Craft Fair Follies ~ When Things Go Wrong

Wrapped up holiday fair season this past weekend at the Gar-Field Orchestra Boosters Craft Fair.  For the first time, I did two winter shows and learned a bunch I want to share!  This first post covers my display and 2nd will show the goodies I made. Set up for the first was so smooth but I hit a few bumps with the second. You don't  find many posts about what to do if something goes wrong, so I am telling you, you can still have a great show if you have a less-than-perfect start.
Having done a couple of shows yearly since 1999, I can say putting the time and effort into a stand-out display yields better results.  This year, having more time to focus on things like booth layout, I knew a backdrop to hang my banner would keep my booth from blending in with the rest.

This is the mock set-up at home before my November show. I ordered the photography stand from Amazon and used two pieces of jersey-like fabric from the trift store to drape over it.   Looks great, yes?  And it looked wonderful for the 1st show. People complimented my display and I sold more than at any previous event.
Then, a week before my December show, life happened.  I usually try to finish up making items at least 3 or 4 days ahead of time.  But, with a sick baby girl home all week, I needed to stick close by her, so I crafted right up until the last night.  Tired as all get out, the morning of the show, I didn't  arrive early enough and rushed in setting up.  I also didn't have my cutie pie daughter to help. Needless to say, I wasn't as organized as before and forgot some key items like the cash box, the CASH, the basket for my journals and that pretty white tiered basket.

So, what did I do?  Improvised!  I used the basket I keep my wrapping supplies in to hold the journals.  I converted one of the black mini suitcases to a cash box and tucked the tins in a little box on the shelf.  Hubby ran to the nearest bank, got more change AND stopped at the dollar store for more basket shred for the larger journal container.  Had this been a couple of years ago, I probably would have melted down, but this time, we just rolled with it.

You can see the display isn't  as neat as the mock up but I made it work.  I kept a great attitude and planted a smile on my face.  A little laughter goes a long way.  Thankfully, a good friend showed up and kept me grinning and enaging the customers too.

No one even knew the display wasn't  what I envisioned :)  

Any funny craft fair experiences to share?

 Thanks for stopping by!

Best of 2013

Hey Polka Dotted Friends!!!  It's hard to believe the year is coming to a close.  The past 12 months have been jam-packed with a lot of fun for my family and I.  I wanted to share some of the year's highlights with you.

One of my favorite projects was my craft room makeover here.  We put a pretty coat of aqua on the walls, added some contemporary pieces to the room for organization and a few vintage-inspired finds.  I was able to purge a lot of craft supplies I no longer need, but there's still more to do in 2014!  I see more shelving in my future :)

My new blog series "Saturday Spaces" kicked off in the early part of the year, showcasing some incredibly inspiring spaces that I plan to borrow some ideas from, like this one from lilhoneybeestudios here.  Look for more studios in 2014.

June brought our annual trip to North Carolina to visit close friends AND I met my awesome facebook friend Paula from Scrap Your World for the 1st time!  We met up with DonnaK and her sweet mama, Sandra, for hours of crafting, laughing and some serious fun.

July brought the surprise 50th anniversary for my parents I planned with help from my brother and good friends of my folks.  My parents are a true testament that love CAN conquer all ♥  Read more about the handmade party goodness in this post here.

In August, 2 of my kids were baptized in front of dear family and friends...a life-changing event for us all.

On the one-year anniversary of Polka Dotted Bliss, my sweet and talented friends helped me celebrate with a fun twist on a Halloween Blog Hop.  See all the Cute & Spooky goodness here.

At the end of 2012, I decided to make more of an effort to reconnect with long-time friends in 2013, and I am so glad I did!  While in St. Louis and here in Virginia, I got to hang with some of my oldest and dearest friends...you know the kind where you can just let your hair down (or out, in my case) and be YOU?  I plan on doing more of this in 2014 and I've got a lot more in store,
so hope you'll visit often :)  What  was the best part of 2013 for you?

Wishing you and yours a wonderful, prosperous, light-filled New Year!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Make it Monday - Personalize it with Vinyl!

Hey, happy Monday!  Today, I wanted to share a few altered items I added to this quick gift basket pulled together for my daughter's friend.  When you are short on time, the next best thing to handmade is hand-embellished :)

 

Again, the Cricut vinyl came to the rescue.  I used it to add the letters "BFF" to a cute little journal, and her friend's name to the front of the bucket filled with other goodies like markers, sketch pad, flip flops, temporary tattoos and nail art.  For instant cuteness, I added a couple of Prima flowers and a cute owl sticker to a jumbo clothespin.

 

 

 

Here it is all packaged up and ready to go! 

What's your go to quick and easy gift?

 

{{Hugs}}

Kimbery