Handmade For The Holidays Craft Show

I'm so excited for the second annual Handmade for the Holidays craft show! It's only about three weeks away. I enjoyed last year's show so much, all the talent and fantastic people. Christmas is right around the corner and there's nothing better than a handcrafted gift! The show is happening in Hot Springs, AR at ArtChurch Studio 9am-5pm and my husband and I will be there all day with brand spankin' new Papercut Kitchen goodies and a few old faves.

Craft Show Survivor

Well, I'm no longer a craft show virgin! The Handmade for the Holidays show Saturday was a great success in my book. I have nothing to compare it to but all I'd hoped in a first show was to make back the money that I put in on fees and displays and to get my little craft show feet wet and I think that happened. I was also incredibly blessed to experience so much love and support from friends, family and complete and utter strangers who were all so generous and flattering.

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

I loved my booth but am afraid it would be way to cumbersome for me to haul anywhere out of town.

I had forgotten how wonderful it is to spend quality time with other artists. My booth neighbors were fantastic, everyone was friendly and roamed around meeting each other and I got to meet several people that I've talked to online for years but never met in person. I could just go on and on about that part of it. The people make it and this was so much fun!

It was interesting to see what sold in person that doesn't sell online and what didn't sell at the show that I expected to. I also see ways I think I can improve for the next one. Overall for a first timer I really like the way my booth turned out.

I really liked my displays, especially the front table and Christmas table. I also liked the unusual shape of my space. I was a little bit crowded on my big table though and am thinking up some ways to give the little goodies some breathing room.

My lovely assistant for the day.

Photo taken by Lisa of Golden Muses on Etsy

I thought the crowds were great for a first time show. It wasn't super jam packed but there was a steady stream of shoppers.

Photo taken by Lisa of Golden Muses on Etsy

I finally got to meet Brandy of Ekioart on Etsy, she's also on my street team, AREtsy. And I adopted two of her robots to give the boys for Christmas. So adorable and incredibly soft. You can get yours here.

Photo taken by Lisa of Golden Muses on Etsy

I made a fantastic trade for one of Briana's lovely bars of vegan eucalyptus spearmint soaps and it is divine! There's a good chance I'm now an addict! Briana was one of the gals who ran this show and you can purchase her soaps online at her shop Nest on Etsy.

Needless to say I will be doing this more in the future. Now that I've been through the process I think it won't be so all consuming like it was this time. Figuring out set-ups, how to take money etc etc really took up some time. Oh and I'm really glad I signed up for Propay to take credit cards. Those transactions added up to about 1/4th of my sales and I can see that growing in the future.

Stay tuned to my shop, The Beehive. I'll be filling it up with all the goodies that didn't sell at the show.

Getting Down To Business

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

This final pre-craft show week is all about the booth and signage and price tags and figuring out how to take custom orders and credit cards and other business what-nots. I actually started getting nervous on Monday, really nervous, but it's looking like I should be able to get it all done. In an uncharacteristic move brought on by nervousness and exhaustion I'm going to let the pictures of what I've accomplished these past few days do most of the talking.

Above is a picture of the price signs and item descriptions that I will have standing around on tables, clipped to plates and to my little Christmas tree.

I've been seeing a lot of different craft show banners like this that people make out of fabric and was debating my own paper version (how could it be anything else?!) but when I saw this super cute banner on the Idyll Hands blog that was made by her sister, Punkinhead, I was sold!

And if a banner made of paper wasn't enough I had to, yes had to, make a paper tree skirt for my little tree.

Blah Blah Blah some of the boring essentials.

I do love the way my pricing signs turned out. Just like my business cards, it's amazing what scrapbook paper will do to jazz up a boring sign. The frames are just cheapies from Michaels but they look so pleasant.

I thought I would display my magnets on an old street sign my hubby has had in the garage forever but when I dug it out it was just too scrungy and distracting. A trip to Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon in hand and I found this metal sign that should look much nicer and it only cost me about $10.

My craft room was bursting at the seems so I decided if I was going to continue making things and be able to assess what still needed done it was time to move it all out to the dining table. It's a little nerve wracking to have it all out there where little hands and paws can reach it!

That's it for now! Happy Scrapping!

Tag, I'm It!

It's the final countdown. This is the last week I have to prepare for the Handmade for the Holidays craft show and I'm feeling good about it. I'm sure everyone will be very excited to start hearing about something other than my very first ever craft show over and over again. Last week was all about making, rhinestoning (I know, not a word), stringing up and packaging tags. I wasn't so sure about how the whole packaging thing would go, I've never really done it before. I'm a simple gal who thinks a little goes a long way and that's what I did, die cut tags in cello bags stapled shut with a business card. I made a fresh new batch of business cards and they make me so happy. I print them on scrapbook cardstock, it's amazing how such a simple thing makes something so much nicer! Like I said, I'm a simple girl.

There are a bunch of tags I've never made before and when I return I will definitely be adding tag sets as a regular item to my shop, always before they've been in my appreciation boxes. Ok, ok, enough banter. I still have lots I want to accomplish. This week will be all about making price signs, a banner and making sure the booth set-up and business part of things is in working order. Before you leave be sure to check out the last photo of my Lil' Spitfire helping me out with some super hero thought bubble tags, super cutie!

All my little ducks in a row.

These are my current faves: Man and Woman tags and Lemon Lime tags

The tag spread. I couldn't work on anything else while the glue was drying. Luckily that doesn't take long.

Lil' Spitfire sporting his "serious thinking face"

Craft Show Here I Come!

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

Yesterday morning I got notice that I was accepted to the Handmade for the Holidays craft show! woo-hoo with a side of panic. I've been crafting like mad but it's tough going with the little ones and I know there's so much stuff I would like to make. There is also so many non-crafting show related details to take care of, it makes my head spin a bit. Today I get a fantastic reprieve, a friend of mine is going to watch my youngest during the day while I make, make, make! This is going to be wonderful, not only from a productivity stand point but I've been going a little mamma nuts this week and could really use some peace and quiet! Craft show here I come!

This new Owl Scrapbook is going to the show with me. It's not in my shop yet but will be soon!

I thought I was making tons of paper bead bracelets until I set them out for this shot. I think I'm going to need more! Especially since I've sold 2 and given one as a gift.

I'm also giving a lot of consideration to changing my business name. When I started this I wasn't really sure what I was going to make and sell so I went pretty generic with my name. Now that I've gotten that figured out it's time for a business name, logo and cohesive identity that speaks more to what I'm doing. It's tough going though, every time I come up with one that I love I find it's in use. I don't want to find myself stuck with a name like Scrapbook World or Scrapbooks by Sunny but I also have this issue where I like to go too crazy with names, something that is overly evident in the names I've chosen for my pets over the years. Hmm, this one will take some time to figure out!


But wait there's more! I've redesigned my wedding scrapbook cover. The first attempt was a sort of in the style of blech. Now I think I have a more modern, simple and pretty cover, ahhh much better! My full fledged wedding album is available for purchase here. If you want just the cover you can buy that here.

That's it for today's show and tell, happy scrapping!

The Holidays, They Are A Comin'

Custom Framed Pet Silhouette made from your photo, 13x13 now at The Beehive

NOTE: My shop The Beehive is now Papercut Kitchen! Please visit my shop Papercut Kitchen by clicking here.

And I'm a busy little bee! I've applied to my very first craft show, Handmade for the Holidays, and I'm giddy with excitement and nervousness. It should be the perfect show for getting my virgin craft fair feet wet, it's just one day, the fees are low and it's right here in town at a really cool space called The Art Church. The only problem is I won't find out if I've been accepted until the week before the show, which means accepted or not I'm prepping now as though I am. I'm practicing optimism! And hey, if I'm not accepted I'll be completely ready for another one!

Custom Two Figure Silhouette made from your photo, 13x13 now at The Beehive

Already I'm seeing that craft show prep is hefty stuff. Not only do I have to try and figure out how much stuff I might sell, and make it, I have to figure out how I'm going to accept payments and custom orders, the best way to package and display my items, there are signs, banners and business cards to be made...whew. My lovely husband and friends are offering help and I'm taking it. Even though I only have one boy home now it can still be amazingly impossible to get anything that's not house/family related done.

I made a bowl full of glass chip flower pins for the show along with some additional examples of how my custom silhouettes can be made. The silhouettes are now up for purchase in my shop and they will travel with me to the show, along with some I made of my adorable boys! I suppose if I don't get into the show the pins will go in the shop as well.

On other exciting news I've been in several treasuries these days. I haven't been able to keep up with posting them the way I'd like to. The most recent is a lovely treasury called Something Worth Leaving Behind created by Eco Creations jewelry. You can also see my Custom Pet Silhouette featured in Riley's Pooch Pics on an adorable blog called Hello Little Riley.

That's all for now, Happy Scrapping!