If you're seeking an alternative night out this weekend, then look no further. This Friday sees the seventh edition of the weird and wonderful Rumpus, London's biggest all-night indoor festival.

To celebrate the night coinciding with International Ninja Day, Rumpus have declared the theme of the night to be ‘Pirates vs. Ninjas', with arrr-inspired antics across six colorfully creative rooms. Rumpus has been described as "the naughty corner of Glastonbury", and you can be sure to expect the unexpected: rum fumes and sideshows, ball pools and costumed wrestling, pop up hair salons and performers galore.

Photo: A Rumpus past by Stefan Klenke.

The revelry takes places at Islington Metal Works this Friday the 2nd of December, from 10pm - 6am. Advance tickets can be bought from http://rumpusparty.co.uk for £15. Tickets will be available on the night for £20 - or £17 for those in costume, so get out your best fancy dress!

We have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky blog reader, so write in to [email protected] before Friday and tell us whether you're going to party as a pirate or a ninja.

Did you make it to the Bust Christmas Craftacular last Sunday? I certainly did although, despite my best efforts, I wasn't one of the lucky first hundred entrants and so didn't win a goody bag. I didn't win at the Tatty Devine tombola either. Or the Make Lounge raffle. It clearly wasn't my lucky day. My losses were other visitors' gains though and there were prize winning grins all round.

Despite my bad luck there was plenty of consolation in the form of tea, cake, good music and lots of lovely crafty things to ogle. Bust cherry-picked some brilliant British crafters for the stalls and there were many new names and old favourites to browse. The D.I.Y. workshops were overflowing with enthusiastic amateur crafters learning to make paper rosettes, designer dog collars and stitched Christmas cards.

The craft fair was busy and happily it was a civilised crowd otherwise there might have been riots around Rob Ryan who was personally manning his stall and signing posters. Instead, there was a consistently long but amiable queue that wove its way among the booths.

Photo: Rob Ryan at his craft stall. 

Aside from Rob Ryan’s billowing mane, I was particularly intrigued by Jazmine Miles-Long's ‘ethical taxidermy’. All the animals she uses are road casualties or have died of natural causes. 

Photo: A Jazmine Miles-Long taxidermy piece.

Vic Lee’s intricate prints of London buildings and London were lovely, as were Alice Gabb’s regal illustrations, creatures and crockery. I easily could have brought home jewellery and cushions and t-shirts and fascinators and jam and knickers and scarves and buttons too!

Photo: One of Alice Gabb's Royalty-themed illustrations.

I’m sure few people went home empty-handed and if you managed to pick up some presents then your loved ones will be well served this Christmas. It was lovely to see so much independent talent and enthusiasm under one roof. All in all, a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

When we're in search of smiles at oh comely, we have a reliable place to find them. Cute cat photos. These are two of our favourites. 

The photographs are from 1961, taken during an audition for black cats for Roger Corman's horror film Tales of Terror. Corman was auditioning for six black cats, one to star in his film and five others to stand in as extras.

His production team's dedication to recruiting the perfect black cat stole the show: Tales of Terror was a bit of a flop. But we suspect it might be worth watching anyway.

One of the more unusual stockists of oh comely is The Book Barge. The narrow boat travels around the UK, transporting its book-trade from city to city, via old canals and waterways

It has been running for just under a year, and sounded like a peculiar and wonderful thing to us. We wondered about the tales of this floating shop, so asked its founder Sarah Henshaw for more.

Photo: Inside The Book Barge. © AnnabelVita

What's the best thing about life on The Book Barge?

Daydreams of running off to be a stowaway on the South China Sea dominated my childhood; so living on a narrow boat for half a year is my attempt to live those fantasies I had when I was a kid. Despite the lack of facilities on board - the kitchen, toilet and bedrooms were all ripped out to accommodate bookshelves, and there are lots of spidery companions - the romance of boat life remains.

The experience has also shown me the financial benefits of boat life. This summer past, for example, I spent a month cruising London's waterways. When I was living there five years ago in rented accommodation that would have demanded over £1,000. My four weeks this summer in Camden, Kings Cross, Angel, Broadway Market and Hackney cost nothing.

Tell me some of the stories from last summer. Where did you particularly enjoy staying?

When I was moored in Bath this summer, I returned from a tea shop trip with two friends, and found the stern of the boat strewn with flowers and vegetables. Pinned down by stones was a "Welcome to Bath, world's best floating book shop" note. Stratford, on the other hand, stood out for a wild flower cake made from foraged, towpath plants. Someone gave it to me in return for a book.

Other great experiences have included entering a 24 hour narrow boat marathon in Birmingham (the shop finished a dismal 20 out of 22), and swapping boat for bike in a four-day ride across Wales with author Rob Penn.

What creative projects and magazines have you discovered along the way?

I recently met the Itinerant Poetry Librarian: she deserves a medal! Since leaving Norwich with a rucksack of books in May 2006, she has visited twelve countries, 23 cities and over 200 locations. The project exists to remind people, not just of the importance of free public libraries, but also to subvert mainstream channels of distribution and experiment in existing outside of the traditional market.

In terms of reading, I unsurprisingly get heaps of water and boat-related material sent my way. One recent discovery has been Lee Rourke's The Canal, a debut novel set around Regents Canal and not at all 'boaty'. In terms of magazines, we've long been a champion of Tom Hodgkinson's Idler, which is all book-shaped, cloth-bound and thought-provoking loveliness.

Find more on The Book Barge on their blog and website. 

There are some beautiful Christmas cards out this year. In fact, it's probably about time I started to send some, instead of hunting them down, but the chase is sometimes just as fun as the posting. Here are some we've found and loved.

Photo: Julianna Swaney's cards are full of soft wintry landscapes. 

Photo: Stephanie Cole's wooly jumper card.

Photo: Thornback and Peel's set of six, screen-printed cards. 

And if you're feeling in the mood to design a card, Stack have a card competition running. Enter your A6 design by Monday 28th November, and you could win £250. More details are on the Stack website. 

If you find yourself sipping mulled wine on a frosty day, surrounded by people and good cheer, odds are you're at a Christmas fair. There are lots around and too many to visit, so search out the cosy and creative ones.

I like the sound of St. Austell's MAKE fair. Supported by the nearby Eden Project, it's happening this Saturday 26th November at the Market Hall of the Cornish city. The day is organised by Cornish designers so expect music, poetry, local food and an afternoon of craft workshops. 

For more information, visit the MAKE website. 

If you want to escape the high street this Christmas and give your friends unexpected, interesting and heartfelt presents, a visit to the Bust Craftacular should help.

Curated by Bust, the New York pop-culture magazine for women, the Craftacular is an infamously creative craft fair. Returing to London for its third year, the Christmas fair takes place next Sunday at Bethnal Green’s York Hall. There will be over sixty crafters selling their wares, as well as DJs, drinks and dancing.

There was a record number of applications for craft stalls this year, so the line-up promises to be better than ever. We’ll be looking out for Rob Ryan, Bena and Jimbobart. Lest we forget, the bakers at Bake and Crafthouse will be selling locally made, seasonal cakes and cookies. DIY workshops are going on throughout the day and we're planning a fact-finding mission to Made in the Shade's pop-up craft library.

Photo: One of Rob Ryan's beautiful tiles. The UK based creative will have a stall at the Craftacular this year. 

And, finally, just like you would at any village hall event, be sure to check out the tombola and raffle. Don’t expect tins of elderly baked beans for prizes. Tatty Devine will be staffing the tombola and The Make Lounge are in charge of the raffle, so they are sure to impress.

All said and done, the day promises to be a veritable bonanza of everything that we love: women, crafts and delicious things to eat. 

The Bust Craftacular is on Sunday 27th November at York Hall. Admission is £2 at the door. See you there!

There's an illustrated story by Rob Hodgson in next issue and it was thanks to this that I came across his series of prints, Dwellings.

They're illustrations of remote buildings, with a sense of quiet mystery and self-possession. I felt like I'd come across an abandoned farm on a lonely winter walk.

The illustration above is my favourite, Old Shed in Woods, and the one below is called Graveyard Tower.