A POST-IT NOTE SIZE BLOG POST

Hello everyone

I hope your week has been good.  My post title says it all - this week's Sunday post is a mini one.  As usual a million and one things to do and as usual running to try to keep up.

I completed a wedding card a friend ordered from me, produced a wedding stationery quotation that was requested last week, made some gift tags and sourced materials for decorating bags.  A 'lots done' week, but not lots to show for it really.

For the gift tags I located prints of flowers which I attached to card.  I will punch a small hole in the top and add matching ribbon.  Gift tags always seem to sell well at craft fairs, so I am hoping these will be popular.  Here is a photograph of the tags:

Here also is a photograph of the wedding card I made for a friend:

This wasn't easy to make as the brief was to match the colours of a gift envelope that had been made by someone else.  Er, very difficult because how on earth do you find that out if you don't know who made the envelope?  I managed to find a shade of yellow and pink that were similar to the paper used and added hearts and other trims which also complimented those on the envelope.  A very frilly card.

that's my post-it note sized blog post for this week, I will be back next Sunday with hopefully lots more to write about.  In the meantime have a great week and don't forget to visit my fellow blogging crafters on Handmade Monday.  Milly will of course be back on Wednesday with her cats tails of Christmas Pie.

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

No sunshine in Christmas Pie today, but as it is dry I am outside - well I will be once I have finished this week's diary.  Jill keeps saying 'it looks like summer is over' - I hope not because I love the sunshine and all the lovely butterflies it brings into the garden ;0)

We have a large butterfly bush in our front garden and Coco and Poppy spend a lot of time underneath it!  Jill worries because she prefers us to be in the garden or in the field at the bottom of our garden.  We don't live on a busy road, but everywhere has the idiot who thinks it is fun to drive as fast as possible along a quiet road - usually with their windows open and the radio playing very loudly.  There has been the odd occasion when Jill has had to stand in the middle of the road and put her hand up to slow down an approaching car while Jazz has strolled across the road.  Does she panic?  Yes!  Jazz doesn't have a lot of road sense, in fact before Jill and Richard adopted him he had been involved in a car accident.  He suffered a broken jaw and damage to one of his eyes, one of his long front fangs was also snapped in half.

I haven't caught anything with wings recently - am I grown up now that I am one year old?  However, I was looking over Jill's shoulder yesterday and saw a Tweet from her friend Lesley about one of her chickens being on the loose.  What a good thing I wasn't there!

The sun is trying to come out, so it is time for me to go out too.  Have a good week everyone - I will see you next Wednesday.

Milly

CATCHING-UP WITH EVERYTHING - ALMOST

Hi everyone

Another sunny day in Christmas Pie.  We have had some rain this week, but the ground is still very dry - I think it is so hard the rain is just bouncing off of it.  We spend so much time chatting about the weather in this country, but it does control so much of what we do or want to do.  For crafters it affects the number of visitors to an event, can I put my gazebo up in gale-force winds, is it too hot to attract visitors?  When we are not crafting, we want it to be dry and sunny for either sitting or working in the garden, or visiting friends and family or strolling in the countryside.  Do we ever achieve a happy medium?

It has been a week of catching up - with work and with friends I haven't seen for a while.  One friend has commissioned a wedding card from me (she wants it to match the papers/card used for a gift envelope she bought from someone else and this is going to be very hard).  Another friend has asked me to repair a necklace of hers - the end piece has broken and I feel it may benefit from a compete re-string rather than repair.

Plans were also discussed and agreed with my fellow Christmas shop friend - the one who makes gorgeous cakes.  We are sharing some events around Christmas and have decided we are going to have a particular themed range of handmade items.  We have moved a few steps further towards this and have decided what we want to sell - we now just have to make it all!

As usual I forgot to photograph the card orders I have completed this week - I think a possible reason is that because (like all workers in the handmade industry) I am working to very tight deadlines and once completed, I want to ensure my customer has their order as soon as possible.  An excuse?  Yes, it is - I am sorry.

However, I do have two photographs of my last pottery class make: a wrap-around jug.  I collected this from the centre this week because I had hoped to continue working on it during the summer break and as the pottery room is being re-fitted, I didn't want to risk it being damaged.  My pottery tutor had warned me that it might have dried out because of the very high temperatures over the last few weeks - sadly it had, so no further decorating, but as I had already added a pattern to it (I rolled it out on wallpaper), I am not too disappointed.  Next term I will biscuit fire it, glaze it and then fire it at 1250 degrees - it is porcelain so it already has a good base colour.  My project next term is to attempt another jug, but in an Art Deco style.

It's a little wonky in places, but hey, I am pleased with it.  I don't want to wish the summer away, but I am looking forward to next term - hope to be making some Christmas tree ornaments as well as my Art Deco jug.

This month's issue of the Craft Focus magazine arrived this week.  I do like this magazine, lots of 'what's happening' news and this issue is mainly concentrating on Christmas.  One thing that really caught my eye was an article about a business for sale in Cornwall as the current owner of Make Do and Mend is retiring.  The sale includes a listed Georgian four-bedroom property and shop, as well as a workshop.  It sounds so lovely and I day-dreamed about how lovely it would be to say 'I am going to go for this because the time is right'.  Good luck to whoever buys it, it sounds wonderful.

Back to reality, card-making, wedding card problem solving and everything else that needs to be done.  Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving great feedback/comments - all very much appreciated.  I hope you all have a lovely week and don't forget to call in on the crafting bloggers taking part in this week's Handmade Monday - lots of great makes, posts and and pics to see.

See you all next Sunday

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

I like this cool weather - not too sure about the rain though, although Jill keeps saying it is good for the garden.  What about it NOT being good for cats?  I don't like the rain - I stay inside and sleep.  Daisy stays inside too, but when she sleeps she snores!

This week's big news is that it is my birthday on Friday!  I will be one year old.  I wonder what my pressies will be?  A mobile phone?  An iPad?  A smart pair (or two) of trainers?  Driving lessons?  I have a sneaky feeling none of those will be next to my breakfast bowl on Friday, but I can dream.  Talking of dream, perhaps I will get a packet of Dreamies - now that would be very nice.

Coco and Poppy are enjoying living with us - Poppy is very chatty, Coco not so much.  They both like to play with me, and Coco climbs trees!  However, Jill had to rescue her from the apple tree this morning - that was so embarrassing and I have told all of the neighbourhood cats!

I have been helping Jill sort out a booking for a Wedding Fayre this morning - whatever that is - and I have missed out on some play time, so I'm off.  Have a good week everyone and don't forget to check out the cats and kittens on Woking Cats Protection website - there are lots on there who need a lovely new home.

I'll be back next week.

Milly

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

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

Running late again today - I blame it on the heat, too hot to do all of the things I am supposed to do.  However, as you all know, I am Chief kitten in Christmas Pie and this means I have a long list of things to do every day before I have time for myself: kitten meals to get ready, playing with the kittens, training them, making sure they don't go into the front garden, showing them where the sunniest or coolest parts of the garden are.  A Chief Kitten's work is never done.

Life at Christmas Pie has rather slowed down recently - the weather has been too hot to do 'stuff' and lots of my time is spent stretched out in a cool place snoozing.  There are times when I wish I hadn't told Coco and Poppy about these cool places because they often get to them before me!

Meal times are good fun - who gets fed first?  Jill can only manage three bowls at a time, so it tends to be the three who can dive on them the quickest.  Coco and Poppy try to push me out of the way, but this sort of behaviour is just not acceptable from young kittens and I tell them so!  They also try to do the same with Jazz and as he is such a big softy he moves out of the way for them.

I am off to snooze again - as I said at the beginning of my post, life is hard for a Chief Kitten.

See you next week - enjoy the sunshine

Milly

SUPER, SUNNY, SUNSHINE SUNDAY

Hello everyone

It is amazing to be able to say we have had another great week of sunny weather.  I know it has been hot and often uncomfortable, but to be honest it has been missing in recent years so perhaps we should just enjoy it because I somehow doubt it will last much longer.

A fairly busy week making wedding stationery ranges for today's Wedding Fayre at Old Thorns Hotel.  A lovely venue with a great golf course too.  I used to play golf at least twice week up to several years ago and I do miss it, but don't seem to have time to fit in a round these days.  Isn't life supposed to slow down as you get older so that you can do all the things you have promised yourself you will do?

Back to the Wedding Fayre.  This was a really well organised event (thank you PMN Wedding Fayres), that was also well supported by the staff at Old Thorns - they kept us going with much needed tea, coffee and water.  This is a lovely venue for a wedding and it turned out that lots of the couples visiting the event had planned to book or had already booked their wedding at the hotel.  Lovely for all of us it was very busy and although there were two other wedding stationers taking part as they were not strictly handmade, I am hoping this in itself may bring forth some after-event interest.  I have three quotations to prepare, plus an order for the embellishments I use on one design - very unusual, but nice.  I really enjoyed the event and picked up some great ideas for the wedding side of my business.

It was a little dark where I was based, so not all of my photographs came out well, but here are a few of them:

A little late with my Sunday post, and today is apparently going to be very hot, so think it is time to get working before melting time hits.  have a great week everyone and don't forget to visit Handmade Monday to catch up with my fellow crafting bloggers - or is that blogging crafters?

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hi everyone

An early post from me today - too hot later on to be sitting at a computer.  Well, that's my excuse, I just prefer to be outside when the sun shines, even when it is HOT.  However, at the end of the day I like to relax:

Okay, I know I don't look very elegant, but I'm a kitten and we kittens don't do elegant until we are, oh, at least one year old.

Coco and Pops have settled in now and they have been 'out'.  I chase them sometimes, just to let them know that I am Chief Kitten here and very much in charge.  They are learning and already realise that as I am so much older than they are (a whole two months!) I know lots more than they do.

In my role of Chief Kitten I feel I should remind all of you pet owners out there to make sure your animals have plenty of water during this hot weather.  Remember, not only will they drink more but the water evaporates quickly too, so please keep their bowls topped up.

Don't forget to visit the Woking Cats Protection website to see how they are doing and if you are looking to adopt a cat or kitten, although they do not have any that are as gorgeous as me, there are lots looking for a home.

I am off to play now, kittens need training, Jazz and Daisy need sorting out too.  Have fun and stay cool.

Milly

WE'RE HAVING A HEATWAVE, A TROPICAL HEATWAVE........

Hello everyone

It ain't half (been) hot, mum!  Phew, just when you thought it could not get any hotter, the next day finished a few degrees higher.  Today, just before 9.30 am, it was already 27 degrees here.  Richard is a gadget freak, so has numerous things telling us what the temperature is outside, in the greenhouse and in the conservatory - boys and their toys.  To be honest, the majority of us don't need boys' toys to identify that it is hot, hot, hot.

Work has been difficult this week, not because of the heat, but because I cannot sit comfortably to work on cards - so, yet again, not a lot to show for my week's endeavours.  However, I have been busy-ish.  A while ago I bought 12 linen, scallop-edged place mats with the intention of turning them into lavender bags.  My idea was to cut them in half and sew them into triangles.  I have completed several of these, waiting for some lavender to stuff them with so, as I always promise, will photograph and show them next weekend.  I know lavender bags are always popular and my fellow Handmade Monday bloggers often have them - all very gorgeous and all very different.  It's a good time to nip over and have a look at their week's words and works.

I also decided that I want to set up a blog specifically for my wedding stationery, and I have spent some time looking for a background that compliments my existing colours and business style.  I don't want to move too far away from the colours I use, but do want it to be along the lines of a wedding, perhaps flowers, something like that.  Finding something that isn't too dissimilar is proving tricky.

I have also been updating the leaflets, price lists and handouts for next week's Wedding Fayre (just hoping it is not as hot next Sunday as today).  Why did I leave the work so late???  I can see my printer is going to be exhausted by the end of this week.

Just before I went into hospital I received an invitation to take part in this year's 3-day event at Secretts Garden Centre in November.  I am really pleased about this as thoroughly enjoyed myself last year and have accepted the invitation - I know that I now need to knuckle down to make stock for that event, plus the other events I have booked for the remainder of this year.  I have lots of ideas for new Christmas items, but want to make sure I don't get carried away with them and forget to focus on the main items I make and sell.

I had to miss out on the last two sessions of my pottery course and a smoke-firing session had been planned by our tutor at her house to take place once the course had finished.  This was to fire in a different way some of the pots we had created.  This is taking place on Tuesday and some of my lovely fellow potters are picking me up and bringing me back home once the firing has been completed because I cannot drive yet.  I have signed up for next year's course and I actually feel my work is improving (well, I think it is).  I think I have realised the importance of concentrating on doing something well, rather than doing as much as I possibly can!

Off to cool down - again.  I hope you have a great week, not too hot and thank you to everyone for the lovely comments left on my blog last week.  I really do appreciate them.

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

Running very late this week!  With Jill out of action, I have to do everything: nurse, housekeeper, 'new' kitten looker-afterer, my day's work is never done.  It will be so nice when she is able to do things again, such as feed us!  Richard tries very hard but after all the years of cat-loving, he still doesn't realise that the first thing he should do when he gets up in the morning is feed us!  No, it is not have a cup of tea - get your priorities right Richard.

After last week's BIG NEWS everything settled down in Christmas Pie and the big discussion has been around names for the new kittens.  As I mentioned last week, lots of alternatives had been discussed and abandoned, but now a final decision has been made.  Coco is going to continue to be known as Coco and Holly will be called Poppy - so we have Coco Pops.  Jill and Richard laughed at these names, not sure why - humans have an odd sense of humour we cats (and kittens) don't understand.

I have to go now, so many chores to do and so little time to do them in.  Woking Cats Protection are going to be at the Black Cherry Fair in Chertsey, Surrey on Saturday, 13 July and it is a big event, so do try to go along and support them - tell them Milly from Christmas Pie sent you.

Have a good week and I will be back next week with more Pie tails.

Milly