Hi everyone, I’ve been making little resin teddy bears as “pocket hugs” for charity recently, and it has reminded me that a very small handmade item can sometimes mean an enormous amount to the person receiving it. They don’t have to be perfect, complicated or expensive. Quite often, it’s simply knowing that somebody took the time to make something especially for them that matters. So, I’d love to know: have you ever used your crafting to support a charity, cheer somebody up or mark a difficult moment? It could be: • something you made to raise money • a little gift for somebody going through a hard time • items donated to a local group or event • cards, keepsakes or decorations made for a good cause • or simply a handmade surprise that made somebody smile Please share a photo or tell us the story behind it below. It might inspire somebody else to turn a few leftover materials and a little bit of time into something really lovely. And if you’ve never tried it, perhaps this week’s tiny challenge could be to make one small “just because” gift for somebody who could use a smile. 💜 Tracey

I am new to this group but not crafting! I have been doing various projects and skills my whole life. I work with crochet, sewing, gardening, building outside structures, texturing, wire wrapping, beading and NOW epoxy resin! Its been an aweful mess but i am spacing my disastrous attempts apart with time for lots of understanding about what went wrong and the process to fix it. Possibly this group will assist me moving forward to not have so much time between pours and the learning process!

Hi I'm so glad to be here. I'm looking forward to connecting with new friends. I'm a mixed media artist. I love working with fluid art and resin mostly.

Does the Craft Fair assistant come with a magic wand 😁I haven't done a Craft Fair for a long time but I will be doing one in December, or at least I think I will, given that I have paid for the pitch. Already I am thinking will this be worth my time and effort, because preparing stock for such is probably the hardest part. The questions that run through my mind include: Are customers at Craft Fairs different to online customers, given it is a Christmas Craft Fair, do the products need to be Christmas themed [I'm in trouble if they do]. How do I deal with those who criticise pricing based on their assumption that it is just a hobby to generate pin money, since assault is not really a good marketing approach. I have experienced that, not the assault bit, that was just what was running through my mind as a smiled politely, should you haggle in terms of price. Personally I would argue against haggling, they wont let me do it in Tesco. How do I attract customers to my stall to make a purchase rather than go to the other stalls, that I am thinking are much better than mine. Since I am a boring Accountant, or retired boring Accountant from the education sector I price according to how I was taught so many millions of years ago, should pricing handmade products take a different approach. Despite successfully teaching marketing techniques and marketing very well for other people, I am absolutely crap at doing it for myself, is their a magic solution. How do I present my stall that makes everyone go WOW or at least be a little curious. I have in the past done Craft Fairs on my own, this time I do have volunteers and this may sound as though I am lowering the tone, but past experience has taught me that this can be a factor. For those who do Craft Fairs without any volunteers, how do you deal with toilet breaks; I have discovered that leg plaiting is not really the best approach. I am sure minutes before the doors open for the fair to commence, I will have a million and one questions for you Tracey, so, what are you doing on the 12 December? I'll pick you up 😁

Would any of you be interested if one day when I'm in my craft room whether filming or just crafting, I left a live open in the community here in case anyone wants to craft with me or just drop in for a chat?