Fabric Pile

I'm planning a huge show in October. It's not really a craft show; it's a Baby & Family Expo. But we'll chat about that more as I count down the months. So, I've been thinking about what to feature in the booth. And I'll definitely be doing a bunch of baby blankets. That means pre-washing a bunch of fabrics!

 

Yes, you're seeing correctly. A HUGE pile of fabrics waiting to make it's way into the wash. That must be at least 25 yards of fabric. Not kidding!!! And that doesn't include the yards and yards and yards that have already been pre-washed and cut. I'm just waiting for my minky order and then I'll be stitching away!

Craft Fair Packaging

My packaging for the craft fair was pretty simple. Just kraft paper bags. For the flat bags, I ended up punching the tops (after the hubby trimmed 'em of the zig zag edges ... thanks, hon!). They were quite cute and unique, at least at this craft fair. One person bought a ring and said they wanted the ring separate from the bag so that they could use it as the "gift wrap" for the ring. So cute. Next time, I'm thinking of offering gift wrapping ... using the kraft bags, red tissue and baker's twine!

More Craft Fair Photos

Here are a few more photos from the craft fair ...

 Annies filling the gaps on the table. Rings resting on rice.

 Crayon rolls for the little kiddies. Most of these sold! I guess they make great gifts.

Push pins. Or thumb tacks. Whatever you want to call them. Makes great stocking stuffers for an office mate. Or so that's what a few people mentioned.

Bunting on the table. It was extra long for the table so it had to droop a bit. But it was still cute. Hmm ... not sure about the tablecloth I used (borrowed from Sis #1's wedding). It may have been a bit busy with the bunting. Oh what the heck, it was still cute.

Craft Fair Craziness

It's been nearly two months since my last blog post. I've been taking a break. Or that's what I've been telling myself after the craft fair I did in November. Yeah, a craft fair. Which was small, but boy did I bust my butt prepping for that show. Don't get me wrong, I've done a craft fair or two with my mom and her sister. I've even done the annual carnival country store (think craft fair, bake sale, and plant sale all wrapped in one ... talk about intense) for 5 years with them. So a craft fair on Oahu, hidden at the UH campus shouldn't be that big of a deal right? Wrong! This was the first one I did by myself, with just my creations. And I didn't go the dolls and bears route, either. I focused on my {guava girls} line that I've been playing around with for years.

So I had prepped a ton of pouches, clutches, earrings, rings, and a small bunch of other things to have on the table. I did bring along some raggedy Annies ... to fill in the gaps. My table was buzzing with activity from the moment the fair started. Thankfully, my sister ended up showing up in the nick of time ... I was about to go delirious with the steady stream of customers. Yes, that's always a good thing ... but my table wasn't completely set up. Not a good thing. Here's some photos:

The fair was on a Friday. I ended up prepping into the wee hours of the morning. This was the general setup I was going for (thanks for the use of the bed, Jess!). Don't mind the lighting ... this was about 4:30 in the morning. Yeah, I didn't go to bed until 5am. And then up at 6:30am. I don't recommend that at all.

 This is the table at the fair. A bit messy, but this was taken at the end of the day when I had sold a ton of items and there were some major bare spots on the table. Someone actually asked me if the mirror was for sale. Weird.

I did mention that I brought along my Annies. They sat perched at one corner of the table with one of my fake Christmas trees. Cute. The Annies will soon have a photo session and will end up in the shop.

Some zipper pouches ... I made over 50 of these! Yeah. Unreal. All out of my coveted kawaii fabrics. These were popular. But not as popular as the earrings, rings and bobby pins:

These jewelry accessories were popular. Probably because they were reasonably priced and that's great for the students who visited between classes. Interestingly enough, the rice was a big hit ... people thought it was such a clever idea!

Needless to say, I did better than I expected. Thanks to all the customers that stopped by and purchased stuff. I really appreciated all the support and the kind words!! And yes, I would probably do it again. Had you asked me a day or even a week after the fair, I would have said "Heck no!" Actually I did say that, multiple times using a little harsher word. Heh heh. But now that some time has passed (and I have pretty much stayed out of my craft room), I've now changed my mind and have decided that I will do it again. And maybe more than one next year. We'll just have to see how much crafting I can get going ... oh ... and maybe the {guava girls} Etsy store will be open soon, too! Stay tuned!

Finished Pouches

The pouches are done. Whew ... that was a lot. But my goal was to finish them by the end of last weekend, and I did!! Woot-woot! Here's my rainbow of pouches (sorry not the greatest photo):

I sort of lost some of my motivation after sewing all of this. Not sure why. And boy has work been taking a toll on me. Today was horrid! Anyway, I ended up cutting some other pouches. Even a tote bag. But no sewing yet. Ugh!

So to feel a bit crafty I put together a couple of rings:

I'm supposed to be off Friday and Monday and I was going to get stitching away. But because of all the craziness at work, I guess I'm heading into the office. Ugh. I'll just have to take a few days off in October.

I haven't found a new pincushion yet ... sigh!

Mini Craft Fair

In addition to the wedding that kept me stressed out and busy in October and November, I also participated in a mini craft fair on Kauai last weekend. It was a last minute thing that dear mom sprang on me two weeks prior. So right after the wedding, there I was trying to create a bunch of stuff!

The craft fair was part of the St. Theresa School Christmas program and also featured a Christmas play by the students (which had to be moved to the Waimea Theater because of the rain), a spaghetti dinner and a special visit by Santa and Mrs. Claus!! The craft fair was very small ... only 13 tables and we were the last to sign up and got stuck in a corner. The table and space around was shared by my mom, grandma, aunty and myself! It was a family thing. Thanks gramms, for sponsoring the table. We collectively sold a few things, but not much, probably because it wasn't advertised much, but more importantly, because it was raining cats and dogs! Kauai's westside is very dry and sees very little rain, even in the winter. But boy, did it storm. Later that night, while we were all tucked in bed, the thunder boomed and the lightning flashed. My baby sister swears her bed shook! So the rain kept the shoppers away. What to do with all these crafts? Etsy, maybe? I think so! Here's a peak a our table.

Handmade cards by Sister #3 (font of table), mom's embroidered pillows and pigs.

A basketful of raggedies by mom and me along with some cutesy, furry teddy bears!

Raggedies!

Mom's girl horse.

My goose.

A trio of friends.

Aunty Kathy's vintage suitcase of goodies. This picture does not do her creations justice!

Unfortunately, none of the photos show my grandma's stash of pillows. They were in front of the table in some baskets. When I say stash, I mean STASH. She must have had over 200 pillows. I'll have to find some photos to prove it. She's 83 years old and keeps cranking out these Hawaiian pieced pillows. She had some really cool ones!

Sew when's the next craft fair? Hmm ... what do you think Aunty Kat?