BCTF

Last Saturday morning hubby and I arrived in Harrogate to set up for rebeccamaryjane's very first trade fair, a prospect that had been filling me with excitement and fear all at the same time! Here's rebeccamaryjane's stand at the British Craft Trade Fair, small and white...very white infact! I had underestimated how white, and did not imagine that there would be a white carpet as well! However, by mid-afternoon my lovely hubby, aided by 'S' hooks, fishing line and Velcro hook and loop, had helped me turn it into this:

I was pleased with the simplicity of it and how I had managed to display my products, but I learnt a lot and there are definitely things that I would do differently next time.

I had some lovely neighbours in the Newcomers' Gallery, including Stephanie and her gorgeous porcelain and glass made using vintage lace:

and Sarah with her striking display of contemporary jewellery.

It was a very tiring four days, but it was well worth it as I have come away with so much. I have made some new friends, I have put faces to names of Twitter friends, I have orders, enquiries to follow up, ideas to work upon, and lots and lots to think about. It was a very inspiring place to be and I thoroughly enjoyed it...so much so that I have booked to do it all again next year!

Meanwhile, back at home, the jobs have mounted up a little and, now that the sun has started to shine, the garden is calling me! There's so much to do out there, especially as we've been bold by digging up some of the lawn for two large raised beds, which will give us the vegetable growing space that we need. I'd better get on...

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Nic Noc's

A couple of weekends ago I visited Nic Noc's in Grimethorpe...

I love this old bicycle!

A warm welcome awaits you in this little shop that is full to the brim with gifts for all occasions.

There is so much to look at...

I'm so glad I took the time to visit Tina to deliver her order of rebeccamaryjane's goodies, which included more knitted flower brooches...

and more Liberty Fabric Handbag Mirrors.

Why not pop along and take a look...I'm glad I did!

Finally, I'd just like to say a huge thank you for all your comments and kind words...they mean so much to me. We are okay.

I am slowly finding my social network groove again and I hope to be blogging more regularly from now on...I've been away a while and I've lots to tell you!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Things will never be the same again

My lovely brother-in-law lost his battle against cancer on 21st January, having just had his 49th birthday earlier that week. Words cannot begin to express our sadness...things will never be the same again.

We said goodbye to Kevin last Thursday. It was a cold, wet and windy day, but Kevin is now at rest in a beautiful churchyard, where I noticed that snowdrops and daffodils were starting to push their way through. Spring is on its way.

My husband spoke about his brother at the service and concluded with this anonymous poem:

Feel no guilt in laughter, he'd know how much you care.
Feel no sorrow in a smile that he is not here to share.
You cannot grieve forever; he would not want you to.
He'd hope that you could carry on the way you always do.
So, talk about the good times and the way you showed you cared,
The days you spent together, all the happiness you shared.
Let memories surround you, a word someone may say
Will suddenly recapture a time, an hour, a day,
That brings him back as clearly as though he were still here,
And fills you with the feeling that he is always near.
For if you keep those moments, you will never be apart
And he will live forever locked safely within your heart.

We are trying to carry on the way we always do.

Back soon,

Rebecca
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Tosca 1998-2011

Our lovely cat, Tosca, died this morning...

we will miss him so much!

xxxx

Distracted

I didn't mean to be away for so long, but I have been distracted...

by Audrey Hepburn, my daughter's new kitten, who likes to be at the centre of all that we do;

knitting and crocheting for rebeccamaryjane's

and making and creating with the children at my after school art and craft clubs.

It's been a busy time.

It has also been a very stressful and emotional time: my husband's brother has cancer and it has shaken us all to the very core. He is battling hard...and we are all trying to carry on as best we can.

Back soon,

Rebecca

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Back to School...and a sparkly sink!

Both my youngsters returned to school this week, my lovely daughter to Sixth Form (I still don't know quite how that's happened so quickly!) and my teenage boy to Year 9! Next week, it's back to school for me too as my after school art & craft clubs begin! Once all four clubs are up and running, I shall be making and creating with up to 80 children each week...and I am so looking forward to it!

I love to hear the children's ideas and to see what designs they come up with! Last term, we made coasters using old CDs and DVDs and, as the World Cup was underway, I had made a football-themed example and mosaic example for those that were not into football.

Without exception, the boys all made football coasters and the girls made mosaic ones!
I have always been fascinated by the "nature versus nuture" debate...are boys and girls conditioned to have different tastes or are they just born that way? What do you think?

I am a keen recycler and this crosses over into my after school art & craft clubs, not only because it is eco-friendly, but because I aim to show the children that you don't need a lot of expensive materials and equipment to be creative and have fun!

We made football trophies and goblets using plastic bottles, recycled cardboard, masking tape and papier mache - they looked fantastic once they had been painted gold and silver!

The children did some observed drawing using a charcoal pencil: apple and banana in a striped bowl. I found the end results very interesting:

These are some of the drawings from the Foundation & Key Stage 1 group - children aged 3-7. I love the different interpretations...the way that some children have drawn the fruit and bowl as separate pieces and how, for some, the fruit was hovering above the bowl rather than in it! I was most fascinated by the drawings produced by twin girls who are the youngest in the group, which can be seen at the bottom of this photo. The drawings are so similar, even though they didn't draw them together - they didn't even see each others drawings until they took them home!

So my sink will be sparkling again next week as I wash the empty pots, sticky spreaders and dirty brushes...in fact, it's not just the sink that sparkles during term time...glitter seems to get everywhere!

I'm really looking forward to going back to school!

Bye for now,

Rebecca

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Chuffed

As you know, I love old books so I always have to have a good rummage through all the boxes of books whenever I'm in a charity shop, or at a jumble sale or flea market!

Just over a year ago I bought a 1949 edition of Dorothy Whipple's Because of the Lockwoods - you might remember me blogging about here. It's taken me a while to read it, not because it's a difficult read, but mainly because the only time I read is at bedtime and I tend to fall asleep, which is most annoying! Anyway, such was my enjoyment of this book from the outset that I vowed to look out for more of Dorothy Whipple's work. I have since purchased the Persephone edition of Someone at a Distance, but I really like to get my hands on old editions...there's just something about the old ones! So you can imagine how chuffed I was to come across this one recently at a local fleamarket:

No dust jacket and a little bit of damage to the spine, but I'm not bothered about that...I'm a book lover, not a book dealer! It has an inscription inside the front cover: "To Dad, With Best Wishes from John - Christmas 1941", which just makes me love it all the more! And, at 50p, I was even more chuffed!

I couldn't resist bringing home the needlework and dressmaking book - again 50p! It was a text book at Bingley Grammar School for Joan, Kathleen, Mary and Barbara, girls of Form 5A - I cannot be sure when, but the book is the 1937 edition. It is full of useful information, as well as snippets that make me smile, such as the advice when choosing the style and colour of a garment: "The Stout should always avoid bouffon style. Taffeta, for instance, is never a suitable material for a stout woman"!

I'm home alone today so, if I finish this now and speed through all my chores, I must just have time to read a little without nodding off!

Back soon,

Rebecca

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