Halloween, eat your heart out!!

Whoever says that Halloween is the scariest time of the year has never run a craft business!!

The first three months of the year are quiet times for fairs here at chez Ali's Craft Studio which has good points as well as bad ones...

Bad points

• Distinct lack of money coming in!!
• Motivation can be a little less than during the busy times
• Distinct lack of money coming in!!  (have I said that before??)

Good points

• Less stupid o'clock mornings (you already know my feelings about them!!)
• Time to do important stock checking and building up of new designs ready for when the season starts in April
• Time to book up all the fairs for the year and contact my suppliers to stock up with new paints and keyring blanks ready to create lots of new stock...

But wait...   This last point is exactly why I am feeling a little shaky!   In the last few days, I have sent out what feels like half the national debt of a small country in cheques for fairs as far ahead as November and my flexible friend is feeling the need for a lie down after flexing like an Olympic champion to build up my stock of paints.    This is when you really have to have a good system in place to keep track of what payments have been sent out and when they are due to leave the account (many are post-dated, which takes some keeping up with!!)

It is an annual situation for us crafters - lots of money going out during the quietest times before (hopefully) the floodgates turn and we see the fruits of our labours coming home to Mama!

Mind you, buying new paints for me has a great upside - that super exciting time when the big box arrives and I have new colours to play with!    Sounds boring to normal people I know, but no-one has ever called me normal - so there!!

I am not being lazy though and still keeping my hand in with fairs - a couple a month for the first three months then come April, all hell breaks loose....

.... And I LOVE IT!!

Here's a sneak preview of a couple of new designs for 2011 based on the ever-popular themes of butterflies and realistic animals (they are not even on the website yet but will be shortly!)

Butterfly Spray - shown in rainbow colour theme
with other colour themes to come in this design

Red Eye Tree Frog - not everyone's cup of tea but
hey, you would be surprised just how popular frogs are!

Hope you like them!!

Right, I'm off now to hide the cheque book and have a lie down to recover from the exertion of writing out all the cheques which went on their merry little way this morning!

So, Halloween - call yourself scary???  

I think not!!   Trick or Treat anyone???

And We're Off...

Today was the first fair of 2011 for Ali's Craft Studio and I realised pretty quickly I had forgotten a number of facts since the last one in December 2010: 

• Getting up before the sun does is completely pants and should be outlawed!



Good Morning Sunshine

• No matter how difficult sleep has been for the majority of the night (courtesy of my brain trying to remember if I have packed everything), during that short period just before the alarm goes off I could sleep in positions which would outfox even the worlds greatest contortionists
• Loading boxes into a vehicle whilst trying not to wake the lucky neighbours who have not got to set their alarm to stupid o'clock is very difficult
• Whatever time we plan to leave and however much time we allow ourselves to get ready, we will infact leave at least 15 minutes later!
• Early mornings are cold!
• Setting up the stall takes ten times longer than expected
• I will have a sore back and feel completely knackered by the time the show opens
• No matter how many times you set up your stall in exactly the same way, things don't seem to want to fit the next time
• During even the quietest of shows, you can guarantee a lot of visitors to your stall by opening a sandwich and taking a large can't-speak-as-my-mouth-is-so-full bite.
• No matter how many times you click your fingers and/or heels whilst muttering 'There's no place like home' you still have to pack everything away yourself and unpack it again at the other end (come on inventors out there - surely you must be close to creating Star Trek style teleporting devices by now!)
• Early mornings are vile, vicious things that should not be allowed (I may have mentioned this before!)  
• Six o'clock should only appear once in a day at weekends (and I don't mean the early one)
• Cats get the right hump when you wake them up early and leave them alone all day - you will get the cold shoulder for at least five (maybe ten) seconds when you get home - yes, I know it isn't really the hump but seconds are like hours to a cat...

OK, so I am not at my best early in the morning (you may have picked up a hint or two already pointing you in this direction) but I now have a couple of months to get back into practice as from April there will be very few weekend breaks before Christmas and sadly early mornings are the norm during this period.    I am really a night owl at heart but these two don't mix so I will have to get back into doing the reverse to most people who work Monday to Friday - my Friday and Saturday nights will have to be early to bed as, believe me, Saturdays and Sundays (plus Bank Holiday Mondays) are going to be really early to rise.

I did, however, really enjoy getting back into the swing of things back at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in Gillingham, Kent - it is a really nice centre with some great shops but not too big that you are exhausted before managing to get to all of them as can sometimes happen in the massive shopping malls which are popping up here there and everywhere.   It was great to see a good mix of old and new customers and we had a good day to start the year off.

If you missed out on a visit today, panic not - we are back at Hempstead again on 27th February.  I have been adding a number of fairs to the Fairs List on the website so you can see more of the shows coming up.  This list isn't complete by any means and more will be added once they are confirmed so keep a lookout for ones in your area.


A visit to the Land Of Zed - much better option than getting up at stupid o'clock!

Needless to say, the night owl is not going to be getting a look-in tonight - my bed is calling me and I will be happy to visiting the Land of Zed very shortly!

Night night all - don't wake me early tomorrow morning (early mornings are just WRONG!!)

P.S. If you like the designs pictured above, you can get them from the website - http://www.studiocrafts.net/!

New Year's Resolutions and Getting Back into the Swing...

OK now, be honest - how many of you are still keeping your New Year's Resolutions???   Traditionally, the majority of people will have broken most if not all of them by now and be back where they started!

Well, this year is different for me.   My New Year's Resolution was not to make any as they are impossible to keep and what do you know, even three weeks into 2011 I am still not keeping all the resolutions I haven't made!  Yay for me!!  (I know, you are so impressed with my steely willpower but don't be intimidated, if you put your mind to it and with a bit of training, you too can stick to all the resolutions you don't make!)


Butterfly Set



The beginning of the year is a quiet time for fairs and shows so it is a perfect opportunity for a major stock check to make sure that I have plenty of the popular designs in stock and that everything is in tip top condition.

I also use this time to source and decide upon new patterns and colour options for existing designs and am always happy to get ideas of what people are looking for - this is one of the great things about craft fairs, you get to speak to customers and the feedback is fantastic regarding what colours/designs people are looking for. 

This time of year isn't completely devoid of shows, however, and Sunday 30th January sees Ali's Craft Studio back at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre, Gillingham, Kent for the first show of the year and I have already had calls from previous customers planning to come along to see us there.   If you are in the area and haven't been to this centre, it is well worth a visit as it is a lovely place to shop.   We are located outside Marks & Spencers and WH Smith and yes, it is a real test of my aforementioned willpower not to spend, spend, spend!

I have a bunch of booking forms for fairs in 2011 and these are being booked and confirmed ready to be entered into the Fairs List on the website - I will be back at most of the locations from 2010 so look forward to seeing lots of regular customers as well as many new ones.

So good luck with your resolutions, good luck to all the crafting blog buddies I have with your fairs and lets make 2011 a great year!  See you all soon....

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011...

OK, lets get it out of the way first - I am really sorry that my blogging skills have left a little to be desired in 2010!   But, look on the bright side, there are only a few hours left so things have to get better, right!  So, I declare to one and all, I promise to be better at blogging in 2011 - yes, I realise this isn't exactly the hardest thing to achieve but it is a start....

Right then, now the unashamed grovelling is out of the way, hope you all had a great Christmas with family, friends and loved ones and don't now feel the impending guilt of over-indulgence.  After all, think of it as supporting the economy - the alcohol, chocolate and general, fattening foods economy that is!  



The snow was pretty to look at but I'm
begging you snow Gods - quit it now!

 I am delighted to announce that despite their best efforts, the snow Gods didn't ruin our celebrations as everyone was able to get to us in Kent to spend Christmas here. It was hit & miss for a while and never have I viewed so many live traffic webcams in my life to virtually travel the route from Yorkshire to Kent and check on the state of the roads.   As it turned out, when my brother and Mum travelled on Wednesday morning, it was the easiest and quickest journey here they had ever had!!

Even the shopping trip to the supermarket to collect Tarquin (the turkey) and other goodies went smoothly.  Normally it resembles something between shopping in a war zone and a third world country with empty shelves and trolley rage but the shelves were full and the customers seemed just grateful to be out of the house and able to stock up for Christmas dinner (which someone once described as just a normal roast dinner but with hats on - hmm, I'll get back to you on that one!)

Now all the family have returned home and hubby is trying to get back to some normal working patterns (even though most people don't seem to be returning to work until January) so it has gone from a full house to just me and the cats....  it is normal but really feels strange and quiet!

So New Year is upon us and I feel confident that it will be a great year.   I have decided to approach the new year with a positive outlook and plan to 'retire' some designs and introduce new ones so if you have requests of what you would like to see, please e-mail them to me at craft.studio@virgin.net

I am starting to fill in the calendar with events for 2011 and will update my online list as soon as I have confirmed dates.   Already it looks like 2011 will be busier than 2010 and that was pretty busy!!

So, I hope you all have a very Happy New Year and that all your dreams and wishes come true.    Maybe 2011 is the year I finally will win the lottery......   If I do, I'll certainly let you know!

Happy 2011 Everyone!

Great Feature, Great Blog - Really short post!

A really short post from me today (yes, I know this is unusual!!)  but I wanted to let you know that I am so pleased to have recently been featured on the blog of a wonderfully talented crafter - Charlotte Hupfield of Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics.

Charlotte was kind enough to do a series of interviews with other crafters and my one is featured here.  When you have read my feature, please do have a look around the blog at Charlotte's work.

I will do some more posts shortly on the feature in ABC magazine, my 'almost' interview with BBC Radio Kent and freezing my wotsits off on Bromley High Street so watch this space....

Sorry for the teaser but I have to run now as I have a ton of orders from this weekend for designs purchased as Christmas gifts so need to get these started so that they can be delivered in plenty of time!

Brrr - If this is Autumn, I don't want Winter!

How bizarre is the weather at the moment?   From mild, almost summer-like days everything has suddenly flipped and now it feels like the middle of winter.  Having just watched the horror weather forecast, the talk of 80mph winds due tomorrow and torrential rain is not making me feel much better!!

Last weekend, we were at a fair at the old Fort Purbrook in Portsmouth - a wonderful old building with views to die for but unfortunately past experience has shown us that warmth and heat weren't top of the agenda when it was originally built (they were also sadly lacking in forward thinking and the signal for mobile phones and chip & pin machines is quite frankly shocking!!)

So, dressed like Nanuck of the North with thermal leggings, vest and socks, long sleeve t-shirt (as opposed to the short sleeved one which is normally favoured at shows), thick trousers,  two coats, scarf, gloves - you name it, I was ready to face the worst it could throw at me!  And, I am pleased to say...  I was baking!!  We were placed in a slightly different location to normal and the room was much warmer due to more efficient heaters and assisted by strong sunshine beating through the window throughout the weekend.  I ended up de-layering throughout the course of the day and scratching my head at the absurdities of the British weather!

I am pleased to say that it stayed dry so the visitors came along and once again I was really pleased to see some previous customers along with many more new ones.   Lots of people were buying items as gifts as well as their Christmas Decorations which again highlighted the difficulties of knowing what needs to be made each week.  (Must remember to write 'Crystal Ball' on the top of my list to Santa this Christmas!)

So, as we are halfway through another week, don't forget to head over to http://www.studiocrafts.net/ to get your Santas, Snowmen, Nativity Scenes, Wreaths and all kinds of Christmas decorations as well as some really unique and affordable gifts for your friends and loved ones.  I will resist the temptation to tell you how many sleeps there are left until Christmas Day but it is pretty scary.... (and exciting - I love Christmas!!)

For full details of where you can see us between now and our final show before Christmas (which is on December 17th at Bromley Market), please head along to the events page.


Piggies on Sleigh - a fun Christmas decoration!
Who says, you have stick to the norm?

Crafters Delight

Yes folks, I have found it!  The one piece of 'kit' that makes life so much easier, you wonder why and how you haven't managed to think of it and use it before!!!

'Please tell us, oh all-knowing one...' I hear you all cry!   Well, it is this...

...wait for it...

Glass clear vinyl sheeting!! (pauses for whoops and hollers)

Yes, I finally managed to get hold of two 3m lengths of clear vinyl sheeting to cover my tables on the many outdoor stalls I have through the year and today was a perfect example of how wonderful it is.   Bromley was a town of all seasons today - sunshine, rain, wind, we pretty much had it all.

However, thanks to the aforementioned sheets, my normally frantic running around covering over stock and trying to deflect rain and drips was absent!   The plastic protected everything from the rain and the wind did not cause the usual whipping up of tablecloths as the plastic hung some way down the front of the table (behind my banners) so the wind couldn't get underneath.

Yes, I realise this is not the most exciting thing for non-crafters or for those crafters who aren't on the craft fair circuit but believe me - if you have ever done a craft fair in a rainy, windy, outdoor location, the joy is palpable!!

Oh yes, and I am pleased to say that on a pretty quiet day numbers-wise (there were a few tumbleweed moments down the High Street today) I didn't do too badly considering!  Tomorrow we are back at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre nr Gillingham, Kent so the plastic sheets can have a well deserved day off as we are indoors.  (I'll be honest, I won't miss the rain and cold plus I can throw in a bit of shopping too!)

If you are in the area and want to come and say Hi and get your Christmas decorations (this is the last trip to Hempstead Valley before Christmas) you can find our stall in the area outside Marks & Spencer.

Hope to see you soon & happy crafting.

Busy Week Ahead

This weekend saw us again at Lancing College in Shoreham, West Sussex at the wonderful Christmas craft fair organised by Woodland Crafts (thank you Paul & Anita!!).  As a maker-only fair, the quality of items on show is truly astounding.

It was a great weekend and we were all extremely grateful that the horrendous weather which was forecast earlier in the week stayed away and we were blessed with two gloriously sunny, albeit cold days.  Whilst we were inside the college, had the weather been as originally forecast with heavy rain and galeforce winds, I am sure that most of the customers would have decided to stay in their warm, cosy homes!

Fortunately, the visitors came out in force and it was great to see lots of regular customers as well as many new ones and I now have a heavy week ahead making up new stock in readiness for my next shows at Bromley Market on Saturday and on Sunday it is our last visit to Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre before Christmas.  (We will be back at Lancing College in 2011 - both in April and October - keep an eye out for dates on the Fairs List of the website)

It is pretty much non stop now until mid-December when I stop my shows for the year (although my online shop is open every day at http://www.studiocrafts.net/) so I anticipate that I will be kept very busy just keeping Christmas stock topped up! 

These peelable decorations are ideal for temporary decorative occasions such as Halloween, Easter and Christmas as they can be stored away when removed and used for many years to come.   What did become apparant this weekend was also how perfect they are as gifts for friends and family across the globe - they are lightweight and easy to post without it costing you a fortune in packaging and postage costs.  I had a number of customers who were purchasing items for sending to Australia this weekend.   Hopefully Ali's Craft Studio will become a well known name down under!

Why not have a look at what is in the shop and get your decorations and gifts sorted out all in one go!  And as there is a set £1.00 postage charge per order to the UK (£4.50 for worldwide orders), you can stock up safe in the knowledge that there is no nasty surprise when completing your order.

It certainly has the right feel for making Christmas related designs - it is soooo cold here now!  I am so glad that I have a heater under my desk to keep me nice and toasty!  So, I guess this is going to a short post as I have to get back and bring to life more snowmen, stars, reindeers and Santas ready for colouring tomorrow.   Stay warm everyone and I hope to see you at a show soon.

The power of electricity

You know how they say, you don't know how much you need something until it is gone?  Well, yesterday, I realised just how much I need electricity in my daily life!   Twice, yes twice, I was thrust back into the dark ages when power cuts struck.

The first one was at lunchtime so at least I could see and the Gods were being kind as I had just finished heating up my lunch in the microwave and sat down to eat it when everything went off.  Now as I have said, it wasn't too drastic as there was plenty of light (apart from the fact I was in the middle of watching a really interesting programme on SKY!) but it was sooo quiet.  I never realised just how much noise the general whirring of equipment made but it was spooky to not have anything.  Even Misty (the cat) was disturbed by the silence.   Thank heavens for battery operated radios!! 

Around 10 minutes or so later, a few beeps indicated that power was trying to come back and very shortly afterwards, the reassuring whirr was back.  All except for the SKY+ box - yes, folks the fun and games started again!!   Anyone who has been following my blog for a while knows my love-hate relationship with SKY+ boxes!!

The ominous red, standby light was on so there was power but after a 10 minute wait for it to settle itself down again, pressing the button on the remote to start it up produced.... nothing! (Visions of all the recorded programmes disappearing again started to form in my mind)

You know the drill - unplug for a short while, leave to let the hard drives to restart, press the SKY button...  Nope, not having it.  Repeat....

Well, after just short of an hour of pleading & cursing, unplugging and pressing the magical green light appeared!!

Fast forward to the evening...

I had decided to go into the craft studio to colour up a few more designs and was literally half way through my three snowmen design (with my loyal helper asleep on the window sill, of course) when POP - we were plunged into complete darkness!

Unusually, there was no moon at all last night so when I say complete darkness I mean it.  I couldn't see my desk infront of me, never mind anything else.   I searched for my mobile phone on the desk by fumbling around and finally found it so could create a little light to move the work off the desk onto the drying racks and safety.   So by the light of the silvery moon pink mobile, I found the camping torch which was fortunately in the porch and very handy and began finding the others which were in a bag by the sofa.   If you have ever had to change batteries in a large torch by torchlight, you will know the fun I had when I realised that half weren't working.   I love candlelight but they are a no-no with two uber-curious cats as it is a major fire risk! (coupled with the fact that I actually don't know where any candles are, but that is beside the point!)

Hubby was still working so I called him to let him know that we were in complete darkness and to be careful on the drive home (I assumed that traffic lights, etc would have been affected too).

Back again to the battery operated radio for a bit of noise (Misty was now following me everywhere as I had the light - Blinky was asleep in his current favourite spot on the top of the stairs and didn't give two hoots!)  then the realisation hit me again that I have the joy of SKY+ standby/restart still to come!

I couldn't make a cuppa, couldn't sit and browse the Internet, couldn't have a shower (we have electric showers) and couldn't even package up my orders for posting as the printer was part way through printing the packing notes when the power went off.  So I found myself sitting cradling my loyal radio staring into space.    It was the most bizarre feeling going into the porch to find absolute, complete blackness outside - it was like the world had disappeared!

One hour later, just as Hubby arrived home, the power finally came back on.   Time to go and reset all the clocks (again), check the timers (again) and find the SKY remote control ready for the battle of wills that is me vs SKY+ (again!)

So, I will never take electricity for granted again and feel like oohing and ahhing every time I turn something on!  (Oh, and just incase you are wondering, I now have torches placed around the house so I don't have that horrible situation again of being plunged into total and utter darkness if it happens again)

I am pleased to confirm that the snowmen are now completely coloured and no longer semi-naked and, of course, available to purchase online now at: http://www.studiocrafts.net/onlineshop/prod_815703-729-Three-Snowmen.html

Have a great weekend everyone - I will be at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in Singleton, near Chichester this weekend for the last time before Christmas so if you are in the area, please come along and say hello.

I'm off now to enjoy the luxury that is being able to make myself a cuppa....

The end of Summer?

The nights are drawing in and it is feeling chilly at chez Ali's Craft Studio lately - does this mean it is the end of Summer?  I can't quite bring myself to admit it and whack the heating on but I guess it won't be long....

Last weekend we suffered from that most hated of weather for an outdoor craft fair scenario - no, not rain - wind!!  Lots of wind.  It is a nightmare - your gazebo feels like it is about to take off any minute and setting up/breaking down takes forever!

So, I have just about come to terms with the darker nights and having to put on more layers and thermal socks but please, just a small plea to the weather Gods - chill out of the wind front please!   Fortunately there aren't that many more outdoor shows left (apart from the wind-tunnel that is Bromley High Street!!)  

However, with this cooler weather, it doesn't feel quite so odd to be making so many Christmas decorations!   Yes, some people are really prepared and buy for Christmas before Christmas Eve!  People are buying not only for decorating their own homes for the festive season but also for presents.   Buying early means that you avoid the crowds but also spread the cost so I guess it is a great idea if you can be that organised!

If recent fairs are anything to go by, Halloween is definitely becoming a time when people in the UK are thinking of adding some decoration to their homes too - it has always been popular in the US but us Brits do seem to be joining in the fun - and why not!!

So, if you can't bear the thought of scooping out a big pumpkin with a spoon, let me take the hard work out of it for you - simply decorate with these Halloween designs.  They won't start smelling after a couple of days and you can use them for many years to come!

For more details on the fairs coming up and if you are looking for some inexpensive yet unique presents just pop along to the website: http://www.studiocrafts.net/

Now, I must remember to go and get some 'Trick or Treat' sweeties before everywhere sells out!