"Suzie and Lyn's Home-made Fair"

The day of the "Home-Made by Suzie and Lyn" has been and gone and we raised an amazing £745 so far! Half will go to BMS India and the other half to Romanian Summer Camps for children. We sold lots of cards like the ones above, quilts, Christmas stockings, bags, serviette holders, and numerous other bits.
We reckon if we feed the husbands with cake and tea/coffee thier wives are happy to browse and spend the money! So lots and lots of cake was made......and consumed! I spent the previous evening icing 120 fairy cakes plus 3 victoria sandwiches, 2 lemon cakes, 2 fruit cakes, 3 mini cakes and 200 biscuits.

A few bits and bobs on a table

And more stuff, people just came and seemed to enjoy the home-mades.

Cards sold well,

and the little bags, but not the pincushions. People from both our Churches and the Hospice where we work and neighbours came too. We still have a few orders to complete which will bump the overall total up.

I am so tired now....I need to lie in a darkened room for about a week I think!

Little house cards

This is one of the cards mid way through it's making, some done on the machine and some hand embroidered. If you look in the bottom left hand card in the next picture you will see I had added roses round the door and a window in the next-door house.

Click on the picture if you want a detailed look.

This wool is so nice and just right for it's earthy colours and will be used on the landscape cards and pictures, it's mohair so it feels very soft. I have used the white bit of it for smoke coming out of the chimney pots.

What NOT to do when you have a craft fair in your lounge!

1. DON'T put a card near a candle...or this happens, as in the photo!
2. DON'T bake too many cakes!
3. DON'T choose a rainy day!
Actually I never did like the card in the above picture as I'm not keen on the painted flowers on the card! I think I can save the embroidery and sell it as smoke damaged!

I sold a lot of cards so have started restocking again. as it's summer I'm well into beach huts and summer scenes.

Back to this blog!

I have ignored this blog for ages but have just decided it's a good way to keep a record of things I have made and given away! I have made about 50-60 of these landscape cards ready for a sale I am going to do at the end of May in aid of India. My daughter is going to work with the street children there in August for a few weeks and they want to buy bits for the children like clothes and craft stuff.

This is a picture I started whilst on holiday in the Isle of Harris last year. It is the view out of the cottage that we stayed in over the sea. I did the basic shape there and brought it home to sew it together and add all the embellishments. The grey rock in the sea and the dark green hill are made from Harris Tweed that I bought there and the little sheep on the rocks in the foreground are made from sheep's wool I picked up there. I loved doing this picture as we had such an amazing holiday there and it has great memories.

We decided that we would frame it as it will hopefully be a permanent reminder of Harris and the Outer Hebrides. It cost quite alot to get it framed but I am pleased with the end result.

I have been fiddling with this one card for about a week now trying to get it right. I haven't stuck it down yet as I'm still not sure! It was an experiment using netting to denote reflection in the water. I got 7 different coloured nettings to use on the cards to make a misty feel, blues and lilacs for bluebell woods, greens for trees, and I just need to experiment now to see what can be done. Netting is really cheap too and I got half a metre of each so it will last years I think!

Crafty day

I spent this afternoon demonstrating how to make a patchwork Easter cards to some ladies and children at our Church. I had made some kits up and thankfully it seemed to go alright,.

These little hands belong to a 7 year old who came and had a go and she did really well. She was very creative and made a lovely little card as seen in the next picture.

There were other crafts to try, ceramic painting, Hollie Hobbie bags, and two other types of cards.

It's nice to be able to try other crafts that you don't usually do.

Fabric landscape cards

I've been enjoying making these little cards lately but if anyone knows of any good online sources about fabric landscapes I'd be pleased to know about it. I'm getting carried away with them and have about 20 done now, I've done them by hand because it means I can be with the family and sew or sit out in this lovely spring sunshine.