swishing

Swishing is a relatively new term: for those who haven’t heard of it before (where have you been?!) it’s really just a well-organised clothes swap.  Usually a fairly upmarket one, so hopefully you come away with something you really like . . .  pre-loved, but good quality and stylish. 

The rather fabulous www.swishing.org tells you a lot more than I could about swishing.

Stockton Heath Children’s Swish:

This one is new to me: a children’s swish!  What a really, really good idea!  It’s sometimes hard to keep up with the speed at which children grow - I remember one day looking up at my then teenage son and thinking “How did you get up there?  I’m sure I was looking down at you last week!”  He’d noticed it too - he said “Hi Shorty”!

So, the Stockton Heath Children’s Swish, quite cleverly named Thread UP . . . with the Kids, takes place on Friday 17th September at 7pm at Stockton Heath Methodist Church Hall, Walton Road, Stockton Heath, Warrington, WA4 6NL.  Advance tickets are £4, on the night it’s £6 (proceeds are in aid of the church redevelopment fund). 

To buy an advance ticket, or for more information, phone Julie on 07802 466043.

buy your advance ticket now

If you finish the night by taking home a bagful of children’s clothing - as well as recycling some of your own kids’ clothes (or maternity clothes) - that £4 advance ticket sounds like a real bargain!  You’ll be doing your bit for the planet too - this is quite obviously a very environmentally-conscious way to shop.

OK, the rules of the Children’s Swish are these:

• Bring along at least 1 item of maternity wear or children’s clothing/shoes etc (up to age 12) that you would be happy to sell on (not jumble!)
• Browse the stalls, have a drink and have some Me time!
• Wait for the Swish to open and take as much as you like FREE!!

I’ve been invited to have a stall with my hand-painted gifts at the swishing event, along with other people selling items.  If you’re also planning to be there, you’ll find books from Usborne, cards from Phoenix, a photographer, gorgeous nappy cakes as well as some (much tastier!) real cakes and treats, oh . . . and other stalls selling handmade lovelies.

I’m sure a very good evening will be had by all!

a perfect fit

Today was a funny old day. Wet, cold (is it winter again already?) and pretty miserable. It is no real wonder that visitors didn’t arrive in droves for the craft fair at Gawsworth Hall.  The brave souls who did venture out had a lovely time though as they had lots of space to shop with lots of attention and chat too.

All was not lost.  Anyone who does events like this will know that the quiet days give you opportunities too.  Like wandering round and meeting fellow stallholders, buying freshly-cooked Indian food for tea and wonderful handmade soaps for handwashing and bathing, finding out about other events, discussing the merits of wholesale, blogging, websites and magazine features. 

With that in mind, here are some of my discoveries today.  More to follow soon, although I am hoping tomorrow and Monday will be busier days and may not give me chance for many more discoveries!

OK, first off I discovered the wonderful freshly-cooked delights of www.veggiedelite.co.uk - home cooked Indian food, fresh and tasty.  You can even have this cooked for you in your own home within a 35-mile radius of Manchester!

vegetable biryani

I also discovered gorgeous natural handmade skincare products from Laura at www.cherishskincare.co.uk - all natural ingredients.

And such lovely handmade card items, wedding favours and very pretty things, including vintage: www.vintagetwee.com - perfect for special table settings, weddings, etc.

eat me

How gorgeous are these “eat me” signs? Just perfect for a tea party, Christening, wedding or similar!  You must visit the website for more fabulous goodies!!

If the sun is shining tomorrow or Monday - or even if it’s not - you could enjoy a great day out at Gawsworth Hall.  Pop SK11 9RN into the satnav and come along to join in the fun.  Chainsaw carving, cupcakes, artwork and gifts - as well as falconry, mediaeval re-enactments, archery, rides, not to mention the hall and gardens with its tearooms - there is lots to do, see and enjoy.

Oh, and a mini-highlight for me today? Oh, ok, then it was more like a massive highlight: the boys at www.kitschagogo.com gave me a chocolate muffin, just because they had one left over from their lunch.  My new best friends! (I’m so easily pleased aren’t I?)  I love the atmosphere at craft fairs; the people are so nice and that’s what helps the world go round.

Tomorrow, Sunday, I’ll be off to Haydock Park Craft and Gift Fair.  It’s quite a big fair, held in two large rooms and usually quite a busy one too.

There’s a bit more information about the event here: http://creativecrafts-online.co.uk/html/latest_news.html 

The postcode for the event is WA12 0HQ - you’ll find it very close to Junction 23 of the M6 or along the East Lancs road (A580).  It’s very well signposted.

The crafting calendar usually starts slowly.  There have been a few fairs and markets about but I didn’t book any in January as internet sales were busier than I thought they’d be (which is nice, obviously) and I also needed some organisational and admin time, seeing as I didn’t get a spare minute before Christmas.

My first event of 2010 then will be at Worsley Park Hotel in Manchester on Sunday 28th February.  It’ll be great to get out and about with 1st Unique Gifts goodies and meet the public as well as other stallholders.

It’s followed quite quickly by a local one at Croft memorial Hall in Warrington on Sunday 7th March.  When I say local, I mean it’s -ooh - all of 2 minutes’ drive (and half a minute of that is waiting to turn right onto the main road!).

The other big thing going on is this:

www.wowthankyou.co.uk is a new website dedicated to showcasing UK handmade items - and we will be listing some of our products on the site.  It’s brand new, due to launch on 5th March 2010, and it’s really exciting to be a small part of that launch.

I’ll remind you of the website address nearer the time, but for now I have a lot of work to do photographing, editing and listing my items for sale via wowthankyou.

See you soon!

I know there are a lot of people heartily sick of this snow.  I realised how much it was getting on my nerves when I walked across a 2ft x 6ft pice of cleared tarmac today outside someone’s house.  It was so nice to feel my boots connect with something solid - we’re fast becoming used to slippy snow, glassy ice and slushy, mushy slush!

For those of you who can still appreciate the beauty of the snow, here are some more pics.  I took these today - if you’re live anywhere near me, you may recognise it as Culcheth Linear Park.

Winter Wonderland

Whiteout

Snow White

Deep and Crisp and Even

Sunlit Snow

Bright Skies

All White

Blue Sky

The snow is slowing everything down.  If you can get to the shops, it takes twice as long as usual - or more.  Two people here who should be in work and college respectively keep distracting me (in the nicest possible way of course!).  I keep bringing paintings into the house to dry - it’s much too cold in the studio for them to even think about drying - they just sit there shivering and wet.  I’m also working at the moment on updating the website - there are a lot more things to be uploaded in the next few weeks, but that’s a slow process at the best of times.  I would’ve thought the snowy surroundings would’ve improved the photo-taking process but the light seems odd… hmmm.

And I’m still feeling chilly from all that walkin’ in a winter wonderland!

It seems the snow has no intentions of leaving us any time soon - it’s now hanging round like an unwelcome house guest.

However, it is very pretty.  We went for a walk yesterday just to admire its beauty. 

tree lined walkway

sunset over snowy fields

trees and snowy fields

sinking in

We walked for a few miles but then I managed to slip over just outside our house.  I’m ok but my wrist is sore.

I’ll be in Golden Square Shopping Mall this weekend - Friday, Saturday and Sunday the 11th, 12th and 13th December.  It’s part of the Made in Cheshire initiative.  More info here: http://www.ntopsearch.com/VisitBritain/Details.aspx?ContentID=938827&IndustryType=3&StartDate=2009-12-03&Nights=100&WindowSearch=0&Location=Christmas+markets+in+Britain&Theme=Christmas+markets+in+Britain&NonAvailable=True

It’s the first time I’ve done something so ambitious, so I do hope I’ve got it as right as I can do in the time I’ve had.  It’s a very busy place, especially on Saturdays, as well as being a very busy time of year.  Not only is it going to be busy anyway, there’s a full page ad in the local paper for the food and craft stalls.  Wow.

Golden Square

I only hope I can do it justice and that I have enough stock.  I can see sleep yet again being a luxury way out of my attainment over the next few days.

OK, off to paint some more…

Are you looking for a new or different way to raise funds for your school, playgroup or other organisation?  If so, we may be able to help!!

We’ll happily come to your school or organisation, and hold a 1st Unique Gifts sale.  We bring a wide range of goods, with prices from 99p unwards - something for everyone.  As well as gifts that your guests can buy there and then, we’ll also take orders and deliver them 3 weeks later.  This gives people a bit longer to pay, which is sometimes a big help.  You’ll get 10% cash commission on all sales to put towards your funds.  You can also make money by selling refreshments and raffle tickets, etc (or anything else which takes your fancy!) which makes the day (or evening) more fun.

All we ask is that you invite people - we can email you an invitation which you can either print off or email to your group.  It’s as simple as that!

If you’re interested, and if you’re based in Cheshire, south Lancashire, Greater Manchester or the Liverpool areas, please email: wendy@1stuniquegifts.co.uk - we are based in Warrington, but are happy to travel any reasonable distance.

campervan canvas painting with personalised numberplate option

We will also be happy to attend your school fair if we are free on the day it’s being held.  Again, we’ll be more than happy to make you a donation.  Because many of our items are child-oriented, our stall can make a great addition to your school fair.  See our products here: www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk 

a magical fairy sprinkled stardust all over any child you like

The magical fairy canvas (above) comes in lots of different guises.  The magical fairy can also live on a door hanger, a clock, a peg rail, a door plaque, a mirror, etc.  She really is quite popular with the little girls, and comes in two very different pinks as well as a pale purple and natural cream.  Or pick your own colourways!!

If you can’t make it to one of our events http://www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk/blog/events/ or school fairs, you can of course buy online at www.1stuniquegifts.co.uk

STOP PRESS: We are exhibiting at Rivendell Garden Centre this weekend - the 23rd, 24th and 25th October 2009 (that’s the Friday, Saturday and Sunday).  We’re in the marquee just by the garden centre entrance.  Rivendell is a fabulous garden centre - worthy of a visit on its own - but visiting the crafts marquee as well makes it a bit more of an outing!  WA8 3UL is the postcode you’ll need for your satnav, or follow the Widnes signs from junction 7 of the M62.

I’ll be exhibiting at the craft and gift fair at Capesthorne Hall, Macclesfield, Cheshire on Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th September, which is only just over a week off.  Where does the time go to?

There’s more info about Capesthorne Hall here: http://www.capesthorne.com and more about the craft fair itself here: http://www.capesthorne.com/forthcoming.html

We’ll be in a marquee in the gardens.  A lovely venue, though, and well worth a visit.  Let’s hope the weather’s warm(ish), always easier to bear in a marquee than gale-force winds, torrential rain and freezing cold.

I am hoping to find enough time in the next week to introduce some brand new designs.  They are just a twinkle of an idea at the moment.  By the end of next week they could be adorning your child’s bedroom wall!  (It’s quite amazing when you think of it like that…!)

If you do manage to pop along, please say hello.  It’s always amazing to meet people who’ve seen me (and my ramblings) online.

Watch this space…

The Stockton Heath Festival (in Stockton Heath, Warrington, Cheshire) is an exciting event spread over a few days (and a few venues!) which just gets bigger and bigger every year.

On Saturday 11th July, Stockton Heath Festival is hosting an Art and Craft Market - it should be a great event, with artists, designer/makers and crafters all displaying their wares.  I’ll be joining them, so look out for the 1st Unique Gifts stall.  Lots of canvases for kids’ rooms, clocks, picture frames and door hangers and door plaques.  Everything we do can be personalised especially for you - sometimes on the spot (depending on the stock we have with us).

You can look up more info on the Stockton Heath Festival here:

http://www.stocktonheathfestival.co.uk

 Look forward to seeing you there!! Oh, by the way - the Art and Craft market will be in Mill Lane Field (in Stockton Heath, Warrington - of course!).