The Village Fair, Southbank Centre - A virtual craft bloggers stall

This weekend (24th and 25th August) the Southbank Centre , London, is hosting a large scale quintessential Village Fair including stalls, traditional games and crafting. Here's what Davina Drummond of The Making Home and organiser of this fab Virtual Craft Stall writes...

"The key theme of the fair is community and bringing people together to share their passions. This is explicit in a series of interactive talks titled the Craft Code Village, which explore the relationship between the craft community revival and the Internet. In response to this the Southbank Centre have invited Craft Bloggers from across the UK to create a collective Virtual stall on their blogs for the weekend of the fair. Crafters traditionally share their practice at market stalls and sell their goods as a way to generate income, whereas craft bloggers are more likely to share online and often share how to make their craft too. What happens when craft bloggers create a virtual stall?

Here is the outcome of the craft bloggers virtual stall: a Tutorial Stall sharing one link to each blogger's favourite DIY tutorial on their site. It provides a chance for all 12 bloggers simultaneously to share each other's practice to their readers and through doing so celebrate the very foundation of Craft Code Village. "

So here is the collection of tutorials very nicely curated by Davina (hers is the very cute 'yes' stamp hankie :-) ) Links to each tutorial are below...

 

 1. DIY Plastic Taxidermy by Pointless Pretty Things  2. DIY Dip dyed Shoes by Trends with Benefits

3. DIY Rubber Stamp Printed Handkerchief by Davina Drummond at The Making Home  4. Crochet pin cushion by Crafting Fingers  5. Woven ribbon lavender pillow by Tales From Mount Pleasant (that would be me then... ;-) )  6. Flower Fabric Badges by The New Craft Society  7. Felt Streamers by This is Wiss  8. LittlePaper Book by Something I Made   9. Teacup Embroidery by Ailie Williams 

10. Booboxes by Emily Quinton at the Start Up Wife  11. DIY CurveBead Cord Bracelet by Claireabellemakes   12. Bunting Notebook by Papermash 

So - a pretty eclectic mix of lovely makes I think you'd agree! Any one (or two or three) could be put together in an afternoon so why not have a go this weekend?  I am loving the fab dip dyed shoes by Trends with Benefits  and the cute bracelet by Claireabellemakes . The little mini notebook make from Something I Made would be a perfect project for Roo at the moment as he loves writing little stories and Emily Quinton's Booboxes are a fab kids make too!

And for those of you in the capital why not head down the The SouthBank Centre today or tomorrow and catch some of the Village Fair vibe yourself :-)

ps: If you want to keep track of events on Twitter then follow @SouthbankCentre and hashtag #villagefair

Summer fete fun

Nothing says 'summer' more than school fetes! This year I was invited along to the Heart of the Forest School fete along with my craft fair partner in crime Miss Willow to show off my makes and help raise a little much needed cash for this fab community special school.

It was a beautiful sunny day - ok it was a swelteringly HOT day!  Luckily most of us had gazebos or garden parasols for shade and there was even an occasional hint of a breeze to take the edge off...

The fete was everything a good school fete should be. There was plenty to keep the kids occupied - bouncy castle, coconut shy, skittles, a zip wire, a police car and a fire engine for them to climb about on (and set off the siren in...) not to mention the fabulous play ground that has recently been completed!

We all had a great day - met some new customers, made some new friends and donated 10% of our takings to the school fund too.

Here are a few pictures of our day...

Hurrah for gazebos! Not only do they keep the sun off but they also make handy bunting display space too!!

Lots of lovely stalls...

No, I wasn't in trouble (for a change ;-) ) it was a there purely so the kids could play with the siren. Which they did. A lot...

Live music

Lovely vintage motor!

Roo helped out a bit too - here he is in a rare 'not-playing-up-for-the-camera' shot, modelling his favourite 'Sweet Lavender Kitty'...

 

...and a more normal 'properly-playing-up-for-the-camera' shot!!

We had a lovely day and after years of rubbish summers I think schools around the country must have breathed a collective sigh of relief that this year the summer fete season has truly felt like summer!!

Craft Fair at Tintern

So, today I did my first craft fair of the summer, sharing a table with my friend, craft fair newbie, Marie.  Under the name Miss Willow, inspired by her beautiful baby girl, she makes lovely kids dresses and fab baby hats. 

Sharing a craft fair table with a friend when you first start out is a great way to dip your toes into the water and is much less scary than doing it on your own! Neither of us sold masses but it was a lovely day with lots of chatter, meeting some new customers, making new contacts and eating biscuits :-)

Plus I got to have lots of cuddles with THE cutest baby ...

The eponymous Miss Willow

Tintern is a small village on the banks of the River Wye situated between Chepstow and Monmouth, famous for its fabulous Abbey ruins that have inspired artists and writers for centuries.

The view from the window behind our table.

Good ol' village craft fair advertising (balloons are NOT optional!)

Our table - Forest Flower on right, Miss Willow on the left

Cute Owl dress by Miss Willow

After setting up my table I went for a little stroll across the cricket field to admire Tintern Abbey before the tourists arrived.

When I got back all the other stalls were set up...

sweet crochet baby shoes

This table was full of toy dogs modelling the funkiest dog coats!

Colourful tissue flowers

There were several stalls selling antiques and collectibles - I nearly bought this entire vintage alarm clock display!

Pretty vintage hand painted ceramic door plate (this nearly came home with me too!)

A selection of beautifully restored chairs and stools

A lovely day in a lovely location with lovely company.

And although I didn't sell a huge amount of stock at least I have some lots of pretty new things to add to my Folksy shop next week!

Trying to keep up...

Well I am ashamed to say that I am already slipping behind on the 30 posts in 30 days challenge. So far I have missed three days. And it's only the 13th of June!

In my defence I have been prepping for a craft fair that wasn't even booked when I set myself the challenge and that is really taking all my spare time.  It's been a while since my last crafty outing and as sales on Folksy have been quite steady so far this year I really didn't notice how little stock I had left!

I showed you the hearts and birds I started work on last week. Today my marvellous mother in law picked Roo up from school and took him over to his cousins house for tea and play, giving me a whole 8 hours to sew like a mutha!! My fingers are sore, my back a bit cramped and there are bits of fluff, thread and the odd button scattered about the house. It was hard slog but look what I did today...

from this....

...to this.

ah, who am I trying to kid? I spent 8 hours playing with buttons and felt and pretty fabric and colourful embroidery threads. Is it really work if you love doing it so much?

In other news, my other challenge is going well - today was also my fourth fasting day. I'd like to be able to say just how difficult it's been and how I am such a martyr to weight loss, suffering in silence whilst watching all those around me tucking into lovely food I can't have, but it's not been like that at all!! I lost 2 1/4lb in my first week, which is just fine by me. If I can continue at that rate I will be back to pre-baby weight by October. Just in time for a special 60's dance I am attending, celebrating the life of local music supremo Joe Meek.  

And yes, I have set myself yet another challenge - I am going to make my own dress for the event!

*gulps*

 Never let it be said I don't enjoy a challenge...

On that note I will leave you with my favourite photo of today's makes.

New stock - Lavender stuffed hearts and birds

I have a craft fair in less than 2 weeks. It's the first one I've done this year and I am sharing a table with a friend who has just started her own craft business. She makes the most adorable baby dresses - mostly inspired by her adorable baby girl ;-)

I still have some stock left over from Christmas - mostly of the red and white felt birds and hearts like these - but I decided that this fair is an opportunity to try out a few new items.

After the success of my reversible tea towel I bit the bullet and bought a couple of metres of pure Irish linen to make some more pretty tea towels (or dish cloths if you are American!) - I am planning on doing applique motifs, ribbon and ric rac trim, maybe a little embroidery too.  Who says drying the dishes has to be boring? I can't wait to get going on those and show you the results!

In the meantime I have been making a few of my best selling lavender stuffed hearts and birds using some of the bright, pretty and just plain quirky fabrics in my stash...

Completely hand stitched using some lovely vintage Sylko mercerised cotton with fab names like 'green plume' and 'wedgewood blue'.

Did you spot the gorgeous vintage thimble I found in Nan's old sewing box?

I can't believe how much quicker I could sew whilst wearing it! The stitches were much neater and more even too as I got a good rhythm going and I didn't have to stop every few seconds because I'd pricked my finger again!

Adding the dried lavender - using a paper funnel is much easier and less messy than trying to just drop it in! I lightly stuff with super soft carded polyester stuffing first then add a generous scoop of home grown and dried lavender flowers.

I dry lavender from my mother in law's garden by tying it up in bunches then hanging it in a paper carrier bag away from damp and drafts for a few months. The bag catches any loose bits that fall off so it doesn't make a mess! Once properly dried out I strip the flowers from the stalks and store in a large glass jar.  Just coz it looks pretty, especially with a lovely piece of ribbon from Jane Means tied around the neck! :-)

This year I hope to start my own lavender border - it will be a few years before it is established enough to harvest from though!

Once the lavender is in I add a bit more stuffing then stitch up the gap.

Once they are all stuffed and sewn up I will embellish them and add little metal hoops to hang them by.

But that's a job for another day.

I do so love my work!

The Creative Crafts Show 2013

Last week was our annual visit to the Three Counties Showground at Malvern for the Creative Crafts and Stitch Show. It's become a regular outing for us girls and this year we were joined by my Other Half's brother's girlfriend, Rosie, too. I've written about how much we love these shows before so today I will let the pictures do most of the talking :-)

A beautiful quilted 'Welcome' wall hanging by Sew Enchanting. We all loved this and the fab padded Christmas Trees that were on display to!

So much fabric, so little time... choosing fat quarters at the Stitch Witch's stall. We always spend way too much here. I got some adorable teeny weeny buttons to add to my stash!

Beautiful hand spun yarns ready to knit into something gorgeous. 

Strings of brightly coloured glass pearls - I think this year was the first year I didn't buy any beads at all. Not for want of choice. I had my eyes open for something else...

Giant Knitting!

Amazing installation by the Guild of Machine Knitters

 'Well Knit by Moonlight' designed by Alice Wolfe

Cake and crafts, of course, go hand in hand. I bought the biggest apple filled, icing covered danish pastry you have ever seen (yes, I DID share when I got home!)

A little demo on needle felting from Margaret Fox (Floral Art Products, Malvern) This is something I have been wanting to have a go at for a long time and Margaret was happy to show us the basics! I am now armed with needles, mat and wool roving and ready to go!!

Margaret's lovely display of thick wool felt all ready to be turned into something even more gorgeous - if that is possible.

I am so excited to finally have the needle felting kit and can't wait to get going. Rosie bought herself a kit too and we talked about attending one of Margaret's workshops in the near future. I will let you know how it goes.

I love visiting these specialist shows - they are jam packed with all sorts of goodies but it is especially inspiring to see experts in action and have a go yourself. It's so easy to get into a crafting rut doing the same old thing. Creativity should be stretched or it becomes stale. 

I'm off now to stab some wool!

Craft Fair Conundrum...

This weekend we (that is me, the Little Man and MIL) had a table at a popular local craft fair - we tried to get into this one two years ago but was told in September that we had applied to late (for the end of November!) so last year we made sure we booked in August. Several people had told us it was a 'BIG ONE', a popular fair that was well supported and always busy.  So we hoped we would do well with our mix of my designs and my Mother in Law's hand knits plus some little gift items from her daughter's shop.  We sold nothing. At. All.

craft fair table display

Maybe it was a one-off. The weather was bright on the day but there was snow on the ground which may have kept people away. Everyone was lovely, the atmosphere was friendly, the home cooked food available from the hall kitchen was fab. But not one person wanted to take anything we had to offer home with them..

We thought we would try again this year. Beautiful weather (no snow this time), same lovely atmosphere and definitely a few more people. This year we sold a few items but once coffee and lunch was factored in we barely covered the cost of fuel...


And this, I'm afraid, seems to be the case with most craft fairs we attend. People look. People 'oooo' and 'aaaahhh' and comment how beautiful this is or how much so-and-so would love that, but people don't buy! It's enough to make me cry with frustration!! The matter is not helped by hobby crafters turning up with their hand knitted blankets they are selling for under a tenner . . .

Do people really not realise how much TIME these things take to produce, how much supplies actually cost? Or have they been so blinkered by stupidly cheap supermarket buys (mass produced in India/China by workers who get paid pennies for their work so supermarket profits on these items are far in excess of anything I would expect to make on my handmade items...)  that they simply do not truly value craftsmanship anymore?

beautiful handmade porcelain star

I spoke to one lady who produced the most gorgeous ceramic buttons - she actually apologised to someone for charging £1 per button! Everyone of her items was an individual work of art and she felt the need to justify what is, in reality, a bargain price (look at the price of buttons next time you are in Hobbycraft if you don't believe me!)  I purchased four beautiful porcelain hanging star decorations from her for £1 each and I very much doubt I will find anything so lovely in Tesco...


This is not the first fair I have done, I probably have a dozen or so under my belt now, and it probably won't be the last but I have yet to have a truly successful fair. One where I felt that the people browsing were actually there because they want to purchase unique items, hand crafted with love and skill. Maybe we need to move further afield. Maybe we need to pay more to attend 'premium' fairs. I don't know...

I don't know if the story is the same where you are? Have you ever set up a stall at craft fair and left feeling despondent? Do you worry that your craft simply isn't good enough? Or maybe you have had great success at the fairs you have attended. Maybe you go as a punter and are disappointed with the goods on offer or just go along to support your mate who has a table but rarely buy.

Let me know your thoughts on craft fairs - from either side of the table. 

It may make the difference to me and others as to whether the next fair is a successful one or the last one . . .

My Handmade Christmas (pt 1) The Tree!!

So I have been a naughty blogger... I have completey failed to post anything since November 1st but I do have an excuse. To be fair I have a number of them but among the more relevent ones are 'I have been really busy making things and attending craft fairs and Christmas Shopping events (as a seller and shopper both)', 'I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on...', 'I'm soooo tired...' and 'I've been gearing up for my own handmade Christmas...'

Actually it's the first and the last one that have taken up the most of my time. My plush scented decorations have sold really well and kept me busy since the end of August - there are only a few left now (I don't want to think how many of them I actually made...) and they have ended up on my own tree :) The Christmas Fayre Frenzy has more or less finished and most of my Christmas stock has been sold (for the few remaining things check out my Folky shop and if you are on Twitter search #handmadechristmas for loads of other fabulous present and decoration ideas.)

And now on to my own Handmade Christmas...

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will know that this has been my project for the second part of 2010 - promoting the idea of a Handmade Christmas to the world and encouraging you all to ditch some of the more commercial trappings of the festive season in favour of a more homespun approach. So have I been doing my bit? You betcha!!!

So first up is the tree...

Now I will confess that not all the decorations are handmade - I have been collecting baubles, stars, garlands, lights and tinsel for some years now and it would be a shame to waste them...

I love my red mirror baubles...

...and my glittery snowflakes. (The snowman was bought for Riley's 1st Christmas)

And I can't get enough of fairy lights!

But nestled in amongst the regular decorations are a few of my handmade scented ones, adding their festive fragrance to the room...

There are also a number of pine cones that I have collected with Riley over the past few months. Last week we had great fun painting them with glue and dipping them in silver glitter. I think you'll agree, the effect is lovely :)

and here's how it looks altogether...

So how many of you have your tree up now? I hope you had as much fun decorating it as we did!