On Saturday, I was invited to a fantastic craft event for bloggers, hosted by Joe Blogs, Hillary’s Blinds and The Crafty Hen.

It was held at the Custard Factory in Birmingham. Despite living in Birmingham my entire life, I’ve never actually been to the Custard Factory. It is really quirky and cool!

I was a little nervous – I’ve only ever been to one blogger event before, and I had Graham and the kids with me. This time I was on my own. I soon bonded with the lovely Zara from Mojo Blogs and had a chat to fellow Brummie blogger Erica from 92three30.

The event was held to celebrate the launch of a new range of fabrics by Hillary’s Blinds.We had the chance to check the fabrics out and have a go at making things with them.

The first thing we made was a notebook cover, which can be removed and put on other notebooks. I was slightly unnerved by the fact there were needles, pins and thread on the table. I haven’t sewn since I was 14!

Luckily, the ladies from Crafty Hen were on hand to show us what to do.

The hardest part was choosing which fabric I wanted – they were all so pretty!! I ended up choosing the pink and brown floral one, with coordinating button and ribbon to hide my dodgy stitching embellish.

It was surprisingly easy to make, and definitely something I’m going to make with the boys at home.

The next activity was hilarious, and lots of fun – stuffed fabric birds. Again, we chose some fabric from the lovely selection. This time I went for the yellow one and chose the blue for the underneath. 

My finished ‘bird’ left A LOT to be desired. It was an absolute fail! Sewing definitely isn’t my strongest point, but hey, I had a go!

At the end of the event we could choose a goody bag (pens, chocolate and a Yankee…three of my favourite things!) which were also made out of the new fabric. I love this one!

I had a really lovely afternoon – meeting new people, learning new skills and having a look at the new fabrics. A huge thankyou to everyone involved in organising it!

Check out #HillarysCrafternoon on Twitter and Instagram to see more photos from the day! You can also visit here for more information and pictures from the event.