All You Need is a Fortune Teller & an Allen Key

Today has been full of revelations - it started with the accidental discovery that if you wear your dress back to front, it fits so much better (I am clearly not the shape of an average Fatface shopper) and the day went on to be full of surprises. 


eBay Collection: It is always a cringe-worthy moment when you arrive to pick up a eBay purchase and you take one look and you know it's not going to fit in the back of your car. Well luckily the lovely sellers in Ipplepen have the patience of saints, a variety of allen keys and a large workshop. We dismantled it and thirty minutes later we were on our way. 


Seaside Fun: It was a lovely day so we went gambling on the pier at Teignmouth. Lottie and I love the old machines on the pier that whirr and clunk and spit out tickets. Plus one of the workers once told us which were the best payers...it's not what you know, it's who you know! This is all relevant as the lovely lady on the machine next to us gave us all her tickets (enough for a harmonica, one marble and a packet of polos). You see, it was our lucky day. Lottie had her palm read on old fortune-telling machine and her future looks bright. It also looks like she'll be married before me! Shame about the first boyfriend - looks like he'll meet a sorry fate. Best keep your boys away from Lottie for a while. 

"Grasp your opportunities as they occur." Okay, so we grabbed lunch at The Ness in Shaldon

 Oh and pudding...

Then we umm-ed and err-ed. We were a bit full for a walk (!) so we headed for the car boot sale at Haldon Hill as we had seen the signs on the way down to Ipplepen. There were only 45 minutes to go and the wind had whipped up so much that the people you pay to get in had gone home (lucky). In fact, a lot of the traders had too but we found a little brown teapot and some knitting needles for knit and natter and were heading back to the car when we saw the 'pens for 5p' box. It turned out that the whole stall was craft materials. I asked how much and the result was we could take pretty much anything we wanted for £15. I tipped out my purse and counted the coins. By some coincidence I had exactly £15! This was meant to be. I didn't even look at what we were taking. I was worried that if we paused they might change their minds. I asked the lady why she was selling it all. It turns out it was her husband's mother's and she had sadly passed away. The seller was a knitter (so I invited her to knit and natter) and not a crafter. As we were tucking everything into plastic bags, I told them about the hub and the groups and said to pop in to see what we had created with mum's stuff. They said she would like it to go to a place like ours. So Lottie and I drove straight to the hub to have a good look. My goodness we did well.  The Cafe Pixies are still taking care of us. We have stamper pads, card stock, cutters & punches, paints, glues, stencils and so much more...the irony is I would have loved this woman and would have loved her to come to the hub, she could have taught me a thing or two. It looks like she had a go at every craft going, she took great care of her things and she kept everything. Some things are brand new and some look like they have been lovingly kept, tucked away for thirty years, waiting for the right project. So we need to make good use of them, to make sure that if she's keeping an eye on us, we do her proud. 

In amongst all the things were some blending chalks. Now we are new to blending chalks but the clue is in the name so we had a go...

Nice blending, don't you think?

There is a danger in people thinking we are a craft hub with this post and the monthly craft fair on Saturday. We will have plenty of art activities at the Hub as it is a great way of getting people together, having fun, learning new skills and sharing talents. But there will be many other opportunities to get involved, start a new class or learn something new in another field (not the grassy type). 

It Keeps Coming Back to Me: A little like the morning after a good night, things keep coming back to me about Saturday. I couldn't get to sleep until 1:30am as I was still digesting the day.

• I am wearing Anne's handmade Rose and Marigold lip balm that she brought over for me from her Herbaid stall at the Green Fair. I showed Zoe as it smelt so good and she gave one to Zoe too.
• Becca (who I know though my brother's band) came with her gorgeous little girl Rosie who Lottie rather took to. She made a badge and it was so lovely she came by. The magic of FaceBook.
• I loved meeting the wonderful mosaic woman who was spending the weekend creating a mosaic masterpiece in her friend Margaret's house. Margaret is a marketing whizz and I hope she will help us with ideas of where to put posters. She is also a stain-glasser.
• I was really chuffed to get a compliment about my caramel shortbread (which I last made years ago for a friend's 40th and I made so much for the party that I haven't made it since). Now I've been reminded, I'm going to crack open the evaporated milk and have a go. As a result this may be a good week to visit the hub if you have a sweet tooth. 
• And Imogen's lovely dad who renamed me 'Joey on the Green' although I'm not sure why and he talked about Joey pants (something to do with Friends?!). He was very funny but sadly not local. Imogen was a delightfully sparkly little girl and her dad was a sparkly daddy. 

It was an amazing day. I know Sharon spoke to people who want to be involved and use our space and Simon was busy in talks with people so I only know a fraction of what went on. But the idea of the hub, it's history and the possibilities for the future touched a lot of people so we have serious potential. The future looks bright... as the palm reader said, "Grasp your opportunities as they occur." and I will.