WHEN CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE BARN..

So this Saturday saw some friends of mine gathered together at (here's a link) The Barn

A shop they share with Carina who owns 'Fine feathers'

For our Christmas Sale of all things Vintage, Christmassy, shabby chic,
& handmade, with Mince pies & Mulled wine thrown in....

In the following pictures, the people who worked hard to create these wonderful handmade goodies are...
Jennifer, Lisa, Sarah, Jan, Petrova, Jaini, Wendy & Myself...........

The Barn's normal opening hours are:

Wednesdays, Thursdays, & Fridays
9.30am - 3.00pm

Saturdays
10am - 1.00pm

.More crafting...........

fabric covered note books...

Wadda ya think..?

Which can all be bought here

A GRAND DAY OUT..........

Country Styled Homes
had lovely rustic & some, handmade goodies on it....

Country girl Corner
was another lovely stand, where everything being sold was all handmade....

*All images shown here from CL fair were by kind permission of stand exhibitors

So it was off to the Country Living fair yesterday....

And a fab time was had by all.....

Starting with the goodies people, make & bake on our coach journey to the fair, but the award must go to the lovely Jennifer, for making not only very delicious short bread biscuits, (yes seriously Jen, they were delicious), but each & everyone had been hand stamped with 'CL fair 09' on them too....

The Fair it's self, was packed to the gills.... much, much busier than usual.., & 'it's sooo hot in here....!!' was the word I heard just about everywhere...!!

But, just when you think you've seen it all............, ie; through magazines, Internet, craft fairs, trade shows etc..you go along to the Country Living Fair....

For me personally, it's never about the big stands, it's about the smaller & handmade stands, the stands where there is perhaps the artisan their selves, standing there, wrapping things, taking money, unpacking the boxes, labeling & setting everything up.... etc, it's at this time when it's very hard not to be intimidated by the bigger stands, where everything is bought in....

For anyone who's ever done a craft fair, will know exactly what I'm talking about,
(fight or flight springs to mind.....!!)
For me these clever people who come up with new ideas, & ways of making ordinary items look so less ordinary....., the time it must take to make the amount for these fairs, one can only imagine it must take hours & hours & hours....

& lastly a BIG THANK YOU to Jaini, who arranges these CL fair trips each time many thanks & here's to the next one.......

Hearts & Stars.....

Newly added to my little old shop, Hearts & Stars Christmas Decorations
Handmade by yours truly, for that Country Living Christmas feel...

Talking of which, I'm off to Islington, on Wednesday to visit the Country Living Christmas Fair, if you haven't been before & are thinking about going you're, in for a real great day out....

Wet Play...............

So it's Sunday..... & it's wet... well it's actually
very, very, wet....!

So it's play time......

Handmade stitched, & stamped mini Christmas bags &, gift labels...
Which can all be found here at my shop Folksy

Fabric & Paper......

Thought you might like to see what I've been playing around with...?

I love the feel & mixture of paper with fabric, & the way the fabric is able to fray, but stay attached to the card...

I like that the stitching becomes part of the drawing on the card,

like a pencil or crayon might be....

I like the clash of fabric colours, cotton & ink... what do you think...?

Nice & Simple.............

Been playing around with Clay lately...
I love simple designs, always have always will....
Here are the bits & bobs I've been working on....

What I've been working on recently....

A selection of cards, using fabrics, paper, & sewing

Rusty Christmas tree decorations

How lucky am I.....?

In this world of hairdressing that I work in, there are certain perks to the job this is one of them.... Homemade cakes bought in by a very lovely lovely client of mine.....

Natural Elements...............

Is it too soon to mention Christmas....!?
Well....., there I've said it...

I've always loved the Natural elements of Christmas, Pine cones, Berries, Dried fruits, Twisted Willow etc...
I am lucky enough to live amongst fields, & can gather, these bits & bobs on my daily walks, with Mr Alfie, it's always nice to bring the outside into the inside of our home....

I wanted to get a bit of a head start, with making things, this year, & have committed myself to two craft fairs, around Christmas time, so, with this in mind, I've been making Pine Cone garlands, Scented Cinnamon Sticks, Bags of homemade potpourri, & one of my favorites Wax scented pine cones, which when tossed onto an open fire, fill the room with a seasonal warmth....

WHAT FUN.............................

How fun is this...?
As seen at Urban Outfitters

Have you heard this....?

With the current amount of talent & celebrity competitive, television, programmes we seem be bombarded with lately,
should we be asking ourselves what are we really judging.....?

1st impressions..?

Style..?

Individuality...?

Talent..?

Appearance...?

It is said that we judge people on the first three seconds of meeting them...

Take a moment to listen to this, then ask yourself, should we be so quick to judge?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR83mG3Ojp4

More creative moments....

I should be doing the dreaded house work!

As seen at: Plumo

As seen at: Conanast store

As seen on: country home

Been busy creating new things to enjoy.....

Decorative Garlands.........