OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN

Hi everyone

No rain for 2 days - put the hosepipe away, take a shower not a bath, drought conditions soon to be declared.  Sorry for the sarcasm, but having spent every single day since some time last year (OK, OK, slight exaggeration there) with a brolly in hand, a coat at the ready and a boat parked in the drive, I can't cope with dry weather!  Everything in the garden is rosy - actually this rain has given us the most beautiful display of our climbing and rambling roses ever, so it has its good points.  Keeping up with mowing the grass has been hard work (Richard's not mine) and almost needless to say the weeds have been holding parties and appear to have invited all of their friends!  I hope the weather forecaster who says we are in for good weather is right - otherwise I wouldn't want to be in his wellies if he is wrong!

The whole world seems to be experiencing extraordinary weather.  I saw the news this morning about the floods in China and landslides in Austria.  Some very odd things are happening weather-wise everywhere and it makes me wonder what the next few months will bring.  Snow in August and a heatwave in December?

Friday saw the Olympic Torch Relay wend its way through Godalming and Guildford and for pics of the Godalming stretch, have a look at Dawn's Facebook page.  The weather was good and it's lovely to see so much enthusiasm for this event.  This brings me to the reason for my title.  I don't know about you, but I am fed up with the critics of the Olympics, the people who claim they need to be paid extra for coping with it, those who plan to go on strike before or during the games, and anyone else who moans about it!  Yes, I know it will cause traffic problems, yes I know it will upset the working patterns of lots of people, and yes I know you can please some of the people some of the time and not all of the people all of the time.  Let's look on it as something positive for the UK, a chance to show we are a very tolerant nation (well, most of the time), that we are pleased to host the games and that we want to welcome everyone who is attending, whether they are in the audience or taking part in a particular sport.  This event is for a few weeks, not months or years so let's wish everyone a really good time.

Have you had a chance to read my guest blog post of last week?  Linda Kirkbride wrote about Challenging your inspiration.  Have a look at the photographs she has included - it does make you think about the unusual things you see when out and about and how annoyed you are when you realise you haven;t got your camera with you.  Thank you, Linda, it is another great guest blog post.

It would be lovely to have some more of my followers as guest bloggers - it's a bit of extra promotion for your business, although your post does not have to be business-related.  Fancy giving it a go?  Email me on christmaspiecrafts@virginmedia.com.

I know some fellow Handmade Monday bloggers received an email from Blink Collective and I am interested to know how many of you decided to jump into this new way of marketing and promoting a different side of our business.  I have listed three workshops and have arranged to meet with the Centre Manager of the Normandy Therapy Garden next week to view their hall which can be rented out on Fridays.  The garden is on the same site as the Village Hall, so plenty of parking is available and if one day I venture into the full-day course, a lovely place to have a picnic lunch.  Over the next week or so I  plan to list more courses.  I am realistic that they may not all take off, but as a glass half-full person, it seems a great way of promoting them and less time-consuming than trying to promote them myself and I am looking forward to this new venture.

It hasn't been a busy 'making' week as I have been busy sourcing wedding stationery materials.  I met with the bride and groom this week and they have also requested I make their Order of Service and Table Plan. Very exciting and once all the materials arrive, I will be working very hard to complete their order quickly for them.  They were let down by a previous wedding stationer, and I want to ensure they have everything in place for this part of their wedding arrangements.

I took the plunge and began listing things on Etsy this week too.  It struck me that while I may be dragging my heels with my website (no excuses, but lots of guilty feelings) I should take advantage of other websites to list my work on.  I don't really have experience of Etsy, so it is a bit 'wait and see' really - it would be lovely to sell from there, but again I am realistic as I know the competition is rather fierce.  However, you never know, and you have to be in it to win it.

A while ago I had an order for a congratulations on your Divorce card; this wasn't needed until August, but as I am meeting the customer tomorrow for coffee I finalised it this week.  Her brief was pink, champagne bottle and glass and a specific salutation which I have left off for the following photograph.  Card giving has changed so much over recent years - a card 'celebrating' this occasion would have been the last thing on anyone's mind.  It is good news for my business, but also rather sad how things change.

I am off now as the weather is so gorgeous and I want to enjoy some time just lazing in the sunshine.  This coming week is a very hectic one for me; quite a bit of evening socialising, but working hard during the day to make up for it.

Don't forget to visit the other blogs posting on this week's Handmade Monday blog.  You will see some great work, excellent tutorials and lovely tales of what has happened during the past week.

Last week I 'shared' with you some of the funny/interesting search terms that had appeared in my blog stats, and I am going to make this a regular thing as two more wonderful strings popped up in this week's list (again exactly as they are, no corrections for grammar or capitalisation):

pictures of decorated netting on the wall
weed for crafting

Aren't they fantastic - and hilarious?  Can't wait for next week's stats.

Enjoy the sun - I will be back on Wednesday.

Jill

WEDNESDAY ALREADY?

Hi everyone

Is it me or is it getting a little warmer and a little less soggy every day?  Could it be that the long-awaited summer is on the way?  In between crafting (which is perhaps the only reason why I don't mind the rain in the summer) and rain, we keep nipping out to get some more gardening done.  I find that as soon as I turn my back on a particular patch, up pops a Mare's Tail or a nettle shoot.  Yes, I know nettles are great for all sorts of things, but there are certain parts of my garden that I don't want them to take up residence in.  They seem to sprout around our pond and digging them up is hard work as the roots tend to travel - although they don't pierce the liner, they do occasionally dislodge the edging.  We are expecting a delivery any time soon of Heucheras that I ordered from Plantagogo; their bed is already for them (weeds permitting) and I am looking forward to getting them settled in before Autumn.  The colours are gorgeous and I will post a pic on my blog as soon as they feel happy to pose for me.
   
I received an email from Blink Collective yesterday regarding their Experiences venture, which sounds really exciting: Blink allows skilled and passionate people to list 'Experiences' for others to buy.  Experiences are things people can: Make, Learn, Do or See.  We're a bit like Etsy, but rather than selling goods we allow people to sell their skill and knowledge.  We're UK focused and with over 600 listings we already have some traction.  As with any email that arrives out of the blue, I was a little concerned.  I checked on the Crafts Forum  I belong to and discovered that several members had also been contacted, carried out research and had signed up with Blink Collective.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I have signed up too and as I have been thinking of and planning card-making classes for some time, this looks a great way to promote them.


I want to highlight three of my favourite blogs (and bloggers) today:


Lesley who is the Mad Dog Woman of Shackleford 
Dawn of the Dawn Hart Blogspot
Badger Boo and his daft adventures

I love all of their blogs, but my main reason for mentioning them today is to thank them for always replying to comments left on their blogs - not just mine, but everyone's.  Commenting on blogs isn't always carried out and I know it can be time-consuming but taking the time to reply to comments left is great and means your comment has been read and appreciated.  Thank you both - oops sorry, Badger Boo - thank you too.


Still not raining, so perhaps a little more weed-pulling fun is on the cards.  Don't forget to come back on Friday for my guest blogger's post.  I will be back with my normal Sunday/Handmade Monday post

Jill