Saturday 25 July 2009

Pancakes and ankles...

Crumbs, how time flies when you're having fun!!!

Went to market again today... it was a bit slow going to start with (maybe that was because we got there about 45 minutes earlier than usual??!!) but it ended up being quite a good day, thankfully. And no rain...which is always a bonus!!! The wind really picked up this afternoon though which is a bit of a nightmare; wind and jewellery don't mix very well!! The people in the gazebo next to me were making scrumptious pancakes and their batter mix got blown over when their gazebo went for a little flying lesson...the perils of outdoor markets, hey?! Luckily no-one ended up with egg on their face ;-)

I made a few commissions while I was there today, including my first ever ankle bracelet. It did look really nice and I caught myself thinking, hmm, maybe I should make myself one... but then I thought yes, but I live in trousers and not sure I really want to draw attention to my lily-white ankles!!! So that's the end of that train of thought!

And on that bombshell....I'm off to eat my well-earned chilli!

x

P.S. I will add photos of some of the goodies I made today later , once I've taken them (I forgot to take my camera to market - d'oh!).

Tuesday 21 July 2009

Great weekend, not so great start to the week...

We had a fab weekend. We were at the Curdridge Show on Saturday which was really nice. It's the first time I've been there and it was a lovely day out (plus I saw lots of people I knew so had a good catch up!!). And we sold lots of nice things ;-)
Then we went straight to my Dad's 65th birthday party so a busy day!!

On Sunday we went over to the Isle of Wight for a very good friend's son's 1st birthday party. We haven't seen as much of each other since she moved to the Island but it was so lovely to spend time chatting, chasing the boys and eating lots of birthday cake! But talk about windy!! (The weather!). We went on the ferry so the trip over the water wasn't too bad, although Billy did shout at the top of his voice 'OH NO! WE'RE GONNA CRASH' as we left Cowes!

So...why has this week not started brilliantly? Well, whilst I'm super busy with jewellery orders at the moment - which is great - my other half was made redundant yesterday :-(
Although it's a bit of a worry he is definitely in a much better mood now he has been 'released'!! Maybe this is the fresh start he needed. So if anyone hears of an opportunity for a very good technical IT consultant/account manager let me know!!!

Thursday 16 July 2009

Well....do you want to see how they turned out??

The coasters I'm talking about!! I can announce that I didn't end up with one big blob of glass (thank goodness!) and I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. One or two are a bit rough around the edges but you've got to expect that when you're using a different kiln I think. Generally I am well chuffed with the results!
I wanted to share a picture of them with you so here's the fresh batch still in the kiln:

Now all we have to do is sell them, any takers?! ;-)
I will report back after the weekend...until then....
x

Wednesday 15 July 2009

EXCITING!!!

As I am at the Curdridge Show this Saturday and my glass stock is dwindling I decided I should really take lots more of the coasters with me but my kiln is just too small for firing lots of big things and is on non-stop as it is!! So..... I've managed to rent the space in a MASSIVE kiln for the day! I'm so excited! I just hope they come out OK, otherwise I'll end up with a massive glass wallhanging instead, LOL!
I set it all up this morning and am due to go and see the damage tomorrow afternoon.
Keep your fingers crossed ;-)

Friday 10 July 2009

Just made it!!

Well, I said I'd post some pics today so here they are ... just a couple I'm afraid ... I made 'today' by the skin of my teeth ;-o


I will try and take more pictures tomorrow, much quicker than writing a thousand words!
Off to beddy byes now,
Laters,
x

Thursday 9 July 2009

It's been a few days

..since I last updated my blog, I just don't know where the time goes lately!!
Billy's at playschool this morning and Tom and I have just stopped for a coffee break...I took a few pictures of him because I suddenly realised that there aren't any on here (apart from his feet in the pushchair!!). So here is my littlest man enjoying his 'coffee' ...at least that's what he thinks it is but really it's just hot frothy milk with a little bit of drinking chocolate sprinkled on the top....and mini marshmallows if he's lucky ;-)
He was mucky before he started but even muckier by the end of it!! Just look at the glint in his eyes; I think he is going to be just as mischevious as his brother is....OMG wish me luck, Tom's not even 2 yet!

I've been making coasters this week; my stock was down to a big fat zero so I have started building it up again, here's a little peak...

there's more cooking in the kiln as we speak!

I also started making a little picture last night for my friend next door but one. I had to remind myself how to start blanket stitch though - don't think I've done it since I was in the Brownies!! Our friends had their first baby on Monday so I'm making a little picture for them, I've got to embroider his name etc on there yet but here's what it looks like at the moment so you can probably get the gist of the end product ;-)


I love making things, just wish there were more hours in the day....sound familiar??!!

Oh....talking of which I've just remembered I never did take those photos of the jewellery bits I made earlier in the week...Tomorrow, I promise!!!

x

Saturday 4 July 2009

Sometimes you can just never tell!

We went to market today. I never really know what to expect from a market. The ones you think should be good sometimes aren't and vice versa. One day you can sell loads of pearls, the next day it could be all crystals. You can never tell (or should I say "I" can never tell!).
This morning the weather was pretty unpredictable, it even dared to throw it down with rain on us!! That was a bit of a shock to the system after all this glorious sunshine we've been enjoying lately! Consequently, it was a pretty slow morning, not very many people around and those who were around were not stopping to look at the art market :o(
But then the sun came out and everything changed!! We ended up having quite good sales day so it was worth going in the end.

We came home (shattered!) to a big family barbecue which was lovely - thank you A ;-)

I have also managed to make quite a few new bits and pieces today but have not managed to take any photos yet so I will upload them when I do....maybe tomorrow but maybe later in the week!!

Until then...

Thursday 2 July 2009

Picnics and pony rides in the park

I've got to share a picture of my eldest boy with you...we had a teddy bears picnic with his playschool yesterday and they had arranged for pony rides for the children in the park. I didn't think Billy would be up for it but he loved it! Here he is with the biggest hat they had on his head (he has a rather large noggin!)...

It was a lovely afternoon and both my boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The strawberry tea for Breast Cancer Care was today...not as well turned out as Nicola hoped but we did manage to raise some money which was great.

Some good news this afternoon - I had a repeat order for a ring I sold on MISI today. The lady had bought it for her Mum and loved it so much she wanted another for herself! It's such a lovely feeling when people write and say how much they like something you've made :o)
Maybe I need to make some more of these:

Wednesday 1 July 2009

Nice invitations!

We've been invited to a 'members only' event at a local hotel......don't worry, there's nothing dodgy about it!! I did an event there last year and they are inviting local companies to have a stand for a couple of hours to promote their businesses. All proceeds go to Naomi House (a local children's charity).

We're also off to a 'strawberry tea' tomorrow for a couple of hours so looking forward to that. We'll be donating 10% of the proceeds to Breast Cancer Care so it's also for a very good cause :o)

I have just this minute finished making a bling ring which looks absolutely gorgeous in this sunshine!! I've taken a picture but not sure whether it actually shows it off to it's full glory...


It is lovely; I'm very tempted to keep it for myself but it has to go in the post to America!
I'll update more tomorrow ;-)
Until then,
x
 

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