After School Tea Party...

 Last Week's Post School TEA PARTY

no need for an excuse - it's a 'just because' party

and we invited Grandma and Grandad too....

 I don't reeecccaaallll inviting the dog.

But he seems to have found himself a comfortable seat at the table.

 mmmm, tea and cake.

Sweeties and pretty china.

Fresh tealeaves and candles for fun

 And a *new* Sweetie Wreath in the GingerBread World Christams Collection.

 And i sold some more GIANT Lime Wreaths!

Sooo cool.

I have just made a new version of this Cath Kidston Christmas Butnting with Fresh Aqua Stripes to replace the traditional green spot.

Peoples: the sun is apparantly gonna shine this week...

Go Make Hay!!!! xxx

Kokka Matroyshka Fabric *new*

 To LIVE for fabric - in 2 different colourways. Pink and Linen.

Cotton Japanese imported fabric with the prettiest wee Babushka dolls on.

It is a heavier cotton, more like interior weight fabric but not quite.

 I have such a long list of things to make with this fabric - because they are such small dolls they will suit so many projects.... covering buttons, making bunting, cushions....

*please Lord, a few more hours in my day, tis all i ask for*

see all my fabrics in http://www.lovepaperfish.com/

 A random bag of Shank buttons to go in the ETSY BigFish shop. These are a rare lot so get them now if you need them. If not, ignore me.

 There are also the last packs of the CATH KIDSTON fabric stacks left in the LovePaperFish store.

Great value and awesome for making Summer Bunting with or smaller projects for your home.

And... there are 6 bags of Felt Scrap Bags going into the ETSY FuzzyFish shop.

Bargain priced at £2.50.

Mixed scraps but quite large this time - at least 5inch squares for most pieces.

Just having a tidy up and a clear out here.

Don't forget to look out for CraftSeller Magazine too!

*NEW* Cath Kidston Fabric Pack

 So.... for the Fans of Cath Kidston and her amazing fabrics:

A pack of 5 large sheets Double Weave Cotton.

1 Cherry, 1 White Bird, 2 Florals and a Stone spot - all of these are my Favourites. Lord knows why i am selling them on!

 only available in the FABRICS section at:

http://www.lovepaperfish.com/

my lovely store for buttons & bits that seems to be an endless list of updating and tweaking.

 In my http://paperfish.etsy.com/ store i have been listing these very cute

Button Tag Packs!

 Weeny Button Tags in packs of 5 that make awesome little gift tags for childrens gifts or to stick on a bottle of wine for a host gift. Also great to pop in party bags as favours for the more grown-up party bags.

 I have been making lots of Greetings Cards which has been great as i never get a chance to work with paper and fabric. I love how every card can be different and it doesn't matter. The freedom to make what i want, instead of stuff in 'batches'

 I love imagining 'who' will receive the cards and whether or not they like them.

It makes me feel proud. And it's always nice to receive a card from a friend.

 Tags lying all over, drying out...

They look so funny, like they are breeding at an alarming rate!

I have been doing very little of late, except go Running, Weight Training and Crafting.

Although i did go and see HANNA at the cinema the other day.

have you seen it advertised?

Good for those of us who are interested in Children and the innocence of children and childhood - that great painful chasm between the innocence and adolesence.

Good film but a 12A??? it was a bit Gory....

Maybe i'm a wimp? (But oooohh, Eric Banna...)

x

Belated Royal Crafting

 Belated crafty greetings re: The Royal Wedding!

Due to my Broken technology i did not have the chance to show you the latest sessions and creativities from our CRAFT CAFE!!

So here is a whistle stop tour of my gorgeously talented bunch of 'Littlees' and what we made a week before the REAL wedding happend.

 In the top picture you can see, we made our very own Kate and Will wedding puppets and popped then on sticks. Very satisfying.

Then there was the sewing table and we decided to make BookMarks with felt and Buttons.... 'marking' the occasion...! Some kids did the most amazing sewing and i think they felt a bit chuffed with themselves.

 The EVER popular Junk Table - involving boxes and cardboard and staplers and paint. The kids FLOCK to this giant table, for obvious reasons. The parents curse my name as they stagger home with sticky painty castles and the such....

 Royal Bunting - these were awesome. I was struggling to make these as a 'demo',  as i had the 'concept' but my creative head was stuck in my own 'sewing fabric pennants' - no need to worry, the children had so many cool ideas and their bunting was superb.

 "Hello Bride Kate" (presumably made by Ella?) you look better here than you did on the day! If only you had let us design your dress!?

 Cake.

Naturally.

We neeeeeed sustaining for the 2 hours.

 Quick stall set up for crafty pocket money and mums who also love the handmade / crafty scene.

It is always a bit of a 'throw it on the table' type stall on these occasions.

 *whimsical longing for a real shop, where i can put together real displays*

 Then there is me. Tired. Satisfied. Had great fun but glad it's over now.

A tremendous amount of work goes into the setting up and clearing up! of these events.

Thank goodness for friends and family.

Long live the King!

Quick Christmas / Party Garlands.... to make!

 One of the lovely things about this quick and easy garland is, you can make it as a family. Anything that gets cut up and can fit through a sewing machine, can be sewn into this garland.

Even fat handed burly men can join in this activity!

Just cut up any scraps you have around: Felt, fabrics, ribbons, lace.... i tied a few bells onto ribbons to add to the pile of scraps.

 I pre-iron my shop bought Bias Bind and then just keep adding random additions to the bind - with a small gap between each. The gap doesn't have to be uniform at all....nothing about this garland needs to be uniform or precise. It is probably best if you just allow your children to hand you whatever they feel should go on next as that childhood chaos is usually more creative than our own adult restrictiveness. 

 I measured this length to fit a particular space i had in mund for my home festivities but you can just make it any length and hang it where you feel it fits.

Also - you can colour theme it, if you are having a special 'colour theme' Xmas?

I made this garland with anything i had in my studio and i have since decided to save it for a Spring Party. And, now i know this garland works and looks ace, i am making red and white for my Christmas Dining Area.

 It is a poor photo - i was too eager to show you how it looked to wait for better light. But.... i love it!

You can buy awesome handmade Bias from here

I have used this for another project and i love it.

 I also plan to stock a little bit of Bias in BigFish - but not much and not as lovely as the above stuff.

 NeedleBooks are being replenished and i hope to have a big fat stack of new designs ready for January. Feel free to suggest any designs that you think would be popular. I tend to go all girly and Matroyshka-like... i need to break habits for 2011.

 And Fabric Yearning, mmmm....

Loving the Cath Kidston stash *strokes it* gorgeous plans for some huge floor cushions for my daughters bedroom... some bunting.... maybe some bags.....

I am full of ideas and inspiration for 2011.

I have loved the Christmas Retail rush (now it is over for me) sold out of most decorations and Christmas Bunting.  Just enough time to sew some awesome gifts for my family.

No rest for the (super) wicked xxx

make a garland.....!

Craft Exhibition - Boddington, South Northants

As promised, i took a few photos of my display at the Art & Craft exhibition over the weekend.

It was a really long weekend - 10am till 4pm on both days, which is exhausting but it means i can put up a really nice display... which i enjoy!

The above 2 are quilts that i have made recently. The floral extravaganza is made from 14 different Cath Kidston fabrics. It is available in PaperFish.etsy.com and will be in my *new* shop http://www.lovepaperfish.com/

The animal baby boy Cot Quilt was a real success.

On the wall at the back here - i displayed the quilt i am currently making for my daughter. I had alot of nice comments and chats with craft and fabric fans - about colour choices and getting projects 'finished'!

I used lots of my vintage homewares and a pot of yellow Gerberas to help make my display stand ZING!

These are also new... The above are 12 scallop pennants i call "Artisan Bunting" with each scallop a different mix of linens with hand embroidered and machine stitched embellishments. These were really popular and i have plans to make many more. They are designed for the grown-up bunting and craft lover, to hang on shelves or on a mantlepiece. I am so proud of these and can't wait to develop this idea.

I hung mixed bunting all across the ehibition room too. It was a real 'country fair' english shabby feel and the reactions from the public was so much fun. Sometimes when i sit and 'make' in isolation i worry that people won't enjoy the same things that i do. It is a great feeling to get positive reactions and sales. Also to chat with people who always supply me with new ideas (Thanks Juliet for the Pockets Thing!) 

Vintage suitcases to add height and interest and because i love them and because i can carry my products easily in suitcases. I sold many lavender cushions which was such a compliment.

I also put out books and magazines and freebies on the stall to help engage people in conversation aswell as set 'the scene'..... i even sold some Christmas Decorations this weekend! i apologised for my prematurity but customers were easy to forgive me and liked to see what new Christmas 2010 stock is on it's way.....

Mini Lavender and Clove cushions with off-cuts of Cath Kidston fabrics... the smell!

And i had a small area to sell some supplies were i put a portfolio of me and my work and also displayed my sketch book and all the craft artciles i have written.
All in all it was fun. I took some money and people loved their 'finds'. I chatted much about sewing and crafts and patchwork and .... ahhh, so much other stuff.
Thanks for looking - hope it inspires you a bit xxx

Here's an idea for Summer Holiday Fun or Home Educating Families...

Hire a local Village Hall / Community Centre - with an enclosed outside space is ideal. If the weather is really hot, consider putting up one of those dead simple and cheapo Marquees... to provide a bit of well needed shade. This advice is, of course, 'rich' as i was the only person today who managed to badly sunburn themselves.

And ask a few families to all chip in with the Hall cost and with the activities.

It might sound strange but you don't want 'too many' families as it can get a little bit manic and hectic. We do this every week and we have just 4 families with 8 children bewteen us. they are quite.... erm,,,,, LOUD! so we feel 8 children is enough (let alone the parents!)

I took a tray of pre-baked cakes for all the children to join and and decorate. Take some food colouring, a few packets of sweets and raisins, icing sugar, spoons - all that jazz - and that is snacking sorted.

If there is an adult who says they are not 'crafty' (is there such a thing?) then put them in charge of bringing all tea / coffee / drinks and milk to sustain the adults and children.

Then you set up several diffrent tables with the different activities on... The children can dip in and out of activities and bewteen playing as they want to. Each adult can bring something different to do. And that way, ideas and cost are spread pretty evenly.

Today, we decorated cakes.

And we did Marble Inking! We set up a long washing line to hang up our pictures. This was one of the major advantages to the gorgeous weather and crafting outside.

Somebody bought a big box of toys - somebody bought a big tub of Dressing-Up clothes - and I painted the Children's Faces as Dalmations and Pussy Cats....

Not that i'm telling you how to parent / play with your brood - heaven forbid! But this Weekly Play Club keeps our hard working group of Mums, a little bit saner. And it occured to me, if other parents booked a hall space in the Summer Hols, they could experience the fun we have? And it is surprising the skills and activities other parents have hidden.

Enjoy your kids.

Enjoy the Weather.

Enjoy life xxx