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 20 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 love sharing our DIY escapades and craft ideas with anyone who has a tight budget and doesn’t mind getting a little dirty. Our favorite projects always involves 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.
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.
Awards and Bragging Rights
We’ll be honest, this whole blogging thing started as a wacky idea after we made this desert fairy garden. We never imagined that our mix of quirky crafts and upcycled oddities would land us a few shiny gold stars along the way. But thanks to you, our readers, fellow crafters, and the wild support of the internet, we’ve been lucky enough to pick up some amazing awards along the way.
-
Three years in a row, we’ve been named South Africa’s Best Arts and Crafts Blog (still pinching ourselves, to be honest).
-
There’s a little gold badge from Feedspot and Fave Crafts hanging proudly on our virtual wall, too, calling us the Best Recycle Blog. Whoop, whoop, upcycling is a trend, and I couldn’t be happier.
-
And, as if that wasn’t enough, we’ve also earned nods as one of the Top Craft bloggers out there. Cue more whoop-whoop sounds and silly celebration noises.
We don’t say this to toot our own horn (well, maybe just a tiny bit). Mostly, we want to say THANK YOU. These awards belong to every single one of you who’s cheered us on, shared a project (or a disaster), or upcycled a cardboard box into something magical. So here’s to more messy, wonderful, crafty adventures together, and 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, once again, for coming to visit us.
46 comments