Hello and welcome to Gembobs Crafts Blog! Here is the backbone to my creations. I will be exploring my inspirations, tutorials, new ideas, recipes i'm in love with, and other things that i generally find interesting!
Hey! I though i would share one of my most recent DIYs in my house!! I love all things sparkley so when i saw this wallpaper in B&M i took a little sample to use!!
Its been sitting in my stash for a long time then as i was looking for something in my drawer i though.. hey it would look good in there!
I cut out the shape of the drawer (the width of the paper fit in exactly which was lucky!). I then sprayed some glue in the drawer and fit the paper.
It looks so pretty and you cant see all the little bits that sometimes get in there! (where do they come from?!?!)
Give it a try it makes them look very pretty and abit different!!
Send me a piccy in the comments if you have done similar!!!
I have always been quite savvy with making my own money. I’ve had a varied life full of different jobs
Nursery nurse, Dental nurse, retail assistant, admin at a prison!!, cafe worker, crafter (self employed) teaching assistant… the list goes on! I’ve loved all of them in different ways – but my health has always made me not ben able to do some of these long term which is a shame. my crafts have been a lifesaver and yes… i dont make much money from it but i would rather do this then roll around in a Jag! Anyway… here are some tips and tricks to make a bit of money in your spare time. I have done these kind of things for a few years now and it has made me thousands of pounds… from Surveys, market research, focus groups, mystery shopping, walking/receipt loading apps, voucher codes, cashback sites.
Yes it might look like a lot of work but once you get in the habit of doing them, it becomes your norm.. so when walking i can do a couple of surveys – my facebook as market research pages pinned to the top so i can see the research needed straight away. here are some sites i use which i will be updating. Also if you know of anymore please comment and i will add them!!
ESA RETAIL – https://www.esa-webms.co.uk – this is a good website that i have just recently started using the last year. I really like it, i get good local visits and have got a lot of free things such as chocolate from Thorntons, free food shopping, train tickets and more. You get a refund of your purchase(taking a photo of your receipt) and then you also get a little extra money for your time.
Market Force – https://uk.marketforceshopper.com/login – I have been on this site for years and it is my favourite. I have earned quite a lot from this site and have visited places such as Next, William Hill, Restaurants, Bowling, Greggs, Prett, Superdrug and lots more! Again, you get to keep the purchase and then get money added for your time. I like this one as lots of jobs get added and every time you complete a job, you get points and the more points you have, the more jobs you can do. 🙂
Saros – https://www.sarosresearch.com/ – You get emailed jobs – very rarely, but you have to apply for the job which is normally a discussion panel or similar. A very high payer though if you get accepted, you typically get £30 to £100 for two hours’ work.
I absolutely love collecting vintage scarves and fabrics. Not only are they really beautiful with each one showing off a unique geometric pattern, a feminine floral sequence, or a scene with people and/or animals, but they are also really really cheap to buy. Once you collect enough, can be sewn into your own custom made boho curtains!!
I normally go looking around all the charity shops in York to find these goodies – i also use laces and embroidered napkins!! Honestly – what ever you can get your hands on would be good to try out for some quirky one of a kind style.
Instructions
1. Iron and clean all fabrics and lay them out to configure your design. Create two panels of mixed fabrics.
2. When you have your final layout, flip all fabrics over and pin the left fabrics together to make a vertical panel that is half the width of a full curtain. Overlap the fabrics’ edges and pin 1/4″ down from the edge. Do the same thing with the right fabrics to make the second half of the first curtain.
3. Sew along all pinned seams, working carefully to avoid snagging the delicate fabric. You now have two vertical panels sewn. Pin these two vertical panels together in the center, again overlapping by 1/4″.
4. Sew down the center to create the center seam. Cut any loose threads. You now have one full curtain
5. Repeat steps two through four to create your second curtain.
6. Sew on your chosen header (pencil pleat header/eyelets/loops) to hang your curtains.
7. You curtains are now complete! Iron down the hems and any wrinkles. If you are hanging these curtains in front of window that receives full sunlight for extended periods of time, you should place curtains liners behind these, as the fabric may fade in bright sun.
I’m cat sitting in Zurich atm for two weeks. I have never been to Switzerland before and to be honest it is not somewhere I would ever think of coming, but let me tell you it is a lovely beautiful amazing city full of kindness and smiles. I arrived a week ago now and have just been exploring the many parks, museums and galleries there is to offer. The weather is warmer then England but there has been cloudy days. I don’t mind because I went to a really cool cinema called Kosmos and saw an English movie called Hostile which was fab!
I didn’t realise Switzerland wasn’t in the EU so silly me only brought euros…. oops! They use Swiss francs here and things are really expensive! I would definetly visit again in the future.
It is quite central to alot of other places aswell, You can get the bus and in three hours and get to either Geneva, Milan and in 8 hours get to Venice! (Which is where I’m going after Zurich!)
Things I’ve noticed about Zurich.. .
There are literally no homeless people on the street. I have seen none… Which is strange because in England there are loads and you just get used to it really. Which isn’t good I guess!
There is no litter and also there’s loads of bins!!
The women dress quite manly and very streamline, they only wear simple colours and many have short hair in a bobthat is tied up in a bun.
Men wear hipster glasses and carry man bags.
You don’t have to press a button at the traffic lights, they are just sutomatic… and they stay on the green man for AGES!!!!
Most people recycle and there arnt many cars about… very eco friendly.
All the shops and everything closes on a Sunday.
Yeah so they are the observations I have made throughout my trip!!
Yesterday in a facebook group i asked the question, “What is your biggest struggle with your business right now?” and a particular answer kept cropping up – “there just isn’t enough hours in the day lol”
My instant reaction to this was “really? what are you doing with your time? There always is the same amount of hours in the day ‘every day’ always has been, always will be. (ok before you all start shouting “what about when the clocks change ey” yes that does change things slightly twice a year) also it’s the same for everybody (hhmmm) so yep we all have the same amount of hours in the day every day”
You may sense I get slightly ‘het up’ by this conversation? well yes it’s safe to say I really, really don’t like it when fellow business owners say ” i just don’t have time!” So i thought i’d…
I know at the moment there is a huge housing crisis which is causing mass homeless and people not with secure housing and places to call there own. In York there are a number of services that help these people by offering food on the night and lots more support which is fantastic and i try my best to support them.
Im quite the internet searcher – and i have moved house 25+ times… so quite an expert on renting/where to find cheap housing etc. i have found certain sites that offer cheaper housing. private renting is absolutely ridiculous and i cannot fathom how people afford this – i am personally with Yorkshire Housing paying minimum and i am so lucky to have the one bedroom flat i have. I am warm on the night and there are plenty who are not.
When i was going to live in Darlington (whilst eventually settling on Darling Buddhist centre for a year for 250 a month) i was going to use these websites and move into a property which is currently empty- suitable for living but it is temporary – so good for people who like to move- haven’t got dependents etc Here are the websites i used – there are hundreds of housing all over England that are empty and the can go for as little as 150 pounds a month to have a roof over your head so check them out –
ad hoc – Providing vacant property protection with live in Guardians – Empty property protection or a cheap place to live across the UK
I thought I would give making bunting a go, it is quite a nice way to add colour to a wall and great way to personalise a bedroom.
I drew a triangle with the measurements of 18.5 cm (7.5 inches) along the bottom, 26 cm (10.5 inches) along each side, and 24 cm (9.5 inches) inside from the top of the triangle to the base. I used cardboard for the template, see below. I then cut out 10 triangles of coordinating fabric because I decided to make 5 double-sided flags.
I decided to personalise my bunting with my daughter’s name, and no, her name is not ‘addy’ as per the photo below, I had already started sewing the ‘M’ on the flag before I remembered to take a photo!
For the lettering, I printed it off and then simply drew the letter onto fabric and then cut out.
Next month sees the return of our Craft-y-Crawl, a Sunday stroll round the streets of the greater South Bank area of York (including Bishy Road and the streets off it)
The event, on 12 November (12.00-4.00pm) offers a chance to visit local artists and craftspeople in their own homes, who will be displaying and selling a range of handmade items, including jewellery, prints, stained and fused glass, Mexican tin decorations, cards, eraser carved stamps, Christmas decorations and other exciting and unusual items!
As a participating artist/ craftsperson you can exhibit in your own home, pal up with a friend or two in your house or theirs, or book a table at The Winning Post pub on Bishopthorpe Road (this is a new initiative for this year).
To be part of the event, email info@planetsouthbank.org.uk giving your contact details and a description of your art/craft. Closing date for participants…
Please come to the etsy made local craft fair in December in York. Lots of very talented crafters so you can stock up on goodies for chrimbo and support local businesses at the same time. Over two days 2-3rd of December !!!!
Following our successful first Repair Café in April, Planet South Bank is putting on another event on Saturday 21 October (10.00am-1.00pm) at Clements Hall in York.
The date falls in International Repair Café Week 2017 (14-22 October) when communities around the world will be organising similar events. There are now over 1,300 Repair Cafes operating globally, with 92 in the UK.
Our experience from our April event confirms the popularity of small electrical items; chairs, lamps, clocks, jewellery and textiles were other popular items brought in for repair. Overall, we managed to repair 60 items, with only five items found to be not fixable at all.
Photo: Pixabay.com 
