Oh my goodness, it's been a while! Sometime shortly after calmly poring over all those recipes, a little switch flicked inside my head and have been faffing, flitting and fiddling ever since.
I faffed happily over the baking of lots of mini-morsels for our party, none of which I remembered to take a picture of. I can, however, declare that Peking Cups and Coronation Chicken Filo Baskets went down enormously well, along with Sticky Sausages, Middle Eastern Lamb Parcels AND Beef Empanadas (well, I couldn't decide between the two), but that Pork and Cranberry Patties were under-seasoned (my fault) and did not fare well being kept warm in the oven as was suggested in the recipe. I also made Sweetcorn and Chilli Fritters with Avocado Cream, and they were the surprise savoury hit of the evening, far nicer than I had imagined.
The mini-muffin sized Prune and Armagnac Tarts were definitely worth the fiddle. I had secretly thought them a bit risky as so many people declare a dislike of prunes, but they disappeared swiftly, with many an appreciative comment. I even remembered to top some of them with the lovely cocktail stick decorations I got from 'Cox and Cox'.
The evening of the party passed happily flitting around offering food and catching up with friends we don't often see. It was a really nice evening, and I love it as a way of getting in the Christmas mood and as the perfect excuse to get the house properly tidy, dusted and decorated!
I also did a fair bit of faffing topping up supplies for my last Christmas Fair (which actually was the only official Christmas Fair I did this year). At November and December's Markets, needlecases were flying off the table at a rate of knots, so I made quite a few more for Tuesday's Fair.
I also did a fair bit of faffing topping up supplies for my last Christmas Fair (which actually was the only official Christmas Fair I did this year). At November and December's Markets, needlecases were flying off the table at a rate of knots, so I made quite a few more for Tuesday's Fair.
Beach Huts...
Quirky Cottages...
Hedgehog and Toadstools...
Felt Flowers...
I did get a bit bored of making them (plus I was running out of felt for the pages) so, having done the applique and embroidery, some got turned into phone cases instead...
Faffing continued as I perused my fabric stash and chose designs to combine for more phone cases and a couple of Kindle cases...
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| Phone Case |
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| When in doubt, chose polka dots! Phone case |
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| Kindle Case |
And then I faffily delved into the vintage fabrics to make some covers for small diaries...
Needless to say, some fiddling was required setting out my stall on Tuesday afternoon...
The Christmas Fair went well - I sold lots which means I am now looking forward to the New Year and to making some new stock! I have some new ideas I want to try out, but over the holidays I am really going to concentrate on finishing those works-in-progress.
Another of the faffy things I got up to whilst neglecting my blog was packaging and posting the things from the de-clutter I managed to sell on ebay. I made about £75 - not a huge amount, but I know it will be appreciated by Crisis. I spent an entire morning wrestling with brown paper and the murderous-looking parcel tape dispenser that Mr U-t-B used to use in his days as A level examiner...
It is a miracle I survived!
Other than all that, I have been flitting from one website to another, choosing Christmas presents. I won't share what I have bought here, in case any of the planned recipients drop by, but I can say that I found soooo many lovely things at NotontheHighStreet.com and DotComGiftShop that, combined with a bit of making, I might not have to venture to the shops at all!
...as is the Vintage Doiley Storage Tin...
..and other things too many to count.
At NotontheHighStreet I have been particularly taken with lots of typographical items...
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| From 'More than Words' on NOTHS.com |
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| From 'More than Words' on NOTHS.com |
...which follow on from my love of the Aardvark-on-Sea prints, such as this one...
Enough, before I faff the morning away with more internet window-shopping!
Hello, your blog is so much fun, so many prettys to look at. Congrats on your good sales. I especially like the fabric for your kindle cover.
ReplyDeleteGlad your footling and faffing worked out well and your stall at the fare was a success. Love the beach huts and the cottage.
ReplyDeleteThere's nothing like a bit of faffing on the run up to Christmas Alix, you certainly baked some delicious party nibbles. Glad to hear you did well with your Christmas Fair too, you had some beautiful makes on your stall.
ReplyDeleteI've heard of 'Not On The High Street' but have never encountered 'DotComGiftShop'........I think I'll go and have a little browse now that the mince pies are out of the oven. x
You made some lovely stuff for your fair so no wonder you had good sales. I tried a test run of the pork and cranberry patties but I did add other spices as that's me...always throwing stuff in:) The gentlemen of the family gave them a thumbs up. I also changed the recipe and instead of having a dip I thinned the cranberry (I used the cranberry jelly) and used it as a glaze instead which worked out quite well. I thought that way the patties won't dry out over the evening and become rubbery.
ReplyDeleteWell, aren't you productive when you're faffing and fiddling? Everything handmade looks/sounds gorgeous. I've got that aardvark poster (won it in a draw), I love it!
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