First Craft Fair

I already mentioned that the turnout at my first Craft Fair was less than anticipated but I wanted to share with you my set up because I'm really proud of how it all turned out!

 

That's my lovely sister behind my table there. She was a huge help that day, she helped me the entire day!

I made the sign out of fabric and I'm super happy with how it turned out.  Travis made the bag stand for me and it worked out perfectly.

That same lovely sister took some more pics with her iPhone:

I painted a couple of crates in my logo colors and stood them on their side for housing  booties.  It's all about getting as much stock out on your table without it looking crowded and this seemed to work well.

So there you go!  I may not have made my table fees back but I had a good time and it was a really good experience.  I also got to meet some really cool people so all in all I'm calling it a success :)

Slowly Slowly!

I'm slowly getting all my new stock listed in the shop!  I got so much stock ready for the craft fair I did a couple of weekends ago and thanks to a snow storm didn't exactly sell all of it :P
No big deal though, because now my shop is FULL!

Want to see all the pretty new spring and summer handbags I have listed?

 

 

You can see them all in more detail in my shop!

CUTE

Each one of my kids have gotten an amazing handmade (and by handmade I mean she stitches them by hand, not machine!!) stuffed animal from their Auntie Shelly for their first birthday, and Ara just got hers in the mail last week.  It is so cute and I LOVE her choice of animal this time around...

 

Miss Owl is made entirely out of felt and I don't really want to know how long it took her to cut out each little feather and stitch them on! 

 

 

the little feathers on the back are pretty much my favorite part.

I don't have any pictures of the mouse Shelly made for Kaed but I blogged about the monkey she made Brayer last year and you can see that post here  Brayer named his monkey George, Kaed calls his just Mouse and I can't wait to see what Ara decides to call her owl when she starts talking!

Work Space

A couple years ago I did a post on my craft/sewing area but I wanted to do another one as that area has changed.  I still have my basement room but I mostly just use that to store all my stock and fabrics and I've moved all my sewing to the main floor so I can be where the kids are.

We have a little nook just by the entrance into the kitchen from the dining room and that is where I store my sewing machine, frequently used tools, and works in progress.  That way when I want to sew I can just set it up real quick on my dining room table.  It works perfect and aside from maybe one day (in another house) having a permanent set up on my main floor, it's exactly what I need.

 

I didn't take a picture behind those curtains but behind there I have a small bin for our recycling and also a roll out 3 drawer organizer where we keep all the kids' craft stuff and puzzles.  That way I can hide it all but it's easily accessible to everyone.  In the last picture you can see my cutting mat set up on the table, I keep my cutting mat and ironing board on the landing of the stairs that go down into the basement.  That way it's generally out of the way and I can quickly grab them both and set them up.  I usually set up the ironing board along the wall beside the table to keep it as away from the kids playing and running as possible.  Nobody wants a hot (or cold!) iron falling on their head!!

Each drawer holds something specific, there's a drawer for patterns, one for all my shipping supplies. One filled entirely of thread, one of misc. stuff, and one just for notions.  The basic is for my works in progress and all my hair clip stuff.  I have 3 huge button containers and all 3 are totally full (yes I have a button addiction!).  I keep my iron stored in a plastic container on top of the drawers just in case some of the water in it leaks and so that it's high enough that the kids can't get at it.

The alphabet print you see hanging up was a gift for the kids from my sister in law Shelly.  She hand drew and painted it all.  Unbelievable!!

And there you have it, my work space!

Ruffled Zipper Pouch Tutorial

I've been making lots of zipper pouches for my upcoming craft fair so I thought in the midst of it all I should go ahead and take some step by step pictures to make a tutorial.  I tried to use the same basic tutorial to make 3 different types of pouches.  Either boxed bottom for a more 3D feel or flat for those who like that style more.  I also did either a ruffled strip across or a pleated strip.  I think I personally prefer the pleated strip but they are both pretty cute.

I tried something new for this tutorial and did it google.docs  Let me know what you think of it this way.  I figured it would be easier for people to print it out this way.  I managed to figure out how to save it as a pdf but so far I can't figure how I publish that pdf online so I can link directly to it.  Any suggestions?

Anyway here's the tutorial:  Ruffled or Pleated Zipper Pouch Tutorial

Let me know if you have any questions, or if any steps seem confusing.