craft fair

This past Saturday I did another craft fair. I shared a space with a a couple of buddies and didn't have to pay any vendor fees since I was providing the canopy (sweet). It was a great day overall but not a very good day for vending. There were not many attendees and the other vendors didn't seem to be getting much action either. I honestly do not mind at all. It was nice to hang out with some new people and most importantly it was awesome for my son to interact with other kids. I was so happy at how well they played together and really glad he enjoyed himself. He did have his moments though. He was very, very upset about not being able to spend the whole day in the bounce house.

I didn't take any pictures of our set up, I suppose I was preoccupied with having such a good time. Here are a few pics I do have. As you can see I went through a few of ideas for display.

 

We had two large tables, so my display ending up looking much different then this which I am happy about. My necklace display got blown over by the wind. This sweet little kid rushed over and asked if he could help. Later on one of the kids knocked into the table and the 3 tired display went crashing to the ground. I def need to think up some new sturdier display ideas.

 This is pretty much how I packed up everything.

We woke up a little later then I wanted. I really did not want to waste any time trying to "force" him to get dress and I knew once we got there dressing him would be a breeze, so in the carseat he went with just a diaper. I gave him that bag of cookies and he just stared at it till he fell back to sleep lol.

Craft Fair Day 3

The event was from 10am-5pm on the 3rd day. I was exhausted to say the least but happy that it would be a short day. My mother, son, and I headed to the fair. Later our hubby's joined us. 

The night before was a good sale day and with less merch I was able to use a smaller table which I'm super happy about.

  My mother being amazing!

 Inside my canopy looking out.

It was another great sale day. Some good friends of ours passed through and I felt so honored.  I feel incredibly blessed to have such a supportive family who came out and kept me company and helped along the way. I am so extremely happy with the outcome and my experience.

Craft Fair Day 2

At the end of day 1 I was nervous about leaving my tent up over night. My mothers husband did an awesome job pinning all the table cloths together and enclosing the tent. I did take my merchandise home though. On day 2 my mother, son, and I headed to the fair at 8am. The event was from 10am-11pm, not what I was originally told. I later learned that a few of use vendors where all told something different.

 I was so worried about my canopy but it held up great!

The second day was great! My mother was such a big help. Every time something sold she rearranged everything. What also made that day great is that my husband was able to join us. He took our son to play in the park and bounce houses. I'm so glad they had a good time and got to enjoy the festivities.

To my surprise a few friends I used to work with and haven't seen in years came by. It was so great to see them. It really made my day.

The girl across from us kept looking at my stuff. She finally came over and asked if I would like to make a trade. I gave her a pair of studs I knew she was eying for free. Later on I went over to see if I wanted to trade anything. I let my mother pick since her birthday and mother's day is coming up.

 She also gave me this awesome business card holder that I just love!

 Day 2 I bought my lamp from home. The people around us were so nice. One lent us tape to tape down our cord and the other let us use a generator that they were borrowing from someone else. It was really a great fun experience!

By the end of the night we were all there, my mother, her husband, my husband, son, and I. We stayed till it ended. It was a great sales day and kept picking up as it got later. It was wonderful to have my family with me. I really appreciate them.

Craft Fair Day 1

This is day 1 of the 3 day craft fair I did. It was a bit slow for all of us vending but still it went really well. I'm so thankful to my mothers husband who helped me out all day. The 1st day was from 4-10.

 I used plastic tables cloths from walmart to make these curtains. I really like the way it came out.

 This is not exactly how I planned on setting up my display but it still drew attention, which is what matters.

This brush kept him busy while I was setting things up. It did have leaves when we first got there. Every time he plucked a leaf he ran over to me excitedly saying "I found a leaf!" He was so well behaved and had so much energy. He did not nap till we where on our way home.

This was my favorite part of the display. I got this frame along with a few others when I was working at the photography studio. I gave it to my mother law, she has had it for years and done nothing with it. I really want an ornate frame but didn't want to buy anything new and couldn't find one anyway. I asked her to have it and painted it white. 

 Being a good little boy.

 Live band. Good music.

I didn't expect this event to be this big.

 Friends my son made. The daughter kept coming over to check out my stuff.

The application to this event said electricity would not be provided so I assumed (like other vendors) the park would be lit at night. There were light post but the one near us was out. I was slightly annoyed that when we got there, there was electricity to be used. This was not the only misinformation I received about this event. I did have my solar power lanterns from Ikea, though I really like them, they were not enough. The ladies across from us lent us 2 little lights but they also where not fully prepared for this. A few of us did end up packing up and leaving a bit early but didn't miss much else apparently.

1st Fair

Last week I mentioned how I happened upon a craft fair and rented a space. Here are a few pics.

 I like the idea of having this small book case on top of the table to give it more height and create more space but was concerned about having so much stuff to unload and set up.

I really liked the idea of this but saved myself the stress and figured I'll do it next time when I have more time to prepare.

When this idea was done I really liked it. The necklaces looked really pretty hanging in between the doilies but I decided not to go this route either.

This is what my table ended up looking like. I was done setting up with an hour to spare, so I made a few more things and added them afterwards. My little doily banner did not last long. The wind kept blowing the table cloth up and the double sided tape did not hold, so I just took it down.

 I started a bunch of these the night before and finished them off during the fair.

I found a paper punch in this lace pattern and thought it was perfect. I did all these cards plus a bunch for my studs the night before as well.My mother kindly punched all the little white paper bags I bought for packaging.

 I think I'm gonna get another one of these towers just because I like it so much and think two would great on my table!

 Next time I think I'll have a few of these standing on the table instead. 

 I moved things around as things got sold.

 I love this earring and necklace tree and might paint it white.

This is me, proud, and having a good time.

There were four of us right next to each other. Oddly enough I walked around speaking with other vendors but did not speak to my neighbors. I had my mother and son with me and it was a great experience for all of us. I really like the venue. There was an area not being used but had some seating and from time to time my mother or myself took the little one over and he enjoyed running around and climbing. There were other kids there and was really just a nice out door event for everyone!

Preparing for a Fair

So I happened upon this event on Saturday, went back and forth whether to do it or not and then just went ahead and reserved a space. I have to be honest I was super nervous at first. This will be my first craft fair, I wasn't sure if I even had enough products, business cards, etc. Life has gotten in the way this last month and  I totally have not been preparing to do a fair anytime soon. Also I had no idea how to go about finding up coming events. Anyway, I'm not nervous anymore. If nothing else It will be a fun day with my mom and son. The event is a little over an hour from where we live which isn't terrible but it's next week, YIKES!

Between yesterday and today I have been trying to figure out packaging and display. I do not want to buy anything new since I'm not sure if I'll enjoy this and do fairs in the future. This is what I've come up with so far.

i would love to do an all white display, with maybe some doilies and lace to make it pretty and feminine. i bought the tired earring tree last week and spray painted it white. the pictured frames we painted black about a year ago. the little glass plates were from the previous home owners. i spray painted a few black and glue them to candle stick to make cute little platters.

 made these today

will be painting these plates and possibly making platters out of them

 made these earring cards today

 

 made these last night, still have a few more i'd like to make in other colors

 

 so far i love it! can't wait to have more room and add all my pieces

 I'm just hoping that the heat won't ruin our day. Now to get back to work and figure out how i'm going to transport all this. Wish me luck!