A Rainy Saturday

I got up bright and early so I would arrive at my very first event of 2011 on time (for a change) to find it was absolutely pouring with rain. I know its February, but for goodness sake - the middle of this week was glorious in our area but come the weekend and somebody up there decides to turn teach us all a lesson for trying to go about our business and ensures we arrive wherever we are going in a complete state.

I thought I was so organised last night. After spending quite a while trying to remember exactly what I needed to take with me, I loaded the car and even got all my clothes out so I could shower and get dressed in the en-suite which means my hubby doesn't get woken up by my rummaging around trying to find something to wear.

Then I came downstairs, opened the curtains and realised that nobody with any sort of sense was going to come out and wander round a craft fayre when they could be nice and warm and dry at home.

As I was on my own, I ended up running backwards and forwards to the car to unload at least 5 times and resembled a drowned rat by the time I was ready to set up!

On the plus side, I did sell 2 x nappy cakes, 1 x scan mount with frame and a keepsake box so all in all it was a good day really. Once the rain decided to give it a rest people did venture out and all the funds raised went to the school involved.

Came home to the usual chaos of whole family sitting asking what was for dinner, washing still in machine waiting to be dried and hubby playing PS3 - nice to know nothing much changes in my life!

First Show of 2011

Well, tomorrow sees me attending my first show/event of 2011.

As I haven't been to a show since a couple of weeks before Xmas I had to really sit and think about exactly what I needed to take with me! I got so used to it last year that I practically got everything together each Friday evening without actually being aware of what I was doing, but its amazing how quickly you forget.

I'm sure I've got everything safely stowed in the car but have a horrible feeling I'm going to get to where I'm going tomorrow and realise I've left something at home.

Tomorrow is the first time I'm going to use my new (and hopefully improved) shelving system at the back of the table. Really its just two cheap shoe racks but my idea is to place them end to end across the back of the table I'm allocated then cover with a cloth, but it will mean the nappy cakes will be sitting slightly higher than the ones at the front of the table. This will also mean that people passing by will be able to see all the nappy cakes easily rather than having to lean over the table.

I'm also taking the new scan mounts that I have framed as it should give people a chance to buy something immediately rather than just picking up a leaflet for when the baby is born.

The general concensus of opinion is that all the leaflets you give out during the course of a day - one third will be thrown away, one third will be lost and the other third will keep a hold of them and (hopefully) remember where it is when they want to order.

I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow evening. Meanwhile take a look at the photo above of the framed scan mount - I have got several different frame colours and actual mounts - so if you know of anyone who has just had their 12 or 20 week scan and isn't sure what to do with the photos, why not purchase one of these - they are on my website.

A New Direction?

Today I spend a lovely afternoon putting the world to rights with a fellow crafter over several cups of tea.

We got on to discussing what events/shows/fairs we were going to attend in 2011 and she was totally amazed when I produced my folders (one for 2010 and one for 2011).

Each event has its own plastic wallet with all the documentation in about that show together with a copy of the completed booking form and is then placed in the correct month in date order. After each show I did last year I wrote on the top of my paperwork how many nappy cakes I had sold so I knew which ones would be worth my whole attending in 2011.

As I am a PA by trade, I have learned to be extremely well organised and multi-task really well so now my website is up to date, as is my Folksy page, everything is ready to go for my first show this coming Saturday, my storage problems are sorted, my advertising is done - in fact I am completely and utterly organised.

Anyway, my friend said I should look at maybe offering my services to other crafters, many of whom are completely disorganised (herself included).

So, it got me to thinking whether maybe it was quite a good idea. As much as I love my nappy cake making it currently doesn't pay the bills and offering my services as an organiser/PA for others is certainly an idea worth pursuing.

I'll let you know whether I get any further with it.

In the meantime, check out the photo of a slightly different take on the nappy cake - placing the doll in the middle of the cake rather than on the top.

A very nice day

Its a good job I am not currently employed as eldest daughter's car died last night and she has had to use mine to get backwards and forwards to her job.

Normally I would be quite happy to walk everywhere, but today I had a nappy cake to deliver and I was planning on doing a stock swap in one of the hospital shops (try and say that quickly 3 times!).

Anyway, I told her she could use my car provided she came back to pick me up and we did my two jobs first. Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but she is a nanny and she looks after a 3 year old girl and a one year old boy. I've met the one year old before but not the little girl but have to say they are a credit to her.

They are both such happy, friendly children and I was treated to several renditions of twinkle twinkle little star and incy wincy spider as we were going along. I also had to laugh when the eldest one announced her brother was "her baby and is so squishy!".

After we had finished the deliveries we ended up in the local garden centre to feed the children and then we went and had a look at the fish in the aquatic centre and the bunnies and gerbils in the pet centre. It was really lovely seeing everything through the eyes of the children and I had a really nice day.

When I got home this afternoon I had various telephone messages on the answerphone and lots of emails too from people asking whether I wanted to attend various shows/events. I started the year with the best of intentions and promised faithfully I would only attend one or two shows a month, but that all seems to have gone out of the window as everytime somebody asks if I'd like to attend, I end up thinking about it!

Note to self - must spend more time with my family this year and not every weekend at shows.