I love creativity and crafting, but I sometimes find my creative endeavors are tempered by my actual skills! Crafty Creatives, a craft kit subscription box, gives you everything you need and guides you through the process to make something lovely. So whether you’re a beginner or an experienced crafty person, you can be sure the results will be successful!
I’d just like to take a moment to admire the packaging. Every month will be different, because craft kits differ in size and shape, but this gorgeous yellow packing envelope made me feel so happy when it dropped though the mailbox!
The January box, the first I’ve tried, is a complete kit to make this copper wire heart. As Valentine’s Day is fast approaching the timing is perfect. Not only that, but my husband and I agreed to make each other a Valentine’s gift this year, so I don’t even have to rack my brains to think of something!
The kit is made by inspireinwire.
Inside the box are two lots of wire, pliers/wire shapers, templates, and full instructions.
I’ve never tried anything like this before, so it’s totally out of my comfort zone. I thought the photograph looked lovely, but I felt quite nervous about making something that looked quite complicated!
Anyway, I got all the bits together (on the grotty craft mat this time, rather than my fancy photographic white background!), took a deep breath, and made a start.
The instructions started with making the small heart, which was probably a good idea! You could use scissors to cut the wire, but I decided to grab some pliers from the toolbox.
Measuring and cutting the wire was pretty simple, then I used the template to bend it into the correct shape. It took a little bit of fiddling, but once I got used to how much pressure was necessary to bend it the right amount I thought it worked out pretty well! You also needed to use the included pliers to flatten down the wire to keep it joined together. OK, it’s not perfect, but I suspected the addition of the little swirly bits would cover up any tiny mistakes.
Gotta say, I was really nervous about making the swirls! Cutting the correct lengths of the thin wire was fine, but I felt very clumsy wrapping the ends around. There were actually two ways to make the swirls. You could use the included pliers and wrap the wire around the points, or you could use a little wooden stick, also included.
After a little experimentation I decided to use the pliers, as I found it easier when I could pinch the end of the wire in the pliers. When the swirls were made you then had to flatten them again with the pliers. Again, after some fiddling I figured it out.
The first few I found quite difficult, both wrapping the wire around the heart shape and then making the swirls themselves. But after a little while, I got the hang of the wrapping and the flattening, and it suddenly started to take shape!
To get to this point took around 50 minutes, and once I got in the rhythm of cutting and wrapping, the time passed quickly!
At this point I had to stop and go pick up my daughter from school, so I had to put everything aside for a while.
Over the next couple of days I grabbed some time to add more swirls. The little heart was finished fast, and then I started on the big heart. I managed to finish most of that all in one go, and they were done!
The last thing to do was to join them together and add a little hanging loop. This was supposed to be made using the remainder of the thin wire, but I had used up practically all of it making the swirls. There was plenty of the thicker wire, fortunately, so I used that to make the loop. That was remarkably tricky, as getting the wire tight enough around the middle of the hearts proved a little difficult.
I also had to do a little reshaping of the hearts as they had gotten a little bent out of shape while adding the swirls. But fortunately the wire proved to be quite forgiving! 
I didn’t get the hearts perfectly straight when it was lying down, but hanging up it worked pretty well!
Doesn’t that look beautiful?
I’m really so pleased with this! I started out worried it was too difficult and I was going to make a mess of it. But it suddenly all clicked into place! Making the little swirls, while repetitive, proved to be rather compelling, and watching them grow was extremely satisfying.
I really like being guided through the creative process, as I’m really not brave or experienced enough to go off-piste with crafting. Kits like this lovely Crafty Creatives (and My Greeting Box for greetings cards) are perfect for creating beautiful things by hand with confidence!
What a great result. I’ve had a a wonderful time creating something completely different, using a technique I’ve never tried before. My husband will get a gorgeous gift on Valentine’s Day, made by my own fair hands!
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Crafty Creatives Craft Kits for Grownups
£15 + £3.20 P&P per month
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