All Change

Sourced from HERE

So things have been very quiet recently for Springy Beard on the world wide web. But in reality things have been a little bit crazy and I have been having to make some very difficult decisions. After much soul searching I decided to close the Springy Beard shop.

After a year and a half of doing markets I started to look into how to push the business forward. I realised without an injection of lots of cash and time, I just can't move forward. It has also come down to personal time. The day job has gotten super busy and our home still needs lots (and lots and lots...) of renovation. I really want to devote my weekends to improving my home rather than doing markets.

I now realise that I want to be my own boss but I don't want to do it alone. I want a business partner who will share the load and help inspire me. To me, this person has to be my other half Carl. Over the last month or so I have slowly been selling off my stock, and with the newly acquired space me and the other half can now share an office. We are currently brainstorming plans and ideas for a future business together. So Springy Beard will not be gone forever, it will just evolve into something new and exciting.

I hope to continue with occasional posts about what we are up to so please check in on us. I don't know if it is the change in the weather, I do love Autumn, but I sense these next few months are going to be great!
xx

Sanding for the Big Boys

I thought I would give you some of the background story to us prepping the house before moving in, we wanted to try and get as much messy work done as possible. This involved stripping out as much of our wood cladding as we could, steaming off the lovely textured wall paper that covered every wall and sanding down the floors....

To do the floors we rented an industrial sander. Luckily we have a tool hire place just down the road and to rent the sander for the weekend ended up being about £90. It was so heavy though! But thankfully I have my amazingly spacious Berlingo, so transporting was not a problem - getting it up the stairs was a 3 man job!

It saved us so much time and actually gives very good results. It is not as difficult to manoeuvre as you would have thought, once you switch it on it doesn't feel as heavy to push backwards and forwards as it is then positioned on its wheels. My main tip though? Make sure you have hammered down all the nails in the floor properly before you start sanding, seeing sparks fly out from under your industrial sander is not a good sign!
xx

Rotavating

The above photos are a bit misleading. Today I decided to rent a rotavator and make a real stab at the ground on the allotment. My folks came down for the day to lend a hand and we were so happy and positive with the sun shining and a picnic ready for our lunch time break. What we didn't anticipate was how hard the ground was! We presumed that the turf would be able to be worked into the ground, slowly rotting and adding nutrients to the soil, but the turf was so tough that we soon realised we would be better off doing it by hand. So after a combination of petrol rotavator and spade and fork power the plot looked like this...

The plus side was, when we arrived at the allotment we had a very special surprise waiting for us. A juicy delicious ripe strawberry!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. My plans are a nice lunch in Lacock on Saturday and more bathroom preparation on Sunday.
xx

Allotment Update!

I got told off! With all the moving and working and markets, etc. etc. the allotment got abandoned! And what happens when you ignore your plot? The grass grows and you get a letter from the Allotment Association telling you to cut your grass or you will be kicked out!

So I begin cutting the grass with a push along lawn mower (no electric at the allotment and a petrol mower was too heavy for me to carry down) and I give myself lots of blisters and tears, until a neighbour rescues me and cuts it with their petrol mower! And after some additional toiling the plot looks like this...

...our progress is probably considered slow.

But we finally have a water butt and a completed base for a shed. The soft fruits are coming along and my potato bags are looking healthy. I have covered over some areas of grass ready for beds and added some nice reclaimed wood around the completed one. Next addition will be a compost bin!
xx

The First Project: The Bathroom

So, we have decided to tackle the bathroom first. It was really the only room that we didn't do anything to before we moved in. But now that we are here I feel we need to have somewhere we can escape to after a hard day DIYing. The above image is a reminder of what we were dealing with when we first moved in, but after a weekend of hard work (not to mention removing an electric shower and water pipes!) the bathroom now looks like this...

We have removed all the wall tiles, the airing cupboard and the ceiling. Basically we are at the bare bones stage. Now that we have an opportunity to assess the condition of the walls, we are thinking that we need to replace/insulate some of them with plaster board and carry out some heavy duty fills before we can take the next step. But my hope is by the end of August the bathroom will be complete!
xx

House Tour: At First Sight

So we got the keys and this is the sight that meets us as we opened the door for the first time...

The Porch

The Front Room

The Kitchen

The Garden

The Stairs

The Bathroom

The Bedroom

The Studio

It obviously needs a lot of cosmetic work but it was also lacking hot water and a central heating system. So hot water we now have, central heating we now have in most rooms and slowly we have stripped back to reveal the bare bones of this house. I'll try and give you more detail room by room as things develop - this weekend we are removing the bathroom tiles!

xx

The Hardest Month

Hello! I must apologies for having been so long, but this last month has been the hardest month I have ever experienced.

Never mind trying to maintain my 2 part-time jobs, whilst doing markets, (a wedding and 3 birthdays thrown in for good measure) and completely overhauling the new house -  in between everything we had some devastating news that shook my family to the core and a second scare which involved hospital visits to intensive care.

I have cried a lot this month and been reflecting a great deal.

But with every last breath there is new life and my strawberries on the allotment, producing beautiful flowers and tasty treats to come, bring a smile to my face. We are still not fully back up and running but the blog will hopefully be returning to normal, and the shop will soon follow suit (once I have unpacked everything!).

Also, stay tuned for the house tour which will be coming soon!
xx

We Bought A House!!!

So I have dropped a couple of hints over the last few weeks that something exciting has been in progress and you guessed it - we bought a house!

So let me fill you in on the whole story. After our wedding in January we counted up our pennies and started house hunting. We fell in love with a period terraced property in the centre of town which was at the top of our budget but needed everything done to it - central heating, bathroom, kitchen, (potentially some new joists in one of the bedrooms!) but it was gorgeous. We eventually put an offer in at what we felt we could afford, but we got out bid and had to walk away. For a month afterwards we felt very dejected and no properties in our price range were coming on the market - it was not a happy time.

Then, one evening we read a description of a property on the Internet, no pictures were available, but it sounded interesting and we booked an appointment for the next day. It ticked every box we could have hoped for! Not only did it have the space we needed - 2 double beds, bathroom upstairs, off road parking, garden, shed - it also ticked some of our dream wish list - right location, needs work so we can add value, has a big kitchen, a traditional front door and parquet flooring! The only catch was that the sale had to go through quickly so we set to work trying to make it happen but knowing that if we didn't meet their deadlines we might loose the house. But we made it!

I have to say I am completely overwhelmed by the whole thing. There is a lot of work to do on the place before we can even move in, and until we do I don't think it will feel real. It kind of feels like we are moving to another rented place - it all very strange.

Due to now having 2 jobs, an alottment, markets every weekend and 2 houses to sort out, blog posts will be a bit slim over the next month. Things will get back to normal soon.
xx

New Item Friday

Head over to the shop HERE

We are currently house/cat sitting for my parents. I write this whilst sat at the kitchen table, sun shining through the open door, and with a cat on my lap who keeps pestering me for attention. It is actually very difficult to type when you are having to stretch and manoeuvre around a big tabby cat! I sense this may mean there are fewer posts next week (I have images of me being pinned to the bed at night by my parents 3 cats and not being allowed to leave! If you don't hear from me by the middle of May send a rescue party!).

However, as my Mum is lovely she left all manner of tasty treats for us in the house and I think the cake stand above is the perfect addition to the shop to honour her Welsh cakes and Flapjacks. No market this weekend thankfully, but work with the National Trust as usual. I am hoping to enjoy as much sunshine as possible!
Have a lovely weekend.
xx

57 years ago today...

Another Hobbies Weekly for you today. Highlights from this issue are...

• Make a covered wagon electric light
• Make your own negative album
• Make a meat safe
• Designs for toothbrush holders
• How to make a kite

P.S. Please remember that this is a vintage magazine so some of the materials used may no longer be suitable or comply with current heath and safety regulations. Please be careful and check out all materials for modern equivalents. We can not be held liable for any injuries incurred, but please don't injure yourself!

Allotment: Double Digging

We worked really hard on the allotment at the weekend in order to get a bed ready for all our soft fruits. Things like raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb, etc. all take a year or two to settle and produce decent fruit - so the sooner we get them in the sooner we will be enjoying plenty of vitamins! Because we are a bit late in the growing season we have also planted some potatoes in grow bags so that we will have something to harvest later in the year. The plot does look a bit messy at the moment but give me another year and it will look amazing - fencing, a shed, proper pathways, edging for the beds, etc. etc.

The only problem we have with our plot is that the soil is clay! Clay is great as it contains lots of nutrients but it locks in a lot of water and can be too dense/heavy for certain plants (plus it is really heavy and hard work!). Root vegetables like potatoes, parsnips, etc. that all have deep rooting systems require something a bit lighter.

However, there is a way to help make clay soil more suitable - Double Digging.

Image sourced from HERE

The diagram above illustrates how to 'double dig' but some basic instructions are:

1. Section off the area of your bed
2. Start at one end, remove a strip of the turf and place to one side.
3. Remove a spades depth of the earth which you have just exposed and place the earth to one side
4. Using a fork or soil turner loosen up the bottom layer of earth
5. Then start on your second strip. Remove the turf and place upside down on the earth you have just forked over
6. Fork over the upside down turf just to loosen it up a bit
7. Then remove a spades depth of earth and place on top of the upside down turf
8. Keep repeating the process until you have covered the entire area of your bed. You should have a gap at the end which you can place the turf and earth that you removed from the first strip
9. You are done - have a cuppa!

This technique does take longer than just digging over the surface but the advantage is that you aerate the soil and once the turf under the soil has rotted it will add some nutrients. You can even add extra manure and things like grit and natural waste during the digging process to help with soils types such as Clay.

So, hard work but it will be worth it in the future when we have fantastic soil that we can grow anything in! Just another 3 beds to go....
xx

New Item Friday

Head over to the shop HERE

I have been on the Babycham this week, hence why my items today have taken an unconscious cocktail theme! For any one not aware of what Babycham is, it is a sparking alcoholic beverage made from pears but is actually referred to as a sparkling perry. They actually make it down the road from us in Shepton Mallet and it comes in little tiny bottles with the most fantastic iconic Bambi logo which oozes retro appeal.

Image sourced from HERE

It hasn't been a particularly rough week but with small amounts of sun coming out I have been fancying a nice sparkling drink after a long day at work. I have been very busy though! We are attending a very exciting 20th Century Fair this Sunday at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, and I have taken the (financial and spiritual) leap of booking a double pitch. This means I have room for even more goodies to show off, but then I realised it meant I had double the amount of items to sort out! Thankfully I am all sorted and packed, I can enjoy a nice Babycham this evening whilst wandering the Internet, meander down the allotment tomorrow and plant some soft fruits, so that I am fully charged for the chaos that will be Sunday!

If you happen to be in Bristol on Sunday please come down and visit us at Ashton Gate Stadium!
Have a lovely weekend
xx

57 years ago today...

Another Hobbies Weekly for you today. Highlights from this issue are:

• How to make a novel rack for scissors
• Canework basketry
• How to make a brick pedestal sun dial
• How to get a perfect finish with varnish
• Idea for a party centre piece

P.S. Please remember that this is a vintage magazine so some of the materials used may no longer be suitable or comply with current heath and safety regulations. Please be careful and check out all materials for modern equivalents. We can not be held liable for any injuries incurred, but please don't injure yourself!

Review: iZettle chip and pin

Springy Beard has started taking card payments!

It was one of my aims this year to look into card payment systems, with the hope being that it will expand my clientele and increase my sales, and I have successfully achieved my goal! Unfortunately, being a small business I couldn't really afford the step into a merchant account and fully pimped out chip and pin unit. I started researching other alternatives and got given a tip off about iZettle.

Image sourced from iZettle

iZettle, based in Stockholm, is a social payments company. They have developed devices to bring secure payments anytime, anywhere from person to person and business-to-consumer commerce. All you need is to set up an account, free of charge, order a device (which cost £58.80) and download the iZettle app on to your iphone, ipad or smart phone. The device works through your phone connection via blue tooth and accepts visa, American express, diners club international and master card. For every transaction iZettle will take 2.79% of your takings, so for every £100 they would take £2.79 (or for £1 I think they take 3p). You nominate an account for the money to go into and iZettle do this automatically a few days after each transaction, and send you an email notification.

image sourced from iTunes

HOW IT WORKS:

1. Turn the device on
2. Open the app on your phone
3. On your phone make sure the blue bar on your screen says 'enter card/swipe card' (this means the device and phone have connected). The screen on the device should read 'enter card'
4. On the phone enter the amount of the item, enter a description and even take a quick photo of the item then press charge
5. Hand over the iZettle device to the customer, it will tell them what to do on the screen and you can monitor it on your phone screen
6. Once the payment has gone through on your phone screen it will ask if the customer would like a receipt and you can either print one straight off or email it to the customer
7. And you are done!

THE PROS:

• The device is small
• You can hand the device over to the customer without having to hand over your own personal phone
• It is so easy to use! So easy I had to check the account on-line just to be sure it was all ok!
• The transaction fees are very reasonable
• You can insert a chip and pin card and swipe card
• There is no contract or monthly fees

THE CONS:

• When we first used it the battery didn't last very long but my tip would be to make sure you let it charge over night before using it - I think I was a bit too eager and used it after only a few hours!
• It charges through a USB connection on your laptop or computer but it is very difficult to tell if it is charging
• Obviously it relies on your mobile having a phone signal so if you are in a poor signal zone then you are stuck

I am in love with my iZettle. I like that I only have to pay if I make a sale and the initial £58.80 fee is very reasonable. The device is a really nice size and fits into my money pouch perfectly (yes, when I am at markets I am like a kangaroo with a little pouch). As the initial costs are so low, and you are not tied into any contracts, it is ideal for small businesses. You can even create a store of items in a library on your phone, that way all you need to do is click on the item and hit charge.

image sourced from iTunes

I hope that helps all you small business owners out there.
xx

New Item Friday

Head over to the shop HERE

I have a couple of additions to my Tupperware collection today. My collection of Tupperware is starting to look very impressive - I'm thinking I may have to hold a vintage Tupperware party! I'm thinking I have all my Tupperware on show for people to buy, food made using recipes in my Tupperware cookery book and demonstrations on how to use certain items? What do you think? If only I had a brick and mortar shop I probably could hold that kind of event, but a girl can keep dreaming. (In my dream I am a Tupperware lady in a floral printed dress and beehive - just to help with your own visuals).

I am planning a weekend in the allotment digging and hopefully laying foundations for a shed, with a quick visit to Wells thrown in. I have never been to Wells before but we plan a little jolly on Saturday morning to have a nose around. I hope you all have lovely plans as well? Here's fingers crossed to a bright and sunny weekend!
xx

Allotment Beginnings

I have had a crazy few days. Saturday was the day we got our allotment! We got up in the morning, were taken around the site and then spent the rest of the afternoon digging.....I was knackered. But there is no rest for the wicked, so on Sunday I had work at the National Trust and a market in Frome to juggle. And then yesterday it was up early again for more work with The Trust and then a quick change over and off to work at the new job.....

View from the bottom of our garden

Breaking the ground ceremony i.e. the hubby digging

As you can tell by Monday evening I was just too tired to share my lovely allotment with you, but here it is now. It was the most perfect weather on Saturday for us to get going on our patch. As you can tell it is a complete blank canvas, with turf! We divided up the area using string and decided on a rough plan to get us started.

We did some digging on Saturday as well but we used a very particular technique which I think I will tell you about next week when I have some extra photos - have you ever heard of 'double digging'? At the moment I am spending a lot of time researching and planning, and I can't wait for the day when we can sit at the top of our patch and admire all our hard work!
xx

New Item Friday

New items added to the shop

I have some fantastic news.....
It is not that we will be at the Frome Flea this Sunday selling all our goodies (although I am very excited to be back for another year of Frome Flea events).....
It is that we are getting an ALLOTMENT!!!

I'm very excited (can you tell?). We are heading over to find our patch on Saturday and then will probably be digging up earth and generally getting as dirty as we can. For any one that follows me on Pinterest you may have noticed some garden related pins popping up more recently? We got told the other week that we were at the top of the allotment waiting list so I have been getting inspired by all the other gardeners and allotment-ers (I think I may have just invented that word) out there in the world. I am hoping that I can incorporate lots of nice posts in the future about veggie growing to give you all some inspiration as well. I'm thinking the little milk and sugar pots above would be perfect for taking to the allotment along with my thermos and wellies!

If you do happen to be in Frome on Sunday please come and see us at the Frome Flea in the market yard car park by the Cheese and Grain.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!
xx

New Item Friday

They look the same but one small and one large pyrex bowl
Head over to the shop HERE

Happy Good Friday!
I am currently eating my easter egg (I realise I am probably meant to wait until Sunday but I just couldn't resist) and enjoying some quality time with my hubby. A stew is in the slow cooker and I am flicking through old magazines, it feels nice to have a proper weekend relaxing.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend with your families and plenty of chocolate.
xx

New Item Friday

Head over to the shop HERE

I have had a lovely day but it has been completely unproductive. I have spent it in Salisbury with my folks chatting about everything under the sun - it was great! I feel very blessed that I have parents that I can talk to, who are interesting people in their own right and who I enjoy spending time with.

I have a full packed weekend ahead of me, a family party on Saturday and a market in Bristol (Ashton Gate Stadium) on Sunday. I hope you all have nice weekends ahead of you and come and visit me in Bristol if you have the time.
xx

Saturday Food and Flowers

I don't really feel that my feet have hit the ground since we got married back in January. Over these last couple of months alone we have invested in a card system, re-designed the website, had Springy Beard's 1 year anniversary and I have got myself another part-time job. Plus there is so much more to come over the next few months. As myself and the hubby had some errands to run on Saturday morning we took the opportunity to relax among the cobbled streets of Frome.

At a local flower shop I was seduced by the stunning flowers outside - Ranunculus. The beautiful and complicated petals are stunning and a gorgeous yellow bud just had to make its way home with me to sit in our bedroom window. This really must mean spring is here and I can't wait to start filling the house with light and flowers.

We also dropped into a little oriental shop and treated ourselves to a lunch of thai curry and jasmine tea. It was really an opportunity for us to enjoy the last nip that's in the air, staring out the window as the world passed us by. Hopefully soon we can start stripping ourselves of think winter coats, furry boats and knitted hats. I can see spring approaching and it is very exciting. What could make my day even better? Well, my fortunes looking up!

xx