The Olive Tree Poster Competition

I entered The Olive Tree Christmas poster competition and won. I'm very excited as there were some amazing entries. I also won the People's Choice Award. Thanks everyone who voted.

France part 2

We had so many adventures in France, including getting lost 150km south of where we were supposed to go. We arrived on the TGV in a little town called Redon at 11.30pm and it was snowing. The TGV had split and we were not on the half that went to our intended destination.

Dramas, dramas! We ended up staying at a lovely guy called Nils's house. Thanks Nils. We stayed primarily in Brittany, which was such a magical region of France. It was snowing like crazy when we arrived, which is quite unusual for the region. The fog that constantly lingered was amazingly moody. I can imagine it is a great place to write. In crafty news: Can't wait to finally finish my finger puppet theatres. I think it's only another couple of days. So stay tuned. They will make their debut at this weekend's Olive Tree Market.

More Scoop Bags

Here are some scoop bags I've been making lately. I love them. I haven't decided what patchy combo to make for myself. Lots of people turned up for The Olive Tree Market this weekend, despite it raining from 11am through to 2pm and being a long weekend. Thank you everyone who showed up to support the handmade loveliness on offer.

I was discussing with one of my crafty mates how lovely it is when people tell you the stories behind items they have purchased off us. Some of the stories are funny, sad, happy, but always heartwarming stories about how much they love our stuff. Although it feels like I'm chained to the sewing machine and print table it is the joy that my items bring to people that makes my crazy crafting all worthwhile. My most special story is of a woman who bought her daughter a handmade doll from me. When she visited her grandma, who had dementia, her daughter took the doll with her. Her grandma loved the doll so much the woman came back the next month to buy her a doll. She told me her grandmother was a seamstress when she was young and she just loved the heavily patterned doll and cradled the doll like it was a child. It gave the woman alot of comfort knowing her grandma treasured and loved the doll.

Lamp Love

Here are some new things I've been working on to take to market this weekend. I love how my lamps turned out and the Newcastle teatowels, bags and pencil cases hopefully will be embraced by all those crafty Novocastrian people.

Ladybird Topper

I've been experimenting with cupcake toppers. Everyone loves a ladybird don't they? This is the back and front of the ladybird topper (see above) My sister does the most amazing ladybird biscuits which always go gangbusters at the markets. These ladybird toppers will be available at the next Olive Tree Market. I'll have them in a couple of different colour combos, pink and green and the traditional red and black as above - cuuuuute!!!

Sweetie Day

Not really a fan of Valentine's Day so I knocked out some sweetie cards to give to anyone if you're that way inclined. The Olive Tree Markets kicked off again this year with Saturday's market. It was a bit slow, but that's retail I guess. My favourite sale of the day was from a lady who bought her daughter a doll for Christmas and it proved a big hit with her daughter and also her Nan, who is in a nursing home with dementia. Her Nan just loved her daughter's doll so much that she came especially to buy her one. How sweet is that? It made my heart sing a little to think of the pleasure and comfort the doll will bring to her Nan.

Market Roundup

Here are my Christmas Tree Softie decorations which went gang busters at the market. I did the prawn softies last year for my tree and thought other people might appreciate a bit of prawn action and I wasn't wrong. The Joy to the Thong (flip/flops I think in the UK and US) proved very popular as well. The Joy to the Thong also doubled as my Christmas card this year. Thongs are big time here in Summer so a Christmas tree of thongs, I'm sure, many Aussies would appreciate at this time of year. Me, I can't wear the thong they just don't stay on my feet. They just sort of flop sideways and an unbearable pain develops between my big toes, so I've given up on the thong even though one of my friends has even offered to jimmy up the thong with velcro. Sounds a bit ouchy so I'll leave the thongs to my mates to flip flop around in.

Markets have been stealing my blogtime. I did the Laman Street Art Bazaar, for the first time, which was really great and also did the Olive Tree twilight market. I got to do a bit of shopping and found a fellow novacastrian who is very funny and has some very cool Newcastle souvenir stuff. Check out Trevor's website here. I'd like to thank all my loyal and lovely customers and my fellow carnie peeps. Markets are a hard slog, but when there are such lovely customers and market friends who really support you throughout the year it is all worthwhile. So Merry Christmas guys and I'll see you in the new year with new stuff I'm already cooking up in my weary market brain. Now it's time for Christmas fun.......

Note: Comments have to be moderated at the moment. I've been targeted as a person very interested in escort agencies and viagra, cause you know craft and smut are such a great match, great marketing on their part, I know! Sorry for those people whose comments have been slow to appear. Thanks everyone for all your comments I really appreciate your support and lovely comments.

Winter Colour Fun and The Olive Tree Market

'Girly Balloons' 2009 Diana Jones

'Flying Bed Girl' 2009 Diana Jones

'Swing a Little' 2009 Diana Jones

Another month, another Olive Tree market. It seems to come around so quickly. For this wintry month I cranked out some cute and super colourful collages to lift the spirits of my fellow Novacastrians. Was absolutely freezing and after coming back from the snow only the previous day, you'd think I could hack the north coast Winter. But nay, am big cold frog wuss. After jumping and jiggling up and down for a few hours (I'm sure to the amusement of customers) it slowly warmed up and I had a great day with my fellow carnie peeps. But now I think the snot has set in for the week, those are the breaks I'm afraid. And for some more colour fun - my eldest sister snapped a pic of me, miss six and my younger sister at the BusDepot Markets in Canberra. Looking particularly colourful, we were browsing the most amazing stall. The lady made elaborate leather slippers with all different scenes and designs - amazing. The coat miss six is sporting I made for her a couple of months ago. I sort of stole this project from my elder sister as it was driving me nuts that she started the project and just left it sitting there in my sewing room. The queen of procrastination that I am I had to finish this project before I could move onto my other projects. It is a beautiful swing coat, lined in hot pink silk for that swishy, swishy feel the kids love.

It's freezing - So Bring on the Scarves...

I've been sewing and printing these scarves for the past couple of months now and I am absolutely in love with them. I make the grey ones with a beautiful slubby 100% linen with a wool blend on the back, which is super soft and not scratchy at all. I must have looked like a complete nutter when I went to buy the wool, as I was rubbing all these different fabrics on my neck and cheek. There is nothing worse than a scratchy scarf. The other scarves have a polar fleece on the inside and the check fabrics are flannelette. The kids scarves went great guns on the weekend at The Olive Tree Market and I've only got a couple left. The kids scarves are made with super soft cords. My photos are just getting worse by the post, but modelling my scarves and taking the pics is difficult at the best of times let alone at night and in a foggy bathroom mirror. Oh well, you get the idea of the scarves anyway. The small crossover ones have velcro attached on the inside.

The Olive Tree Market - May 2009

Here is one little happy market goer, sporting my 'I'm All Ears Hat'. How cute is this little munchkin'? We couldn't stop taking photos of this cutie. Those cheeks are just begging to be squeezed.

The market seems to come around so quickly and as per usual I'm sewing like a maniac in the last week to the lead up to the market. I took my textile collages to the market and there was much oohing and aahing. I'm such a hopeless hardsell though. I kept directing people over to the prints of the collages rather than hitting them up for the originals. I don't know if I can bear to sell them. I love them and I've put so much work into them and at this stage I can't part with them. Beautiful day was had by all under the olive trees. The ground is getting a bit muddy though, but I've come up with a great ground covering - fake grass. I'm loving the fake grass and is the perfect market stall floor covering. At the end of the day it can be either hosed off or just shaken clean. At this market I cranked out a few kiddie scarves which I'm super happy with. I'll be sure to post pics of them when I have a decent one. They are my own design and super dooper cute.

After much success at the markets I had a ladies luncheon in the Hunter Valley vineyards on the Sunday. We had lunch at the jawdroppingly beautiful Bistro Moline's. It is perched on a hill and looks out to, what seems like, neverending vineyards and mountains. It is truly spectacular and I came back truly revitalised and inspired. I feel another collage coming on.

The Olive Tree Markets - April 09

The weather with the Olive Tree market has been very hit and miss. Fortunately the loyal customers still turn up rain, hail and extreme heat, as the weather has been with these markets. Yesterday it was overcast all day and then drizzled in the afternoon. At one point I was talking to someone and my teeth were chattering. Yesterday I was able to go around and check out some of the fabulousness. These ceramics are so incredibly beautiful. I love the fifties colours and the shapes. Created by the lovely Kim.
These lovely ladies help the creatively challenged and help shoppers to make a bag. What a great idea. The bottom pics are lovely softies created using a variety of materials by Ally.
Top pic are the colourful creations from Miranda. She also does great adult t-shirts. Bottom pic are some really cute collages and driftwood sculptures.
These artworks by Bridie Watt are just lovely. They are very mexican inspired.
Nursery display. The lemon trees growing up the lattice were fantastic.
Yay for zines. And lookie there's mixtape all the way from Melbourne at our Olive Tree Market. Here is Kristine, the most inspirational crafter. Kristine lives on a farm outside Newcastle and has goats. She has numerous goats and kids of the human kind and makes goat soap, lotions and creams. She not only makes the soap but she does the whole shebang. She tends to the goats, milks them, makes the soap, packages it and then hits the markets to sell her unique product. It's people like Kristine that make the Olive Tree market the hit that it is.