The team at Create and Craft are thrilled to announce that they have been voted Best Online Retailer, Best Overall Crafting Website and Best TV Shopping Channel For Crafts by the readers of Crafts Beautiful and Let’s Make Cards magazines.

CEO Mike Hancox commented: “To have won every award we were nominated for is a fantastic achievement! We have a very passionate team that work hard to continually improve the service and community that we provide to our customers; these awards are great recognition of that and a brilliant start to a year that will bring many more exciting developments. Thank you to all the readers that voted for us!”

We have the first Craft Event of the year beginning at 9pm tonight on Ideal World, and 8am tomorrow on Create and Craft! There will be lots of amazing deals from your favourite craft brands, and be sure not to miss the great Pick of Day craft items on Ideal World, one from Serif tonight at 9pm and another from Spellbinders tomorrow at 9pm. Flexi Pay is available, meaning you can split the payment for your order into installments, and don’t forget if you are a member of the Create and Craft Club you get 10% off your purchases! The event finishes at 8.59pm Thursday evening on both channels.

The nation’s perfect housewife and former Blue Peter favourite, Anthea Turner, will be making her British TV comeback as she assumes her place as Brand Ambassador of Create and Craft TV this year.

20 years after building the famous Thunderbirds Tracy Island model, Anthea returns to her crafty roots to become the face of the channel, commencing in January. Later in 2012, Anthea will front Create and Craft's 'Get Britain Crafting' campaign.

It is a rapidly growing area and craft enthusiast, Anthea, is teaming up with the channel to get the nation’s creative juices flowing. Crafting can be especially useful during a tough financial period when people are tightening their belts, why not learn to make your own cards, gifts and home decor with Anthea and Create and Craft?

Anthea Turner said: "I really do hope that during my time with Create and Craft I can help encourage many more people to discover the joy that crafting can bring. I know that the team have lots of exciting ideas in store; my personal interest is bringing craft into the home, with hand-made details like table decorations, trimmings and picture frames. And gifts, too - what’s nicer than being able to present someone with a beautiful jar of homemade chutney, with a pretty lid and a hand-written label? In times like these, when no one really has much money to spare, it’s important to remember that putting time and effort into creating
something especially for another person is priceless."

Mike Hancox, Chief Executive of Ideal Shopping Direct, says: “I am delighted that Anthea Turner is joining the Create and Craft family. We are proud to be working with a personality that has a genuine interest in crafting and I look forward to working with Anthea to Get Britain Crafting”.

Create and Craft, a subsidiary of home shopping network Ideal Shopping Direct, is the UK’s fastest growing craft retailer.

The Queen of crafting, Dawn Bibby is to launch a new show on Create and Craft which promises to bring viewers the best of US and UK papercraft brands.

From January 3rd 2012, Papercrafting with Dawn Bibby will be on air every Tuesday between 2-4pm and 7-8pm, combining Dawn’s papercrafting know-how with industry-leading products to inspire viewers to create an endless source of ideas and projects. It will showcase up-to-the-minute papercrafting tips and techniques including scrapbooking, embossing, stenciling and stamping, as well as exclusive launches of Dawn’s own collections and appearances from special crafting guests.

Tune in from 2pm on January 3rd on Sky 671, Freeview 36 and Freesat 813, and keep a close eye on the Create & Craft TV Facebook page for more info.