Best Sellers

The geraniums are looking bright!

Hello to another wet and wild day here in Somerset. It's been a funny old week here busy with family life and consequently not much crafting going on and I really miss it! Yesterday was P's birthday - she had lots of crafty type presents and a huge chocolate cake (most of which is now gone!) and spent the evening sewing a cushion and then went to her tap lesson. Her dancing school are doing a show in the autumn and her tap class are doing a stomp number, it sounds like a great deal of fun and I'd quite like to have a go myself!

This is one of her presents - I want one too!

Today I am trying to finish off lots of things - some Union flag baking bags and baby bunting kits.
 A little while ago Fiddly Fingers asked me what my best sellers were. Now to be honest I haven't kept track of how many of things I'd sold, but rather did a stock take type approach of topping up items as they sold. I know all the seasoned craft sellers are now probably tutting and shaking their heads - so I started a simple tally chart of my sales.
My best sellers are ... Lucky dips!!! I started these as at many fairs, children come clutching a pound coin of their very own to spend and there was not much around for them to spend it on. So P and I now wrap up little parcels for little people to spend their pounds on, and they love it! We don't 'make money' on these, but it also means lots of adults look at the stall while their child is choosing and I can often make a sale as well!


Baby Blossom Bunting kit



Red, white and blue owls with baby bunting in the background.

The other best seller (at the moment) are the baby bunting kits. I made four up as a trial run last week-end, and sold them all, so I have spent evenings cutting out felt flowers to make up another set for this week-end. I've also created a red, white and blue version for all the summer's festivities and thought it would be more manly as well.
I have also been given two blogger awards! So firstly thank-you to Christmas Pie Crafts and Fiddly Fingers for the Versatile Blogger Award. I now need to pass this award on ..... I think this will have to be a whole post of its own, so watch this space ... as I have to chose fifteen blogs!
But I'm going to finish this post with

Happy Birthday P!

Thank-you's

When I was little and then as a teenager, my mum always insisted I wrote thank-you letters for my presents. Sometimes I wrote reams, others I hated it with a vengeance, but now I really appreciate them when they arrive on my door mat. It's a little social nicety that I feel shouldn't die out. So, I have always made thank-you cards with my children, from hand prints, to photo notelets and this year with my lovely new shiny Big Shot! Thank-you Mr P-L for my fab present - and I still can't believe you kept it secret till Christmas day!

Thank-you Mr P-L



Simple thank-you notes.

 I made the notes by embossing some patterned paper, trimming to size and sticking on a folded A5 piece of card. Some years ago I invested in a thank-you stamp, so the message is stamped inside and there is space to write a message. You can always write the message on a piece of white paper and stick it inside the card, in case a mistake is made. Two will fit snugly in a A5 envelope side by side and then pop them in the post.

I would also like to say thank-you to my lovely stocking swap partner - Emma . I resisted the temptation and waited to open my stocking ...

All these pretty things!

Fab fabrics!

Super stocking!

So thank-you Emma - I hope you enjoyed your stocking!

Handknitted in merino wool

This is what was inside!

A thank-you to Pretty Petal Handmade who a while ago awarded me with a Liebster Blog Award

I now have to pass this on to five of my favourite blogs that have less than 200 followers, so here goes, in no particular order ...

• Bella-Boutique Lots of lovely ideas and tutorials.
• Rose & Dahlia Again lovely things - and she has a Pickle too!
• Home Grown Originals Met these lovely ladies at a Retro fair, they have so many lovely things!
• RosMadeMe Fab tutorials for great things, and such a generous lady to share them with us!
• Handcrafted by Picto Another fab blog and lady!

and thank-you to you for sharing my blog!

Jo x

Mystery Toy - part 2 and thank-you's

The noggin

This is the next part of the mystery toy from Ravelry, the head or noggin as Emily calls it. I'm thinking it looks quite squirrel like, but are there 250 different sorts of squirrel? Anyway, the next clue that goes with it is ...
'This animals' predators (besides humans and habitat loss) include eagles and hawks.'
Part three comes out on Friday - can't wait!
Now for the thank-yous

Funky chickens

I am making these for Pickle-Lily to give to her friends at the end of term, to say thank-you for being such great friends. I must admit I'm getting a bit teary at the thought that next week is her last week at primary school, they really do grow up too quickly!
A thank-you to the lovely staff at Bridgwater MIU - as yet again we have had to pay them a visit! P crashed her bicycle on Sunday and apart from the grazes and bruises hurt her thumb. They think a small bone at the base of the thumb may be broken, she just has to wear one of those germolene (doesn't that word make you think of exactly the right colour - and the smell!) pink Velcro thumb and wrist supports, until we go back again next week for more deliberation. That's why I'm making funky chickens, as she had wanted to make them herself.
Another thank-you to Caroline who has nominated me for

I would like to pass this on to to Cuckoo for her blog that is full of lovely pictures, being so entertaining and true to life!

And finally thank-you to Dorset Girl for her One lovely blog award! I now need to say 7 random things about myself which was hard enough the first time! So here goes ..

• I collect blue jugs - but they can't be new.
• Life is unbearable without cups of tea in it!
• I still can't get my flapjacks to stick together - tried again last night, I have a tin of very large crumbs!
• It took me fives goes to pass my driving test!
• My favourite cars are Pandas - I am now driving my third.
• I still can't crochet, but want to.
• Hopefully the patio doors will open today - the lock has been jammed for over a year, and the nice repairman is fixing them now!

I also have to pass this award onto other blogs - so here goes ...

As always you are under no obligation to accept these awards but please know that I enjoy reading your blogs and would like to recommend you to others.

Made from scratch who I know from Knit Club
Sara who I met at Coldharbour Mill a few weeks ago Crafts of Texture
and The Krafty Cupcake  for being such a good read!


Phew - finished!
Jo x

Two good things!

First ..... I've made my first sale on Folksy, five apple for the teacher keyrings.

Second .... Caroline from redneedle sewinghas awarded me 'The Versatile Blogger' award

So now I have to ...
Make a post linking back to the person who gave you the award.
Share 7 random things about yourself
Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award and contact them to let them know they have won.
7 random things about myself
- I hate vinegar!
- I was an Akela in a Cub Scout Pack for about 20 years.
- I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 21.
- I want to learn to crochet.
- My favourite film is 'Bride and Predjuice' - the Bollywood version.
- I've been on holiday to Taiwan.
- I love Troll beads!
Now I would like to pass this award onto
Cuckoo at talesfromcuckooland
Keri at Bella-Boutique
Tina at Bella and the Moo
Wendy at 1stUniqueGifts
Little Cotton Rabbits
Suzie at The Wool Sanctuary
Louise at Sew Scrumptious

Phew done it!
Jo x