A Craftiosity Craft Kit Review, a Cork Passport Holder

A review of April's Craftiosity craft kit subscription box to make a cork passport holder.

I was given one of the Craftiosity April craft kit boxes in return for an honest review.  I love the idea of subscription boxes, a present that drops through the letter box regularly with surprise goodies - what's not to like. The box from Craftiosity arrived last week and I saved it for the bank holiday weekend so I could enjoy playing with it's contents. First thing to say is how beautifully the box was packaged. I know it should be what's on the inside that counts but pretty packaging makes it all feel like a real treat.

This April box contains everything needed to make a cork passport holder, not just materials either, a couple of tools are in there too. My Craftiosity box contained: Cork Fabric Bright Blue Felt Bondaweb Linen Thread An Awl An Overstitch wheel Needle & Thimble Fabric Clips A Template Full Instructions
As well as the printed instructions in the box, Craftiosity also have a blog where they publish a video tutorial for the projects in case you need extra help with any of the instructions.
I did wander slightly from the instructions in the kit, I just can't help myself - sorry not sorry! The lovely folks at Craftiosity do say "make it your own way" and give some ideas for personalisation so I feel it is not only allowed but encouraged! I used a water soluble pen to draw a paper aeroplane on the front piece of my passport holder before I attached the felt so back was hidden by the felt later.

The kit had more than enough of the linen thread to add this extra embroidery.

I also switched the stitching round the edge from a backstitch to a simple running stitch. I found the thread was pretty tough to pull through the holes I'd made in the cork even though I'd used the awl to make them, and with the thimble to protect my poor fingers!  Inside, I did the first lines of decorative stitching as backstitch as per the instructions but going through the holes that second time was tricky.

The finished passport holder is sturdy enough with just a running stitch so I'm happy. My passport fits in perfectly too!

I love the look and feel of this cork fabric, I've seen a few ideas of things other people have made with it but I'm not sure it is something I would have gone out and bought just to experiment with. And THAT is the beauty of a kit like this, everything you need to try something new is included.

To be completely honest I'm not sure I would treat myself to a box subscription like this, but only because I have a ridiculously large stash of craft materials as it is. I think they make the most brilliant gifts though, especially if you know someone who is new to crafting and who doesn't have a lot of equipment or a big stash of materials.

The Craftiosity boxes are £20 each if you buy them individually, or at a discount if you buy more or subscribe - all the details of the different options are on the Craftiosity website here.

I had a little bit of the cork fabric left over so I was able to make a keyring too.

I'll share the tutorial for that tomorrow. The tutorial is here if you fancy a peek.