We are very excited to have our Christmas wreath making workshop back for a second year.  We use red or white roses and fresh foliage which we prefer to artificial materials, although as its fresh (except for optional sparkly embellishments) it can't be made too far in advance.  The classes this year are on Dec 10th and 11th so the wreaths will be gracing front doors in the 2 week run up to Christmas and because we use water soaked oasis they stay fresh all over the festive period until New Year.  The workshop is a lovely fun experience – and as well as making a spectacular wreath ready to take home and hang, there are useful floristry tips to pick up along the way that can be used in other aspects of flower arranging.   We have limited spaces so please book asap if you fancy doing it this year. (Currently only have 2 places left for Sat 10th so filling up fast)

Here are some of the pictures from last years workshop! 

Its now only 2 months to Christmas and the shops are gearing up with their Christmas displays (although Harrods had opened their Yuletide section in July!) – but very soon go into any high street shop and it’ll be Christmas hits played on a loop and wall to wall festive goods.  Well its time we offered our antidote to high street overload with some simple but chic Christmas decorations and gifts you can learn to make yourself.

Spend a relaxed couple of hours making and creating under the guidance of our talented teachers;

Make your own Christmas wreath for your front door this year using fresh foliage and beautiful roses, choose between a deep red or winter white with a large selection of embellishments for a stunning and personalised wreath.

Make a table centrepiece in the inspiring surroundings of Chiswick High Road’s flower boutique Pot Pourri.  There you’ll learn how to create an impressive fresh foliage arrangement with classic cream candles and your choice of embellishments.  Plus tips on how to keep it fresh and gorgeous for the big day. 

For a fun evening or afternoon come along and make your own Christmas decorations in our class, ‘Never Mind the Baubles’.  Make on-trend Nordic style festive buntings, hangings and personalised baubles.

Have a look at our workshops for some great gift ideas as well including candle making, vintage jewellery making and natural beauty product making.

All classes include festive nibbles and our favourite Christmas tunes (and we promise there won’t be any Shakin Stevens or Slade!)

We made a small part of West London smell amazing yesterday after a day of making scented tea cup candles in vintage tea cups followed by our very first 'Heavenly Scented' beauty products class where everyone learnt to make their own body scrub and bath soak!

We are pleased to launch a brand new class exclusively for the festive season; Moroccan Spice Candle workshop.  Choose a jewel coloured Moroccan bowl and pick from a selection of delicious, seasonal scents such as fig, nutmeg, cinnamon and orange, then learn how to make your own long burning, beautifully scented, stylish Christmas candle.  Perfect to give your room a warm and spicy aroma, or to give as a beautiful hand made gift. 

This (along with our vintage tea cup candle class) is taught by our talented teacher James Adams who has been making candles professionally for over 20 years, and with clients ranging from the Harry Potter film franchise to royalty, we can guarantee you'll be in good hands!

Moroccan Spice Candle Workshop £45 Sat 19 November 12.00 – 13.30 Sun 27 November 12.00 – 13.30

While we've been enjoying the unseasonal October heatwave here, by Saturday 8th the forecast is looking decidedly more Autumnal – which is just as well as we're holding our vintage tea cup candle making class and no-one wants to be melting wax when its 28 degrees outside!  

So while its cold (and probably wet) outside why not come along to our workshop and spend a couple of hours making gorgeous scented candles in stunning antique china tea cups.  Here are a just a few from our lovely collection – all hand picked by us, and waiting to be turned into gorgeous tea cup candles!

Vintage and vintage inspired fashion is big news right now and it seems everyone wants a piece of nostalgic glam including designers, stylists, and celebs. Wearing vintage is not only ethical it also prevents the chance of anyone else turning up in the same outfit!

It’s the same story with jewellery, and while vintage jewellery is a key look right now it also comes with a high price tag (think hundreds or even thousands for bespoke pieces made from vintage).  However our vintage jewellery making workshop (a bargain at £45) teaches you the basic skills using pliers and other tools to allow you to create a bespoke necklace or bracelet.  The best part is choosing from the wide range of vintage pearls, crystals, beads, brooches, charms, pendants, cameos and other gems! The two and half hour course teaches you all the techniques, includes all the materials and by the end you take home your unique piece of jewellery.

Hope you're enjoying the last few weeks of our Great British summer, but now September is only round the corner doesn't it conjure up that 'back to school' feeling?  So why not make the most of the new 'school year' by enrolling in a class with us, only this time instead of learning French verbs or simultaneous equations, come and learn to make something gorgeous for yourself.

We're very excited to bring you a brand new beauty product making workshop this Autumn as well as our popular signature classes. 

Hope to see you soon. 

Laura and Sangeeta

Beauty Product Making Indulge in our new "Heavenly Scent" workshop learning to make your own luxe body exfoliator and pampering bath soak using blends of essential oils and natural ingredients. You'll smell divine! £45 Sat 8 Oct 14.30 – 17.00 Sat 19 Nov 14.30 – 17.00

Vintage Jewellery Making As featured in The Daily Telegraph Stella magazine with top marks, create a bespoke necklace or bracelet from vintage chains, charms, pearls and gems. £45 Wed 19 Oct 19.00 – 21.30

Vintage Tea Cup Candle Making Learn the tricks of the trade as used by Jo Malone and Diptyque from one of the country's top candle makers for a professionally made, scented candle in the vintage tea cup of your choice. £42 Sat 8 Oct 12.00 – 13.30

Cupcake Decorating Pick up some effective techniques to create beautifully iced cupcakes to rival any you'd see at a high end bakery! £42 Sat 24 Sept 11.45 – 13.45 Sat 15 Oct 15.00 – 17.00

Biscuit Icing For an afternoon tea with a difference, learn how to ice biscuits using a piping bag and royal icing for instantly impressive results. You'll be in good hands – our teacher has been voted one of the best iced biscuit makers by Homes & Gardens Magazine.  £42 Sat 24 Sept 15.00 – 17.00 Sat 15 Oct 11.45 – 13.45

Private Parties Crafty hen parties are brilliant fun; fascinator making and cupcake decorating are the most popular – especially when combined with champagne and an afternoon tea. Delicious!  Whatever the workshop, its a lovely experience that gets everyone involved.  So if you're looking for a do with a difference; hens, corporate or birthdays do get in touch.

We are very excited about our brand new workshop for October making 100% natural beauty products from scratch.   We're joining forces with Andrea Pallach from Skin Bistro a bio chemist who specialises in making natural and organic skincare products.

In our 'Heavenly Scent' workshop you'll learn to make two beauty products – a sumptuous bergamot and rose petal bath soak and a gorgeous geranium and orange infused body scrub. Both products will leave your skin feeling silky soft, deliciously moisturized and heavenly scented. Using pure essential oils and natural ingredients only, you’ll create your very own bath treats from scratch from blending oils to learning key techniques in mixing and melting, learning beauty’s best kept secrets along the way. Bath time will never be the same again.

Our first class is on October 8th and places are limited so early booking is advised.

Anyone who's come to Chiswick for our workshops, or just knows the area will agree that it's a great part of West London for coffee shops, cafes, restaurants – basically a brilliant place for foodies!  So as we're partial to good grub ourselves we are really looking forward to July's Savour Chiswick, a month long celebration of all the culinary treats the area has to offer.  We are getting involved by giving away a cupcake decorating or biscuit icing workshop for 2 people valid for 9 months.  All you need to do to stand a chance of winning is sign up to our newsletter, do this by emailing us at info@imadeitmyself.co.uk marking it Savour Chiswick and you'll automatically be entered.  The closing date is Sunday 31st July, and we'll be picking the winner at random at the beginning of August. 

OTHER EVENTS FOR JULY:

For those of you who love horticulture and are in the West London area, our lovely floristry teacher Marcia Hurst has an 'open garden' on Sunday 10^th July between 2-6.   There is tea, cakes and plants for sale.  Addresses: 41, 65 and 69 Mill Hill Road, London W3.  If you need any other details please email us and we'll pass it onto Marcia. 

Finally, July is a busy time for us with crafty hen parties, but we are still doing our regular workshops as well  and we've got a couple of spaces left for cupcake decorating on Saturday 9th July and a few for vintage jewellery making on Wednesday 13th July, so let us know if you fancy coming along!   We're having a break over August (except for private parties) then we're back in September with all our usual classes and some brand new ones too…

It seems hens are getting crafty as increasingly doing something creative is a fun and different way to celebrate.  Our most requested hen activities this year are cupcake decorating, vintage jewellery making and fascinator making.  And our Afternoon Tea served on vintage china is a popular addition, as is a glass or two of champagne. We'll drink to that!