Julie's blog

I love doilies. Call me old-fashioned but I’ve always been drawn to them – paper doilies, pretty linen doilies; often with delicate hand-embroidered flowers on them – I’m not fussy. The dictionary defines them as ‘a decorative mat of lace or lacelike paper, laid on or under plates, originating in the 18th Century and named after a London draper, called Doiley’.

I define them as something incredibly useful for crafts. I don’t actually use them for serving cakes or biscuits – I cut the paper ones up instead and use them as a decorative mount for photos or pictures in frames, like this one from my first blog…

….or they can be usefully employed in cards, as in this little glimpse of one on a lovely card I bought in Brighton recently, when we were filming one of the shows.

Tiger have some fab green and blue paper doilies for sale (good Crafty Beggars colours) and of course with Christmas nearly upon us, silver and gold doilies are more in evidence in the shops. These always seem to be a bit tougher than the standard white doilies, which is a help.

I made this keepsake box recently and as it’s a tad risqué in its style, I wanted some black lace to adorn the inside. Frantic scrabblings in my ribbon box yielded not so much as an inch of black lace, and as I’m incredibly impatient and didn’t want to wait until the shops opened the next morning, I daubed a white doily with a black felt pen and used that. It kept tearing whilst the ink was wet (and it won’t withstand tough handling now it’s dry) but at least I finished it – and my tried and trusted doily supply came in useful yet again! Look out for full instructions on making Keepsake Boxes in February’s ‘Make of the Month’ :0)

I have a long list of random things I love: aside from my family and friends (and in no particular order) it’s things like Brussels sprouts, cruises, crumpets, dogs with really squashed faces, halloumi, bike rides, chips with vinegar, Gewürztraminer, shopping, the word ‘gusset’, my spotty tablecloth, carrot cake, stationary, Bingo, stargazer lilies, Dusty Springfield, chai tea, watching Pointless & Gogglebox…and so it goes on.

The list of things I hate is thankfully much smaller, but topping it right now is superglue. I HATE superglue. Right now I am trying to type with every finger caked in the stuff – and to add insult to injury it has ruined the coke can brooches I spent hours cutting out last night, because I’ve managed to cake them in it too. I haven’t actually managed to stick on the brooch backs as intended (no such luck) but considering the brooches now look like they’re made by next door’s poodle on a bad hair day it’s pretty pointless anyway, as I’ll have to junk the lot. (Note to self – do not buy Poundland superglue – actually do not EVER buy superglue again for the rest of my life.)

And I like Poundland – they do some decorative border tape that is amazing value for a quid. It’s just their superglue that may be a tad suspect. Then again it’s probably me – I’ve always been a messy crafter. Which brings me to the current problem – how on earth do I get it off my fingers without the ‘suitable de-bonder’ that I unwisely failed to purchase with said superglue??

Several Googlings later, and courtesy of a brilliant article by wikiHow, there is a small chance that I may retain my fingerprints. (On the other hand, should I decide to do some injury to the inventor of superglue I may wish the potent combo of vodka, salt and WD40 hadn’t worked so well.) Yep – it has taken all three, and there are still white, crusty vestiges of glue that are seriously marring my manicure. It would have been easy with nail varnish remover that contains acetone, but my remover boasts ‘Acetone-free’ on the bottle, so there’s no way it’ll soften cyanoacrylate, which is the evil ingredient that’s done the damage. The only way to deal with this is to pour myself a soothing glass of Sauvignon (also on the list) and polish off the Curly Wurly that’s calling to me from the back of the fridge (and which is most definitely on the list.)

Check out the following if you’re ever stuck like me…
7 Ways to Get Super Glue Off Skin – wikiHow

I was fortunate to grow up in a very creative environment. In the spirit of ‘Make-Do and Mend,’ Mum was always cutting up old clothes to make rag rugs, or recycling newspapers and magazines to make bowls and waste paper bins.

I always wanted to follow in her footsteps (and make some pocket money) so, when I was eight, inspired by a dangerous combination of Blue Peter and Ladybird books, I began making Christmas decorations and persuading my neighbours to buy them. I was also inspired by the shells I collected every weekend on Cleethorpes beach – I’d stick them on anything and everything: découpage boxes, mosaic surrounds for mirrors and picture frames.

Me when I first started crafting! (At Butlins – kept losing room key so mum pinned it on me…)

An antique frame and postcard with a personalized mount I made in my teens. Couldn’t believe it says “Washed up by the tide at Grimsby” – My home town!

As an adult, hours have been spent upcycling old furniture, rubber stamping wallpaper, beading, making collages, transforming socks into teddies and creating mobiles, lamps, candle holders and jewellery from old tins, plastic bottles and soft drinks cans. I’m like a homing pigeon for anything that can be recycled instead of being chucked away. I just wish I had a huge crafts workshop to store it all, rather than having to cram everything in cupboards (with the risk of concussion once they’re opened because of everything falling out!)

An old cupboard (with broken door) that I disguised by adding punched tin inserts

What started as a hobby has grown over the years into a passion and, in spite of a busy schedule, I’m managing to devote more time to arts and crafts as I get older – especially now that Crafty Beggars has become such a big part of my life. In fact, it’s actually because of my schedule that I’m making the time to be creative. Being a driven person can be a mixed blessing and – according to my husband – crafting is the only time I’m truly relaxed!

A pair of my sock teddies

The therapeutic effect of making things with our hands can’t be underestimated and crafts enable us to express our personalities too – plus there’s such a feel-good factor about designing something unique and original. At a time when it’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in a sea of technology (which can compound stress rather than reducing it) crafts can be the perfect antidote. Besides which, home-made is so contemporary, and bespoke products are in such demand, there’s no better time to become a Crafty Beggar!

Part of a mobile I made from soft drinks cans