MMM'12, stall and other news

I, Magpie Mimi, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '12. I endeavour to wear one piece of me made clothing and accessories each day for the duration of May 2012.

I think I really need to do this this year as my clothing sewing has decreased to nil and I would like to make so many different items of clothing.  I'm starting to wear out all of the cheap block colour t-shirts I bought from Primark for work and I don't want to wear my posher stuff that I save for best to work.  I want to make more tops for this challenge and hope to make some modified Sorbettos for this make and maybe another Taffy.  I almost said I'd been really good and hadn't bought any fabric since my birthday but I'd be lying as I just remembered I picked up a metre of what is possibly either viscose or rayon from a charity shop in a very dark navy almost black with large white polka dots which I'm hoping will become a fitted Sorbetto that may or may not have sleeves.  

I'm getting rather excited about squeezing more out of a metre of fabric as I've actually lost a stone in weight!  I'd like to point out here I'm not on a diet and do not calorie count or do points or colours or whatever else is popular with diet groups at the moment.  I've just tried to be sensible and tried to move about more.  It's taken me a year and I even surprised myself with the loss as I don't own a weighing scales but there is one in one of the toilets in work.  It's on a floor full of diet moguls and I only hopped on it a year after the last time I went on it because three people I hadn't seen in a while, all on separate days, had said to me that I looked like I'd lost weight so I thought I'd test their theory.  I was chuffed and celebrated with a cream cake! haha! ;) 

Anyhoo...In other news I had a stall yesterday in the middle of a shopping centre.  It went ok, but could have done better.  Was not amused that the woman from the council who was supposed to be organising it didn't come out and introduce herself or thank us for coming or anything, I think it's bad manners and doesn't bode well for future events.  I had a lot of browsers but not a great amount of buyers.  I suppose it's because it was in a shopping centre and people were there for other things.

On a plus note I made some new friends and caught up with others and had a giggle, even if it was only because we were all sighing or wondering when to time it right to get a cuppa or a sandwich so you didn't end up with the trainee, who although very sweet was rather overwhelmed.

So without further ado, here's the latest stall and some pics of the other seller's stalls:

A selection of the rings and earrings I've been making with some cross stitched buttons and in the background a jewellery box I've stuffed with brooches and earrings

Wide shot of my stall with bunting round the edges and my tree

One of the other seller's stalls selling lots of Kawaii stuff

Annette's stall with the most beautiful fabric tote bags and peg bags and all sorts of loveliness

Another shot of her stall and a back view of mine

Pretty fabric bags

Wool from Nimble Fingers

My tree.  I did have the necklaces I made dangling from it as thought it would show off the bird necklaces better but people kept thinking they were decorations not birds so I took them down.

A selection of hair slides, bunting and brooches with my white rabbit in the background

My Easter bunnies in their basket at the back, some pincushions, brooches, hair bands and at the front some faux leather cuffs I've cut out a chrysanthemum design on with faux suede ties.

Aquila's stall from Love and Lovlier on Etsy

She's trying to hide behind her twigs but I got her!  Isn't her stall lovely?

And back to my stall

It was a long day in what turned out to be a draughty shopping centre, but I've learnt a few things and can take them onto the next fair I do.  I'll take some more detailed photos of the new products I've been making so you can give me your opinions too!  The funniest thing was people kept thinking my heart shaped mirrors, that I'd placed on the table at intervals to use to see things on yourself with, they were for sale.  The amount of people who kept turning them over looking for a price and then I'd have to politely explain that unfortunately they weren't for sale and were for display purposes only didn't always go down so well.  At least the kids liked them and were making faces into them!  The kids thought we were magic as they all got a free Easter egg.  The looks of utter joy and amazement on their faces was the best.  We did have a few 'clinton cards' moments yesterday where one stall was doing a lucky dip and the child put her hand in and drew out a prize and she got a green purse to match her mother's!  She was overjoyed as she didn't have a purse and of course it being the same colour as her mother's meant she was a big girl too!  The other moment was when a little girl asked her mother if she could buy one of my lavender stuffed birds for her grandmother, it was so good because the grandmother met them just by the stall and she opened the parcel there and then and nearly cried as it was from her granddaughter!  Awww!

Happy Easter!

Little rabbit Frou Frou running through the forest...

I thought a good way of easing myself back into sewing and to help fill my stall and to have something Easter related would be a good idea and thus these bunnies were born.  I've made these bunnies before for my nieces and friend's children, they're just the right size for little mits to hold them and since there's no removable parts they're safe for even the most vigorous of youngsters.  Trust me, my nieces have put the earlier versions through their paces!  I have changed their tails though, I used to put wool pom poms on them but decided self fabric tails were better.

I think they're rather cute and have styled them with pretty eggs in my egg basket and tried to make the photos all professional and snazzy!

Two bunnies next to a basket full of eggs

Left hand side bunny is white fleece with a blue bow round it's neck and blue inner ears, Right hand side bunny is vintage brushed cotton in yellow with little red, white and blue flowers as the pattern, an orange with tiny white polka dots ribbon and blue plaid inner ears and matching tail.

The more I look at these pictures the more I think the basket handle with the large green ribbon bow on top looks like a palm tree...bunnies on a desert island? Nah, the chocolate eggs would melt!

Does anyone else remember the song Little rabbit Frou Frou?  I remember sitting on the top bunk of the bunk beds my sister and I shared (her's was the top bunk since she was older) and her singing that to me and doing all the actions.  I'm sure it was me that got the bop on the head though...

Normal service will resume shortly...

I can't thank everyone enough for how kind and supportive you have all been.  It really lifted my spirits when I was very down.  Thankfully my arm is back to nearly full working order, just in time for my next round of treatment next week! haha!  It should be fine though.  I have been taking things very slowly so have been working on a dress in my sewing class which I'm pondering whether to show you whilst it's in progress or to wait until it's all done and do a big reveal as this is probably my most favourite thing in the world at the moment.  I've probably jinxed the hell out of it now but hey ho! 

I'm also working on bunnies.  I have two fairs coming up and would like to Easter theme them as I love bunnies, everyone should like bunnies in my opinion, and flamingoes and llamas.  I saw a bounty advert last night where there was a woman eating a bounty on this beautiful desert island with clear blue seas and white sands and lush vegetation and I said to J 'that would be perfect, I love bounty's now all it needs is some flamingoes and llamas and I'm set!'  I do wonder sometimes why he hasn't put me in a straight jacket and asked the men in white coats to take me away...

But I digress...I was telling you about bunnies and stalls.  Well, the first one will be at the same place I had my very first stall and the second is the new date for the one that fell through back in February.  I'm slightly scared about this second one as it's in the middle of a shopping centre thoroughfare and I'm slightly nervous that I wont have a wall to put my back against and it's in the town I work in and not very many people in work know what I do outside of work and I like that so it's a bit scary.  I'm sure I'll be fine but there's still that little niggle of scaredy cat!

My other fantastic news is that I've won not one but two giveaways!  It came on exactly the right day too, I was having a bit of a bad week with work and family life and this just brought me some much needed sunshine!  I 'won' well sounds like it was rigged to me, and for that I am so very very grateful, Marguerite Designs Amy Butler pattern and pin cushion giveaway and the Sweet Paul Lotta Jansdotta washi tape giveaway too!  I met Diane from Marguerite Designs on the Sew Weekly UK meet up in May last year, she's such a talented and modest seamstress and always has a lovely smile in all the photos she takes!  I am bowled over by her kindness in giving the prize to me after the original winner failed to claim it as she thought I needed cheering up.  It couldn't have come at a better time and I get quite choked up when I think about it.  And then to see further down on my emails that I'd won the washi tape too I was astounded!  I love reading Sweet Paul as the pictures are to die for, the recipes are yummy and there's always something fun to make too!  I have no idea what I'm going to use the tape for yet, but it's so pretty it's not going to bother me if it sits there looking prettily at me while I ponder a project for it!

So that's the sum total of my news at the moment.  I will hopefully have some finished bunnies to show you soon and will try and get some pretty photos if I venture out today and it doesn't continue to rain.  Typical, wall to wall sunshine when I'm in work and now it's raining! ;)

Thank you all once again for all your support, it really did help me heaps! x

As promised...

Here's some photos of the stall today, didn't do too badly, was rather a big fair stall number wise but not the footfall I was hoping for at my stall.  Had lots of lovely comments about my wares and props though, so going in the right direction.  Did feel a bit upstaged by some of the other stalls that have been going for years.  There was even a 12 year old boy with a stall of his own selling slate place mats and coasters and a four year old with Barbies...ok, that one was just stuff her mum made but let her little girl take ownership of...but still...four years old!!!

Picture of stall showing piles of triangular bunting in the forefront of the picture with the feather hair clips to the left and tailor's ham and seam roll on the right

My tree showing off the felt leaf decorations and the lavender stuffed hearts and birds and my pretty battery operated fairy lights too

The metal frame clasp purses complete with self covered buttons made in the summer, zip purses beyond on the right and just seen clutch bags on the left of the picture

Cake stand with pincushions on the top layer and an assortment of felt flower brooches and hair clips on the lower layer

Forefront and left some costume jewellery brooches and at the back and right my cross stitch buttons

The back of one of my felt flamingo decorations

Yellow stuffed lavender bird and blue stuffed lavender heart with a grey and cream felt leaf with a wooden flower shaped button above and below these two decorations.

More views of the cake stand with pin cushions and felt flowers

Front view of the sequinned flamingo decorations

Stuffed felt moose decoration with gingham collar complete with silver bell

It was good to see how other people set up their stalls, it was also interesting to see how some people thought they could just turn up and then leave without helping at all with the tables etc.  I just think if you're participating in a fair you need to help set up and clear up or one or the other if you've got other arrangements to attend to.  A lot of the other stall holders didn't seem to think this applied to them, which I think is quite sad.

On a brighter note, I think a lot of money was raised for Cystic Fibrosis, the charity for the event, as the money for the stalls was for it and there was a raffle too, in which I won a very pretty ceramic bunting that is now adorning my dresser and looks very happy there too!  

I may have partaken of some gorgeously sparkly cup cakes too from the lovely Charlotte and I bought a mirror brooch in the shape of a flying goose as just couldn't resist either...I'm weak willed when it comes to sparkly and shiny things as you all well know!

Things I've learnt from this fair are:

• get more stitch in labels as I've run out and didn't have enough to put in the metal clasp purses I'd made, which is a big boo boo.  
• get some cards done to show off my blog and etsy shop as don't have any yet, again a big boo boo.
• make a banner with my shop name on to really promote myself, as although I wore my name badge I made for the Birmingham meet up I think I really need to do some serious branding.
• I'm considering setting up a facebook page for the shop, I'm wary as had problems with my personal facebook so this may not happen.
• Finish making the prop or buy a head and shoulders form for my crochet necklace scarves as people just don't seem to understand what they are and it's not always practical for me to be wearing one all the time - I get too hot!

I'd love to do the fair again as it's a nice atmosphere, the organiser deserves a medal for doing all she did especially with two young children with cystic fibrosis to look after, one of whom was only let out of hospital today between medications, so a big big THANK YOU to Aquila for sorting it all out!

I can now call myself a stall holder!

Had my first craft fair stall today and it went really well!  I'm utterly exhausted now but very very pleased!  I've learnt how to set out a table, and how not to...the pegs I put in my bag at the last minute were invaluable, but don't forget a sharpie marker and some extra fabric for draping just in case.  I've learnt what sells and what might need to be re-jigged or re priced.  I also managed to bag the centre table, the fist one anyone sees when they come through the door!  How jammy is that for a first fair??

And...I won a handbag in the raffle, by pulling my own name out of the hat no less!  Those of you who were at the Sew Weekly meet up will know I somehow managed to do it then as well, how creepy is that?  It's a large bright orange handbag and I love it!  Such a great prize for a wonderful day, everyone was lovely to me and so kind and helpful.  I've even got a commission piece to do and have been given some very useful contacts for other fairs and have been invited back to the next one at the venue I was at today.  I think I can safely say today went well.  I've put all the money I made today to one side as my float for my next stall as think this is the safest option, as if I put it anywhere near my current account it'll get spent on fabric...I can tell!

Here's a few pictures of my stall, they're taken at different times during the day so there's a little less consistency than I'd like but was trying to take pictures for my own record of how I set things out and not of the people at the stall.

Looking at the stall head on as you enter the fair, oooh the goodies!

Another view of the goodies, including the quilt Sarah made!

Right side on view

Left side view

Close up of my felt flowers and cross stitch buttons and the vinyl clocks my friend made

Christmas decorations I made, some cross stitch, some gingham

Another view of the felt flowers and wider view of the table

I'm completely shattered but happy and can't wait to do another one!  Oh Oh!  And I made my first sale on my etsy shop this week!  Hurray!  Oh oh!  And I had my first sewing class today as joined a free sewing class.  Oh oh!  And I got a bonus at work and am due to get another, so will put it towards a new camera!  Such a good week for me!  hehe!

Happy sewing everybody!