Well Phew! I have managed to finish off my Christmas shopping. And how better to complete my Christmas present purchases, than by browsing a lovely Christmassy Craft Fair. The venue was Holmes Mill , a former textile Mill in Clitheroe which has been transformed into a contemporary yet rustic food, drink and leisure space. Crafty Vintage Fairs are renowned for their quirky crafts and collectables and the stall-holders did not disappoint. Here are only a small selection of the gorgeous wares that I came across.
I couldn’t resist buying a pretty pocket mirror from Kat pearson Designs . Purrfect gifts for the crazy cat ladies amongst us. 🙂
Cacti make wonderful Christmas gifts don’t you think. I love these festive succulents and the stall looks so fetching. For more information on Chris and Judith’s bespoke vintage planters, email them at info@gardendesigner.co.uk
I had never seen Typewriter Art before so I was surprised that these quirky illustrations were actually done on a typewriter ! This stall is called Oi Doris. 🙂
Ida & Ruby make these darling Top Knot Baby Hats and I couldn’t resist picking one up for a friend. Look out for them on facebook and instagram.
I love the Golden Syrup Tin Candles on this cute stall. Little Tree Crafts make lots of cute and quirky bits & pieces that are ideal stocking fillers.
.And Golly Goshingtons ( I love that name) sold ‘Just Gorgeous Stuff’. I found an unusual candle in the shape of a white stags head. 🙂 Their email is gollygoshingtons@yahoo.com
Hmmmm What should I call him?
Have you been to a Christmas Craft fair this year?
October must have been the fastest month ever! Changing colours but not overly cool weather….just yet. This month I have been lucky enough to meet up with a few friends.:) Two Mummy friends and I have decided that sneaking out for a couple of cocktails once a month is going to be a thing! But for now here is some more of what I have enjoyed about October….
Attention! This is a good Book!
Books ~ At the beginning of the year I challenged myself to read at least one book a month…..and I am doing ok with that! On my GoodReads bookshelf in October I have completed Meg Rosoff’s Dystopian novel How I Live Now about a prickly fifteen year old who travels from NY to stay with her bohemian English Aunt and Countryside cousins. When War breaks out and the Aunt( a peace envoy) is stranded abroad ,the children are left to their own devices. A strange combination of the Famous Five meets I Am Legend ( without the Vampires !) this is a powerfully emotive coming of age tale.
I’m currently enjoying Attention All Shipping: A Journey Round The Shipping Forecast by Charlie Connelly which is basically one man’s attempt to visit all those bizarrely familiar names mentioned in Radio Four’s now iconic Shipping Forecast. To be honest I haven’t heard it since my childhood but somewhere in my distant memory I recall Dogger and Fitzroy and German Bite. Connelly proves to be an amusing guide digging up tons of quirky facts on his travels.
Elementary My Dear Watson.
On the Box and Box Sets ~ Current faves this month. 🙂
Homes by the Sea. Channel 4. Lusting after beautiful homes on our stunning coastline.
The Big Bang Theory.E4.Our fave nerds are back after their mid season break.
River.BBC One.John River is a brilliant detective.He sees dead people.
Alexander Armstrong in the Land of the Midnight Sun.ITV. My fave game show presenter journeys halfway around the Arctic Circle and meets some extraordinary people along the way. And he gets to see the Northern Lights.Twice! Jealous much..
Downton Abbey.ITV. Hoping for so many Happy Endings in this last series. Hope there is still a Christmas Special.
Jekyll and Hyde.ITV.Only seen the first episode but already looking forward to how Robert Jekyll ( descendant of the original Dr Jekyll) manages the horrifying family curse.
Elementary. Season Two. I adore our Sherlock of course but the US version is a great show in its own right. I love that the characters are turned on their heads.A female Dr.Watson for example.
True Detective. Season One. Living up to expectations…though a little scary to watch for people like me, who cower behind cushions.
Goodies from Scotland.
Foodie Penpals. This month I sent some goodies to Anne in France.You can read her lovely post about what she got here. .Meanwhile I recieved the above asortment from Aimee in Scotland.:) She sent me some local delicacies including tablet ( fudge) and Selkirk Bannock ( fruit bread) as well as refreshing Tetley tropical flavoured green teabags, a very handy chicken curry mix and a box of yummy cheese biscuits. If you fancy joining in with the Foodie Fun next month head on over to thisisrocksalt.com and sign up.:)
Tweet Tweet.
Whalley Craft Fair. I haven’t quite got my teacup candle making mojo back yet but I do enjoy sharing a stall occasionally with the ever so talented Jo ofJo jangles bizzare bazaar .This lady has an eye for finding vintage treasures and she’s great at creating pretty bags and aprons from upcycled fabrics.Her sweet knitted robin looks perfect resting on an Ivy teacup candle don’t you think.:)
The grounds of Brougham Hall.
Door Knockers and Afternoon Tea. Last weekend our friend B booked Afternoon tea at The inn On The Lake in Glenridding. True to its name this attractive hotel has stunning vistas of Ullswater, the Lake District’s second largest lake. Before that though we dropped in at Brougham Hall near Penrith. This restoration project is free to enter but donations are appreciated. The Hall is famous for its rather magnificent bronze Door Knocker and its grounds are supposedly haunted by fighting soldiers. Beatrix Potter was a frequent visitor to Brougham ( her brother in law was rector here) and she gave a member of the Brougham family a signed copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Knock Knock.
There is a cafe and several craft workshops in the grounds including Gwen Bainbridge Ceramics and I treated myself to a beautiful 1920’s style brooch like the ones below. 🙂
Marvelous Miniatures.The Inn at the Lake.
Afterwards we headed to Glenridding and the banks of Ullswater for our Afternoon Tea.:) A celebration of sorts ( B’s hubby’s Birthday was earlier in the month and mines in November), the supburb selection of sandwiches,pies,dainty cakes and scones with jam and clotted cream came served on a three tier cake stand. There was so much to eat we had to take home doggy bags.Tea and coffee refills were plentiful too. 🙂 Maybe the best thing about this Afternoon Tea though is the gorgeous location. Served inside the Orangery Conservatory with breathtaking views of Ullswater, we spotted buzzards hovering over its calm waters as we ate.
Tuck in. 🙂Evening falls over Ullswater.
Hope you had a great month, whatever you got up to…..:)
Here I list five things I have enjoyed / appreciated over the last seven days. My Thursday Favourites. 🙂
It was my nephew’s sixth birthday at the wknd. I can’t believe he is 6 already ! Adore my niece and nephew. 🙂 He has totally impressed me by giving up sweets for lent too……and sticking to it. Way to go Roman!
My facebook feed is always full of pics of our friends Irish Terrier Digger. He must be the most photographed and photogenic dog in the world. Here he is all dressed up for st Paddys day on Monday. Very Cute!
Did my first Craft Fair of the year at the wknd , taking my teacups and other bits and bobs to the Artisan Market in Clitheroe. Really enjoyed it and got to buy lots of prezzies for upcoming birthdays, Mothers day etc. Fairs are fab places for purchasing unique gifts I always find. 🙂
Loving loving Audrey Hepburn on Pinterest and i’m delighted that i finally managed to post her Filmography on my little blog. 🙂
Which leads me neatly on to this Eurostar advert for Paris ( Audrey made lots of movies in The City of Light ) that apparently is five months old now, but I’ve only just clocked it. Showing the Quirky side to the French Capital, I find myself slightly in love with the taxidermy museum featured at the end.
I have a week off work ( hurrah!) so I thought I had better crack on with sorting out my teacups. I have been having a bit of a craft fair hiatus recently ~ partly because January and February can be a wee bit quiet for craft fair folk anyway and partly because my teacup collection has been spiralling
a little out of control in the spare room. I’m really lucky that sometimes my friends and family hunt me out teacups too. And people have even been known to leave carrier bags of crockery on my doorstep. Yes I must be a crazy teacup lady!
As much as I appreciate their generousity , sometimes the teacups are not ones I would have chosen myself. And If I don’t take a shine to them I find myself losing the passion to make them into candles for my stall. I know ,I know , I sound a right ungreatful so and so don’t I…… my guilty consience has not stopped me from filling four carrier bags full for the charity shop though! Pretty Teacups.:)
I still have plenty left to turn into pretty candles and trinket stands, don’t you worry. I thought I would try out making some coloured teacup candles for a change. Don’t you think they will make perfect Valentines or Mothers Day Gifts.:)
The pink ones are red berry scented.:)
If you would like to know how to make teacup candles check out my Mini tutorial 🙂 in an older post.
ps ~ I will still be genuinely pleased if I find any teacups on my doorstep.:-D
I am taking inspiration from a lovely blog I have recently started following for this post. Bev from Confuzzledom ( sorry my link not working at mo 😦 ) wrote a great blog entry about all the highlights of her 2013. While I can’t pretend my year has been as well traveled or exciting as Bevs, I thought It would be nice to post a pic ( or two) of something I enjoyed each month. So here is what happened to me in 2013. 🙂
Here is a pic from January. Wil and I had a fab day out in Keswick. It is one of our fave places to visit as there are lots of outdoorsy shops for Wil and really gorgeous scenery.
Derwentwater.
In February I started doing my craft fairs again. I make teacup candles and I decided to experiment with making tea cup pincushions. Good old YouTube. 🙂
Teacup Pin Cushions. 🙂
In March my friend Lisa and I did a craft fair at a steam punk inspired Mad Hatters Tea Dance. A bit of a mouthful! Anyway we really enjoyed it and loved the steam punks costumes.
Mad Hatters.Steam Punks.
In April I can’t remember much in particular happening but here is a picture of Jake our labrador taking himself for a walk. 🙂
Jakey.
In May I felt very proud of myself for completing the Blog Every Day In May challenge set up by Elizabeth at Rosalilium I found it pretty hard work posting something every single day but amazingly I managed to do it. Hurrah ! I also took my first ever picture of a heron which was busy fishing in the river ribble.
In June we went to Hadrian’s Wall for the first time ever which wasn’t exactly the Great Wall of China but was impressive all the same. My friend Jo celebrated her birthday with a picnic bench afternoon tea which was fabulous. As you know I love cake ( a little to much ! ).
In July we went camping in the Yorkshire Dales with our dooog. 🙂
An extra guest for dinner.Messing about in the river. Can you spot Jake!
In August I had a day out at the seaside with my good friend Becky and her family and I also enjoyed the local food festival in my home town.
Beach Huts 🙂 St Anne’sMy God daughter enjoying the festival. 🙂
September was a great month! My old school friend Arwen got married and I was a bridesmaid which was such an honor. A couple of days after Wil and I jetted off on holiday to Agadir in Morocco.
Arwen and I.Spices in Morocco.
Had an amazing day out with my niece and nephew at The Forbidden Corner in October. If you ever fancy somewhere a wee bit different to take the kids this place might just be it. 🙂
Not your typical tree. The Forbidden Corner.
In November I celebrated my big 4 0. Yep i’m now forty which i’m still getting used to. Luckily my friends and family and Wil really made it amazing. Turning 40 was actually a great experience. I’m sure being 40 will be too……….
My sister and I before the guests arrived at my very merry unbirthday party.Merry Christmas!
2013 has been a pretty good year with family and friends celebrating Big Birthdays, Engagements and Weddings. We have had heartbreak in the form of our OAPs ( OLd Age Pets), we had to say goodbye to my dear little cat Tibbs and Jake our black lab has ailing health. 😦 We did manage to give a home to a mischeivious kitty called Slinky though, who is at this moment pouncing on my feet under the duvet wanting to be fed. I had better get up before they become breakfast!
Slinky Malinki enjoying reading about her namesake. 🙂
When Janet from the blog Words That Can Only Be Your Own posted about the annual Thrifty Christmas Gift Swap she started last year , I couldn’t wait to sign up. It sounds such a fun and festive idea. I knew I would enjoy putting a box together for my recipiant Kate ,who is a new Mum with a love of vintage and reading among her interests. Janet asks that your box should be all about hand made and thrifty finds and the suggested price be around the £12 mark. I couldn’t wait to get started. 🙂
I’m not terribly good at the whole handmade malarky but as I frequent the odd craft and vintage fair with my Mrs Tibbs Teacups stall , I am in a good position to hunt down some pretty things. 🙂 Here is what I put in Kates box.
A Christmas Spice fragranced expresso cup candle. I found a set of two mustard expresso cups at a vintage fair and thought they would make adorable candles. I think it has a cozy retro look.
A festive felt Christmas Pud brooch made by the lovely ladies at Juniper Spools . I had to purchase myself one too…..they are so cute.
A darling dove decoration, perfect for the tree. My friend Lisa has a tile company Tile Productions and makes gorgeous tags and coasters with any spare material left over.
A copy of Truman Capote’s ‘ Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ which I found in a second hand book shop.I loved the film starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. It does differ from the book though…so I would love to know how Kate finds it.
A pretty bow brooch pinned to a Bo Peep playing card. I like to sell vintage brooches atached to these nursery rhyme cards as they’re quirkiness always attracts attention.:)
I wrapped everything up in this cute Christmas paper and sent it off in a well wrapped shoe box. The lovely Stag card is handmade by Claire at http://www.folksy.com/shops/realicoul/
My parcel has arrived too. I am very very tempted to open it but I have been very good and placed it under the tree. Can’t wait for Christmas Day.:)
I will of course do a follow up post on the contents of my present then.:)
On Saturday I spent a good few hours perusing the treasures at a Crafty Vintage event at the lovely Backridge Farm near Waddington in the rural ribble valley. The farm has its own cozy restaurant and numerous local independant shops housed in its outbuildings. An old barn brimmed full of vintage and home made delights complimented the atmosphere perfectly.
Llamas grazing in one of the fields at Backridge. 🙂
I actually got organised this wknd and started my Christmas Present Shopping. I know its early but……..what better place to start!!
I found gorgeous gifts from Little Owl by Hazel Lyon, Nancys Craft Boutique and Realicoul who all had delightful stalls at the fair.:)
So I rescued these kittens ~ purrfect prezzies from Nancys Craft Boutique.
And of course I had to treat myself a little bit too. Two very chic little handbags for £5…….. just made to dance round. Tee Hee 🙂
Have you made a start on your Xmas shopping yet ? X
At the weekend my friend Lisa and I shared a stall in the craft tent at Gargrave Show. I think our products complimented each others very well and of course it was nice to have such lovely company. 🙂 Lisa and her partner Mark own a bespoke tile shop in Clitheroe Tile Productions and make beautiful ceramic tags, coasters, buttons etc with the left over materials. And I turn vintage teacups I source from charity shops and jumble sales into scented candles, pin cushions and trinket stands. We are neither of us experts at running a stall but here are a few tips we have learned from our own experiences and other stall holders.
Research the fair you would like to do. Visit the fair and talk to the stall holders. Is it busy?, is it well organized?, Is there a good atmosphere?
Check if tables and chairs are provided. They usually are but not always. If not a wallpaper table and folding chairs will suffice. Make sure you bring a table cloth to cover the table.
Lisa uses wooden boards with hooks to display her ceramic tags.
Don’t forget your float.Not everyone will have the correct change.
Bring bags and bubble wrap You can order both quite cheaply online. Quite often I recycle gift bags and carrier bags.
I have attached these pretty brooches to vintage playing cards.
Print out business cards. with your website and contact details on. Put them on your stall and bob them in the bags too.
Price items up clearly. I usually dot cards with prices on around the stall.
The lovely ladies from Rhubarb and Cider display their cute birdies on a makeshift tree.
Display everything to its best advantage. You can use crates and boxes to add height and depth. And show off your wares! I use pretty vintage china to display the vintage brooches I sell.
Be Chatty.:) Engage with potential customers and Interact with the other stall holders.Its a good way of learning about other craft fairs and you might make some new friends too. 😀
Lisa uses a cake stand to display her lovely ceramic brooches.And here’s a view of the showground with a couple of shire horses thrown in. 🙂
Hope these tips will help anyone who is considering doing a stall at a craft fair.X
At the weekend I took my teacup candle stall to the Lets Get Crafty craft fair in Whalley. This is the main fair I do and happily I had a great day sales and fun wise. I was able to spend some of/ well ok, most of my earnings on a few lovely purchases at the fair. 🙂
View of the fair. Some of my teacup candles.
My fave stall today , Sew To SoulPolly The Vintage Caravan.
There were as usual some gorgeous stalls. And Polly The Vintage Caravan was there serving tea, coffee and scrumptious cakes in pretty vintage crockery.
Here are a few treats and gifts I was tempted by :
This colourful cat cushion from Sew To Soul makes a purrfect addition to our bedroom.
I bought some Hot Paprika Puree from The Paprika Lady to add to chilli’s and stews. Looking forward to making some tasty Goulash.
These socks and beads are from the ethical and lovely One Planet stall and are a birthday gift for a friend.
In fact Kerry who does the One Planet stall took some of my candles to sell at the One Planet shop in Accrington. 🙂
Here is my favourite and biggest purchase from the fair. I really treated myself !
Its a beautiful duck egg blue lovingly upholstered chair.Looks wonderful in my blue and white bedroom.Very Shabby Chic. Another treat from Sew To Soul
I’ve said before that craft fairs and independant shops are ideal places for buying unique and gorgeous gifts. I also discovered a newly opened shop in my home town at the weekend called Urban Sheep where I bought a pretty blue bunny pattened summer bag as a present for a friend. I am truly tempted to indulge in one for myself!
Thanks for admiring my pretty purchases. Check out your local craft fairs and independant shops. Who knows what treasures you may find. 🙂
Today I took my tea cups along to the Crafty Vintage fair at the st Marys centre in my home town of Clitheroe. Crafty Vintage fairs are held here on the last saturday of every month. Here are a few snaps I took of some treasures on sale. I ended up buying several birthday gifts and some treats for myself. Couldn’t resist. 😀
Violets.Adorable.:-)
Love these kitsch coasters by tile productions.
I definitely recommend buying presents from craft fairs as there are so many talented people creating unique and beautiful gifts.:-D
This post represents day 25 in the Rosalilium Blog Every Day In May Challenge.x
sunshine and celandines 