BANNERS, BALLOONS, BUNTING AND BANGLES

Hello everyone

Dare I mention the weather again?  Only to say how hard it is to see people struggling to survive in areas of heavy flooding - I hope that very soon this traumatic and stressful time ends for all of you.

A little humour when watching our cats try to work out how to get around the flood at the bottom of our garden.  They had gone through our hedge and into the field beyond to get past it on the way out, but were clearly stumped when it came to getting back.  However, I am pleased to say they did make it back.

Apart from designing and ordering banners, balloons and bunting wearing my other hat of Surrey Independent Markets I have also had a go at something new with my crafting hat on.  I don't know if you subscribe to the Craft Focus magazine - it is a bi-monthly trade publication for the craft industry and it is brilliant (and free).  Apart from having news about what is on trend, interesting business articles, etc, it also carries 'how to make......' guides.  This month's one is about bangles (hence my blog title).

I decided to have a go because the ones on the front cover of the magazine and in the article looked so pretty, so here is my first attempt:

I purchased some plain wooden bangles and as a ribbon fanatic (mentioned before on my blog I am sure) I had plenty of widths, colours, patterns and styles to choose from.  I decided to go with a dark brown one to cover the bangle - as you can see in the pic above.

I then added some fuchsia pink ric-rac and here is the finished bangle.  I was tempted to add butterflies and as this is a practice one, I might still do that.  It is such an easy project and so very quick too - I can see this becoming a very popular craft.

I have plenty of bangles and stacks of ribbon, so lots of playing about with designs is on my list.  It is something I can see would be very popular at craft clubs, easy to make, inexpensive and very assuring to the novice crafter that something can be made very quickly without prior skills.

Apart from bunting and bangles I had my usual pottery fix on Thursday.  Getting nervous these days about what may happen to my creations and I imagined all sorts of things might have happened to my cat plaque and was very pleased to see that it had survived its first firing:

I trimmed the the porcelain away from the full back plate and it is now double thickness.  It has been biscuit-fired and this week I glazed it a gorgeous dark brown.  I had hoped to paint each cat a different colour, but in reality I would not have been able to achieve a smooth finish or keep a clear definition between each cat.  Once it has been fired, I will possibly add some jewels for their eyes.

I made something new this week too - a wraparound pot made of stoneware which I trimmed with shavings of porcelain on the fluted edge.  

The plan is to finish the edge in white glaze and the body of the pot in purple glaze.  As always between now and when it is finished it, I may have changed my mind.

The sun is still shining, so I think it is time to abandon my computer and go outside and make the most of some dry weather.

Have a good week everyone, don't forget to drop in on my fellow Handmade Monday bloggers to see what they have been up to recently and I will be back next weekend.

Jill

SUPER SUNSHINE

Hello everyone

What a fabulous day it has been here in Christmas Pie - sunshine, fairly mild and not a single drop of rain.  Ideal gardening weather - it's always surprising how much there is to do at the beginning of the season (well nearly the beginning) despite working very hard to put the garden to bed in autumn.  Lots of daffodils peeping above the ground and one has a very large bud about the burst.  We have had a rose flowering throughout winter and I still have beautiful dark pink cyclamen flowering in a pot just by our back door.  I know the forecast is still for heavy rain, but let's hope spring is not too far off.

I held the second of my card-making workshops this week at the Farncombe Day Centre and in addition to six of the regular centre users, I had a lovely lady, Jenny, join me who found me via Streetlife.  I don't know if you have discovered Streetlife yet, but a good description is that is is like a very local Twitter and Facebook.  Its a great way to catch up with what is happening where you live - because there are often thousands of tweets showing up in our timeline, it is easy to miss something of importance.  Streetlife is more tailored to where you live so have a look at it and see what you think.

You may remember that I wrote about my pot last week and what had happened to it?  I found out last week that someone (unknown) had dropped it and sadly didn't bother to own up to it.  I would like to be charitable and say these things happen, which I know they do, however, failure to own up to it annoyed me.  Very disheartened as it is the third piece of work that I have been really pleased with that has either been damaged or, in this case, broken.  I am now worrying that my cat plaque survives the first firing without any damage or breaks.

A post without pics of makes again, I am getting very behind as need to get some jute bags decorated for stock.  However, hopefully next week I will have photographs of what I have been working on - fingers crossed.  Don't forget to nip over the Handmade Monday and catch up with everyone.  Have a good week and I will be back next Sunday.

Jill

WIND, HAIL, RAIN, SUN, SNOW - WE HAVE HAD THE LOT!

Hello everyone

What a mixed bag of weather we have had here!  Fed up with it?  Me too!  However, the pictures of people living in Somerset make me realise how lucky we have been in Christmas Pie.  I can't imagine how dreadful if must be to still be dealing with flooding in my home three weeks after the first downfall.  I hope they do not suffer from this week's forecast.

Most of this week has been spent on my new event venture, some online advertising, letters produced to local businesses to see if they will support by way of advertising and I have also changed the name of the business.  About two years ago it was called Godalming Independent Market; it was changed at the beginning of 2013 to Independent Markets to reflect the plans to spread out from Godalming with new venues elsewhere in Surrey.  I have decided that the name should really reflect that change by calling it Surrey Independent Markets.  I had seriously thought about changing it to something completely different, but when a company changes its name it sometimes rings alarm bells, so I added the county name to the existing name.  Have a look at this week's blog post to see what is happening.

Not much making this week, so sadly no pics to show.  However, some changes to my current pottery makes: the backing plate I had made for the cat plaque (see last week's blog post for the photo of this) has bitten the dust,so to speak.  The cats are fine, but the backing was thin and despite covering with plenty of plastic, the edges curled up and dried (not, not died), so I trimmed all round the cats and once I have glazed them, I will add another photograph on here.

The second disaster occurred with the second firing of my tall wrap-around vase.  On Thursday I discovered it was in several pieces - not too sure if it was dropped or exploded in the kiln.  My tutor and I have left a note asking the Pottery Technician if she can let us know what happened.  Very disappointed as I was really pleased with the style and shape.  A pottery day of two steps forward and several back.  Oh well, all part of the learning curve - or so I keep telling myself.

I am off to read this week's posts from my fellow blogging crafters taking part in Handmade Monday - do go and have a look at their really beautiful work.  Soooooo talented.

See you next week and I hope where you are the weather is kind to you.

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

The sun is shining again - how fandabbydoozee is that?

Jill has bought herself a new computer, so I am claiming the laptop as mine, all mine.  Although she does keep borrowing it from me.  Huh!

Everywhere in my garden is thick mud still and my white fur tends to look a little grubby at times - I do try very hard to keep it sparkling, but sometimes Jill says is looks a little grey.  Could it be that secretly I am trying to make myself into a black cat?  I can hide from birds and frogs that way - not that there are many frogs around at the moment.

Jill spoke to Mary's new family yesterday (she was our last foster kitten) and she has settled in very well.  Very pleased to hear that she has learnt some of the tricks I taught her - 'removing' things humans think are theirs.  Well done Mary - got to keep these humans on their toes.

As I said at the beginning of this post, the sun is shining and I really love to be outside when it is, so off I go.  I will be back next week - have a good week everyone.

Milly

IS IT SPRING?

Hello everyone

What a beautiful day!  Everywhere is still very wet and soggy, but the sun has been shining all day and it is so nice.  Makes you feel much more motivated and happy when the sky is blue and not a sign of rain anywhere.  the Pie cats love weather like this and it also means we can get some gardening done too - pruning, clearing rain/wind damage and some general tidying up.

It has been a madly hectic week.  We have experienced a cooker delivery saga: it wasn't delivered on the day it was supposed to be, when it did arrive it didn't work, removed and no replacement available on that day, replacement arrived on Wednesday and woo hoo it works!  Lots of work this week on my new venture, Independent Markets, arranging bookings with the Godalming Borough Hall, sorting out forms and emailing details out to everyone who has either taken part in the past, wanted to but couldn't get in because dates were full and new enquiries.  The week finished on a good note, a friend who had bought one of my hand-decorated jute bags took it wither her to her exercise class.  It was seen by a shop owner and they would like to stock some.  How exciting is that - and of course more panic: have I got enough bags, felt, material, glue, what more do I need to order, make, etc.  Thank goodness the first event I am organising is not until April - although I am still hoping to be able to arrange something out for Valentine's day.

I have started a blog for the Independent Markets and you can read my first post here; for some odd reason I cannot get the comment section working/set-up, but perseverance is the name of the game.

Last week was not all mad and hectic, in between was a peaceful day's pottery.  This term's project is to make a plaque with our house name or number on it.  We already have one that is built into the brickwork, so another one isn't really needed.  However, I wanted to join in and decided to make with my five cats on:

I cut out five cat shapes, as you can see the shapes got slimmer as the number of cats increased.  I trimmed round all of them so that they would lie flat on the backing.  They have been lightly covered to dry slowly and  once 'leather-hard' I will biscuit fire them, then add a different glaze to each cat (need a steady hand so that I don't end up with smudgy bits on the one next door) and then fire them at 1250 degrees.  I am still enjoying my pottery sessions even though I know my creations will not be appearing in a hundred or so years on the Antiques Roadshow.  But you never know, tastes do change.

I think it is break time now - well time to nip over to Handmade Monday and catch up with everyone.  A weekly must and I really recommend you stop by and read the blogs of those crafters taking part.

Have a good week everyone 'see' you next Sunday.

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

A very early diary this week because I was up very early.  Didn't have any choice really because Jill had to get up early to take a delivery in; this was due for 7.00 and they arrived at 6.30 am - good job I had changed out of my pyjamas!  I didn't get an early breakfast though :(

Guess what?  It's raining here - again.  We had sunshine for most of yesterday and it was so nice - back to a rainy day today.  Everywhere in the garden is very soggy and five cats x four paws means lots of muddy paw prints inside.  I think it makes a nice pattern, but Jill and Richard don't seem to agree with me and keep removing them.  I often see cushions and blankets with a paw print design, so what's wrong with having a floor with a similar pattern?

We had a notice through the door last week to say that a black cat who lives around the corner from us has gone missing, so the Pie Cats are keeping their eyes open.  If you live locally to me, please do check your sheds and garages to see if an unfamiliar cat is hiding in there.  Jill and Richard told us about a cat of theirs that went missing - this was a long time before I moved in.  They did manage to get him back even though he went walkabout for three months.

I can hear breakfast being prepared for me, so time to whizz off.  Have a good day everyone - I will be back next week.

Milly

THE LATE, LATE, LATE SUNDAY BLOG POST

Hi everyone

I thought January would be fairly peaceful - silly me!  It's nice to be busy, but at times the old headless chicken appears.

I am in the process of booking dates/venues for my new venture and have had lots of lovely emails from past and present exhibitors wanting to take part in this years events.  I feel a little nervous about all of this, which I know is natural, but really looking forward to what this year brings.  If any of my blog followers are local to me, please do get in touch if you would be interested in taking part in one of the events - dates and venues will be on here soon and in the market's Facebook page (and its very own blog, which I am setting up as we speak).

In addition to the events, I am also starting bi-weekly card-making workshops at Farncombe Day Centre.  the plan is to not only add an extra activity for regular users but encourage new visitors to the centre.  The Day Centre is in a lovely building and it seems a shame that more local residents do not use it for meetings, lunch, cake and coffee pit-stops - I am hoping that I may be able to encourage new and experienced card-makers into my workshops.  My fellow crafter, Dawn of Stone Pit Crafts, is running a weekly knitting group at the centre too - so if you knit and want to natter as well, it's the place to be.

A short post this week to keep everyone up-to-date, but I will be back next Sunday with lots more information about this year's events.  Have a good week everyone and don't forget to visit my fellow crafting bloggers at Handmade Monday.

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

Sunshine, no wind or rain here at the moment.  I can go outside without needing to put my wellie boots on - it does take a while as I have to put two pairs on!

The Pie Cats are fed up with the rain.  With the exception of Daisy, we all like to play outside and can't wait for spring and summer to arrive.  I haven't been able to bring any feathers in for Jill and Richard because they have been floating away!  Jill said something about them being like Pooh sticks, although I have no idea what that means.  I think the rain must be making her brain soggy.

Jazz is going on a diet - I think he looks nice and cuddly, but Jill thinks he needs to lose some weight.  She has been looking into some special food for him that will stop him snacking in between meals - problem is we girls like to have biscuits available between our meals, so she has a job on her hands managing the food here.   I will let you know how Jazz gets on with his diet - he likes to play football and chase things, so some extra exercise might be an idea.  Hey, he could bring out his own exercise dvd: Jazz Yourself Slim sounds rather catchy.

Time for me to go back outside - the sun is still shining and I have to make the most of it.  It seems to disappear so quickly.  Have a good week everyone.

See you next week

Milly

NEW BEGINNINGS

Happy New Year everyone

I hope you had a lovely Christmas.  The weather has been dreadful everywhere and it seems there is more heavy rain and wind still to come.  The bottom half of our garden has been underwater off and on for the last two weeks - we should be grateful  for this (yes, I know that sounds odd) as at least the garden slopes away from the back of our property rather than towards it.

Have you made lots of New year resolutions?  I decided a year or so ago not to make New Year's Resolutions because I rarely achieve them; this meant lots of disappointment so by not setting any, no disappointment!  Although I have not really made personal resolutions (apart from the permanent, written in stone one of trying to lose weight), I have made some business ones.  I intend investing more time into the wedding stationery side of my business; I really enjoy this part of handmade, but know I have not spent as much time on it as I could and should have.  I have booked wedding fairs, both in March which means I have time to plan and create new designs - but I know this is something I must begin working on immediately, rather than my usual Scarlett approach: tomorrow is another day!

I also want (hope) to start early on making season stock: Valentine's Day, Easter, Mother's day and dare I saw it, Christmas 2014.  I am really bad at leaving things to the last minute, and have always found this to work well - however, when it comes to making stock, that is just not possible, so this year I have to change and improve my stock control planning.

A new challenge, rather than a resolution, is that I have taken over a small event organising business.  About one year ago, the organiser of the Godalming Independent Markets (now known as Independent Markets) made the decision to move back to Australia with her family.  At the time I expressed interest in acquiring the business, but someone had beaten me to it.  Incredibly lucky for me, Anna Matthews, the new owner contacted me just before Christmas to ask if I was still interested in the business.  Anna has decided that with everything else going on in her life, she had to make the difficult decision to move away from this particular business venture.  I thought about it over Christmas, although in my heart-of-hearts I knew what the decision would be and I am the proud owner of Independent Markets.  

Anna has worked very hard during the last year to promote the image of the market, as well as the quality of what is sold at the events.  She is a great supporter of handmade work and has welcomed some brilliant designer/crafters as regular stallholders.  She has passed on to me some great plans/ideas she had to expand the markets into another local areas during the coming year, and I plan to follow through with these.  Exciting and challenging times ahead for me and I will keep everyone updated with news of future events in existing and new venues.

I haven't done much making during the Christmas break because of the above, but I did have an order from a friend for a black cat jute bag:

This week, as always, I am joining the Handmade Harbour linky party and really looking forward to catching up with everyone and  finding out what they have planned for 2014.  

Have a great week everyone - Milly will be here on Wednesday and I will be back next Sunday

Jill

MILLY'S DIARY

Hello everyone

I hope you had a happy Christmas and are looking forward to a great new year.  We survived Christmas with only a small power cut, thank goodness.  The bottom of our garden was flooded (and is flooded again today because we have had heavy rain for several hours and it is very windy - again!) and I did wonder if I would see our goldfish swimming around the lawn, but no, they are safe.  I am sure that like me you are getting really fed up with this bad weather?  I keep nipping outside and rushing back in again because I don't like to get wet.  I am planning on snoozing on the windowsill after I have finished my diary - nice and warm there with the heat from the radiator wafting over me.

Mary went to her new home yesterday and I know she will be very happy there.  We don't have any foster kittens at the moment, but I am sure I will be telling you about new ones soon.  Don't forget that if you are looking to welcome a kitten or cat into your home, please do check out those on the Woking Cats Protection website that are looking for their forever home.  There is even a cat on there called Milly - not as gorgeous as I am but that is impossible as I am THE most gorgeous cat there ever has been.

The windowsill is calling me, the outside looks very dark, it is raining heavily, so time to snooze.  I will be back next week and hope you all stay safe and warm today.

Milly