Observations & Feline Entertainment...

During this hot weather, everything and everyone seems to be suffering - we really just are not happy in this country during extreme weather (hot or cold!).  It is truly a national pastime to talk about the weather in the UK and have a good old moan!

Therefore, to keep with the trend, here is just a small selection of the things that this weather has brought to my attention at Chez Ali's Craft Studio:

1. My paint becomes thick and gloopy in the heat which makes it very difficult to create nice clean outlines on my work - it now lives in the fridge to try to keep it cool. 
   A very interesting sight for any unsuspecting person looking inside!  Mind you as hubby is at work, who would be looking in my fridge anyway?!  Hmm.... Anyway, I digress...
2. Fur coats (especially black ones) and that bright, yellow, hot thing in the sky are not a good mix!  Just ask the cats, Blinky and Misty!  And they don't mind telling you frequently throughout the day (usually with a nibble and bite on your leg or elbow which will be repeated until you pay attention!)
3. There aren't enough places in the house and garden to put bowls of water for said cats.  I am rapidly running out of containers and spend so long going round filling them all up that I am considering just flooding the ground floor to save time!
4. Doors and windows being open do not make it feel noticeably cooler inside the house - it just means there are more flies coming inside.  Electric fans also just blow warm air around but do cause some entertainment as Blinky finds it really funny if the air blows up his bum!
5. Cats can (and do) suffer from hayfever!
6. Football teams and tennis players I am rooting for play much better when I am not looking at the TV screen!!  (honestly, I swear this is the truth!)
7. The vole population in Kent may soon be at serious risk courtesy of Blinky - the stealth hunter!
8. No food sounds appetising in this heat when I have to make it myself...
9. Drinking more does not necessarily make you feel any cooler, it just makes you want to pee more!
10. Finally, the lack of cool air in my craft room makes me look for any excuse to stop sitting at my desk with sweat running down my back battling with gloopy paint!!  Even doing the washing and emptying the dishwasher are preferable...

Yesterday, my internal moaning and muttering about being hot was relieved by Misty, our female cat who was also in my craft room trying to stay as cool as possible.  The scenario was played out in three stages:

Stage 1. Hot - Solution:  stay on the window but keep as low as possible - some breeze was coming under the curtain

Stage 2. Hotter - Solution: move away from the window as breeze has now died down (perhaps try putting head in cup if necessary!) 
She woke up when her whole face ended up in the cup!

3. Too Hot - Solution : stretch out on cooler desk (with cool air fan underneath) and push everything in her way to one side!! 

She obviously thinks that my craft work doesn't need such a big area!

Today, both cats were trying to stay cool - thank God for wood floors!  As I said, fur coats and hot weather....

In the foreground stretched out is Blinky, in the background sitting demurely is Misty and one of the many bowls of water dotted around...

Keep cool and happy crafting everyone...

Heatwave, sporting Brit humour and a solution to our misery....

OMG its sooooo hot at the moment isn't it?!   On Saturday I thought we were going to melt under our little plastic gazebo at the village fair we had a stall at!  

Just to give you an idea, the two of us drank our way through 3 cups of tea each, a full flask of orange squash, an ice lolly and two cans of diet Coke without one visit the toilet!  (I guess you can say we were sweating quite a bit!!)

Yes, I know - it is Summer and we would all be complaining if it was raining and cold but come on!  There was no wind and everything felt like such an effort - it was like trying to walk through treacle just to get from one end of the stall to the other!   There were lots of lovely visitors who were out in force to support their village day and enjoy the beautiful weather, however it was so uncomfortably hot they all gravitated to the refreshment and bar areas which managed to locate themselves in shady spots and they really didn't want to move too far from there (can't blame them really!)

I had to have a slightly sadistic chuckle at the poor kiddies in their foil fancy dress costumes who were slowly cooking before our eyes!  They certainly had more in common with an oven-ready turkey than the wonderful Jubilee icons their represented (it was the 25th anniversary of the fair).  The winners were a couple of adorable children dressed as the 20 pence piece (one was the front and one was the back!)  

Rather them than me, I say!  We were too busy being the sweaty grumps behind our stall trying to lean into any breath of wind which happened to venture our way!

Imagine our absolute joy when on the way home we heard "Tomorrow is going to be the hottest day of the year so far with temperatures pushing into the 30s in the South East..."  Hurrah!!  A nice stall in a glass-roofed section of Hempstead Valley shopping centre awaited us!

We kept calm with two magical words which became a mantra - Air... Conditioning...   We packed our additional lightweight jackets as we both dreaded being cold on our stall.  Oh what a wonderfully cool day lay ahead of us....

Hmm, one slight problem - the dreamed about 'Air Conditioning' had to battle the blazing sun coming through the greenhouse centre roof and there was only ever going to be one winner - and believe me, it wasn't the Air-Con!   Again, references were made to turkeys and the kinship of feeling their suffering in fan ovens up and down the country at Christmas!!

"Still, at least we will be busy at the great little shopping centre with lots of visitors who we haven't met before and that will take our mind off the heat...", we thought.   All started well, the morning was steady and we met some lovely people, made some sales and distributed lots of literature.  Then, 2pm arrived and the place was like a ghost town - everyone had left to watch the crucial England-Germany grudge match in the World Cup!  I had a master plan, however!  A small handheld TV meant that hubby and I could watch the action from our stall (what a great plan that was!!)

We were both so disappointed that our team was knocked out of a major competition yet again in controversial circumstances (why does it always happen to us?)  But at the end of the day England were outplayed and Germany deserved to win.  However, I was very sad during the drive home to see how all the lovely St George flags which were flying from 99% of vehicles we passed on the way there in the morning were suddenly all gone!   Well done to the one driver who continued to fly the flag!!  Sir/Madam, I applaud you!

What a fickle lot we are - I support England and whilst I was bitterly disappointed by the outcome this weekend, it doesn't stop me continue to support them - however bad I feel, I know that they feel much, much worse!   At least we can enjoy the rest of the tournament now (Although a sweepstake at hubby's work means that we are cheering on Spain from now on!)

I've always loved Spain, ahem.....  Come on Spain...

All the jokes are flying around "What is the difference between a teabag and the England football team?... A teabag stays in the cup longer!"  "Did you hear that David Blaine is devastated that his record of doing nothing in a box for 42 days has been broken.... by Wayne Rooney!" , oh, they're all out there....

The house down the road from us has been keeping us amused with their own messages pasted to the bottom of the England flag flying in the window following each game - after the terrible 0-0 showing against Algeria, for example, the simple analysis was four words 'Oh Dear, Oh Dear'

It now reads 'At least the flag was free with The Sun'  Don't you just love the English sense of gallows humour!!

But, don't be disheartened, help is at hand ifyou need some cheering up yourself or know someone else who does, I have the perfect pick-me-up - nip on over to www.studiocrafts.net and brighten your life with a colourful window cling - I promise that they will give a brilliant performance and won't leave you pondering "What if..."!!

Football, Tennis & Sunny Days!

If you hate sport, this month must be a nightmare come true!!  What with the World Cup, Wimbledon, US Open Golf and Cricket ODIs too!  OK, so I can definitely live without cricket but the rest I enjoy watching. 

If you think tennis is boring, what about the amazing record-breaking tennis match between Isner and Mahut - at the time of writing this, they are just about to go back onto the court for the third day (10 hours playing so far) at 59 games each in the fifth and final set!  The mental and physical stamina required to play at the top of your ability for that long (in this heat too) is incredible - neither of them deserves to lose!

Fortunately, I don't mind sport at all and am loving this World Cup, despite the fact that as an England fan, there have been far too many squeaky-bum moments for my liking!

Grudge matches happen all the time and it really shouldn't have come as any surprise that our next match is against our old football-foes, Germany!   Sadly, as this game takes place at 3pm on Sunday, hubby and I won't be able to watch it live as we will be manning our stall at Hempstead Valley Shopping Centre in Gillingham, Kent until 4pm then of course there is the packing up to be done before we can get home.   I'm guessing that it is going to be pretty deserted from 3pm onwards but hopefully lots of people will be suitably disinterested in football and will come out to do there shopping when there are likely to be no queues!

The big question is, do we record the match and try to avoid hearing any scores and watch it when we get home or try to listen to as much as possible on the way home?

This hot weather is still creating the sweaty-knee syndrome (see last post!) which is not nice and unfortunately one of our cats is suffering badly so a trip to the vets is in order tomorrow morning to try to make her more comfortable before preparing ourselves for what is likely to be a very hot day on Saturday outside in our gazebo at the wonderful Nutley Village Day.  Still, I guess I would be complaining if it was cold and raining!

I have been creating new designs frantically each week to give as much variety and choice to my ever-increasing number of loyal customers (thank you to you all!) and the Diddy Designs series has increased to 11 different designs!  

One of my new favourites has to be the Diddy Dolphin

Diddy Dolphin - £2.00

and of the standard size designs, I am loving the Pretty Kitty and Campervan

   

Pretty Kitty - £6.99                    Campervan - £5.99

But they are just my personal favourites, why not check out all the designs and get your own favourite designs at www.studiocrafts.net

And if you are in the area this weekend, please do come along and see us either at Nutley or Gillingham - perhaps you are not interested in the football match on Sunday which makes it a perfect time to shop!

Oh yeah, I nearly forgot....

COME ON ENGLAND!!

Happy Days and Sweaty Knees!

So, is Summer really here? 

OK, so a little extreme but we can all dream, can't we!!

The last week has been gorgeous on the weather front and its getting hot, hot, hot!   Great news for our upcoming outdoor fairs but not so good for hubby who is sweltering in his taxi.  Sadly, whilst the older Hackney black cabs are built like tanks they don't have little luxuries like A/C - just extremely hot engines, great for increasing the ambient temperature to that of a large oven!  (Mmm, sweaty knees anyone?!)   I know the weather is getting better as he now has that classic tell-tale 'brown right arm' from hanging it out of the driver's window!  It was great when we used to travel to the US - left hand drive vehicles meant he could try to even it up!

Even the cats have found it too hot to stay out for long - the normally absent-whilever-the-door-remains-open, Blinky has been taking to our his bed in the afternoon for a siesta (hmm, maybe I should buy him a little sombrero to wear...).  Misty, of course, doesn't venture very far at all but her black fur heats up very quickly and she comes in for a roll on the wooden floors.

I have to admit that I have been suffering too from SKS (sweaty knees syndrome) and am extremely grateful for the large electric fan which resides under my desk!

This has been an extremely busy week - we were at the three-day Cuckoo Spring Fayre last weekend and I had a lot of orders to complete as well as stock to replace before this weekend - and, thanks to a Bank Holiday Monday working at the show, one less day than normal to do it all in!  Cue early starts and late finishes but I did it!!   Around 90 designs completed in just over 3 days!! (and each has to dry overnight between stage 1 and stage 2 of the process!)  I am pleased but knackered!!

I have also added a new section to my website today - Customer Testimonials. We receive such fantastic feedback from customers and it is great to be able to share these with everyone. To view the comments/add your own, please go to www.studiocrafts.net/testimonials/

Sunny days always seem to put everyone in a better mood - isn't it nice to see smiling faces instead of gruff expressions peeking out from under a brolly.  Still, I guess it won't be long before the hosepipe bans and general moaning about being too hot will start....

Working Animals & Heavy Horse Show photos courtesy of Weald & Downland Open Air Museum

So, before everyone gets sick of the Summer, we are going to make the most of our weekend under our trusty gazebo at The Working Animals & Heavy Horses Show at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in Singleton, nr Chichester this coming Saturday and Sunday.   Open each day from 10.30am until 5pm, it is a fantastic venue and the show has lots of great animals and events to entertain all ages along with the stalls for you to pick up some fabulous gifts.  The weather forecast is for two beautiful days with a very small risk of brief showers (which could come as a bit of a welcome relief if it is really hot!).

 

If you can, come down with the family and enjoy a great day in the good ol' British Summertime!  Knotted hankies are optional....

Disappointed and Enlightened - A week of extremes

Last Saturday we decided to support our local Primary School and take a stall at their Spring Craft and Gift Fair - it was only on for three hours and the stall prices were very reasonable so I booked two stalls to ensure that we had the display space required.

I asked and was placed in front of a window so my designs could be shown off in their full glory with sunshine streaming through.

All was going well - a couple of small sales early on and then.... NOTHING!

There was hardly any support from the school children or, it seems, their families!  It was very quiet and those who did venture into the hall just weren't buying - I guess they thought the 50p admission fee was enough to boost the schools funds!  

It was a tragic and disappointing day - I was upset that our day ended in a loss (plus now has - and hopefully keeps - the dubious honour of being the worst sales total we have ever had), but disappointed that the pupils/parents didn't seem interested in taking an hour or two out of their day to try to ensure that the funds were healthy enough to do all those lovely things that schools do for their pupils as little extras throughout the year.  I feld desperately sorry for the people who had taken the time to organise what could have been a great event to see such a poor turnout.

Fortuntately, Sunday showed how a community can come out in force and support local events.  We travelled to Hove (nr. Brighton) to an Olde English Fayre which was held in a small community park.  We set up our gazebo along with around half a dozen others dotted around, some carboot style jumble stalls, children's make & take stalls, a spinning demonstration and a few others thrown in for good measure.  The park was obviously open for people wandering through during the set up procedure which always makes for a fun time and I worried that there didn't seem to be many people around.

12 o'clock arrived and a brave (or maybe foolhardy would be a better description bearing in mind the hot weather) group of guys in chainmail and full regalia arrived to officially 'open' the fayre.  And boy, did the people come out!  It was busy right throughout the day (OK not everyone was buying but there were enough people there to ensure that we made good sales).  What a difference a day makes!

I did, however get to play with my new gridwall display (and forgot to take a photo!!) which worked really well - we are slowly getting used to setting things up differently but I am sure it won't be long before it is all second-nature again.

This coming Bank Holiday weekend we have a three-day show so I hope that it puts us back on track!  More details on the events page of my website - http://www.studiocrafts.net/

I have also recently made contact again with someone I used to be good friends with 'back in the day' (before the grey hairs starting appearing and lines on my face were only due to too much laughing!) and it was quite horrifying to realise that it is 21 years since we last saw each other (how can that be, I am sure I have a way to go before I reach my 30th birthday!)  Where does the time go???   We were housemates not long after I moved from Yorkshire to London and I was very sad when he had to return to his native Canada.  In my mind, I don't feel that different to how I was then but when I was trying to fill him in on 20+ years it soon dawned on me how similar now and then are to the proverbial chalk and cheese - we are both married, him with a family and it seems strange to think how much time moves on without you really paying that much attention to it.  It was only when I started writing down what had happened in my life and reading about his life since we were last in touch that I realised this.

So, from today - I vow to try not to let life pass me by, to sometimes take time to 'stop and smell the roses' and appreciate all the wonderful things I have!  I hope you do the same...

Take time to stop and smell the roses...

Oh and John, if you happen to read this - I am so happy that we are in touch again!!  I have really missed your friendship - you are a great guy so take care, eh! (as they say in Canada!)

Hope you all have a great week  x

New Display Panels

This weekend will see a change to the Ali's Craft Studio stall....

I have bought some new display panels to replace the rather old and tired pegboard panels which have seen me through the last 2 years - kindly donated by Mum & Dad who used them during their own craft fairs years ago, so I think they have served us all well! I will be keeping hold of them so they won't be disposed of just yet.
The new display is metal gridwall which should be a lot sturdier on outdoor shows as the wind can blow through them so they shouldn't be at risk of being blown over (which has happened on more than one occasion with the pegboard!) and are much more waterproof than the wooden ones.

All going well so far....  well, it is never that easy!  The panels come in a variety of sizes - all 2ft wide and starting at 4ft tall.  Not a problem, I thought.

That is, until I measured our trusty little car and found that 4ft panels won't fit!   So, out comes the old (very old!) hacksaw to try to cut around 6 inches off the top of each panel.  Two hours later and one board cut, the three remaining ones looked very ominous in the corner of the room!   I suddenly started to wonder if this was a good idea after all!  After a snapped hacksaw blade and a very aching arm, I managed to cut through the second panel on the following day (two in one day just seemed way too much!).

I decided to ask our neighbour (who enjoys doing up old, bashed up cars) if he had a better hacksaw he could lend me (rather than the old, rusty one I had been using) and literally, five minutes later, he delivered two perfectly cut panels back to me - he had an electric saw!!!!  Thank God for great neighbours!!

I will try to take some good pics of the stall with the new display panels in place this weekend - I will be at our local primary school on Saturday for a few hours and Stoneham Park in Hove on Sunday for our first outdoor show of the year - fortunately it does look like the weather is going to be kind to us on this occasion.

It hasn't all been work-related here this week, though.   Yesterday, one of our cats came in from the garden and seemed to be struggling to keep his eye open - I managed to wipe around it with some eye wipes (for cats) and felt around for any swelling and all seemed OK other than he couldn't open it properly - not normally too major a problem unless you only have one eye in the first place!

As Blinky and his sister were both rescue cats, we don't know how his other eye was damaged - it was removed when he was checked out after being found abandoned on a golf course - but it doesn't usually slow him down at all.  Yesterday, however, he bumped and bashed his way around until finally making his way slowly to the bed he has commandeered as his own to go to sleep it off.   I think it must have been simply a case of getting some dust or dirt in it as he is fine this morning (thankfully!) - I had visions (pardon the pun) of an unexpected trip up to the vets!

Hope you all have a good week and remember to be careful - as Blinky demonstrated yesterday, it is important to look after what you maybe take for granted.

 

Quick Update

Just thought I would do a quick update to let you all know what has been going on here - especially as I haven't posted any blog entries for a while!

It has been a pretty full on couple of weeks making stock after a busy weekend at the Spring Garden & Leisure show at Ardingly Showground at the beginning of the month - absolutely rubbish weather but fortunately as our stall was inside the Norfolk Pavilion, people were encouraged to come in to escape the elements!

The following week, we had a charity fair for The Horder Centre in Crowborough.   One of the really great things about crafting is the ability to help wonderful charitable causes whilst also introducing my craft to a new audience.  Again, the weather was not in our favour which in this case I am sure actually kept people at home so we weren't as busy as we could have been.   The event was opened by Kim Woodburn of 'How Clean is your House?' and 'I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!' fame and she spent some time going around the stalls with her husband.  We had quite a long chat about my peelable stained glass - she was either very impressed with the concept or an exceptional actress!!  She did also take a card with her so you never know....  I have, after all, made a sale to Leila Morse (Mo in Eastenders) so I am already supplying to celebrities!!

Watch this space....

Bye Bye Hours of Entertaining!

Isn't technology a wonderful thing - until it goes wrong!   My hubby and I record lots of our favourite programmes on the fantastic SKY+ box and then have mammoth viewing sessions to catch up on all the episodes of our favourite programmes such as Bones, Criminal Minds, 24, Brothers & Sisters and such like...

Entertainment for all the family

Having both been working all hours lately we were starting to hit a bit of a problem with only 1% of space left!   Fortunately, after watching a few of the programmes that I like but hubby isn't too bothered about, I was thrilled to get it back to 15% - more than enough for the weekend's programmes when we will be out at fairs.

However, yesterday the TV was not happy - the sound and pictures were jumpy and I kept getting error messages saying there was no signal getting to the box.  I turned it off, then on, then off, then on again all to no avail.  So a call to tech support was required.  Fortunately, I got through to one of the most wonderful and helpful people I have ever had the pleasure to speak to (thank you Sarah Jane!!) who spent over an hour working through every possible fix to see if we could sort it out - it improved for a while but then was back to the jumping and error messages (her notes extended to over 2 pages she told me; there were more error codes on there than you could shake a stick at!)

Eventually it was decided that a service engineer would have to be called out and possibly the box would have to be changed.  But what about my hours and hours of recorded programmes?  There is no way we can watch them all before the engineer comes on Tuesday!  Well, I had no need to worry about that - somewhere during the many reboots/rebuilds, they were all wiped!

Oh, no - I had to break the news to my hubby (it is a bit of a running joke between us that he would record the test page if it was still in existance!!)  fortunately, he was very understanding so I needn't have worried.   So now we need to try to see how many episodes are available online and decide whether to try watching them there or wait for the inevitable repeats!!

Roll on Tuesday - watching programmes is really frustrating when the picture freezes at those tense moments!  Boy, you only realise how much you rely on something when it isn't there anymore, don't you!

Spring Joy and looking forward to next weekend...

What a beautiful day it was yesterday!   I had my stall in Bromley Market and it was glorious, sunny and warm!

The shoppers were out and the mood was noticibly lifted by the sunshine and, unusually for Bromley High Street, the winds were light - just enough to ease the heat and give a pleasant feel to the day.

This morning is very different - we have rain (albeit with a fresh and pleasant 'just rained' smell in the air and a warm temperature) which is ideal for all the thousands running in today's London Marathon but I would be less than impressed if yesterday had been the same...

It was wonderful to see quite a few of my customers who I haven't seen for a while and lots of new ones.  One of the great joys of craft fairs and markets is being able to have lots of interaction with my customers, old and new, and yesterday was no exception.   I had a great stall position and set up at the beginning of the High Street (hopefully it will become my regular spot!!) - the only down side being that it is opposite the fish van.  Now I am sure you think this is a down side because of smell or something similar but you're wrong!  My problem is that I LOVE fish and spent all day craving a big bag of unpeeled prawns!!  I decided that it wouldn't be advisable for me or my stall to be stinking of fish all day so resisted!

Next weekend is a Bank Holiday and on Sunday and Monday I will be at the Spring Garden & Leisure show run by The South of England Agricultural Society at The South of England Showground, Ardingly (our stall is inside the Norfolk Pavilion where you will find lots of wonderful craft stalls as well as the English Garden Roadshow).  

Open from 9am to 5pm daily, there are hundreds of stalls and attractions for all the family from crafts, home, leisure and horticultural stalls, animal competitions including one of the largest Alpaca & Llama competitions in Europe and an open dog show which is a qualifier for Crufts.  I am very excited about this as I love Alpacas and Llamas - our stall is by a window near where the Alpaca and Llama display is so if I can see them from the stall, oh I will be in seventh heaven!!  (OK maybe that may be asking too much but I can hope!!)

The Sussex & Surrey Air Ambulance are giving visitors the opportunity to look around an operational helicopter and mini operating theatre and throughout the show musical entertainment will be provided by the Petworth Town Band and Kausary Peruvian Band.   All in all, a great day out for all the family!

Hope you all had a great day yesterday and managed to enjoy the Spring sunshine.   I hope this is the start of some terrific weather - it does make a difference to everyone's mood, including mine and long may it continue....

My Half Birthday!

Tomorrow is my birthday but unfortunately my husband has to work so we decided to celebrate today - and I have named it my 'half' birthday!

Today has been truly glorious - bright sunshine all day and hardly any wind so it has felt warm in the sun (still cool in the shade so not Summer yet!)

The day started with an early lunch at the Duddleswell Tea Rooms - an absolutely wonderful cafe in the middle of Ashdown Forest in the heart of 'Pooh Country' (that's Winnie the Pooh for all those who are not in the know).  A must have is their homemade cheese and onion quiche!  The only problem being that it is so wonderful I never have anything else when we go there.  A pot of real tea completed the meal - real tea leaves and real taste!

Then it was on to Worthing on the south coast to enjoy a day at the seaside.  First thing to do is get an icecream - well if you are my husband, that is always the first thing to do!  He bought the icecream and I ate a little bit of it (starting with the chocolate flake, of course!!)

Playing the 2p games in the Amusement arcades has become a real favourite -  there is nothing like reliving your childhood and having cheap fun!   I have come home with two rubber duck keyrings, one pool ball keyring and a Piglet notebook.  Soooo much fun!  (Top Tip - remember to take baby wipes to wipe your hands - the coins make your hands absolutely filthy!)

Then to round everything off, it was fish and chips for tea at a great restaurant just off the seafront - we are now absolutely stuffed!  

A wonderful day, terrific weather and great food (plus not forgetting the 2p amusements!). 

Now that is what I call a great 'half birthday'.