Handmade Monday and a day of 'firsts'

A very good morning to you all and a special hello to my new followers. Today I am celebrating for three reasons

• I am no longer a 'virgin' craft fair stall holder
• I have received a 'versatile' blogger award from the lovely Ros at Ros Made Me
• ...and I can now, actually, at last comment on other people's blogs!

 First the award. A big thank you to Ros for this.

I'm surprised you didn't hear my squeal when I found out. My first one! It was so lovely to receive and very much appreciated. I hadn't visited my blog for a bit as I was so frustrated with all of the problems I had been having, so little did I know there was such a nice surprise waiting for me. Now, I understand the way these things work are for me to....

• Make a post linking back to the person who gave you the award.
• Share 7 random things about yourself
• Award 7 recently discovered bloggers with this award and contact them to let them know they have won.

So here goes.....

Bluebell at At Home in the Country
Polly Polkadot
Pickle Lily
Pomoma at Little Cottage Comforts
Sarah at Sew Me Happy
Lisa at StuffMummyMakes
Jan at Handcrafted by Picto

Make sure you visit these lovely blogs soon.

Next I have to give 7 random facts about myself, this I found surprisingly challenging.

1. I'll fight to the death for a last slice of Pavlova, my favourite dessert.
2. I used to be a primary school teacher
3. Before starting a new book I have to smell it - I know? ( A trait I've passed on to my youngest son)
4. I have a secret yearning to make a full on Anne Boleyn style Tudor costume
5. Snakes, worms and Simon Cowell or anything squirmy makes me want to hide behind a cushion 
6. I once trod grapes for my Dad in his wine making days (Wine was alright actually just in case you wondered)
7. Am currently humming Calvin Harris 'Merrymaking at my place' (how cool am I??? Actually I confess I first heard it on Debbie Harry's choice of Desert Island Discs)

And now my contribution for Handmade Monday.

This is one of the items I made for my stall at the Buckingham Country Show. I am so pleased with this because it really is a labour of love. Firstly, the frame, picked up from a local car boot by a good friend, who thought it might come in handy for me. What a pal! I distressed it so that it got that suitable shabby chic look and I was pleased with how it came out.

The fabric picture is a design I have been putting on my tea and coffee cosies and is again raw edge applique using fabric scraps - my favourite thing to do.

 As for the fair ........ A brief summary would be to say it was a good experience. I did come out making money (just) but we felt that due to poor positioning the sales weren't as good as they could have been. When the fifth person said to us, '"Oh, I didn't realise there were more craft stalls in this bit" we started to worry. There just wasn't a sensible flow for customer traffic and ourselves and those around us were not happy bunnies. However it was a good learning experience, people seemed to like my stuff and I've got a good idea of what to focus on next time.

Bit of a mammoth post today so thanks for sticking with it. Now I'm off to pay Wendy a visit at 1st unique gifts for a much overdue commenting session on all of those lovely blogs.

Thanks so much for visiting. See you tomorrow.