Our Mind Crafternoon

All last week I did my very best to bore you silly with updates about the Mind Crafternoon I was planning and hosting on Saturday.

It was much easier to organise than I thought at the outset. I'd originally thought to host the event at home but early interest from attendees made it clear that it my dining room would just not be big enough so a friend kindly booked a room at The Hub, a church-run community/conference centre in town. It meant that our 'Crafternoon' became more of a 'Crafter-evening' but also meant that we could invite more people to come along.


From that point, it was a matter of advertising the event to friends, researching the craft activities and purchasing supplies and refreshments. I did send a crazy amount of emails to local businesses, large superstores and town centre cafes asking for sponsorship or donations for a raffle and wasn't successful. I think that this might be down to timing as a lot of businesses are already rushed off their feet at this time of year. I prefer to think that than assume they were all just really tight...


 The biggest lesson learnt is to keep things simple. Craft equipment can be incredibly expensive and so I was grateful at the outset to be given a donation for buying paper, beads, wire and glue and nibbles. It was generous and took a weight off my shoulders at a time when I was already stressing about money. I was still savvy when it came to shopping, picking up bits from PoundWorld and eBay so that any money left over could still go in the pot on the night.

We made a selection of paper craft hanging decorations and beaded decorations. You can find my previous posts for making them by clicking on the following pics:

  

Some mince pies, stollen, mulled wine and Christmas tunes helped set the scene on a wet and miserable November night. A friend who was feeling particularly festive turned up with Christmas photo booth props which was fun! I am really ready for decorating now and the CDs are staying out for the foreseeable future.


The best bit of the evening for me was seeing everyone as there were quite a few friends I hadn't seen in ages and it was great to just natter away. I didn't get that much crafting done for myself!

And the second best bit?

Counting up our donations at the end of the evening and adding them to the total raised on our Virgin Giving Page.


I had been a bit worried that £150 was an overly-ambitious target but we raised that and more which was a relief! It's also fantastic because Matt's company has promised to double the amount raised and so we'll be able to donate over £350 to an amazing cause.

If you haven't been bored to sleep by my various crafty and mental health posts than I hope you'll consider hosting your own charitable event soon. My final post about the Mind Crafternoon will be tips on hosting your own so keep an eye out for that later this week.
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