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Susie and Cathy did an amazing job (as always) of organising the day. The venue looked stunning with the carefully chosen mix of exhibitors putting on some gorgeous displays.

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All the photos in this post were taken by Keith Bloomfield and more for the day can be found here. I haven’t listed all the great exhibitors but you can find out about them here and for more on the day have a look here and here.

I do like browsing blogs and websites but nothing beats an actual magazine. With Mollie Makes I love the thrill of flicking through the pages for the first time and then revisiting favourite articles. I am also a bit of a sucker for a pretty picture and Mollie Makes is always jammed full of gorgeous photos. I do enjoy the “home tour” and “my space” features and articles that explore places that I would like to visit. I also like discovering new blogs and websites of which there are quite a few in each issue.

This month’s issue comes with a super sweet “let’s get hitched! – DIY wedding look book”. Part of my business (meeni weddings and celebrations) is wedding based so I’m keen to have a peek at wedding ideas.

I’m hoping my subscription is renewed (hint, hint!) as it would be great to have another year of Mollie Makes.

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This weekend I have been to see two dance pieces by the Spanish contemporary dance company Aracaladanza that were part of idfb. I have been an admirer of this company since seeing them perform the piece Nada a few years ago.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I saw Cu-cuco, a piece for babies and very young children, on friday. It was a magical piece with superb use of props and costumes and so joyful and engaging.

Today I took my family to see Clouds and was equally impressed. This piece was playful and surreal and a delight for an audience of any age.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I knew I wanted to build up the paper in layers rather than make a pulp and I experimented with a few ways of doing this. First I covered my molds with petroleum jelly and then layered on the paper. This technique left quite a greasy residue on the paper so then I tried covering the molds with cling film and adding the paper. I felt this was much more successful and created a cleaner finish.

I worked with a variety of molds including different sized bowls and plates. I also plan to make some vase shapes and perhaps boxes. The inner layers of the vessels are newspaper and the outer layers paper from  my collection.

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Other paper projects of mine include some Autumn decorations and wedding favours. One of my favourite places for paper inspiration is paper runway.

A couple of months ago, inspired by this collection, I started developing designs for some bears. I already make tweedy rabbits and wanted my bears to have a similar feel. First I experimented with different patterns and made some prorotypes out of scrap fabric. When I was happy with the size and shape of the bears I made the finished items using thrifted and vintage fabrics.

I took these bears to this Spring’s Bearwood Handmade and the BCTF where they were very well received!

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It was great to meet so many talented designer-makers and artists. There was so much support between exhibitors and I really appreciated this. I only got the chance to take a few pics and wish I’d been able to get some more.

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Top left to bottom right: Sue Bulmer, Laura Goldborne,Particle Article, Moriam Grillo-Henry, Fiona West. I’d also like to mention Karen Victoria Jewellery, Bubble & Tweet, Amanda Jane’s, Sara Piper Heap and Jade Devall Designs.

I made lots of really useful contacts at the show and have so much to follow up, plenty to keep me busy!

These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind of activity for me preparing for the BCTF but all the preparations and anticipation are now over as today was the opening day. I breathed a big sigh of relief, glad that I’d managed to bring everything together on time.

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This is the first time I’ve exhibited at a trade fair. I’m expecting to learn lots from this show and planning to build on my experiences. I’m not the only novice, I’m exhibiting in the “newcomers” gallery along with other first time trade fair exhibitors.

There is so much gorgeous work on display and many, many beautiful stands but I thought I would feature the stands of my “neighbours” at the show.

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From top left to bottom right: Parlour Pieces, Jessica Hogarth Designs, Angel Belle Jewellery, Lily Faith, Mathew Sorrell, Catriona Archibald Crafts, Julie Coghlan at Hestascene?, Hunt and Gather Design, Phoebe Sherwood-Moore.

I love washi tape, there are just so many different patterns available and lots of great ways to use it. This really easy tutorial is for making pretty Easter decorations.

Materials

eggs (real, polystyrene or compressed cotton)

skewer

white paint

paint brush

assorted washi tapes (I bought mine from here)

Technique

If using real eggs you will need to remove the egg from the shell by “blowing”. To do this gently skewer a hole at the top and bottom of the shell and blow out the egg into a bowl. Make sure you get out all the egg, rinse with water if necessary.

When the eggs are empty and dry paint with white paint (if the eggs are brown), if  using white eggs they are ready to cover. The washi tape patterns show up more brightly on white eggs.

When the eggs are completely dry you can then cover them with washi tape. I applied the tape in different ways to achieve different effects. On some eggs I applied the tape vertically and on others horizontally.

Completely cover the eggs with tape. When finished you could display them in a bowl or glue on ribbons so you can hang them. I made both regular sized eggs and some tiny ones (using compressed cotton eggs).

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There were lots of other lovely exhibitors at the fair. I really liked the VW Beetle that Calico Moon had parked outside the venue, hey I’d like to drive around in it any day! It looked very good parked next to the sweet vintage caravan that belongs to The Flying Ducks. The beautiful cakes by Daisy Cupcakes looked almost too pretty to eat, there was a gorgeous display from Darby & Joan Ltd and Suzi Mclaughlin‘s stationary and paper cuts were stunning. As always with The Vintage Wedding Fair there were lots of vintage wedding dresses for brides-to-be to choose from. Here are a few photos of just some of the other exhibitors.

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Yesterday it was my daughter’s birthday so I’ve also been baking, chocolate cake and “fairy” cakes. For me my daughter’s birthday signifies that Spring is here. There has certainly been some gorgeous Spring sunshine this week. The wild plum tree at the bottom of the garden is in full blossom. I brought some blossom twigs inside to brighten up the house, they are just so pretty.