Latest News From Our Crafts Blog
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Hello From Crafts Bee!
Hello From Crafts Bee!
00We know we have been quiet on the newsletter front recently but have plans in place to keep in touch more regularly to let you know what is happening at Crafts Bee! It has been a busy few months. We have added new classes, sewing has moved to its own dedicated room, we are now open in the evening and have launched a newsletter specifically for Cake decorating. New Cake Decorating Newsletter We have a big range of classes at Crafts Bee and we want to use our newsletters to provide you with information that is relevant to the crafts you are interested in. We have started this with a dedicated newsletter for Cake Decorating. You may already be receiving this but if not you can see previous issues and sign up for it here. Full of hints and tips for cake decorating and sugar craft, it also has a questions and answers section so if you have any cake decorating queries you would like answered let us know at cakedecorating@craftsbee.com We would love to hear from you and if you have any pictures of the cakes you have made we would love to see them. We have plans to launch a dedicated newsletter for sewing next. Do you have trouble sewing zips or buttonholes? If you do take advantage of our special offer on the zips and buttonholes class on Wednesday 6 November. This class is normally £35 but is reduced to £25. Click here for details and to book. Christmas Classes It’s not long now. If you want to get into the Christmas spirit why not book yourself onto one of our Christmas Classes. Choose from Christmas Cupcake Decorating Origami Gift Containers for Christmas Christmas Paper Cut Window Mobile One of our Gift Vouchers makes a perfect Christmas present so don’t forget to put us onto your Christmas list or buy one for a friend. ...
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Welcome to the first Sugarcraft Newsletter from Crafts Bee!
Welcome to the first Sugarcraft Newsletter from Crafts Bee!
00July 2013 Welcome to the first Sugar Craft Newsletter from Crafts Bee! We hope to bring you lots of exciting news about classes, new products, exhibitions and much more including answers to your cake decorating and sugar craft questions. As this is the first one please bear with us as we work out what we need to include and if there is anything you would like to see covered please do get in touch! You can e-mail us with suggestions or your sugar craft questions at cakedecorating@craftsbee.com , we would also love to see your pictures of cakes you have made perhaps following attending one of our classes. TTFN (Ta Ta For Now for younger readers!) Claire Dates for your Diary The following classes are booking up quick, book your place now! August 10 Introduction to Cake Decorating August 18 Modelling in sugarpaste August 18 Cupcake Decorating Sept 7 Introduction to Cake Decorating Sept 15 Learn to decorate a square parcel cake Sept 22 Beginners Royal Icing Sept 28 Cupcake Decorating Sept 28 Modelling in sugarpaste For more details and to book click here. Essential Kit! It can be daunting to work out what equipment you need to have when staring out with Sugar craft as there are so many products available. I am a true believer in only buying what is necessary, using tools for more than one job and making use of household items! In each newsletter I will try to give you tips on what it is good to have. I am starting off by recommending some essential items. Artist palette knives Lidl does a fantastic set in a zip up case for about £5/6 keep your eyes open for when they have craft items in stock. A good quality craft knife This can be bought from any good art stationer or craft shop and is one of my most used items! Paintbrushes Perfect for adding fine detail, applying sugar glue and of course painting and dusting. Have a selection of different sizes to hand including some very fine ones. Can be bought from art shops or picked up quite cheaply at places like The Works. I would recommend nylon bristles and plastic handles for ease of cleaning. Rolling pin If you are a keen cake decorator a non-stick rolling pin is a great investment Cake Craft World in Bromley/on-line has...
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First Pictures of the New Sewing Studio
First Pictures of the New Sewing Studio
00It’s all change at Crafts Bee. The sewing lessons are moving. But don’t worry they are not going very far just to their own dedicated studio upstairs. The room was painted a couple of weeks ago and this morning the furniture arrived. The tables have now been assembled and Mhairi and I have been moving them around the room to get the best layout. Moving the sewing to another room will enable each person to have their own table to work on and more space during courses. The chairs arrive tomorrow and there is still lots to do but here are some pictures so far. ...
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Hard at Work at a Craft Party.
Hard at Work at a Craft Party.
00The girls hard at work making Polymer Clay pendants and Shrink Plastic Necklaces at one of our children’s parties. For more details of our children’s parties click here. ...
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Cake Decorating – Modelling in Sugar Paste Class
Cake Decorating – Modelling in Sugar Paste Class
00The studio was busy with Cake Decorating Classes last weekend. A cup cake decorating course in the morning and a Modelling in Sugar Paste class in the afternoon. The photo shows some of the students work from the Modelling in Sugar Paste Class. ...
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New Jewellery Class in Stringing Beads
New Jewellery Class in Stringing Beads
00Do you know what to do when a favourite necklace or family heirloom breaks? Come along to our jewellery class on Stringing Beads and find out how to restring a broken necklace or make a completely new one. For more details click here. ...
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Lino Cutting and Paper Cutting Classes
Lino Cutting and Paper Cutting Classes
00Our first Lino Cutting and Paper Cutting Courses ran recently. Everyone had a great time learning new skills from tutor Sandra. The classes are great for those new to Paper Cutting and Lino Cutting and for those wanting a refresher and to brush up their skills. For more details of Paper Cutting Classes click here. For more details of Lino Cutting Classes click here. Papercrafts classes and courses in London, Beckenham, Bromley, Croydon and Kent Lino Cutting classes and courses in London, Beckenham, Bromley, Croydon and Kent Paper Cutting classes and courses in London, Beckenham, Bromley, Croydon and...
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Jewellery Classes in the Evenings
Jewellery Classes in the Evenings
00The first of the evening jewellery classes are now on the website. Classes start in June when jewellery teacher Liz Pearson will show you how to make Chain Maille and how to use Copper Clay and Silver Clay on Thursday evenings. Watch out for jewellery classes on a Monday and Tuesday evenings as well. Tutor Claire Ceuppens will also be offering jewellery classes on some Monday and Tuesday evenings. These start with Wirework classes and Polymer Clay classes in June. More classes will be added soon....
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New Soft Furnishing Class
New Soft Furnishing Class
00We have added a new soft furnishings class to compliment our popular Roman Blinds class. Come along on Saturday 29 June and learn how to make lined curtains. This class will show you how to measure your windows and calculate the amout of fabric needed. How to cut out the fabric, how to make and attach the lining and how to add the header tape. For more details and to book our Soft Furnishings – Make a Lined Curtain click here....
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Childrens Make a Bag Sewing Class
Childrens Make a Bag Sewing Class
00Childrens Make a Bag Sewing Class Well done to all our excellent sewers that made these lovely bags in the Make a Bag class for 8 to 12 year olds. We have added some after school sewing clubs that will start next month. These aim to get the little ones interested and confident with sewing. The 8-12 year olds will make and decorated two projects and for the 13 to 18 year olds we concentrate on fashion teaching them to use a sewing machine and also to make a garment and embellish a garment they will want to wear again and again. Details of the classes can be found by clicking on the course title. After School Sewing club for 8 to 12 year olds After School Fashion Club for 13 to 18 year olds ...
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Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose?
Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose?
00Dressmaking. What Pattern Should I Choose? When you first start making your own clothes it is difficult to know where to start and what pattern to choose. We have put together a quick guide to try and help you understand who the main pattern companies are and which pattern to choose. The main pattern companies are based in the USA and are Simplicity and McCalls. Simplicity provides patterns under the brands Simplicity, New Look and Burda. Whilst McCalls has the brands McCalls, Buttericks, Vogue and Kwik Sew. In addition to this there are numerous independent pattern companies. When you are first starting to make clothes you need to pick a pattern without too many tricky techniques on it. Some of the pattern brands label their patterns to indicate how difficult they are. Examples of this are New Look – Beginners patterns are marked as Easy McCalls – Beginners patterns are marked as Easy Vogue – Beginners patterns are marked as Very Easy Vogue. Patterns with slightly more details included are Easy Vogue. These are still great for those with limited knowledge and experience of sewing. It can be difficult to find the difficulty rating on the pattern but if you look at the American website for both Simplicity and McCalls you can access their different brands and see the difficulty ratings. Getting the Best Fit Sewing patterns are based on a standard set of body measurements and if, like most of us, you do not fit the standard you need to make adjustments to the pattern to get a good fit. Learning to adjust patterns is a more advanced technique and it is best to become familiar with the basics of dressmaking before you start adjusting your patterns. However by choosing your pattern carefully you can help to reduce issues with the fit. One of the most problematic areas of fit is the bust. Commercial patterns are based on a B cup size. If you are bigger than B you can have a problem as choosing a pattern based on you bust measurement can take you into a bigger size than normal. This can mean that the fit on your shoulders and elsewhere may be too loose. If you are a C cup or larger, it is advisable to choose a pattern that incorporates different cup sizes. Examples of pattern ranges that include these are Simplicity – Amazing Fit patterns...
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Evening Planning Permission Granted
Evening Planning Permission Granted
00Planning permission to open in the evening has finally been granted! We are busy planning and adding evening classes to our timetable. We have already added some sewing classes and knitting, crochet, cake decorating and jewellery will be appearing over the next few days!
Trusted Provider by Hotcourses!
We are delighted to have been awarded Trusted Provider status by Hotcourses. They tell us they have only awarded this to 50 providers out of the hundreds they deal with so it is a real honour!
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