Guilty as charged

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Oh dear. I'm guilty of blog neglect.

I'm being kept very busy being mum to Miss Diva and Little Poppet, making stock for Shop Handmade and also for the fast approaching Handmade Market, which is (gasp) only 25 days away (eeek!)

But I hope to post again soon with some sneak peeks of some new items I will be adding to the Flibbertigibbet range at the next Handmade Market.

*So* worth the wait

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Shop Handmade opened to the public at 9am today.
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But last night Julie, Rachel and the Shop Handmade team held a VIP and media event and the lucky (paint me green with envy) attendees were able to feast all their senses on the delightful creation that is Shop Handmade. Click on the logo above for a look. Isn't it just breathtaking?

Having previously been involved with the set up of a brand new store, I have an inkling of just how much blood, sweat, tears and sleep deprivation must have gone on behind the scenes to bring Shop Handmade to this point. And now all that hard work has paid off, the big day is finally here.

Well done to all involved, Shop Handmade is simply divine and a credit to your dreams and determination. I am so honoured and excited to be a small part of this amazing adventure.

May Shop Handmade be a resounding success, you deserve it.
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Not long now

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Only three more sleeps until the grand opening of the fabulous Shop Handmade!

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I got a sneak peak when I dropped my stock off yesterday and in the words of the inimitable Lola from Charlie and Lola:

"I can't wait! I can't wait!"
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Shop Handmade

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Have you heard about Shop Handmade?

It's an offshoot of the wonderful Handmade Market, and will enable you to get your Handmade fix all year round - not that you will want to miss the wonderful atmosphere of the Handmade Market, of course!

Shop Handmade will be located located on City Walk in Canberra’s CBD, Allara St (on the corner opposite The Canberra Centre) and will open for business from 9am on Friday 16 April.

It's a fantastic concept and I know it is going to be simply amazing, so I am thrilled and extremely excited to let you know that selected Flibbertigibbet items will be stocked instore. I had lots of queries at Handmade as to whether Flibbertigibbet would be at Shop Handmade, so I suspect there are quite a few of you who will also be very happy at this news.

You can read more at the Shop Handmade Blog. I am sure you will agree that Shop Handmade promises to be fabulous!
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I know I've said it before ...

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but I really love Handmade Market.

Wow.

What a day.

Mama Goose and I had the.most.amazing.day at Handmade Market yesterday. It was one of those glorious Autumn days where Summer returns for an encore performance, we got the marquee up without assistance, our fellow stallholders excelled themselves in the talent and creativity departments, the wonderful customers just kept coming and we got the chance to do some shopping ourselves. Perfect! What more could we ask for?

Only the chance to do it all again ...

Yes! We'll be back at the next Handmade Market on Saturday the 5th of June at the same wonderful venue at the Kamberra Winery to do just that.

Hooray!

Here are some photos from our day:

"I'll just duck out to take some photos before it gets busy, OK?"

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Hmm, too late - it's getting crowded in there ...

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You know it is going to be a great market day when there
are so many customers that there isn't enough room for
both stallholders to be in the marquee

Yes it's true, we spent a large part of the day with only one of us inside the marquee, the other was assisting from outside. We even had a friend helping at one point - thank you Heather! It was such a fun day. I managed to snap a couple more photos, but we were just too busy after that.

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You can tell this is at the start of the day because
I still have lots of bracelets - they sold like hot cakes

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I did add some gorgeous paper mache easter egg decorations
to the tree, but didn't get the chance to take another photo. I thought of it when dismantling it at the end of the day, but I'd already packed the camera. Oh, and Mama Goose's last Ladybird Parade pinny you can see in this photo has sold
- a lucky customer beat me to it!

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I'd like to say a big thank you to Julie and the Handmade Team for making the day run so smoothly and successfully - love your work!

10, 9, 8, 7 ...

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Only just over a week now until Handmade Market!

You may already be aware that Handmade Market supports a number of worthy causes, and the one chosen for the upcoming market is the Neurofibromatosis Association of Australia. This cause is especially close to my heart, as my very own Little Poppet has been tentatively diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1)

While you may have never heard of it, NF1 is the most common neurological disorder caused by a single gene, and is estimated that 1 in 3,000 to 4,000 people worldwide have NF1. You can find out more information by clicking on the NFAA logo above.

Thank you Handmade.

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Magnetic attraction

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My covered button magnets were snapped by the very talented Annie La Rue and the resulting photo was featured in Anne's wrap up post about last Sunday's market on the Mathilda's Market blog.

Annie has also emailed me some more fabulous photos she took of my stock on the day, so here are some of them for your viewing pleasure:

Thank you Annie and Anne (and what fabulous names you both have! ;-) )