IT'S GOOD NEWS WEEK

Hi everyone

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful evening after what started out as a soggy grey morning.  'We' are on holiday this week and next week - having a break in Stopathome, which is located in Windowsill Bay.  A lovely place, lots of green fields and good walks around us, the chance to catch up with friends and do some relaxing - have to do some housework though, so not all fun.  Oh, and of course, the 'we' doesn't mean I can stop making things.  It is getting to the time of year when Christmas events are more plentiful than long sunny days so I need to keep on making.  I am determined this year, possibly for the first time in many years, to have plenty of stock ready for the Christmas fairs.

This week has been tag and bag week.  More tags - I now have bags of tags (sorry, couldn't resist that) so think I will call a halt to making them.  One of my 'makes' are decorated gift bags and I need to begin making stock because I want to ensure I have plenty of sizes ready for my event season.  I have been looking at decorating the 'bag for life' jute bags and played around with one and the results is this:

I love butterflies and these are a particular gorgeous fuchsia pink.  It looks as though it should be easy-peasy to decorate, but believe me it wasn't!   Lining up the butterflies, gluing and ensuring they are stuck correctly was time-consuming.  I might have a play around with some more during the next week or so (patience permitting) - I would like to have one or two to put out at the Ripley Nurseries Craft & Food Fair on 31 August as a test run to see if there is any interest.

We have a big family get-together here in a couple of weeks time and we are trying to get our garden looking neat and tidy.  Not easy with five cats - no, not what you are thinking!  We have to be very careful with the tools we use as they think everything is a potential toy!.  Hose pipes are snakes to be chased, ladders are to be climbed, as are apple trees; rakes are for chasing (why?) and low plants are for snoozing on, in and under!  However, one plant that has survived well - probably because I moved it into a pot - is one of my Heuchera's.  I love these plants - the colours of their leaves are stunning.  Often it is like having the beautiful colours of autumn all year long.  This is one of my favourites:

It has a mix of gold, brown, red and yellow leaves; its name is Sweet Tea.  Among my 'collection' I have a bright lime green Heuchera called Key Lime Pie and a stunning dark red one called Fire Chief.  The flowers of Heuchera are almost non-existent, their beauty is in the leaves.  My favourite plant?  I think it is pretty close to the top.  What are your favourite plants?

Last week I mentioned about the wood-framed pond we moved from one side of the garden which was a big hit with the Christmas Pie cats.  Here is a picture of Coco dropping in for a pint!

The sun is still shining, so it's back into the garden.  It seems very quiet out there and that means Richard has decided to sit and watch the grass grow rather than cut it.  Have to put a stop to that.

Oh, and the reason for the title of this week's post?  I had the results of my operation this week and was very pleased to be told that the tumour that had been removed was benign!  What a relief!  There are very few times when I have felt like jumping up and down in a hospital, but this was one of them.  A very good news week for me.

Enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend everyone and I hope the weather is good for you, but before you go off to enjoy yourself, don't forget to whiz over to Handmade Monday - would you believe it is week 131?  Lots of lovely blogs to read.

See you next week.

Jill

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO?

Hi everyone

I am sure we all have days (weeks?) where we wonder what we have done with our time - very little to show for it, but every hour has been jam-packed with work.  I think I mentioned in an earlier email that a friend of mine writes down everything she has carried out each day - she feels it is satisfying to look back at the work she has accomplished rather than as with a To-Do List reviewing what has not been completed.  I think I should do that.

However, despite feeling I don't have a lot of work to show for my week, I have made oodles of gift tags and am really pleased that I will have a large stock for the Ripley Nurseries event this month (31 August).  Now in the craft world (rather as in the fashion world) we know we have to be months ahead of real time and just in case there are any keen early Christmas shoppers at the event, I have made quite a few Christmas tags.

Here are some photographs of the newest sets and last week's ones which have now been ribboned and bagged:

We have also spent a lot of time working in the garden.  Pruning, planting, moving and general tidying up.  We have a big family get-together here at the end of the month, so want to make sure everything is looking good.  We moved a wooden-framed pond from one side of the garden to the other - it was empty, thank goodness.  We replanted it and not sure if the move was a good idea as the newest members of our cat family, Coco and Poppy, think it is a new water bowl for them!

We have a bumper crop of apples on our Worcester Pearmain tree this year - it is one of the late ripeners and is usually just right for picking in late October:

We didn't prune it at the end of the last season, something we regret given the very heavy crop.  Interestingly we had very little June drop this year, not sure if it was because of the weather or some other reason.  It is some natural pruning that is always welcome although at the time it happens it seems disappointing.  Nature's way of sorting out the duff apples from the good ones.

Among the many favourite plants in my garden is the Acanthus (Bear's Breeches).  It is a lovely plant and the flower stems are magnificent.  Here is a photograph of one of the flower heads after the white flowers have finished.  I want to split this at the end of the season as I have several other places in the garden where it would look good.

One last photograph, this time of Coco who has spent today dodging the rain and the garden sprayer.  She is relaxing here in the conservatory.  It is a hard life being a cat:

I have just had a quick look at this week's Handmade Monday post.  Wendy has chosen her Digi-Stamp Design Team and I already know that each team member's work is lovely and I am looking forward to seeing more of it.  Wendy has a mid-week paper-craft challenge - certainly looking forward to that too.  So, don't forget to nip over and have a read of this week's post and catch up with the other bloggers taking part.

Have a great week everyone.  Hard to believe it is nearly the last Bank holiday before Christmas, but hot though it may have been at times, it has been a great summer with hopefully lots more sunny days to come.

A friend and I (Lesley (the lovely Mad Dog Woman of Shackleford)) are trying to arrange a Macmillan Coffee Morning to take place on 27 September so watch this space as I hope to have some information about it next Sunday.

See you next week and don't forget to call in here on Wednesday to catch up with Milly's tails.

Jill

INTO EACH LIFE A LITTLE RAIN MUST FALL - BUT MORE WOULD HAVE BE NICE

Hello everyone

Today dawned cool and sunny, and a little breezy which is very welcome.  How long will it last?  Not too sure.  More rain is forecast, but then it was forecast to cover most of southern England yesterday, but didn't.  I was at Ripley Nurseries Craft & Food Fayre yesterday and we had three drops of rain around 3.00 pm - okay it may have been four drops.  On the way home, a few more drops fell but that was it.  At around 6.00 pm it started to rain quite heavily, and then gave up at around 9.00 pm.  I don't want heavy flash-flooding (it wrecks the garden) but I would like some more rain please.

I had a lovely day at the fayre yesterday - I apologise for repeating my comments from the last one, but I really feel there is an increase in the number of people buying at handmade events.  I made a good profit again, and that makes me a very happy bunny.  It is a very friendly event and yesterday had free activities for children, which was a really good idea.

I have booked for the next event, but not too sure about space availability after that.  Some sellers have missed out on the last two events because of holidays and/or other commitments so there was space for me and one or two other new crafters.  Once the summer break is over, it might be more tricky to get an inside spot and I really don't want to go down the route of buying a gazebo, especially as we go towards the (sorry to mention this) winter months.  However, the good thing is that I will know on the day I take part if there is space at the following month's event.  I will not be able to do the October and November events as I am already booked elsewhere and, sadly, I cannot do the December event because of a prior commitment to take part in a friend's event.  I imagine that the sheds and summerhouses all decorated with Christmas lights will look lovely.

I was in a small summerhouse yesterday, very hot, but then it was very hot outside.  Here is a photograph of my 'pitch' and I am embarrassed to see that I had forgotten to iron my green table-cover.  Because my spotty one was 'in the wash' I dug this new one out and only realised it sadly needed an ironing when I put it on my table.  Added to my event list of 'things I must do before the next one'.

Uhm, the sides on the summerhouse look a little curved, think my camera must have been wilting in the heat

Nearly all set up, just a high-rise display to go at the middle back

I have lots to catch up on this week as I am more or less back to 'normal' health-wise.  So much gardening to do - why is it the weeds flourish in hot weather and everything else gives up?  I have 6 card orders to complete over the next few weeks: 3 birthday cards, 2 wedding anniversary cards and 1 thank you card, so I need to begin planning those.  The wedding anniversary ones are not needed until early September, but with Christmas fairs rushing towards me I need to keep on top of all orders.  I promise to try to remember to take photographs for posting on my blog.

I also need to sort out my logging in.  despite it showing up as Christmas Pie Crafts, blog posts and some comments keep appearing in my 'other self' CPC Wedding Stationery.

It has just started to rain again, so I have to rescue the garden tools and cushions.  Rain has been so rare around here, it is nice to just stand in it for a while!  Have a great week and a big thank you to everyone who visited my blog and left a comment last week - I love the feedback.  Don't forget to call in on the bloggers taking part in Wendy's Handmade Monday event - I really love to catch up with everyone to see how they are and what they have been working on.

See you next weekend.

Jill

THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE YEAR (SO FAR)?

Hi everyone

It has been sunny and hot today - perhaps a little too hot, but so much better than too cold, or too much rain.  I hope the weather is good for you and that you have had a great week.

I took part in the third Craft and Food Fair at Ripley Nurseries yesterday and it was great and I am looking forward to taking part in July's event.  The organiser, Claire Dadswell was lovely: very welcoming, friendly and helpful. The fair had a really nice atmosphere and the other stall holders were friendly and helpful too.   Apparently not as busy as the previous two (when told that you get a little concerned, but it wasn't only the organiser who mentioned this.  The general feeling was that as it was a day packed with sporting events, all being televised, and there was a big event at Wisley - not far from Ripley - a lot of people were at home glued to their television).  However, quiet or not people were buying - not in large amounts but I covered my stall fee, costs of materials and travel and had some profit on top of that, so I was a very happy bunny.  Here are a few pics of my stall, the 'shed' and my crafts:

 

The view form the 'shed' doorway

A shot of most of my stall - see the very smart bench I had to sit on during the day.  Very handy as I used any free time to make more cards - plenty of room to spread my bits and pieces around.

I made some citronella candles in lovely mini-flower pots I bought from the company I used for my candle-making supplies.

These are half-and-half and my apologies for anyone who feels it is not strictly handmade (as I say, it is half-and-half).  On a recent shopping trip, I came across these lovely pink rose serviette rings - they were reduced to 99p each and I had a 10% discount on sale prices card at the time!  I couldn't resist them and knew they just needed a matching napkin;  I bought rose-printed linen and made six and got them finished in time for Saturday's event.  They didn't sell, but were admired and I have plenty of other selling opportunities later in the year.  However, one male stall holder said 'if I was a woman I would buy them' - er, in there must be some sort of logic, but I still cannot think what it is.

When I signed up I was advised that we would be in sheds - my first thought was that it might be sheds that are used for growing plants, veggies, mushrooms even.  However, when I arrived I wad discovered it was garden sheds as in sheds, summer houses, lodges, etc; big and small ones and I was lucky enough to be in one that was rather like a large summer house: plug sockets, lighting and carpet!  Amazing. I had visions of it being uplifted and 'planted' in my garden so I could use it as a workshop - seventh heaven.  I shared the shed with one other crafter, a lovely lady selling unique jewellery made from computer net work wire, the wire from old plugs, etc.  This was her (Sarah) first event and she did very well.  She had made some really beautiful necklaces, which were hard to resist, but I couldn't resist her earrings and bought two pairs:

These are orange coiled wire - a poor photograph, for which I apologise.

Believe it or not, these are supposed to be read, not fuchsia pink!  Very pretty though.

Sarah's work is lovely and I have recommended Handmade Monday to her as it will be great for her work to be seen by established crafters, so I hope she joins us.  Don't forget to visit the other bloggers taking part in this week's shared blogging event.

It's back into the sunshine for me - my cats have been knocking very large stones into our pond in an effort, I think, to see who can throw furthest!  I have to rescue the stones.

I may not make next week's Handmade Monday blog party.  I am going into hospital on Thursday to have a lump removed and because it is near to my appendix, that is coming out too!.  A double whammy.  It could be that I may be a little groggy from the anaesthetic - I was going to say out-of-it but that is sometimes situation normal :0).  This 'problem' has been hanging over my head for the last few months and has caused me to get behind with work and commitments and not do lots of other things - even ones I had promised to do.  Whilst I am naturally concerned about the operation, my biggest fear is that they will attack me with a road drill to take more blood!  I am beginning to feel like a tea bag, so many perforations that if I was dunked in a bath I would sink to the bottom.

I hope to post either over next weekend or soon afterwards, and in the meantime have a great week and let's hope this fabulous weather lasts for a long time.

Jill

A PAIN IN THE NECK, WELL IN MY BACK REALLY

Hi everyone

The end of a painful week - not in the neck, but in my back.  I have spent the last three days flat on my back, mostly in bed!  I have backache off and on, due to a childhood ailment, but this time around it was soooo painful.  I just had to give in and hope that some rest would help and it did.  Feeling much better today and trying to get things back to normal - if there is such a thing here.  The result of this forced inactivity is that no work has been completed this week - thank goodness I didn't have any orders to complete.  I also had to cancel other plans, one of which was to attend the Jacob's Well country market on Friday and to do some research at local gift shops with Linda (cake-maker to the stars - well, one day).  I had already arranged not to do this coming Friday's market and due to other commitments this month, I will only being doing one session.

My working week was squashed into Tuesday and Wednesday: I had a meeting with Lauren to discuss our workshop and other ways of promoting it; changed the background to my blog (I loved the vibrant black and green, but felt a softer look was probably needed and it means I am still using one of my business colours) and booked a spot at a Craft and Food Event at Ripley Nurseries on 29 June.  Fairly productive, but nowhere near what I had hoped to complete this week!

Last week was half-term, so no pottery - thank goodness as I wasn't in any fit state to do anything.  On my return to the class this week, I hope to find that my candle holders have been biscuit-fired so I can glaze them.  It would be nice to have them ready, filled and on sale at the Craft and Food Fair.  Not so worried about the snowflake ornaments being ready for the next glazing stage as I have plenty of time to get them into a saleable condition.  Knowing how quickly time goes when making Christmas things for sale, I hope this is not famous last words.

A short-ish post this week - normal blog posts will be resumed next weekend.  Thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last week's post.  Don't forget to nip over to check out this week's Handmade Monday posts and if you would like to be a guest blogger, please do get in touch: christmaspiecrafts@virginmedia.com.

Have a good week.

Jill