A Special Craft Fair

Two weeks to go until my next Craft Fair, and this one is particularly dear to me because it is the ever-so-local, ever-so-lovely Articulate Fair.

This is my fave fair of the year because their is such a lovely vibe.

Customers get wrapped up warm to come and browse the stalls for beautiful high quality arts and crafts Christmas gifts. Residents of Oldfield Park or Moorfields are bound to bump into a few friendly faces as lots of the beautiful things for sale are made and sold by local people from throughout the neighbourhood.

Come along...

For more info visit The Bath Chronicle's website or UKCraftfairs.com

On a personal note, this fair is special to me because it is put on by my community craft club that I absolutely love being a part of throughout the year. Plus, I have just moved house to just around the corner, making me more of a local member than ever before, and Articulate thrives from its wonderful community feel as like-minded crafters come together from the same neighbourhood. But it is also important to me because this time last year I did the Articulate craft fair, and it was the first time I had ever attempted to sell my own hand-made goods, and it was so exciting that from that day forth The Flower Mill was born!

Hope to see you there!

New business cards

When you are out and about selling your goods it is essential that you have some publicity with you at all times to hand out your contact details at the flick of a wrist. This is how I get most of my stalls at new fairs - people like what they see, they ask for my card, then they email me about their own school fairs or craft events inviting me to get involved. So when it comes to business cards its worth paying a little money to get them just the way you like them.

I have recently updated my business cards. After many hours of thought and design, this is the new and improved end product.

I'm especially pleased that these cards have a business email address on them! This is my new email account especially for The Flower Mill, which I hope you'll agree gives an extra professional feel. I can't wait to start giving them out at craft fairs across the South West.

Specifications

• Shop: Zazzle
• Size: Business, 3.5" x 2.0",
• Quantity: 100 pack 
• Price: £17.95
• Paper Type: White, 99.20lb white card stock for added quality/strength.
• Design: Grunge floral custom. Dark blue.

A sunshiney crochet picnic

My friend Lucy is a whiz with a camera and one sunshiney day she invited me along to a crochet picnic in Parade Gardens. Situated in our beautiful home town, Bath, we sneaked in through a side gate with an oversized key (that are entrusted to a few privileged local residents) and had the most beautiful day watching the world go by, by the weir. Here are the pics that prove it...

Joined by these feathery fellas

Curioser and curioser

Craft on the grass

Crocheting some hair slides for sale via The Flower Mill

I scream, you scream, we all scream for...

Sunbathers by the bandstand

Me... in my element

Crocheting the day away

Some of my brooches for sale via The Flower Mill

Me and my hooks!

The perfect refreshing snack (after all I am pregnant and it is hot!)

My first ever crocheted project, a kindle cover that I made last summer

All of these pics are courtesy of Bath-based photographer Lucy, of Dot &Lucy Photography.

Baby headbands

Since photographing gorgeous baby Eva in a couple of my crocheted headbands I'm feeling inspired to have a go at designing more hair accessories for baby girls. I mean! Look at how adorable she looks...

I am going to make a load of baby-sized ones in different styles and colours because I'm feeling inspired by her big bright eyes and her cute little cheeks. She just looks so cute! I'll let you see how I get on.

Both of these photographs are taken by Dot & Lucy Photography

Here are a few others headbands that were photographed in the Park.

Spring is in the (h) air

I have been really busy today creating lots of pretty little hair-slides to sell at Oldfield Park Infant School's first ever Easter Craft Fair. The fair is taking place on the 13th April from 10am until 12 noon. To go to the school's website for directions to the school click here.

Blue bunnies for a baby boy

A few months ago I was commissioned to make a baby present for a little boy (who has not yet been born but is due to be born at the end of March).

Facts I had for the growing family

1) they are expecting a boy 2) baby is due in Spring time 3) baby's bedding for his cot is already purchased; patterned with little blue rabbits 4) mum-to-be owns a real life house bunny of her own.

So naturally I set about planning a bunny themed gift.

Here it is, freshly finished and photographed this morning.

I have been careful to make sure that there are no buttons that could be pulled off by tiny fingers or accidentally swallowed by tiny mouths. 

Tomorrow I will send it hopping off via Royal Mail from Bath to Newcastle. I hope baby will be pleased with it when he arrives into the world any time now.

I am itching to try some more little critters. I think cute, little giraffes might be on the agenda! So watch this space...

Pricing 

The five rabbits alone took over an hour each to crochet, assemble and decorate, so I would sell this kind of specially commissioned mobile for £45. If you would like one - or if you'd like a smaller one for a smaller price - get in touch via the 'contact me' page of my website - click here to go there now.

If you would like to use these pictures for anything you are really welcome to, but please do link back to my blog/website and mention me. Thank you kindly.

Here is a picture of a little basket that I have made out of parcel string. Doesn't it look cute?! It is only small but I have filled mine to the brim with silver brooch backs that I use all of the time when I am making my flower brooches. 

Little parcel string basket looking out of the window, what can you see?

I am going to start selling these string baskets soon for just £5 each (or a set of 3 for £13.50). This is a bargain as they take a bit longer than crocheting with wool as the string is slightly more strenuous a fabric to work with - but at least I will have toned arms by the time I've crocheted a few more of these!

If you would like to use this picture in your blog etc. you are really welcome to, but please do link it back to www.theflowermill.weebly.com. Thank you kindly.

Craft fair stall ideas

I always like to have an eye out for unusual vintage objects to hang my crocheted pretties from at craft fairs.

Here is a photo list of four pretty ideas that I've stumbled across on the web.

Lace across a frame by
Natty Cooper-Hall

Really simple but cute heart brooch display
by http://aubreylynnsrnec.blogspot.ca/

Brooch display by http://mamiejanes.blogspot.co.uk
I would love to have a go at making this with balls of wool!

A pretty way to hang brooches
by http://www.etsy.com/shop/sewlola

Have a 'cosy' Christmas

My latest project

In our house we sure love a good cup of tea or a cosy cup of coffee so I've had a lot of fun making these crocheted mug cozies and the end result is just too cute. I don't really want to give them away but duty calls.

I selected the mugs, designed the pattern, crocheted the cosy and sewed on the details and all components are locally sourced where possible because I am all about supporting small local businesses. After all, my own business The Flower Mill is adorably small and brilliantly local. 

a finished cup cosy - crocheted in the Bakery

The exciting bit

The reason I have been crocheting cup cozies is because the rather lovely Lucy, in charge of social media at Moorland Road's Bath Bakery, kindly commissioned some for them to sell at their lovely cafe. As you know I do love to crochet and I often frequent the Bath Bakery with hooks and wool in tow, so of course I jumped at the chance to make them some crochet pretties.

On Saturday 22nd December there will be a handful of my unique and lovingly hand-made cup cosies for sale at Oldfield Park's The Bath Bakery & Café. (Find the bakery on Twitter and Facebook.)


I am so so excited to be selling them on our wonderful local shopping street. Such a joy. They cost just £7.50 each - pretty cup included and are a Christmas exclusive to the bakery. Once they're gone, they're gone.

preparations for my cosy display

They are not yet for sale on-line, but I am happy to make you one if you contact me via my website.

Click here to jump there now.

Bye for now. Am off to put the kettle on.

Selling my crochet flowers

Since learning to crochet in May 2012 I have made so many little flowers that I have been experimenting with putting them on brooch pins and hair slides. I tried selling a couple on my friend's card stall at a craft fair at the start of November. I didn't sell many at all but I did get a good feel of how to do better next time.

This weekend was the 'next time'.

I am in love with this bird cage!

This time I had them displayed on a big piece of bark and a bird cage that I sourced from a local garden/junk shop where the lovely, friendly owner spent ages scrambling over garden furniture, baskets and crates to help me to find shabby chic props for me to display my crochet pretties on. 

Hair slides and bobbles displayed on the bark

I had a lovely time selling my crochet flowers at a local school's Christmas fair last Saturday. I saw many friendly faces of people that I recognized from the bakery where my husband worked, people from my Church, people from the local craft club that I go to fortnightly on Fridays and neighbours. So it was simply delightful!

Despite getting a numb bum on the tiny infants chairs that I sat on for two hours, I had a lot of fun and I sold a handful of hair bobbles, a handful of hair slides and a handful of brooches - in fact three times more than I sold on my first attempt - so I'm a happy bunny.

Some hair-slides, made-to-order for a customer whilst at the fair