sold.

This last Saturday began with a loud alarm clock ringing at 5AM. I was exhausted, but I jumped out of bed with butterflies in my stomach and scurried around getting ready. Thankfully, I had stayed up until 12:30 the night before, organizing everything and placing it by the front door to load. I ate a bowl of oatmeal and had some tea, and soon an excited Bea was tapping on the front window. I knew that even if I didn't finish my tea, Bea's enthusiasm would be enough to wake up the two of us!

Craft fairs are a lot of fun, even if you leave with a good chunk of inventory. I have never sold anything of mine, cards, knitting, nothin', so that first purchase was special. It was from a nice woman asking for Christmasy Thank You cards, and I was glad I had made a bunch {and that my bf Leanne sent some adorable snowman thank yous along with me}. She bought two packs. I think I actually felt an endorphin rush after that.  There were a lot of compliments, a lot of silent looking and polite-but-i'm-not-interested smiling, and a couple of purchases made after chatting. There was an abundance of Christmas sweaters and jingle bell earrings and cute older lady friends spending the day together, hopping from booth to booth. Lots of mother/daughter pairings too, which was nice to see.

I made enough to cover the entrance fee, the materials, and ended up with a little extra for both Leanne and I, so I am ecstatic. Bea and I worked really well together and had a good time pitching our goods. She said in another life, instead of being a pharmacist, she would choose to be a saleswoman; I believe her, she would sell like crazy! So many people came up and oohed and ahhed over her bags--it's funny that people naturally have to touch everything. Even if they weren't serious about buying, they couldn't resist the urge to hold and handle the purses. She was throwing her business card around like crazy, and has actually received a couple of special orders already, which is awesome.

So, having some buyers was of course thrilling, but I was most excited about setting up the display. It was like being 5 all over again, setting up your own grocery store to play in, you know? Loved it. I spent a lot of time looking online for display ideas, and came across this flickr group, Show Me Your Booths. {Tons of fun ideas here, check it out.}

I spent around $15 or so for the display materials; Bea found a few items at Savers as props as well, so it came together relatively cheaply. I really think the display is what it's all about, don't you?

I used tomato cages as Christmas trees--I bound the top together with rubber bands and slipped in some sparkly purple flowers, bound with gold ribbon. I actually just pinned the ribbon, so it is easy to take apart. I found some tiny clothespins at Walmart for $1.50, and used those to clip cards around the metal rings, replacing them when they sold.

I also covered a piece of ply wood with wrapping paper, placed it on a lazy susan, and taped one tree to it so it was turnable. I'm glad I included these as I think they caught people's eyes--we were kind of in a back corner, away from the main flow of traffic, so every now and then I'd give the tree a spin. ;)

I also found a festive photo stand, 50% off at Michaels, to post my prices and some gift tags, and used some frame holders. One thing I think I would do differently next time is not put so much out... It kind of looked messy. I was torn between displaying everything to show I had variety vs. only putting out a bit at a time to keep it tidy. Next time, I think we'll have another table, so that will help with space.

Yup, there will be a next time.  If you haven't done the craft show thing, I suggest you do--what fun!