November Workshops

Bezel Necklace and Earrings, Monday 4th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $45

Make your own necklace and pair of earrings whilst learning the techniques behind making resin jewellery. A very addictive hobby!

PaperPiecing – Christmas Stocking - Tuesday 5th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $45

In this two hour workshop, you will learn the techniques of paper piecing and produce a Christmas stocking quilt block using a pattern provided by the tutor.

 Learn to Sew - Wednesday 6th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $40

In this complete beginner's workshop, you will get plenty of one-to-one tuition to help you learn how to use a sewing machine to make a basic cushion cover. Maximum of four students.

Chocolate Appreciation - Thursday 7th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $25

Come on our two hour appreciation session and learn about the different chocolates available to you, how they differ and what makes a good chocolate.

Fabric Flower Fascinator - Friday 8th November, 7.30 - 9.30pm - $45

Work with a professional Bridal Jewellery Maker and learn how to make gorgeous fabric flower hair fascinators - just in time for Cup Day or a Christmas office party!  

 Make a lampshade! - Monday 11^th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $70 

                                 Tuesday 26^th November, 7.30 - 9.30pm

Learn how to make your own lampshade completely from scratch! All materials provided – choose from our range of 250 quilting weight cottons; we have something to suit any interior!

Layer, Quilt & Bind - Tuesday 12^th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $45

Learn how to master the basics of layering fabric, quilting and binding and make a lovely pot warmer to pretty up your kitchen!

Zip, Pipe & Stitch - Thursday 13th and 21st November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $50
Learn how to jazz up your usual cushion cover sewing by adding piping, zips and applique to your skill repertoire!

Fabric Decoupaged Furniture  - Saturday 16^th November, 9am – 5pm - $75

In this full day's workshop, you will learn how to apply layers of fabric, glue and sealant to a piece of your own furniture. A perfect craft for fabric addicts who don't sew!

Truffle Making - Monday 18^th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $55

Come and learn the art of truffle making and take home a box of your own handmade delicacies. 

 Tumbler Quilt  - Tuesday 19^th November, 7.00 – 9.00pm - $55

Learn the basic quilting techniques needed to make this beautiful tumbler quilt in your choice of fabrics!

Crochet a Snowflake - Tuesday 19th November, 7 - 9pm - $35

If you know the basics of crochet and want to practice your skills with a simple pattern, this is the perfect opportunity to further your skills!

Make a Teacup Candle - Wednesday 20th November, 7.30 - 9.30pm - $45
Learn the basics of candle making and make a lovely candle in a teacup, with a choice of delicious Christmas fragrances!

Make a Christmas Stocking - Saturday 23rd November, 10.00 - 12pm - $45

Come along and learn how to make a lovely stocking for your mantlepiece, with festive embellishments!   

Make Christmas Placemats and Coasters - Saturday 23rd November, 12.30 - 2pm - $45

Come along and learn how to make a lovely placemat and coasters for your dining table on Christmas Day!  

Learn to Knit: Christmas Ornament - Sunday 24th November, 9.30am - 12.30pm - $30

Learn how to knit and make a simple Christmas tree shaped ornament, which can be embellished with buttons, sequins and beads!

Christmas Cupcake Decorating  - Wednesday 27^th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $45

Learn to master the basics of cupcake decorating and make four scrumptious looking (and tasting!) culinary delights for the festive period!

Children’s Cupcake Decorating - Saturday 30^th November, 7.30 – 9.30pm - $15

Learn some basic culinary craft techniques to decorate your cupcake with pretty flowers and simple shapes.

Warming the heart

I remember reading something recently about a little girl asking her daddy "what that tingly feeling inside her heart was" when she shared her lunch with a friend at school and he said to her: "That is love my dear"

I don't get to write posts like this that often, but this occasion calls for it. When we opened the Make Cafe the main driver behind it and still the main reason we exist for is community. We want to create an environment where people can build a new community connected by their passion for crafting or love of coffee!

I remember having all these day dreams before we had the cafe of "If only we had a space where we could do special things as a community, give to those in need, work together to make a difference" And now "If Only" is "Right NOW!"

It has been an abosulte privelage to be involved in Operation Christmas Child, if you don't know what it is, just watch this video, it will bring you to tears, especially if you are a mother like me!

We all wish we had a magic wand don't we? Well  it sometimes feel as though there are some fairy godmothers living right in our cafe. Maybe they are actually Elves on the Shelves.

Make Cafe Elves on the Shelves! 

These amazing, inspiring and heart giving woman are what make a day worthwhile. They are always smiling, always happy and always ready to give a hand in whatever way they can. They seem to have been put on this earth to serve, they serve their families and set a fantastic example for them of how giving is what makes them tick and the joy that is received out of it. Thank you Treena & Miriam for your outstanding effort you have put into getting those boxes done. You have managed it from beginning to end, and we all truly appreciate it. You should be awesomely proud that you have pulled off getting 46 boxes packed!!

You make that warm fuzzy feeling in my heart and I think you do it for many others around you. You are a true inspiration to your community and thank you from all of us for what you do!

Thank you also to everyone who has contributed to the boxes, be that paying for postage, making donations or providing items to go in, there are going to be some amazingly excited children opening up their boxes on Christmas day. You  made a difference 46 more boxes will leave New Zealand because of you!

Operation Christmas Child - Fill That Box!

So you've got some bits and pieces - maybe enough for a box, maybe just a couple of bits - let's fill some boxes!

If you'd like to include your children in the process we'd love you to come and join us between 3-4.30 on Weds, Thurs or Friday afternoon this week - 23rd, 24th, 25th of October.

Bring whatever you have, grab a box, talk to other families, listen to Christmas CDs, and enjoy the communal aspect of anticipating the joy we will bring to children over the seas.

Even if you just have one thing we'd love you to come and join us and make a box special with your offering of love.

If you'd like to contribute by filling a box or adding to the supplies but you're not around on one of those afternoons or you'd like to do it without tripping over a small child pop in any time during the week and slip something into the boxes in store.

Want to join but you don't have the time to get or make something? You can still join in by making a donation here and we'll buy something on your behalf to top up a box - all the joy none of the time required :o)

Hope to see you one afternoon.

Love you more than Snoopy's Christmas xxxx Miriam 

(actually O Holy Night is my favourite but it didn't have quite the same ring).

Operation Christmas Child - Easy Things for the Box

Hello lovely Make Cafe lovers - Miriam here barging in with a few wee thoughts. Hi!

So you want to make a world of different to a little person this Christmas? Of course you do. Here are my super simple suggestions for people who have great intentions but need some support to follow through. (That's me!)

Supermarket trolley input - easy place to add some bits for your box. Go write 'op C'mas child' on your shopping list now.

• notebook or exercise book approx 79c 
• plastic soap container thingy approx $1.09
• flannel - can't remember
• soap buy a pack of 6 and separate one off like a professional sheep hustler
• hairties, hairclips
• chalk
• toothbrush 99c

The dollar store input - the one time you can go there and shop without shame - you're doing it for the kids!

• stickers
• tennis ball
• bouncy balls
• coloured pencils
• bracelets
• combs, brushes
• puzzles
• marbles
• mirror
• rubber
• pencils
• pencil sharpener
• ruler (short ones)
• plastic animals

Other ideas from other places

• magic flannel
• t-shirt, beanie, sunnies, gloves, socks
• soft toy
• small car
• whistle, bells, shaker...kids love making annoying noise :o)
• costume bits - crowns, capes.....

Feeling overwhelmed? Pair up with a friend and get a few things each.

Cool - easy things right?? Stay tuned because we are going to help you with easy DIY and a time and place to bring all your treasures in and fill a box with us! :o)

Start collecting some bits and pieces and get ready to share the love!

Love you more than a box full of wonderful xxxx Miriam

Operation Christmas Child

As you have probably worked out by now, here at the Make Cafe we like to get behind good causes. Operation Christmas child is the chance to make a child in an underprivelaged country smile just like your kids do on Christmas morning!

They get people from all over the world to pack a shoe box full of gifts for a child and then they deliver them! They also film the kids receiving them and it is enough to bring you to tears! You can see many of the videos here: http://video.samaritanspurse.org/channel/operation-christmas-child/

So we have 30 boxes at The Make Cafe that we would like to fill up and we need your help!! We only have 2 weeks to get this done, so we have to work quickly. Miriam from over at Create Hope Inspire and Treena from Creative Mama have kindly volunteered to help us in this mission and have come up with some great ideas on what we can do and are going to be available at the cafe to show you how to make some amazing things to pack into the boxes

How you can help:

1) Come to the Make Cafe and make some items for our boxes with Treena & Miriam
2) Donate an item for our boxes
3) Postage costs! 

1) Make a Difference @ The Make Cafe
Treena & Miriam will be at the cafe on the following day's & times and will have all the supplies to make up some lovely items to go into the boxes! 

Monday 10am (14th & 21st Oct)
Thursday 1pm-2pm  (17th & 24th)
Thursday 7pm (17th & 24th)
Friday 10am (18th & 25th)

They will be showing you how to make these items

Printed/applique t-shirt 

Bring a t-shirt in childrens sizes and decorate it using our fabric scraps

Hair ties:

Covered buttons for hair ties  (Buy buttons to cover with scrap fabric) 

Zip Pencil Case (use scrap fabrics and a zip)

Washi tape pencils (bring coloured pencils/normal pencils and decorate)

Drawstring bags (use scrap fabrics)

Felt masks/ crowns (use felt and scrap fabric/elastic)

Tic Tac Toe game boards (scrap fabric and buttons)

Chalk Cloth mat (scrap fabric and chalk cloth)

2) Donate an item for our boxes
As you know we love handmade and there is nothing more special than a child receiving a gift made with love! We know that you our lovely customers make the most amazing things and if you feel you could donate something handmade or just an item needed for the box, we would love it if you could post it to us! 

The Make Cafe 
355 Riccarton Road
Christchurch
80241

The types of items needed are listed below along with some ideas. Each box has a designated age and is either a boy or girl box. (Obviously the older kids are the hardest to fill and the most needed)

Boys/Girls- ages for boxes

2-4 years old

5-9 years old

10-14 years old

6 things to light up the world of a child in need

NEW and UNUSED ITEMS 

SOMETHING TO LOVE

bears, dolls, soft toy

SOMETHING FOR SCHOOL

pencils, sharpeners, erasers, colouring pencils, notebook, mini puzzles, tape, chalk, watercolor paint, oragami kit, measuring tape.

SOMETHING TO WEAR

underwear, tee-shirts, caps, socks,  gloves, scarf, sunglasses, bandanna, masks, hankies.

SOMETHING TO PLAY WITH

tennis balls, bouncy balls, marbles, picture books, matchbox cars, jump rope, finger puppets, princess wands, toy animals, balloons, spinning tops, musical toys- shakers, bells, triangle, harmonica, duplo, lego, rubix cube, chess and checkers, slinky, yo-yo, o & x's.

SOMETHING FOR PERSONAL HYGIENE

soap, toothbrush, washcloths, tissues, hair ties, clips, brush+comb

SOMETHING SPECIAL

cards, photos, decorating kits, activity books, sticker sheets, princess crown, bead necklaces

3) Postage costs! 

Finally each box costs $9 to post, we would love to be able to post all 30 boxes out but we will need generous donations to get this to happen! So we have set up a product for you to be able to purchase postage online for an operation Christmas Child box! There are 30 products available and we hope they all go! 

Donate for postage here

Thank you for all your help! If you think you would like to get together with a group of friends to make up some items for one of our boxes please let us know we would love to support you! 

Brand New Workshops!

You may have seen from our schedule of workshops for October that we have a couple of brand new classes coming up. There are quite a few new classes on offer through November and December too. The rest of the year is looking pretty exciting on the workshop front!

Our new website allows you to view all our classes on a month-by-month calendar, so you can skip ahead to the coming months to see what we have planned and book in advance!

New Culinary Craft Classes:

Dessert Demonstration

17th October, 7.30 - 9.30pm

25th November, 7.30 - 9.30pm

Come and watch a master dessert maker at work and learn some tricks of the trade!

Led by: Jamie Prouting, The Cake Eating Company

In this two hour demonstration session, Jamie will show you how she makes two of our scrumptious Cafe desserts from scratch!

You will see how to make:

• Our Rose, Lychee and Raspberry Cake
• The Opera Cake from our special order menu

As well as watching the process involved in making these beautiful sweet delights from start to finish, you will also receive a sample of each cake to take home with you, along with the recipe for the Rose, Lychee and Raspberry Cake. Yum!

Truffle Making

22nd October, 7.30 - 9.30pm

18th November, 7.30 - 9.30pm

Come and learn the art of truffle making and take home a box of your own handmade delicacies. 

Led by: Jamie Prouting, The Cake Eating Company

In this two hour workshop, you will learn toflavour ganache, temper, dip and roll your very own truffles.

At the end of the class, you will have a delicious box of your own hand made delicacies to take home with you!

Chocolate Appreciation Evening

7th November, 7.30  -9.30pm

Love chocolate? Want to learn more about it whilst sampling lots of delicious examples? Read on!

Led by: Jamie Prouting, The Cake Eating Company

Ever wondered what the difference is between cooking chocolate and coverture?

Come on our two hour appreciation session and learn about the different chocolates available to you, how they differ and what makes a good chocolate.

Come with a fresh palate and prepared to sample lots and LOTS of chocolate!

New Quilting Classes:

Stack and Slash Quilt

23rd October, 7-9pm

28th November, 7-9pm

Learn the basic quilting techniques needed to make this beautiful stack & slashed quilt in your choice of fabrics!

Skill level: Beginner Quilter

Tutor: Juliet van der Heijden, Tartankiwi

In this two hour session, you will learn the skills required to make this lovely quilt top.

Learn a very easy way to quilt – the stack and slash method! If you’re new to quilting or want to learn a fast new technique, come and join us for a taster class.

If you would like further help with quilting and binding, come along to our Layer, Quilt & Bind class!

Materials not included. You will need:

• 3 Fat Quarters of plain fabric
• 3 Fat Quarters of patterned fabric

Fabric Advent Calendar

24th and 31st October, 7-9pm

Come along and learn how to make a unique hand-crafted advent calendar, using some basic quilting and embroidery techniques! 

Skill level: Intermediate - experienced with sewing machine & rotary cutter use

Tutor: Melanie Edgar

We all look forward to starting our advent calendar on the 1st December, both young and old! So why not learn how to make a unique calendar to last a life-time? 

In this two part session you will learn several basic quilting and embroidery techniques, which are essential for many different projects.

In the first session, you will:

• Cut out all your fabric pieces
• Prepare your pieces for the embroidery stage
• Learn how to embroider your first number

During the week between sessions, you will need to complete as many numbers as you can for the next stage of the class.

In the second session, you will:

• Make all the pockets
• Start sewing the calendar together

A hand-out will be provided with full instructions, including how to quilt and bind your calendar which will be completed at home. If you need help with this, our Layer, Quilt & Bind workshop is a great summary of basic quilting techniques!

You will need:

• 2 FQ patterned fabric for the pockets - or 30 x 5" squares
• 1.5m white or cream homespun for the embroidered numbers
• 75cm quilt batting
• 75cm plain backing fabric
• 1/2m plain fabric for binding

Choose from our range of beautiful winter and Christmas themed fabrics to create little pockets for your chosen treats. You will receive 15% off any fabric purchased in store.

We will provide:

• Use of The Make Cafe sewing machines
• Quilting/sewing tools-including an air erasble marker, pins, rulers, embroidery thread - for use during the class
• 1m ribbon
• Fusible Interfacing

New Accessory Making Class:

Fabric Flower Fascinator

30th October, 7.30 - 9.30pm 

Work with a professional Bridal Jewellery Maker and learn how to make gorgeous fabric flower hair fascinators - just in time for Cup Week or a Christmas office party! 

Tutor: Helena Dinnissen - Charis Jewellery & Hair Accessories

In this two hour workshop, Helena will show you how to work with beautiful fabrics, beads and feathers to create a gorgeous hair fascinator, at a fraction of the cost you could buy one for on the high street! 

You will learn how to:

• Treat and stiffen fabric
• Some basic sewing
• Bias cutting and manipulation
• Basic beading, wire and feather work

All materials will be provided, along with a hot drink and something sweet to indulge in while you work!

If you have any natural fibre fabrics at home - such as cotton, linen or silk - that you would like to incorporate into your hair piece or jewellery components such as brooches and beads, bring them along and we will work those into your design! Perfect if you would like to match with your outfit!

By the end of the class, you will have a lovely fabric flower hair accessory, perfect to wear to Cup Week or a work party!

This class is also available for private group bookings, so please enquire for more details if you're interested in coming along with a group of girl friends!

New Fabric Printing & Dyeing:

Shibori Dyeing

Saturday 23rd November, 1.30 - 4pm

Discover how to create your own dyed fabrics using the ancient Japanese art of Shibori!

Skill level: Absolute Beginner 

Tutor: Rebekah Harman

In this 2 ½ hour class you will learn three Shibori techniques where you will stitch, clamp and bind fabric before dyeing it to create unique patterns.

You will be shown step-by-step how to mix your own colours, enabling you to dye your fabric any colour you like! There are no right or wrong ways to create Shibori fabrics and every piece you create will be a beautiful one-off piece of art.

This is the perfect introductory class for those wishing to learn how to add colour and pattern to their own craft fabrics.

New Christmas Classes: 

Christmas Cupcake Decorating

27th November, 7.30 - 9.30pm

11th December, 7.30 - 9.30pm

Learn to master the basics of cupcake decorating and make four scrumptious looking (and tasting!) culinary delights for the festive period!

Skill level: Beginner 

Tutor: Adrienne Horne, Cakes Galore

In this two hour workshop, you will learn how to work with icing to create edible christmas themed cupcake decorations and how to accurately apply piped decorative finishes to your cupcakes!

All other materials will be provided, including:

• 4 cupcakes to decorate
• Icing, colouring and sprinkles
• Piping bags and nozzles

A hot/cold beverage and something sweet to indulge in will also be provided.

You will need to bring:

• An apron
• A rolling pin