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The Color Me Card Kits BOMBED for me last year. I actually ended up sending them out to my relatives to use in their kids' stocking. It just goes to show that what sells well in one area doesn't necessarily sell well in another area.
I had a great suggestion given to me a couple of weeks ago for a craft show item....the "husband pack"! This is a set of cards, including Valentine's Day card, anniversary card, birthday card, etc. Perfect for someone who remembers these important days (or forgets them easily and all that is open is the local variety store. You could bag them and add a tag with "important days to remember" and space to write the dates in.
Lots of great ideas - I enjoy reading all your posts.
I had a great suggestion given to me a couple of weeks ago for a craft show item....the "husband pack"! This is a set of cards, including Valentine's Day card, anniversary card, birthday card, etc. Perfect for someone who remembers these important days (or forgets them easily and all that is open is the local variety store. You could bag them and add a tag with "important days to remember" and space to write the dates in.
Lots of great ideas - I enjoy reading all your posts.
after reading this thread and preparing for a month, I did my first show today. What a bomb! It was held at the chapel at Valley Forge National Park. The craft show was part of the fall festival, there were only 18 "crafters" some bought wholesale junk and resold it some had nice art work most had beaded jewelry. It was mostly unadvertised. Most people walking through were just lookers.
I took a couple of altered composition books, some spiral notebooks of varying sizes, 4 lunch tins, cards, book marks (laminated), treat bags, packets of cards for kids to color with crayons, and 6 sets of tile coasters. I had actually left the coasters at home and called hubby to bring them over. Good thing he did, I sold 3 sets of coasters, 6 bookmarks, and 1 tin. My kids came to enjoy the festivities so the day ended up costing us money! Table charge was $25, the going rate for table space around here, but the light over my table was burned out (as were 7 out of 18 ceiling lights). Ok I have paid for 2 more shows in November, hopefully I can come out ahead! This could be so much fun if it pays. I will spend the month making more inventory because I am sure the other two will be bigger and have more people coming through. Ah well, it is like having that first workshop over and done with, learn from it and move on!
SuG
Sorry to hear it didn't go well. I'm participating in my first craft fair the end of November. Every area is different. It is an experience and I am dying to see how it goes. The craft sale here is in the same place as a monthly flea market. I expect the flea market crowd to come and won't buy anything that is not CHEAP. I'm taking all my homemade Christmas gifts (if they sell, I'll just make more) for variety and they will also be the higher priced items on my table. Everything else will be lots of cards and other items that are not so expensive. The table is $10 so I figure that the experience is worth that if nothing sells. If it goes well, I'll do more for next time.
__________________
Taryn
"Forget regret or life is yours to miss." - Jonathan Larson
Having done craft shows in the past - with sweaters and other knitted items, I know how tough and price sensitive the crowds can be. One thing I found useful and am doing myself again this year before jumping back into the scene, is visiting the local shows as a customer and get a feel for the types of things that are being sold, the kinds of prices other vendors are charging and looking at what others are selling and making sure that I would stand out from the crowd.
I had some pretty unique and interested products that would appeal to a small market and after my first show, added in some more "middle of the road" items, that took less time to make and were easy money makers. Taking samples or sample book of some of your higher end items is a great idea. It allows people to see what you have and make orders, without you having to put in tremendous amounts of time beforehand on items that might not sell.
Thanks to all of the talented crafters who have taken the time to post here. I am excited about my first craft fair (next month) and just wanted to do a little more research. This is the best thread on the subject!
I buy Tumbled Tiles from lowe's for about 32 cents each. I stamp on them with Stazon and coat them with a few layers of Krylon Triple Thick Spray from Michaels'. I don't color my tiles, I use nature stamps and/or quotes. I am curious about coloring the tiles, if anyone has the know how to share. Do you color with a blender pen and use Stazon? or do you do something else? I sell mine 4 for $10.oo and they go well.
I have colored my tiles with both colored pencils and markers. If you spray with the Krylon after you are done, the color stays on fine and they look great!
OK, since I have no idea what is being talked about, regarding the tiles, I will ask. Are these tiles used for coasters, decorations or what? I have made the little 2 x 2 tiles with a clothes pin and magnet, used for notes etc.
I had a great suggestion given to me a couple of weeks ago for a craft show item....the "husband pack"! This is a set of cards, including Valentine's Day card, anniversary card, birthday card, etc. Perfect for someone who remembers these important days (or forgets them easily and all that is open is the local variety store. You could bag them and add a tag with "important days to remember" and space to write the dates in.
Lots of great ideas - I enjoy reading all your posts.
Sarah
This is an awesome idea!! But don't forget to put a couple of " I'm sorry" cards in there. LOL!!!
It has been a long time since I did a craft fair, but I found that items priced under $10.00 sold best for me. I always had small priced items so the kids could have something to buy. They always had some money to spend and looked for small type gifts. I have enjoyed reading this thread, it has some great ideas. Glinda
Here's instructions for my dry erase message boards...I've never posted an attachment so we'll see if this works...
These are sooooo cool. I have a question on the crystal effects - did you just cover the black outline before coloring in, or did you cover the entire image?
Does anyone ever sell supplies at shows? Our school is having a fundraiser, and I was going to purchase some tag punches, black and possibly red ink pads, and a few stamp sets. Any suggestions? Also ribbon, that's such a great buy from SU! Maybe tattoo sets. Thanks for any feedback! susanblwhite@aol.com
Does anyone ever sell supplies at shows? Our school is having a fundraiser, and I was going to purchase some tag punches, black and possibly red ink pads, and a few stamp sets. Any suggestions? Also ribbon, that's such a great buy from SU! Maybe tattoo sets. Thanks for any feedback! susanblwhite@aol.com
This is considered "cash & carry" and we are NOT allowed to do this.
Does anyone know where to look for pictures of the "get well" kits, they sound cute but I can't locate them in the gallery. Thanks for all the great info. ladies, I have an Open House I was invited to this week and there are some things posted here I never thought of!
__________________
Susan My Gallery :)
Live Well, Laugh Often, Love Much
Hi,
Thanks for replying. This is a great resource as I'm doing my first craft fair in a few weeks. Do you have the tutorial for the microbead pens? If so, could you e-mail it to me? Thanks so much.
Tina
Hi,
Do you have a tutorial or instructions for the legal pads with magnets? A lot of people seem to love this, but I've never heard of it. I would really appreciate any advice/help.
Tina
Hi,
Thanks for replying. This is a great resource as I'm doing my first craft fair in a few weeks. Do you have the tutorial for the microbead pens? If so, could you e-mail it to me? Thanks so much.
Tina
If you do a search of the forums, many threads will pop up---but try this one RSVP Pen Directions
Hope that helps.
tinajordan:
I just get the small legal pads at Wal-Mart. They are 10 for $3. I add a CS cover and use those sticky magnets on the back. I sell them for $3 with a matching pen that can be kept in the ribbon loop at the top. I wish I was home so I could post one, but I am "working" right now. lol. I will try to post when I get home later. Good luck in your show.
Tracy
tinajordan:
I just get the small legal pads at Wal-Mart. They are 10 for $3. I add a CS cover and use those sticky magnets on the back. I sell them for $3 with a matching pen that can be kept in the ribbon loop at the top. I wish I was home so I could post one, but I am "working" right now. lol. I will try to post when I get home later. Good luck in your show.
Tracy
did my first craft fair of the season yesterday. I did the same location last year in December so I was expecting a HUGE crowd of vendors set up and I was SHOCKED to see only 30 tables set up in the gym. In December, they had the WHOLE gym, library and all the hallways of the school so it was considerably smaller. It was also POURING rain, expected ALL day! I kept a positive attitude though as I was coming with mostly new items than I have set up with before. There were times that there were no one at all and traffic was extremly random, but I did well! I sold $180 AFTER table fee & materials.
Snowman Poop - $1 (sm ziplock bag with topper snowman from Happy Winter) SOLD 11
Christmas Fudge - $1 (snack size bars - learned of this on SCS just last week!) SOLD 16
Stamped Candles - Large $5, Small $2.50 & 2 pk votives $2 (got a great deal on candles!) SOLD 1 Large, 3 Small & 18 votives
Snowman Pins - $1 (round tags with snowman face, hat & Scarf) SOLD 5
Recipe Cards - $3 set SOLD 6
Note Totes - $2.50 SOLD 5
Book Buddy - $5 (people went GAGA over these!) SOLD 16
Paint Cans (small) - $6 SOLD 1
Tag Nugget Holders - $ .50 (Christmas & Halloween) SOLD 23
Triangle Box - $1 (Halloween) SOLD 4
Color me card w/envelope - $1.50 (just discovered these this past month on SCS!) SOLD 16
Card w/envelope- $2 SOLD ONLY 1!
I did my setup a little differently from last year because I have been reading the very informative threads on the tips, etc. I bought a black flat sheet to use as the covering instead of the white lace cloth my mother had given to me and it looked so much sleeker set up on the black.
I also purchased a stand up card rack from ebay that was brand new for only $40! It looked like it held the taller cards, but my cards fit fine and didn't fall out when turned. I am also able to take out a couple of the racks if not needed which worked out great yesterday. It was much easier to view the selection without flipping through a box or containers.
I am pleased to say that I did well considering the low amount of people who attended. I did not do a prize drawing as I have never gotten any leads that way. People are either interested or they are not. I have gotten a couple of people who are interested in buying more items at a later date so I gave them my card. I had plenty of SU bags which I used to put the items in that people purchased. A little added expose for me!
I have many other items for my next shows which are at the end of Nov/beg of Dec. I have 3 BIG fairs, all right in a row! Can't wait!
So did you make different color designed book buddies and where did you get that size of paper and pen.... also what size sheet of CS did you start with? thanks
heather
I made all kinds of different colors and used various stamp sets. I found the mini pens at Staples (12 pk for $2) and I used the 2 x 3 post it notes for the paper. I did use half the pad of post it notes.
Supplies:
1 piece of card stock 4.25 x 10.5, 3 pieces of card stock 2.25 x 4,SNAIL adhesive, 12 paper trimmer with scoring blade, stamps, ink, 1/8 and 1/16 punches, other decorative punches depending on stamps used, grosgrain ribbon, stampin dimensionals, brad, paper clip, small post it notes, other card stock scraps
Directions:
Score 4.25 x 10.5 strip at 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 8
Decorate bookmark and attach to first panel to the right of the double score lines using a paper clip
Decorate next panel and attach post it notes
Decorate last panel, punch an opening near the top using the horizontal slot punch
Attach this panel using dimensionals and slip mini pen clip through the opening
Decorate front and inside cover panel as desired
Punch hole using 1/8 punch on right side of front cover
Thread ribbon through hole, fold panels inside cover, and tie closed
I made all kinds of different colors and used various stamp sets. I found the mini pens at Staples (12 pk for $2) and I used the 2 x 3 post it notes for the paper. I did use half the pad of post it notes.
Supplies:
1 piece of card stock 4.25 x 10.5, 3 pieces of card stock 2.25 x 4,SNAIL adhesive, 12 paper trimmer with scoring blade, stamps, ink, 1/8 and 1/16 punches, other decorative punches depending on stamps used, grosgrain ribbon, stampin dimensionals, brad, paper clip, small post it notes, other card stock scraps
Directions:
Score 4.25 x 10.5 strip at 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 8
Decorate bookmark and attach to first panel to the right of the double score lines using a paper clip
Decorate next panel and attach post it notes
Decorate last panel, punch an opening near the top using the horizontal slot punch
Attach this panel using dimensionals and slip mini pen clip through the opening
Decorate front and inside cover panel as desired
Punch hole using 1/8 punch on right side of front cover
Thread ribbon through hole, fold panels inside cover, and tie closed
Thanks for sharing the directions for your wonderful project.
Congratulations on your show! It sounds like you did really well. Thanks for all the ideas. Mine is this coming weekend, but it looks like I have more things to try now....book buddies, color me cards, votives....
Congratulations on your show! It sounds like you did really well. Thanks for all the ideas. Mine is this coming weekend, but it looks like I have more things to try now....book buddies, color me cards, votives....
I just finished a juried craft fair this weekend and made almost $1100.00. My biggest sellers were cards ($2.50 each or 5/$10.00), coaster sets ($15.00/set), christmas ornaments (wooden ones stamped and some that were made from microscope slides ala Ellen Hutson), and my own handmade magnetic poetry. I still have two more sales this season, but I pretty much ran out of stuff this weekend so I am crafting all hours of the night - my darned day job keeps getting in the way!
This is a great post. It is so interesting to see what sells good in one area does not sell good in another area. My is in a couple weeks so I have no idea what is going to sell good or not. I am hoping everything sells great or I am sold out. Is that wishful thinking??
I just finished a juried craft fair this weekend and made almost $1100.00. My biggest sellers were cards ($2.50 each or 5/$10.00), coaster sets ($15.00/set), christmas ornaments (wooden ones stamped and some that were made from microscope slides ala Ellen Hutson), and my own handmade magnetic poetry. I still have two more sales this season, but I pretty much ran out of stuff this weekend so I am crafting all hours of the night - my darned day job keeps getting in the way!
WOW Congrats on a great success! And 2 more to go, I sure hope they go as well for you!
Carmen,
I have been trying to figure out how to make magnetic poetry words. if you don't mind sharing, how did you make this. I bought sheets of magnetic backing, I have EFP set , I also have xyron magnet sheet. I started making these and couldn't figure out a quick way to cut out the words, then I started thinking(always trouble that!) to make small words and print out on the computer but it always coame down to how long it would take to cut this out. I was going to put thme in an altoid tin (altered) and thought they would be the best seller. So if you don't mind sharing how did you approach.
SuG
2Likes
and all that is open is the local variety store. You could bag them and add a tag with "important days to remember" and space to write the dates in.
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