Getting Ready for the Thames Festival

For the past month or so i have been super busy getting ready for the 'Thames Festival'.  The event will be held over two days (10th & 11th September) along the Thames with various events taking place.  I will only be participating on the 11th but i am still mega excited since this is my first really big fair, the location is right next to the 'Tate' and it's an incredible opportunity for me to show my products to the wider audience.

I started my preparations over a month ago, but with so much going on in my little world that i hardly took any pictures along the way.  
I started off making my soap batches since i know that once they are made i can just leave them to cure for a month while i work on my other products.  

A few of my soaps curing

Next....i decided to get my logo done by the lovely Bonita from 'It's all about the Graphics'.
I had an idea of what i wanted, something simple with a vintage look, and nothing too flowery.  so i was really pleased with the final outcome.  She also designed my avatar and banner for my folksy shop which i was really pleased with. http://www.folksy.com/shops/BobbinsandBalms

Pauline from 3 Little Finches, designed labels for my Lavender & Bergamot Balm, Vanilla & Vetiver Balm, Gardeners Balm, Lime Lip Balm and Vanilla Lip Balm.  The labels came out superb and they make my products look a million times more professional. 
( i just discovered the colour accent function on my camera so some of the pics are not colour )
 

One of the products which sells really well at fairs are my bath fizzies with Epsom salt.  I decided to make a batch of 'Rose & Geranium' and a batch of 'Lavender' bath fizzies.  I usually package them in a brown kraft box with some ribbon tied around, and honestly they look really cute.

My favourite soy wax candles in Lavender & Bergamot, Ylang ylang & Grapefruit and Clove & Orange have also been made for the fair.

Excitement in the Garden

The garden is full of exciting veg, herbs and flowers, and each day something new and wonderful is appearing.  

Our 1st chillie pepper plant is growing nicely. We have a dozen or so blossoms so I'm happy that we will get a good few chillies for my mums spicy curries.

you can see the chillie pepper growing

lots of chillies blossoming, i think we will have a dozen or so chillie peppers

A few 'not so good' tomatoes were thrown on an empty patch in the garden....and before  we knew it, we were swamped with a gigantic tomato bush.  The tomatoes have just started to grow and i am not sure what type they are, so far there seems to be a few plum and a few cherry, i will just have to wait and see.

Tomatoes

Yellow petals before the tomatoes emerge

Also another first for us is pumpkin, we were given the seeds by a kind neighbour. No pumpkin as yet but the leaves are getting bigger..fingers crossed.

Pumpkin

Lastly, our fig tree.  A small plant was given to my father by his Cypriot friend over 10 years ago and since it has grown nicely giving delicious figs each year.  For some unknown reason we don't have as many this year, but each day new little figs are appearing.