Craft Shows 2013

Finally!  I've wanted to participate as a vendor at a craft show and I've finally had the opportunity to do that.  The first show was at Allen County Fair grounds the last week of October and the second was at St. Charles Catholic School yesterday, November 1st.  I had fun creating the cards, magnets, notebooks and explosion boxes.  I definately didn't get rich and definately have to keep my day job but am thankful for the opportunity to try something new.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to actually attend the first craft show since it fell on the same date as a conference I was required to attend for work.  Since I was splitting the table with my mother-in-law she was gracious enough to sell my items for me.  I sold only a few things and wouldn't have been able to cover the cost of the table by myself.  To my surprise the photo explosion boxes were a top seller.  I had attempted to sell these on Etsy a couple of years ago with no luck so I didn't have high hopes for them at the craft fair.  The magnets were also a big seller but that wasn't a surprise since they were a low cost item.

For the second craft fair my friend, Beth, was able to join me and brought cards and post-it-note holders to sell.  It was extra fun to have her there since she brought her adorable two week old baby with her.  My mother-in-law also split the table with us.  For this show I made a few more explosion boxes and some large magnets.  The explosion boxes sold out!  I did a lot better at this show but again not enough to get rich. 

Check out the picture of our table.  I used dollar store wrapping paper and covered some empty boxes in order to create height and more space to display the stuff. 

I would definately like to try another craft show as long as the cost for a table isn't too much.  It's not a good way to make a lot of money but it is enjoyable and provides an outlet for creativity.

November MemoryWorks Challenge #2

The second challenge for the month was to create a layout about what you were thankful for. Again the design was to be based on a prechoosen pagemap. It also included an additional challenge to use at least 4 different mediums not including your paper.

I made my layout about my husband's family. When I was in the hospital they all pitched in and helped out with Julian. They are a lot of fun and I enjoy spending time with them.

This is also the first time that I have used the distress paint by Ranger. You can see the crackling in the second photo. I loved this paint!!! It was extremely easy to use and I can't wait to use it again.

November Memory Works Challenge #1

I completed the November challenges on the Memory Works message board. I was excited to get them done and get back in the swing of things after being so sick for so long.

The first challenge was to design a thank you card based on a pagemap. The goal was to thank a veteran for their service to the country in honor of veteran's day. I liked the pagemap so much I made a few extra cards.

The papers are all from MemoryWorks Express kits. There is always such a great variety to work with. The large red flower is from Petaloo. I love their flowers!

What happened to October?!?!

Yikes! It is November already! Last time I checked it was October 15th! Unfortunately, I have been sick for most of the month...somehow I got viral meningitis. I have never felt sicker in my life and even ended up in the hospital for 4 days. I have a huge list of projects I wanted to get done for my etsy site and several other projects half done. I think I will save the halloween ones for next year. Hopefully soon I will be back to normal and scrappin.

Etsy shop now open!!!!!

I finally got my etsy shop open!!!! I am sooooo excited. I only have 6 items listed currently but hope to have lots more to add this week. Right now what I have up is 3 photo explosion boxes and 3 die cut sets. Make sure to check the etsy store often for new stuff! And tell a friend!

What I've been up too.

Oops I realized I haven't been keeping up with the blog and should include some of the other projects that I have complete. So here they are.

This is a door hanging that I made for my friend Laura who recently had a baby.

For my Mother-in-law I made a chipboard mini album.

I also made a 6x6 album for Steve's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. I managed to get pictures of each person that came as well as a written message from each person. It was a fairly easy project considering the number of photos that I had to get. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the album before giving it away. Oops!

Winner!!!! Silly layout

Yeah!!!! This is another winning layout for the MemoryWorks challenge! This time we were to follow a pagemap and include flowers. It is hard to use flowers on layouts with boys without looking too girly but I think I pulled it off. I love that the paper and flowers match Julian's shirt! And who couldn't love their silly faces! The flowers are all from Petaloo.

Winner!!!! WollyWorm Layout

WhoHoo!!!! This was one of my winning layouts for a MemoryWorks challenge. We were to use "critter" paper in our layout. I really enjoyed making this layout. One of my favorite parts is the wollyworm. It has flocking on it to make it "fuzzy". The patterned paper and journaling box is from American Crafts. Believe it or not I actually completed the journaling on this one:)

Summer Quote Layout

MemoryWorks Challenge Layout. We were to use a summer quote in the layout. In the circles it says "Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer". I love the picture of Julian on the swing. It almost looks like he is flying. Again the papers are from My Mind's Eye. Unfortunately the picture makes the layout hard to see.

Mini golf layout

Another MemoryWorks challenge layout. This one was another color challenge. I love these papers from Fancy Pants! I think they are my favorite papers. Notice the journaling box yet to be completed...sigh. Again I love rub-ons!

Brave Dad Layout

This is a layout for a MemoryWorks challenge. We were challenged to leave a significant amount of open space in the layout. I really liked that idea for this picture because I wanted the picture to be the most important part of the layout. I also used rub-ons. This is only the second time I have used them but I am hooked now! I took this picture of my husband and Julian at the Toll Road Post before thier Memorial service.

Journaling challenge

This is another layout for a MemoryWorks challenge. We wer challenged to use journaling as a significant part of our layout. I have to admit it was difficult to make myself journal. I usually leave space for journaling but don't actually complete the journalling. I always tall myself I will go back and do it later...which doesn't usually happen. This layout focuses on my step-mom Susan. She is great! (No evil step-mom here) The flowers are from Petaloo. This is the first time that I have used their large flowers but I love them! I am definately hooked!

My Boys

This is a layout I completed for another MemoryWorks challenge. We had to use the six colors that were selected for us in our layout. These papers are also from My Mind's Eye. I love my two boys!

Julian's ABC Book

This is the ABC Book I made for Julian. The pages are made of cardboard from cereal boxes, the ribbon, and clear tag were from packaging on items I'd recently bought. The cartoon pictures are from a recycled magazine. This was something I made for a challenge on the MemoryWorks board. We were to use recycled items. The pages are covered with some really cute papers from My Mind's Eye. Julian is just learning to recognize his letters and he is always asking me "What does ___ start with?" The pages in the book aren't completely filled yet. I want Julian to pick out some other pictures to add to the pages. This project was fairly easy and definately inexpensive.

Photo Explosion Box

This is a photo explosion box I made for my step-mom for Mother's day. This is my favorite one so far. The paper on the lid of the box is glittery and who doesn't like sparkly things.

Photo Explosion Box

This is the photo explosion box I made for my mom for mother's day. When you take off the lid the sides of the box fall down to reveal pictures. There are pictures and/or embellishments on the front and back of each flap. It is a unique way to showcase photos.

Baby Album

This post and the previous one contain pictures of the baby album I put together for a friend. I love using my Cricut! It made this project so easy. Instead of putting pictures in the album I had everyone at the shower write out a prayer for the baby. Those were then put into the album.

Baby Shower Favors

These are the favors that I made for my friend's baby shower. Inside each one is special Hershey's Kisses that say "It's a boy!" They were easy to make and can be customized for the occasion. This was an idea from MemoryWorks.

We also played Baby Jeopardy with questions customized for the mother-to-be.

Mother's Day Cards

I know these posts are late but I figure better late than never. These are the cards I created for Mother's Day this year. They were part of the May challenges on the MemoryWorks message board. We were to use a particular card map and it also had to have a flower on it. I entered the card on the left in the challenge. This was the first time that I ever used a page or card map and it was quite a challenge. It took me some time to decide how to make the map my own unique creation.