Marry-golds

I've got a thing for marigolds.  Ever since Dave proposed to me with a ring made from a freshly picked marigold.  Now, each year they grow in the garden having self seeded from an original Sarah Raven packet of seeds.

So, I'm very pleased to find them glowing in the garden, and have picked them for the house.  We're even eating them, tossed into warm potatoes with chopped marjoram, chervil, and lavender. 

The Craft Fair

What a great day for a craft fair!  Felicity and I had alot of fun sitting in the sunshine.  Many thanks to all the friends who supported us by coming to visit.  And what did I buy?  Two Willy purses and two pairs of earrings and a lovely lunch from M&S.  Bang go the profits!

Miss England!

It's been a busy weekend!  Friday night found me representing the country as Miss England in the World Cup Summer Fete!  My duty was to serve strawberries and cream in the wildlife garden, a challenge I rose to as soon as I was assigned the job of making bunting!  Not known for my nationalistic tendencies, I stayed away from the St. George flag and instead made the bunting from embroidered white linen on a red ribbon.

Having bid for and won the remaining strawberries, we've indulged ourselves this weekend.  Today I made a strawberry trifle.  At the moment of serving my 'England' trifle, England scored, a feat for which I take full accolade!

Palpable

I'm getting excited about Saturday's craft event in West Bridgford.  You'll find me at The Design Circus.  I'll be sharing the stall with the lovely Felicity from Poppy Rose Designs, who makes very pretty jewellery, I think some swapping will be done!  We'll also be promoting purses by Sarah Wilson of Willy Designs.  Hope you can come and see us, fingers crossed that the sun will shine!

Memories

Sometimes I have memories in my head, as vivid as a photograph, a moment captured in my brain in technicolour.  I've been sketching some of these down, which gave me the ideas for these pieces.  They are only small, 18 x 12 cm.  They will be available to buy at the craft fair on Saturday, and in due course in my Folksy shop.

Do you have a memory, or family story that needs celebrating?  Please get in touch regarding commissions.

Away we go

We had a really rejuvenating weekend away in Derbyshire, camping.  To celebrate Dave, and Fathers' Day, we took the boys away for the night to Wirksworth.  A place that is now truly on my favourites list, I felt we had a really British weekend.  Dave loved his penknife, ready to teach the boys how to whittle.  We drank hot chocolate with custard creams to dunk.  The boys had their first sherbert Dip Dab, followed by car sickness.  It felt like a proper family holiday, everything I dreamed of when I embarked on the journey of parenthood.

Our drive across Deryshire was set to my soundtrack of the moment, Away We Go.  The film made me laugh and cry.  A manifesto for how to deal with the highs and lows of being thirty-something, loving and parenting and making lifes difficult decisions.  The soundtrack by Alexi Murdoch reminds me of the enduring power of the film and that the answer is always love.

Real post!

Today I received real post!  A lovely package of inspiration from our good friend Peter.  It contained an old tin (soon to have buttons in), a book on David Gentleman's work and an article on picnics.....I love a picnic.

David Gentleman wood engraving

Wood engravings for press advertisements

Penguin jacket, 1957

I know David Gentlemen's work from a beautifully illustrated book from his travels to India, but I hadn't realised what a talented designer he was.  Likened to Edward Bawden and Eric Ravilious, he designed for advertisements, stamps, textiles and books. He studied at St.Albans College of Art, where my own creativity found flight.  The book, David Gentleman Design, is a great addition to a library of mid-century art and design.

Also included in my inspiration pack, was a leaflet about the V&A pattern series.  These books are much coveted by me though I've yet to acquire any of them.

Hope inspiration pops up for you in an unexpected place.

Busy Bunty!

Bunty is loving getting her fingers into old tins filled with pretty buttons and making these!  Well done Bunty!

The charm of bunting!

I don't think my life would be complete without bunting!  A stalwart of all family birthday parties, and pulled out to adorn any adhoc den that might spring up on a rainy day.  So I was inspired to bring my creative stamp to the world of bunting and make some with vintage paper.  Great for parties or just for general bunting happiness anywhere........get yours here!

Sunshine

With only two weeks to go until my first craft fair, the only sunshine I saw was created within my studio.  It was lovely to be granted some space and time to create.  The boys came and went; to the allotment, to the park, in and out of friends' houses.  I listened to Radio 3 and stitched away happily.  There are now little piles of flowers, and clips, pegs and notebooks stacked precariously on the surfaces.  Sunshine flower corsage, available here.

Getting ready

I'm working towards the first of three craft fairs that I've booked for the summer.  I've been trying to develop a product range to sit with my framed pieces.  I'm using the vintage papers and collage as the link between products.  Last week we were on holiday in Norfolk, immersed in the cool, green forest.  I've had green on my mind ever since.  (Studio pegs now available).

Growing

It's been a busy time around here with not much studio time.  Another birthday was celebrated last week, this time by littlest man, who turned two.  More cake and bunting for a chap who likes his life sweet.

Hooray for me!

I've just found out that I've been accepted to exhibit at the Wirksworth Festival in September.  I'm very excited.

Wishing

Mark Hearld. Wren. 2010

I'm wishing I could fly over to St.Jude's Gallery in Norfolk and see the Mark Hearld exhibition which starts on Saturday.

Making sense of it all

Notebooks off the production line.

I've had my head down, trying to make sense of everything and trying to focus on how to make what I love doing into a viable business.  So, I've been having some middle-of-the-night thinking sessions and trying to formulate a plan.  Currently the plan is Do Everything.  So, I've booked up some craft fairs and I've applied to exhibit at the Wirksworth festival.  I'm also planning on trying to get some freelance design work, now Dave is on a three-day-soon-to-be-no-day-week.  I've got a few card companies in mind and an agent I'd like to contact.  Deep breath!  Just need to take one step at a time.

Today I met up with a lovely lady who is opening a gallery later in the year and who would like me to teach a workshop and exhibit some of my work.  So I feel like I'm flinging lots of balls in the air and I just need to juggle them all, whilst parenting with a smile!

Clearing out my work space, and a knock-on house clearance, was very helpful in focusing on where I'm at now.  I got rid of lots of stuff that related to things I used to do, or thought I might do.  I also reconnected with ideas and half-finished projects and that's helped me focus.  I realised what I love and ditched the rest!  Yesterday I sold it all at a car boot sale and hopefully there are some happy crafters making use of it all.

My studio is now a haven of loveliness, and the space works much better.  I realised how much I love wooden boxes, brown paper and string......and neat piles of useful things.