Craft Show Nervousness (Part 2)

Ok well I promised that I would post photos of the work I completed today so here goes:

Here is a pre-designed scrapbook for a little girl, all it needs are someone's photos!

Here are some pictures of other work that I did tonight. As you can see I am still have a hard time perfecting the candles after the wick goes in....these will be sold as imperfections for a discount at the show hehe : )

I would love any feedback that anyone has to give : )

Off to bed now, I will post an update tomorrow before bedtime!

Craft Show Nervousness

I have my first craft show on Black Friday, only 5 days away and I am starting to get nervous. I feel like I am unprepared and do not have enough product prepared to offer potential customers. I welcome custom orders for scrapbooks and am also going to offer custom orders on frames and candles as well so hopefully this will help me get some extra orders! Currently I have 5 candles ready to go- with enough product to make 42 more which I will complete by the show, 5 frames, and 7 scrapbook layouts. Doesn't sound like much at all I know Unfortunately I have to work Mon-Wed at my job that pays the bills but every night after work this week as well as after I cook Thanksgiving dinner and up until 3 pm on Friday will be completely devoted to making as much product as I possibly can : ) Wish me luck and any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

I will post pictures of the work I completed today before I go to bed : )

Seattle Bound (Part 2).....

Well we arrived to Seattle after a 7 hour bus ride that was supposed to only be 4.5 hrs.....we received some lovely hospitality from our fellow Americans that work as US Customs officers.....I have never been so ashamed to be an American as I was today, the work ethic that those workers have and the way they talked to and treated the bus passengers was just uncalled for!!! Thankfully our bus driver had a sense of humor and we finally arrived in Seattle!!!

I am glad to be going home on Wednesday, I miss home!!! I am also very excited to get home and start work on new projects to put up for sale at Turkey Night being held in downtown St.Petersburg.

Among the other things that I need to do, are either figure out what needs to be altered on my business card file that I sent to a company we use at work, or find another place locally that can get them done in time! I also need to get my banner on order for the show....I am pondering the thought of ordering it on Etsy but I am afraid that I am not going to have time now, and will also have to get that ordered somewhere locally as well!!

I am really excited about being able to make my candles, I received all my stuff a couple days before I left but I had too many other things to do to get ready for my trip so I was not able to start playing with my new stuff, so this weekend is going to be dedicated to all craft stuff and the chores that just can wait!!!

I will be sure to post pictures of my works in progress for eveyone to see!!

Seattle Bound....

In about an hour, I will be Seattle bound once again!!! I am very glad to be heading back to Seattle from Vancouver!!! It's not that I did not like it here its just that heading back to Seattle means that I am 2 days closer to going back home!!!!! When I get home it is going to be a crazy 9 days......because on Nov 23rd I am doing my first craft show and to say that I am unprepared would be an understatement....I feel like I have very little to offer my potential customers but I know that I will give it one final push when I get home and I will do the best that I can do!!! It is only my first show and I know to some degree it will be a learning experience!! Well I must get going to take my bus back to the states so I will continue this entry later......

Sooo excited......

Well from my previous post you know that I experimented with making soy candles earlier this week, and I was quite happy with my results!!! So I went to Cajun Candles, I ordered enough supplies to make about 48 candles for my craft show later this month!!!

I ordered the following scents:

Christmas Tree
Cinnamon
Honeydew Melon
Lavendar
Cucumber
Pumpkin Pie
Vanilla Chai
Black Cherry
Cool Citrus Basil

I am very excited for my product to come in so that I can make pretty candles to sell : )

Last night, I also decided it was time to give in an order some Chipboard letters for my scrapbook layouts and frames. I have seen them at the craft stores and while they are quite pricey, I cannot see just buying a box that has one of each letter, I would never be able to spelling anything. So I did some research on the web and low and behold I found a fellow Etsian in the EtsyScrap's Street Team group that I joined on We Love Etsy. Catherine's shop is Your Memories By Design and she was nice enough to do a custom order for me, so that I only get the letters I need to spell out what I want to say : ) My letters should be shipping out to me on Monday so I am anxious to get them and begin work with them, as I have never done any chipboard work before but I have seen it used and it looks great!!!

I probably will not get much crafting done this weekend as I am headed to Debary for my college roommate's baby shower and to visit her expanding family!!! Maybe when I get home on Sunday I will be refreshed and inspired and get some new items finished!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

~Craft Show Fever~

Well my first craft show is fast approaching (it is on Black Friday) and I am in high stress mode trying to make enough product to look like I belong there with the other craft exhibitors!! All of my items take a bit of time, so I am having to make sure that each night after work (well after work and after gym that is) that I come home and work on at least 1 or 2 items to build up my inventory!


I have been trying for a week now to find time to make my first attempt at soy candle making and tonight I was finally able to do it!! I have to say that most of it was pretty easy except when it comes to inserting the wicks---ahhh scary!!! The wicks that I had were pre-fabricated with a metal piece at the end which I assumed would help weigh it down and keep it in place well I learned that was not the case-- (mind you I tried inserting the wicks before it was time--I was slightly impatient--- go figure!!) So my husband/assistant craft maker took all the wicks out while we waited for them to really be ready for that step and this is when we experimented with using a wick that had no metal piece and let me tell you those wicks definately worked out much better---so I think that my next batch will be made like that! They are by no means in any shape to sell but I think that for my first attempt that they came out decently!! (See pics below)









I am also finishing up work on two frames, one which is on it final drying step and the other that is waiting for the decoupage to dry so that I can put on the finishing touches-- I think they came out pretty well---definately room for a little improvement but I still think that they are good enough to list on Etsy when they are dry!!






Finally, last night I started work on a complete scrapbook for a baby girl (it is an 8x8 pink suede album that will have 20 pages when it is done)...I am two pages into it and hope to have it finished thursday night before I go out of town!!I am going to Debarry for my college roommates baby shower for her second baby girl!! I cant wait to see her and her family, as I haven't seen them since Hannah's 1st birthday party back in February!>

New Item!!

Well I have begun work on new crafts to add to my Etsy shop as well as my offering for my craft show in November and here it is!!! I have one more thing to finish on this before it is ready for Etsy but it is only some minor touchup painting! I am still unsure about whether or not it needs a little something more but I have been told it is good to leave it alone---but I am not sure that I can--so any thoughts or critiques are appreciated!! I chose to start out with the unfinished wood frame project because I thought that would be easier than the soy candles (which is my other project that I can going to begin work on) but let me tell you it was not as easy as it looked!!! I am hoping that my next frame goes a little smoother now that I think I have figured out a better process. I am definately excited to start work on my candles but I think that will be another week or so as I am waiting for the rest of my supplies to arrive!!!