A new me!

I'm working on some new bags for my biggest show of the year.

She is inspiring me to dye my hair pink and maybe eat less.

Then again, maybe not.

You can't win em all.

I had to set up and tear down my space myself, which turned out well. I made sure nothing was too heavy. The kids met me once school got out and helped hang bags.

We got complimentary soup or chili and the most delish assortment of desserts to choose from before the show started. So nice.

I did turn a small profit but talked to some vendors who didn't even make enough to cover the cost of the space, so I am grateful just to have come out a bit ahead.

My fashion model strutting her stuff.

My wheel rack worked great. I had both sides filled and could still move it with ease.

I'm glad I have quick reflexes and good peripheral vision because the jerky lady tried to clobber me on the head, twice with her sign.

Here's what I learned:

I do better at art shows than Christmas craft shows. That crafters are some of the nicest people. And you all are so kind with your words of encouragement. Thank you.

The gal next to me Andy, knits these beautiful children hats and has the cutest kids, actually stayed and watched my stuff while I took the shuttle to get my truck, even though it was 1:00am and she had a plane to catch the next morning.

And this vendor across from me, Kim, who makes goat milk soap and the cutest mittens from used sweaters, loved and bought a llama bag from me. She had pictures of her goats and llamas on her farm and suggested I make more and do some fibre shows. I just may look into that.

After about 8:00 pm, I was bored so this is how I spent my time..

No more shows for the rest of the year. I'm loading all things that I have left on my etsy shop and getting ready for Christmas. Whew!

If you are in town tonight...

stop by and say hi.

http://users.salineschools.com/~olsonb/

If I seem stressed, please give me a hug.

Sewing my tooshie off

Well not literally.

I get nervous before a show, especially one I haven't done before. I have that jittery, sweaty armpit feeling. The good thing is, jittery means energy. The bad thing is I have sweaty armpits.

Here's what I've been working on.

I made a fun funky chicken bag.

Yep, the chicken is a pocket.

A couple of green patchworks.

I sold out of my skull bags at the last show....

so I made a few more.

Now you may be asking yourself what is a rapidly approaching middle age, bordering frumpy, farm lovin gal is doing making skull bags.

I got a skull remnant and chopped off the heads, it's like playing paper dolls except with fabric and they sell. Plus they are fun to make.

I also found this cub scout shirt at the thrift shop, so I made another bag.

This fabric was from the line of Anna Maria Horner fat quarters I bought in October. http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/ I couldn't bear to chop it up so I just quilted the flower and used more of her fabric for the bottom and back. I pieced the tote handles and used...

Linda Lum Debono fabric that she sent me last month, thanks again Linda, http://lindalumdebono.blogspot.com/, for the lining inside. I added my label and it's ready to go.

Now I like the bags I make, otherwise I wouldn't be able to make them. Sometimes though I end up making a bag, intending on selling it and I just can't. I WANT TO KEEP THIS ONE! It is speaking to me.

It also goes with the scarf I made last year.

This is bad, I NEED to sell things, not keep them.

Money vs. New Bag, hmmm.

The kids may end up with an imaginary Christmas this year.

Today was my birthday.

I woke up with a migraine, the kind that started in my eye where while looking at a face, an orange blur covered half of the face. The eye thing lasted till about noon. Then the pain in the temples lasted till 6pm. In the mean time Hubby covered all three meals, cleaned the kitchen and completely cleaned out the refrigerator. He took out and discarded all science experiments, old dressings and sauces, and well past usable produce. This not buying each other anything for our birthdays is one of the best things. I mean my fridge looks brand new and i didn't have to lift a finger!

Lookie, it's perfect!

*

While waiting for my headache to pass, I reclined in my chair, dozing every now and again, I watched a PBS marathon called "The War". All about WWII. Wow, learned more things than ever about that time, heard personal stories, and reconfirmed that war is hell. It ran from 11am to 8 pm. I am truly glad my headache was today and not during yesterdays craft show.

I was pretty worried ahead of time about the economy and sales. This show is what usually pays for Christmas. I hoped we wouldn't have to resort to an imaginary Christmas this year.

I shouldn't have worried. The show was great, people were kind and my sales were the best yet! I sold twenty something bags including both of the llamas and the skull bag I made this week. I also sold 2 more chicken bags.

I had put a roast in the crock pot that morning, I came home to a hot dinner and a clean house, hubby and kids cleaned for me!

I am a very lucky wife and mom.

Not a bad birthday, I got to feel great about contributing to the family income, Hubby cooked and cleaned for me and I got to lazy around ALL DAY!

A green Llama?

I have my big show of the year on Saturday. http://sites.salineschools.com/users/olsonb/

I set up my space tomorrow night and the show is Saturday 8am to 3:30pm.

10,000 people walk through in that short of time, needless to say, it is crowded.

This is the show that gets me jazzed up for Christmas.

So what have I made this week?

Some patchwork bags.

Tissue packs.

A funky skull wearing a pretty dress.

Llamas too.

Have you ever seen a green llama?

I like looking at the back side before I turn it into a bag.


I have over 100 bags, all different.

If you are local and plan to visit, make sure you stop by and introduce yourself. I'm in the cafeteria up on the stage.

All about the show

Wednesday morning I made 5 more book bags using my nervous energy.

(I didn't realize the photo was sideways until I loaded it)

I love the goldfish!

Lunchtime, I loaded the Monster Truck....

...all the way to the front.

I picked up the girl from her school and she helped me set up.

I never used my tent indoors before but since I hang up so many bags, it worked out well.

My tent "neighbors" were both retired couples and were so nice.

Now sales wise, it wasn't my best show, definitely not my worst.

The one thing I was most excited about selling was one of my art postcards.

The flower one on the bottom.

Only a $5 sale, but the gal said she was going to send it to her quilting mom and she can hang it up!

One of the booths had animals.

Wild Animals!

Isn't that the sweetest face ever!
This is an Eastern Screech owl. Full grown but his weight was only 3oz.

Some one found him on the side of the road and is totally blind.

He'd be posing sweetly but as soon as I took the picture, he'd swing his head.

Oh, it's just an opossum eating a banana.

We weren't allowed to touch it, my girl and I wanted to.

It was an "old" opossum at 3 1/2. She can only eat soft food due to lack of teeth. In the wild they rarely last more than a year.

She's ready for a nap.

There was a lot of dead time during both days during the Keynote Speakers, so I read, crocheted a washcloth and dabbled with some watercolors.

Even though I didn't sell a single "teacher" item, I feel it was a good show. But I am glad it's over, now I can finish my commission bag, and start working on some things I've been putting off. The nice thing is I got extra sewing in, my next show isn't till August so I won't have to sew as much during spring planting and summer fun. It was in the 50's the last 2 days so I know its on its way.

Random Ramblings

Sometimes my camera disappears for awhile, and when I download photos I get little surprises. Little Guinea Pig surprises, 14 photos in all.

Rascal (a.k.a Rat Face)

I'll spare you the other 13 pics.

This is my sewing area 3 days before a show. I don't create and clean at the same time.

Both the pinball machine and table are buried in fabric. Not to mention scraps on the floor.

Speaking of my show, I'm getting a little freaked about now. I always get freaked/excited about my shows but this is a more freaked/worried. This isn't a craft show, I was told I wasn't going to do well because of it (thanks mom). So I don't know how I'll do, I'm sort of used to it because this isn't work that guarantees anything. I have had great shows and crappy shows. I just don't go back to the bad ones but good or bad I've learned something at each one, met talented people, and if things were easy at each one then I don't think I'd appreciate the good ones as much.

I just don't want to get a "real" part time job until I've made a good go at this.

I was asked to be in this show by a local promoter, only 1 of 6 artists, so I was flattered just to be asked, and this woman has been so kind to me in the past, the rent was almost nothing so I figured why not? So even if I don't do well the only thing I'm really out is time. The bags I made specifically for this show I can load on etsy or save them for the next show.

Ok, now I'm starting to feel a bit better. So today I'm labeling, boxing up and not freaking.

I need to clean out the Monster Truck tomorrow, supposed to be warmer, 40 degrees. Winter is hard on the cleanliness of the interior of my vehicle. Then if there is time I'll sew some more.

I made 20 more tissue packs last night!

I'd better get back to work, thanks for listening.

Good News

For me at least. My internet was down for most of the day so I actually cleaned my house. WOW, It looks good! Just don't open any closet doors. Then I made a date with a friend to go fabric shopping tomorrow, it didn't take much convincing, she wants me to do a Bag Lady bag for her with specific colors. And then lovely voiced, computerized lady talked me through getting my internet service back up. Maybe I'll send flowers.
I just received word that I got in 2 of the 3 shows I applied for. Not the extra one in March. I think fate was saying 2 shows in less than a week might be too much for me. But my big November show that I love and a December show I've never done are good to go. So I have 5 for sure shows booked for the year. I'm hoping to find at least one more for the summer.

Ok, my spell check still isn't working and now I can't up load any photos. I guess I'll put those flowers on hold.
Maybe I'll change the title of this post to boring.

Sunny Siberia

It's 2 degrees with a -17 wind chill, but WE HAVE SUN!!!! I can at least sit in a sunny window and dream spring may eventually come our way.


Thank you for the Lucky love. It means a lot to me and my girl.

In spite of a busy schedule, I worked a bit this weekend, stitched some faces down and assembled the out side.

Quilted around. Tons more to do.

I not only have a show in March.....

I got my invitation to do Saline Summerfest Craft Show again this year. I loved that show.

Last summer.

The ladies in charge are so kind, they treated me like a guest, not all shows do, and its in August and I was so delightfully sweaty and hot. I miss sweaty and hot. And I love doing shows in my hometown.

I had 6 comments on my 100th giveaway post so I took the easy way, I'm kind of lazy that way, rolled the dice and commenter #1 wins! Congrats Farmgirl_dk.

Well I'd better get back to work.

Take care.

New Year

I don't have any lofty new goals for the new year, lose the extra pudge, get organized, learn more about the computer (most of the time it's luck not knowledge that gets photos loaded) just the regular stuff. My main goal is to make my artsy/crafty business more successful. Try more shows, promote etsy more, add more variety to the things I sell.

I have one show for sure in March, it is an unusual show, its a Middle School Teacher Convention. They usually only have big store vendors at these things, book stores and the like, but they wanted to try a few local artists, and I was one of them. It's a 2 day show at our Middle School, I don't know since it isn't a art/craft show how I'll do, but the price to get in was too good to be true and I was flattered to be one of six asked, and who knows, it may turn out great!

So I am making more lunch bags (I hope teachers will be interested) as well as totes.

I just mailed out a craft show application for another show in March, if I make it into that one I had really better get sewing. I have 2 more applications to fill out for November and December. I also have 2 for sure shows for August and September. These are all good shows I have done in the past and have been successful. So I have 3 guaranteed shows, and 3 pretty good chance of getting into shows (I hope). I try to avoid shows during soccer season so I need to find a couple of more for the summer. The kids can help then, I pay them, and my shy daughter becomes not so shy when she is manning the tent for me. It is amazing how confident and outgoing she becomes. The kids even help other vendors set their tents up and have gotten paid in ice cream.

Snow on the clothesline.

We had a white Christmas and even had below 0 temps last week and now it is balmy, in the 60's and our snow is melting away. I like winter so I'm not sure how I feel about this. Mosquito's are out! My daughter and I split and hauled more wood yesterday, without coats and I was sweaty. I had been wanting to have my very own log splitter for years, I had to borrow my dad's because I didn't want to spend the $1,000 for a new one. So my hubbie and I scored on a great shape used one for $100! Now I can get my "gym" workout whenever the mood strikes.

Ready for the next cold snap.

I love bluebirds. This male has been hanging out and beating up his reflection in our window all week.

Photo with snow.

Photo today with much less snow.

Working on a "new" rug using old ugly sheets for the den.

I am giddy as a school girl over the new paint colors.

Etsy love

Does the giddiness of selling things on etsy ever wear off? I hope not. I'm up to 3 things sold! This talented woman from http://gracebeading.blogspot.com/ bought some of my buttons. If you haven't seen her work you have to check it out. She blew my doors off!

I got into making things for craft shows 4 years ago. I love working the shows because of the feedback, meeting the other crafter/artists, and I like the feeling of having my own little boutique if only for a day or two. I had also sold some bags through a local art gallery that used to be in town. That was fun, drop off stuff, look at other artist work, get a check once a month.

Not being very computer savvy made me hesitant about opening a etsy shop, it has been pretty easy, my 13 year old helped at first, it still takes me quite awhile to load things. I know about copy and pasting descriptions of similar items but I'm sure there are a ton of shortcuts to learn. But I do like that you can sell anything you make on etsy because some craft shows limit the types of items to sell. They don't want you to sell bags and then a few hand knitted scarves if the person next to you is selling knitted items.

So today after visiting the post office to send out the package, I had a little photo shoot with my fashion model ( I take terrible photos) and put a few more bags on etsy. Makes a stay at home mom with kids at school feel productive.