Monthly Archives: October 2011
Craft & Gift Fair
Phew… I was glad to be back at home after a long day at the Craft & Gift Fair at the Benn Hall in Rugby yesterday. It was a great day! It had been a few months since my last fair so it was good to get back into it again. I planned to arrive early to leave plenty of time to set up my stall, but I still didn’t manage to finish setting up on time as usual, I think I’ve definitely got too much stuff!
The ceramic garlands hanging across the display stand above were changing and being replaced all day as they were selling well.
It was great to see some friendly faces and to chat with some of the other stall holders. It was also nice to see so many returning customers from the past 2 years, and to have people recognising my work. I love it when people spend ages looking at everything and find it difficult deciding what to buy!
I found some space on my stall to display a few of my new framed ceramic art pieces, and this large framed heart below received a lot of ‘ooh’s’ and ‘ahhs’.
I was really pleased to sell my first ever mini ceramic art with an easel as this was the first one I’ve sold at a craft fair, the rest have all been online or through shops.
If you read one of my previous posts last week about displaying Christmas decorations, I decided to use both the little artificial Christmas tree and also the bronze stand to hang my decorations from. I found that both display methods worked well and the Christmas puds were a favourite.
Plant markers were also a favourite item yesterday, with plenty of people buying them as Christmas gifts for friends and family. The publication of the markers in Amateur Gardening magazine featured as ‘Best Buy’ helped them sell well too 
Heart dishes are at the top of the making list for this week as I almost sold out yesterday. Thank you to the lovely lady who bought a total of 4 different bowls, a set of plant markers and also some coasters! Overall I was pleased to sell a mixture of all items, with bowls being the most popular.
It will be a busy week in the workshop this week! I’m slowly beginning to prepare for my next fair at the end of November, although I’ll only be having one table – I don’t know how I’ll manage!
British Summertime Ends…
Don’t forget to turn your watches and clocks back an hour tonight, and enjoy the extra hour in bed in the morning!
NEW Christmas shop…
The Christmas section on my website was finally launched last week…
Add a handmade festive touch to your home this Christmas! Choose from snowflakes, Christmas puddings, stars, ceramic trees, festive plaques and other hanging decorations.
I found this mini artificial Christmas tree to try out hanging some of my decorations. I’m not sure if they look too big as the tree is only small, but I’ll be taking the tree to some Christmas craft fairs to decorate my table. I think I’ll decide at the time whether or not to hang the decorations from it!
I’ve also got this bronze tree stand which I love. I’ll be using this at craft fairs too, it comes in very handy and looks better showing some of the decorations hanging up rather than all flat on the table.
My next fair is the Craft & Gift Fair this Sunday 30th Oct at the Benn Hall in Rugby, Warwickshire. It would be great to see you if you are out and about – Don’t forget to come and say hi, and find out how I end up displaying my Christmas decorations!
NEW Framed Ceramic Art
Brand new to my website this week!
You can now enjoy some of my ceramic designs framed and hung on a wall. These limited edition art pieces are all one-offs, and like the rest of my work, no two pieces are ever the same.
View the full collection here.
I would love to hear your thoughts!
Sloe Gin & Raspberry Vodka Update
A couple of weeks ago I made my first ever batch of sloe gin and raspberry vodka. You might remember my post about finding the sloes that I used – they had been stored in the freezer for a couple of weeks before I put them to use.
Above you will see everything you need for these simple recipes. If you are going to try making your own, be sure to sterilise the jars or containers that you are going to store the liquids in to prevent the fruit from rotting. You can do this by thoroughly washing the jars inside and out, and then putting them in a hot even for about 5 minutes until hot.
When the jars have cooled down, the sloes need to be individually pricked using a cocktail stick (this is quite a tedious process!), and then placed inside with the sugar and gin. The same goes for raspberry vodka although the raspberries do not need pricking. I also added a touch of vanilla essence to the sloe gin for some extra flavour. The liquids need to be shaken every day for a couple of weeks, and then left in a dark place and shaken once a month. They should be ready after at least 3 months of fermenting, however leaving them longer will make them tastier!
The raspberries looked so vibrant once placed into the vodka!
You will notice a slight colour change after a few days, and they will continue to grow darker and darker…
It looks like I’m starting my own brewery at home! I’m also trying some Skittles vodka, which is 1 litre of vodka mixed with 2 big bags of Skittles (with the tangy green ones removed!), and left to colour for a few weeks. Hopefully these will be ready just in time for Christmas. Happy experimenting!
Buttons Galore
At craft fairs I get a lot of people rummaging through my basket of ceramic buttons, looking for the perfect sizes, shapes and colours. I enjoy asking people what they are going to use the buttons for and many responses have related to sewing onto bags and cushions as decorative accessories.
Some people have said they are going to use them to jazz up a cardigan or jumper, and others find my buttons useful within their own craft projects. What would you use them for?
You will find my current collection of buttons available in the Accessories section of my website.
Autumn Selection
Since the strange but appreciated warm weather last week, there is definitely a chill in the air this week. The wind has also picked up today, with lots of orange and yellow leaves falling from the trees and crunching beneath our feet. With autumn in mind, here’s a collection of seasonal items that can all be found in my shop. Enjoy!
Here, There, and Everywhere…
This week I’ve received various images of my products out and about, so I thought I would share them with you. The image above was sent to me by a lovely customer from Tickled Pink Crafts – (check out their website for unique handmade jewellery, cards and accessories). I love the colour of this beautiful dresser, can you spot my green heart bowl at the top?
Yesterday was the launch of the Networking Mummies Business Fair in Bournemouth, where The Light Direction exhibited a selection of my Official Merchandise pieces for the branded book. How exciting! The full range of my ‘The Light Direction’ collection can be found here.
I also had some great news from Swanky Maison yesterday – various pieces of my work have been featured in their new gift guides. You will find my ‘Merry Christmas’ ceramic plaque on the last page of their Christmas Decorations Guide.
And also in the new Gift Guide by Swanky Maison, you will find my heart coasters in the ‘Heartfelt Gifts’ section on page 15, and my ceramic plant markers in the ‘Gifts For Gardeners’ section on page 18. Have a look through both guides for lots of truly unique and beautiful handmade gifts!
Sloes & The Countryside
I’ve been enjoying a lot of the local countryside recently, and have found long walks in the fresh air a good way to clear my head. The gorgeous weather and beautiful blue skies over the past week has helped very much too!
Last year I wanted to make my own sloe gin using this recipe, but I never got round to it. This year, luckily enough whilst out enjoying the countryside I found a few trees with sloes on them. I managed to pick a small handful but it wasn’t enough, I think other people had beaten me to it! Then the next time I was out walking I purposely tried a different place to look for sloes, and I was suddenly in sloe heaven!
It was like finding treasure, they were everywhere… so I managed to pick a huge carrier bag full, and now probably have too many. The sloes are currently in the freezer, as you are supposed to wait until after the first frost before they are picked. I’m going to make sloe gin and also sloe vodka with this big batch of sloes!
Hopefully they will be ready just in time for Christmas. Can’t wait to try them!
