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Hot air balloon
For some reason I've always felt inspired by hot air balloons; their slow stealth across the skies and the rush of a flame that makes animals below go barmy. Watching them is as relaxing as staring out a window. Wonderfully inspiring, and yet, quite frankly, I'd probably be terrified to be in one. Here's an idea that floated into view...
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 Gooseberry Fool's first craft fair! Now while I'm not suggesting creating a website is easy, or setting up a Facebook & Twitter page doesn't take a lot of effort - putting yourself actually 'out there' away from the apparent safety or distance on the computer can take a little more bottle.
My first craft fair took a reasonable amount of organisation on a very wet day. I was surprised how nervous I felt; hoping that people would like my wares, not sure whether to say anything or not as they perused by stall. I made some sales, learned how to present my stand, and discovered a few essentials, including a warm jumper as it can get cold after a few hours sat down! So, all in all a jolly productive first fair... I'll keep you posted when I do my next one!  Still plenty of work to do! It's been a little while since my last post, but don't think I've not been busy making and coming up with new pretty stained glass gifts.
While it wasn't on my 'To Do' list, in February I created a Twitter page for Gooseberry Fool. I have to admit I was fairly dubious and ignorant about how it would work, however, some chance retweeting later and I'm delighted that my work came under the radar of a local gift shop, Ginger Fig in Taunton. And now you can now find my gifts for sale in their gallery! Twitter also led me to consider how my work could feature in weddings. In February I attended a Vintage Wedding Fair at Bristol Zoo... and now I'm very excited about the development of my wedding service!... And of course while all this was happening I was tearing tiles off walls in my kitchen, plastering, painting, and I'm still not finished! It's funny though, sometimes the busier you are the more you manage to achieve. I'm hoping in this busy phase I can also organise a holiday in the summer when I definitely will really need a break! If you're on Twitter, please follow me.. You can do so by clicking here!  Sanderson 'Copacabana' fabric. On New Year's Day with a slightly thick head from the night before I decided that to avoid the January Blues I would need to launch into a new project. So - as my own call to action - I pulled a loose corner off the vile woodchip on the kitchen ceiling.
Without a single morose thought about dreary January, I've since launched into a complete kitchen re-design and stripped all the paper and two layers of tiles. The kitchen's a right old mess and yet I've never felt more creative! Unlike my husband, I can envisage how it's going to look, so I've not been too bothered by the dust and crumbly plaster. It has been my intention to do the kitchen ever since I saw this gorgeous Sanderson 'Copacabana' fabric in John Lewis. I love the rich colourful medley of pumpkins, olives and cabbages. I made this notice board with it last year and I've kept it on display (despite clashing with the previous decor) to help inspire my ideas for the room. And as s light at the end of the tuunel I'm going to pick colours out of it to make a line of pretty stained glass bunting for a window above the kitchen door... my inspiration to finish! * If you've a swatch of material, or got a specific colour scheme, I can make bunting to any specification - just contact me with your inspiration! 
Tonight my husband has been away on a Christmas do, so I've had the evening to indulge in an evening of Radio 4 while making up some orders. I heard with interest how Tony & Pat on The Archers bought a glass angel at a Christmas Market in Leeds which made me think of my own flock... although I've not been on Angel making duty tonight, rather some frosty stars- very apt!
These Jack Frost Stars above are actually for an order, but I thought it would be appropriate to test them for 'mood setting' on my tree. And success - they look absolutely fabulous on a tree, and now I'm feeling incredibly Christmassy. I'm hoping the gift recipients love them as much as I do!  Happy Birthday Songbird! Ok, so it's a dreadful pun, but I thought it was worth sharing in this blog...
I made this little song bird for my sister's birthday which is today! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RUTH! I wasn't trying to create a specific bird, but now that I've done it I think it looks something of a hybrid - I can see elements of kingfisher with the orange breast, the turquoise collar a little mallard-esque, and the red head positively robin-like. She was delighted (I think!) and it's now catching the light from a window in her office. I'm hoping that it brings a little cheer to the workplace. In the process of writing this blog I've done a little bit of research into songbirds. I've read that instead of weeping when a tragedy occurs in a songbird's life, it sings away it's grief. We could well follow the pattern of our feathered friends. I'm now considering introducing a bird line to my gifts - please let me know what you think! In the meantime I'll leave you with this gorgeous Irish Blessing I found online: "May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through." I've had lots of encouraging feedback from friends and family about my new website. None more so than my brother-in-law Dan. This last week he's helped me create a lot of new features to my website and today took over 200 pictures of bunting! (Not his average Sunday activity!)
I'm very grateful - I think the website is looking lovely. I suppose I'll have to make him something to say thank you... If you've got someone to thank - my glass make great gifts! So my website is now up and running; I'm very grateful to my friend Carolyn who told me about Weebly (which hosts the website). I have a limited knowledge about how computers and websites work - which is a bit of a worry considering that's my 'day job'. I'd actually started working on the website about six weeks ago; but due to a severe bout of indecisiveness I couldn't decide on the style, colours, or brand name, and procrastinated intently.
You'd think that now the website is live I'm in a state of certainty, but when I look at the stained glass bunting I've made recently I can't decide which one I like best... I hope you like my website; if you've any comment you can leave a message below. J x |
Jean
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