A few carrots ....

These last few weeks I have been alternating between a sort of treacely fatigue and buzzing with creative ideas.
It is true to say that the next four months will be quietly frenzied until I reach the grand finale of The Vintage & Handmade Fair in November.. the 22nd to be precise.
I know .. I know.. I promised not to become a bore about this event.. but I just can't help myself.. The days are slowly but surely ticking by and there is much to be done behind the scenes ... making stock for the fair is just one of them..
I am so thrilled by the wonderful response we have had so far and this week we have welcomed aboard two new bloggers who are coming along to sell their unique handmade creations at the fair.. Joanna from Things Handmade and Lynn from Sea Angels..
I really can't wait to see all the fine fare laid out on the day and I shall be like a cat on a hot tin roof.. wanting everyone to have a good time!

Dear Annie from A Saucerful of Secrets asked if we could do a swap last month when I visited her enchanting home and Open House exhibition in Stroud. Well.. how could I possibly refuse such an invitation...
I received my beautiful felt wall hanging from Annie last week and hung it where it will be seen frequently and by all that visit our home.. Annie is such a talented lass as you can see...


An unexpected and delightful little extra in the package was this enchanting tiny felt bird brooch ..


Annie will be at the fair selling her original and decorative felt peices and vintage textile dolls..

I thought I would dangle this carrot and a few more in front of your eyes to try and tempt you to come to the fair....
This is such a dear little 1930's child's tea set that I will be selling.. in it's original box and in mint condition..


Here are just a few of the frames that I will be bringing... some as you can see are works in progress...

And what would a fair be without the essential ingredient... cakes!!
Including some of Jayne's wonderful felt cupcake pin cushions... Very tasty!
There will a wealth of unique handmade and vintage items to buy from the collective bloggers.

So start saving those pennies and come along..

I promise to change the subject.. soon.

Seasonal disorder...

There can't be many of you.. no make that 'any' of you that find yourself singing.. "I am dreaming of a white Christmas".. in the bath in mid -July !
Since my last post about the Blogger's event that Jayne and I are putting together in November.. I have become obsessed, to put it mildly, with matters festive and Christmassy..
There is much to be done between now and then and ideas are clamouring for my attention and head space, as to what I need to make and do before the much anticipated date!
I don't wish to become a bore about this event as I know that some of you can't come because of commitments or the distance involved or just simply because it isn't your cup of tea.. but now the cogs have started whirring and preparations are well under way for our inaugural Blogger's Vintage & Handmade Fair ©.. it is very hard to think of anything else at the moment..
Gingerbread men are competing with handmade bunting in my mind .. causing me a few sleep problems and some very 'interesting' dreams when I do finally nod off.

I thought you might like to know who is definitely coming to the Blogger's Vintage & Handmade Fair © on 22nd November.. so here is the roll call..

• Jayne ~ Country Cottage Chic...
• Moi ~ Cowboys & Custard ...
• Ginny ~ The Flour Loft
• Annie ~ A Saucerful of Secrets
• Carol ~ Katherine's Dream
• Sue ~ Vintage to Victorian
• Liz ~ Pretty Practicals
• Lucy ~ Lucy Bloom
• Julia ~ Vintage Heaven
• Joanna ~ Things Handmade
• Lynn ~ Sea Angels
  

• We still have spaces for more stall holders so if you have something vintage or handmade to sell and fancy a day out with fellow bloggers then please sign up by contacting either Jayne or myself.
  

There promises to be a wonderful selection of both Vintage and unique Handmade items for sale from vintage Kitchenalia to unique felt crafted cupcakes and felted wall hangings, Linen embroidered hearts to vintage toys and ephemera and lots ,lots more... so a perfect place to find something original for Auntie Mabel's Christmas present or much more likely .. your own!
Not forgetting.... of course...that it will be the first time that all these bloggers have met up and can you imagine the chat that will evolve..over a cup of tea and some very fine homemade cakes

Please come if you can and PLEASE spread the word... it is open to all visitors with free admission .



Right that's that.... I am off to make Christmas cards now... only 156 shopping days to Christmas you know... groan!

Roll up, roll up..Vintage & Handmade Fair..

After several failed attempts over the last six months due to constant work load and ..well ... life really ....Jayne from Country Cottage Chic and I finally managed to make a date to chat over coffee last week. Jayne and I had first met last Christmas when we had a very enjoyable outing at the American Museum in Bath..
Jayne and I met up again today with a chance for me to visit her lovely country cottage which if definitely tres Chic! ..and over a delicious cup of coffee it wasn't long before our conversation turned to .. blogging of course . We both felt that a Blogger's get-together would be a wonderful occasion for kindred bloggers to meet each other and have the added opportunity of showcasing and selling the wealth of handmade arts and crafts and vintage goodies that so many of you have to offer.. Sooo... with this idea buzzing around our heads we have put the wheels in motion for a Vintage & Handmade Fair © to be held on Saturday the 22nd of November 2008 at Rangeworthy Village Hall, nr. Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire. 10 a.m - 4.00 p.m. Tables for the event are £10.00 each for the day Maximum 2 tables per person.
Free Admission
If you would like to share a table with someone then that is also a possibility..
There is plenty of parking for sellers and visitors at the hall and so no worries about traffic wardens and wheel clamping!

This event will be held exclusively for Blogging friends to come and sell their items at a Vintage and Handmade Fair and is open for all fellow bloggers and the public to come and buy and start the Christmas shopping frenzy...or just to meet up and chat and EAT CAKE!!

If you are interested in joining the throng as a seller.. or wish for more information ..please could you contact Jayne or myself by email. All are welcome but we are trying to achieve a variety of stalls so we have a good eclectic mix of Vintage goods and handmade items. We aim to advertise this in as many outlets as possible and of course the Blog world will spread the word far and wide we hope... Don't forget to put this date in your diary and we look forward to seeing you there.... Yee ha !!

Birthday boy.....

This is for my boy... my one and only beautiful child who is many miles away from me today on his fourteenth birthday...It seems so strange, so wrong that he is not here to be hugged and kissed and spoiled on this special day.. his special day...

So sending my love to you my darling boy across the waves and praying for your safe return and happy homecoming....

Happy Birthday Darling... I love you so.. Mum Xxxx

P.s I will try not to eat all the cake before you get home...

The times they are a changing....

I am having one of those weeks ...
A lot of wandering around in circles trying to find myself.. along with the elusive scissors and my reading glasses that are invariably perched on top of my head..
I am fearing that the dreaded hormones are really kicking in now and some strange force is taking over my life. I like to think that I am even - tempered person but these days I can feel positively psychotic at times provoked by the slightest thing.. reduced to tears in an instant if I feel life, inanimate objects, people are conspiring against me..All totally irrational thoughts most of the time.
It is akin to being a toddler/teenager again, feeling like I am on a runaway train.. out of control..
It must be the Dementors at work or is it something equally dark and hideous.. The Menopause..?!
Now I am slightly ill at ease writing about this subject as I know it might be considered a taboo subject by some and a real faux pas to talk of such things.... but what the heck.. I am living dangerously again and throwing caution to the wind.. all part of the condition I feel!
Hello.. hello.. is anyone there..??
If you are then I must tell you about a few of my classic A.W.O.L moments of late..
There are so many but I will spare some of my blushes and your boredom and limit it to these..
Picture the scene..
Sunday evening the telephone rings.. " Hello it's Dennis here".... me.."Oh hello Dennis how are you" not giving him a chance to answer.. " thank you so much for coming to sort out the printer, I would be lost without it".. without drawing breath I continue .... " I expect you are looking forward to the school holidays now?"..
Dennis manages to squeeze a word in with.. "Hello Mrs Chivers.. I wondered if you would like some more veg this week?"... OH ... NOT THAT DENNIS... the local organic veg supplier instead... Lots of back peddling later we establish a coherent conversation... Poor man!

Classic No: 2...
In usual altered state of consciousness in the morning.. loading the dishwasher and absentmindedly taking a bottle of yellow liquid from the cupboard under the sink.. I start to squirt what I believe to be 'Rinse Aid' into the machine.. then I realise to my horror that the rinse aid is in fact Fairy Liquid and I have filled the rinse cycle with soap.... It is still foaming 5 weeks later!!

Leaving my reading glasses on the compost bin at the end of the garden and turning the house upside down to find them...
Leaving my mobile phone on the wall outside the front door with the front door keys still in the lock....
Sending an Email to my son's tutor at school instead of my intended friend.. Goodness knows what she made of my prattle!
Oh the list goes on.. and on....

I hope I come to my senses soon..

Last but not least.. a quote found in a book...Wrinklies' Wit & Wisdom..
My grandma told me, 'The good news is, after menopause the hair on your legs gets really thin and you don't have to shave anymore. Which is great because it means that you have more time to work on your new moustache.
By Karen Haber....


OH JOY!!!