QVC Craft Event

A few months ago I had never bought anything from a shopping channel.  I've clearly made up for it since then though as I was one of the lucky recipients of an invite to QVC's annual (I think it's annual) craft event.  I put the invite to the side and changed my mind frequently about whether or not I'd go.  Then I heard rumours of goody bags, and that seemed to tip the scales. (How shallow am I?)

The event was held at QVC head office in Battersea.  In order to accommodate as many attendees as they could, there were actually four sessions over two days.  We (a group of 60 - 70 attendees) were the final group - and big credit to the QVC staff and demonstrators that they managed to hide any boredom/fatigue they must have been feeling by that time really well.

I was by myself so really appreciated that everyone (staff and other attendees)  was so friendly.  On arrival we were corralled into a little waiting area where I met two lovely ladies from Lancashire who were QVC experts.  Every item of clothes, jewellery and make up appeared to be from a QVC brand.  I asked if they were saving money by not being in front of the television - they said yes, but figured they'd make up for it tomorrow!  They were very funny and while we waited they filled me in on the QVC gossip and what to expect.

When we went up to the event area we each got a goody bag, and a little cupcake booklet with details of each of the 'make and take' tables and a couple of raffle tickets.

I had a good time at each of the tables I was able to visit.  I did a bit of experimenting with a Stix-2 glue gun (who knew how much fun you could have making embellishments with glue!) and made a sweet card which sadly I spilled coffee on this morning!

At the second table we created a simple paper decoration with Amy Shaw using Craftwork Cards.

I had a good laugh making a mini photo memory book with Marion Emberson using American Craft papers.  A simple idea - the mini book is modelled on a matchbook and pretty straightforward to make.  It would be a great project for children as well, and a nice way for them to get into scrapbooking.




Apparently Martha Stewart is branching out into yarns and so we got to play with a little flower maker and some Martha merino yarn.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to squeeze in the two jewellery tables (probably just as well as I don't think I can afford another hobby!) or the Imagination Crafts table - which also looked great.

Running alongside the make and take room was a longer workshop led by Lindsay Mason.  Being a fan of any inky fun I made sure to fit that in. We used a lot of new (to me) techniques with Distress Stains and Inks, and it was my first attempt at creating a scene using a number of stamps.  I wouldn't say my final product is great - but I learned so much it was definitely worthwhile.

The day wrapped up with a raffle which had quite a few lovely prizes - but sadly I was not one of the lucky winners.

I really enjoyed the afternoon and meeting so many friendly crafters.  It was nice to hear a bit about the channel's future plans and I was happy to hear that there will be a scrapbook show in October! Overall I got a good feeling about the future of craft at QVC!