Folksy Friday - Organisation

I have a day off today and had arranged for someone to come around at 7.00 to bring me into the 21st century and get me set up on wi-fi. So there I was, up at the ungodly hour of 6.30 when I was desperate for a lie-in, and guess what? He didn't turn up!! He was VERY apologetic when I called him and said he didn't have me on his calendar. He's now coming on Tuesday evening (I hope!!) So my Folksy Friday theme this week is organisation!

Please click on the pictures to view the lovely items on Folksy

Our Day at the Craft Fair

After all the preparation the week before, I felt very calm as I  headed off for the Contemporary Arts & Craft Fair in Upminster.  Luckily its only 20 minutes away, so I didn't have to go too early.  When I got there, there were a lot of people already set up and for some strange reason that set me off into a bit of a panic!  Anyway, it all came together nicely once I got started, and then Layla arrived with her accessories, so the extra pair of hands were very useful! 

Layla's not that short - honest!

As the fair was quite local to both of us, we had quite a bit of custom from friends and family and also from a couple of fellow Folksters (more about them shortly!) which was great as without them, it wouldn't have been a particularly successful day.  Thank you to you all!

So, onto other folksters - it was great to meet Lisa Hafey from Lemonade & Lamingtons who was there with her daughter Eilis. Proceeds from Lisa's sales will be funding Eilis's trip to the 22nd World Scouting Jamboree in Sweden next year - here they are with their lovely crocheted mug warmers and bags made from recycled T-shirts, among many other goodies:

And between us and Lisa was Sheila from Green Frog Cards I bought a couple of cards from her and they are gorgeous! Here she is with her table crammed full of lovelies:

And to keep us going in the afternoon, we had the MOST amazing chocolate cupcake made by a lady called Beckie from Angel Cakes.  I was so impressed I'm hoping she's going to make my cake for a rather large birthday that I have coming up in early 2012!

Final verdict?  A great day!!

Preparing for my next Craft Fair

I'm going to be selling at the Contemporary Art & Craft Fair in Upminster, Essex next Saturday (4th September) so I thought I would make the most of a chilly Bank Holiday and get myself prepared.  You only get at an hour to set up, and in my (limited!) experience, that hour just flies by, so I thought I'd give myself a head start.

I've got all my earrings hanging from a picture frame covered in tulle, and nicely secured with cling film, I've got necklaces in boxes all ready to open and lay out on the table, and I've decided which necklaces and earrings I'm going to put on my new display stands and they're all nicely packed away together.  Everything has a price tag on it, and I've put any extras, where I have more than one design, in a separate box - means less to unpack when I get there. 

I'm now worried that I'm being too organised!!!  I'll update you with how the fair goes, and some photos next week - wish me luck!!!

Folksy Friday - the Moon!

I've just bought a new car and I've called her Moonie (because she's Moondust Silver, in case you were wondering!) so this weeks Folksy Friday theme is the Moon :o)

Please click on the pictures for more details.

For all you stitchy people!

Well it's been a while since I last blogged, as I've been on holiday to the far east.  We spent 4 days in Vietnam in the capital, Hanoi.  Our hotel was in the old quarter, where many of the streets are named after the products that used to be sold there, for example, Hang Bac translates as Silversmiths Street.  One which I thought would be of interest to you Folksy sewers was Hang Bo, which was originally 'Bamboo Basket Street' but is now Haberdasher's Street.  The shops are filled to bursting point with all sorts of lovely goodies such as buttons, ribbon, thread, zips etc as you can see from the photos.  I did manage to find some beads, but sadly the quality wasn't very good, so my Vietnamese Dong remained unspent!

Friends & Flowers

I had the pleasure of visiting some really good friends this weekend.  They're always such great company, and have the added bonus of having the most gorgeous garden ;o)  Unfortunately the weather was a bit too chilly for us to sit out and enjoy it, but we had a wander round out there and I took some photos to share:

We also had a long walk after lunch, to Coombe Wood near Croydon - a beautiful oasis of peace and colour:

And they've also got a lovely cafe with a pretty outdoor seating area, where needless to say we stopped for a cuppa!

Folksy Summer Swap

At last I've found the time to blog about the goodies I received in the Folksy Summer Swap, kindly organised by Zoe of The Jewelbox  This was the first swap I'd taken part in, and its great to get that lovely handmade surprise in the post, as well as to be able to show off something you've made to your 'swapee'!

My goodies were sent to me from Connie of Konnie Kapow!  As you can see from the photo, I got a great Owlvis card, a knitted brooch and a Konnie Kapow! badge :o)  Thanks to both Zoe and Connie.