SUNDAY POST, plus MONDAY'S MINI MUSINGS - PART 6

Hello everyone

This is my first Sunday-combined-with-Handmade-Monday post.  It seemed like a good idea, as they say, to combine the two rather than having two posts so close together.

I hope you have had a good week.  Such gorgeous sunny days, but aren't the nights chilly?  Bye-bye summer, not so welcome winter; I checked on the BBC weather site today and discovered that the temperature is going to drop to 10 degrees on Thursday.  Jazz and Daisy are enjoying the leaf fall - they think the leaves are falling just for them to play with.  Great fun if you are a cat, not so much fun if you are a gardener who has to sweep them up.

A busy week making cards and continuing with the massive clear-out.  How can two people accumulate so much stuff? Actually, I think the question should be 'how can two people hang on to so much stuff thinking they may use it again'?  It didn't all go to the local recycling place, we also delivered lots of things to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice shop in Farnham - including my old guitar.  I just never got to grips with learning how to play it, so I hope someone else will enjoy it.  Emptied (books and dust!) a large bookcase in our dining room in readiness for work being carried out this week.  I am sure someone comes along in the night and empties dust everywhere as I know it has nothing to do with my housework habits.

On Friday I received my copy of the Popular Crafts magazine which featured my Blog (along with several other great blogs).  Thank you Popular Crafts, it is very exciting, and I am really pleased to be 'in print'.  I hope to be able to share my blog witterings with lots more people and it would be lovely to have some new customers, and blog followers, too.  The magazine is out on Tuesday, 19 October and although I would encourage you to buy it just to look at the piece about me (OK, head size needs reducing), it is a great magazine and has some lovely Christmas makes that I am definitely going to try, so off to the shops you go.

It was a difficult decision what to post for Handmade Monday as I really am (or perhaps that 'should be') working hard on Christmas cards and thought it would be nice to post something different.  At one of the events I attended I was asked if I had a With Sympathy card - I didn't, but it did make me realise that a card-maker should consider designing and creating cards for all occasions, not just what seems to be the most popular.  Often the restriction is space - a lot of crafts people work from home and as we all know, as much as we try to contain our work area to one particular spot, we do occasionally spill over into other rooms.  So, the more stock we make the more rooms we spill into!  I have found at events that I often get requests for cards that I don't stock and unfortunately 'I need it tomorrow' doens't always leave time to make one to order.  Although I know I cannot stock a card for every kind of occasion, perhaps I need to think of adding to my range at least one card for the 'unusual' events.

My Handmade Monday card is white card that I have covered in black corrugated light card that is slightly larger than the under-layer.  The letters were created from the negative part of large peel-off letters, the negative was trimmed close to the edge and then fixed to cream card and then cut again around the shape.  The letters are quirky and although With Sympathy cards are for sad occasions, I like my cards to be a little different and I think this one is.  I thought about adding embellishments, but couldn't really decide what sort and felt it best to leave it simple and clean.

This week is going to be very busy with card-making as I have my first pre-Christmas event on Wednesday evening.  I spent Friday evening with a group of friends indulging in some wine tasting and they will be coming along - hopefully with very long Christmas card shopping lists.  The event is at Wyke Primary School - have a look at my 'Where am I' list for further details.  It would be lovely to to see any local blog-followers.  I am having a Spa Day with another friend the day after the event - lots and lots of chatting, relaxing, a facial and pedicure, and some (a little) gym work

I think there is a Blog-Gobbler on the loose - perhaps he is a relative of those Halloween goblins?  Did I leave a comment or did I not?  Am sure I have, go back and find I didn't.  Or, am I losing the plot?  Perhaps the Halloween goblins are offended because I haven't made many cards to celebrate the event?

Time to post my double-whammy blog.  I hope you all have a great week.  Don't forget to check out the other Handmade Monday blogs - always great to see the lovely things other crafts people make.

Jill