What an awesome Olympics London 2012 is proving to be!  Not only have we managed to build an impressive Olympic Park which hopefully does it’s bit for urban regeneration in the East of London, but we put on a pretty awesome Opening Ceremony which kicked off the games in great style. As if that was not enough, Team GB has definitely done us proud and seem to be storming many different sports picking up all colours of medals left right and centre in sports where GB traditionally are not strong.  It’s also a great feeling to know many of the medalists are from our region and even from our town – Well done Robbie Grabarz from St. Neots who took Bronze in the High Jump and Louis Smith from Huntingdon who was so so close to the gold but graciously took a silver medal for the Pummel Horse. We have also seen some other awesome GB athletes that really do make you feel proud that they are British.  Two ladies that stood out to me, both gaining gold and making Olympic history are Nicola Adams, the first ever Gold for Women’s Boxing and Jade Jones who did a sterling job of scooping gold for Taekwondo – both girls came across so graciously, such lovely girls and they really deserve their medals! Well done Team GB – you rock and have made us proud! It was also great watching Bolt get the 200m – it seemed the whole stadium temporarily changed their nationality to Jamaican for that 19 seconds! So… One way a local school got their pupils excited about the impending Olympics while also marking this momentus occasions os London 2012 was by painting a tile mural which will become a permanent feature of the school. The younger children were given a country who are taking part in the Olympics and the older children were given an Olympic sport.  The children then went onto drawing their design on a piece of paper. Crafty Monkey then went into the school armed with pottery paints, brushes and a stack of tiles and after an explanation about how to paint pottery the children got underway to recreate their drawings onto the tiles and I must say the results were very impressive. Pre glazed and pre fired tile Some of the children also painted the Olympic rings onto tiles and London and 2012 on another tile. Back at the studio, we wrote the name and year of each child on the tile before glazing and putting through the kiln.  The finished tiles were delivered back to the school for an eager DIYer who is on the school PTA to attach the tiles to a board and mount.  This beautiful mural will become a permanent feature of the school to be admired for years to come. Here’s a picture of some of the tiles put together in the studio – the finished mural is sure to look great!  Spot the tile with Bolt on! Tile murals are great projects we can take into schools, clubs, groups and the theme could be anything.  It really is a great way to mark an occasion! What idea’s do you have for a mural? #craftymonkey #olympics #tilemural #cambridgeshire #London2012 #Commemorateanoccasion #schoolchildren #schoolprojects #PotteryPainting

Let me introduce Anna Brim who has written a guest blog below of her experience of painting a mug for Father’s Day at Crafty Monkey.  Anna is always looking of ways to live an Eco friendly life, you may want to read her ‘Our Eco Journey‘ Blog. I am very mindful at the moment of the importance of shopping locally, supporting independent traders, buying something unique, something that is not mass produced and that everyone has (this really hit home to me when I was shopping in Italy at a well known home furnishing store, that they had exactly the same products as back home in Blighty. Homes all over Europe could be furnished with exactly the same stuff, aghhhh!). It was with this in mind and with Father’s Day fast approaching that I started to rack the brain as to what to get for our Dad’s. Now the Mum’s are fairly easy to buy for but the Dad’s…not so much! In their 60s, not wanting just “stuff”, having most things they need and want it starts to rule out quite a lot of options. OK so the list so far to cover for Father’s Day present: Not mass produced Handmade where possible Unique Locally sourced Not just “stuff” Something useful and not just clutter What to get? Where to go? Of course Crafty Monkey covers all of these points and what’s more, it is an activity for me to do so not only is it a present for Dad but also a lovely leisure activity for me to enjoy knowing that I have created something with love to pass on. I decided to paint a mug. He loves tea and of course uses mugs. He loves his Morgan cars so I thought what a nice gift a personalised hand painted mug would be, with the all important Morgan logo design on the front and a bit of text so everyone else in the household knows whose cup this is so hands off! So I started with my white mug. No scratch that, I in fact started by searching the internet for the Morgan logo, downloaded it and printed it out to the size that I wanted. I then took my mug, and laid carbon paper over the top and traced my design onto the mug. I’m sorry, I had to do this, there was no way that I could paint it free hand. It may be seen by some as cheating but not to me. I knew it would look better that way. Once the design was on, I then began to paint. Blimey it was intricate. Of course you need three coats of the paint so it will be really bold and some where around coat two I wondered why on Earth I had chosen such an intricate design and I am sure I, at times, forgot where I was at! I painted the mug at the Thursday night adults session which was really nice and relaxing so intricacy and fine lines were not a problem. After I painted the design, I used the end of a rounded brush, dipped in paint to create nice dots all over the mug. I just thought this finished it off a bit nicer than leaving it plain white. I also used the black writer pen to write “Dad’s Mug” on the side. I can’t wait to see the glazed result. I really enjoyed painting the mug and I know he will like it, not just for what it is but for the appreciation of the time and thoughtfulness that went into its creation. It is not just another mug bought from a supermarket and I am sure the tea will taste all the much nicer for it. Anna Brim of Aloha Photography #handpaintedmug #craftymonkey #FathersDaygift #presents #PersonalisedGifts #uniquegifts #handmadepresent #PotteryPainting

Do something different this Valentine’s and bring your partner to Crafty Monkey Pottery Painting and Craft Studio in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire where you can each paint each other a personalised piece of pottery.  We promise not to play slushy music or bring roses to your table.  It’s just a fun way to spend quality time together and mark Valentine’s day while avoiding the slush you can find at some places!  You also get something to keep and treasure at the end of it – a reminder of your fun evening painting.  Don’t worry you don’t have to paint love hearts all over the piece if you don’t want to!  Please feel free to bring a bottle of wine to help with the creative juices! Cost: There’s a £4 studio fee per person plus the cost of the pottery you choose (pottery starts at £5 with most pieces costing between £9 and £20)  Book your tables in advance by calling 01480 219222 or by email info@mycraftymonkey.com. Or perhaps you want to paint a Valentines gift in advance of the day to give to your partner?  We have all sorts of ideas to help you create something really personal. We are also running a Valentine’s Felt Hearts Workshop on Saturday 12th February 2011. Come along and make one for yourself!  It doesn’t have to signify Valentines. #ceramics #cambridgeshire #PersonalisedGifts #handpaintedpottery #thingstodo #stneots #valentinesnight #PotteryPainting #valentinegift

Blimey, where do I start?  Maybe if I updated my blog regularly I wouldn’t then have 101 things to say each time I go to write an update. Lots going on at Crafty Monkey at the moment and I’ve been working on putting together some great new workshops that I hope will be popular. New workshops introduced this week are: Ceramic Painting Workshops Project One - Chequers and Hearts This will hopefully run on a regular basis and we hope to create a friendly and fun group where you can get together on a monthly basis and learn new techniques for pottery/ceramics painting or even try pottery painting out for the first time.  It will be a different project each time so you can just do the projects you fancy.  It will be a two hour instructor led class and you will be guided through the steps to get to the final design.  No artistic talent or pottery painting experience is needed and you can simply follow the steps or let loose your creative flair and personalise the piece to your taste. In our first workshop which is on Thursday 10th March at 7pm, you will be painting a mug, plate or bowl with the design shown in the picture, obviously you can customise it by using your favourite colours and change the heart into another shape to suit your taste.   The workshops will be run on Thursday evenings.  Book your space now on the workshop. The mug in the picture was painted by one of our customers Othelia after she consulted our design books to get idea’s.  The mug has not yet been glazed and fired so the results will be a lot shinier when complete. If you have never painted pottery before then I highly recommend you come down and try it out as it is incredibly enjoyable while being relaxing and therapeutic.  It’s also a great way to spend quality time with friends and partners. If you have a group of people who would like a bespoke or workshop then we can put on workshops for your group.  We can also do team building workshops. Card Making and Paper Craft Lessons Card Making and Papercrafts Introducing another new workshop to Crafty Monkey.  Card making and paper crafting has become increasingly popular over the past few years.  You only need to go into the crafts section in Tesco’s or other big retailers to see how their craft section has grown. While you would think card making seems to be a fairly simple craft that you can learn yourself at home, there are a variety of specialties within this fun hobby and lots of techniques to learn.  This class will look at perhaps the more elaborate one of a kind cards you could make and also other items you can make with card and paper such as small gift bags. If you fancy your hand at card making or currently make your own but want to learn some new skills or perhaps meet like minded people to share ideas then this class is for you.  There will be different projects each month kicking off with a card and gift bag that would be suitable to give mum on Mother’s day – this is just an idea and you can use for whatever purpose you want.  This class will take place at Crafty Monkey Pottery Painting and Craft Studio at 7pm on Thursday 24th March and will cost £12 for a two hour session.  All materials included. Book your place now! New workshops that I hope to launch soon so watch this space: Cupcake Decorating Really Wild Workshop Fancy Pants – personalise a pair of knickers (great fun for a girly night out or hen do idea!) Felt Flowers And there’s more but you’ll have to keep checking back or why not subscribe to the Crafty Monkey Newsletter and we will update you with the wonderful new workshops we launch.  We promise not to bombard you with emails and generally email out about once or twice a month. Until next time… Chrissy the Crafty Monkey! #craftymonkey #cardmaking #paintamug #cupcakedecorating #ceramiclessons #cambridgeshire #PersonalisedGifts #ceramicpainting #craftprojectscraftworkshopspotterypainting #papercrafts #stneots

Apologies again for not keeping up with all the Monkeying around news at Crafty Monkey.  Just so much has been going on that unfortunately it hasn’t left any time to report it on the blog! I think the most exciting thing (well to me anyway as I am just a big kid) to happen is the birth of Crafty Monkey Jnr! Meet Charlie Jnr... He is just so cute, supersoft and very cuddly.  Charlie Jnr, although only a young monkey, loves meeting new people and really wants to get out and explore the world. If you are going on any adventures or you want Charlie to come and live with you and your family for a weekend, a week or a longer period then just get in touch.  It doesn’t cost you anything, you just need to provide pictures and let us know what Charlie is up to.  He has his own facebook page which you can go to which will let you know what Charlie is up to – if you LIKE it then you will be updated with his travels in your news feed. Do you want to borrow Charlie for the weekend? Customers have been very kind and invited Charlie to go on adventures with them already.  At only a day old, Charlie packed his suitcase and went off to stay with Jenna.  I visited Charlie after his first night at Jenna’s as he had forgotton to take his t-shirt only to find him out for a pub meal sat on his own chair!  Jenna was doing a great job of looking after him and was certainly giving him lots of hugs. First stop Singapore before hitting Perth Australia The next day Charlie left with Jenna and her family for Singapore where he will be doing sightseeing before off to Perth Australia!  What a lucky monkey, his first trip away from home and it’s downunder!!! Charlie was slightly disappointed I forgot to pack his surfers outfit but I’m sure he’ll find lots of other things to do instead. Jenna’s mum Joanne has already posted pictures on Charlie’s facebook page of Charlie at Heathrow and Charlie on the plane getting ready for his first time in the air! Next stop – Somerset Charlie is going to be one tired monkey because as soon as he arrives back in blighty he’ll be heading down to cider country with Lewis and Leyton.  Lewis loves monkey’s and both boys are very excited to have a new friend to take on holiday with them.  Not only will Charlie be going away with the boys and their mum but they also built a bear – well actually a gorgeous black cat at Crafty Monkey who was named Sooty.  Sooty is a bit of a rock chick and has the latest rockers outfit with pink cowboy boots.  Charlie has yet to meet Sooty but I’m sure they will get on fine. Perth again but this time in hopefully sunny Scotland Christopher in his kilt destined for Scotland with his new sister Angel After having a quick rest when arriving back from Somerset, Charlie will be heading up to Perth in Scotland with his best friend Christopher.  Christopher the Bear was also made at Crafty Monkey and he recently came in to buy himself a kilt outfit especially for his trip to Scotland.  He also bought himself some new trendy trainers.  Christopher’s mum has also recently made a purple bear called Angel to keep Christopher company and she will be going away with the boys!  I hope she can keep up with them. Charlie was made using one of our build a bear no sew kits at Crafty Monkey and we even made him a special t-shirt with the Crafty Monkey logo on. |We sell all sorts of bears and animals including outfits so check it out at www.makeabearkidsparty.com If you would like Charlie to come on adventures with you then get in touch by emailing info@mycraftymonkey.com or call 01480 219222.  You can also LIKE him on facebook or check out his diary.

Crafty Monkey is very very excited to finally announce the birth of it’s new baby: Craftability – An arts and crafts programme of workshops for adults with learning difficulties It’s been a long time coming and we hope it was worth the wait!  Crafty Monkey is all about focusing on what you CAN do rather than on what you can’t, about enabling rather than disabling and we want to make our workshops ‘Learning Easy’ rather than ‘Learning Difficulties’. We have put together a series of workshops designed to be both fun and educational, covering a range of different mediums and techniques that are suited to people with learning difficulties.  The workshops will be run in term time in small groups and are instructor led and the techniques will first be demonstrated.  Help and guidance will be at hand. Art and Crafts offers an ideal opportunity for self expression and can be extremely therapeutic and nurturing. Arts and Crafts also encourages creative thinking, helps develop fine motor skills, reduces stress and offers a sense of accomplishment and achievement. Having a finished product can help build a person’s confidence in their ability and enhance self esteem. Crafting is a haven to let your imagination run wild and when self-expression is the goal, success is guaranteed, and art is an excellent way to express feelings that might be difficult to put into words. With our craft workshops, there is no such thing as right or wrong. It’s the making of the item and not the end result, that is important. And everyone will come away with their very own masterpiece. Our workshops will not only encourage people’s creative streaks but they will also be great opportunities to socialise and meet new friends. Spaces on the workshops will be limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. For Further Information contact Chrissy on 01480 219222 or info@mycraftymonkey.com Craftability – Workshops 2011 Friday 10th June 1pm to 2.30pm – Father’s Day Change Bowls: Does your dad or grandad leave their car keys and loose change all over the place? Well, come and paint dad a change bowl for Father’s Day! £10 all materials included. Items will need to be collected a week later. Friday 8th July 1pm to 2.30pm – Decopatch Workshop: Come and join in with this fun workshop where you will be applying funky colourful papers with glue to a small boxes. £7 Friday 22nd July 1pm to 2.30pm – Sponging Plates: During this fun workshop you will learn the technique of sponging – a way to apply paint without a paint brush and create an effective design on a plate. £12. Items will be ready a week later as we need to fire and glaze them. Friday 9th September – Fingerprint Painting: Together we will be painting a picture onto a mug with our fingerprints! Lots of fun and very effective. £12 including all materials. Items will be ready a week later as we need to fire and glaze them. Friday 30th September 1pm to 2.30pm – Glass Decorating Workshop: During this fun workshop you will decorate a glass object with beautiful brightly coloured glass gels and pens. Price £7. Friday 21st October 1pm to 2.30pm – Autumn Leaf Tile: Come and learn the technique of ‘scratching out’ an autumn design on a tile to create an effective finish. The tile’s make perfect coasters. Price £7. Friday 4th November 1pm to 2.30pm – Guy Fawkes on Canvas: Create your very own sparkly fireworks display on canvas! Price £7. Friday 25th November 1pm to 2.30pm – Christmas Decorations: Paint your very own pottery bauble to take pride of place on your Christmas tree. Price £9, all materials included. Friday 16th December 1pm to 2pm – Build a Bear Workshop: You are never too old to love teddy bears. Come and join in the fun making and adopting your very old cuddly friend from the Crafty Monkey Animal Sanctuary. During this workshop you will pick, stuff and personalise a t-shirt for your furry friend before the important bit of making a birth certificate and the official adoption ceremony! £10 per person, all materials included. All workshops need booking and paying for in advance. Bookings can be made either on our website using paypal, over the phone using a credit card or by visiting the studio. Depending on numbers we are happy for support workers to book onto our workshops too after all the benefits of art and crafts mentioned above apply to everyone! Let us know your thoughts and suggestions.  Is there any workshops you would like to see?  Any comments for feedback gratefully received.

Double page spread write up about Crafty Monkey in @popularcrafts – complete guide to kids crafts http://ow.ly/5lJvi

Ooooh Crafty Monkey has made it onto page 2 of the St. Neots edtion of News & Crier http://ow.ly/5dCS9

Are you getting into the Olympic spirit? We are! Cambridge, Huntingdon and St Ives have been announced as three of the places through where the Olympic Flame will be carried as part of the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay Route and will arrive in Cambridge on 7th July, there’ll be celebrations as part of The Big Weekend on Parkers Piece in the evening before Early the Flame will make its appearance in Trinity College’s Great Court (featured in the Chariots of Fire film) and recreated by Sebastian Coe and Steve Cram in 1988). Before leaving the torch’s visit to Cambridge would not be complete without a ride on a punt! The Flame will then depart for St Ives and then Huntingdon. At Huntingdon it will be visiting the Olympic Gym – now named Huntingdon Gymnastic Club, which is home to many Olympic hopefuls.  The next stop is Bedford and the flame will be passing by St. Neots so will be within a mile or two of Crafty Monkey! Check out the Olympic website and local news  for more information. Are you getting into the Olympic spirit? This week Newton Primary School in Eltisley have been doing just that with all the children painting tiles that once glazed and fired will be put together to make a big tile mural to be displayed in the school as a permanent feature for years to come. The younger children have painted a flag of a country that will be partaking in the games and the older children have painted an Olympic sport with some children painting the infamous Olympic rings which will make up the centre piece. The kiln has been working overtime this week to process the tiles and I must say the results are rather impressive and every child that has taken part should be extremely proud of their efforts and what’s great is that perhaps in the future if their children go to Newton school they will be able to marvel on a piece of art their parents created!  Congratulations Newton Primary school on a great project that has really engaged and excited the children. If you feel inspired by Olympic fever that is sure to build and build over the coming weeks then you could always come to Crafty Monkey and paint your own commemorative pottery piece.  I am planning on painting the above on a plate for the window display so am looking forward to that. Another way to get your children in the spirit is by letting them make their very own Olympic mascot with our Build a Bear workshops where your child can pick an animal, we have a large range of different animals from Apes to Zebra’s and we will guide them through the making and adoption process – it really is a lot of fun, and includes designing the animal a personalised t-shirt with our fabric pens, we have all the colours of the Olympic rings so maybe that could be the design? Or if your child has a build a bear already they could always come shopping at Crafty Monkey for a suitable Olympic outfit that most represents the sporting category they are supporting. We have a varied range from Basketball to Karate so your furry friend needn’t miss out on looking the part! If you really can’t stand the Olympics and you are over it before it has even begun, why not escape for a while. Let the other half hog the TV and come down to the Studio and relax and escape. Our adults only Thursday nights are perfect for that. Why not host an Olympic Widows night? Bring your girly friends and grab a bottle of wine and pop along. And if you are going to watch the torch relay or are lucky enough to see the Olympics, then please take Charlie, our travelling monkey, with you. I am sure he would enjoy, no wait, I know he would enjoy that very much and we would love to see the pictures of him having fun. Charlie has his own Facebook page where people post pictures of what he’s been up to – Like his page to be kept up to date on his shenanigans! You could even be a Crafty Monkey guest blogger telling us all about the Olympic adventures you and Charlie got up too. Are you doing anything to celebrate the Olympics?  Or are you even one of the lucky one’s to get tickets? #childrensactivities #olympics #tilemural #artsandcrafts #BuildaBear #cambridgeshire #olympictorch #CharlietheCraftyMonkey #thingstodo #adultsnights #stneots #schoolprojects #PotteryPainting

On 21st July 2011 Crafty Monkey: Pottery Painting, Build a Bear and Craft Studio turned one! In some resepects the last year has just flown by but in some it feels like it’s been much longer than a year.  To mark the occasion and to say thank you to a lot of people who have been a part of Crafty Monkey’s success, a party was held. In true monkey style there was a few things going on to keep people entertained: We had ‘Pin the tail on the Monkey’ with the winner Nicola Town receiving a Crafty Monkey gift voucher. We had the Monkey Photo Booth and ended up with some fun pictures which we have put on the Crafty Monkey facebook page. Great Monkey Face Elizabeth! There was the signing of the Crafty Monkey 1st Birthday signature platter which after I’ve worked out how to hang it and after it’s been glazed and fired it will be on display in the studio. Crafty Monkey 1st Birthday Commemorative Signature Platter There was also the free prize drawer where 18 people have won the prize of painting a tile to be on display in the customer toilet! Zia served up his Serious Sausages to guests and there were other nibbles including of course Monkey Nuts and wine and fruit punch to wash it all down. Zia cooking up a storm with his Serious Sausages Also like all good birthday parties there was fabulous cake and cupcakes made by my friends mum who is a total star and she even managed to get the Crafty Monkey logo onto the cake! Crafty Monkey 1st B'day Cake and Cupcakes Thanks to everyone who attended and all you naughty people who brought cards and gifts and thanks to all the lovely people who come and paint at Crafty Monkey!

After all the lead up to and excitement of Christmas we are often left with the blues in January.  The weather can prevent the usual getting out and about and we often hibernate. Well this year can be different, start the year afresh and get connected with your creative side – everyone has one to some degree! Pottery painting in the bright surrounds of the Crafty Monkey studio in St. Neots will be sure to banish any blues, it’s a great activity for relaxing and forgetting all your worries and troubles – art therapy is the way forward! Maybe your New Years resolution was to try something new and get out and about a bit more.  Crafty Monkey runs several different craft workshops which are designed to cater for complete beginners to people who know perhaps the basics but just want the social side of crafting with other people.  Our monthly jewellery making workshops are very popular and also our sewing workshops – these are for ages 8 upwards and are a great way for mum and daughter to spend good old fashioned quality time together. Or maybe you have a group of friends and fancy a different night out.  We can put on workshops bespoke for your group, how about a knicker personalising workshop, pamper evening or sewing felt fancies?

It may not feel like Summer is upon us with the current weather conditions, but I am sure many teachers and school children can feel the end of the school year fast approaching with both looking forward to a much needed break and all the fun that can come with the school Summer holidays. For most primary school children the end of the school year can mean change and saying goodbye to special teachers or perhaps even saying goodbye to their school as they move to another school. What seems to be a growing trend is for children to give their teacher a small gift at the end of term as a token of their appreciation for the last year. You can always tell when something is getting more popular with the emergence of more and more specialised gifts for this purpose being stocked in more and more shops. If you are thinking of a gift for your child’s teacher then the only real way to ensure the gift your child gives is unique and thought out is for the child to make the gift themselves.  A handmade gift that is unique and personalised is likely to be valued by the teacher as the child has spent time creating it. There’s nothing quite like getting a gift that someone has put time and thought into. Of course, by giving something that is unique you know that Teacher will only receive the one rather than 30 from the entire class. A piece of handpainted pottery makes a good solution and you are also killing several birds with one stone too as you are also treating your child to the Crafty Monkey experience while also keeping them entertained. We have already seen several children come in and paint a gift for their teacher or commissioned us to paint something personalised and we have many items to choose from, egg cups, coasters, bowls, mugs, plates, plant pots you name it, we pretty much have it. Decopatch is another craft activity we offer which would also be good for making a teachers gift. We have some lovely trinket boxes that look fab with our bright and funky decopatch paper on. If you haven’t been in to see us, please do and take a look at our wide selection of pieces just waiting to be personalised. We can’t wait to see what your child will create and I am sure you can’t either! Oh and don’t forget that from painting to glazing and firing the process takes approximately one week so please don’t leave it too late for painting your pottery (if you are running late though do get in touch as we do offer a speedy service for an extra fee).  If you are commissioning a piece we generally need as much notice as possible.  Decopatch however can be taken away the same day once it has dried. We would love to hear what special gifts your child has given to their teachers so please feel free to share. #craftymonkey #TeacherGifts #EntertainingtheKids #cambridgeshire #EndofTerm #Bedfordshire #Decopatch #uniquegifts #PersonalisedGift #handmadepresent #Commissions #stneots #PotteryPainting

Finally, finally, finally, I put fingers to keyboard in an attempt to become a blogger!  Just need to find or rather make the time now to blog, that’s after I work out this wordpress thing! Let me first introduce myself, my name is Chrissy and I started Crafty Monkey Pottery Painting and Craft Studio in July 2010 in St. Neots, Cambridgeshire.  We offer an array of activities such as pottery painting, build a bear, hand and footprints, silver print jewellery, decopatch (decoupage), jewellery making courses, sewing classes and more.  We are also a great party venue for either kids or adults So far, Crafty Monkey seems to be going down well with the locals and word is finally getting around. There’s so much fun to be had at the studio and we are also mobile and can come to you.  Crafty Monkey is not just for kids but adults too. My blogs will mainly be about all the different activities we offer at Crafty Monkey as well as craft projects, workshops and latest news.  They are likely going to appeal to people interested in crafts, painting, art but also to parents looking for new ways to entertain the kids or perhaps you are a group and would like to come and try out what we have on offer. I will keep this short n sweet as just wanted to introduce myself but hope to get into regular blogging – there’s always so much to blog about just not enough hours in the day! Until next time… Chrissy the Crafty Monkey!

It may have been wet and it may have been cold but we are British and as a wise fool once said ‘There is no such thing as bad weather just inappropriate clothing’. So with that in mind we donned the waterproofs, packed up some of our Crafty Monkey goodies and headed off to the Market Square where a jolly good time was had by all! We had a great time at the ‘Big Lunch’ where we are informed around 600 children were registered to join in the fun and help celebrate the Jubilee. It was so lovely to see everyone coming together and enjoying themselves in true British street party style and there was certainly a lovely atmosphere and everyone looked to be having a good time. Many stopped by the Crafty Monkey stall and tried their hand at pottery painting by painting a union jack on a tile or a mug to commemorate the occasion – we have nearly fired all the pieces now and there’s some great results. People were joining in with the celebrations all over the town and whilst some of us were at the Market Square some headed to the Crafty Monkey Studio (on Moore’s Walk in between Argos and Barclays Bank) to get a little relief from the elements. None of the mass produced memorabilia here, no no indeed not, instead we saw the young and the young at heart coming together to paint something that was truly memorable to them, something to treasure for generations to come to look back on and only imagine the fun that was had! Also with all the tea party festivities around the Jubilee we have noticed an increase in tea party inspired  pottery pieces here at the Studio so if you missed out on the Jubilee weekend, why not come in and paint your own pottery and host your own tea party. A special thanks goes out to Ingrid at Create@68 who had a stall full of gorgeous personalised gifts next to Crafty Monkey and seemed busy with her bunting making workshop – thanks Ingrid for for all your help with setting up and packing away but also for the very appropriate Jubilee music! #mugpainting #cambridgeshire #JubileeCelebrations #TheBigLunch #stneots #DiamondJubileecelebrations

Hiya It’s been busy busy busy at Crafty Monkey but this week has calmed down a bit so attempting to get through my never ending ‘To Do’ list – obviously that isn’t going to happen overnight so thought I’d take a little break to post what I think is useful information – well it is if it affects you! I’ve actually cut and pasted the below from Best Years website, they are wholesalers of  gorgeous knitted toys and fair trade items – worth having a peek at their website! Anyway, they have gone through what I’d only assume to be a tedious directorate and pulled out the main points which are below.  As they state, they have no particular specialist knowledge on toy safety and can not advise on this legislation, same goes for me. The Main Gist The new toy safety directives aim to ensure that safety is designed in to the product rather than being something which is tested for only after a toy has been manufactured For this reason every toy will have a technical file which details all the components used in the manufacture of the toy and the tests which these components have had. The technical file will include the bill of materials, safety assessment, test certificates and a declaration of conformity. It is the responsibility of the toy manufacturer to compile this technical file. If you name and address is on the sew in label you are the manufacturer. Every toy coming in to Europe must have a European address on the sew in label It is the responsibility of the importer to ensure that this information is up to date, complete and correct. Importers distribute toys which are either made in the EU or have an EU address on them It is the responsibility of the retailer or distributor to ensure that all toys they sell have the CE mark on them and that the toys are kept in such a way as not to potentially damage them Some changes to the regs which will probably be of particular interest to retailers are as follows • Toys meant for under 3s must be washable not just surface wash only. • If you have an internet shop then any warnings on the toy must be detailed in full under the description of the toy • If a company shows a product at trade show without a CE mark, there must be a sign up indicating that it doesn’t comply now but will comply when its physically sold. • The product must comply with regulations for the products lifetime and not just for the day its sold therefore when doing safety assessment, you must take into account use and abuse of product. • Requirements are also extended to include products which, whilst not promoted as toys, are attractive to children and have play value. Obvious examples include child appealing key-rings, Christmas novelties and decorative attachments to children’s garments Hope that helps.  I’ve just checked all my build a bear stock and it’s all fine 🙂

Finally, the Crafty Monkey Make a Bear Kids Party website is in a fit state to show the world. Still not finished but I guess websites never are!  It’s therefore a work in progress but it’s at a usable stage (fingers crossed very tightly!).  Please feel free to have a browse and report feedback – spelling errors, functionality problems or maybe even to say you like it!  Positive feedback always lovely to receive but negative feedback very important so I can put right errors. The website should have been launched much much sooner but time has been spent on monkeying around with other Crafty Monkey projects.  The reason for building this new website is to allow more customers to enjoy the fun of our extremely popular build a bear activity. More and more children are coming to Crafty Monkey to make a bear or even having a build a bear party.  It’s always a great feeling seeing the look on children’s faces when they get to choose a new furry friend to adopt (we have a selection of different animals, not just bears), stuff the skin, make a wish, decorate a t-shirt, fill in a bear birth certificate before the all important pledge the child makes promising to look after and love their new furry friend.  Most take this pledge very seriously and parents have commented that their children form a bond far stronger with their build a bear than other toys.  I often get children coming back to visit with their bears to buy them an outfit and tell me what they have been up to with their new bear. This new website will allow people to order our DIY make a bear kits, bear clothes, and party kits from anywhere in the UK.  Also, existing customers will be able to browse the site to look for new bear outfits or see the range of bears we have. Unfortunately, I have so far only uploaded the small bears and outfits and am yet to upload the large bears – can I just say we have some really cute big bears and outfits.  Much more choice than the small bears but you will have to wait for these or if local pop into Crafty Monkey to have a look. I hope you enjoy the website and please get in touch on 01480 219222 or info@mycraftymonkey.com if you want further information.

Maybe you’d like to create a family treat to give to a loved one?  How about a hand painted plate or bowl with a contribution from everyone in the family, whether that’s a personalised message or a tiny hand print.  It’s definitely a great way to commemorate a special occasion and create a piece of original art work which is sure to provide years of pleasure and provide wonderful memories for everyone involved. So why not let loose and try some pottery painting – it’s a great way free the inner child in anyone and an opportunity to add a fantastically unique piece of crockery to your collection.  You can paint a pattern, write something special or just go crazy and create something which reminds you of how fun it is to express yourself artistically.

The Crafty Tea Party write up complete with pictures http://ow.ly/58eud