The Market & Giving Tuesday

My Plum Pudding Market went amazingly well. I'm pretty proud of the turnout and all of the shopping bags I saw filled with locally made, hand crafted goodies.

The market was put together on a shoestring budget with $0 advertising dollars. Relying on social media, word of mouth, and vendors committed to spreading the word. Selecting vendors with quality goods made the event easier to promote... but it was still hard work.

The artisans and makers were amazing and I think that everyone had a pretty great day. Most requested a repeat next year.... so if you missed it you may have another chance in 2015 :P

This Saturday I'll be at Applefest Lodge Retirement Residence in Brighton 10am-3pm if you need something silly before next year.

Finally, today is 'Giving Tuesday'. After the mad shopping that took place between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, today we focus on giving. If you hop over to my facebook page I have a little giveaway going on today in celebration.

Pillow Boxes with Tresors de Luxe

I love gift giving! As I get older I realize that it truly is the thought that counts. Sometimes a little present to say "I'm thinking of you" is all you need to touch someone, to brighten their holiday.

I was thinking of filling these little pillow boxes with sweets or cookies for those I want to acknowledge with a small something, such as neighbours and teachers. I've made the boxes with Graphic 45 papers Twas the Night Before Christmas and 12 Days of Christmas, using the template on the inside cover of their paper pads. To really make them stand out I've added snips of lace, fabric flowers and embellishments from Tresors de Luxe.

You could create something simple and elegant with muted colours.

Or get truly festive with a cranberry and gold colour scheme!

No matter how simple or elaborate your design, the extra effort to beautifully package a simple gift, makes it all the more thoughtful :)

Tresors de Luxe goodies>
White Chiffon FlowersRustic Ivory Shabby Chic Flowal EmbellishmentRustic Red Shabby Chic Floral EmbellishmentWhite Acrylic Flower SprayRustic Burgandy Shabby Chic Floral EmbellishmentGold Venice Lace AppliqueGold Venice Lace TrimIvory Lace TrimWhite Venice LaceIvory Applique Lace Trim
Papers from Graphic 45>
Twas the Night Before Christmas • 12 Days of Christmas

Miniature Mail!

I'm so excited to share this project with you. I've been sitting on it for a month and the day has finally arrived that I can show it off!

 It's a tiny mail sorting table with loads of important packages and holiday mail!

All of the bits and bobs are available from AlphaStamps.com AND I've even made a collage sheet filled with tiny mail related graphics so that you can create your very own!

Tooth fairies and sorting elves would find this especially handy!

I had so much fun putting the sorting centre together that I created an additional collage sheet of tiny envelopes, postcards and greeting cards! They are pretty addicting to make and oh, so easy :)

The complete supply list will be available HERE (Friday night peekers are getting a sneak preview!)

Things in thimbles and more

I've been busy making and creating for my holiday market this coming Saturday. I've even come up with a few new items. Like this itty bitty snowman in a thimble. 

There is ONE thimble snowman currently listed on etsy HERE which is very likely to be the last available online this year.

I also made some tiny thimble trees! These are sold out at the mo' but there should be a half dozen listed later today or tomorrow.

A few new 'specimens' were discovered at Pixie Hill. There is a stack of presents, snowman and tree. Each specimen has it's own individual number and every one has a unique story of it's discovery.

The fellow below reads:
No: 003.14: Found this on the compost heap. Almost buried it with potato peels! 

He's available HERE.

Finally, the Pixie Hill faeries were asked to help the North Pole Review Department prepare 'nice list' notifications. These elf sized envelopes measure 3 x 4"

There were some listed in my shop but so many people have been good this year that they have sold out pretty quickly. There will be a small number available at The Plum Pudding Market this coming Saturday.

Crowns! and a Christmas Market

I love crowns. There's something joyous about them. Put one on your noggin' and suddenly the world seems like a brighter place, and your confidence gets an immediate boost. Crowns are good that way. It's their job.

For the base I've used lovely thick papers from Authentique's Faith collection. The pointy crown bit is die cut using A Gilded Life - Petite Monarch Crown Long Die. The flowers and leaves on the crowns are from Petaloo. You could use anything from their Botanica line and it would look divine :)

The crowns are finished off with some inexpensive clear acrylic snowflakes and a good dose of glittery snow.

I can't wait to take these to the Plum Pudding Market next Saturday! The market is a small Christmas sale I'm organizing, featuring 20 outstanding makers and artisans. If you're near, you should absolutely check it out. It's going to be a lot of fun :)

A pretty petite print tray for Petaloo

I had a little wooden tray in my stash (which was actually packaging for some crafty embellishments) and I've been itching to decorate it for a while now.

I know it's still technically fall... but we're currently covered in the white stuff and this piece really does reflect the view outside my window. Loads of white with a dash of colour here and there struggling to peek through.

I painted the base white and then used various papers from Authentique's 'Faith' collection for the backgrounds. Then, I went to town tucking sentiments from the collection here and there. I was pleased to find some sweet words included that anyone, from any path, would find useful to include :) 

I finished by applying loads of sweet little Petaloo flowers and leaves, vintage buttons, fussy cut butterflies and handmade lady bugs. I love the variety of texture in those white blooms, which add a lot of visual interest dispite the limited pallet.

I think that this will be a good reminder in the depth of winter that beneath all that snow (and I'm sure there will be a ton of it) there is a whole world of colour waiting to return.

Dahlias Teastained Cream 1467-105
Darjeeling Petites Teastained Cream 1465-105
Botanica Berry clusters Ivory/Green/Ivory 1104-002
Darjeeling Mini Mix Teastained Cream 1462-105

Authentique "Faith" collection including "details" and "petite diction"
Vintage buttons
Wooden tray

Jane Austen Goodies for Core'dinations and Graphic 45 Blog Hop Day 4

Graphic 45 and Core'dinations are having a blog hop this week! Be sure to check out the Graphic 45 blog and Core'dinations too, there are loads of great projects to be seen and you can enter for a chance to win over $100 in amazing products! 

On to my contribution...

I’ve been wanting to create a Jane Austen inspired something for a while. What started out as a quest to make a paper bonnet quickly grew to include a hat box, slippers and shoe box.

As a jumping off point I chose ‘Robin’s Egg’ from Core'dinations Signature Series Graphic 45 Lights and coordinated with several papers from Botanical Tea.

The boxes are simple square and round boxes I crafted to size (which is actually pretty darned small). They are embellished with May Arts ribbon and Tresors de Luxe lace.

 The slippers are a variation of a pattern by Glenda Waterworth. 

And just as with the bonnet, there is a little frilly box to match.

Crafting this entire set was so much fun. And how adorable would these be gifted with a set of Jane Austen novels?! I think I might need to hunt down an Austen fan ;)

Here's my supply list for this set of goodies:

‘Robin’s Egg’ from Cordinations Signature Series Graphic 45 Lights
Botanical TeaBirds of a Feather

Robin's Egg
Herbal Infusion
Botanical Tea Flowers
Botanical Tea Banners
Botanical Tea Chipboard 1
Botanical Tea Stickers
Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Keys
Lace from Tresors de Luxe

Ribbon from May Arts

Be certain check out the other amazing projects on todays Graphic 45 blog by Andrew Roberts and Lori Williams and don't forget to enter that giveway!