My 2016 in review....

What a year! 2016 you really tested me! 

My struggles at the beginning of the year forced me to take time out but during this time I learnt a lot about myself and I had the chance to take stock.  It has also helped me take a step back from my business and have the time to think about what fizzi~jayne makes... is about and how I want it to grow.  It proved how I need to schedule regular times to review my business (including my blog) and plan ahead in order to develop and grow successfully.

This year has taught me a lot and I thought I would share this with you.....

Take time off when you need it. 
I'm not a robot, I can't work all the time, so why do I feel guilty if I'm not working? 
As a business owner or freelancer, we can put a lot of pressure on ourselves and feel bad for not working as there is always something that needs to be done. We all need time off to recharge so we can perform at our best, how can we be successful otherwise?  

Self care is important and it should be the number 1 priority on everyone's list!

Just show up and work....
...you may be surprised what you achieve.  
During my difficult days I felt I couldn't do anything. What I found is just starting something (no matter how small or mundane) is all I needed to make myself feel better and have that sense of achievement. It would almost always mean I would achieve a lot more than I thought I would and certainly more than had I done nothing.

However, if you're not motivated to work, is it because you need a break? Go to first point. 

We need to celebrate our achievements, no matter how small.
It's this time of year when we tend to look back at our year and see if we achieved everything we planned.  It's easy to beat yourself up, but focus on what you have done, not on what you haven't achieved.

One of my successes this year is I managed to get ready for the Christmas craft fairs even after having time off and feeling like I'd never have enough stock.  I'm exhausted and ready for a rest over Christmas, but I survived! 

I attended the Royston craft fairs and for the first time I went to the Hatfield House Frost Fair with No3 Royston.  This was a 4 day event and although sales across the board were not as expected, my scrabble cards were selling like the proverbial hot cakes!

I was chuffed to be asked to be one of the craft bloggers and artists from around the world to create a gift box and handmade gift to auction on eBay.  This was part of the #PHWinterWorkshop campaign organised by ParcelHero to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.  I hope we have managed to raise a lot of money for a great charity.

Brain chemistry does not define who you are
Whatever goes on in my brain I am still living my life and I don't let my mental health problems define me.  

I still have my inner demons but I'm fighting them. I understand myself better and the root of my problems compared to at the start of the year. It is said a lot but life is a journey and sometimes there are bumps in the road, you just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Ask for help
We all need help, even Batman had Robin to lean on and share the load.  I am so grateful for the love of my friends and family who support me and for my virtual friends who have shared their emotional stories with me and offered their support.  For all the bad things that can be said about social media and the Internet I am lucky that I have met some great people.

I really enjoyed meeting up with some of my virtual friends in the flesh this year thanks to Made by Mrs M's Photowalks.

Don't measure your success based on other highlights on social media
The risk with blogs and social media is that everyone looks like their life is fabulous. So if you are having a bad time of it, don't think you are the only one and everyone else is living the high life, the truth is you don't know what is going on behind the computer screen.
We are all on different journeys and I need to focus on where I am going not where everyone else is.

Daily fresh air helps clear the mind and refocus on what's important
One of the highlights this year was getting our puppy.  Jenson is 8 months now and his waggy tail always puts a smile on my face.  He needs a lot of exercise and our daily walks have helped clear an overactive mind.

Look at that cute face!

Before I sign off I want to thank you for reading my ramblings, for every comment or interaction you've had with me on this blog or other social media sites. Thank you to those who have supported my business and have ordered anything from fizzi~jayne makes.... or come to see me at an event. 

Thank you for all your love and support.  I hope you enjoy the festivities and will have time to relax. I'll be back after a little break, sharing my plans for 2017.

Life update....

So it's been a while since I opened up about my recent struggles so I thought I would give you an update on where I am at the moment and what I've been up to....

I have been told I'm brave for opening up but believe me I don't feel brave! The good news is therapy has started and I'm starting to understand myself better and the route of my problems, it's a journey but I'm on the right road to recovery. Thank you to everyone who reached out to offer their best wishes and virtual hugs, I really appreciate your support and understanding.  I have been touched by the personal messages where others have opened up and have shared their emotional battle scars with me. 

The risk with blogs and social media is that everyone looks like their life is fabulous but I hope I have showed that everyone can have a bad day/week/month/year but not everyone will want to share it and that's fine. My blog is supposed to be a happy, crafty place and I wouldn't usually choose to share something so personal but I hope I have helped others in some way, even if it is to realise they are not alone and that there is help out there. 

If there is one thing I have learnt it's not to compare my life and success based on the highlights of others on social media. So if you are having a bad time of it, don't think you are the only one and everyone else is living the high life, the truth is you don't know what is going on behind the computer screen.

So what else have I been up to....
Although I've been quiet on here I have been doing crafty stuff, I've been working in No3 Royston and focusing my production to replenish my stock in there. I was pleased I was able to attend the Royston Craft fair that I had booked.  If you are a regular reader you know this is a favourite of mine.  I've made great friends and it is a good excuse to catch up with other crafters as well as promote the shop.

I had a lovely day out on an Art Deco Photowalk, organised by the talented Kate of Made By Mrs M. There were 6 of us, I only knew Laura (of Bugs and Fishes) who I've met up with before on fun days out and it was lovely to meet the others. 

I had a great time meeting new people, looking at tube stations in a different way as well as getting to practice with my DSLR camera on manual. I'm pretty pleased with some of the photos. I just need to go through them all now. Don't worry I will be sharing them in a post soon, but here's a taster....

In other news....

Meet Jenson, the newest addition to fizzi~jayne's HQ! 

He's been with us for nearly 7 weeks now and he's the most lovable pup, even when he's naughty! He's called Jenson because he's cute as a button (like the racing driver!) and he's an F1 Cockapoo! He even has his own Instagram account and at this rate he will be more popular than me on there. He has been a welcome distraction and been keeping me busy. 


I've made him a toy by upcycling an old fleece jumper....

I can hide treats in it as well for him to find.

What's planned for the future....

The plan for the next couple of months is to work part-time hours and focus on getting ready for Christmas.  I have been planning ideas for my blog and will be working on new posts in the next few weeks.  

This time out has helped me to take a step back and given me the space to think about how I want to develop creatively. Hopefully I will soon be in a much better place soon and ready to take on the festive season as well as anything else the world has to throw at me!

fizzi~jayne x

a life update....

It's been a while since my last post so I thought I would give you an update on what has been going on behind the scenes.  Part of the reason for my lack of updates on here has been to do with being struck down by winter bugs, nothing too serious but I started with one bug which made me no good for anything other than wrapping up in the duvet and feeling sorry for myself and then as soon as I got over that I got struck down again! Hopefully that is me done with the winter bugs for this year at least! The upside was I got to watch the first two seasons of Homeland!

Thankfully I was well enough to celebrate my birthday and I went to see one of my favourite bands, Garbage and they were amazing, I had the best birthday. It was their 20 year anniversary tour, which makes me feel old as I saw them live on their very first tour! 

I've spent the rest of the time (when I've not been ill) keeping on top of orders, as well as making stock for No3 and the craft fairs I have booked. Unfortunately I had to drop out of the Little Fox Market this month due to illness which I was gutted about but I will be back there again before Christmas. I couldn't have picked a busier month to be out of action. I was well enough to do the two other craft fairs that I had booked for November and I got into the festive spirit with a range of Christmas decorations which have been popular.

My Stall at the Royston Craft Fair

My stall at the Radlett Winter Fair

Whilst I have been catching up there are a lot of things that are on my to do list that haven't happened, like keeping on top of my plans for this blog and keeping my online shop up to date. I started to beat myself up about this but there is not much I can do, I'm a one woman band. So once I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I started to plan 2016 whilst wrapped up in the duvet. Thinking about next year made me feel more positive and excited about what I have planned, but more about that in the new year! I hope in the meantime you won't be too upset with me if I'm a little sporadic on here until the end of the year whilst I get back on track with everything but I hope that normal service will resume soon.

Until the next time, I thought I would leave you with a bit of fun.  You may have seen the latest tag game on Facebook - 7 favourite songs over 7 days. A friend of mine nominated me to do this. Music is always playing in the craft den whilst I work and I love going to live gigs so I thought it would be fun to share my favourite songs with you as well....

Day 1 - Vow by Garage

As I went to see Garbage live recently, for day 1 I picked my favourite song from their first album....

Day 2 - Best of You, Foo Fighters

My favourite song by another awesome band who I've seen live more times than I can remember... (I love to rock!)

Day 3 - Great Things, Echobelly

Today's favourite was some motivation to do Great Things....

This is another band I saw live back in the 90s

Day 4 - Things Can Only Get Better, D:Ream

By this point I was in my sick bed so to cheer myself up here is my 4th song....

Day 5 - Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol.

This was our first dance at our wedding....

I've seen these live too in the amazing venue of the Royal Albert Hall.

Day 6 - Two More Years, Bloc Party

It would have been our first dance had it not been about getting over a break up!

I've not seen them live but would like to.

Day 7 - Keep the Faith, Bon Jovi

For my final song I have chosen a great anthem by Bon Jovi. This was the first album of theirs I bought many years ago and I have seen them live so many times since then!

I hope you have enjoyed this little insight into what I listen to in the craft den, what are your favourite songs?

fizzi~jayne x

August Craft Fair and fizzi~jayne makes.... first stockist!

I had one craft fair in August which was at one of my regular and favourite fairs in Royston.  

Even though it was prime season for everyone to be away on holiday we still had more footfall than I expected. I think that is down to the hard work of the organiser and the local support we get, which is brilliant.

I was also excited to see the new No3 Royston. If you follow me on Facebook and Twitter you may have seen my excitement about No3, it is a new independent shop opening in Royston by the same organiser of the craft fairs. I am thrilled that a range of my products will be available in the store when it opens on 5th September!!

I am sooooo excited to be a part of this venture which is supporting small creative businesses and can't wait to see everyone else's handmade products on the shelves. 

If you are local I hope you can pop by when it opens, you can find the shop at 3 Melbourn Road, Royston, Hertfordshire, SG8 7BP.  The shop will be closed on fair days as it’s only a short distance to the Town Hall where I will be joining the other crafters from the shop.

I now have a busy and exciting week making stock ready for the launch!

New shop opening on 5th September at 9:30am!

fizzi~jayne x

June Craft Fairs

I attended two craft fairs last month.  I was back at Little Fox and tried a new craft fair "Made in Watford" at The New Watford Market.

Watford was a last minute addition to my schedule of events, I saw it advertised in the local paper.  It was the first one of its kind and I was excited to be a part of it.  However, this was the worst event I have ever attended!  I don't normally like to be so blunt and negative especially as a lot of work went into the event and the advertising beforehand.  In theory it should have been great but some of my fellow stall holders packed up and went at 2:30pm, I stuck it out until it closed at 4pm.

The new craft fair has been introduced to attract people to the market.  The new market reopened in Watford in a new location last year and according to the permanent stall holders it isn't getting the footfall and a lot have had to close their stalls.

When we were there a lot of the usual stall holders didn't open so it looked closed.  Part way through the day we decided to move our stalls out on to the High Street (we did get permission) and I wish we had thought to do that earlier.

I usually say that you need to give events a few goes before making a decision, but I have done enough now to know which are good ones with potential, and sadly I don’t think Watford has much potential.  I was also open to the elements, although the market is undercover it's not indoors. Thankfully it was a sunny, dry day but it was very windy and I needed to add ribbon to my display to tie items down, which isn’t great for customers browsing or the appearance of my stall. You can never guarantee the British weather and my previous experience with an outdoor event gives me another reason not to do this one again. Ah well, at least I tried it, I would have regretted it if I hadn’t.

Thankfully I was back at Little Fox the weekend after which was a more positive experience.  I attend this regularly and you probably have read many times how I enjoy it so all I'm going to say about it this time is, it was another good one.  You can read about my previous times at the Little Fox Market here.

I haven't any more craft fairs booked until August now when I will be back at Royston.  The organiser has done so much to promote this event, including yarn bombing the town, which made the local press and even the BBC news website! I'm looking forward to going back there as this is another one of my favourites.

fizzi~jayne x

Psst.... you can see the craft fairs I have booked for the rest of 2015 here.

May Craft Fair and why success isn't always measured in sales....

This month I have only done the one craft fair, I was back at the Little Fox Market.  It is always a friendly atmosphere and the majority of the stalls are regulars like me so it's nice to catch up and see what everyone has been making.

This time around we were in competition with a local festival and it was either going to work for us or against us.  Unfortunately it was the latter and the fair was quieter than usual but it's not all bad as the press were there from two local papers and one of them took a picture of me! I'm yet to see if I have made it into the paper or if I am on the cutting room floor.

Obviously it is always good business to make your money back but success isn't always measured in sales....

• Being a regular at a craft fair means you can build relationships with stall holders and customers which can turn into sales at a later date.  Fairs are as much about meeting people and spreading the word as they are about selling. 
• There are still customers who bought my products, which is such a nice feeling.
• It's local advertising, and not just to potential customers but craft fairs are often attended by boutiques and independent gift shops looking for local talent. You don't know who might be picking up your business card!
• Craft fairs are a great opportunity to update your mailing list and hand out cards or flyers.  Sales maybe online after your craft fair instead of on the day.
• Being a part of a regular craft fair means when it comes to the Christmas season, shoppers will already know about the market and where to shop for their unique, handmade gifts plus my customers know where to find me.
• Craft fairs are a great place to try out new products and get feedback on your range.
• Some days are going to be quiet, that's just how it goes.  This craft fair is well organised and advertised and having had a good 2014 there I am remaining positive for the future dates I have booked for the rest of this year.

A view from my stall

I'm back at the Little Fox again on June 13th and you can see what other craft fairs I have booked for the rest of the year here.

Before I go meet my neighbours from this fair....

ellsey bellsey

The Soap Cabin

fizzi~jayne x

April Craft Fairs....

I'm now in full swing with spring craft fairs, during April I went to two fairs....

First was New Milton....

I attended this one twice last year and it was one of the successes of 2014.  It was also a good excuse to see my parents and visit the beach.

A trip to Mudeford Beach

The tables seemed larger than usual and I was really worried about the space on my table so I had to be clever with my display, what do you think?

There are a lot of crafters in the area that came to the event so I had a lot of fun conversations taking about craft techniques and took the opportunity to plug this blog (if I met you at New Milton, Hi! *waves*). 

Sales weren't great but I have ideas for new products in the future and people signed up to my newsletter. (Some exciting news coming in the next 2 weeks!!).

The following weekend I was at Royston....

I love Royston, it is such a well organised event by Laura from Kozmic Dreams.  She is so passionate and has worked so hard promoting the event and managed to get featured in local press.  The Mayor came along and spent time taking to all the stallholders, it was lovely to meet her.

There is a good variety of stalls and I was opposite the tea room, Vintage Allsorts, which serves tea in vintage teapots and cups. 

Of course after staring at the cupcakes all day I did have a snickers one and it was delicious!!

From June it will be monthly, unfortunately I can't make the June and July dates so I will be back there in August and every month until the end of the year.

I'll be back at the Little Fox this month and you can see all the craft fairs I have booked for the year here.

fizzi~jayne x

Psst.... if you would like to sign up to my monthly newsletter, click here.

Back at The Little Fox Market....

On Saturday I kicked off the craft fair season of 2015! I went back to The Little Fox Market in Rickmansworth.

We have a new organiser who has taken on the reigns, Katherine from Glowbeads. She did an amazing job for her first fair.

It was nice to catch up with some of the regular stall holders and see some new ones.  The Little Fox always has a good mix of craft, vintage and food stalls. 

I added a new feature to my display for my wall hangings....

I bought a garden trellis that I painted with Annie Sloane chalk paint, et voilà!

I use 'S' hooks to hang my products from the trellis which gives me flexibility with my display. 

I was opposite The Maverick Kitchen again, look at these beautiful cupcakes....

After a days work I couldn't leave without treating myself to one of their cupcakes that have been looking at me all day!

This was sooooo yummy! 

You can see all the craft fairs I have booked for this year, including the Little Fox at Rickmansworth in my Craft Fairs tab.  I've booked dates right through to Christmas! How organised am I?!

fizzi~jayne x

Nice knowing you 2014....

This time of year I can't help but be reflective.  A blog is a great way to remind you what you have done, I had forgotten some of the things I've been up to!

You've probably seen a hundred of these types of posts but hopefully like me you enjoy reading them, so here is my look back over the last 12 months and my blog's highlights from 2014....

New Craft of 2014 ~ Crochet

One of my New Year Resolutions for 2014 was to learn to Crochet and I am hooked! Excuse the pun, but I am addicted and I now always have a crochet project on the go.  At first I didn't think I would ever get my head around it but after a few weeks of perseverance I started to understand what I was doing and more importantly enjoy it, now there is no stopping me!

#CraftBlogClub

I started the year as one of the new co-hosts on the #CraftBlogClub which has been a lot of fun and a great opportunity to get to know other crafters and bloggers and I have to say we are a great bunch!

I always look forward to our weekly chats but I equally enjoy the challenges too.  

Challenges ~ Relove Me / Spring Clean Swap / Winter Challenge part 1 and part 2

I still use the pen pot I made and the teapot cosy given to me by Emma as part of the Spring Clean Swap. 

We've discussed some useful topics and I've shared some of these top tips from the chats....

Selling your crafts
Blogging Hints and tips
Photography hints and tips

and I got to meet my lovely co hosts 

Not such a great picture of me on the left! Emma is in the middle and Katie is on the right

Out and About

I made sure I got out of the craft den to meet other creative folk and attended small business conferences.  It has been lovely to meet and learn from other small business owners and meet virtual friends in reality. 

One of the highlights had to be when David Cameron unexpectedly turned up to the Home Business Conference! No matter what your political views are, I still think it is pretty cool to have the Prime Minster turn up to speak at a conference I was attending.

Photography Season

In July I ran a Photography season.  This included the first guest post on my blog from a professional offering hints and tips and I made my debut as a guest blogger over on Frugally Peachy showing you how to make a light tent. 

The Year of the Craft Fair

I have attended a lot of craft fairs this year to find the right ones for me....
(click on the images to read more about them)

New Milton Spring Craft Fair - The first fair of 2014

My first time at Harpenden

Another first at Little Fox, Rickmansworth

Back at the Little Fox and New Milton craft fairs in Autumn

Christmas Craft Fairs

It was a mixed bag of success but I am pleased for the experiences as I know which ones to return to next year.  Expect me back at The Little Fox in Rickmansworth and I've already booked New Milton for April and October.  I hope there will be more in Royston and Radlett too.

Also the Year of Celebrations

The year was full of celebrations, I celebrated the first full year of being fizzi~jayne full time, fizzi~jayne makes turned 2 and my blog turned 1....

....and you told me what you love about my blog and what you would like to read more of in my survey.  I am so grateful for everyone who took the time to complete this survey and leave lovely comments which were really motivating. It's good to know that there are people out there reading my blog and enjoying it.  THANK YOU!!

The Most Popular Blog Post this Year was....

.... Christmas Card Peg and String Tutorial 

You can check out other popular posts from my blog in the side bar *points to the right* (if you are reading the web version).

Right, that's it for 2014, I hope you have enjoyed my highlights.

What were your best bits of 2014? If you have shared them on your blog leave a link below so I can check them out....

Thank you to all my readers and supporters of my blog, I am so grateful for you all popping by to read my ramblings and I hope you will continue to enjoy what I have planned for next year!

Wishing you all health and happiness for 2015!

Happy New Year

fizzi~jayne x