A FOGGY DAY IN CHRISTMAS PIE

Hello everyone

It's a little bit foggy here, but still very mild.  Many of the trees around here still have all of their leaves, although they have changed to beautiful golds and reds.  The colours at this time of year are so gorgeous and almost a pity that they signal the real end of summer for the year, but there is always spring to look forward to and we have planted some more bulbs this year.  Every year I tell myself to photograph the places I have planted bulbs, so that I know where to put new ones - every year I forget.

I took part in the Woking Cats Protection Christmas Fayre on Saturday and it was great to meet up with the branch's team members as well as fellow stallholders (some I have met before and new ones as well).  The event was a great success for CP and I was a very pleased stallholder as my bags were popular and sold well.  The favourites always seem to be the ones decorated with butterflies and I sold out of those, so it's back to making more for the next few events I am taking part in, but the quirky new design ones were popular too.

In addition to selling my bags at the events I organise, I will be taking part, with my Christmas Pie Crafts hat on, in the two-day Christmas Market at the Medicine Garden on 26 and 27 November.  Making will be 24-hours a day form now until then as also need to make new wreaths and Christmas scented candles.  Looking forward to this event as I really do prefer to do two or three day ones - I think it is being able to walk away on day one (often the most tiring because of setting up, etc) without having to pack-up.

My sister and I had a return visit to Prawn on the Lawn in Islington on Friday.  This is a 'to die for' fish and seafood restaurant that at first glance you think it is just a fishmongers.  They have an excellent menu and wine list and it's a great way dine away a couple of hours at lunch time. Their homemade Taramasolata is soooooo good we bought some to take home with us (as well as some jumbo prawns and truffle oil).  Already planning our next trip.

Back to candle-making, wreath-producing and bag-decorating but I will be back next week with details about the 5 November A Fair to Remember event in the Wilfrid Noyce Centre and how it went.  Have a great week everyone.

Jill

HELLO AUTUMN

Hello everyone

Last day of summer yesterday, first day of Autumn today - how mild it is though, quite muggy really.  Is there any other country where the weather is so frustrating?

It has been a hectic week making goodies for forthcoming Christmas fairs and because I was contacted at the beginning of last week with an invitation to take part in a wedding fayre today.  After a bit of negotiation over price, I agreed to take part and as I was going to be the only wedding stationery there, how could I refuse?  I am an early bird, but getting up early to go to work on a Sunday is not really much fun - I don't mind getting up early on Sundays if I know I can take my time getting going.  However, an early start it was and and when I arrived at the venue, I was surprised to be only the second exhibitor there.

The information received from the organisers suggested that if leaflets were to be included in the fayre's goody bag, they should be delivered or dropped off by Friday of last week.  The name of the person they were to be addressed to was an unusual spelling and I wondered at the time if it was possibly someone I knew.  A lovely surprise when I arrived at the hotel this morning, it was an ex-student of mine and I was so pleased to hear how well she had done since she left college.  Even nicer was that because of her enjoyment of a Unit she studied with me, Event Management, she had made a career in that subject - I love to catch up with ex-students and find out how they are doing.

The wedding fayre was very good, a steady flow of visitors throughout the day and I have three quotes to prepare, one of which is 99% a definite order, so I am a happy bunny. Here are some photographs of my stand and some of my wedding stationery, as well as a photograph of a gorgeous red Cyclamen I took with me.  At wedding fayres I always like to take either flowers or a plant on my table - I think it looks rather nice.

As everyone who takes part in craft fairs of any sort knows, it is exhausting and you can't wait to get home.  It was a good day and I met some lovely people - both potential clients and fellow wedding exhibitors.  I have a question for my blog readers though, how do you think one should dress for wedding fayres?  I feel it should be smart and certainly not casual.  One person today was dressed in jeans and baseball boots - am I wrong in thinking they hadn't really dressed for the occasion?  At the wedding fayre I exhibited at in August, one person was wearing denim shorts!  My feeling is that we are business people and as such should dress accordingly.  What do you think?

Thank you to everyone who left comments on my blog post of last weekend, I love to read them.  A message of Lesley, yes, I have lots of Christmassy decorated jute bags.  Would you like some pics of them?

I am off for a glass of wine, feet up and watch Young Montalbano - I love the 'old' Montalbano and this is proving just as good.

Don't forget to drop into Handmade Monday this week - always very inspiring and great fun to catch up with everyone.

I am also taking part in this week's Creative Mondays blog hop - great fun so do check out the participating bloggers.

Have a good week everyone - I will be back next Sunday and Milly will be here on Wednesday (catching up for missing this week coz those cheeky foster kittens, Rosie and Violet, pinched the laptop from her).

Jill

THE SUNDAY TIMES

Hi everyone

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my posts of the last week - I love to read the comments and also to visit your blogs.

Another week has gone and I am still running to catch up with all of the things on my card-making To Do list.  Came to the conclusion recently that I work very well under pressure and at the moment there is no pressure to complete work, ie as in 'this card must be made by tomorrow' pressure.  Although having said that I think I am so overwhelmed by my To Do list that I have probably lost the plot completely!

Wednesday was apparently the official first day of Autumn - the good news is that the 'weather-makers' don't know that yet because the last couple of days have been glorious, very summery and the forecast for most of this week is for sun, sun and more sun - and high temperatures.  Excellent.  However, for me this is hard as I want to be outside gardening and really should be inside card-making.  Decisions, decisions.

I haven't made lots of cards this week, but am pleased with the ones I have completed.  Still several that are work in progress' just needing some glitz, glitter and sparkle added to them.  I recently bought a pack of Jolly Nation (or Paper Nation as it used to be called) box cards.  These are cards that are framed, have layers added inside the frame (these could be people, animals, presents, etc - depends on the card type) to build up an almost 3D image.  The lovely thing about the cards is that although when standing they are a box of approximately 3" x 5", they can be laid flat for posting/placing inside an envelope.  Here is an example of the ones I have so far made - I think they are great fun cards, hope you like them too.

I still haven't tidied up my work room - beginning to run out of excuses not to get in there and sort it out.  Busy week coming up, lots of cards to make, so maybe next week...............

Decision made, the garden has won.  Much too nice not to take advantage of this weather, so crafting later on I think.

Have a good day everyone - don't forget to check out tomorrow's Handmade Monday post.

Jill