Egg cosies for Easter

 Lots of great little gifts for Easter if you don't want to give chocolate.  There are so many to choose from it was difficult to pick these few.  I have looked for well made items and those that made me smile. 

I have tried to include some non-novelty ones for those of you who prefer more traditional.  That was difficult as I go straight for the colourful character ones.

I love the bunny, he is so alert and would bring a smile to anyones face over the breakfast table. 
The dainty cosy with pink flowers is so pretty.

www.folksy.com/shops/thelinencat

www.folksy.com/shops/needles




  

Theses colourful hens would brighten
up any breakfast table.

   www.folksy.com/shops/aeriefaerie

  




                                           This cute little chick would be a lovely little Easter
                                        present for a child if given with a chocolate egg

                                                        www.folksy.com/shops/SewSurplus



Mr and Mrs egg cup cosies - what a clever idea
www.folksy.com/shops/meadowmade

Little chicken cosies, so beautifully photographed and there
are more designs in Jane's Folksy shop
http://www.folksy.com/shops/JaneLightfootDesigns



 That is all of my choices of egg cosies. 

With Easter in mind here are a couple of my mohair bunnies to finish with.  Jasper and Angel sitting in front of the Cowslips in the first picture and Rascal not looking happy at having to pose in the Forget-me-nots. 

I think the ear-droop may be the bunny equivalent of a pouting lip! :)







www.folksy.com/shops/PudBearsandFriends

















First day at craft centre

My first Sunday at the craft centre went well.

The morning started badly, I got up at 6am, and promptly managed to knock a Pyrex lid off the draining board!  Why do they break into so many pieces, it was only a small lid for goodness sake?  I sent the dogs out of the kitchen and proceeded to clear the glass up, somehow managing to knock a tray containing a dish of food with my bottom which tipped down the back of my clothes!  Things must get better surely?

I set off after loading my little Nissan Micra and found my way to Alby Crafts without getting lost, which is always a bonus.  It was a misty morning when I set off but by the time I reached my destination the sun was shining and the birds were singing.

Setting the shop up went smoothly, my homemade display stands seemed to work quite well and the hanging poles my husband made for the framed photos were just what I wanted and took the bareness off the white walls.

The jewellery lady who has the unit every Thursday had kindly left me a note saying that I could use her folding tables and chair if I wanted and they came in very useful as extra display areas.

I spent the morning re-labelling my stock with laminated labels.  The cardboard ones I had been using quickly got bent and looked scruffy.

Here is the shop after I had set it up.  I hung the sock monkeys on a wall to take the bareness off.

I was really pleased with how the pictures looked when they were hung up and they got a lot of nice comments. 

The view from my shop door was beautiful, with Forget-me-nots and Cowslips under the trees on the other side of the driveway.  This shows the door sign that my Brother-in-law made for me.  He has a bit more work to do on it, but it looked great.

  It wasn't easy taking a photograph of the window display,

I couldn't get rid of the reflection.

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I couldn't resist going outside to take photos of the bunnies in the beautiful Spring flowers.

Rascal, the purple rabbit who enjoyed his day out and frolic in the flowers, seems to have developed ear-droop!  Do you think he should have a visit to the vet? :)

I had a lovely day, I really enjoyed the experience, sold a couple of items, met some interesting people to chat to and looking forward to my second Sunday (Easter Sunday). 

Come along if you are in the area.  It is Alby Crafts on the A140 between Aylesham and Cromer. (North of Norwich).  The gardens are open to the public for a small charge of £2.50 and they are beautiful at this time of year.  And of course you get a chance to see the bears and bunnies.

My website as always is www.folksy.com/shops/PudBearsandFriends   Rascal and all his friends are available for sale so come along and have a look at my online shop if you can't get to Norfolk UK.

I am also on Etsy for international customers- www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11



Cute Bunnies and Alby Crafts Centre in Norfolk

             



All of the bunnies above are available in my Folksy shop
www.folksy.com/shops/PudBearsandFriends



I have been busy making mohair bunnies for my new Sunday shop at Alby Crafts.  Come for a day out if you are in Norfolk.  The gardens are beautiful and there is a tea room with a gallery as well as the craft shops and gift shop.  Pud Bears will be occupying a shop/unit there starting from this Sunday, 17th April and every Sunday after.

 

The picture below shows the building that I will be in (my unit is the end one that you see). 

It is a beautiful setting and I am really looking forward to being there.

 www.tournorfolk.co.uk/albycrafts.html  scroll down the page of the link to see the craft centre and gardens (only £2.50 entrance to the gardens)

I will bring along bears in various stages of completion so that I can show customers how they are put together and the work that goes into them.  There will be photos of the hundreds of bears that have already gone to new homes and samples to show the wide variety of mohair available. 

Of course there will be many completed Pud Bears rabbits and bears for sale too (and sock monkeys etc)

Easter is coming along next weekend and there seems to be a lot of rabbits around.

I have looked on Etsy and Folksy and found these beauties:-



Such a sweetie from
www.etsy.com/listing/71106870/miniature-bunny



Who  would think a bunny could fly?
www.etsy.com/listing/69944819/needle-felt-tiny-super-bunny



Bunny stamp from
www.folksy.com/shops/skullandcrossbuns




This made me smile, there is a cat and blackbird dish too
www.folksy.com/shops/clairemanwani



A lovely gift for a special occasion
www.etsy.com/shop/MiChiMaLAND





I love these two bunny brooches
www.folksy.com/shops/Kethscreations



And here is one I made earlier

Here is the next blog on my preparation for opening a Sunday Pud Bears shop at a craft unit in a couple of weeks time.

I have been doing my Blue Peter bit today.

I braved the depths of my husbands workshop and found some old matchpots of paint and a large tin of white emulsion.  Then using plastic food trays I mixed 3 of the colours into the white until I had 3 pastel shades that I was happy with.

It was a lovely warm sunny Spring day so I was able to paint outside in the garden.  The cardboard boxes that I showed you in my last blog took 3 coats of paint to cover to my satisfaction, then I stamped a few little bears on the smaller boxes in contrasting colours.  That didn't work quite as well as I had hoped, but they don't look too bad.  I decided that my idea of having some of the boxes with stripes and some with spots was a bit over ambitious and would look too much, so left the other boxes plain.

I have been able to keep all but two of the boxes open on one side so they will be able to be stored inside each other for transportation.

The bears and rabbits above are available in my Folksy and Etsy shops
www.folksy.com/shops/pudbearsandfriends
www.etsy.com/shop/PollyKay11

I think they look quite good made up.  The small fabric pieces are curtain samples, so no cost there either and I like the  bit of extra colour  they give to the display.

I now have the two 3 box display units plus the two box one which will have my Mum's old suitcase on top, open to display one or two bears.  I have seen mohair bears displayed in old suitcases before and thought how well they went together.  With two folding chairs covered in knitted blankets and my work table and chair I am hoping enough floor space will be covered to make the unit look 'lived in'.  I also have two little folding picnic tables if I need them.

My brother-in-law has made a start on the hanging sign for above the door.   He enjoys doing that sort of thing and is quite good at making decorative things from wood.

The next project will be working out how to hang information cards and photos from the (very blank, very white) walls without putting nails or screws in (we are not allowed to).

11 days to go until my first Sunday, and still so much I want to do.  I have one more bunny to make, more small bears,  plus some new knitted items - not sure what to call them yet - Pudlets?  Puddings?  Pudballs? 

 Here are a couple made up, any suggestions? They don't have to have Pud in their name, I just thought it might be appropriate.

Teatime and Flowers

Two of my bears are ready for their tea.
Blake has got the biscuits and Granma Smith is ready with her china cup.

My Sunday showcase blog is featuring two Folksy shops that compliment each other.
Cupcakejojo Designs and Andrea Lesley Crochet.  Just click on the links above the photos to go to these wonderful shops.

All of these beautiful tea cosies and mug holders come from http://www.folksy.com/shops/andrealesleycrochet
There are many more designs and colours in her shop.

     

   

Next, to go with the tea, knitted cupcakes from http://www.folksy.com/shops/cupcakejojo

    

   

.... from the same shop - these cupcake brooches and I know owlets don't

belong on the tea table, but I couldn't resist showing you these cuties.

 

Enjoy your tea and cakes.  The owlets are watching for crumbs!