Hello Me Oh Myers,
Victoria here. You may have noticed it’s been a little quiet around here recently. Apologies for that.
I’ve just logged in to say I am no longer involved with Me Oh My, so no more tutorials from me I’m afraid.
Thank you for all the likes and comments over the last year and a half. It’s been appreciated.
Due to work I can longer commit to the project but thanks for the support.
Best wishes.
Victoria
Hi all,
So we’ve been busy restocking our Etsy page and I hope you’ve all taken a gander at our hard work! 😛
We are having a sale on our summer products so why not head over and grab a bargain!
Take care,
Hi all,
It’s been a long time coming but I’ve finally got our new range of jewellery up on our ETSY page!
We’ve got new earrings, necklaces and collar clips which are perfect little gifts for Christmas. I have a few already made up and all are make to order. So please check out our page and see if there’s anything you like!
I hope you like them!
Take care,
Hi all,
We did this post way back but the episode just aired so we thought we’d go back and take a look behind the scenes again.
So as you will know, if you are an avid reader of ours, that last weekend we were fortunate to be part of a TV show called Crafty Beggars.
We stumbled across the application a fair while ago and just thought ‘why not?’ We applied and went to meet the presenters and Hobby Craft, who sponsored the show, and were invited to be on the show.
The premise of the show is a two team competition where both teams have a £20 budget to spend on materials. They have a day to beg, borrow and buy all they need and make everything they want to sell the next day on a craft stall. The idea really is to spend as little as possible by being frugal and upcycling.
In the beginning we brainstormed (or mind mapped – ay, ay) and had tonnes of ideas from cork coasters, twig decorations, drift wood signs and map items. We thought about what the cheapest materials were we could use, aiming for low cost but with a high quantity and we decided that our best bet was felt! We love felt!
We planned and re-planned and planned again. There were sheets and lists and phone calls and recce’s!
In the end we narrowed what we were going to make down to felt brooches and necklaces, heart cork boards and beaded jewellery – we figured (even though sometimes it feels like it) that we aren’t super human and that unfortunately there aren’t enough hours in the day to make everything we had original wanted to.
We planned everything in detail including our stall:
Ooo look at that! Pretty!
So after all the prepping and planning the day of filming arrived… well actually before that there was the manic rush home from work on the Friday evening, piling everything into the car (so much stuff) and quickly scoffing dinner. Then there was the frantic rush to Brighton and final preparations! Oh yeah and not forgetting the utter panic when I realised I had forgotten the most important bag of materials in the chaos!
We were exhausted already! But the next day arrived and filming commenced…
The morning consisted of standing around awkwardly while people got busy establishing shots of us, most of which were of us walking un-naturally trying to generate ‘natural looking’ conversation and then rushing around collecting all of our materials!
We had arranged to collect a whole box of wine corks from a local Brighton wine bar, Ten Green Bottles and the rest was felt and jewellery bits. We then spent the rest of the afternoon, evening and a fair portion of the night, making all of our items!
The next day of filming was a bit of a tired, hazy blur that started with the panic making of tissue paper pom poms (as someone may have left that bag at home too, but we don’t like to talk about that…)
I would like to highlight how great Victoria is looking in that picture seeing as she was a/ tired and b/really poorly! Like a trooper she didn’t let a silly soar throat or stuffy head effect our day.
The rest of the day was spent luring people to our stall and being filmed selling what we could. We were really pleased with how everything came together and it was awesome to see it all complete and together.
Vikki working away
We worked hard that weekend and we’re really proud of the results. We owe a big thanks to everyone who helped us out and all of our items will be up on our ETSY shop within the week.
The show doesn’t air until the Autumn so we’ll keep you updated! You’ll have to wait until then to see how we did.
Take care,
Hi All,
Long time no blog! I’ve been terrible! However we’re back this week with a scary bang! Halloween is looming and we’re loving it.
Over here in England it’s not such a big Holiday, but that doesn’t stop us enjoying all the inspiration from across the pond.
Here’s a few categories and a few ideas to try for yourself.
1/ Decorate with a difference – Pumpkin decor.
I’m a sucker for black and white and I love the idea of painting your pumpkin and making them pretty. They’d be great for table center pieces!
Add props to make your pumpkin stand out. I love the candle holder idea and the animals are so cute!
2/ Deadly decoration
Small touches like these are brilliant to add atmosphere to your Halloween party… how great are those candles?
3/ Scary snacks – Halloween food
Can’t wait to try those black toffee apples!
4/ Deadly drinks – Halloween cocktails
These cocktails look awesome no? I would love to try them all!
Lots of brilliant and creative finds this week. What are you planning for Halloween?
Look out for our scary Halloween costume/make up finds coming this week!
Take care,
Hi All,
Well it’s been a while! I’ve been on my holidays and Victoria has returned to school, so time has just got away from us. Fear not! We are back from our breaks and will be keeping you up to date with our finds and tutorials.
This week I have been a little bit obsessing over Collar Clips! I saw a set of these in Edinburgh and fell in ❤.
In case you’re wondering what they are let me introduce you to a few of my favorite finds, and if you are in the know then marvel at these awesome creations!
1// Balloon Collar Clip by @clustercuss (follow her on Instagram – she’s marvelous!)
2// Washing line Collar Clip – Unknown but too cute to ignore!
3// Classic Heart Collar Clip DIY tutorial by Lexy Levin
4// Clip on animal Collar Clip by Minted Strawberry (with free printable template)
5// Upcycled Collar Clips by Tigerlilly
All so adorable right! I’ve got a whole long list of ones I’m going to make – it’s my new project!
Right I’m off to buy some shirts!
Take care,
Hi all,
It’s that time again! Friday woo! Shamefully I am one of those people who can’t wait until the weekend. When that clock hits 5:30, I’m outta there!
So on my lunch break yesterday, and not when I was procrastinating… I stumbled upon such a cute little project using cement. This obviously isn’t a new material and it’s been creeping around the craft blogs for a while, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to use for ages.
It seems really easy to use and I like the juxtaposition of the industrial connotations the material has compared to the dainty projects I’ve been seeing.
So here are my favorite cement projects:
1// Concrete candlestick by Evenyaru.com
2// Concrete ring bowl by Land of Nams
3// Concrete quartz necklace by the uber talented Francesca over at fallfordiy.com
Seriously check out her page – it’s awesome and she has lots of different concrete jewellery tutorials!
4// Cement Christmas (eek I said it) decorations by fellow fellow
5// Cement key chain by sayyes.com
Right so I’m off to buy some cement and some molds!
Enjoy the weekend!
Take care,
Hi all,
So I decided it was about time for a DIY tutorial, don’t you think?
I was so inspired by the hand crafted Jewellery at Black Box Boutique the other week that I went straight home and did some making! Obviously I’m just a hobby crafter so don’t have access to any technical tools so I decided to go simple and use craft clay.
This takes 30mins so get your oven on, wack it on to 130 and start following these simple rules.
You need five things:
Once you have these things simply follow these super easy steps.
1// Portion out your craft clay. Kneed it until soft and roll into a ball.
2// Once you have the amount of balls you want, at the size you want, start using the skewer to make them into beads:
3// Bake in the oven for 25 mins (or however long the craft clay packet says) and leave to cool.
4// Once cooled use the nail varnish to paint them. The nail varnish gives a lovely shiny finish. Leave to dry.
5// Once dried use the wire to attach the beads together:
Bend the ends like this from the stack-able beads tutorial
6// Use the connecting rings to attach the bead pendant to your chain. Add the clasp. And boom: you’re done!
Really easy ay!
Take care,
Hi all,
Eeek it feels like I’ve been away for ages! Victoria has been doing a great job while I’ve been tottering around the Scottish lands. I had a great time, thanks for asking. Lot’s of walking, seeing sandy beaches and fun family times! A much needed break!
I didn’t forget about you guys though! Whilst on my travels I was looking out for things to report back to you all and success! As I was puddle hopping my way around the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh (a place I highly recommend you all go. Now!) I stumbled upon a wondrous, almost magical, find: Black Box Boutique!
Black Box is the wonderful creation of Hannah and Sarah: together they have created this charming boutique shop, almost like a bricks and mortar ETSY shop!
Situated on the winding West Bow street in Edinburgh’s old town this little treasure trove is stuffed full of imaginative and creative products. Not only was I in awe of the hand crafted jewellery, illustrations, cards and supplies but the interior was magical!
I love these sort of finds; I love being transported into the world independent shops like these create. But rather than me gab on about it why don’t we hear from the lovely ladies themselves! I was able to ask Hannah and Sarah a few questions so I hope you enjoy!
1/ Please introduce yourselves and your business.
Hello, I am Hannah, and I run Black Box with my good friend Sarah. Black Box is an independent design boutique based in the heart of Edinburghs Old Town. We stock a wide range of stationery, illustration, homeware and gifts, but at the heart of it we are a jewellery boutique. All of our products are made by British-based independent designers and small companies, with a few from a bit further afield. Both myself and Sarah are jewellers, and we have our workshop at the back of the shop so our customers can peek at jewellery being made.
2/ How did you start out and how did black box boutique evolve?
Black Box is a family run business, but to begin with we were starting from scratch. Our initial vision for Black Box was to be a sort of wonderland with the jewellery displayed in unusual ways, enabling the customer to feel like they were discovering hidden treasures throughout the boutique. So often jewellery stores are rows of endless glass cabinets, where the jewellery almost becomes lost. We wanted to have each cabinet tell it’s own story, and in turn the jewellery comes to life!
We’ve come a long way from when we opened, and our designer base has risen from 25 to begin with, up to around 100 at the moment. It’s a constant learning curve, so we continually update our displays, and strive to deliver something fresh.
3/ You have so many amazing handmade goodies in your shop; what are you loving right now?
It’s so hard to choose, we love all of our designers! Wolf & Moon and AndSmile are going down a storm with our customers, as is the new collection from DeeLyn made from recycled guitar strings. Both myself and Sarah are totally in love with Yasmin Everley’s Entomology collection, and I might just have to treat myself to one of Myia Bonner’s new initial necklaces…!
4/ What or who inspires you most?
Black Box grew from a love of fairytales and secret things, childhood curiosities and particularly books like The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly. It’s always been important for our boutique to mix the old with the new, so we source old furniture and objects to include in our displays. I’ve collected ‘antiques’ for years, not for their value (which is little) but for a love of imagining what sort of history the item could have had; who owned it, what sort of life did they lead, if the object could speak what tales would it tell? etc. There is such value in history, it’s all so fascinating, and really the only limit is your imagination!
5/ Do you have any advice for those creative people out there looking to open up a crafty business?
Make sure that your craft is your passion. Being a creative and a business owner is often difficult, as the two tend to be at crossed purposes in terms of motivation, but it can definitely work. I’d say that feedback is invaluable, because it’s always vital to gain a fresh perspective. Listen to your customers, and don’t give up. Persevere and believe in yourself – You can do it!
A huge thank you to Black Box Boutique for answering all of our questions! We hope you all enjoyed hearing what they had to say and if you’re in the Edinburgh area get your Google maps out, type in this address: 98 WEST BOW, EDINBURGH, MIDLOTHIAN, EH1 2HH, and get your behinds down there!
Take care,
Dot-Crafts 