Monday 30 July 2012

Evrika!

What a great day on Saturday! After a slowish start we got just under 200 people through the door (thanks to Michael from Wallwork Soaps and his clicker!)


For those of you who are asking what the heck does Evrika mean - I shall tell you........It is the Greek word for 'I've found it' which was said by Archimedes. It has been mistranslated into English (Eureka) because the letter 'u' in Greek is pronounced vee hence Evrika. Here endeth the lesson lol


Anyways, considering the weather, had a good turnout although it was up and down all day but I think us crafters are used to that!


Most people I think were happy although I can't please all of the people all of the time! Monika sold quite a few paintings which was great for her - so pleased because she's just starting to do this and needs a few good months to boost her confidence (as we all do).


We've been asked to get things ready for Christmas soon (OMG) as I'm told people will be buying around September time - doesn't time fly when you're having fun!


We've also been asked to have the craft fair on the same day as the Church Christmas Tree Festival which should be a great day so I'll let you know if this is the last Saturday of November or not so watch this space!


Be back to update again soon cos I have another craft Fair on Saturday - woo hoo!

Thursday 26 July 2012

Bromley Cross Village Hall Craft Fair

Only 2 days to go until my 2nd Craft Fair - well the one I organise anyway! It's holiday season so it's been a juggling act with quite a few of the 'regular' stalls on holiday so I've been slotting in some people from the waiting list but trying to be careful not to duplicate too many crafts.


As we all know, there's nothing worse than turning up somewhere, paying out for your stall, petrol, etc etc only to find another half dozen people selling the same type of craft as you!!


There are a couple of different crafts this time so it'll be something new for folks to see. 


Banjo man is playing again and the bouncy castle is back - yay! it blew away last month so we're hoping for nicer weather although it was sunny up to around 1pm


No Greek food this time - OMG what to do for lunch! Do I go with a bacon butty (I'm told they were very nice last time) or do I do the boring thing and take a salad?? Decisions decisions!


Oh, nearly forgot....I've been making bookmarks just for something a bit different again AND I've managed to source some new supplies that are just as good as before but cheaper so I'm putting down the price of the JewELLs Card to just £5...I think that's a flippin bargain considering what you get for your money......we shall see on Saturday.


So, if you're in England, particularly around the Bromley Cross area of Bolton come in and support our crafters, have a cup of tea and a natter - we're a friendly bunch of people and are very welcoming!!!

Friday 20 July 2012

Thank Goodness it's Friday

It's Friday at long last...just getting so fed up of this flippin weather! I was making more cards last night because we're going to some friends this weekend who live in the Buckinghamshire area. 


I've taken some photos of the cards, without a flash this time! See what you think.....






I even put a 'jingle bell' on the Christmas Tree card so it jingles when you pick it up lol.


My next Craft Fair is next Saturday 28 July at the Bromley Cross Village Hall Craft Fair so been busy getting the stalls organised for that one and as it's holiday season, some of the regulars are away so we've got a few different stalls this time. Just one more to confirm then it's sorted - phew!


Will update again soon.....................Have a good weekend!

Thursday 19 July 2012

Christmas Already?

One of the stall holders from June said they'd been asked if they were having a stall at the July craft fair because they were looking at buying Christmas presents!!! OMG we've not had a proper summer yet and they're talking about Christmas! 


Apparently, in the craft world, you have to have these things ready well in advance so, with this in mind, I took along to last weekend's fairs some Christmas JewELLs cards just to see what happened. There was a complete lack of bodies coming through the door at Smithills High School for some reason so I took the cards along to Ladybridge High School Pet and Gala day on Sunday.


"Aren't they beautiful", were the comments for the first 3 hours - not just the Christmas ones but all the cards, which is great but not many buying, then we had quite alot of people coming through the door and hey presto, buyers! I didn't sell any Christmas Cards tho but busy making cards last night ready for when people want to buy them. 


I took some photos but should have turned off my flash so they're not very good at all. I'll put one on so you can see it but will re-do them tonight.









At Ladybridge High School my stand was next to Farmer Dan's and I was 'forced' to wear one of his badges all day. There was a tombola stall on the other side of the room which I found very hard to resist so whilst I was buying myself some losing tickets (happens all the time), farmer dan was removing the ring tray from my stall and replaced it with a stand of his books.


Well, when he decided to leave his stall for a few minutes....yes, you guessed it, his books were replaced with some very nice jewellery and cards....I think some customers were a little confused but we had a good laugh....I found out later that he'd gone to look at the rare breeds of sheep (the School has an on-site farm). No wonder he had a smile on his face when he got back! Apparently he's always wanted to own some when he retired.


I think the School is going to have a Christmas Fair so watch out Farmer Dan, you'll be selling JewELLs Cards instead of books next time! LOL

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Holland Nurseries Craft Fair

They say, "there's nowt funnier than folk". Well they're certainly correct when it comes to craft fairs. In a quiet spell I people watch (as I'm sure others do as well) and it's quite entertaining just watching....


The Greek Deli was quite near me and the dips were open for people to try and there were different types of olives on offer..."Would you like to try an olive or some dips?" I heard the stall holder say. Well, this elderly couple pulled their face and said, "ooooohhh no thank you, we don't eat that foreign stuff", as if it was poison or something! And yet, a young girl who apparently pulls her face at anything, tried the beans in tomato sauce and really liked them!


One of the stall holders virtually pounced on people as they came up to her stall and, to be honest, I think they bought something because she's gone through her whole script with them and they felt obliged! Her stuff's not cheap either! 


Me, I say hello and just let Jo Public look and if they ask a question I'll get into a conversation with them.....would you want to be mithered to death when you just want a good old mooch? I know I wouldn't!


We had a chappy singing Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin songs so the feet were a tappin I'm afraid....you can't help it! Then the body starts to sway a little and before you know it, you're even trying to sing - OMG! The trouble is the singer spies this and then starts to walk towards you with his mike (no lead) so thank goodness for the customer that gets to your stall before him. I did pounce on them that time so if you're reading this...I'm so sorry but you were my saviour!


It was a nice day for a change and for the first time, I didn't wear my coat (miracles do happen). The garden centre has a large canopy type structure so we're outside but under the canopy, however, if the wind gets up, we all hold onto our stalls because there is a tendency for crafts to be blown onto the floor or onto someone else's stall! not much fun in the winter!


On the whole, a quietish day but it was very enjoyable but tiring. It was good to get home and put the feet up and do nothing for the rest of the night - bliss!


I've got 2 craft fairs this coming weekend....Smithills School and Ladybridge High School - more on them later........

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Busy making JewELLs Cards

For the last few nights I've been making 'blank' JewELLs Cards. I looked through all the different occasions I had and I didn't have a single one where people could write their own message for whatever occasion they wanted so I've made some....


They are all still completely different and have a pendant on an 18" silver plated chain but not having the words on the front has allowed me to do different designs again. I'll upload a couple of pictures to show you later. I've even started making my own bows with a 'bow making machine'. Yup you heard it right....at first, you think, "what the.....!" but the more you get into it, the easier it is.


I can now say that I have handcrafted everything on the JewELLs Card, even the bows lol. I even got Brian to make a couple! He worked out how to make them first, well he is an engineer by trade!!!!


So, I think I'm ready for Saturday's Craft Fair at Holland Nurseries in Bromley Cross. It will be interesting to see which cards I sell....specific occasions or the blank ones....mmmm!

Monday 2 July 2012

Survived the Craft Fair!

What a great day! After an extremely nervous morning - will stallholders turn up? will the weather be OK for those outside? Will anyone come to the Craft Fair? everything turned out great


The weather held off until mid afternoon when a gust of wind blew the bouncy castle along the front of the church and one of the gazebo's went flying but as the weather calmed a little, we carried on regardless - cue for a song lol!


Some of the stalls....


This is part of my stall



Gatis Food - Greek Food and BBQ
Where I got my lunch from - OMG so good!!!

Thai pies....they are so tasty and I don't like pies!


Had a strawberry crossed with a raspberry - yum!




Another bit of my display of the JewELLs Cards
We also had a banjo man playing which was good fun although his speaker was directly behind me so a little loud at times!


Roll on the next one - can't wait!!