{excited} Craft Fair Fun & Shop Update

My Hubs' company hosted a craft fair yesterday to benefit Fosterlift, a local charity devoted to providing assistance to those amazingly wonderful foster parents who care for foster children.  With such a wonderful charity,  I was more than excited to participate in the craft fair and took a day off from work to do so. =)

I still consider myself a rookie craft fair vendor, but I feel that I gain confidence after each fair I do.  There's always something new to learn, something new to try no matter how many you may have done.  Plus, you meet new people along the way who also love to craft and understand your passion for handmade.

Though I had a month or so to prepare, that still didn't stop me from doing things last minute (boo).  From crocheting the last few flowers to packaging a more than a dozen items, I was up pretty late the night before. Unfortunately, I was not too pleased with my display.  I liked the individual parts of the display, but I felt the display as a whole didn't flow.  It was okay, but I wanted it to be GREAT.  That's the OCD in me, but I know there will be more opportunity to work on and build up this skill of marketing.  

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I used a french memory board to display these crochet blossoms.  {Find my tutorial here}  It worked pretty well as a display, but I think next time I want to fill it up with blooms so that it looks more like an art display. Not sure if that will work, but I think it would be pretty and even more eye catching.

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I used a bird bath type of jewelry holder to display my rose hair pins.  I love the bird bath, but I definitely will want to add more to it if I continue to use it at the next craft fair.

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These were my favorites to make--mini clothespin photo and note garlands.  Since the craft fair was sponsored by a company (vs. a craft organization or group), I thought marketing these as a way to "bring some character to your office work space" would be a great idea since many of the folks were just stepping out of their office buildings for lunch.  It worked! 

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And finally, my beloved and most favorite spring accessory--sweater clips {or collar guards}.  I really liked how I set up this display.  I had done up the display previously {see my tutorial here} but I attached mini clothespins last minute to hold the cards.  I used a lacey punch to add detail to the accessory card and wallah!  Super cute display.

I had a great time--met new people, had a convo with a fella who said my crochet blooms reminded him of "Penny Blossoms" (Big Bang Theory reference to all you bazinga fans out there--very appropriate comment coming from a programmer person), and simply enjoyed being outdoors.  

At the end of the day, I was also able to add more cute items to my Etsy shop, something I've been itching to do but haven't had a good uninterrupted 2 hours to do so.  But, I was finally able to do it and so here you go:

I really do appreciate all the support I receive from my family and friends (and from my super awesome customers).  Having this little creative part of my life to share with others really brings joy to my heart and quite simply, my entire being.  

I hope you find some room for Lovenotes in your day!

Happy Crafting!