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Archive for the ‘Craft Fair’ Category

Blog changes & some post-it holders

July 8th, 2010

Just an FYI to some of you - the Blog might be up & down sometime within the next few days. I’m changing over to a new hosting provider who I am sure will prove to be MUCH better than my current one! I’ve had some intermittent issues lately w/ the comments not loading, blog being slow, etc. So I am hoping this clears things up! Thanks for being so patient w/ me!

Not sure if I have shared these here yet - but I made even more of the post-it holders w/ matching pens. Love these things. So easy to make.

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Perfect for Teachers…

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I think these will be a major item at Fall Craft Fairs this year.

Can you believe it’s July? I need to start crackin’ on FALL items soon! ACKKK!! We are *almost* done the kitchen…well, I almost have a sink back - they are installing granite counters next week. After that it’s the finishing touches. But the important thing is that I WILL HAVE A SINK & A DISHWASHER SOON!! I might die of excitement people.

Anyway, more to come soon. Meanwhile, I’m trying to avoid melting. It’s been quite the toasty week here in MA. Stay cool everyone!

Altered Stuff, Craft Fair

more bookmarks to share!

April 28th, 2010

Last weekend I was on the “I NEED to use up some of my scraps” kick.

What do I do to use up scraps? I make bookmarks! They are the perfect way to use strips of paper. These ones here below are 7″x2″. I have LOTS of designer paper scraps. WAY too much. This is my way of using them up & creating something fun.

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Can we discuss how CUTE this robot fella is? He was from a piece of designer paper. ADORABLE.

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More fun boy-themed bookmarks…

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I also tried to use up some colors of cardstock that are not my traditional style. (AKA bright SHOCKING pink). Stampin Up is retiring a bunch of colors so I figured I better make room for the new…! Here are some girly themed bookmarks…

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You can find another post of mine with full video tutorial on making these bookmarks HERE. (I laminate them.) I sell them at my craft fairs for $2 each, and I can tell you they sell VERY well!

Craft Fair

post-it keychains

April 26th, 2010

yes, my obsession with all things post-it continues.

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I’ve been dying to try these for a while now - as I saw the instructional video HERE on Angie’s blog. (she’s got lots of great stuff by the way - and her accent is just adorable.) Anyway, these are super fast & fun to make. You can put any sort of stamped image on these to personalize them. I was totally diggin’ the owls & oranges for this round. Both stamps are Stampin Up.(woodgrain background stamp is from Hero Arts)

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Lots of fun colors in this batch. I found the small post-its at Walmart in all sort of colors.

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Altered Stuff, Craft Fair

don’t judge me…

April 26th, 2010

but I started prepping for Christmas stuff this weekend.

I know, I know. It’s April. But dude, it’s NEVER too soon to start preparing….right!??!! (just go with it)

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Yes, those are acetate pillow boxes stamped with snowflakes. But see, I do lots of craft fair stuff - and I hate being rushed in the Fall. So I’m trying to at least start some of the prep work now. Let’s just hope I remember where the heck I store all of these come November. With my luck, I will put them away & have no idea where they are. HA.

Craft Fair

Teacher Gifts: Post-It Note Holders w/ mini-pens

April 23rd, 2010

As promised, here is another idea for inexpensive Teacher Gifts. These were totally inspired by the lovely Beth & her awesome blog! (If you are looking for Craft Fair ideas & haven’t checked her blog out yet, definitely go there quick! She has awesome ideas!) Beth posted this a few weeks back & I just loved the way she used the Teacher saying. I decided to print it out on some cardstock & use on these post-it holders. You can find a video on how to make these HERE.

Are you sick of post-it note holders yet? HA!

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These are great to give out to either a male or female teacher. Also, if you plan on making these for a Craft Fair, it’s best to follow Beth’s tip for packaging. Wrapping them up in a clear bag with a topper not only looks super cute, it protects the post-it’s from all the lookers & kiddos who stop by the booth to “flip through” your merchandise :)

Measurements for my bag topper: 4.75″ x 3.5″, scored at 1.75″ Insert is 4.5″ x 1.5″

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I used the same cello bags that I put my Greeting Cards in. You can find them HERE. I always buy them through Amber because all of her proceeds go to sending cards to the Troops - isn’t that wonderful?

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Those pens are from Staples. They were on sale at my local Staples for 50% off last week, so I was pysched!! It might be embarrassing if I admitted to you how many different variations of post-it note holders I’ve made over the past few days…I guess I am obsessed. They are just super fun & quick to make.

Anyway, thanks for stopping by & let me know if you have any questions!

EDIT: that designer paper is from October Afternoon…cardstock & stamp are from Stampin Up!

Altered Stuff, Craft Fair

an FYI re: Post-It Note Stands

December 2nd, 2009

EDIT: I’ve added a little Q&A at the end of this post b/c I’ve already got some more questions on these so I wanted to answer them on the posting for all to see. Be sure to scroll down to check ‘em out. Thanks!

I’ve had quite a few inquiries about these. They are a big fave among the Craft Fair attendees by the way! I really think they make a versatile gift that you can give to almost anyone.

I ran into an issue when I first started doing these, where I didn’t have any place to put the pen. I thought about resting it on top of the post-it, in between the post-it & the ribbon/embellishment at top - but when you have 20+ of these at a craft fair booth, and you are trying to keep everything together, it doesn’t really work.

The other issue I run into at fairs is kids who like to touch everything! :) They mean no harm, but kids are kids - and in particular there is something very attractive to walking up to the table and flipping through the whole post-it note pad. It was starting to make them get dingy - and I was cringing & having to rearrange all the time.

So I decided to go & buy some inexpensive sheer ribbon - and simply tie a knot around the post-it pad. I then take the matching pen and insert it underneath the ribbon. Voila! This not only holds the pen in place, but it somewhat protects the post-it pad from the “flippers” :).

Here are some photos so you can get a better look:

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The other question I get a lot is what do you do when the post-it runs out? Well, I say just go ahead & stick another one right on! I tell people that I would add some adhesive to the bottom of the pad, as the adhesive on the post-it notes themselves aren’t always sticky enough.

All in all, this gift is fun, versatile & what I like is that it’s re-usable. If the post-it falls off, all you gotta do is re-stick it. If you run out, just add more. It’s a great gift for teachers or co-workers.

Hope this helps some of you, let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks!! :)

More Q&A’s from your comments (I will add to this as I get more questions):

Q: Where do you get the frames to make these?

A: I get mine at the Christmas Tree Shops. I either buy the 3.5″ x 5″ (pictured above) or the 4″x6″ frames. They are 69 cents & 89 cents a piece. Can’t beat that price!

Q: What adhesive do you use to stick them down?

A: I just use my ATG gun. I run some on the back of the post-it pad. I tell people at my fairs that when it runs out to just use some double sided tape, or a glue runner to tack a new pad down.

Q: How do you get the paper INSIDE the pen?

A: Funny you ask this…I was intimated by this technique too. It’s actually super simple, just takes a bit of practice to get the paper rolled up just right. Once it’s rolled, I actually keep the pen inside the paper & just shove it in there! My Stampin Up Demo Michelle has a great little video about this. It might help you!

Q: Is that big NOTES a stamp?

A: Yep! It sure is. One of my new faves actually. It’s from the “Take Note” stamp set by PaperTrey Ink.

Q: I know that they always sell for you so I was wondering how much you charge for them?

A: I charge $4 for these. They sell very well. I’m sure you could get away with charging $5 even. If you think about it, that is still a very reasonable price for a gift for a Teacher or Co-Worker.

Altered Stuff, Craft Fair, Tutorials

fun with PaperTrey Ink!

November 23rd, 2009

I got some great new stuff from PTI last week. I was able to make a few fun things with this stamp set. I LOVE IT. God I just think of all the cool things I can do with it! So much fun.

EDIT: the polka dots in photos below are stamped with this stamp set, also from PaperTrey. LOVE.

Anyway, I grabbed this template from Nichole’s blog & used it to create these. I had to modify it a bit as my paper pad wasn’t the same size, but it worked out OK. These make fun gifts for people. I especially like the one that says “websites & blogs” - what a clever idea for writing down URL’s & Passwords, etc.

I grabbed inspiration for the look of these from Heather’s blog post. Can we just take a moment & discuss how unbelievable her blog is? *DROOL*. God I love her stuff!! It’s definitely one of my fave blogs.

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The cardstock on all of these is from PaperTrey Ink. It’s the best cardstock I’ve found. VERY thick & sturdy…makes it perfect for projects like these where you really need the thickness. I LOVE their Kraft CS. It’s the best. I used their white ink to stamp these polka dots…

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I then decided to jazz up some older post-it note holders that I had lying around. These are simple ones that I had made using some coasters & my Bind-It-All a while back. I added some ribbon & this stamp which gave it a finished look.

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Once the Holidays are through, I’m sure I will use more of this set. I think I already sold the ones that I pictured above at my fair this past weekend. But they are pretty quick & fun to make.

Altered Stuff, Craft Fair

Craft Fair Update: Nov 2009

November 23rd, 2009

Hi everyone - I have some photos & an update for you from my fair this past weekend. It was GREAT!! I sold LOTS of stuff…in fact, I sold OUT of lots of stuff, which is great! (be sure to scroll to bottom for link to all the pics!)

The fair was 10am-4pm…by Noon I was cleaned OUT of a lot of things. It was SUPER busy. I will say that my space was really super small. I was not too happy about that. It was only 8′x7′. Thankfully, we were indoors - but that is the smallest space I’ve ever seen for a fair. We had to get creative to make it work. Did I mention that Middelsex Comm. College is literally 20 seconds from my house? It’s about 1 block away. So this was great b/c Friday night we went to setup, saw the size, and had to run back to the house to get creative & figure out what pieces of furniture I could use. I ended up grabbing random shelves from our living room & kitchen, ha!

Saturday AM was great. We got there by 8:20am and had a whole hour & a half to setup. We took our time, my Mom was there to help of course. We were done putting all the product out by 9:45am. So we had time to relax before the fair opened. (in my Mom’s case, she had time to SHOP. Which she did, ALL day long…LOL - I think she spent more $$ at the fair than I made!!)

Here are some best sellers:

  • Post-It Note Stands w/ matching pens - sold OUT. Had them for $4 each. Could NOT keep them on my table. They were mostly gone by Noon.
  • Purse Gift Card Holders - sold OUT of all of these. $4 each. People LOVED them. (I am currently making a video on these, stay tuned for it in the coming weeks!)
  • Nugget Tins - sold out of these (I had 5) @ $5 each.
  • Reindeer Food - Sold out. $1 each
  • Snowman Poop - almost sold out. $1 each
  • Santa’s Hershey Bar Sliders - sold lots of these @ $2 each
  • Mailboxes - sold quite a few of these. Little girls seem to like them. I sell mine for $4 each.

A view of my booth, mostly the left side. I had a few more shelves on the right (including my rack of cards) - my Mom & I were sitting (crammed) in the corner. The photos are not that great, they were taken with my small point & shoot as I didn’t want to lug my DSLR around that day.

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Here is an up-close view of the Post-It’s that I had. As you can see, I had LOTS of them. I took some sheer ribbon & tied the pens to them to make it more presentable, and also so the pens wouldn’t be falling everywhere. (I also noticed it keeps the kids from walking up to my table & flipping through the post-it paper. For some reason this seemed to happen a lot at past fairs).

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Up close view of the post-it stands w/ matching pens:

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a view of the right side of the booth. I had my greeting cards, Rudolph’s Spares, Snowman Poop, Reindeer Food & Ghiradelli Holders over here. (ignore the iced coffee, that was there to help me get through the day! hehe)

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More photos can be found HERE. I tried to make lots of them because I know you guys like to see how everything is setup! :)

So with that, I’m officially DONE my Fall Fairs for the season. I am relieved. I am continuing to make more stuff, as I have some custom orders to fulfill - and friends/family who would like to buy. I am also going to post some stuff here on the Blog - so if you are interested in purchasing anything you’ve seen here, or see in these photos - just send me an email. Thanks!

Craft Fair

Craft Fair Goodies: more Nugget Tins…

November 17th, 2009

I got some new stamps from PaperTrey Ink a few days ago…LOVE LOVE LOVE them!

This set is going to be one of my faves going forward - there is so much you can do with it. I decided to give it a try this weekend & used it to make this Nugget Tin:

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I get these jingle bells at a local craft store (Michael’s) in the Christmas Decorations section. They are fun to thread onto some ribbon to add a little interest…and they also jingle when you shake them which is fun!

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Altered Stuff, Craft Fair

Craft Fair Goodies: Santa Hershey Bar’s

November 16th, 2009

OK I am BURSTING with excitement to show you these. Not sure what it is, but I just find these things SOOOO CUTE!!

I have been noodling over what I can do with these full-sized Hershey candy bars for a few weeks. I finally decided to deck them out in a Santa suit. I got lots of inspiration for these on the web…so I cannot take credit. There are lots of great versions out there, but I pulled most of my inspiration from Wanda’s creation on her blog. Thanks Wanda for sharing these, they are great!

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Similar to the hot cocoa ones I did a few weeks back, these too are “sliders”. When you untie the ribbon & pull…a candy bar comes out!

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The ends are glued shut & I used a paper crimper tool to finish off the ends. I got that idea HERE from Dawn’s video.

111609_03A few other things:

  • Red Cardstock = 6″x6″ (scored @ 1/2″, 3.25″)
  • White Cardstock = 6″ x 2.25″, punch edges with SU! Scallop Border Punch
  • Black strip (Santa’s Belt) is 3/4″ wide
  • I cut the belt buckle using Paper Doll Dress Up (buckle for Pilgrim hat, then I just trimmed the belt part off) - set to Real Dial Size ON at 1 inch.
  • Black circles (buttons) are 1/2″ circles.
  • I punched the hole for ribbon right through the top button with my Crop-a-Dile!

Thanks for checking these out! I hope I left enough info to help you make your own. If you follow Dawn’s instructions - the dimensions are pretty good to get the basic concept of the slider down.

I have LOTS more to show you this week…getting ready for my big fair this Saturday, EEK!

Altered Stuff, Craft Fair