Peterborough Crafting Live

On Friday 11^th and Saturday 12^th November the Crafting Live show went to Peterborough – and a great time was had by all. 

A Make & Take

Instead of charging people an entrance fee people were asked to make a charitable donation to commemorate Armistice Day and support the Royal British Legion.  All of the proceeds from these donations went to the Royal British Legion to help them in the fantastic work they do providing support for the Armed Forces community – a really nice touch.

Crafting Live had never been to Peterborough before so we didn’t know what sort of response we would get – but we weren’t disappointed and it was a joy to see so many smiling crafters come through the doors! As well as being able to visit a vast range of exhibitors people had the opportunity to take part in ‘Makes & Takes’, and I was delighted to have been asked to run some of these fun events. 

Make a simple project for free...

For those of you who don’t know, a ‘Make & Take’ is an opportunity for you to come along and make a simple project for free.  It’s a chance for you to try new techniques and products; some people told me the experience had been really useful because they already had certain products at home but until the Make & Take they hadn’t known how to use them, so they were put in a cupboard, gathering dust. I was glad to be of service!

It was also a chance for me to catch up with people I usually only see in passing in the Green Room, such as Dan, Clare, and Carol and Hayley from The Dreamees.  It was lovely to be able to chat with them.  And of course viewers of Create and Craft had the chance to meet presenters and demonstrators they’ve seen on the small screen. 

Dan, me, Clare, Carol & Hayley

It was hard work – I ran eight workshops each day with ten crafters on each workshop, which meant my card was made no less than 160 times!  I am now confident that I can make that card in my sleep, but having said that, I will never tire of seeing the surprised and amazed expression on crafters’ faces when they peel off the Midas Touch foil to reveal the beautiful dragonfly!  

The beautiful dragonfly...

...looks more beautiful!

It was lovely to see the many interpretations on the theme as people brought their own individuality and crafting style to the project. 

I had a brilliant time.  Thank you to everyone who signed up for the Make & Takes for bringing their enthusiasm, skills and smiling faces; the smiles were no more noticeable than when everyone on the Make & Take had a major episode with Sticky Dots and got extremely sticky, and extremely giggly, as a result!

And the icing on the cake was the moment Stephanie confirmed that we’ll do it all again in Peterborough next year – maybe I’ll see you on a Make & Take…