a picture from my last crafty xmas fair

My stall

I had my last fair before Christmas and I had a VERY SMALL table so I only displayed a few pieces this time concentrated mainly on the chalkboards. There was a bit of a poor turnout so really it consisted of sellers buying from sellers! but we kept up the morale until an hour until it finished and we decided to pack up and go home! So came home with a profit but a bit of a meagre one! Never mind will keep the ideas stacking up ready for the new year. I'm introducing loyalty cards next year where you have a card and after you buy a certain number of my gifts you get one free! How splendid! Well I hope you are all ready for the Christmas celebrations and I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a PROSPEROUS new year!

******And a special thanks to all my customers and my family mainly SHADANN for his hard work helping me after his own hard days work and my friends especially CARA for helping me and supporting the HANDMADE world!

How to make chalk boards

paper template

MDF/wood

chalkboard paint

any shape

First of all you get your design, I think about  roughly about foot square is an ideal shape to start with and draw it onto paper. Then you get your obliging partner or yourself whoever is handiest with a jigsaw cutter and get them to cut out on 12mm (1.2cm) MDF your shape.
Then once you have your shape give it a good sanding on the edges so there is no rough pieces, then I found that using a small roller is a great way to get even coverage onto your board, first roller the edges, getting into the crevices with a paintbrush, then just simply roller the front side, leave for a couple of hours and roller the back side, make sure you give them at least 2 coats of the chalkboard paint.
Next when the boards are dry, I drill 2 holes into the top edges and attach some plaited twine to make an ideal hanger.
There you have an original chalk board perfect gifts for any occasion.
(on the rectangle shape ones I buy rub on transfers and decorate them round the edges making sure I leave room for someone to be able to chalk onto the board)

making gift wrap paper

Today I brought 20 sheets of plain paper for £1.20 and have stamped them with various designs to use as the tissue paper to wrap my craft gifts in for when they sell.

Plain paper before they are stamped

green leaf design

heart design

words and hearts

I am hoping that wrapping in these pretty papers will just add a finishing touch to the way they are presented, especially when I post gifts off its nice to recieve something well presented and after all its "handmade"

I am getting ready for 2 more craft fairs that are coming up so we have new shapes for chalkboards and have to get a move on blacking them up and have an array of aprons to get stitched up.

Custom order...

Sefton's Jeep

This will have a couple of small holes drilled in the top corners to add some wire for it to hang from once the clear coat of varnish is dried. To make a door/wall hanging of a little boys jeep personalised with his name "Sefton"

I think this is the first "boy" thing I've ever done! So I am hoping its "boyish" enough...watch this space

100 facebook likes!

Add caption

.....Ben Patient. Congrats Ben, Address details will be sought and gift will be handmade and posted to the lucky man Ben! Im trying really hard now to advertise and network to get Marti Crafts a recognised and liked business. After all what can be more heart felt than getting a personal gift for someone you love?

Custom order for bunting

Personalised bunting

This is a new make for Sunday morning. What a lovely way to keep out of mischief!

Horse clock

Horse clock (silent motion)

My middle daughters christmas star

This morning I took 2 of my daughters to a local craft fair and Millie made a christmas star, I think crafty-ness is in the genes! I love it! Then this evening the horse clock got his mechanism added and is now finished ready for delivery. the hands are silent motion so you do not get the tick tock sound. I think its rather cute to be honest, not that I am bias or anything! Also made a few christmas cards with Millie earlier this afternoon. So very cold we didn't want to leave the house, the woodburner was a delight to sit beside today.

Another custom order completed

Personalised bunting

If anyone has an unusual name its often hard to buy things that are personlised so I have started making bunting that is personalised with those more unusual names on, This is an example of a pink & purple 8 flag bunting that I have just finished. Depending on how long the name is they range from £8 upto £12. Its quite a good gift idea too.

Custom order completed

6 handmade doorstops

I had to complete an order for a lady and have now finished it. So they are all packaged up tonight and ready to go. Also packed up a parcel for my friend CARA and one for my friend Jane. So now need to get back to the real world and sort my house out!

All set

Marti Crafts stall

My new mannequin

Personalised heart

Well my neice Hanny and my middle daughter Millie helped me sett up the stall last night ready for todays fair. As a thank you I made Hanny a little heart for her bedroom. Thanks girlies! Hanny was great setting up and helpful and had some constructive comments too. She is a little love. Millie was good too but stole yet another cat doorstop for her own and named it "Pete" So fingers crossed that today goes well and I can get some money for the clothes show at the NEC in Birmingham next month.

Chalkboards

Rectangle chalkboard

Heart chalkboard

Chicken chalkboard

Today's work included these chalkboards, 6 in total we still have to add the rope to hang them by, but I am really pleased with them and I have lots of ideas for more to come.

Also I made some more Lavender scented hangers but in green and red ready for christmas, and posted off my pink polka dot cat doorstop that was brought by someone from my

MARTI CRAFTS FOLKSY store.

Early morning productions....

Lavender hanging bags

Granma's puppets

Green hat with pink flowers

White and green hat

Blue, orange,purple and cream hat

I got up at 4.50am today with Baby Roo and whilst she went back to sleep I started to make some lavender bags with the big bag of lavender that my friend gave to me, they look really sweet and will look great on the stalls this weekend. Then when the postie came my Granma had made and sent me some hats and puppets that she had knitted for the stall... How sweet.

Aprons & Doorstops

Afternoon Tea fabric Apron

Mums pinny (comes with matching childs pinny)

Pleated Apron (comes with matching childs apron)

Cat door stop

Doorstop

Have spent the weekend busy making things ready for 2 craft / xmas fayres this weekend coming, Also have in production some really great chalkboards, lovely chicken designs and heart shapes, kindly cut out from wood by my ever~giving man. On deciding to narrow down the amount of different things I have been making it gives me time to concentrate on the finer details of how to display effectively.

No one likes a muddle do they?

Let me know which are your favourite items and also your not so favourite, so I can work on those that are not up to scratch.

Beautiful fabric

Afternoon tea fabric

I got this fabric yesterday and I love it, so I have cut some patterns for some aprons and thinking I might make a recycling bag from it to maybe, you know one that holds all your carrier bags tidily. Looking at making oven mitts and pot holders aswell but need to buy insulating wadding for those so you dont burn your fingers!

Blackboards, Patchwork & Doorstops

Painting with blackboard paint

Personalised Patchwork Quilt

An unfilled cat doorstop



Trio of doorstops



I have less than 2 weeks until my next craft fair and so have to start getting ready, My stall will be different this time in the sense I am going to concentrate on 4 things: Doorstops, Blackboards, Wooden sentiments and clocks. Hopefully this will flow better than having a real mix of products to sell.

I had an order for 3 doorstops in the cat range, so those are now finished, I have had an order for some pink & purple bunting, thats in my "to sew" pile, then I have an order for christmas cards, those are all done, and I have had an order for a horse clock so thats the next job ( has to be ready for christmas so thats ok no panic). Then today a member of staff at my daughters day care asked if I could make her some bunting and a table cloth for a fair she is doing and thats soon. The patchwork quilt I didn't make (shhhh!) but I personalised for my oldest as she's been a bit under the weather and needs something to snuggle up with.
 Looks like things are growing in the Marti Crafts world!
WooHoo!

Purrrr fect doorstop

Why are all my doorstops funny?

Kitty

I did my first Craft Xmas fayre

One end of my table

Then there was a spare so used the other to display more!

Well my first first christmas fair was ok, i learnt that its probably best to sell maybe 2-3 different things rather than lots of mish mash handmade stuff as I felt it looked a little messy, probably my display techinques are not great, but im going to make myself a few stands to make the things look even more professional ready for the Yeovil Craft fair at Abby Manor Barn. 21st November. Come along to see how I've improved my set up. But everyone was friendly and feel really pleased that I did it. Well done me! And i didn't make loads of money but came home in profit even after spending some money (naughty!)

Frustration!

I've spent ages uploading my pictures in a way that I can display all of the wooden sentiments on one page so i do not have to spent hours uploading each one onto my blog and it wont work! Sobs! I need to learn a few more tricks I think.

Any hoo I've managed to get everything prepared now for sunday and Im ready to go to the fair yay!

Various sentiments
on the cupcake range

Christmas sentiments

Home sentiments

The xmas gingerbread men

My price tags

2 of my girls relaxing whilst mummy crafts!

Millie and I made some things from Plastiroc (clay)

....So I had to upload just one of each to show you, I really wanted the 20 in one picture I think I will have to seek some advice on how to do it. Millie and I made some bits from a meduim called Plastiroc this morning whilst baby Roo was sleeping we made a tortoise, a house and some butterflies so we can make them into a mobile when they are dry. I love crafting with the children they are so free in what they do as they have no preconceptions. I wish I was like that in my ideas.

On the stall so far...

I will be advertising my Posh Pinny

Selection of cards

Marti Crafts Banner

Fairy dress hangers

Bunting

Door stop set

Wooden sentiments

More bunting

Pram / Cot blankets

Drawcord bags

Hnadmade clocks

& more pretty bunting

This is a little guide as to roughly whats on my stall being held at the Brookside school Crafty Christmas fair, in Street Somerset at 11am Sunday the 7th November.
 Come along and support us it will be a fun day with lots of stalls and kids activities.