Freebies...

...for the Cambridge Handmade promo bags; bookmarks and gift tags. (Between you and me I will glad when this fair is done, they are hard work!)

Busy Bee

A quick peep of my new little notebooks with my own fabric covers....busy busy....

A Spring Day in Cambridge

Mothering Sunday

Wishing all the mums in the UK (and across the world) a fabulous day!

Stacked up

I have turned into a one woman production line; all the pages are cut and folded, the covers cut, the fabric sorted (including a few of my own digitally printed ones), just enough time to glue the covers and poke the holes then tackle the sewing in front of the tv this evening and sleep....

Once upon a time...

Do you have days when you think the list of things you have to do just gets bigger and bigger no matter how much you do? I don't remember having this problem when I was younger, if anything I had a fair amount of time to be bored. I drew and read and listened to music and went out with friends and did lots of fun stuff but there were always hours where you could just sit and do nothing. Bored. Sundays in particular were boring. I never liked Sundays much, apart from knowing that Monday was coming next and I could get back to doing things.

How I long for those Sundays now. To have a real lie in (as opposed to getting up at 6.30 instead of 5.30) to read the papers, have brunch instead of breakfast, go for slow relaxing walks and come back ready for a mighty roast dinner. Then curl up on the sofa in front of a movie or with a good book whilst someone else washes up. Bliss.

But in the meantime I shall keep ticking off my perpetually growing list and hope some day soon I reach the bottom of it. Hopefully my family will still know what I look like!

Oh by the way do you like my painting? It's one of a selection of children's paintings that will hopefully make an appearance at the craft fair along with the new books I am sewing, new prints and cards. If you happen to pop along I'll be the one asleep in the corner :D

Hands On

As I have spent the best part of the last two weeks glued to the computer with website commissions I thought I would take time out to make a few books ready for the craft fair. (I'm not looking to see how close it really is!). I bought some black indian cotton rag paper a while ago with the intention of making photo albums, something I haven't made since giving up the wedding stationery malarky 4 years ago. And I'd forgotten how time consuming they were, even the bolted ones! Getting all the papers lined up and holes punched in the right place with a hand punch isn't the easiest job. Might have to invest in a proper paper drill one day. After a new computer, letterpress, new pair of shoes, a holiday, new flooring for the living room... you get the idea.

Yellow

Pockets of colour are finally springing up around the garden; daffodils, pansies, crocus and miniature iris are in full bloom. The days are getting longer, my mood is lifting, just need the breeze to be a little bit warmer so I can let the outside in. Nearly there...

Texture Journal

Being kept busy with a few commissions so here are a few pages from my journal until normal service resumes :D

A step closer...

...to getting my studio done. Found my other half with tape measure in hand drawing everything out to scale. A couple of weeks time and we will be off to the wood merchants to get the pieces cut - I am so excited!!!

Pods

Ignoring the fact that I am a terrible gardener and these once vibrant purple flowers (still haven't found out what they are called) have been dead since last summer, the skeletal seed pods that are left are really pretty close up and I thought they might make a fun pattern.

I have more nature inspired doodles waiting but work comes first...

Handmade Cambridge Craft Fair....

...is only a month away! No pressure then. As is the way with these things you sign up the year before thinking you have ages to prepare, then all of a sudden there is only a matter of weeks left! Thankfully I still have stock left over from We Make last Christmas so its just a case of getting new stuff done. Easy, right?

To see who else will be there check out the blog http://handmadecambridge.blogspot.com/