King of Cakes

Finding gems in unusual places is always great especially when you love cakes. Kings Cross has never been a mecca of great cafes or interesting shops but with all the regeneration planned for the area things seem to be improving.

On my lunch break today this Crafty Creature went to a really rather lovely cafe called Simmons on the Caledonian Road. It sells a variety of sandwiches, biscuits, snacks, cakes and drinks but the best thing has to be their cupcakes. Also, when you order tea it comes in a pot with beautiful vintage cup. It made for a very dignified lunch.

Jingle Balls

With Crafternoon a week away, (yes a week away now...actually, I lie, 6 days away) us Crafty Creatures decided to make some Christmassy baubles like the ones you can make at crafternoon. They are pretty simple and quick to make and look fantastic.

The first thing to do is to get a polystyrene ball (available from ebay) and wrap it up in wool, material or paint it so that the base is a nice texture and colour. See us the lovely ladies below doing this.
Once they are completely covered we then stuck colourful pins into them, beads and attached ribbon to form a bow which can use to hang them to a tree...a voila:

You could always turn then into an accessory if you fancy. Crafty Julia took this to a completely new level to show how versatile they can be

Monster Mash

Here is our own monster after doing the Make Your Own Monster kit. Say hello to snappy.

Crafternoon Christmas Flyer!

Hurrah - a new batch of Crafternoon flyers have arrived! We'll be dropping these into the grimiest pubs and the loveliest craft shops all round London (well, mostly South London where the Crafty Creatures live).

Send your friends the link to this blog so they can see how much fun we're going to have!

The event is taking place in St Olave's Church Hall, which is near to Fenchurch St (Rail), Tower Hill (Tube) and Monument (tube) You can see a Google Map here:
http://tinyurl.com/ybzom9n
...and there is a more exact map on the flyer below.

Come along and try your hand at an advent calendar that will last a lifetime (and you can put chocolates in), homemade baubles, hand-printed wrapping paper and present tags and Christmas cross-stitch!

Remember to bring £5 for entry, pocket money for cakes and mulled wine and a spare t-shirt (or other fabric you have lying around). We'd love to see you there!

Just hear those sleigh bells jingle-ing...

Make your own monster

At crafty creatures HQ we love crafts, as you would have guessed. Sometimes, though, we don't always have the time to create things from scratch. If you have a problem finding time for crafting too then look no further then Donna Wilson's make your own monster kits. They're scarily good.

One crafty creature purchased one from Magma in Covent Garden for £15. We believe they are available from other shops too.

The kit comes with everything you need to create a small, unusual monster. There are a number of different shapes but they all come with a pre-sown body shape, stuffing, cut out shapes and a step by step instruction guide.

Donna Wilson, also, makes a load of other really cool things. You can find them all on her website: www.donnawilson.com

The Independent

The Independent have kindly feature us in their christmas gift guide. This is mega exciting!

Ideas for the weekend...

If you are looking for something to do over the weekend look no further as we suggest some fab things for you to do.

Tart...
No, we are not calling you a tart but if you like tarts (the sweet kind that you eat) then this might be the event for you. This afternoon enables you to let out your inner lady, a don your most prettiest dress and stuff your face with cakes in the quaint setting of east London's boutique hotel, 40 Winks.

Starting at 2pm on Saturday 14th November, this event will set you back £60, which may seem like a lot but you do get lots of treats included for that amount.

Oxfam Mad Hatter's Tea Party
Who isn't a fan of Alice in Wonderland? Or the idea of dressing up like some bizarre extra from the film? Oxfam brings, for your pleasure, to Circle Bar, Clapham, a nocturnal mad hatter's tea party to remember. With live music from Othay and Wilderness and Jonny Clark powering the wheels of steel expect a night of beautiful hats, Cheshire cats and tea martinis! Sounds great to us.

Tickets must be brought in advance through: http://madhatterteapartylondon.eventbrite.com/

Grind A Go-Go
The 1960s return to Bethnal Green this Saturday as the working man's club is turned into a den of go-go dancers making moves to the sultry delights of girl group vocals, Mersey beats and psychedelic sounds.

For more info visit their myspace: http://www.myspace.com/grindagogo