Crafty collaboration raises nearly £900 for Martin House

A Martin House mum and her friend have raised nearly £900 for the hospice by crafting and selling beautiful seasonal wreaths.

Jayne Geall, whose daughters Lily-Rose, 24, and Tia, 18, have been supported by Martin House for many years, and friend Tracy Hoyle, who is also a personal assistant to the girls, were inspired to make wreaths to sell after seeing similar items in shops.

Jayne said: “We’ve always enjoyed doing crafts with the girls, and we saw these wreaths in a shop and thought we’d have a go at doing our own.”

Charity crafts

They started out last year with autumnal wreaths, then Christmas wreaths and table centres last year, followed by spring wreaths, and then branched out into making jewellery, bag charms and key rings.

Tracey said: “We’re both really creative, but we surprised ourselves with how good they were, and we sold everything. I took the jewellery and smaller items, and had a stall at a summer fair and made £100.”

Jayne added: “We had a great time making them, the girls loved it as well, and we’ve raised money for Martin House.”

Overall, the pair have raised £889 for Martin House so far, and are already working on Christmas wreaths and table centres to sell again this year, to boost their total even more.

“We’re already getting orders, as people have been in touch asking for particular colours, and my hairdresser has offered to put some in her shop to sell for us,” said Jayne.

“My oldest daughter Lydia has got me making dog decorations to sell in her dog grooming shop as well.”

Giving back to Martin House

Jayne and husband Jim, along with Lily-Rose and Tia, have been regular visitors to Martin House for respite stays, as well as enjoying events like the family Christmas party and LodgeFest, our mini-music festival.

Sadly, Tia became seriously unwell earlier this year with sepsis and pneumonia, and died at Martin House in August.

“When the doctors told us there was nothing else they could do, we said we didn’t want her to die in a hospital, we needed to get her to Martin House.

They were absolutely amazing and got us there really quickly. Everyone at the hospital and the hospice were incredible.

Tia’s still going to be with us all the time, we’ve got so many special memories.”

Jim, Jayne and Lily-Rose were able to stay with Tia at Martin House for a few days in our Snowflake Suite.

Jayne and Tracy are now making Christmas wreaths, decorative trees and table centres, with prices for wreaths starting at £15, and they are available through Jayne’s Facebook page: Charity crafts for Martin House