1st Stockton Brook Brownies Craft Fair

Here we are the last day of May already and we have got absolutely glorious sunshine and it’s been red hot outside all day… it’s just after 8pm and the heat is only just getting to a bearable temperature in the garden!!! Lovely… long may this summer weather continue

Today we had our second craft fair of the year at Stockton Brook Scout & Guide HQ at Moss Hill, Stoke on Trent… this was a fundraising event organised by 1st Stockton Brook Brownies, with most of the organising by Claire Keen – thank you Claire for organising this excellent day!!

The event was open from 10am til 4pm and although we were there for six hours, there weren’t really a great deal of customers in that time… I think someone averaged it out to about seventeen customers an hour – it definitely looks like everyone was spending the day outside enjoying the sun, whether at home sunbathing or sat in a beer garden somewhere, every beer garden/pub that we passed on the way home way packed!! Not that I can blame people, being the UK we never know when we’ll get any sunshine or how long it’s going to last!!

Although there wasn’t a huge number of customers at today’s craft fair we had a really nice day, we sold enough to cover our table costs with a bit on top and Gordon enjoyed lying on the grass outside the hall sunbathing all day!! lol… It was also great to meet up with some people from the Crafts Forum… Jan aka Autumn Faerie of Jan’s Cards & Crafts, Phoebe of Enchanted Doorways, Lorraine of Baby Cake Gifts and of course the lovely Claire aka Erial of Paw Prints. We also got the chance to meet up with a Facebook friend… Lisa of Lisa Carr Bead Lady.

It might not have been a day with the biggest of takings but it was a lovely day full of lovely people and I would definitely attend future craft fairs held at this venue or organised by Claire… it was well organised, well laid out, signposted from the main road (which made it easy to find!) and a really friendly and welcoming atmosphere AND the hall was really cool and comfortable compared with the heat outside which really helped.

All in all, the first of 1st Stockton Brook Brownies Craft Fairs definitely gets the thumbs up from me!!

Stafford County Show and Craft Fair

Good morning all, thought I’d share a bit about our day out yesterday… Gord and I took our nieces to Stafford County show as we were given a family ticket on Tuesday night and it was something different for all of us.

The day started off quite dull and overcast so we all wrapped up and set off anyway, not intending to let the weather stand in the way of enjoying ourselves!! It took us about twenty minutes to get there in the car and surprisingly, we got a parking space woth no problems at all.

The county show was great and we all really enjoyed it… there were tractors, cars, fire engine, steam trains and a small train ride, alpacas, cows, goats and sheep.

Lots and lots of trade stands selling all kinds of merchandise from model tractors and kids toy tractors to saunas and hot tubs with just about everything you can imagine in between. There was also showjumping, the Devil’s Horsemen and the White Helmets Motorcycle display team.

They had a dog show being held too which both Gord and I took great interest in as this was something that my mum attended for many years so we enjoyed walking round and having a nosey at the standard of dogs being shown at the event.

They had an area of woodland where there were people demonstrating ‘crafts from nature’ including chainsaw carvings, making broomsticks from birch branches, basket weaving and loads more… we all found this part really interesting and could have spent much longer watching these amazing people at work.

There was also a couple of marquees with small animals on display such as ferrets and falcons as well as a marquee with animals for sale which included ducklings, chickens, quails, piglets, rabbits, guinea pigs and sheep – probably more that I’ve forgotten!! Needless to say the girls (and Gordon) wanted to bring home one of each!!

The Creative Crafts Association were using one of the showground buildings for their ‘craft fair’ so it goes without saying that we just had to go in for a look around… we had considered booking a stall at this event but the booking fee put us off. Having now had a look around one of CCA’s events then it’s safe to say that this is not the kind of craft fair that either Gordon or I would be interested in exhibiting at… there was very little in the way of handcrafted items on display, although what we did see was someone selling books and hand puppets (possibly Usborne books?), a gentleman selling spectacle cleaning solution, a tarot reader, a couple of stalls selling sweets and toiletries, Phoenix cards and a few other ‘non crafts’ that I can’t think of… yes there were some handcrafted goods, but a small minority – there was a lady selling lovely carved wooden mirrors and a few jewellery stalls but to be honest those were the only ones who stood out as not bieng mass produced. Personally I would class it as a Gift Fair, definitely not a Craft Fair. I think that it’s safe to say that both Gordon and I were pretty disappointed with Creative Craft Associations part in the event.

All in all, we had a really lovely day – especially when the sun came out and it got VERY warm, I’m looking a little flushed today so I’d definitely say I caught the sun on my cheeks and nose lol… not very attractive!! The girls both enjoyed themselves, and Gord and I enjoyed the walk around and being able to just chill and not worry about everything else that’s going on.

It was a long day though and by the time we took Caitlin and Kayleigh home, and then got home ourselves, sorted the animals, etc we were asleep in bed by 9:30pm – I even missed the Britains Got Talent results!! Never mind, I’ve looked it up on the internet this morning lol.

I think it’s safe to say that a good day was had by all!!!

New Craft Room

Good morning!! How are we all today?

Well here we are, Wednesday 27th May 2009 and supposedly in the midst of some decent weather yet I’m sitting here looking out at rain and wind!! Typical British weather.

The last few days here have flown by… bank holiday Monday saw the beginning of a clearout of our spare ‘bedroom’ and it was completely emptied, wallpaper stripped, bare floor and this is what we were left with…

It all looked very bare, cold and ininviting so Monday and yesterday were spent decorating… we started off by going round the walls with polyfiller to sort out the lovely dents/cracks, etc that we discovered when we ripped off the wallpaper, then up went a coat of white paint on the walls and ceiling, then once that had dried, the walls were painted warm terracotta… to be honest it looks more peachy now it’s on the walls but I like it!! After that hubby and I collapsed on the sofa on Monday night and that’s where we slept – partly cos we didn’t have the energy to more but more-so because everything out of the ’spare’ room was piled up on our bed!!!

Tuesday morning we got up bright and early and spent the morning laying a nice terracotta carpet… remind me to pay someone else to do it for us next time. This is the first time either of us have attempted to lay a carpet and I think I speak for both of us when I say, I don’t fancy doing it again!!

Anyway, carpet laid and walls painted, the room was starting to look livable so our next task was to get everything organised. First into the room was our freezer (the only non-crafty thing in here!) then all of the rest of the furniture came in… my desk, workbench, bookcase, chest of drawers, small canvas drawers, storage boxes to go under my desk and workbench… oh the joys!! We had considered putting a sofa bed in here for visitors but there’s no space!!! lol.

Once all of the furniture was in place, we then had the lovely job of sorting out the laptops and printers and all of the cables… that took almost as long as sorting the furniture!! We got there though and my desk actually looks like a workable space now as it’s got one laptop on here and the other with the two printers is on the work bench – much better!! Oh and now I can sit at my laptop and look outside!! Fab!!

Eventually about ten o’clock last night, I settled down for the night after getting the place relatively organised… everything is back on the bookcase, my crafty bits are all away and I’ve even got somewhere to put my card display stands (used at craft fairs) so I can have my cards out and see at a glance what I’ve got or what I need. Much more organised now!!

Anyways, here are the ‘after’ piccies and how it looks this morning… how long it stays tidy for remains to be seen!!!

So as you can see, we’ve had a very busy bank holiday weekend and everything is finally coming together so now I’ve no excuse for not crafting now that I’ve got a full organised room to myself!!

We have been looking after a friends grandmothers dog for the last few weeks as she was ill, but we were asked at the weekend if we would keep him permanently due to changes in their circumstances so as well as all of the housey room changes this weekend, we’ve also got a permanent new addition to the house.

Here is Charlie making himself at home…

We have been told that he’s a four year old ’spaniel cross’ but he acts like a very immature puppy and although he has had no training with his previous owner, he is responding to obedience training very quickly. He’s a fab dog though and our other two love him to pieces.

Sunday 24th May 2009

Good afternoon, how are we all today on this bright and sunny Sunday afternoon?

This last few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster of emotions and I am finding that the best way to deal with how I’m feeling is to keep myself busy, so in the last couple of days I have been sorting out the house and working on building up our stocks of greetings cards for our forthcoming craft fairs.

I think that it’s safe to say that every room in our house has been taken over by craft supplies!! Our bedroom is my main ‘work area’ where I have my desk, a work bench, chest of drawers and a bookcase all of which are full… my desk and the work bench also have boxes piled underneath them and there’s a huge pile of boxes of hubby’s ’stock’ candles in the corner. Oh and looking up, the window sill is slowly filling up with crafty bits too!!

Our spare room has the card display stands, folding table, etc that we use for craft fairs, as well as all of the packaging materials. Our livingroom tends to just be a dumping ground for whatever project either hubby or I are working on at the time, outwith our regular cards and candles. The kitchen has been taken over with hubby’s candle making supplies… there’s one cupboard full of wax, etc and then the top of the cupboard and the adjoining worktop are covered in storage boxes full of everything else. The hallway is where the parcels seem to get kept before we either go to the post office or craft fairs and there’s a shelf there where any parcels that have been delivered or bags when we’ve been crafty shopping are put. Even our bathroom has it’s fair share… when I’ve been painting, my paintbrushes are taken in there to be cleaned and usually end up being left in there to dry lol.

Between hubby and I, we do card making, candle making, acrylic and watercolour painting, sketching and drawing, latch hook rugs, cross stitch, Airfix and nitro models and have tried our hand at mosaicing. And hubby built a dolls house for our niece’s Christmas. I’ve also got a mini sewing machine and some fabric that I’d love to do something with but have yet to find the time.

On top of all that, I’ve got my dolls house which was hand built by my dad 20+ years ago which is sitting in our bedroom desperately waiting to be renovated!! Dad brought it down to our house (upon my request) when he visitted at Christmas as I was full of good intentions… I’ve been and bought the new carpet and exterior wallpapers to revamp it and I’ve already looked into where I can source new windows and ‘people’ but that’s as far as I’ve got – we’ll get there one day!!

Heaven help us if we ever have to move!!! lol.

Today I’m going to carry on working on some new ideas for our greetings cards and keepsake card ranges, and I also need to do a couple of keepsake card orders… one for Fathers Day and another for a wedding, as well as having a go at a wedding ‘post box’ for Gord’s cousins wedding in just under two weeks.

In the last week, I have been lucky enough to win not one, but TWO blog giveaways which have been hosted by lovely members of the Crafts Forum.

The first was a lovely pendant from Rach at Glam Glass… it’s a gorgeous cheeky monkey, and she also sent me a gorgeous fairy card. Thank you Rach!!!

The second was a gorgeous scarf from Jen of Flurogoddess… thank you ever so much!!!

And for the rest of the day, I think I’m going to carry on working on card designs and preparing for our craft fair at Stockton Brook Scout & Guide HQ at Moss Hill, Stoke on Trent on Sunday 31st May 2009… hopefully we’ll have lots of visitors (and lots of buyers) on the day and really get this years craft fairs off to a good start for us

Latest Keepsake Cards

These keepsake cards are the latest designs to be added to our ’stock’ range and can be purchased by contacting us directly at laurascardsforalloccasions@yahoo.com or by visiting us at one of this seasons craft fairs.

Details of which craft fairs we are attending throughout 2009 can be seen on the calendar section of our website at Cards & Candles For All Occasions (click here).

Wedding Card

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Birthday Card

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New Baby Boy Card

All comments are appreciated

New Range of Greetings Cards

The last few days have been fairly productive and I’ve made quite a few new cards for our “£1.75″ greetings card range… we have our next craft fair in two weeks so I needed to build up my stocks.

I’ve made around 40 cards this week but below are my favourites, most of which are quite different to what I usually do.

All comments and criticisms are extremely welcomed

Honest Scrap Award

I have just been awarded the “Honest Scrap Award” by the lovely http://fairyalchemy.blogspot.com/ – this is my first blog award

I’m not entirely sure what an Honest Scrap Award is, but I would guess that it means that the blogger is a lovely honest person, who works hard at their crafting and giving other people as much enjoyment through their work as they have themselves.

According to the requirements:

1. I must thank the person who gave me the award, list their blog and link.
2. I must list ten (10) honest things about myself & a copy of The Honest Scrap Logo on my blog.
3. I must select at least seven (7) other worthy bloggers & list their links
4. I must notify the bloggers of the award and hopefully they will follow the above three requirements also.

10 Honest Things About Me

1. I love to try out new crafts though tend to find I’m not very good at them and lose interest really quickly and return to cardmaking.

2. I am a strong believer in spiritualism and mediumship.

3. I spend loads of time on the internet but am useless at replying to emails.

4. I have bred and owned chihuahuas for seventeen years.

5. I try to put on a happy smiley front to everyone I see, but most of the time it’s an act covering up the ‘real me’.

6. At school I spent more time skiving and trying to avoid the bullies than I did doing coursework so got really awful grades.

7. I find talking to male friends easier than talking to female friends… and most of my close friends are male!!

8. I always tend to put everyone else’s thoughts, feelings and needs before myself and my health usually ends up suffering.

9. I am terrified of losing the people closest to me and always wake up in the night having had nightmares that something has happened to my loved ones.

10. I don’t have a lot of faith in my own craft work and don’t accept praise easily. (Lack of confidence?!)

And this award now goes to… (all names are ‘clickable’)

1. Carolee Crafts
2. Celebration Cake Toppers
3. Jan’s Cards, Crafts & Musings
4. Kiamyka
5. Maygreen Fairies
6. OOAK Fairy Fae
7. Tickety Boo Jewellery

Congratulations to all of the above bloggers and well done to everyone else too, shame I couldn’t award you all!! Keep up the great work everyone!!!

Love Laura xxx

New Baby Grand-daughter

Last night we had an email from a previous customer, ordering a new baby grand-daughter card.

At the moment baby cards are really difficult for me with our current situation so I wasn’t very keen on doing this but didn’t want to let our customers down so this is what I came up with.

I’d really appreciate all comments or criticisms, good or bad please.

Thanks

Latest Keepsake Cards

Over the last few months the majority of our personalised card orders have been for our bookatrix cards.

The first was for an 80th birthday for a steam train enthusiast…

Next we have a floral birthday card for ‘Niece’s 40th Birthday’…

And lastly, I was asked to create a keepsake card by a woman who’s daughter is interested in anything to do with Native America, spiritualism and tarot card readings. As this was a card for a 40th birthday, therefore born in 1969 I used the “six” and “nine” cards out of a set of Native American themed tarot cards. I was specifically asked for the Footprints In The Sand verse on this card…

Latest Candle Designs

Below are some of hubby’s latest candle designs…

The praying hands candles are already proving really popular