Holiday Craft Fair Tips 2012

Baywood Craft Fair 2012 in Delaware

The holiday craft fair season is upon us.  The last week I was at Baywood Club House in Delaware.  What a gorgeous place to spend the day and what a wonderful event!   We had 39 vendors participating, we raised $459 for charity, the winner of the 50/50 drawing took $228 home with her and we estimate that over 800 people came through this year.  Sonia Koplowicz deserves all of the credit for organizing this wonderful event.  

Bay Moon Display at Baywood Holiday Craft and Collectables Fair

Each year I create a few new items for my craft fairs.  I also work on improving my table displays.  I want to pass on some pointers.  The above photo has some ideas that I will pass on.   You will see several frames with earrings in them on my table.  I located some inexpensive frames and removed the glass.  I cut gold Stampin' Up card stock to be used as the backings and used a punch and semi-circular Stampin' Up punch to create the slit and holes for the earrings.  I got lots of comments on the displays of the earring and I sold more earrings than normal.  One customer even wanted to keep the frame to present the earrings to the recipient of the gift.  Most were happy to let me keep the frames.  I also bought some inexpensive LED battery operated candles that I bought at Michaels.  They helped to draw attention to my table and create a holiday mood.

Leaf and Berry Scarf Pin by Bay Moon Design

A new item that I have at my craft fairs and in my Etsy Store is a scarf pin or lapel pin.  This leaf and berry one was created for the Berries and Leaves Challenge sponsored by Artisan Whimsey.  THe challenge is to create a jewelry component or a finished piece of jewelry using the Berries and Leaves theme.  The oval metal piece has a leaf embossed on it. A rich copper colored artisan bead by Humblebeads also has a leaf pattern in white on it. There is a copper bead at the top and tan swarovski crystal that are the berries.  I used a 3 inch head pin to stack the beads on the top.  I then placed a bead crimp and soldered it to the head pin.  I used my Stampin' Up' Big Shot to emboss a Vinjah blank.  There is a YouTube Video available to help you with that part.

 

The last thing that I did was hammer the end of the stick pin to harden it and flatten it.  I have to give Heather Powers at Humblebeads credit for the stick pin idea.  I adapted my pin from directions that she sent out in her newsletter. 

Packaging and Display Are Important Elements

This year I focused on creating some packaging to help display my items.  I developed packaging to showcase the Scarf pins.  I used Stampin' Up card stock that I ran through my printer and punched a few holes to attach my scarf pins, pendants and some special earrings.  This helped to keep the items from getting lost visually on the table and help the customers recognize what they were.

My UK Inspiration Challenge is Isle of Wight

I created a necklace for the UK Inspiration Challenge sponsored by the UK Blog Team.  The UK blog team challenged beaders to design a piece of jewelry or a jewelry component inspired by one of their home towns (or home counties!).  They posted a photo that represented the areas that they are from and we could select one area as our inspiration.  I selected the Isle of Wight.  Teresa Hulley is the member of the UK Blog team from the Isle of Wight.  She makes gorgeous beads. 

Sea glass from the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island in England.  It is located in the English Channel.  The island has many resorts which have been holiday destinations since Victorian times.  It was home to the poet Tenyson and to Queen Victoria, who built her summer residence and final home Osborne House.   The island's maritime and industrial history encompasses boat building, sail making, the manufacture  of the world's first hovercraft and the testing and development of Britain's space rockets. The island is rich with wildlife. Sea glass and sea shells are common there.

Isle of Wight is identified in red on this map ***

I have always been fascinated by castles particularly since we have none in the United States.  I discovered Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight.  It was the strongest castle on the Island.  It has served of use for over 800 years.  There are traces of a Roman fort underneath the later buildings. Charles I was imprisoned there before his trial.

Sea Glass Necklace Inspired by photo of entrance of Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of Wight

I used the photo of Carisbrooke Castle in the collage above to served to create my color palette of white, brown, and beige.  These colors are prominent in the historic buildings and natural resources of the Isle.  I wanted to include sea glass  and sea shells to connect the necklace to represent the Islands connection to water.  I pulled the sea glass from my collection and used some ceramic sea shells from Suburban Girl Studio.    I spotted the focal in a bead destash of Lisa Lodge. She has the ability to create a great color palette of beads so I love to see what she is getting rid of or offering for a blog hop.  She is involved in this blog hop too.  I got a good laugh when I visited her post and discovered that she selected the Isle of Wight also and is using a completely different color palette based on the flag.

I enjoyed participating and learned more about the UK!  My mother immigrated to the United States from Great Britain and I still have relatives there.  I am trying to build my knowledge of my roots and this blog hop contributed to it.

Please take a look at everyone's creations:

The Hosts 

Lesley Watt Gossiping Goddess

Rebecca Anderson Songbeads

Pippa Chandler Pip's Jewellery

Teresa Hulley Bo Hulley Beads

Natalie McKenna Grubbi

Jo Tinley Daisychain Designs

Dorset

Gale White Bantering Bird on Flickr

Ginger Bishop Lilmummylikes

Cece Cormier The Beading Yogini

Therese Frank Therese’s Treasures

Cilla Watkins Tell Your Girlfriends

Sherry Baun

Kay Toodles and Binks

Edinburgh

Therese Frank Therese’s Treasures

Kashmira Patel Sadafulee

Caroline Dewison Blueberribeads

Pam Sears Crazy Creative Corner

Sherry Baun

Leigh Thow Jewellrleigh

Lucy Haslam

Bath

Cynthia Machata  http://antiquitytravelers.blogspot.com

Pam Sears Crazy Creative Corner

Sherry Baun

Isle of Wight

Duane Clark Bizzy Bead

Sharyl McMillian-Nelson Sharyl's Jewelry

Leigh Thow Jewellrleigh

Jean Wright Just Beadey

D Lynne Bowland Islandgirl’s Insights

Lisa Lodge Pine Ridge Treasures 

Sherry Baun
Kathy Lindemer Bay Moon Design

Liverpool

Jean A. Wells  http://www.jeanawells.blogspot.com

Shalini Austin   Jewellery by Shalini

Doris Stumpf Glaszwerg

Sherry Baun

Lennis C Windbent

Southampton

Sherri Stokey Knot Just Macramé

Sherry Baun

Leigh Thow Jewellrleigh

***This is one of the images forming part of the Valued image set: Locator maps of the Ceremonial counties of England on Wikimedia Commons. The image set has been assessed under the valued image set criteria and is considered the most valued set on Commons within the scope:

Locator maps of the Ceremonial counties of England

Beads by Kaz Baildon for ME!

Kaz Baildon's beads

Lesley Watt is a very talented bead artist from Doset, United Kingdom.  She has a wonderful blog called the Gossiping Goddess.  Don't you just love the name of her blog!  I have admired her jewelry in her Etsy shop.  She also makes gorgeous beads.  Her very talented bead making friend Kaz Baildon recently had a major overhaul of her studio to make way for some new projects she is planning and in the process she destashed a huge haul of lampwork beads in Lesley's direction.  Lesley being the generous person that she is held a drawing and set up a blog hop.  The recipients of the beads will use them to create a piece of jewellery, accessory or ornament and share this at a blog hop on Wednesday 12th December.

I have been drawn to receive free beads and take part in the design challenge on December 12th.
I am very excited about it!

Next Monday November 12,  I will blog about my jewelry that I am creating for the UK Inspiration Challenge sponsored by the UK Blog Team.  The UK blog team challenged beaders to design a piece of jewelry or a jewelry component inspired by one of their home towns (or home counties!).

Dorset, Edinburgh, Bath, Isle of Wight, Liverpool, South Hampton are represented in this collage.

They posted a photo that represented the areas that they are from and we could select one area as our inspiration.  I selected the Isle of Wight because I knew less about it then the other areas.  This called for some research! I found a photo of the Isle of Wight to serve as my inspiration for my jewelry.

Entrance to Carisbrooke Castle, Isle of WIght

I hope you will visit my blog on November 12 to see my piece.  Right now it is a pile of beads on my table!  Will I finish it on time?  What will I create?

Oct. 28 October Fest and Beginning of Holiday Craft Fairs

Baywood Holiday Craft and Collectibles Fair 2011

Welcome to October Fest sponsored by Toltec Jewels for Jewel School Friends!  This is a jewelry, craft, bead, home and hearth blog and facebook challenge and celebration!

 For me this weekend marks the beginning of preparing for the holiday craft fairs.  Delaware by Hand members of which I am one are invited to participate in the Biggs Museum of American Art  Holiday Fair on November 3 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This market will be held in conjunction with First State Heritage Park's 18th Century Market Fair. Please go into the museum to see our holiday creations.  My second is at Baywood Golf and Country Club on November 10.  I can't wait to see how Baywood is decorated last this year.  Can they top the autumn decorations from 2011?  I hope my Delaware friends will stop by and say hi.

Ceramic Owl by Sandy Sapienze

In between the two fairs, I am going to a Sewing by the Sea Fall 2012 Retreat in Ocean City, Maryland,  for a few days to rejuvination.  This retreat is put together by the mixed media artist Sandra Sapienza.  She gifted me with a series of ceramic owls that she created.  I used one of her smaller owls with an eclectic mix of some of my favorite beads-pearls and jasper.  It created an earthy necklace that is perfect for the Fall. 

I live at the beach so my Fall has leaves, empty sandy beaches, and local wildlife like this deer at Cape Henlopen State Park. 

                       Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because it involves chocolate.

I am not know for spending much time in the kitchen and when I do it usually involves chocolate.  I found a perfect fall treat--acorn cookies. It is very easy to make. 

                       Acorn Treats made with Chocolate Kisses

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 48 semisweet chocolate chips
• 48 milk chocolate kisses
• 48 Nutter Butter Bites

Directions

• In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Spread the flat side of each kiss with a small amount of melted chocolate; immediately attach each to a cookie.
• Attach a semisweet chocolate chip by spreading a small amount of melted chocolate on the opposite side immediately attach each to a cookie . Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets; refrigerate until set. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 4 dozen.

The Witchery by the Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland

                                        Happy Halloween!