Review: Do Crafts

In a previous life I used to be quite the arts and crafts fan; painting, drawing, pastels, applique, cross-stitch, making, baking, cooking up the next crafty idea. However, coinciding with the fact that I haven't slept since May 2009 is the fact that I have had no time to even remember how to draw a flower, let alone paint one.

I was recently sent some craft equipment from Do Crafts, including a Papermania Henbury Lane scrap-booking kit, a Creativity magazine, a pair of non-stick Art and Craft scissors and a Stick it permanent adhesive roller.

I've never tried scrap-booking before, but there is everything that you could need in this 1500-piece kit to make a start; including a large A3 square book, backing sheets, lettered stickers in a variety of designs and various cut-out embellishments with flowers, butterflies etc. There also card letters in four different prints which can be popped out and glued on giving a more 3D finish. It's a very comprehensive kit and ideal for scrap-booking fans.

The non-stick Art and Craft scissors are fabulous. Teflon-coated, sellotape doesn't stick to the stainless-steel precision blades, and they have soft-grip handles which is great for when you're cutting out a gazillion things! I couldn't get the Stick It permanent adhesive roller to work properly unfortunately. The theory is brilliant in that there is a roll of gummed paper and that it is rolled along the area to be stuck, leaving a line of permanent adhesive behind. In practise, the roller didn't roll and the glue had dried up.

I'm really looking forward to getting to grips with the Creativity magazine as there are so many different ideas in there. At only £2.95 per copy there are a wealth of projects inside it's glossy pages ranging from making Christmas wreaths to baubles and bunting. The latter I am definitely going to be giving a go! I particularly like the photo workshop for making your own photo Christmas cards, something I'm working on later today.