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Sunday 30 September 2012

CRAFTING TOWARDS CHRISTMAS

Hi everyone

Not sure if the title of my post should be crafting towards Christmas or panicking towards it.  I can successfully find a million and one reasons for not doing something, and that is exactly what I seem to be doing at the moment.  33 days before my first Christmas Craft event in which I have to make Christmas cards, every-day cards, gift bags and boxes, Christmas wreaths and if time is on my side, candles (these have appeared on my mental to-do list since last year and have tended to not move from the bottom)!

I have taken the plunge and will be attending a Wedding Fayre on Sunday, 7 October at the Frensham Pond Hotel.  The couple whose wedding stationery I created recently recommended me to the event organiser at the hotel, so this coming week will be spent making some display items.  There is apparently one other wedding stationer at the event, so I am hopeful it will be a great success for both of us.  Do I feel  nervous?  Yes!  I am using the purple and cream card from previous work to create one range for next week (I have plans for others) and include everything from Save the Date to place name cards.  Here is a photograph of the invitations - not too sure about them yet, but only mocks so can play around with them some more this coming week:


As my blog readers/followers know I have a competition running on my blog to mark World Card-Making Day (6 October).  I have received some really beautiful cards already, and I know more are on the way.  There is still time to join in, so please do - as mentioned in my recent posts the competition is being sponsored by new craft magazine Make & Craft who have been great at supporting and promoting this event (the first issue is due for publication on 12 October - very exciting, so don't miss the launch party).  There is still time to enter (the closing date is Wednesday, 3 October), so why not join in?  I will be posting all cards received on a special blog post on Saturday, 6 October and I would like to ask everyone who visits and comments on my blog post to drop in on Saturday and comment on your favourite card (or cards) please.  There are three prizes so the three cards that receive the most comments will be the winners.  I will announce them on Facebook, Twitter and the Crafts Forum and in my blog post on Sunday, 7 October.

I hope you caught this week's guest blog post from Emma Louise Szostok.  Emma's cards are really beautiful and look at her gorgeous wedding invitations - being someone who likes black and white, I think they are stunning.  I think a lot of us can understand Emma's feeling about being 'hidden away' at a craft event.  I once attended one where I was place in the refreshments room with two other crafters.  Great, I thought, bound to stop and buy - sadly, no because all visitors were interested in by the time they got to my room was food and drink.  It's a learning curve that seems to have no end.

I have had 5 invitations this week from local schools to take part in their Christmas Fairs as I attended last year's events.  It is nice to be remembered, but I am sticking to my decision to do few and hopefully more high-profile ones this year. The right decision?  I will let you know once they have all taken place.

The non-crafty stuff

First of all a belated, but nonetheless grateful thank you to Julie at Anglers Rest.  Julie held a Books Giveaway blog competition recently and I was lucky enough to be the winner - I received my lovely prize of the book Toast by Nigel Slater.  Thank you Julie.  I do recommend to those of you who are local to Guildford and of course Christmas Pie that you visit Julie's other blog.  She has some incredible pictures on there of life in this area in days gone by.

We are back to being a two-car family again - thank goodness!  Transport where we live is not very frequent and if one of us is out, it means the other one is very restricted as to what they can do.  I know in these times it may seem extravagant and I am sure when we both retire (do crafters retire?) we will have to re-think the car situation, but at the moment they are both necessary. The good news is that the new car seems to run on fresh air (I wish), and costs considerably less than the previous one to tax and maintain.

I went to the Godalming Independent Market on Saturday - not as a stallholder, but as an assistant stallholder.  I helped a friend set up her stall, 'hung' around for about an hour when the event opened and then.  This was the same friend, Linda, who helped me out last weekend.  She makes gorgeous cakes and one in particular, walnut and coffee, was very popular.  However, one 'customer' informed us that she had seen another cake-maker (not local) selling a similar cake for £3.50!  How she had managed to do so to cover ingredients, time, power and make a profit I have no idea!  I was just waiting for the customer to tell me that this cake-maker was 'only doing it as a hobby'!

I started my main pottery project last week - a mask made of porcelain.  I have made the basic face part, and spent some time rolling porcelain into worm-like shapes for hair.  I haven't quite decided on the mask's features, but I do fancy a wild hairstyle.  I also dipped my necklace and earrings and if they have been fired this week, I hope to be able to add them to my next Sunday's post.  I chose Denby Blue - when I did a test piece this came out as a purple colour, which was lovely.  Problem is, will it be the same this time around.

Don't forget to send me the photographs of your card(s) for the World Card-Making competition by Wednesday of this week - please send them to christmaspiecrafts@virginmedia.com.  I have some great guest bloggers lined up for October, and if you would like to start the ball rolling for the November bloggers, please do get on touch on the same email address for the card competition.  Don't forget to visit the other bloggers taking part in this week's Handmade Monday event - I know you will find lots of lovely makes and posts

Have a good week everyone - I will be back on Wednesday, my guest blogger will be here on Friday and I will be posting all of the card entries here on Saturday

Jill

49 comments:

  1. I wish you hadn't reminded me how close Christmas is! I have so much to do! Good luck getting everything done for the fairs, I'd love to see the candles when you do them. x

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    1. Why is it that something which happens every year causes us to panic so much? I wonder if it is because our business means by now we should be well ahead?

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  2. I wish you hadn't reminded me how close Christmas is! I have so much to do! Good luck getting everything done for the fairs, I'd love to see the candles when you do them. x

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  3. The invitations are beautiful. You're such a talent. I think the wedding fair is a great idea, good luck with all the preparation.

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  4. The whole Christmas thing is completely panic inducing! We'll just have to hold our nerve, good luck!

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    1. It is frightening - I daren't make a list of everything I need to do

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  5. I think the invitations are very elegant. I really like the sparkly bits, subtle and perfect! Good luck with your coming fairs.

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  6. Good luck on your wedding fair, your invitations are lovely, I really like the style you've used. Thumbs up on being back to 2 cars :)

    Jan x

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    1. Fingers crossed - it's the first Wedding Fayre for me

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  7. I hope you do well in the craft fair. I think your cards are fab.

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  8. What I can't understand is why I get surprised by needing to be ready for Christmas each year - it's always on the same date!!
    The wedding invites look great, good luck with the fair

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    1. That's the crazy thing really isn't it? It never ever moves yet we still behave as though it fall son a different date every year!

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  9. Good luck with the wedding fair - your cards look ideal for showcasing them there - elegant and beautiful x

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    1. Thank you - I am hoping my first Wedding Fayre will go well. Everything crossed - well it will be once I have made up my samples

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  10. Well done on being invited along to the wedding fair. I love the invites, they're very elegant x

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    1. Lots to do to this week in the hope of wowing the visitors and getting some (lots?) of orders

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  11. Good luck with the Fayre, I am sure you will do well as your makes are very pretty.

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  12. your invitations look fantastic! i'm sure you'll be getting lots of orders to keep you busy!

    well done on taking on so many fairs, i'm sure you will have a wonderful time and probably do some buying too :) x

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    1. Thank you. fingers crossed re the fairs - as always I am very optimistic

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  13. Oh my word, that all sounds so full-on. I can hardly comment on everything, just to say that I love Julie's photo's of our area x.

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    1. Isn't it lovely to see old photos of our home area?

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  14. Makes you wonder whether the £3.50 cake lady has all the requirements needed to sell to the public and if she declares this income...This underselling never goes away does it?
    I really like your latest wedding invites...really elegant.
    Hope you have a good week!
    S x

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    1. I was just amazed at that price, which was for a full-size decorated and filled sponge cake. How on earth could it be sold for £3.50 legitimately.

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  15. Makes you wonder whether the £3.50 cake lady has all the requirements needed to sell to the public and if she declares these hobby earnings...Food for thought.
    I really like your latest wedding invites, very elegant!
    Have a good week.
    S x

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    1. Glad you like them - they are growing on me, so may keep them as Style No 1

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  16. I rather like your black and cream wedding invitations. Hope you decide you do.

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  17. I know what you mean about the 'C' time and days rushing past, 32 days until my first and am I ready? NO!.

    Good luck with the wedding fayre and your restart of the pottery classes

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    1. So easy to push everything to the back of one's mind - creeps up on you suddenly though.

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  18. My post today was all about pre christmas panic. Maybe today being the 1st of October makes us all sit up and shout "what?" Good luck. x

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    1. I try to console myself by saying that in three months time it will be over - makes it worse because it will be a brand new year.

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  19. Love those invitations - I hope the wedding fair goes well

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  20. Good luck with all the preparations, it's finally sinking in with me that Christmas is looming on the horizon !

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    1. It seems to have crept up while I was waiting for summer to arrive

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  21. All the best with the fayre- the invites are lovely and I'm sure they'll bring in lots of attention

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  22. Those wedding invites are really lovely, I'm sure the fair will be a huge success for you.
    Lovely to have met you on the Make and Craft Forum too, exciting isn't it? x

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  23. I really like the mock invitations you've created. They're very elegant. Good luck with the wedding fayre.
    Ali x

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  24. Thank you Ali. Working hard to have some new ranges to show at the Fayre

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  25. Good luck with your wedding fayre - hope you get lots of interest!

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    1. Fingers crossed - would be lovely to get a couple of orders this side of Christmas - for next year preferably though

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  26. Thank you for the kind message you left on my blog re. my cat.

    Re cards, I have decided not to make very many at all this year. Intead, I'll do a painting or a sketch, get this professionally printed up on cards, and send these instead. Last year I did half and half- half the ones I sent were all hand made, i.e. stamping, layering, embellishments, ribbon, etc. The other half were of a watercolour I did of a robin, printed onto cards. Well! I got lots of compliments about it! -but not a word about the time consuming hand made ones! So this year I'm going pretty much all down the printed route, except for a few special ones that I'm embroidering.

    Good luck with your wedding stationery! Don't forget 'save the date' cards too!!! There are some lovely vintage style ones on Etsy/Folsky.

    I did actually have time to make a card today and was quite pleased with it, so if I remember I'll photograph it and email it to you for your competition. Can i enter more than one, btw????

    Helena

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    1. Have been looking at different style son the Internet and it is amazing how creative some people are. Such lovley designs. wil leave a note on your blog re the card comp.

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Thank you for your comment - it is always lovely to have feedback and I hope you enjoyed my post.