Spring, here we come!

Well, we have our first craft fair for 2011 under our belt! Shame it wan't that successful !!! The stuff I am making and selling is seasonal so a fair at the end of February was always going to have its challenges.

I had made a poster with the dates of things to celebrate in March, St David's Day, World Book Day. Shrove Tuesday ( Pancake Day - that's 8th everyone! )

Ash Wednesday - the start of Lent, World Women's Day, St Patrick's Day and Red Nose Day for Comic Relief with a reminder that Mothering Sunday is at the very beginning of April and hoped that passers by would start to look for Mothering Sunday gifts. The table looked very pretty - with my fabric lidded Survival Kits in a Jar, painted plaques and door hangers, farmyard blackboards and an array of bits in gorgeous fresh Spring colours.

 But Sunday was a rare dry and fine day in a wet and windy half term holiday and the centre wasn't as busy as it often is.

There was lot of interest but all of us in our little area ( by Boots) were not having the best of days.

In this picture are my handpainted and decorated wooden trinket boxes, egg cupboard and charming painted and distressed trays that looked lovely with their pink gingham ribbon and hand made seed packet, twine, plant food, seed markers, pegs and hand painted flower - put together as a gift box for a green fingered mum. The gorgeous boxes would be great filled with fruity teabags too, don't you think ?

My Bling Bling hens with their sparkly beaded legs and Strass Hens with their diamante tummies looked fun.

My retro recipe scrapbooks got a lot of attention with their pockets and ribbon and bead trims. Somewhere to store and treasure the recipes that mean a lot to us as families.

As I expected, the Survival Kits in a Jar went down well and caused more than a few smiles. I have some End of the Tax Year Survival Kits in production too. I took Bad Day survival kits, Survival Kits for a Happy Marriage and Mum's Survival Kit. Some of the little details inside the jar are lovely.                            

As usual, I could have sold my display trays - the white jewellery trees and cake stands many times over. The daffodils were my homage to St David's Day - 1st March ..... well my name is Griffith!

Now we are into March, I can really focus on Mothering Sunday with my gifts, scrapbooks and plaques but really celebrate Spring with all that it means.... blossom, lambs, hens, bunnies and of course Easter.

I think my Easter decorations will look great hanging from some painted twigs or on a dresser or fireplace. I have shabby chic wooden eggs, plywood hanging eggs,  vintage style eggs, lamb plant pot tsticks, wooden garlands that have been hand decorated and of course, egg cups, napkin rings and a whole range of different bunny, hen and lamb products.

 And I have an Easter "Hide the Bunny" pack with two short stories I have written, a wooden bunny to hide with the egg hunt and an Easter recipe. My Christmas Gingerbread Man pack went down so well, I thought I'd make an Easter one.

So, let's hope that my forthcoming events buck the trend and people are willing to part with their pennies. I don't make anything yet on the things I make so I am pleased to just get them sold. I might not be selling too much at the moment, but I am meeting some terrific people - often other stall holders.

 

 Contact me for more details about the following.

 Events for  March and April

         Why not come and see us at :

Thurs 10th March , 10 - 3 pm, Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks.

Sat 26th and Sun 27th March, Grand Lambing Event at the North School Urban Farm, Ashford

April 2nd (Sat ) and 3rd ( Sun ), King's Hall, Herne Bay

Sat April 10th - Farming Day, Maidstone ( details to follow)

Sat 16th April - Shorne Country Park, Shorne, Gravesend

Sun 17th April, Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Gillingham

Sat 23rd April, Walnuts Shopping Centre's Easter Fair, Orpington

The attention span of a nit

Didn't realise what a short attention span I have. Have seen it so often at school with kids who have the attention span of a flea but this weekend , with Teah away for the first time in ages, I had the opportunity to do so much ! Alas, come Sunday tea time, I realise that I have frittered away so much of that time. Kitchen Spring Clean started and abandoned. Bathroom Spring Clean started - well, decided to give a rug a bath and it is now heavy and wet and still in the bath ! Piles of washing done but waiting to be put away, understairs cupboard trashed to look for an obscure piece of camping equipment Luke wanted to borrow, sewing machine primed and left to its own devices, Swedish craft boxes collected from the post office and scarcely touched. There have been some moments of productivity. Caught up with an old friend on Twitter ( Nikkii Griffith @RosebudCrafts ) ....Life has been pretty hard on him too. Then I painted four pig blackboards and 6 hen blackboards, a stack of blackboard hearts, some baby room door hangers and some blackboard plaques and then have sat in front of computer screen and played.

I suppose it wasn't totally unproductive. Let's call it networking ! I have learned to "shout" encouragements to other Crafters on Facebook and have spent really enjoyable time looking at websites and albums of some very talented crafters. Let's call it research. I have been tweeting. I have networked my two blogs .... rosebudcrafts@blogspot.com and  Rambling Rosebuds on my website http://www.rosebudcrafts.co.uk/ and been empire building on facebook : Rosebud Crafts - Grandma, Granddaughter and Pup.

So not wasted time ....entirely .....though there's a craft fair in 3 Sunday's time and I need STOCK !

Yup. Didn't realise that I have a short attention span. I reckon I have the attention span of a nit.

Spring has ALMOST sprung!

Yes, yes, yes. I know I said I was going to get the new range uploaded by the end of January but the Scandinavian art supplier I use hasn't deliverd my big box of exciting goodies yet. I'm tracking its progress and it will be soon but not soon enough for me !!!

Then I will really have to bury my head in the sand and get things ready for my first craft fair of the year at Hempstead Valley shopping centre. End of February is a funny time for someone like me who is making and selling seasonal goods. I'll have missed Valentine's day and Easter is two months away so my first stall will celebrate March ! Lambing, World Book Day, Comic Relief - Red Nose Day 2011 and look ahead to Mothering Sunday. When I return to Hempstead Valley in April ....it'll be Easter and Royal weddings all the way !

Do take a look at my events page ..... I am booked into 34 events now !!! Yippee.
So, not long now !

Rosebud Crafts Spring Events

Sunday 27th February

Craft market at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Hempstead, Gillingham, Kent

This is a new regular event for ROSEBUD CRAFTS. This popular Sunday Craft markets runs every month - usually the last Sunday except April  ( 17th ) and November ( 20th ). There is no market in December. Enjoy all that the shopping centre has to offer and browse the craft stalls too. Ample free parking.

Weekend of 26th and 27th March,
Craft Fair at The North School, Ashford.

Lambing Weekend is one of the school's main events as a farm. The North School has one of the only urban farms in Kent. During this weekend, the farm is open for the weekend to showcase our animals especially our new lambs and chicks. The young farmers show their skills in animal husbandry and activities for children are laid on too.  There are lots of craft stalls,  a huge raffle and tombola, games, archery, climbing (on their indoor climbing wall) as well as displays from birds of prey and native Indians. Please come along for a family day out and make sure you visit ROSEBUD CRAFTS!





Weekend of 2nd and 3rd April
Craft and Gift Fair at King's Hall, Beacon Hill, Herne Bay.

Park up overlooking the sea and stroll down the hill to King's Hall - right on the sea front. As the name implies Midas Leisure Craft and Gift fairs aren't exclusively crafts but there are some good exhibitors and the range of gifts is good too. It's Mothering Sunday on the 3rd so come buy a present for your mum on the Saturday or bring Mum out for the day on the Sunday.

Saturday 16th April
Spring Fair at Shorne Country Park

A new event for ROSEBUD CRAFTS. Look out for the bright red gazebo! We are looking forward to joining other craft exhibitors in the lovely grounds of Shorne Country Park. Come along, enjoy the crafts then take a leisurely stroll around the footpaths of this country park. This event is run by Kent County Council.

Sunday 17th April
Craft Market at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre

This is a new regular event for ROSEBUD CRAFTS. This popular Sunday Craft markets runs every month - usually the last Sunday except April  ( 17th ) and November ( 20th ). There is no market in December. Enjoy all that the shopping centre has to offer and browse the craft stalls too. Ample free parking.

Saturday 23rd April

Easter Crafts at Walnut Shopping Centre, Orpington. Kent

A showcase for local craftsmen and retailers to showcase their wares - Easter themed, there will be samples and tasters from most of the exhibitors as well as items to buy.

TBC  Saturday 30th April, Sunday 1st May, Monday 2nd May TBC
Kent County Fair at the Hop Farm, Paddock Wood

We have applied for a pitch at this event but it hasn't been confirmed yet. I

f accepted, this will be a terrific event. Enjoy the wonderful Hop Farm and all its normal attractions plus lots of local retailers, craftsmen, producers etc. A great day out for the Bank Holiday Weekend.

Sunday 29th May

Craft Market at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Hempstead, Gillingam.

This is a new regular event for ROSEBUD CRAFTS. This popular Sunday Craft markets runs every month - usually the last Sunday except April  ( 17th ) and November ( 20th ). There is no   market in December. Enjoy all that the shopping centre has to offer and browse the craft stalls too. Ample free parking.

Rosebud Crafts Spring Range

Rosebud Crafts

 

Spring Product List

Gifts for Valentine’s Day and Mothering Sunday

·        Fabric notebook covers ( sold with notebook )

·        For Mum – bespoke scrapbook with pockets to store those little treasures

·        For the one I love – bespoke scrapbook with pockets to store those little treasures

·        Decorated metal napkin holders.

·        Handmade notebooks, photo albums and recipe books.

Spring Cleaning – Spring themed textiles and ornaments to cheer up a room

·        Hand decorated cushions

·        Decorated wooden trug boxes

·        Decorated bird houses and nesting boxes

·        Heart window hangings –  Pelmet with a series of padded hanging hearts. ( Thread onto a self fitting net curtain pole. ).

·        Adorable lamb and Chicken plant pot sticks

·        Egg cosies

·        Hand decorated Egg cups

·        Hand decorated papier mache photo frames

·        Hand made concrete heart herb markers

·        Lace trimmed hand painted plant pots

·        Hand painted napkin rings

·        Linen napkins

 Spring Chickens – Spring themed ornaments for the season

·        Farmyard mini blackboard hanging decorations.

·        Wooden cone hens and cockerels

·        Wooden standing hens – hand painted

·        Hanging Cheerful sequin hens

·        Happy Hare

·        Stubby bunnies

·        Dotted Hens

·        Nesting box and bird garlands

·        Trio of hanging hand painted wooden birds

·        Wire framed beaded birds

·        Plywood and metal hand decorated cockerels and hens

 

Easter

·        Wooden eggs

·        Oval hanging eggs

·        Wire framed beaded eggs

·        Hunt the Easter Bunny pack – guided egg hunt instructions, wooden hand decorated rabbit, The Tale of the Easter Bunny, Easter recipe

·        Shabby chic mini eggs with prisms

·        Hand painted holding crosses

·        Mini Ribbon crosses

·        Easter  stockings

·        Spring tree – A hand painted wooden tree to hang your Easter decorations from.

Best of British

·        Pastel Union Jack themed gift box

·        Bunting

·        Hand decorated photo frames

And more …..!

URLs, googlebase, htlm, metatags and sewing machines !!!!!

I have spent my morning so far working on my website http://www.rosebudcrafts.co.uk/.

It is such a learning curve. Although the hosting service Create has provided so much, when you are a complete novice like me, I find it really hard to separate my htlms from my metatags ! I have to say, my website is definitely a work in progress. Today, I am trying to work out why googlebase isn't receiving my upload files! Gobbledygook ? It is to me too. So maybe I'd be better off spending this rare spare morning making crafts.

I bought a sewing machine. Now, I am no expert. I said before that it took me a year to sew a blouse at school. Hideous it was too. I bought the cutest fabric - chocolate brown with dalmations all over it and totally wrong for the project. My classmates had chosen Laura Ashley style florals but not me. I spent a year slaving over the tie necked blouse and never finished the ghastly thing. Anyway, back to the sewing machine. I was realistic. I knew I'd never be Vera Wang but I thought , maybe I could manage a few simple projects - like some hearts for my window hangings. So, I have my fabrics ( not a dalmation in sight ) and I am ready to go. The machine comes out of its box. My varifocals go on and I open the instruction booklet. It's speaking a different language and before I can sew I have to thread the needle and wind the bobbin. I have to thread it through spools and clutches and pedals and all sorts.

Guess it's back to the computer then.

Blogs Away!

So ! New year. New business. New website and now a new blog ! Well, all the advice seems to be - get out there so here goes!

Christmas has left the building .... ( though to be honest, it's sat on the landing waiting for the loft hatch to open !!) Rosebud Crafts has three months under its belt and, all in all, its not been a bad start.

That's hindsight speaking, because there were moments in a freezing cold marquee in Aylesford when Teah and I really wondered what we were doing ! Not even mulled wine could warm up my toes. And Teah, bless her, had more layers than an onion, hot water bottles and a flask and couldn't keep warm.

But what a learning curve it has been. The craft fairs were hard work. From our first one in Oakwood House, Maidstone to our last one at St Mary's RCP school - there was lots to learn.  In Maidstone, there was the best and most diverse bunch of craftsmen. It was a brilliant collection of real crafters selling beautiful products. Trouble was, there was no one to sell to! Very poor turnout and we had to lug our stuff such a long way from the car park to the conference hall. I remember feeling very tired and tearful packing up. We sold a modest amount. Way under target but it was our first one and I was prepared to accept that maybe I had raised the bar too high.  Some stall holders sold nothing!

Aylesford Priory was outdoors in a marquee but there was a great atmosphere amongst the stall holders. Big problems with condensation dripping over our stuff and a modest attendance. Other traders were saying there were less people coming through the door than in previous years. We did all right and having my friend Verity next to us was fun. But it was so, so cold. I stuck with my original target and was just £20 under target. Getting better.

The following weekend we were at King's Hall, Herne Bay. It was the tail end of the snow. Gillingham was still blanketed in snow but Herne Bay was thawing. The Saturday was DEAD ( people not confident enough to come out in the snow ) but the Sunday made up for it.  The comraderie was terrific. Obviously a lot of the traders did the circuit with Midas Leisure - the organisers and new each other well. My takings were affected by the poor turnout on the Saturday but Sunday's takings took me to target for the WHOLE weekend.  Yippee!!!

The surprise hit for me was a last minute pitch at Teah's school fete which was rescheduled after the snow. Indoors. Just three hours in duration and my best takings. Half the time and more takings !!!  I was delighted.  Haven't covered my outlay yet - what with materials and equipment but it's a start !!!

I have about 24 fairs booked ( or applied for ) for the coming year. I will update my events pages as they are confirmed. I will showcase my Spring range up to June ; my Summer range up to September and then it'll be Autumn and the countdown to Christmas.

I am working on my Spring range. During the Spring, I am targeting Valentine's Day, Mothering Sunday, Lent and Easter. My "Best of British" will celebrate the Royal Wedding and I will have plenty of Spring related stuff - chickens, bunnies, flowers, birds etc.  Following the success of Hunt the Gingerbread Man, I am working on an Easter Egg Hunt with new story characters. Look out for my bespoke scrapbooks - special and unique books for Mums, Brides, Wives etc with lots of secret pockets to hide treasures.

Please continue supporting Teah and I in this venture. If you've got a website, please post my link on your site; if you are on facebook, please "like" my facebook page to improve my rating;  please visit my website often to see what is new - comment on the guest book , order some stuff ( if you are in ME postcode area, I can maybe deliver to cut out postage costs - email me )

I am not getting enough paid work to keep afloat in the day job so am having to look at other jobs so I really hope and pray that I can make something of "Rosebud Crafts". If I have to go back to full time work, that'll mark the end of Rosebud Crafts!

 

Thanks for you support each and everyone of you. Happy New Year xxxx