Treasury Thanks

Each week I like to thank the curators of Etsy treasuries who featured items from my Etsy shops, Pasque Flower Creations and Aunt Pheba's Vintage, in treasuries over the past week.  So, to all you curators:

THANK YOU!

This week's treasuries trended toward Mother's Day, which is only two weeks away.

This week, I'd also like to thank the Baby Boomer Team for featuring items from my shop in their Mother's Day Gift Guide 2014.

Judy Nolan of MisterPenQuin featured my glamping oven mitt in her treasury, A Touch of Pink,  This pretty sweet posies lined journal from Judy's shop would add a touch of pink to your jottings.

Edi Royer of memoriesforlifesb featured my multicolored chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Spring Pastels. Kudos to Edi, who was one of the artists featured on this week's Etsy blog post, The Power of the Handwritten Word.  This personalized cutting board is just one of Edi's unique personalized gift items.

Yvette Yolanda of 2morrowsEve featured both my green chevron oven mitt and my navy chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Under 20.  If you're looking for a unique Mother's Day gift, or just a fun new pair of earrings to sport this Summer, check out these wonderful Izzy dangle earrings!

Yvette also featured my navy chevron oven mitt in her treasury, Stuff I Like.  This striking eclipse pendant from Yvette's shop definitely falls into the category of stuff I like.

Wanda of SaffronFields featured my aqua and tan oven mitts in her treasury, She Sells Sea Shells.  Wanda used the colors of a sandy ocean beach to create this beautiful treasury. Wanda carries a series of botanical prints in her shop.  This jasmine print is one of my favorites.

Marie Archer of MariesMaineIdeas featured my poppies on teal oven mitts in her treasury, A Treasury of Treasured Gifts for Mother's Day.  This peaches and cream wreath from Marie's shop would be a lovely Mother's Day day brightener.

Sassy Divas of SassyDivasDressShop featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in the treasury simply titled Aqua.  CAUTION:  Visitors to SassyDivas may be overwhelmed by the cuteness!  Aren't these baby bloomers adorable!!

Heather of farmhousepretty featured my floral on light blue oven mitt in her treasury, Mother's Day Under 20.   Wouldn't this vanity dish made from vintage plates be a lovely addition to a shabby chic boudoir?

Xena of XenaStyle featured my blue and yellow striped baby bib with tiny cars in her treasury, Blue and Yellow Mix of Freshness.   This beautiful butterly collar necklace would add a fresh new look to your Spring and Summer wardrobe.

And there you have it!  Another wonderful week of treasuries!  Thanks, again, curators!

TTFN
LeAnn

Crestwood Craft Fair Redux

Today I participated in the Crestwood Christian Craft Fair here in Lincoln, Nebraska.  I had moderately high hopes going into the event.  Their Fall 2012 Craft Fair was my all-time best in terms of sales. The hosts go above and beyond to cater to vendors (help unloading, booth-sitting services, and free lunch).  AND, with graduations and Mother's Day just around the corner, I had hoped people might be looking for little gifts for those occasions.

High Hopes = Unreasonable Expectations?

It was the best of times.  It was the worst of times.  (With apologies to a famous author.)

THE BEST

Beautiful weather!  It was a perfect Spring day.  Perhaps a bit TOO perfect (as in, I'd rather be walking the dog, planting the garden, biking on the MoPac Trail....).

The hosts are terrific!

My table was on the main floor, with big sunny OPEN windows allowing the fresh Spring air to gently soothe the people inside.

Several shoppers admired my oven mitts  --- "too pretty to use" was my favorite comment.  And my key fobs had some admirers, too.

The hours were shortened to 9:00 am - 2:00 pm, and GREAT change IMHO.

And, best of all, I had a fantastic neighbor in the booth to my left:  Nicole Shulde of Artology.  I love Nicole's mixed media art pieces, featuring her own designs superimposed on mostly upcycled backgrounds, with a generous sprinkling of tiles.  I think her tasteful and unique pieces would do well on Etsy, and I encouraged her to think about that venue.

She told me about her new PayPal smart phone payment app, with it's cute blue triangle reader (competition for The Square).  She also encouraged me to think of teaching an Intro to Etsy class--and said she'd sign up!  Maybe if I could team teach the class with some of my super successful Etsy pals, like Edi Royer of Memoriesforlifesb, or Susie Gainor of SmiLeStyles, who have launched hugely successful Etsy businesses. Edi's work was recently featured on the Etsy blog, and Susie's zip pouches were swag gifts for the Golden Globes and MTV awards.   I feel a more than a little underqualified.

THE WORST

There was relatively little foot traffic, especially compared to Fall shows.

There were way more lookers than buyers.

I needed $1.50 more in sales to recoup my registration / table fees.  This is the only time I've attended a craft fair and did not at least have enough sales to cover table rent.  Whats's worse -- some of those sales came from my Bargain Box -- an attempt to move old inventory at cost or less.    I only sold 1 of my 60+ key fobs, and none of my garden aprons sold.

Ah, well.  Live and learn.  I'll have lower expectations going into the next craft fair on May 31, 2014, at Aldersgate United Methodist Church.  And I have plenty of inventory on hand for that show, so I won't be burning the midnight oil trying to get ready.  Although I'll want to add some Father's Day and patriotic / 4th of July items to the mix.

Hope you are enjoying a nice Spring weekend.

TTFN
LeAnn

Craft Fair Countdown - 2 More Days!

Only two more days until my first Spring craft fair!  My packing list is ready.  I have small bills for change. I still need to finalize the price list, and I hope to finish a few more items, but I'm ALMOST ready. I think.

One thing I've learned from past craft fairs --- it's not Etsy.  My "ideal customer" on Etsy doesn't come to craft fairs in Lincoln, NE.  SO--I'll only take a few oven mitts--and I need to have some inexpensive impulse buy items.

This year I made a big batch of ribbon and cotton webbing key fobs.  I thought they'd be unique and useful graduation or Mother's Day gifts -- or an extra little birthday gift for a newly-licensed teen driver.

Here are a few of my favorites:

I have a nifty display rack with hooks which I'll photograph at the craft fair and share with you in a post next week.

Do any of you do Spring craft fairs?  If you could give someone one craft fair tip, what would it be?

TTFN
LeAnn

Wordless Wednesday

Looks Like Spring!

Easter 2014

Craft Fair Countdown

It's Shameless Commerce Tuesday, and today I'm sharing one of the gardening aprons I made for the Crestwood Christian Craft Fair this Saturday.  T minus 4  more days and counting.  Yikes!!!

It's a basic little half apron I made using some gardening fabrics I've had in my stash for quite a long time.  I added an outer pocket just the right size for a phone.

And all the pockets are fully lined:

I haven't participated in a Spring craft fair before -- many fall during tax season -- so this will be an adventure.  I don't expect to do as well as I did at the Crestwood Christian pre-holiday craft fair two years ago, but I  am hoping that by adding some items geared toward Spring activities, Mother's Day, May baskets and graduations, I'll get some sales.  We'll see how it goes!

TTFN
LeAnn

BBA April Challenge - Color Challenge

Each month, the Blogging Business Artisans Team has a challenge.  This month's challenge came from Duni of PeriDotByDuni:

Create something, anything using a color you would rarely incorporate into your creations, i.e. I rarely use black :) It does not have to be seasonal or for your Etsy shop. Surprise yourself!

This was a difficult challenge for me, because I use LOTS of different colors in making items for my shop.  But most of my color choices are bright, saturated colors, or bold chevron patterns.  And the few pastels I have are contemporary prints.

So for this challenge, I decided to make something using a pretty Liberty of London small-scale floral print and a scrap of lilac-colored fabric.  Even though I have lilac and aqua chevron items in my shop, this look is dainty and shabby chic, and the colors are soft pastels.

I made this little fabric gift pouch based on a tutorial by Lisa and Sarah, a mother-daughter team.  Their blog is Spoonful of Sugar Designs.  It only took two 8.5" squares of fabric and 40"of perle cotton.

I was pleased with how it turned out, so I filled it with mini Cadbury Eggs and gave it to granddaughter  Erin (who attends the University of Nebraska-Lincoln) for a little Easter treat.  I thought she might use the little pouch to hold jewelry or other small items (ear buds?) when the candy is gone.

It was a scrap happy little project.  I hope to make several more before the craft fair this Saturday. These little gift pouches would be cute May baskets or Mother's Day gift holders.  And I always need some cute, inexpensive items for craft fairs.  And quick and easy is an added bonus!

Yikes!!  The craft fair is only 5 days away!

Erin helped me add snaps to a BIG batch of baby bibs on Saturday, and I hope to make several key fobs before the April 26 craft fair, too -- and some sunbonnets.  So much to do, so little time!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter.

TTFN
LeAnn

Treasury Thanks

Each week I like to take the opportunity to extend a THANK YOU to the curators of Etsy treasuries who have featured items from my Etsy shops, Pasque Flower Creations and Aunt Pheba's Vintage, during the past week.

This week's treasuries tended to focus on Spring and Mother's Day.

Natashalh of StalkingTheWildSnark featured my Peeps Easter Bib in her treasury, The Critters of Spring.

Natasha has a cute little critter named Tiki, and I’m guessing Tiki was her inspiration for this cute guinea pig cuddle sack.  Natasha also makes incredible jewelry when she’s not cuddling critters or planning a wedding.

Etsy Shop-Secrets from Crafty Shop Secrets featured my BBQ oven mitt in a treasury entitled Barn Star Nourish.  This Etsy shop marketing e-book would be a great guide for someone opening an Etsy shop -- or perhaps a good back-to-basics refresher course for some of us who have been on Etsy for awhile.

Chloe B. from LaMauvaiseGraine  of Amiens,  Picardie, France, featured my aqua chevron oven mitt in her treasury, C'est l'heure du gouter!   I just love Chloe's French knitted bracelets.  Although this purple linen one is a personal fave, I ended up ordering three to give as birthday gifts for my daughter and oldest granddaughters.

Michelle of RhysandRaesCreations featured a vintage handkerchief with red roses from my vintage shop, Aunt Pheba's Vintage, in her treasury featuring pretty vintage hankies, Handkerchief.  I think this beautiful eggplant, champagne and ivory bridal sash from Michelle's shop is just stunning!

Abigail Jayne of AbigailJayneArt featured carnation china plates (which belonged to the real Aunt Pheba) from my vintage shop, Aunt Pheba's Vintage,  in her treasury, Floral Comfort.   This vine redwork hoop art by Abigail Jayne is a lovely little floral comfort, too.

Lynn of LynnsDichroicGlass (Virgin Islands) featured my pink roses oven mitts in her treasury, Bloom Where You Are Planted.  This unique dichroic glass cabochon with butterflies and flowers could be the focal point of a piece of statement jewelry -- or perhaps a classy magnet or paperweight.

In contrast to the vibrant color in many of this week's treasuries, 13ideas created a stunningly beautiful treasury in neutral shades.  I was flattered to have my black and tan chevron oven mitt included in the mix.

But if you visit 13ideas, you'll find some wonderfully whimsical and colorful sculptures, like this cute pig sculpture.  Miss Piggy isn't the only little piggy with amazing eyelashes!  And I love that cute little purple snout. And on that note, I'll sign off and "pig out" on Easter dinner. Oink!

Happy Easter!

TTFN

LeAnn