thanks Grandy!

i heart...


getting parcels in the post.

but a couple of days ago, i got possibly the best parcel in the world. inside it was a whole bundle of patches for our post a patch project, a lovely mini blanket & a photo of the amazing lady that knitted them all - meet 'Grandy'...

so we now have our first blanket for So Go & Run Free...

and are well on our way to making a big blanket for Starter Packs Glasgow...

(please excuse the jammy bottoms!)

a massive thank you to 'Grandy', Joanne's Mum, Tracey & my Mum who have knitted up a storm & sent us all the patches for this blanket.

but we still need LOADS more patches though, so keep 'em coming!

send your 10cm x 10cm knitted/crocheted patches to:

i heart...

21 burnside ave

aviemore

PH22 1SE

xox.

meet & make round-up.

i heart...


meet & make.

back in january i started up a monthly craft meet up where people could meet in a social environment, learn some new craft skills & have a few drinks & a natter. it's been a great success so far & has seen our meet & make-rs learn how to embroider, knit & cross-stitch & helped them to create awesome projects from embroidered tote bags, to knitted cushions to cross-stitch postcards.

i look forward to seeing these cheery crafters every month!

our next session is on the 1st of may (usually the last sunday of every month, however this month it lands on easter weekend, so has been changed to the 1st) please do come along &join in. it doesn't matter if you've never tried any crafts before in your life of if you're a super pro, i'll be there to help you as much or as little as you like.

to book your place head here... http://iheartdotdotdot.bigcartel.com/product/meet-make

each session is £10 & includes all the materials you'll need to create & finish a craft-tastic project.

see you on the 1st!

xox.

p.s. if you like the sound of meet & make but don't live in glasgow, give me a shout & i'll see if i can start one in your area too!

  

eco-illustration.

i heart...


favourite friday.

the last couple of weeks i've been searching for eco-friendly arts & crafts. i previously presumed that the majority of illustrators nowadays would use recycled paper/card for their prints, drawings, paintings etc. but it seems that's not the case! but in my search i've come across some amazing illustrations, one of my favourites being this week's favourite friday...

...by Ismay Ozga, i love it!

if you are an illustrator that works on recycled paper or would be willing to & are interested in us stocking your work in our online eco-shop which launches next month, please get in touch:

hello@iheartdotdotdot.co.uk

xox.

we need patches!

i heart...


post a patch.

incase you don't know already, post a patch is our current community project. we're looking for people around the world to knit/crochet squares & post them to us so we can make them into blankets for two amazing charities - Starter Packs Glasgow & So Go And Run Free.

so far we've had a few patches come our way...

(thanks to Elaine, Christopher, Joanne's Mum & Anthea for the patches we've received so far!)

but as you can see we need LOADS more. so please get knitting or crocheting pronto!

why not spend your sunday catching up with friends whilst you knit. can't knit? invite your granny or mum round to give you a wee lesson. or switch the tv off, put the kettle on & have a relaxing knitting session on your own. sundays were made for knitting!

send your 10cm x 10cm patch to:

i heart...

21 burnside ave

aviemore

PH22 1SE

thank you so much.

xox.

eco-friendly search.

i heart...


favourite friday.

the last few days i've been on the search for eco-friendly handmade items & artwork for the i heart... online shop expansion! i was pleasantly surprised at the amount of lovely bits & bobs i've some across. one of my favourites being...

... Lucie Ellen's jewellery made from reclaimed wood. i love pretty much every piece!

i'm still on the hunt for eco-friendly products (anything made from recycled, upcycled, reclaimed or fair-trade materials) & illustrations (they just need to be drawn/painted/printed on recycled paper!) so if you are interested drop us a line on:

hello@iheartdotdotdot.co.uk

look forward to hearing from you :)

xox.

pom-pom project.

i heart...

pom-poms.

so when i came across the Pom-pom Project organised by Natalie Jones, I was very excited about getting involved. i was sent a lovely little package with instructions, a pom-pom template & some yarn which i made into a lovely multi-coloured pom-pom. if you don't see yourself as much of a crafter then making pom-poms is a great place to start - it's lots of fun & takes only a couple of minutes to make!

today i went for a wee walk with my mum & her dog to find a perfect place to put my pom-pom...

for more information on the Pom-pom project click here.

& remember we've go a couple of our own projects on the go just now too!

more info here.

more info here.

go on, get involved!

xox.

exciting expansion.

i heart...

eco-friendly products.

however, it seems when searching for eco-freindly work/gifts/products it tends to be a bit hippy-tastic, mumsy & a wee bit shite - if i'm honest. well, we want to change that.

the i heart... online shop is expanding & we're now on the look-out to stock other talented designer/maker/crafter/artist/illustrator's work. we want to show that eco-friendly wares can offer unique design, immense talent & quirkiness - as well as being nice to the planet.

so if you create crafts from recycled, upcycled or fair-trade materials, or are a designer that works with reclaimed materials, or an illustrator that draws/paints/prints on recycled card/paper...
we want to hear from YOU!

send us a link to your website/facebook/photos of your work to:
hello@iheartdotdotdot.co.uk
& we will be in touch & discuss the finer details.

look forward to hearing from you!

xox.

music to my ears.

i heart...

music.

and i've been dying to organise a music-based project for yonky donks. for a few months last year i was very lucky to be part of Glasgow PodcART & through this got to hear loads of talent-ridden new music from bands & musicians around scotland. after moving up north i've unintentionally fallen out of the loop when it comes to music & want to rectify that. Glasgow PodcART does an amazing job at being a platform for new music via it's podcasts, reviews, interviews & gigs, something i'm still a strong believer in. so, here's our first music project...

every month we'll pick a song to be played on our website (you can have a peek now & listen to a lovely song by esperi) along with a link to your band site/bandcamp/myspace, allowing your music to be heard & enjoyed by lots of people & hopefully give you a helping hand to get your music to get out there.

all you have to do is send your tracks to our SoundCloud dropbox...

Send me your sounds

...and we'll pick a track once a month to will be featured on our website. as with all of i heart...'s projects, it is open to ALL. whether you're an established artist or just sing in the shower, we would love to hear your music.

xox.

easter workshops.

i heart...


facilitating kids workshops.

and to keep your wee ones busy this easter, we're going to be teaching classes in knitting, sewing, cross-stitch & comic making at The Life Craft.

during the knitting class we'll teach the young'ins how to cast on, knit & purl and how to bind off. using these new found skills they will create their very own knitted critter!

in our hand-sewing class we will teach the children the basics in sewing & help them design a lovely felt pencil case, perfect for showing off to all their friends when they go back to school after the holidays!

our cross-stitch class will have the kids cross-stitching like pros in no time. and will see them leaving proudly with some cross-stitch badges they made all by themselves.

lastly, but by no means least, is our comic making class. we'll encourage the kids to create their own storyline & turn it into a comic full of their own drawings/paintings/collages & words. really excited about this one!

to book your places head on over to The Life Craft website by clicking here.

xox.

bread day.

i heart...

baking.

it's pancake day today, so naturally i made some... bread.

i've started my own personal mission of making food from scratch as much as i can. so i know exactly what goes into my food - no added chemicals, perservatives, general guff. but also to appreciate food more, these days it's all about getting food that's cheap & fast, not healthy & homemade. i want to change that in my life.

the other day i started my baking spree with some very tempting tablet. unfortunately my tablet didn't turn out too tasty. (can you tell i enjoy alliteration?) it didn't set & i was left with an impossibly sticky mess in my dish. i was rather gutted, tablet is one of my favourites.

but today, i was crowned the baking king of the household! i baked my own bread from scratch & it was soooo much easier than i thought it was going to be - just add flour, yeast, butter & water (i also added grated carrot, onions & some cheese in mine, yummy) mix into a dough, knead for about 10 mins - great arm work out! leave for 2 hours, pop it in the oven for 30mins & bam! you have some yourself a scrupmtious loaf.

there really is nothing better than fresh, warm bread with butter - mmmm! if you don't already, you should definitely try & make your own bread. do it!

xox.

drawing day.

i heart...


favourite friday.


today i'm going to draw. i've been meaning to do more drawing recently but just haven't found the time. i started a while back, you can read here, but after a night it got pushed to the back burner again. so today is drawing day. i'm kinda nervous about it, maybe i'd be better off with this week's favourite friday...

...by Kate Broughton, at least i know i can keep in the lines - most of the time!

xox.

march, two, three, four.

i heart...

actually having some time.

it's the 1st of march today & i purposely made it so i didn't have much on this month. it feels like i've been non-stop since before xmas. i've had wee ideas for new products buzzing around in my head for months now, but haven't had the chance to follow them through. so march is going to be a month of making new things.

i've not been too well the last couple of days so had a bit of a head-start & made this itsy bitsy bunting, made from fairtrade alpaca yarn...

and this make your own badges kit. it has everything you need to design your own badges - pens, paper, needle, thread, aida & a selection of fabric. the idea being you make designs for 10 badges, pop them into the envelope provided & post it to us, we'll make them into beautiful badges & send them back to you & ta-da you have your very own bundle of button badges!

i still have a few more ideas up my sleeve, so watch out when i pop them up on the shop in the next few weeks.

xox.