First fete of the year!

Well we got the first fete over with last Bank Holiday Monday - what a lovely day it was too! No, not really, hailstones as we started to load the car, followed by heavy showers on and off for the rest of the afternoon - and it was freezing cold too! Well that's May for you, completely unpredictable! Anyhow, it meant we (myself and daughter) got to test out the capabilities of the new gazebo. It was thankfully waterproof and didn't blow away! I weighted the corners with some weightlifting weights, (which haven't been used for muscle-building for a very long time, they are most commonly used in the process of my husband's guitar-building) and the other good tip I got from Moonbeam Angel via craftsforum was to fill milk bottles with water - I bought some little bungee cord things with hooks (there's probably a proper name for them!) for about £2 in B&Q to secure them to the gazebo legs. I didn't need my own new table or the sack barrow/trolley thing I'd just bought as I was able to unload from the car on the green before parking it and though they said there were no tables, there was one for me in the end. Never mind, they'll be used elsewhere this summer and now I know everything can fit in the car!

A banner is next on my list of things to buy!

We didn't do too badly sales-wise despite it being fairly dreadful weather. The sun came out towards the end,  but we were in a corner between the barbecue (which kept billowing smoke) and some kind of football shooting game (a bit of a concern with a table full of jewellery!) and didn't get any sunshine. My profits covered the cost of the table (the one I bought, not the one provided) and the trolley, so next time we need to make £80 to cover the cost of the gazebo and then we're in profit! Oh, except for the banner and business cards I need to buy next... still, they'll all be used again over the next however many years!

So I haven't been keeping track of the One a Day figures, I must go through my desk diary and get back on track with the numbers. The week before the fete was a rush at making more stock - better to have too much than too little!

I made a whole load of children's necklaces. Well, technically I didn't make the pendants, but cutting lengths of cotton cord and adding folding crimps and clasps takes an annoying amount of time when I only sell them for £2.50! I made Hello Kittys, Gloomy Bears, rabbits, little deer, Jack Skellingtons, skull & crossbones, pirate heads etc.

The past week I've been working on commissions I've had via my website http://www.pirate-treasures.com/ .

I still haven't put all my display stuff back in the loft and we're tripping over the gazebo in the conservatory, so I'd better get the chicken in the oven and tidy up...

~Jane

Better late than never!

Well it's all gone very very behind schedule here at Pirate Treasures Towers - the making is as usual up to date, but the blogging is sadly lacking!


Firstly I was spending time caring for little Leo the gerbil (as mentioned in a previous post), he sadly died on 17th April and for his last couple of days needed help feeding and generally cuddling to keep warm. He was nearly 3 years old so an elderly gentleman in gerbil terms, he's gone to play with his brother Squizzle wherever gerbils go!

I've been busy booking a few Summer fetes to attend and have the first on Monday at Woodmansterne in Surrey - hopefully it will stay dry! I bought a pop-up waterproof gazebo and new (supposedly) 'lightweight' table, but they both weigh a tonne (well maybe not literally) and I didn't consider how far we might have to park the car and carry them from, so I think I'll have to go to B&Q to buy a trolley type thing later... that's all costing a fortune so I'd better sell loads!

I've had a few commissions to make, which I've sold/will be selling/have added similar desings on my website www.pirate-treasures.com  I was asked to make some dangly pirate earrings with cameos and a bracelet for a bride with a pirate theme!
 

I've also been making lots of new things for the upcoming fetes...

Memory wire coiled bracelets always look nice & sparkly and the single coil ones are popular with little girls! When I checked through  my box of  'stall jewellery', which I hadn't opened since the Christmas Fair, I realised I only had a few charm bracelets left, so I made one with white glass pearls and acrylic silver hearts and one of my frosty flowers ones which always sell well.

I have a bunch of other stuff made, but I need to take some photos and anyway it would be a giant post if I posted it all at once! So I will definitely blog again before Monday, and then afterwards to say how the fete went...