The Handmade Fair....

Last week I went to the Handmade Fair and if you follow me on Instagram you would have seen a lot of posts that day!  I had such a great day, it was in the grounds of the gorgeous Hampton Court.  I haven't visited the Palace for so long and I will have to make a trip back.

A soon as I entered the fair it had a crafty festival feel about it, with different tents for shopping, workshops, a Super Theatre and yummy food stalls.  

We were welcomed by pom poms for World Pomination, all in aid of a world record attempt for the longest pom pom chain.

As part of the ticket price you could book a seminar at the "Super Theatre", "a skill workshop" and "a grand make".  There were so many to choose from but you could pay for more on the day, if you could fit it in!

Kirstie Allsopp opened the fair every day and introduced the speakers of the talk I attended on Pinterest.  I also saw her driving around in a golf buggy wearing her Pom Pom crown!

The skills workshop I attended was Upcycling with Annie Sloan chalk paint....

Annie Sloan taking the workshop / the Candlestick before I painted with the new colour "Napoleonic Blue" launching soon

finished!

I'm going to do a separate post on this workshop as I learnt some helpful tips from Annie Sloan that I want to share.

Jane Means gave tips for making Christmas gifts look fabulous in "The Grand Make" tent. 

The bow I made....

I wish I had been there 2 days as there were workshops on paper cutting and lino cutting, jewellery making and so many more that I would have loved to try.

I loved the attention to detail at the event, as well as bunting, balloons and pom poms, even the picnic tables had flowers....

I went on my own but it was lovely bumping into crafty folk that I know and I met up with Laura at the HotchPotch Vintage tea tent for a catch up, chat about blogging stuff and eat yummy cake!

Look at these yummy cakes, it was a tough decision....

MMmm, carrot and orange cake! 

Etsy had their own tent where they were running talks all through the day for anyone who has a creative business or is thinking about starting one. I met up with Lauren from Little Wren Designs at a talk on how to optimise our Etsy shops.

There were two tents with shopping opportunities, which had a good mix of businesses selling craft supplies as well as stalls for designers and makers.  It was great to see small, creative businesses being supported and great to see Abigail and Victoria (I met them at the Crafty Catch Up) and see their products. 

Of course I made a few purchases, although I was very restrained for me and just about managed to stick to a budget....

Stamps from Craft Aslyum / Fimo / Flower Moulds / Gorgeous craft book, "Paper Only"

Overall it was a great day and I hope that there will be another one next year, fingers crossed! Did you attend? I'd love to hear about your day in the comments below.

fizzi~jayne x

Psst.... Have you entered my giveaway? I'm celebrating my Blog's 1st birthday and you could be in with a chance to win £15 of Vouchers to spend in any Etsy shop. To enter, click here before 30th September 2014.