right up my street... stitching, typography, tea. Practically paradise. I also made a mental note to pop back to the White Stuff store for a proper browse soon as there were lots of their ethically sourced pieces that caught my eye amongst all the threads and cake!

A huge thank you to all at Mollie Makes for making this happen. I can't wait for the next opportunity.

\\ ACTUALLY, I DO... BLOG \\

Um..... it's about ruddy time I kicked off this blog. I started 2014 with the intention of blogging from January and obviously it's now almost April. Oops. BUT it's never too late... so welcome to Actually, I Do! A crafty adventure into my love of typography and making things. With this blog I shall endeavour to share my makes and other creative musings, plus a bit of general waffling every now and again.

Without further ado, let's get started with the makes...

I'm a member of the Brighton Etsy Team, though my Etsy shop is not quite up and running yet due to the necessity of me actually making things to sell! Watch this space on all fronts. The team do some amazing work with Etsy and the Brighton craft community, including this month's Craftivism events.

What's Craftivism?

Using the amazing power of craft to do good, raising money for charities and awareness of causes.

Throughout April the Brighton Etsy team are raffling off a host of LOVELY STUFF from team makers, with all proceeds going to local Brighton charity Carousel. Today saw 14 team members live crafting in the window of Brighton's Super+Super, with all the creations to be included in the raffle. I really wanted to get involved so spent last night creating a couple of typography hoops to add to the amazing haul of goodies, and popped down to the event today to pick up some raffle tickets for myself!

Here's a few snaps...