Sudbury Christmas Market - some lovely things!

This weekend I was at Sudbury Hall - a National Trust property near Uttoxeter - where they held a Christmas market over the weekend. Luckily for me, it turned out to be nicely busy!
 I usually display a range of products - some are bought-in wholesale gifts and others are my own handmade items (I don't think I could make enough stock to fill a whole table!) and I have to say that it was the 'bought-in' things that sold more than anything else. I do think that it has a lot to do with the fact that people seem to be being quite careful with their money this year and the imported, mass produced goods are obviously much cheaper than good quality handmade ones. However, it's not all doom and gloom - I did sell a good few of my wooden plaques, knitted boots, crochet toys etc. so I'm happy :-)

I was lucky enough to share the marquee with some very talented and lovely crafters so I thought I'd share some photos with you. Sorry that the quality of the photos is so awful - I used my phone, and I blame the fact that it was so cold that my hands must have been shaking too much!

Well, you know what a fan I am of cute needlefelted critters - imagine how inspiring it was to find these on the stall next to mine! They are amazing aren't they? All made by the very clever Sarah at Two Fat Hens


Needlefelted teddy bears

 It was also lovely to catch up with Naomi from Doveridge Crafts who sells Decopatch materials and also makes her own gorgeous items - check out this chair!


Decopatch chair in progress

 I love the way the paper blends so well with the colour of the wood - what a lovely way to make a piece of furniture really special. I couldn't resist a closer shot...!



Love the knitted hearts too!

 Being a birdwatcher in a previous life, it didn't take me long to spot these little lovelies - which I recognised from HWR Designs because I've admired them on Etsy! It was so nice to meet Helen, and I can now put a face to all the tweets (no pun intended!). I know what I'm going to be saving up for now... a whole menagerie of these little birds!



Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!

 And last but not least, here are some beautiful wooden ornaments from Diane at An Eggcup Full of Whiskers - sorry but I don't have a website address for her! These are made from reclaimed wood - can you guess what they were in a previous life?



Lovely, simple wooden ornaments

 Well, believe it or not Diane gets a lot of her wood from old pallets!! What a great way to recycle an everyday (and let's be honest, rather ugly) piece of wood.

So there you are - a lovely, inspiring weekend. Thank you to everyone who chatted to me, and especially to the stallholders who let me take photos of their fabulous products!
Now go and visit Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been up to - see you next time :-)

Handmade Monday - all the way from Jersey

This week I have been on holiday in my favourite place, Jersey in the Channel Islands. We are here for two weeks, which is a real treat - mainly because I celebrated my 40th birthday yesterday, so now am officially 'old' I guess!!

Of course, since I love crafts I couldn't resist visiting a local craft market here, so yesterday I dragged along a friend and my daughter round this lovely little lot of stalls. They were set up in St Aubins, which is a beautiful little part of the island.



St Aubins Farmers and Craft Market

Many of the stallholders belong to an association called Genuine Jersey which promotes locally produced goods on the island - what a wonderful way to keep people buying local to support their economy. 
First stop was a lovely stall Dangly Hearts which had some lovely fabric hearts, bunting, doorstops, cushions and many other pretty things. It was too busy to get a decent photo, but here is what I bought!

Handmade by Dangly Hearts :)

Next stop was a lovely, bright stall with painted pebbles and aromatic gifts. The stall was called 'On The Beach' but I can't find a website for them, so sorry I can't add a link!



Gorgeous brightly painted stones

There were some fabulous smells coming from this stall - The Soap Mill - so we just had to buy some soaps didn't we?!


Shame you can't smell things over the internet!

Finally, this was the stall that my daughter couldn't wait to get to - she literally dragged me across the square to get to it! We had a nice chat and bought a pencil case. My daughter is really pleased with the fact that hers will be different to anyone else's at school - a girl after my own heart!! Do have a look at
Nanette Regan - her products are really unique and great quality!


Lovely bright fabrics by Nanette Regan

 We met so many lovely stallholders - all of them were so friendly and chatty, it made it a lovely morning for us all so thank you!

We've got a few more days in Jersey, so hopefully there will be some sunshine and days on the beach. Then it's back home, and back to work - but don't worry, I have brought my knitting/crochet with me so hopefully there will be something of my own making to share next time :)

Don't forget to visit 1st Unique Gifts to see what the other Handmade Mondayers have been up to :)


Happy Bank Holiday! x

Handmade Monday No.13

This week's post is going to be short and sweet - mainly because I've been out today at a craft fair and it's getting late!

Firstly, many thanks again to Wendy at 1st Unique Gifts for hosting this again - do have a look at the other entries, there is always something lovely to look at :)

Today I've been at a local craft fair at Aston Marina which is a lovely place for a short walk and nice meal or coffee. They had a small craft marquee and I was lucky enough to be given a spot in one of their 'cedar huts' - so here's my little setup.

It's not a great photo - just a quick one that I grabbed while no-one was in the way! It was a lovely, sunny day and it was nice to hear peoples' comments and feedback.

Here is the cushion that I ordered from Made By Emma for my parents' Ruby Anniversary - I took the children down to Bedford to see them on Easter Saturday and we gave them the cushion (better late than never because I didn't order it until after their anniversary!!). They were thrilled with it!

I've also been busy crocheting - I made these little baby 'pumps', and then Emma (as in 'Made By Emma') promptly bought them for a friend before I could take a decent photo - so I grabbed them back and quickly snapped them on my phone. They are so sweet and made from a cotton/acrylic mix yarn, so nice and cool but also washable. I will get some listed on my website or Folksy shop when I get the chance!

Crochet baby pumps

I also had an order for these cute bootees from my Giftwrapped & Gorgeous store which was an unexpected surprise since it's been rather neglected lately!

Finally, I have made a start on the sock monster I mentioned last time - I took the children to a wool shop and they chose some wool each. I'm amazed they agreed to come along since I can spend literally hours in there! My son chose some lovely bright, colourful wool - and here's his monster so far....

I know it looks like a big, baggy sock at the moment but I will try and photo it as it progresses, so you can see it take shape. My son is very excited, and keeps asking me when it will be finished - as if I need an excuse to knit!

That's it for now - definitely past my bedtime! Hope you've all had a lovely Easter x