Viking Direct Arty Party - A Christmas Crafting Blogger Event

Last month the lovely folk at Viking Direct sent me an invite to their #VikingArtyParty. With promises of Christmas crafts & calligraphy I was in! When I was a P.A I used to get all the office supplies from them as they sell thousands of products. Being 57 years old & selling in 11 different countries worldwide Viking know their stuff.

The event was held at Lamberts Yard in Leeds which had been decked out with Christmas decorations, presents & even a Christmas tree. The smell of mulled wine & Christmas tunes playing in the background set a perfect scene for what was to come. Whilst waiting for the event to start I made sure to catch up with familiar blogger faces & mingle with new ones. Blogging events are always good fun & very sociable which I love. 

My groups first craft was to make Christmas crackers. Jane from Tea & Crafting took it step by step for us. I found the folding part tricky at first but after a few attempts it became much easier & I really enjoyed it. The glitter card was gorgeous & really good quality. 

With just a few sheets of the glittery card & some ribbon you can custom make them for all of your guests this year & pop a surprise inside. 

I was most excited for my second activity of calligraphy as I used to have a calligraphy set when I was younger & loved writing with all the different nibs. 

This was slightly different in that we used the Port Designs stylus pens which are long flexible nibbed felt pens. I found the thick down strokes easy but the thinner more controlled up strokes very difficult.

Joyce from Artsy Nibs was so patient with us & gave some great pointers. Sit up straight, relax your shoulders & most importantly........ BREATHE! After some deep concentration & practice the letters became more fluid & looked much better. It's such an inexpensive hobby to get into & so relaxing. You can order all of the equipment from Viking Direct & make amazing Christmas cards, invites & more. I have continued to practice at home & will be penning some quotes to frame for my office. 

I couldn't believe how fast the afternoon went. The room was in full Christmas craft mode & everyone seemed to be having a great time. Before I knew it we were onto the last activity. 

Saving the messiest until last Maddie from Tea & Crafting instructed us how to make customised magazine files by block printing them with our own designs. I loved the effect my cactus stamp had when I pushed down firmly. This was so simple but looked amazing & I will definitely make more. 

I cut out a foam cactus shape & glued it onto a square of perspex, stippled some green acrylic paint onto the foam shape & pressed it onto the magazine file, lifted it off & hey presto. One of the girls complemented mine saying you'd find something like it in Oliver Bonas! That made me smile. 

It was a shame the day had to end but I now have so many ideas of Christmas crafty things to do with my 10 year old Amelia. I also can't wait to spend nights by candle light practising my calligraphy in the book gifted to me by Viking. How Hygge is that! 

Thanks to the girls at Search Laboratory for inviting me along & to the talented craft girls for teaching me so many new skills, it was a blast. Also thanks again to Viking Direct for providing us all with all the materials & for the lovely early Christmas present. I can't forget to thank the awesome Matt Chappell for capturing me in action throughout the day. 

Do you enjoy crafts? What is your favourite thing to make? Check out Viking Direct for some great affordable materials & get your Christmas craft on. Let me know what you think of my efforts xxx