Selling your craft items ???

I think most of us think of selling what we make.  And most of the time we do sell an item/quilt here or there but what about craft fairs….

Okay, I read a lot about people who spend a lot of time preparing for a craft fair.  I also read a lot about how they were disappointed with the turnout.  Well, this is something I’ve thought about for years.  Why not a party sale?  You remember the Tupperware type parties of old??? Our friends would invite us over and most the time we’d buy at least something and hope our friend would get enough sales to get what she wanted.  Maybe she was having the party to help her friend get started….   So this is what I’ve thought and I’m sure you could come up with your very own variations…

If you have a certain craft you do that you really enjoy doing and don’t mind making many over and over again, make up several samples.  Ask a friend to throw you a party (maybe even make it a themed party – the Holidays are coming).  Have some samples of what you’d be willing to make multiples of and be reasonable in your time frame to have them done and delivered as promised.  You could take orders and request a certain amount for a deposit.  Or you could take items and just sell them at the party.

Do you like to make placemats?  Ask your friend to have, say a soup tasting, and you bring different placemats and a couple different home made soups.  Everyone gets the soup recipes and the ability to order a set of placemats.

Do you like to make dolls?  How about doll clothes?  (those American Dolls are really popular!)  Do you make silk flower arrangements?  How about paper crafts?  Do you make cards?  The list is endless.  But be prepared…. one thing could lead to another to another and you have to be realistic about what you can do….

Okay, so now you’re asking if I’ve done this?? No, I haven’t and it’s because I am realistic in knowing that I would get extremely bored doing the same thing over and over again.  I don’t make the same quilt design twice even if using different fabrics… When I make dolls, I have to change them up.  When I knit, I want to use a different pattern each time…  But because this is something I have thought about, I decided I’d share my thoughts and maybe you’re the type who could be successful in something like this… And my idea is NOT copyrighted.  I don’t own it – I’ve shared it for a reason.  Enjoy it if you can!

 

Katie

Today I will….

Start with a picture:

I love sunrises and sunsets.  This is the sun coming up over the mountains and the view from my back porch.  When I look at the colors of nature I often wonder how they’d look in a quilt and figure probably ‘awesome’!

So.. what have I been up to lately?  Well, not as much as I’d like.  I just don’t seem to want to sew or quilt and I really have to talk myself into it.  I took a few days and headed up to Flagstaff in northern AZ to visit my granddaughter, Kari.  My BFF, Vicki, went with me and it was so very nice to have her along.  It’s been years since we did a ‘road trip’ together.  It was so nice to see Kari.  She’s only been back at school for 2 months but I really miss her when she’s gone.  I probably won’t get to see her now until Christmas and while she’s home I know we’ll get to spend some time before she has to head back to school…

I have quilted a couple of the Sew Fest quilts, but put that aside to get started on the John  Deere quilt.  I’m doing the Disappearing 4-patch with a Twist block pattern

and I really like the way it’s turning out. (Note: This picture is of the blocks I made up using scrap fabrics…)  I did mess up a bit but in the end it works.  I did the first 15 blocks and then when I did the second 15 blocks I switched the two colors and so ended up with 2 different blocks.  Now with the next 30 blocks I need to make, I will have to be sure to do 2 different blocks to keep the momentum of the pattern.

I’ve also been doing some knitting and crocheting.  A friend had sent me a link to a slipper boot pattern that has a Crocodile stitch pattern on the cuff and asked me if I could do it.  So… I downloaded the pattern and have been trying to get these slippers done and I will give them to her for her B-day in December.  I didn’t really like the way the pattern was written and have had to ‘ad lib’ to make it work out the way I think it should.  I guess I should add here that the slippers are crochet.  I’ve been knitting some fingerless mitts and then some cotton dish cloths.  At first, I couldn’t see the sense in a ‘fingerless’ mitt, but once I made the first pair for myself, I got it.  My hands do get cold and I can wear the fingerless mitts and still get things done and they do help with keeping my hands warm.  The dish cloths are a favorite of the ladies in my family.  Since I started making these, I could never go back to a flimsy store bought dish cloth.  And my girls let me know when they need more…..

Baby sat the two youngest grandsons a few mornings this week.  They were on Fall break (yes their school does fall and spring break) and with mom in school and dad working…. Anyway, it reminds me I’m not as young as I used to be!!! 

And to end this post…. Christmas is coming!  Yes it is, whether I’m ready or not and I always say I’m not yet somehow manage to pull it off.  I keep thinking of what I’d like to do and get overwhelmed.  Tiffani still doesn’t have all those Barbie princess dresses she wanted so guess those will be Christmas presents.   I really don’t like to give gift cards or money as gifts but I’m finding that the boys’ interests are things I just don’t understand (video games, Transformers, etc….)  So if you have any ideas you’d like to share, please let me know!

Have a wonderful day,

Katie