We’ll be in Leadhills Village Hall tomorrow and would love to see loads of folks there, just so you all know the roads are clear, the M74 is clear and despite the rest of the country being under several feet of snow Leadhills has (for once) got off fairly lightly!  No excuses then!!  We’re expecting this to be our last fair for a while, we have no serious plans for doing many – if any – next year.  So we would dearly love to see folks before we go into our ‘retreat’ for the next while.

We were at Penicuik High School last week and whilst it was quiet we ended up having a really good day, one of our best for some time actually, of course the fabulous ginger-bread men went down a storm again.  It was actually rather reassuring given how much some of the other stall holders were whinging about the foot-fall and poor takings, still we weren’t the only ones who did well and I must say I found the whole affair was rather well organised despite the lack of advertising.  The School kids (young adults really) were really good, polite, and helpful and I must wish them all the best in their appeal to raise funds for their Malawi exchange trip.  My only real critisicm of the day was the people who started clearing away about 45 minutes before the official end time, always a poor show in my opinion even if you are having the most appalling day.

I bought myself a wee belated birthday present while I was there, I big clock from Ember Furniture who had brought along a number of her smaller items.  We’ve actually bought a couple of nice pieces in the last few months and I really must get some pics up so you can see some of the beautiful work people are producing.

Anyway, we’ll see you on Saturday unless, you know, you’re off sledging or something!

We had a good day at Hillhead Library yesterday meeting lots and lots of nice people, and one or two horrible individuals too.  Fortunately the latter were heavily outnumbered by the former, but I would like to say to the women who said, in a rather obnoxious tone, that the sock creatures were ugly:

hell mrs, have you looked in a mirror recently?

Anyway, such unpleasantness aside it really was a nice day albeit long day made all the better by the very nice shoppers we met, the lovely stall holders and the very nice cafe across the road that kept us in coffee!  I was slightly surprised by the venue that was smaller and slightly more dated than I expected – 70′s eye-bending style carpet, peculiar gilted wallpaper and some rather dodgy lamps, this however belied a pleasant atmosphere although I did feel for the parent with prams who would’ve struggled with the stairs up to the hall.

Our best seller’s on the day were the mini gingerbread men which seemed to fly off the table, inciting not just comment, but sales and murmurs about waist-lines!!  I have to admit it was a peculiar day in terms of sale with the tried and trusted items remaining on the table whilst some of the newer or generally less popular products selling surprisingly well … all very odd!

Anyway, next up is Penicuik High School which is holding a craft fair in aid of an exchange trip with Malawi.  See our events page for details.

Well we had our first fair in the run-up to Christmas yesterday, and whilst most people are avoiding the ‘C’ word in polite company there’s no doubt that it’s on people’s minds and that it emerges from unguarded lips, whispered in hushed tones as decisions are made as to whether little Jimmy would like this or perhaps Aunty May would appreciate that.  For our part we think that all mention of the ‘C’ word should be banned until November at the earliest.

Our last fair at this venue was disappointing, although this time around we were pleased to see a much greater foot-fall and far more people taking an active interest with a view to buying, to be honest though I’m as happy to stand and have a blether about what we do as I am if some nice shopper decides to make a purchase!

We had gone armed to this fair with a heap of chocolate dipped ginger bread men that we spent the previous evening making, a sample of a product aimed specifically at ‘C’ time.  They seemed to go down well, although they were free and were mostly eaten by the kiddie-winkles who, let’s face it, are generally delighted by anything with so much as trace elements of sweetie-ness!

Again the fair had a pleasant atmosphere with an interesting mix of crafters and shoppers alike.  We even made a purchase ourselves, something we generally try and avoid, although it turns out that when it can’t be avoided it costs us our day’s takings and the rest, still, it’s difficult to put a value on a piece of original artwork.  I’ll be posting those images at a later date though, hopefully as part of a featured artist post.

In the meantime we’d like to thank everyone who managed to get along to the fair and also the other stall-holders who were a bit fab.

The Morningside Makers Market is a monthly affair that takes place at the Columcille Centre in Edinburgh on the first Saturday of every month and accommodates around 30 stalls each featuring arts and crafts made by-and-large by the stall holders themselves, this in itself is a huge attraction, all the crafts for sale are created locally by the people who are selling them … so no imported crafts from the far east or elsewhere.

This was actually our first fair of the year, following the cancellation (through no fault of our own) of the events that were meant to precede this one.  The fact that we had a couple of fairs cancelled actually knocked our motivation quite badly, really taking the wind out of our sails, so it was good to finally get out to an event and speak with other stall holders and those passing through.

To be honest though we were fairly disappointed with the day, there were long periods when it was very quiet punctuated by spells when you would be forgiven for believing that people were arriving by the coach load.  In terms of takings it was probably the worst event we’ve had although from speaking to and watching other stallholders I don’t think we were the only ones and it seems from those who have attended regularly that the day was exceptionally and unusually quiet … I guess we just aren’t having any luck this year!

On the upside we met some really enthusiastic people, stallholders and customers alike, which made all the difference in terms of how we viewed the day and I think we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s an event we’ll maybe seek to attend on a more regular basis in the future, we’re back there in October anyway so we’ll hopefully get a better idea following that event and look to book up for 2011.

If we’ve taken away anything from this fair it was what people were interested in, the fabric finches proved popular, as did the plant pokes and the sock creatures, but I think we were both surprised to find that the most popular item by far was the hand-bound photo notebooks.  Jolene originally made these on a whim to use up some spare photo’s and yet people seemed to be fascinated by them and our limited stock was quickly depleted, later we’ll be poring over our photo collection to see which others might make nice little notebook covers!

I had hoped to get some pictures from the event to share with you but Jolene’s new camera (a long service award from her work) wasn’t really up to the job and there’s only really the one worth sharing, ho-hum, such is life!

In the last 4 weeks we’ve had both of our booked craft fairs whipped out from under our feet, due to no fault of our own I hasten to add.  The first thanks to the council library failing to sort out the right licence from, well, the council; the second being cancelled for who knows what reason.  It’s not like it’s the end of the world but it is just a tad frustrating!

In fact the only ‘fair’ we’ve been to recently was the Rosneath Highland Games, although that was only to spectate, not that I would struggle to throw the hammer or toss the caber you understand but I wouldn’t want to put all those big burly blokes noses out of joint by showing them up …

… I didn’t even get any decent pics of the games that I would be happy to share on here, so – I’m afraid – that means more pictures of flowers!  This remains a craft blog, honestly, even if it does look more and more like a gardening one!!

It’s pink … what more can I say!

Marigold

Rocket (I believe)

They’re white, and flowery … very pretty!

It was the lad’s birthday a couple of weeks ago so there’s a cake post waiting to be written, coming soon I assure you!

Preparations are well under way for our first craft fair of 2010, which will take place in Hillhead Library in Glasgow’s West End this coming Saturday.

In the true spirit of leaving everything until the last minute, we have a list as long as both our arms of work to complete before Saturday morning and, in the true spirit of procrastination (something that we are very good at) Alasdair is currently rewiring the house and replacing the plasterboard, while I am busy redesigning and packaging my button pendants.

Going off on a tangent for a moment, these boards to hold my necklaces were made partially from the paper I made a couple of weeks ago.  I mounted the paper onto mount board and stamped ‘madestuff’ along the bottom, cut a couple of notches in the top to hold the cord and (in a later version) threaded a piece of wire through to hold the cord in place.  I’m so pleased with the way they worked out.

So, the list of things to do is still as long as our arms; however it’ll be alright on the day and if you would like to come along and meet us in person, and see some of the many other wonderful crafts on sale from numerous other makers, we’d love to see you there.

The details are on our events page.

We’ve just added an events page where we will be listing our upcoming craft fairs and any other events we are involved in … there are at least two more to be added in to those that are listed currently, although we’re waiting on the dates to be confirmed for those one.

Anyway, until then you can see the Events Page here.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Sewing is really Jolene’s thing, obviously I’m far more interested in manly arts and crafts rather than these silly women’s past-times!  Obviously I jest, but sewing isn’t really what I do … other than from a utilitarian stand-point it’s not a craft I’ve ever felt the need to refine, alas, with time to kill and the workshop outside getting colder and colder as winter sets in I was persuaded to have a go at making a sock creature or two.

This is my first effort, and whilst I don’t think it’s a complete failure …

… I can’t help thinking that she looks like a bit of an old slapper!

We’ll be selling Jolene’s ones at our forth-coming craft fayres, we’ll announce dates shortly.

These fun chaps were supposed to be sock monsters but they just aren’t at all scary.  In fact, they are so cute it hurts me to look at them so I think they must be banished to the sock drawer from wence they came!  (They didn’t really, they are brand new non-smelly socks).

This is something of a brand new obsession for me and I can’t seem to stop making them, which is unfortunate because I should really be making up a stock of birds for the upcoming craft fairs.  There are so many possibilities and since making these two at the start of the week, I’ve made a further two that are entirely different despite being fashioned from the other sock in each of the pairs.  It’s so much fun seeing your creation come to life, it’s a bit addictive.

This happy chap is known to his other sock friends as Ben the Bovine.  His peculiarly dimpled lips make him look somewhat like a cow and he is teased daily for this unfortunate feature.  In reality he is a sheep (or at least that’s what our three year old thinks) and he needs a loving home where he can be supported in the pursuit of baa-ing.

Sergeant Slim here at your service…stiff upper lip and no messing around.  See the thin yet ever so carefully crafted moustache?  He spends hours every morning grooming his facial hair.  Those who know him better, see a twinkle in his eye though and we all know that when no-one’s looking he’s as batty as the rest of the sock creatures.

These and the other sock creatures I create will be on sale at the craft fairs we’re attending this winter…details soon.

I’ve finally completed a new set of plant pot ornaments (plant pokes), extending the range to include a smaller variety of ‘wood sprites’ measuring between 3″ – 4″ tall as well as the usual range measuring between 6″ – 8″ in height.

These particular plant pokes have been carved in either silver fir or elm (the majority being the fir), before being treated with oil to preserve them against decay in moist plant pots and finally having their uppers finished in a tough varnish.

As ever every piece is an individual with it’s own character, everyone has their favourites and every sprite will shortly be looking for a new home. These sprites have been specifically created for a forthcoming event, details of which will be given nearer the time, although if you’re particularly keen to re-home one of the wee souls drop me an e-mail using the contact details on the contact page.

The items in the uppermost image are priced at £6.50 / each, whilst their larger counterpartsin the lower image are £8.50 (incl. postage and packing).

Work in progress:

- paper pulp sculpted head (fund-raising project)
- paper pottery bowls
- paper pulp sculpture