THE CHRISTMAS FAIR SEASON BEGINS

Hello everyone

It was a nippy start here to what is supposed to be a very sunny and warm day.  I hope so as more 'putting the garden to bed for this year' work is to be done today.  Our greenhouse is rapidly getting filled with pots of cuttings - all intended for what we call the 'front, front' garden.  I know, as often happens, not all of them will survive the winter, but as long as most do, it will be a great start to next season.

Thank you everyone who commented on my blog post last week and especially thank you to those who responded to my question about dress at craft and wedding events.  We all agreed that it is very important for us to look professional at events, because we are the first contact people have with our business and we want that first impression to create interest in our work.

Last week was the usual million-and-one-things to do, but not quite getting there.  I spent a lot of time making stock for Christmas: cards, decorated bags, gift tags, etc as well as working on the three wedding stationery quotations I had been asked for.  I have requests for sample invitations to be produced so that the brides-to-be can see what their ideas will look like.

The Christmas Fair season seems to be in full swing now and I did what I felt was my first Christmas event yesterday.  I took part in the Ripley Craft & Food Fair yesterday - this was my third one and although it was quiet compared to previous ones, I did enjoy it. Organisers and stall holders are very friendly and the novelty of setting up shop in sheds and summerhouses its still great fun.

I sold one of my decorated jute bags and was really pleased about that;  I also sold more of my mini-cards (note to me, make some more as stock is getting low) and some packs of Christmas cards.  Stall holders selling Christmassy type things felt that buyers were not overly keen to say goodbye to summer and jump into thinking about Christmas - hope they do soon because those of us in the world of handmade often find this time of year is our most successful.  So come on you shoppers, buy handmade please.

Here are a few photographs of my items from yesterday's event:

Well, I had to have a cat's face on one of my bags, didn't I?

Triple-layered Christmas hearts: felt and poinsettia material

I know this looks very Valentiney, but I liked the colour combination.  The black stars are covered in sequins.

A shot of one part of my stall.  Those walls behind are soooo tempting - but we cannot hang things on them using pins, etc because the sheds and summerhouses we all occupy at the fair are for sale.  You can imagine how someone seeing loads of pin holes would think it was woodworm!  Not a great selling point.

From now on it is work, work, work - in addition to several craft events that I am booked into over the next few months, I also have two wedding fayres I am taking part in, plus my 3-day event at Secretts Garden Centre in November.  I really enjoyed last year's event and feel more prepared for this year's one - plus I know that I need a variety of items to sell.

Time to tackle the list of jobs for today - the sun has just come out, so outside jobs first.  I hope you all have a great week, don't forget to visit the crafting bloggers taking part in this week's Handmade Monday blog hop.  I will be back next Sunday and Milly will be here on Wednesday.

Jill