tri monthly catch up!!

Yes, I know I've not posted again for ages, my poor readers I am terribly sorry, life just gets in the way and trying to keep up with facebook, instagram, twitter, shop, life, mum duties, fair organising, looking after pets, home and garden, blah blah takes so much time my poor blog gets left out.
I have been busy working at my shop since my shop partner dropped out, I nearly closed down but things have picked up and for the moment I'm staying open, its pretty hard work being there and away from the family as I miss them loads but on the upside I have a sewing room so I can create whilst I'm there, I'm currently working on a new range of Dotty Wear, I can't wait for it to be finished so I can share it.

I'm also busy organising another vintage and handmade fair for June, I have a smaller outdoors/indoors one at Catforth village hall on June 2nd and the large venue of the winter gardens on June 29th - 30th.

I have other ideas and things in the pipeline too but sometimes it all seems to much, some days I would love to potter around the gardens, read a book or just watch romantic films without the constant guilt feeling that I should be doing something else, being self employed is blumming hard work sometimes, theres ever really a day off as such until your rather rich but then the bigger you become the more demands are put on you. Any way I'm so grateful for all the opportunities given to me and I do love having so many things to do, I'm not moaning about it just expressing myself. Have you got any tips for me to time manage more effectively?

Can I share this too, I have just read a blog post on Galleries, studios, theatre and it is so apt, I could of written it myself! do you know I could of written this myself, its so wonderful that she shared these thoughts because she is right we do fake it a lot, I think if more of us opened up then less of us would feel like we have to pretend. x

The fair at the winter gardens was amazing, the best one yet, there was so many amazing stalls, acts and customers, we had a blast. There seemed to be a different feel to the fair, more relaxed and calm. We had some new entertainers too which went down a treat with the public and stallholders including belly dancers, a 1940s trumpet player Ricky Hunter and singer/songwriter Karima Francis. The regular entertainers from Preston came too including Baxter Rhodes, Jamie Brewer, Bill Orrick, Katie Ryan and Mobius loop.
There was some new food stalls too including Old fatty Jones who makes unusual jams and preserves, his monkey butter was a sure fire winner with customers, The Real Thai pie company who had the most delicious thai curry pies, I tried the beef and the veggie option, great pastry, lovely filling, all british meat too. As always the Love Cheesecake boys and Cupcake were there selling the best in sweet treats.
We was super busy in our vintage tearoom, in fact I had to set more tables up!
We had a new set up this time to with Hazel Tyler on vintage hair and make up make overs, The Vintage Wardrobe providing clothes and Claire Griffiths taking photographs, our vintage photo booth was a big success.
There was new and regular stalls, too many to mention but all wonderful.
We had a raffle to adopt a donkey and the winner Christine Jennings won an array of handmade and vintage treats all provided by our kind stallholders.
If you missed out this time on visiting dont panic there are two more dates for this year, 29-30th June and 30th Nov-1st Dec at the winter gardens.

Photos taken by Tom Holmes

What a lovely Sunday

On Sunday I was at art in the park in Lytham, the event organised by the talented screen printer Robin Ross was held a Lytham Hall a big Georgian house a few miles from where I live, our stalls were inside a courtyard where the sun shone brightly in the middle, the stall holders kept gathering for a warm!, I met some lovely people, the world is full of undiscovered talent. I didn't really take much, only sold two owls but the company and location far made up for it. I met a brilliantly charged artist who is off to Montana to live with native Americans, he had a great vibe about him and made me feel so creatively empowered. I also met a fantastic up and coming artist, she's 18, paints amazing animals and is super talented.
After trading had finished Letty my wonderfully talented glass artist friend and I went around the gorgeous grounds full of trees and birds. We stood by a lily pond and just listened it was amazing, the sounds of the different birds chirping and cooing was awesome.
I love being surrounded by green, nature and pure earth it makes the end of the week feel like a new beginning ❤

My birthday

Today is my 36th birthday. I attended a craft fair at Poulton to sell my wares to make some money for a day out tomorrow, it was so quiet, I made nothing!. In fact it cost me money so was pretty naff, I've been thinking a lot about fairs and if they are a good way to sell your things, get noticed and become popular as a brand.
I'm getting quite disheartened with it all actually, I'm contemplating stopping going to them. What do you lovely readers think? How do you do at fairs?, if you've stopped going how do you sell? X
Added photo of Badger sitting on my suitcases full of crafty things ready to take to the fair

A bit better

Today me and my fellow had a big heart to heart about Badger, it was hard and filled with tears but we have decided to keep him and I will get more help with him which is a nice relief as I felt I had too much to do, Chris has been better today with the dog, he has been stroking him and even had him in his knee so that's a blessing. My fellow took the day off work and it's been great just enjoying Badger instead of stressing out.
My eldest has applied for a job, I don't mention him to much as our relationship is strained, he's 17, has aspergers and is very awkward to talk to. I have my fingers crossed he gets it to elevate the tension.
I have a craft fair coming up on Saturday at Cedar Farm which is a lovely day out, I'm hoping it will be a busy one with it being Easter, here's a photo of my stall from last week

Introducing Mrs Marmalade and a craft fair invite x

I'm not sure if any of my regular readers know that I am organising a weekend vintage and handcrafted fair in Blackpool 23rd -24th June and I have another blog promoting all the stall holders and anything crafty I may come across, here is a snippet from my other blog:

 

There is the most wonderful lady sewing away in Blackpool, she makes the most adorable pincushions with kitsch trinkets on top and gorgeous patchwork quilts that make you think of home, her designs are bright, cheerful and unique just like her, as a stallholder and a good friend I asked her about her crafting:

She said "The joy of homemade has always charmed me - reworking vintage loveliness into "new" and finding lost treasures appeals to the Mrs Marmalade in me. Making quilts is a pleasure I have been making baby and dolly quilts for 10 years and just can't stop :O] x!"

 Always on the look out for unusual finds she scours charity shops and boot sales looking for interesting pieces to add to her wonderful kitsch collection of trinkets .

She takes pieces of vintage and retro fabric and turns them into the most lovely fun

items for your home, she explains she was a late starter, just a decade of making and a dreadful sewing student at school she is only too happy to sew and make in place of everyday busyness, she is most happiest sewing, creating and reading blogs

 

If you want to carry on reading pop over and say hello at truly scrumptious fairs blog please x

my next big thing!

I have taken the plunge and gone and book one of Blackpool's greatest landmarks The winter gardens for a summer vintage and handmade craft fair!!

its going to be a two day spectacular of crafts, vintage, entertainment and music with craft workshops, a vintage tearoom and lots of handmade goodness.


There will be over a 100 stalls selling the northwest's finest gifts, clothes, toys, accessories, food, art, cards, homewares and much ...more. We are lucky enough to have two performances on the sunday from the very lovely burlesque performer Kitty Koko and I am so hounered to annouce that the amazing Kirsty Almeida will be performing too - how amazing is that.
We shall be having various bands performing over the weekend on the stage and tea and cakes served on vintage china all in the beautiful art deco surroundings of the Pavilion theatre at the Winter Gardens situated in the middle of Blackpool town centre 23rd June 10am - 5pm and 24th June 2012 10pm - 4pm Free entry.

Stalls are still available but going fast £25 for one day or £45 for the full weekend. We can set up from 8am and as it is a secure locked area you can leave your stalls set up overnight if you are doing a full weekend. You will get a table and 2 chairs with extra space around you if you want to bring rails, furniture etc, please let me know in advance of any requirements you have regarding this so I can accommodate you.

There are people coming from all over, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Cumbria, Yorkshire to name a few so if you want to have a stall but don't drive just get in touch Im trying to organise a lift share.

Any questions please feel free to ask, I know this is going to be an awesome event and can't wait to see you there. If you can will you share this link with your friends and followers, if you share it leave me a comment in the comment box on here or send me a message on facebook (Dotty D Lightful) with a link to where you have shared it and you will be entered into a prize draw to win some lovely handmade goodies x
https://www.facebook.com/events/274062292649467/

crafty catch up

Been super busy crafting, homeschooling, trying to keep warm and sleeping lately, each day whizzes by and before you know it it's bedtime again, I have tons of fairs coming up over the next few weeks so have been neglecting my blogs, so sorry readers for that normal service shall resume soon!,

This week we did a photoshoot for our local newspaper, its for ladies pamper night on 15th December in Blackpool at Cafe Dolce on Abingdon street, 7pm - 9pm if you live locally and dare brave the seaside weather pop down, the lady on the left, Anne does angel (oracle) cards and readings, me in the middle will be selling my sewn items and Fran the one on the right does amazing vintage clothes, there will be other stalls too and lots of cake :)

Hope to see you there xx

Super Duper fair

On Saturday I attended as a stall holder Blackpool's Super duper fair, it was awesome, 60 stalls all selling lovely handmade items and gifts, there were so truly talented folks around

 Here I am making a finger puppet for the children of watamu with Aunty socials pop up workshop

some lovely photos of my things by Mrs marmalade who sells gorgeous peg doll fairys, check out her folksy page, I met her at a fair in the summer and she is one of those ladies who I have been lucky enough to meet that makes me smile and is a truly lovely person.

I also met a lady who has the soapure website (great name isn't it), she hand makes soaps and lots of other lovely smelling things for your body and bath, all her products are totally chemical free and pure, I bought some things of her for presents but can't say what they are in case family members sneek a peek!, all I can say is the smell heavenly.

I finally got to meet cool crafting, if you haven't heard of them before they run crafty workshops and make lovely sewn items, I got some great buttons and ribbon of them.

what has been going on?

twas Halloween and all the zombies came out to play, well actually it was just me going to our home school party, I was the only adult who had gone the whole hog and each time I smiled and talked to small children I forgot I had this look so was surprised they didn't like me!, the children had fun though, well other people's children that is, my boys wouldn't wear there costumes and didn't take part in any games, it's an awkward age being 12 and 14, our group is full of small ones and then a big gap until my two, sometimes other older boys come and they have a good time. We are trying to organise some inside activities seen as though the colder weather is upon us, in the summer everyone played outside the building as it leads straight onto the park which was great. We are slowly building up a bigger group now which is good, I did take photos of the day but I have lost my camera lead so unfortunately can't share them .

We got two new chickens this week, they are lovely girls, we have called them Alice and Dorothy, they will start to lay in about a month and are black tails, they cry a lot and haven't got the hang of going to bed yet at night but are very loving and lovely to watch. We are going to extend the chicken enclosure to stop them digging up my veg patch - naughty girls!! Photo's to follow soon.

I am also preparing for 5 craft fairs - 5 all in the space of 2 months, it's crazy but I'm sure I will enjoy them. I have had a burrow feeling lately where I have lit the coal fire and got snugly under a blanket to watch TV, I normally knit or sew but haven't felt like it even though I have all these fairs to sew for. I'm feeling like it's a time for reading and feasting and snuggling under the duvet, though there is no chance of that with the new chickens at the moment.

Hope your all keeping warm x

Flickr and finances :(

A lot of you are probably already on Flickr, but I have only just joined up, Im behind everyone in these things so forgive me, Im hoping to get more exposure ( not in that way cheeky!), for my crafted items, at the moment my partner and I are really finding things difficult and as we both are at home, doing homeschool, he is self employed and Im trying to get some extra money from my sewn/painted items, it is financially hard. We have been in talks about whether it would be a good idea to both get full time jobs working for the man and seeing if we are any better off. I don't want the boys to go back to school so we would have to work around that too and that is going to be tricky, I love our lives at home but now the eldest has left college and is trying (not very hard) to find himself a job, things are difficult. So I really want to be able to sell my things and make a living that way. I need to sort out my website, its ok but I do have a super one ready with music, moving things etc, trouble is I have to buy a domain name and hosting for it (money again you see), Im always posting on FB and attending craft fairs when I can, the last one I did on sunday was naff for me, my friend bought some things off me, so I was only a £1 down after paying for the table, it's so disheartening when you have put in a lot of effort and been up at 6am not to make any sales. Have you any ideas on how to improve my chances of becoming more successful?, I don't mind harsh words and suggestions, so feel free x

OMG August already!!

Howdy all, what a month, busy as a bumble bee Ive been, we had the grand opening of Aunti social, a local craft group, we all decorated and made it look tip top for the grand opening, the two ladies who thought up the fab idea are the ones who run our knitting club

I was rather proud my art work was featred on the walls (thats me stood next to one of my paintings)

some brill folks went yarnbombing the bike racks, brightened up a bleak Blackpool corner, we had a lovely evening and it was a shame when a few days later the council shut the shop down (some legal conflict)how rubbish, this shop is due to be demolished in november and will now stand empty until then, it always seems no matter how hard you try there is always some red tape and council prat standing in the way. Have you heard the latest ridiculous thing, in Scotland you are not allowed to have bagpipes playing loudly from shops - seriously who the f**k comes up with this s**t. Im sure some tw*t sits in an office and has a plan for the day of pis***g as many people off as possible. Every day I hear of some joke law that Im sure Jeremy Beadle is behind sorry for the anger and virtual swearing but it makes me so mad and Im too tired to be eliquent and think up other non swearing words.

 Anyway on a more cheery note Im doing a craft fair on sunday at Lytham, it was a suprise thing as my friend got a table and told me about it, I have been busy making owls and bags and bags with owls on!, Im hoping it goes well and I make a few good sales, fingers crossed please! Whilst trawling the net looking for craft stall set up ideas (I think mine is too fussy) I came across a flicker group just for stall set ups, I loved looking at other peoples stall, also I found ideas for a craft stall check list if your new at it, in fact even if you have done it before it makes sense to keep fresh about the whole thing.

My dad died a few years ago of cancer and I wished I knew then, what I know now, I want to share this awesome page with you in case you or someone else s affected by cancer, it doesn't have to be the end, you don't have to say goodbye like I did, there are ways of curing it, please have a look, have a great week and don't forget to check out my other blog which showcases the very best of Lancashires crafty ladies x

A new frontier....in craft fairs

My new venture, organising and partaking in craft shows in Blackpool and surrounding Lancashire areas, for too long I have attended craft fairs where the venue hasn't been right or the other stall holders didn't make much of an effort, they wasn't advertised properly or something else where it became a shambles, it rely frustrated me that all the time and effort I put it had been wasted so chatting to my friend we came up with the idea of doing it ourselves, we are handpicking stallholders to make it a wonderful fair, there will be a mix of retro, vintage and handmade, from patchwork quilts to lovely owl cushions, we are also having a vintage teashop area, complete with fine china and embroidered tablecloths, please could you pop over to my blog for it and see what you think, I'm hoping to share stall holders web pages and blogs, have guest posts and mini interviews, thanks for taking the time to look x

http://craftyvintage.blogspot.com/

crafty old me...

I did another craft fair last weekend in aid of this charity

it was a lovely early morning start and I had my flask and made cakes to share, so was all prepared for the day, we set up and had a noisy round the other stalls before the doors opened, unfortunately it started to pour down and didn't stop for the rest of the day so it was a bit of a let down. Anyway I got to meet some nice people and enjoyed the Morris dancers, the charity made over £600 so that was really good, anyway I took some photo's of some stalls I liked!

 Mine of course, Dotty delightful!.......

 Sunshine Kazza's vintage finds....

 Mrs marmalade, who was very lovely and if your reading this please get in touch as I can't find you on facebook!

 A cake stall by Angela, the cakes looked great and I heard they tasted great too, being dairy free meant I couldn't sample any which is probably just as well seen as though my backside is growing from my own baking...

The singleton Morris dancers, the lady in this pic did an amazing clog dance at the end too, I loved the bells on their shoes and may have to sew some on my shoes so I jingle when I walk, much to the disgust of my children no doubt. 

this week we have mostly......

been visiting friends who live near a farm, the calves and their mummies came right up to the farm gate to see us, I adore their eyelashes, they are so long and pretty

watching the next great baker programme and reading Pam Corbin's cake book (river cottage), the recipes are delicious, I highly recommend the grasmere gingerbread recipe, they were so scrummy I didn't have time for photos! These lemon, victoria sponge/butterfly cakes went down a treat, I love cake so much ;)

 been busy sewing for craft fairs, rabbits.....

 Russian doll cushions.......

 more rabbits filled with lavender and pearl barley......

loving our chicks, this one is called Gretchen, she is the most lovely silver colour and is getting a rather fetching tuft of feathers on her head. We got 3, they are 5 weeks old now and one has turned out to be a rooster, we need to find him a nice home because he can't stay with us as we live in a built up area.

 I also did a craft fair on Saturday, it was to be honest rubbish, around 6 people came, the venue was down a side street so it was pretty naff, I made enough to pay for the table and not much more so even though I didn't lose any money I still felt rotten because of my time and effort spent on it. Anyway my very talented friend who had some of her felt creations on my stall as she is on holiday, sold a fair amount, the pictures I took are naff as I'm not quite sure how to use my phone camera to it's full potential. Not a very clear picture but can you make out the tea sets at the front? well they are my friends, hand stitched and made of felt.

I have another fair coming up this weekend but it is in a much better location so hopefully I should have a good day, hope you all had a lovely easter, the boys were very happy we managed to get some dairy free easter eggs in the sale at holland and barratt. Did you see the wedding?, I vowed not to watch it, why would I want to see some royals get married I kept saying, but on the day I couldn't help myself, ooh how gorgeous was her dress?, I loved it, the Cartier tiara was delightful too, and when William told her she looked beautiful my eyes filled up, what a big softy! Thought the kiss could of been a little more passionate though. I asked the boys if they wanted to watch it with me, the laughed and ran off, marvellous eh?!.

My second craft fair

My second craft fair went really well, it was held in the main church in our town and although the snow lay thick on the floor and it was so cold outside people came. I must say though because it was on the 18th Dec and close to Christmas I did feel under pressure to get things done, I had also been poorly so lost a few days making too. My hats sold really well, I was pleased but also surprised, you know my bf is always telling me how good my things are but even though I believe him it's always nice to hear strangers say it, it gave me a real boost.
The naughty tinker elves at the back went off to some good homes, apart from 2 who are sulking here with me!! I called them tinkers and a friend pointed out that in Ireland that's what Gypsies are called!! I am still going to call them tinkers as I don't mind gypsies anyway.

My bunting said "Dotty Delightful" after my shop and misi page, I had loads of fun and can't wait to do another one, I just wish here in Blackpool there was more going on culturally, I know individuals try and organise things but the council make it hard and also people don't tend to turn up to events much either. We had loads of empty shops right in the middle of town that could be used to hold fairs and such, it seems so silly them sat there doing nothing.

I would love a shop again (I used to have a vintage/retro clothes shop), I really enjoyed doing the window displays and it is so nice to talk to people, some have such interesting things to say. I also have some rather funny stories from my shop days too, like the one where a man asked if he could try on clothes and then took this large holdall (shoplifter I thought) and a woman's dress into the changing room. He was in there ages, I knocked on the door and asked if he was OK, I wont type what I heard but put it this way it's something you should only do in private!. I knocked loudly and said we are shutting now, you need to come out.....he did wearing a blond wig, full makeup and one of my dresses, heels and stockings! I didn't quite know what to say and tried hard not to look shocked or laugh, he asked if he looked OK!!. I said yes but he had to change as we were shutting (he had been in shop about 2 hours now), he then spent ages longer back in the changing room and asked if he could stay all night, he asked to be locked in so he could try on more stuff!! My friend called her boyfriend and he had to be rather stern with the poor fellow!. I did kinda feel sorry for him as he said he felt free dressed up, but not so sorry after I found the dress covered in ...use your imagination :{