Ho hum.... and on and on.

So the last craft show I did was an absolute flop.  FLOP I say!  I did not sell one item.  NOT ONE!  And yes, I cried in the car on the way home.  I'm over it though.  I figured it was a fluke and things can only get better from here. So I'm not gonna quit. No, I'm gonna enter more shows, carry more stuff and keep trying because this truly is what I love to do.   That being said, I helped my mom at her most recent quilt show in Puyallup last weekend (she let me have a table for just my stuff) and not only did my stuff sell, but I got some fan-fricken-tastic ideas for some pretty awesome resin buttons. So onward and upward.  We are moving back to California in a month and I am already scouting out farmers markets, street fairs and kids/baby expos. So here's to the end of my first year of selling my work and a big ol' cheers to finding my niche and loving what I do.... finally.

Oh, the smell of a glue gun in the morning.

It's before 8:00am and I am crafting.  My first show went well.  I say well because my items were well received and I got a ton of great new ideas.  I also say well, because while I saw people taking things from my table to buy, I have no idea how I did yet because all purchases were made at a separate check-out counter. I am waiting the approximate 10 days to receive my check and see how I really did.  But it was a great experience and I am gearing up for my next show this Saturday.  I almost sold completely out of my ladybug hair clips and had a few requests for bumblebee clips so that is what I am working on this morning.

I wrote down tons of ideas for not only items to sell, but also booth design and marketing.  I have been looking into what shows I will do for the year 2013 in.... California.  Yes, for those of you who don't know, we are moving back to Cali in December.  And while I am not thirilled it does open up a whole new door of outdoor street fairs, farmers markets and other local events.  And... the husband said I could have an entire room for my crafts in the new house!

So today I craft.  Today I bump up my inventory and burn my fingers on hot glue and cover my kitchen counters in glitter. 

Here's to finally finding something I love to do and hoping my A.D.D doesn't ruin this for me.

My First Show!

I have a terrible cold right now.  Which wouldn't be that big of a deal if I did't have my first craft show in 2 days.  I have been preparing for the past week and I think I may just have everything ready.  Except this cold.  Just will it away right?  I think I can, I think I can.  Anyway, I am pretty excited since this will be the first show that I am doing on my own.  Meaning, I'm not selling buttons in my mom's booth at quilting and sewing shows, I have my own "booth" (table).  Then I'm gonna double whammy myself and do another one next Saturday. 

Here is a picture of what I am hoping my table will look like.  I say hoping because they have 6 and 8 foot tables but have not told me what I will have.... fingers crossed for 8 even though my table cloth fits a 6. 

See the cute little banner I have on the front that says, what else but... All Things Sweet. I made that for almost nothing.  How, you ask?  Well, I will tell you.

I made a trip last week to Creation Station.  If you live in the Seattle area and are a crafter of any kind, you must visit the Creation Station in Lynnwood.  I could blog a whole page on them, but I will let you discover them for yourself.  So I scored a book of Satin Fabric Samples for $.75... SEVENTY FIVE CENTS!  So, the great thing about the fabric sample books is that the edges have been cut with a pinking shear finish... know what I mean?  I don't have pinking shears and good ones can be pretty expensive so it was nice that they already came that way. I picked up a few extra books including one that was samples of velvet! Ok, back on track...

 

Then I chose the colors I wanted in my banner.  I knew I wanted to separate each word with a heart and have a heart at the beginning and one at the end.

 

 

I then printed out the letters on plain paper in the size font I needed.  I would have loved to use a larger font, but I was having a moment and couldnt figure it out. 

 

I then traced each letter onto it's own rectangle of freezer paper and proceeded to carefully cut out each letter with a very sharp exacto knife.

 

Once the letters were cut, I ironed them onto the fabric.  I actually did this after each letter I cut so that I didn't lose things like the insides of the lower case e's and such.  Make sure your edges get sealed since the freezer paper is going to act as your stencil.

 

*Here is where I did things a little differently than you might.  I have a Yudu machine... a screen printer.  So I arranged my wax papered fabric pieces under the screen and masked out, with masking tape,  any fabric that showed through besides what was being printed.  Meaning, if I didn't want ink to go there, I covered it with tape. 

If you do not have access to a screen printer as most don't, you can, at this point just paint inside your wax paper stencil with the color of your choice.  I suggest using a sponge and stipple method rather than a paint brush to keep any paint from creeping under your stencil edges.

 

After the fabric was dry I laid all the letters out with the proper spacings inbetween and cut an appropriate length of ribbon to hang.   *I am a bone head and actually had the entire banner glued together and then realized I had done the whole thing backwards.  So that being said, make sure your banner will read correctly and using a hot glue gun, place a line of glue across the back of your fabric, place the ribbon on the glue, do another line of glue on the side of the ribbon that is facing up and fold over the fabric to secure it.  Be sure to evenly space your letters.

 

After you are finished hang it up, stand back and feel a deep seeded sense of accomplishment.