Season's Greetings and Good News!!!!!!

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and looking forward to a great New Year. I've got some great news......

I was contacted by Celebration Village in Manchester when they saw my JewELLs Cards and Gift Bags. It is a one stop shop for weddings and events with all the services you need under one roof. Click on the logo so you can see for yourself. 

I'll have my own page on their website soon. From January, my JewELLs Cards and Gift Bags will be a part of the service offered by Celebration Village.

My flyer (attached a piccy for you) will be in the pack that everyone coming through the door will see.....sooooooo excited as I'm also exhibiting at the Bridal Fayre at the end of February. 

I've had some pictures professionally taken for the flyer so you can at last, see what they look like

The pictures below are of some of the JewELLs Cards I've done mainly on commission. The poems I put into the cards will be done slightly different from next year as I want to make them more of a keepsake for the recipient.

Keep checking to see what they look like.....

Don't forget, JewELLs Cards are only £5 each and Gift Bags from £2 each. The jewellery is also sold separately at around £4.50 boxed.

Anyways that's my big news....will update again shortly as I'll have alot to tell you once things get going

What a buzzing weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG what a fantastic weekend!!! Absolutely buzzing and great atmosphere!!!!

It was the Christmas Tree Festival at Birtenshaw Church in Bromley Cross and was opened on the Friday night by Eagley School Choir - the church was packed and the choir were brilliant! I think I had an eyelash in my eye which was making my eyes water!

I then helped on one of the church stalls - 'find the treasure' and we sold out first! I still missed the tombola stall but managed to buy some raffle tickets. Isn't it just typical....the ticket immediately before mine won a prize and then the one immediately after!

On the Saturday was my craft fair and I cannot believe the amount of people that came in throughout the day. They paid £2 on the church door to enter the festival and then they came through to us and they were actually buying as well! it was buzzing all day....you hardly had time to get a drink because there were people around all the time. We had Christmas songs playing and then banjo man came and took over, then the CD was on again and we had another raffle. Woo hoo this time I won something! It's the taking part not what you win - lol

Normally we pack up at 3pm but we were asked to stay till 4pm and no-one started leaving until about 4.15 - what a great day!

We had friends coming round Saturday night so I only had an hour to sort myself out - had a fab time - didn't realise how late it was until the taxi turned up for them - too busy gabbing lol

We were back at the village Hall on Sunday but there were only around 10 stalls on the sunday afternoon because we had cafe tables and chairs in the middle of the hall for people to have a cup of tea & mince pie. Waiter Service no less!!!! We didn't have quite as many people through the door but again, it was never empty and we had the music on again and a violinist playing - she was great!

We should have had a piper but he cancelled at 11pm on Saturday night - that's just not on is it? So I think he's lost any future work there!

Got home at 4.45 on Sunday and Brian had my tea ready - how good is that! 

Brilliant, brilliant weekend - all the stallholders had a great time and were selling which is great for them too (obviously this is why we're doing this), but enjoying it aswell is just brilliant.

I sold a bit of everything over the weekend which was really good - JewELLs cards, gift bags, present tags, Christmas tags, bookmarks, baubles, my handcrafted pendants/chains. So pleased because now I can make more for the next craft fairs. 

I have 3 this weekend - Turton High School, Horwich RMI & the Watermillock on Sunday - busy busy.........

I have so many new designs, will get some decent photos to show you

Catch you soon.....x

Not had a craft fair for a while

Cannot believe how time has flown! It's the middle of November already and I haven't done a thing for Christmas which is really unusual for me....although working in Warrington doesn't help - not as easy to get into town - has to be the bus rather than the car but hey ho, still some good shops to mooch round!

haven't had a craft fair for a while - just the way it works out I guess. Just like buses....you don't see one for ages then you get em all coming at the same time!

Anyway, craft fair tonight at Ladybridge High School....went there in the summer and it worked out OK in the end...bit slow to start with (alot of the craft fairs are) and then picked up a bit later....let's hope we're steady all night!

Then nothing tomorrow (lie in - whoop whoop) and The Last Drop village on Sunday. here's hoping they've got all the tables in the right places this time - last month we had too many tables in one room so you couldn't even move and they blocked the main door to get in (what a good idea!!!!). No tables at all down the middle of the room and one table that looked like a couple of planks of wood had been nailed together lol. Mind you, when I asked someone to sort it, it did get sorted!

So.......next week is the Bromley Cross Village Hall Christmas Tree Festival weekend - looking forward to it! There are around 30 something Christmas trees all decorated in the church and the festival will be officially opened on Friday night around 7pm. We have singing and I'm hoping a mince pie or two as well! Also, one of the finalists for Miss Teen UK will be joining us so she'll be around to meet and greet people.

On the Saturday, it's the Craft Fair in the Village Hall and we have some of the regular stalls as well as face painting, tombola and incredible edibles.

Should be a great weekend this week and next so come along and support us!

Latest Designs

Hi Everyone

Here are a few of my latest designs.....taking them to my craft fair for the first time on Saturday so we'll see how they go. Also spent most of last night making gift tags...5 for £1.50 - took me an hour to make 5 - £1.50 an hour - slave labour lol

This is a gift bag I made for our good friend Dimitri for his 40th birthday - I think he liked the tsiparo inside! He's from Kalymnos (near Kos) hence the outline of his island

I like this one alot because I made the flowers using the big shot machine for the first time and was really pleased how it turned out

Okay, I know it's lilac but I've got to do something in my favourite colour - there's a free Christmas Tree decoration with this one

Another of my 'flower' bags and free decoration

I had to do one for the girls now didn't I?

I'll take some pictures of the tags and let you have a look - hopefully they'll all go on Saturday - they did really well on their last outing!

Take care
xx

PS I found this craft knife which is alot cheaper than I paid for mine!!!!!!
Xcelite XN-200 Medium Duty Craft Knife (Google Affiliate Ad)

Feedback on the new JewELLs Gift Bag

Canon Slade School - only there a couple of hours but amongst the stalls, there must have been around 7 card stalls and about 5 jewellery stalls.....luckily I didn't take much jewellery as I didn't have enough room on the table to show everything - you know what it's like....tables are provided but then you've only got that space to 'do your thing'

Anyways, I saw some familiar faces which was nice....Debbie from Bluebird and Bobbin, Cupcake Creationz, Fiona from C'est Chic, Margaret and Jean from my craft fair. I came across something very strange though.....why would you sell something at a loss? If it costs you £1.50 ish to make and you're selling it for £1.00 - what's the point? yes, I know all about loss leaders and having something on your stall you know you're going to make a loss with because it will attract the customers and you hope they buy something else.....

But if the majority of your crafts are sold at a loss and you openly admit you're not making any money.....am I being thick here because I don't see the point in this.....if you're doing this as a hobby then you've got to at least cover your costs - stall, materials etc

Sorry, just thought I'd run that one past you!

I got some really nice feedback on the new gift bags.....similar comments to the JewELLs cards really - aren't they lovely, it must have taken you ages, what a great idea etc etc but not many people were buying unfortunately. I did sell some of the bags, however, and had a couple of orders for some which is great!

Went to Smithills School on Saturday and that was pretty quiet but I sold a JewELLs card to the councillor who opened the Craft Fair in September - result! 

I have a free weekend this week and then quite a few fairs coming up.....won't be doing Holland Garden Centre anymore though.....not really a good atmosphere and it's the most expensive one I do AND you have to take your own table and chair etc. You're outside and freezing your b*m off every time unless the weather is kind then your feet are still cold. I asked for an inside stall only to be told - "you've no chance" - how rude! This verbal abuse continued and then my table broke - what a day!.....I've since found out I've been accused of taking away custom from there because I run my own craft fair on a completely different weekend!!!!!!!.....I've said it before and I'll say it again - there's nowt as funny as folk!

Soooooooooo, I will upload some pictures of the latest gift bags for you and would welcome any comments you have

See you soon x

New Range of Gift Bags

Drum roll................................

Introducing my new range of gift bags....all unique (of course) and hand crafted in the same style as the JewELLs Cards. I was asked to do some and sold some already..... Let me know what you think! They all have matching tags as well and at the moment I have 2 sizes - 10" x 8" and the other one slightly wider

The dog is actually a mirror (not really good enough to do your makeup of anything!)

My first Scottie dog bag - Awww

My favourite colours so of course I had to make a bag in lilacs!

My first Christmas bag

This mirrored dog is on the larger bag as it's a larger mirror - sorry about the glare!

One for the children

So there you have it...a sample of the new JewELLs Gift Bag range.....I'm at Canon Slade School, Bradshaw tomorrow night and Smithills School on Saturday so I'll let you know how I get on

Signing off for now
xxx

Pictures of Bromley Cross Village Hall Craft Fair

At long last you shout, pictures of the craft fair she's always going on about......well yes, here they are.......

This was around 9.15am and everyone's busy setting up - Artist, cupcakes, knitted toys, buttons, phoenix cards and part of the veggie stall

In the distance we have Margaret with her gift hampers, Chocolate man, to name a couple

I think the apples stole the show in this picture!

The Salad Bowl, in Horwich and the Church cake stall - on stage!

My stall and Bluebird & Bobbin - You can see some of Debbie's handmade aprons in the posh Kitchen shop in Horwich or.......come along to the next BC Village Hall Craft Fair to see them in the flesh (you know what I mean!)

Homemade jams and chutneys in the foreground - yummeeeeeee!

So there you have it........we had a full house with loads of crafters - could have done with more customers but that's the way it goes I'm afraid.....still....an enjoyable day listening to the banjo man....come along to the next one and support us crafters and the church all at the same time!

The Next Craft Fair is on Saturday 27 October and the last one this year co-incides with the Christmas Tree Festival. The festival is on the weekend of 24 November with the opening on the Friday but watch this space for further details - should be a great weekend!

A Busy Weekend Ahead

Definitely a busy weekend ahead of me this week....I have my craft fair on Saturday and we have a few new crafters, some new to craft fairs and some just new to us so new faces all round. 

We've also had to bring the stallholders from outside into the Hall because of the wonderful British weather so it will be nice and cosy in there come Saturday! We have allsorts this month - from me and my JewELLs Cards to felt items, cupcakes, veggie man, Greek Deli, paintings, brooches, knitted items, dolls, handbags, buttons, homemade chocolates, etc

And then on Sunday is the Last Drop Village Craft Fair which I help with so busy busy again....at least I can have a lie in till 7.30am each morning which is better than getting up at 6am!

If I could do this full time, wouldn't it be great but I either need to win the lottery (would I then be in this country to organise the craft fairs? I don't think so) or a fairy godmother who could finance me.....ho hum, wishful thinking!

Made some 'friendship' cards last night but my camera battery was flat so couldn't take any pictures. Will take some on Saturday so you can see the hall etc

Don't forget, you can get your cards handmade for any occasion and I will write the versus for you aswell. I've also made some wedding invitations for couples who are on a 'budget' but who would like them handmade. I went to a Wedding Fair on Sunday just to see what they were like and to see if there was a way in for the JewELLs Cards. OMG what a bunch of stuck up women! There was only one stand where the ladies made their own cards, invitations etc and they were very nice but flippin eck the prices! I know what you're saying - this is their business and they have overheads etc, well yes, I know but I'm charging less than a 1/3 of their prices and still making a little profit! The other stands were singers, cars, flowers, photography and such - very nice but the prices!!!!! What you need is a wedding fair for couples on a budget and I'm sure the people selling the services would be far nicer and more approachable and you would get more value for money.....now there's an idea! Lol - JewELLs Weddings on a budget....any takers?

Anyway, as you can imagine, we didn't stay long - one woman asked if I was the bride and when I said no, she obviously wasn't interested in talking to me - customer service? What customer service.....for all she knew, I could have been an owner/manager of a venue looking for a wedding planner to offer to my guests etc or to help organise weddings for me.....she could have potentially lost out on some money there! You should treat all your customers the same, as you don't know if one of them will be giving you that lovely big order - looks can be deceiving as I found out at Smithills School a couple of weeks ago ....a lady was looking at my JewELLs Cards and said they were lovely but she wanted to have a look round and would come back....no problem I said not really expecting another visit from her, but was pleasant and answered all her questions as you do....about 1 hour later, she returned and bought 3 Christmas JewELLs Cards and gave me a commission for a friend's Birthday....so there you have it!

So, looking forward to Saturday and we're also going to our friend's house for a meal afterwards so should be a good day!

Will update again soon
xx

Julie Hilling MP Bolton West

It was the first Food & Craft Fair for Smithills School after the summer break and Julie Hilling MP for Bolton West opened the fair, the cutting of the red tape and speech no less! 
She listened to the school band (which the proceeds of the fair go to help with trips etc) and then came round to all us crafters and had a good old natter with us.

There were quite a lot of people coming through the doors but, as usual, most were looking or buying from the food stalls, not many actually buying but, drum roll...............I sold my first lot of Christmas cards and a commission for a birthday card woo hoo!

I've put some pictures on of the event etc (I know, about time too!)

yet another photo of my card stand - note the Christmas cards lol

Yes, you guessed it, a close up of the Christmas cards - the one on the left was sold later that day!

The hubby's favourite out of all my Christmas Cards!

A, not very good picture, of Julie Hilling doing her speech

Just before she cut the ribbon

My stall was sandwiched between home made fudge and chutneys, cupcake lady opposite and lovely smelling bread stall.....I think they do it on purpose especially as I'm trying to lose weight (including the extra I put on in the 2 weeks I was away)

So, I now have a weekend off - no craft fairs, so we're taking my mum out for a meal for her birthday - Meditteranean Restaurant with a good variety of food on offer including Greek!

Will update again soon xx

Back from sunny Greece!

I bet you've been wondering what's happened, where is she? No, oh well wishful thinking on my part then!
But....if you were wondering, i've been on a wonderful 2 week holiday to Kos, Greece which was fantastic.....sun, sand, sea, s..... keep it clean it's a family show!

Apart from my holiday, what have I been up to? Oh yes, getting ready for the craft fairs coming up of course....next one is at Smithills School on Saturday 15 September and I've been preparing oh no, Christmas cards! I've got a few more to do over the next few days and then let's see how they go. I even took some JewELLs cards to Kos with me...you know just in case, and actually used 2 of them so I may be going international sooner than I thought!

I was also involved in a Victorian market before my hols and had to do the whole dressing up thing - mop hat, long dress, petticoats etc...there were only about 6 of us who actually dressed up...all the others were in ordinary clothes. It had been raining all week and even though we were under gazebos with sides, the floor was grass and soggy and my feet were wet through and cold so I'd had enough by 3pm. I'd got a special deal at the last minute and passed the details onto some of the people who have a stall at my craft fair....mmmmm I don't think they did very well over the weekend either and were joking that they'd get their revenge so I'm watching my back lol.....

Will update again soon x

Rain? What rain?

The forecast was for rain on Saturday...I think we were very lucky that it held off until around 2.30pm and then the heavens opened, it thundered and we all wondered how we were going to transport our crafts back to our cars!!! We managed it before the next downpour! phew!

There wasn't an awful lot of people coming through although I think the morning up to lunchtime seemed to be the best time.

I had craft fair 'virgins' next to me on one side and a big gap on the other - no I didn't have any garlic, well not until lunch time anyways from my sis Melanie and her pork and tzaziki butty - yum! The ladies were selling felt items and baskets of goodies as well as some dips a friend had made - I did try my hand at selling some of the dips to a customer only to be told, "I'm not going to buy any". OK then, no problem, only trying to help! I'll just stick to my cards and what I know in future lol

There were fewer stalls this month, probably because it's the holiday season (still!). I won't be at the September one because I'll be in sunny Kos celebrating my 50th birthday with friends - Danny & Michelle, Simon & Viv - can't wait! At least I'll be the one on holiday!

Back to the craft fair - sold quite a few JewELLs cards and the plain cards I've started to make...was asked for a card for a funeral - didn't have one! How can you possibly enjoy making that type of card? I would certainly have to think long and hard when writing the verse - OMG it wouldn't be the first thing I'd want to do I can tell you!

I'll put some more pictures on for you showing you the most recent cards I've made - I know, I keep forgetting....promise, will get Matt (the son) to take some for me and upload them onto the laptop so come back soon to check them out. I still have the bet on about my Christmas cards - so far hubby is winning - haven't sold any yet!!!!!!!

By for now and have a nice day!

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!

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!!!

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!

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

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........

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!

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!!