About A Crafty Mix
Best Arts and Crafts Blog in South Africa – 2016, 2017, 2018
A Crafty Mix is all about getting those creative juices flowing and making something new and unusual with things you have at home. You’ll find everything from handmade crafts to quirky upcycles and recycles on the blog, including plastic cup fairy bridges, lunchbox caravans, broomstick trees and Unicorn Spit in the loo. If it’s handmade and different we’re all over it like chocolate on a donut 😀 And as Albert Einstein said: “Creativity is contagious, pass it on.” So every week we share a little bit of our passion for unique crafts and DIY, made with love in sunny South Africa by two IT geeks.
Meet the family behind A Crafty Mix
The two geeks
That gorgeous guy on the right-hand side is Geek # 1. Shaun or Sonnitjie, the “go-to” guy who’s been tidying up after my ass for as long as I can remember. (Thank you, my love). He’s the voice of reason and the muscles behind everything we do here at A Crafty Mix. The woman with the wild hair is me; Geek #2. When I’m not analyzing data for some of the largest banks in Africa, I’m dreaming about fairies and scheming about what we can build, change, paint or plant.
We live in a gorgeous fixer-upper, which we’ve spent 10 years remodeling with very little money and lots of beer. We’re pretty down to earth and more often than not, don’t have a clue what we’re doing. But as they say in the classics, “Google is your friend”. Pinterest too. So with a little help from our virtual friends and a lot from our real ones, we slowly figured it out. We share our beautiful home with two incredible kids, four purr babies, and four fur babies 😛
Our Crafty Mix purr babies
Top left to right we have Cleo, the only snob in the family 😉 Merlin, the cuddler. Joe, who seriously thinks he’s a dog, and Jazz, the beauty queen, who also happens to be Joe’s Grandmamma.
And the Crafty Mix fur babies
At the top left, there’s the baby of the family, EeeeeDeeeee Riley Pipsquick III. 😀 Yup, our daughter named her and she must be the smallest dog with the longest name ever. Then there’s Kayla, the old gentle soul. At the bottom, we have Zia, the naughty one, who’s stolen everyone’s hearts. And last, but never least our Lulu Bell, who will sneak onto your lap and never, ever move.
Our Round House aka Rondavel
In 2012 we bought a little rondavel or round house at the South Coast that needed some serious TLC. We’ve tried to tackle one room at a time, as budget and time allowed. We wanted to create a holiday home where our family and friends are always welcome. It’s really, really small, only 64 m2 😎 but it has a view to die for and living in sunny South Africa we get to spend a lot of time outdoors, braaing, watching the birds and staring down the monkeys.
We love sharing our crazy DIY escapades and craft ideas with anyone who has a tight budget and doesn’t mind getting a little dirty. Our favorite projects always involve recycling or upcycling something. We strive to share tips, tricks, and tutorials that are easy to understand and, hopefully, give you the confidence to tackle your own DIY endeavors.
Thank you for joining us on our journey here at A Crafty Mix. Be sure to follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! And don’t forget to subscribe to our monthly newsletter so you’ll never miss a post!
Sending much love as always and thank you for coming to visit us.
How many inches is the large wooden clothespin with the air plant in? Thanks!!
Hi Lynn, it’s about 15 cm high (6 3/4″).
Thanks for sharing your crafty crafts! Brilliant! I share my life with a poor old soul (fur baby!)
Fur babies are the best!! I don’t know what we would do if they weren’t there. Our Zia is getting old now too but the cuddles always feel amazing and she still has that naughty glint in her eyes.
Hello there….I love the translucent dragonfly wings. I do have a question. The first time I printed them they were a nice size. When I printed them again they were huge. Would you be able to guide me on how to reduce the size??
Hello Mary, so happy to hear you loved the dragonfly wings. I suspect your paper size may have changed. Are you printing the wings directly from the PDF template?
You are absolutely amazing with your creative ideas. I do a lot of creative pursuits also. My biggest challenge at this time is how do I make a fairy/doll house to hold all my miniature furniture. Do you have any tutorials on how to make a doll/fairy house using recycled items??
You just made my day, thank you. I don’t have a tutorial for a recycled dollhouse, but you’ve made my head wheels spin. A friend of mine made a beautiful dollhouse using a bookshelf and it’s filled with recycled miniatures. She shares all her tutorials here – https://www.interiorfrugalista.com/search/label/Dollhouse
Hi there. Kat here from Oslo Beach, South Coast. Soo glad to have come across your blog and happier that we are in the same region. I love crafting and popped in to check out the T cup candles. Really cool idea. Thanks for sharing
Oooooo a fellow South African. Welcome to the blog Kat and so happy to make your acquaintance. We have a small holiday home just down the road from you in Hibberdene. It’s a beautiful part of the world. We get loads of visitors popping in from SA but most of our readers are too shy to comment, so you’ve just made my day. Hope you find a few more craft ideas to try and come visit again soon.
Wow
You make me happy to be South African! Just found you by the grace of the internet gods… I’m from the wrong side of the WIFI fence – we have terrible internet and coverage here – so I don’t do much social media , but I would love to be in contact. Couldn’t find an email address, so posting here. I am a teacher here in SA, and would love to discuss a project I have to bring off-screen creativity back to our kids. To give you a hint, my classes know my birthday is “always” a day filled with dragons. Luckily it is at the end or the year, so I’m allowed to spend the day exploring fantasy/creativity -sometimes with the whole school. We regularly do Maths Art, so everyone is happy! I look forward to weaving some spells with you… please email me.
Whoop, whoop, thank goodness for the internet gods 😀 I’ve sent you an email and can’t wait to connect. Maths and art were my two favorite subjects at school.
Hello from germany ?
Google is my friend an it leads me to your Blog. Just want to say „HELLO“. Love your ideas about DIY, upcycling and Garden . Exactly what I‘m looking for. My next project is a Fairy Garden.
Thank you.
Anne
Well, Guten Tag Anne ❤ Isn’t the internet a wonderful thing? I’m so glad you found us and that you’re enjoying our projects. You and all our other readers are the reason we spend our weekends making crazy things so it always makes me so happy when someone leaves a comment. I hope you have loads of fun with your fairy garden. Once you get started it becomes a little addictive and everything looks like it can be used ?
I really like your blog! There is so much Sun and joy here! Thank you for your work. I have added your blog to my subscriptions and will read it regularly.
Thank you so much for that, Ira. You made my day.
you did a star for Christmas with sides that hold ornaments and there are lights .. Approximately What size is the star you made
Hi there Faye, it’s 50 cm x 50 cm or 19 and a bit inches. You can make the star any size you want. Just adapt the measurements. The sides of the stars are 8 cm high (3″) to fit the diameter’s of largest baubles.
Wow! I found your blog/tutorials through Pinterest And you have some ideas I also thought of when I didn’t see any pins quite like them. However, your photos, presentation and many little fresh details are lovely. I copied one pic for each tutorial I really liked to my board “Fey garden”. Your blog info came right along with the pin. I checked to be sure. I’d love to know how did that. Anyway, I feel like I have made a new friend. Great job, Michelle! I signed up for e-mails, newsletter & voted. (I don’t think we have any competition like that in the USA). It is a good idea. I’m setting up a website. I don’t blog. I am so glad to “meet” you. All the best. Whatever I can do to get your blog around, I’ll do!
? ? ? You have just totally made my day Terry. How do I even begin to say thank you for your lovely comment ? ? ? We use a plugin on our blog that automatically copies the “alt text” for all pins. It makes life so much easier. All of the very best for your website and shout anytime if you need help or advice. I remember when we started the bog how terribly confusing everything was. We’re still not experts by any means, but maybe I can help a little.
You and I both have similar pets, I have a little doggie likes yours and many of my cats we share the same breed.
Awwww, what would our lives be like if we didn’t have our fur babies? Nothing beats coming home from work to be greeted by tail wags and wet sloppy kisses ?
One of my favorite blogs to be awed, inspired, and enjoy some chuckles. You guys are uber creative and talented. Love the video!
? You just made my day Marie. Thank you so very, very much.
Where do you but the no sew glue
Hi Sharleen, most craft shops should have no sew glue, but I believe I bought it at a fabric store
Where to sign up for your newsletter . Looked at the bottom of the page as you suggested , but there’s nothing
So sorry you’re having problems signing up Sharleen. There’s a little box under the video at the top there. Just add your name and email address and you’re all set to get our monthly newsletter ?
I cannot get the website to accept my password. I know it is correct just tells me it’s not recognized. Also I cannot access the tutorial in the wire dress. I am supposing you have to sign in to do so. But can’t get it to accept a password. Password is. Love rafts. If you cam fix it. Thanks. If not. Oh well
HI Phillis, I’m sorry you’re having problems downloading the wire dress. No password is needed, just click on the link and hit the right mouse button and select save as. Let me know if you don’t come right and I’ll email them to you
I’d really love to be added to your Facebook ist so that I might follow you there.
Could you help me with that please?
Hi there Claudia, thanks so much for reaching out. Please click on this link – https://www.facebook.com/acraftymix/ – and like our Facebook page to see all the latest DIY and crafty news ?
Can you please sign me up for your Newsletters
Hi Jethro, my apologies, we can’t add someone to our newsletters. It goes against the GDPR. You can subscribe by putting your name and email in that box that’s just under the video and we’ll send you our monthly newsletter with love
Hey there,
My name is Melissa Sao from Sincerelysaturday.com. I am also the admin on the tailwind tribe DIY’s and Crafting. I have decided to select some rock star pinners from my tribe for this challenge. This is a no time limit challenge as well as create a ladybug in ANY medium you prefer. I am trying to choose bloggers that work in all different mediums. I hope you will join the challenge and can’t wait to see what you come up with.
Again NO pressure to participate. If you decide to join the rules and information are on my blog. https://wp.me/p7nB4c-Nc
Thanks for being a great tribe member as well!
Cheers,
Melissa Sao
SIncerelysaturday.com
That sounds like such an awesome challenge Melissa. Thank you for thinking of us. I’ll definitely put my thinking cap on and see what we can come up with.