Such a Busy Time!

April has been such a busy month what with the school holidays, craft fairs, Glenfarg Folk Festival and preparations for Open Studios which is in two weeks time!

We had some lovely sunshine during the first week of the holidays and headed over to the East Neuk of Fife for a nice day out and to distribute some Open Studios brochures to caravan sites and other businesses.

This is Ruby Cove, our favourite little beach for a picnic and a bit of beach combing.

Although it was sunny, it was still cold. You can see the snow on the hills to the south across the Forth estuary around Edinburgh.

We had great fun all piled into the camper van. It belongs to my Mum and her husband but we got to stay in it for a couple of nights for Glenfarg Folk Festival. 

I have always had a day dream about having a camper van but I have to say the reality of a family of four staying in a camper van doesn't appeal so much when your 15 year old son is suddenly 

6'1"! Here he is with an amazing piece of drift wood we found on the beach.

I think we'd need a bigger van or a Winnebago to accommodate us all comfortably! 

I do love finding interesting things on the beach to take home. 

When I discovered this lobster creel all tangled up in seaweed, at first I fancied it for the nice wood that was half worn away. But after wrestling it free, I realised it would actually make quite a nice shelf as it was! Here it is hung up in my wee shed with a few beach finds and little Louis Mulcahy pots displayed on it.

My daughter who is nearly 8 now is an avid little artist and I just had to share this picture she drew last week.

She uses one of my Highland Cow notebooks to draw in and took it upon herself to copy the front cover.

Here is the original.

And here is her imitation of it.

How cute is that! I love the fringe.

I have been making like a mad woman but haven't got around to photographing everything yet. I suppose I am hoarding my stock a little bit for Open Studios! I have a lot of wall space  and shelves to fill!

I have made some Sheep Jewellery available in my Etsy shop though.

Rings £18

Pendants £22

Brooches £18

I've had a great response to my new mugs. 

Here is one all wrapped up that I sent directly to the recipient as a gift from her daughter.

I'm enjoying using my own mug here at home. Being porcelain and not stone ware or china, it makes a great cup of tea as well as a good coffee.

You can find my Online Shop here

We are finally seeing some signs of Spring here which is such a relief after all that snow we had up to the beginning of April. 

The daffodils are still not in full bloom but are showing more signs of opening.

I really hope we get a good weekend for Open Studios.

I will be having a preview evening on Friday the 3rd May from 6pm.

Come along for some wine and nibbles and a sneak peek at all my new work.

I'm hoping to have lots of new pictures made and have a couple professionally framed already.

You can see the reflection of the hedge in the glass here but it gives you an idea of how they are looking. I have another couple of smaller pieces going off to Robertson's today.

Here are some snap shots from other artists participating in the 2013 Open Studios event. 

Remember you can download your free brochure and browse all the artists and areas from our website here.

From top left Audrey Reid Jewellery,Chloe Brown Illustrations, Moyra Stewart Ceramics, Helen Glassford Fine Artist, Ann Leitch Collection, Sharon Black Art, Beth Pollard Designs and Glass by Kathryn

 From left to right, top to bottom- Ian Ledward venue 36, Aileen Clarke Crafts Venue 32, Jean Ashcroft venue 31, Dianne King venue 50, Siv MacArthur venue 42, Michael Robson venue 4, Poppy Cyster venue 26, Sarah Honeyman Stained Glass venue 1, Jane Duckfield venue 45, Jan Wightman venue 36,Derek Robertson venue 69, Pvalentega - Graphic Artist venue 16, Morag Muir venue 63, Kate Murray venue 40, John Smith venue 8,Perfectly Formed venue 10, Kirsty Lorenz venue 34, Laura Appere venue 18, Mhairi Lafferty venue 13, George Young venue 53, Marianna Lines venue38, Lindy Knowles venue 20, Lynsey Ewan venue 33, John Bonington venue 24, Lindsay Mathers venue 75

So the next two weeks are going to be pretty mad for me. I have so many things I would still like to make!

Open Studios North Fife 2012

Open Studios North Fife 2012

takes place on

Saturday 5th, Sunday 6th and Monday 7th May

10-6pm each day.

I'm really busy preparing for my second year participating in this event.

Here is just a selection of what will be on display at my studio this year.

New Sheep Pendants in different designs

Sheep Earrings

Textile and Glass Pendants and Earrings

Harbour Cottage and Boat Pictures

Framed Felt Landscapes

Printed Cards Featuring Felt Landscapes

You can scroll through some of my other blog posts to see what else I will be displaying.

All my work is for sale.

I will also be demonstrating with the fabulous embellisher machine throughout Open Studios and sharing how to make a simple brooch.

You can keep up to date with what's new from me on Facebook Here

and with our Open Studios event Here

You can also see a full list of participants with maps and photos on the website at

www.openstudiosfife.co.uk

You'll be guarenteed a warm welcome at all the studios this year so hope to see some of you there.

My studio number this year is 24 and you can find me at

64 Commercial Road

Ladybank

KY15 7JS

We are on the corner of the main street through Ladybank and Church Street. Look for the white Open Studio boards. There are seven participating studios in Ladybank alone so well worth a visit!

Refreshments available free of charge.

Summertime Spring

Haven't we been having the most glorious summerlike days!

I swept out the summer shed earlier this month thinking that really I was a bit ahead of myself but we have been basking in there this week whenever we've had a chance. Just wonderful and so relaxing.

We were gifted this pretty blue and white china by friends who moved into a new house. The previous owners had just left it. I love to display flowers in jugs and teapots so we have given this china a nice new home and thanks to all this sunshine, we have an abundance of daffodils, flowering current and lenten roses to pick.

I know it's a bit early for lupins but I couldn't resist putting a few in this new landscape piece.

Below is a 'sketch' for a bigger piece I hope to make in time for Open Studios in May.

 I have also been working on a few more little boxes to add to the collection. These are just 5cm x 5cm and are made with genuine Harris Tweed.

And here is Foxee showing off our beautiful new brochure for this years Open Studio event.

You can pick one up in most public places around Fife, Edinburgh, Lothian, Perth, Tayside, Dundee and Angus. You can also download one at www.openstudiosfife.co.uk

Only 5 weeks to go!

To read about how Foxee became a beloved member of our family go here and here.

The Handmade Show

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Craft Fair at Pitcairngreen Village Hall on Saturday. I think it was the busiest one ever! I certainly had a great day and really enjoyed meeting customers old and new.

I was up at 6.30 this morning making lists of everything I need to do this week in order to be ready for The Handmade Show this Sunday.

Sunday 6th November 2011

Perth Concert Hall

Mill Street 

Perth

11-5pm

Free Entry

I absolutely LOVE taking my work out to fairs and shows and because I don't do it every weekend I never get fed up with it and always get really excited about upcoming events.

The Handmade Show looks set to be an extravaganza of talented designer-makers from around Scotland and beyond with a wide range of arts and crafts on display. I have 'met' one of my fellow exhibitors via Facebook and I am really looking forward to meeting her and her work in real life.

Alison Moore hails from Orkney and brings with her a stunning array of individually handmade jewellery pieces made from copper and sterling silver.

I'll be back on here later in the week with photos of new things to tempt you along on Sunday.

Meanwhile if you are on Facebook, why not become a fan of the new Open Studios North Fife Facebook page. This will keep you up to date with local events that our participants are involved in throughout the year as well as updates on the main event as it draws nearer.