Kyoto day 1

Here, finally, are some photos from my trip to Kyoto in November. This was my second trip to Japan (I'd been there on a tour in 2006) and my first holiday as a truly solo traveler (although I'd gone on holiday alone before it had always been on an escorted tour so I wasn't really on my own).

Saturday 16th November

When I arrived in Kyoto it was lunchtime, so I had all afternoon to begin exploring. I started by heading to Yasaka Shrine, but it was difficult not to get sidetracked by all the pretty shops along the way! As I got closer to the shrine I got my camera out. There were lots of people walking around wearing kimono, and one of the first photos I took was of what might be two off-duty maikos (apprentice geishas).

When I arrived at the shrine it was bustling with people, and I was immediately aware of the aromas coming from all the food stalls. This was something I'd forgotten about Japan - the smells of food cooking and of incense burning. I was pleased to see what I'd come there for on that day - lots of children dressed in kimono for the Shichi-Go-San festival. But then I realised there were also weddings taking place, and I was quite moved by watching a wedding procession.

The weather was stunningly good, and I was walking about wearing just a cardigan and worrying I might get sunburnt! I continued up to Maruyama Park behind the shrine, where there were some lovely autumn colours beginning to develop on the trees.

On my way back to the hotel I walked around Gion, and was pleased to see two maikos - I couldn't believe my luck at seeing some on my very first day there. Later I had a walk around Pontocho. It was lovely seeing all the lanterns lit up.

Craft Fair!

Over the recent months I've been getting ready for this craft fair at my work, so I've been keeping a lot of my craft projects secret! Yesterday the day of the craft fair finally arrived.

I'd been planning to take part in the craft fair since last year - the first one was held then, and I regretted not getting involved. So I had plenty of time to plan my stall and make lots of things.

The only time I'd ever done anything remotely like this before was a church sale-of-work when I was probably about 13, and I think I only sold two pairs of earrings! So this was my first grown-up craft fair!

I did a lot of reading online about how to make an effective craft stall, which gave me lots of ideas. I made a banner for the front of my stall, and I scoured the car boot sales and charity shops for things to use to display my craft items at various heights. I didn't really know until the day of the fair exactly how big the table would be, so I was pleased that the bits of fabric I'd brought with me covered it nicely. I made sure that my prices were obvious. I created lino cuts of my business name so I could print two types of price tags - ones that would stand on the table, and ones that could be tied to some of the items.

I did quite a lot of self-promotion through Facebook - I hope my friends didn't get too fed up with all my posts in the weeks leading up to the fair! One thing I found is that as soon as I put photos of things online, people wanted to buy some of them straight away, and I was worried I might sell too many things beforehand and not have enough to put on the stall! So I limited myself to posting photos of little details of the items I was going to sell, and just put my final photos online on the day of the fair.

The first hour or so of the sale felt really quite busy. At one point I had a queue of about 4 people waiting to be served! I had a lovely surprise when my auntie and uncle appeared after reading about the fair on my Facebook page, and the mum of one of my childhood friends also found out through Facebook. The great thing about the fair being at my work was that I knew many of the people who came to my stall, so I didn't feel nervous about talking to them.

I felt that the craft fair went really well! I sold lots, but still had enough left on the stall that it didn't look empty by the end of the evening. And I have a few people interested in buying some of the things I have left. I'd definitely do a craft fair again, although it will take me a while to make enough new items to fill the stall up!

Doll dresses

A few weeks ago I went to BlytheCon UK 2013 in Glasgow. For about a month before that I was busily sewing so that all my dolls would have new outfits!

Sleeping Beauty

This is my holy grail book! I had it as a child, and have been looking for it online for 20 years, and in secondhand bookshops and charity shops before that. It was very difficult to find, because there are so many versions of Sleeping Beauty out there. I'm glad that I found it before my memories faded so much that I would not have recognised it. Having found my ultimate item, I'm not sure what to search for next!

Alongside the book is a drawing that I did of my vague memory of it. I did remember it pretty well, I think!

Travel journals

I finally decorated my Peru travel journal, and I also redecorated my Austria one.

Washi tape stamps

Carved eraser stamps.

Hipster stamps

Carved eraser stamps

Painted chairs

My garden bench had started to fall apart, so I was thinking that I was going to have to spend a lot of money buying a new one. Then I saw two wooden chairs at my local charity shop for £3 each. I loved them but couldn't think of where they would fit in my house. The next night I realised that they would make a great replacement for my bench (and at a tenth of the cost of a new bench!). So I went running to the charity shop the following lunchtime, and luckily they were still there. The lady in the shop pointed out some white paint marks on the wood, but I told her it was OK as I was planning to paint them. One of the paint colours was chosen to match "the green thing" (see my previous post), and the other to match my Mount Fuji mural. The paint was more expensive than the chairs!

The green thing

I spotted this in a skip in my parents' street, so I got my dad to do a little skip-diving for me! I loved the colour of it, and I had this idea in mind right from the start, although it was in very good condition and could have been used many places indoors. I drilled a few holes in the bottom of each of the levels, then filled it with compost and added plants.

Glenrothes Town Art

         

A recent drawing, showing some of the sculptures around Glenrothes. I'm thinking of printing it as a postcard.