Stuffed Nonsense!

I received a very nice email yesterday from Bex and El of Stuffed Nonsense in Cheltenham, who have a gorgeous little shop selling crafty hand-made goodies. I've come to know the girls via Folksy and blogging, and sent a few crafts to them for their Hand-Made for Haiti sale. From this they kindly asked me if I'd like to sell in their shop full-time, a chance which I leapt at, and so we began a beautiful business relationship!

The lovely ladies sent me some photos to show me my crafts 'in situ' and I wanted to share them as they are quite exciting!

Ooh yes, and check out their blog here and their shop here. 

29th May Made-It Market Cancelled

Sad news - the May Made-It Market on Saturday 29th May has been cancelled due to a double-booking of the venue. But! More excitingly, the Made-It Market is RELOCATING  to the Guildhall, Market Square Cambridge come August. So be sure to put that in your diary - Saturday August 28th, at the Guildhall, bigger and better and brimming with crafty loveliness! 

May Made-It Markets!

Ooh, I do love a bit of alliteration!

That's right folks, there is not one, but two wonderful Made-It Markets in the month of May! One on the 1st and one on the 29th, both Saturdays and both promising to be brilliant.

This will be my third and fourth consecutive market, and I've been thoroughly enjoying the whole experience - the camaraderie between the follow stall holders, the general friendliness of the browsing public, and the light and airy space, providing plenty of time for pondering, chatting, doodling and drinking tea. Each market just promises to get better and better as the word spreads and new and ever-increasing talented craftspeople set up stalls. And of course I'll be there, too...

So without further ado, here's the flier for the two events! Please come along if you're interested in craft, it's a fantastic day, and you will be welcomed with cheery smiles and an array of dazzling goodies to inspire you and fill your Saturday with handmade feel-goodness. I fear I may have just ripped off a drinks brand... Spread the word, tell your friends, find us on Facebook, stick us in your diary, print off a flier and tape it in your window/local shop/closest lamppost/forehead/bottom - in the name of all that is crafty!!

Lovely Fings!

Good morning you 'orrible lot. I've got soooo much to do today, but first things first. 1) Cuppa tea 2) Toast, liberally coated in Greens & Blacks chocolate spread 3) A spot of blog-writing.

I think I'll start with showcasing some lovely bits and pieces that have caught my eye recently. First off, my friend Holly's wonderful new shop Something Pretty on Etsy. Completely gorgeous, one-off jewellery items - lots of beautiful necklaces, earrings, bracelets and hair-pieces, all with a vintage feel, elegant yet quirky enough to stand out from the crowd. Here's a few of my favourite pieces:

This darling blue tit locket necklace - I think a must for Lou Peajeux, if only the little chap was sporting a white afro wig!

A nod to the past with this antique-style bust pendant - beautiful combination of coral and clean cream colours.

Charming gold, lemon and cream locket necklace with a lemon-yellow rose at its centre. Delicious looking, and perfect for Spring.

So be sure to check her out and get her creative career off to a flying start!

In other news, I'm attending a wedding this weekend, and have painfully pieced together an outfit from the long-forgotten garments in my wardrobe. It consists of a 1950's-style cotton dress, plus a netted petticoat, navy ruffle-fronted Topshop shoes and a jacket cunningly bought on Saturday, £15 from £35. I still need to sort out what I'm doing with my hair, but fear an elaborate fascinator will not only be out of my price-range at the moment, but also a little over-the-top with the chunky floral necklace I've decided to wear. But! In my ideal, fantasy world, somewhere between Wonderland and Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, where the weather is continuously clement and one can trade in Oompa Loompas, I would be wearing this feathered beauty. Behold:

By Janine Basil. Check out her Folksy shop here. 

Anyway, off I must go to complete my order of 50 teapot magnets for Mother's Day, and then on to redesigning my website with the wonderful Rosie and Lee! (More on this soon). 

Made-It Market

What a weekend! I attended my first (and in fact the first) Made-It Market in Cambridge on Saturday and it was brilliant! A very slow start though, it must be said, which I think was really down to it being the first one and people not actually knowing we were there. Surprise! But a little later the sun came out, albeit briefly, and along with it some customers, a combination of utmost joy! Here's some pics of my stall:

So yes! I shall be there next month too, all being well, so anyone within traveling distance should make their way down to The Shop, Jesus Lane, Cambridge (exact date to be confirmed) to see some Lou Peajeux work in the flesh. And Lou Peajeux herself. With a few secret ideas up her sleeves... And there's lots of other beautiful crafts by other people too. Plus cakes!

Valentine's Weekend

Yes, I know Valentine's only really comprises of one date, but I managed to extend it over three days just for the sheer heck of it! Friday night saw my man-friend and I take a trip into town to see Imogen Heap play at the Junction, which was brilliant. I can't really do justice to her performance in this post, so I think I'll save it for a later date when I've got the pictures and videos uploaded.

On Saturday we had a cooked breakfast and then made double chocolate brownies (hurrrr) and watched a Tommy Cooper DVD after dinner. Nothing better than laughter accompanied by a full tummy!

Valentine's Day itself gave me an excuse to get crafty and produce a little bouquet with a bit of a difference:

Tahdah! A dozen sock roses. I need to get some better photos from my camera, as you can't see the stems here, but they were made from corresponding-coloured sherbet straws. Great fun to make and brought a cheesy and slightly taken-aback smile to the face of the recipient, who's a big multi-coloured socks fan! I thought it'd make a change from the usual commercial fluff. And then I surprised him with an indoor picnic, which was a lot of fuss, but a lot of fun, and I always think it's nice to make an effort. (Kudos to Sophie for helping me plan all this!!)

Today I took delivery of a stack of white crockery, which I need to get paining some designs on for my stall at the Camrbridge Made-It Market on Saturday 27th! Slightly difficult to get motivated after such a lazy, indulgent weekend... Sorry if I've made anyone vomit. Ha.

Branching Out

I've recently invested in some porcelain paint pens and have been starting to draw on ceramics. Cor blimey gov, it's well fun. My first works were these - a set of two cups and saucers - decorated quite boldly with red and black:

They are now for sale in my Folksy shop and shall be joined shortly by some nice mugs!