I rarely buy from Groupon and because of that, Groupon always sends me coupon codes for additional discounts. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally take a look when they decided to give me 90% off (up to $30) last month. I jumped at the chance and decided to go for the Terrarium and Picture Pendant Craft Class.

So that morning, I left Mui Mui with my in-laws and headed off to my very first craft class at Soigne Atelier. I got there a little early, so I got to take a look at all their displays inside the room while waiting for everyone else in the class to roll in. First thing I noticed was that they sell completed necklaces for a fraction of the price of the workshops. So if you are interested in handmade, but not interested in making it yourself, then these might be for you.


Beata Kacy was our workshop teacher. Right off the bat, she let us know that she does not move on from one step of the workshop to the next until everyone has completed that step. That way, nobody gets left behind. Not just that, but it also puts the pressure on some of us who are indecisive to make up our minds quickly. Obviously, that did the trick because our class ended up finishing both of our necklaces in a record time of 60 minutes rather than the allocated time of 90 minutes!

We made two necklaces in the workshop, but let me tell you now that the terrarium pendant is really what you're after. The picture pendant, while is neat, is not really anything to write home about.

At each station, there was a small plastic box that holds your glass bubble pendant and a pair of tweezers. On the side, there sits a cap for the pendant, a jump ring and a bronze chain. Beata lead us to the room behind the one we were in and that's when I realized that the studio is a lot bigger than it portrayed itself to be. In the back room, we collected all the thingamabobs to go in our terrarium (coloured sand, tiny seashells, mini starfish, coloured moss, tiny glass pieces, etc.) and then we went back to the classroom to assemble it.


The assembly part was easy. The hard part was trying not to keep poking it and trying to make the placements as perfect as possible. There's just no way. What you have to keep in mind is that everything is loose in there, no matter how you place them now, it won't look the same by the time you get it back home.


When I got a chance to show Hailey that evening she came home from school, she quickly claimed it as her own. What's not to love? She thinks the moss is coral, and there's a starfish in there!

I love the terrarium pendant and would love to make more as gifts in the future. The class at Soigne was very fun and enjoyable. I hope that I will get to go back soon to try out more classes!

Soigne Atelier

Website: www.soigne.ca
Address: 393 Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
Email: beata.kc@gmail.com

Whether you believe that dream catchers are imbued with the magical power to catch nightmares, or whether you think they are super cool bits of decoration, making your own can be a fun and satisfying process. With that in mind check out the tutorial below that will allow you to create a boho masterpiece with just a few simple materials.

A post shared by El Emeği Fikirleri (@3khandmade.ideas) on Apr 21, 2018 at 2:27am PDT

Materials

• Wooden hoop/embroidery hoop
• Crochet doily Ribbons/ strips of fabric
• White string or wool
• Fake flowers Scissors
• Hot glue gun

Step 1: The doily

The first step in creating this gorgeous home accessory is to either find or create the doily. Now, these are pretty easy to pick up at flea markets, garage sales, and even by using online auctions. Although, if you are in a crochet sort of mood you can quickly make your own with thinner wool or even string. Check out the video below to see how.

Step 2: Cover the ring

Once you have the doily ready, you need to cover the ring to make it as decorative possible before adding the centre. To do this, you can wrap it in fabric or with string for a more rustic monotone vibe. While doing this be sure to use one of the many hot glue guns on the market to dot adhesive every couple of times you go around. Then the ring cover will be sure to stay in place, even after you affix the other elements.

Step 3: Attach the doily in the centre

The next job is to fix the doily in the centre. An effective way of doing this is to use string or wool to tie it on at different places around the circle. To make this as aesthetically pleasing as possible be sure to use the same part of the pattern in the doily to attach to the ring each time, and all the way around. Then trim off any excess ends. Step 4: The tail The penultimate step is the tail, and this is really where you can let your creativity run away with you. All you need to do is tie on the tail, piece by piece with a secure knot. Remember to use double length ribbons or strips, and tie them in the middle, so you get two strands from every one piece.


Macrame can add an attractive texture to your dream catcher.

You might go for a simple string tail and even use some macrame techniques to get a pleasing effect. Other choices include using strips of fabric and ribbon in bright colours and patterns, or for a more delicate look white not use pieces of lace that will flow in the breeze?

Step 5: The final touches

Last, but not least, don't forget to add you finial decorative touches. Fake flowers look amazing over the bottom part of the ring. Pick all cream and white for a minimalist hippy look or bright colours for a more Frida Kahlo vibe. Be sure to affix these using hot glue too, as then you can be sure that they will stay put whether you display your work inside or out.

   Collaborative Post

A month or so ago, I stumbled upon these beautiful bundles of yarn called Bernat's Baby Bundle at Walmart. The mix of textures caught my attention and the colours within each bundle complemented each other so well. There were so many colours to choose from and I just couldn't decide. I knew I would need about 3 balls to complete a baby blanket, so I figured I would choose 3 different colours.

I missed a huge chunk of this year's #marchmeetthemaker challenge on Instagram. By the time I found out, more than half the month was already gone, and I wasn't about to flood my Instagram with late challenge posts. So here I am, sharing my complete #marchmeetthemaker challenge all in one blog post!

Day 1 - You

Day 2 - Where

3. How you started

4. Favourite to make

5. Photography

6. Workspace

7. Routine

8. Flatlay

9. How it's made

10. Time to relax

11. Branding

12. Postage & packaging

13. Work clothes

14. Dreams & plans

15. Boomerang

16. Helper

17. Customers & feedback

18. Inspiration

19. Can't live without

20. Tools & materials

21. Stories - a day in the life

22. Sketchbook & lists

23. Hands at work

24. Achievements

25. Being a maker means

26. Books, blogs & podcasts

27. Recommend a maker

28. Organised

29. Community

30. Top tip/advice

31. Creative friends

Happy Easter, everyone! For this Easter, I was lucky enough to be invited to participate in the Spring Blog Hop. What is a "blog hop", you might ask? Well, I had the same question. Since this is my first blog hop, I'll try to explain it the best I could. What you do, is that you "hop" from blog to blog to see what surprise goodies await from the next blogger! It may be a free pattern, or a discount code for a paid pattern, etc. Here are the participating bloggers for this year's Spring Blog Hop!