Happy Halloween - now whats next?

Today is Halloween but I suspect that we managed to miss most of the 'trick or treaters' who may have ventured out in slightly damp, drizzly weather on Saturday and Sunday evening when we were travelling back from shows.   I have, however, got my pumpkin bag stocked with sweeties by the door just incase (I'm sure we'll find a good use for any left overs....!)   We are fortunate where we live that there are very few kids who come a-knocking and those who do are lovely and usually have gone to great efforts with their scary costumes.

Happy Halloween...
Decorations available online here

So, another month gone (who stole October???) and Christmas is looming very large on the horizon.   I heard today that October is officially the warmest on record and I couldn't quite believe it on Saturday on my outdoor market stall as I stood with rolled up sleeves and sunglasses that the clocks were due to go back that evening and welcome in the start of dark nights, winter woollies and Christmas decorations.

The extra hour in bed was very welcome yesterday with an early start required to get to our fair however with two cats who don't have alarm clocks and British Summer Time settings, actually sleeping for another hour wasn't really an option.   And today, my inner clock still wasn't working properly and I woke at 5am and could not get back to sleep again.

So here I am, up and about for ages - confusing the cats even more - but hopefully I will get a good run on my orders gathered over the weekend both at shows and online.

One of the many new decorations I have in my shop for Christmas this year is this Extra Large Christmas Tree 

A real statement piece, it is 14.5 inches at its widest point and 21.5 inches tall and I very much anticipate that our front door will be graced by one this Christmas (if I actually have time to make myself one!)   So far, they have proved very popular and I plan to add some other larger designs in coming seasons/years.   The main reason I don't have more on display is simply due to space - they are too big to transport in our standard boxes and our little car simply won't accommodate larger boxes!

So with many orders to complete and lots of stock to make before my big Christmas shows which start on Saturday at Fort Purbrook, Portsmouth I am hoping to get a good head start due to my day starting earlier than normal (hmm, lets see how that works out!)

Today is also Handmade Monday so make sure you head on over to see what lots of other lovely crafters have been up to this week...