Makerly Subscription Box

Makerly is a monthly subscription box for crafters. 

Check out the website for more info HERE

There are 3 different boxes to choose from: 'Stitch-Up'- a sewing themed box, 'Paper-Cuts'- a box full of paper craft and 'Mish-Mash'- each box having a different craft theme eg: paper craft, sculpting, sewing etc. Each month you receive a large letter-box flat box packed with goodies: 

• Instruction Booklet for project
• Project tools and materials (and more) 
• Check out the website for more goodies: ie: project ideas and Makerly blog

If your wanting to start a collection of craft materials then these boxes are great to get you going as they come with more materials than you need for your main project.

The single boxes cost £13.50 per month 

6 Month Subscription costs £70.00 (you save £11)

12 Month Subscription costs £140.00 (you save £22)

This pricing is similar to other monthly subscription boxes however for the materials included and the quality of the instruction booklets the pricing does seem a bit steep.
It would be nice to have a 3 month option.

Personally I have been crafting all my life. I studied Prop Making at uni and my skill set is at an experienced competent level of sewing, sculpting and painting. Saying this, I am super clumsy!
 This might give you an understanding of my skill level in relation to how accessible these boxes are for the average crafter.

I feel they are suitable for anyone with any amount of experience- you can do as little or make it as complex as you like: it's your box, you are given plenty of resources to get stuck in, it's up to you what you make of it! 

Makerly~October 16~Piñata

This box has great potential. It's a shame that the finish is a bit slap-dash and the instructions don't show the material that you've been given (eg tape), there is also a typo in the instructions which added to my frustration when following the not overly clear instructions.

The contents for the project in the box initially made me think this was more suited to children (My inner-child was very much catered for, and she opened it with glee!) However it was a very fiddly and time-consuming project that would lose the attention span of children. It would however make a great activity box for older children/adults to take on holiday- all that was missing was a ruler. I also love that the box contains more cut-outs to make more animals or other craft projects so 1 box would be great for a group of 2-3 people perhaps at a craft-club. I ended up eating all the sweets that were included and in my mad state of relief upon finishing the piñata I filled it with catnip for my cats to later destroy; it took so long to make I couldn't bear ruining it myself!

I was gifted this for my birthday and asking the buyer more info she reported that there was very little communication/ email confirmation of her purchase. Granted she is a techno-phobe but it did mean that we had little info to go on regarding which type of project package was bought.

I'm slowly making my way through the boxes I have received so far- but tune in again soon for more reviewage!

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Makerly~ November~ Polymer Clay Jewellery
 This looks a really inviting box- that palette of rainbow clay makes me drool.

There's jewellery findings, plastic sculpting tools plus a pair of needle nosed pliers! The instruction booklet includes a clay bead tutorial although I had to google said bead as the pictures are not clear in the booklet which is a bit of a problem! Also included are instructions to make gem-stones out of the clay- I love this idea! In practice however- with the tools and clay provided- it took a lot of trial and error. The clay isn't great quality (I'm used to fimo and sculpey) and the sharp edged result was not possible to achieve with the plastic tools- the instructions even show a sharp metal knife being used instead! There was also a considerably smaller amount of white included which is the one colour that would look classy- perhaps I'll paint them. I had a go at some gem-stones but they're not great. Maybe I'll be able to sand them down once baked?

At the back of the booklet are instructions to make a little fox- there are so many spelling errors in these instructions!!! (aaagghhh pet-peeve!!!)

I decided to make my own little fox creation for ease. I liked how the colours blended with ease: it creates a really jazzy finish.

So, I may have over-cooked them, but the clay has definitely hardened and well, they look more stone-like- a happy mistake.

Included in the clay packet are Japanese instructions to make tiny fruit- which are cute with clear pictures but this page looks a little out of place with the overall look of the Makerly box. 

Also the Makerly-zine has something missing on the colouring page.

'Err, wheres the rest of it?'

Overall a side from the many grammatical/spelling errors in the instructions there is a lot of possibility for different sculpting ideas to make and create with this box and a bit of patience would be a great starter box to get into polymer clay sculpting. 

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Makerly~ December 16~ Nutcracker Doll

I loved this box!!! Such a great project :) It was nice to have the added extras (the felt shapes) too and the selection of trim so you could customise the project. 

I was so engrossed in this project that I obviously forgot to take process pictures- whoops. 

and here he is!

I live in hope that at midnight he will transform into a tall handsome man and will save me from a nightly rat riot. I'll have to start wearing shoes in bed. 

(If you haven't seen the Nutcracker Ballet- you'll be confused) 

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Makerly~ January 17~ Origami Gemstones

I love origami and this great idea of attaching these little 'gems' to fairy lights. This was a simple and therapeutic project- and the UHU glue made me nicely giddy (?- who says that! lol). There was a nice mix of fiddly templates and simpler ones which made the project last a good amount of time but it was satisfying to see the geometric gems take shape.  

It was also great to see that Makerly have got rid of the printed magazine and have transferred it to an online blog format instead: http://www.makerlycrafts.com/blog

The contents of the box was really good too: useful fold-out ruler, robust scissors, large tube of UHU glue, fairy lights with batteries and a selection of geometric patterned templates. The instructions were clear (and the grammar police were silenced!)

In situ:

The fairy light string is very short but its the perfect size to adorn my mirror so I'm happy! 

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