Cleveland County Fairgrounds Craft Show

Come and see me tomorrow at the Cleveland County Fairgrounds -
I will be there rain or shine - and so should you!
You will know me by my apron, and not every person can say that! I am working really hard on some new stuff such as laundry soap that won't cost you an arm and a leg and more bags than I have posted on my websites![Photo]
So, here are some pictures of my dogs - Alabama with the purple collar and Dakota with the red collar.

New Fabric For DELUXE OK!

WONDERFUL NEWS! I have been accepted to my first "Juried" Craft Show. The OK Etsy team is having a craft show at the centennial fairgrounds, on May 9, and I applied to be a vendor and got accepted! Whoopee! I will write a note about my first craft show this weekend later this week, but for now go to the website and see what's cookin'. I have to get some "giveaways" ready, and I think I am going to do mini soaps.


I love this new Amy Butler Fabric, and I think I am going to make myself a purse out of it to wear around. You may find this amusing, but I rarely use a purse. With all my travel, I can only carry on 2 items and I usually have my computer bag and my carry on clothing bag. So, I am going to make a bag to make my husband happy so I won't just carry around my wallet! But I should also have enough to make a few purses for Deluxe OK.

And speaking of purses, I bought a lot, and I do mean A LOT of fabric that is quilted because I really want to do a line of quilted fabric purses. I am thinking of a diaper bag and a sling bag to start with. You will love these bags, and I might even do a small bag like I showed in one of my previous posts - here. So, thanks to Deluxe - it will be the last of 5 shows I do but I should be at my best.

AND HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!

The Cutest Apron at the Show!

I made a couple of aprons for my sister and I to wear in at the craft shows we attend. It's a way to have people notice us!
So, if you come to a show that I am at, and you see the apron - like if you come to DeluxeOK - then stop and say hi!

WoW! Free Business Cards

And I mean free - no shipping or handling or anything! You just have to have a credit card but they won't charge you. Go on over to Centsible Savings Blog and see what I am talking about. It's a 100 pack, and if you are getting ready for craft shows or just want to have some to hand out, you can get them in a week right here! Yeah!

Spring Fling Craft Show!

My first show of the year will be called "Spring Fling" and is located at the Payne County Expo Center.
I hear from the promoter that all of the booths have been sold, which I think is good news, and she says she's expecting about 2,000 people for the one day show. I will be a great way to practice my setup and sell stuff to make room for more inventory!
My problem is that I have lots of things I would love to make, but the good old staples are a great thing that sell well. I was going to branch into other bath and body products, but I just feel that I must establish what your favorites are and what the demand is!
So, please stop by my booth in Stillwater, OK on Saturday, March 14, if you happen to be around. I would love to chat! Show is open from 9 am - 5 pm.

Practice Makes Perfect!

This weekend I spent a lot of time (with my sister and hubby as well) working on setting up the plan for the booth for my first craft show ever! Coming soon - in about 2 weeks on March 14. It's a show called "Spring Fling" and is in Stillwater, OK.

So, I am really nervous about how I will set it up and because I sell two kinds of items, both bags and handmade soaps, it's a little tricky to keep the displays looking good. Well, I started with this blog from the Disciples of Etsy group about what to pack and take to a craft show. I found a few things I will need to do myself, and I think that was great! I have to make a sign for my shop, a sign about taking credit cards, and a sign about prices for the soaps. I think we got the bags all labeled with pricing.

So, as you can see, the booth is open - it will be 8 x 10 ft and will allow people to walk into the area and browse. Hopefully, it will draw them in. You can see the mixture of products that I have developed, and I cannot believe how much stuff I have to go with. Really, my sister, Dorsa, took the time to use the stands and props I have purchased and lay out the table.
The stand was made by my Father in Law, and he's done a great job so I have a place to hang the bags. And I am renting an 8 ft table for one side and taking a 5 ft that we already have for the other side. And, yes, I just bought fabric to drape over the tables. Nice, plain, cream colored. And we will be wearing leopard print aprons so we kind of match the soap wrapping as well as just being memorable. So, what do you think? I want to know if you think the booth is inviting, encourages you to look around and what you like to see at a show. I have purchased some larger bags for the show, but I must go get some small bags for those rare purchases of just a few items! HEHE.

Carrot Cake and Buttercream Soap

It's the latest creation by me, an attempt at creating 2 colors and even possibly a swirl - which turned out to smell great but not really look much different than I thought it would. I tried to color it orange and cream, but see how the edges are dark? That is how the yellow sections are now anyway. I guess the air hitting the vanilla / buttercream layer makes it turn. Either way, it smells divine! And the orange faded to pinkish, but I think it might look a little like "upside-down" carrot cake with frosting. Wouldn't you love to have that much frosting? Yummy! So, I made the bottom layer first, and let it sit for a minute while I made the second layer. That's why it didn't blend too well, but the point is - I'm learning more with each batch.
I feel I need to make a few more batches with so many shows coming up, I have about 5 in a row in March, April, May. And I just found another one - www.normanmusicfestival.com - that also has promise and I am seriously considering it! I would really love to see you at one of the shows, you can read more about my shows here and as I am getting ready I will show you my work and my layout for the booth!
And, I am making some BOSS aprons for sis and I to wear at the booth. You will know us by our aprons, I promise. I will show you them soon!

Luxurious Honey, Oatmeal and Buttermilk soap is done!

Ok, I really don't cook soap. Just warm up the oil a little before I blend together the lye and fragrance. But, I think of it as cooking when it has to sit for 4-6 weeks before you can use it. So, why does it have to sit you ask? So the water evaporates and it becomes harder and more mild.
So, this is the first attempt at an oatmeal bar. And ever since I made it, I come into the room where I have it aging and it has this warm, snuggly smell that makes you want to pick it up and get a big sniff of the scent.

Chevas, my hairdresser, is putting my soaps at her booth at Salon West in OKC. When I let her smell this one a few weeks ago it is all she has asked about! So, I am going to take some to her shop tomorrow when I get my hair done. You can see the oatmeal in it, and the milk really makes it feel wonderful on your skin. No color or fragrance were added, and I think this is going to be my best bar yet.

I am going to spend part of the day today making soap so it's ready for the spring shows I am doing. I bought a bunch of oil and racks from US Foodservice on Tuesday and now it's time to use it. So, look for more posts soon on other recipes I have created. I have a bunch of fragrance oil that has come in over the past couple of weeks and I am dying to use it.

My Latest Bag Creation

Ok, so I took some advice from a friend and made a clean/dirty laundry bags. They are for your lingerie to take on trips. She suggested I could make matching bags for people to put their clean underwear, bras, etc in when they go on a trip to keep them separated. Then, when you wear them, you would put them in the dirty bag. If you have ever traveled, you know that it's hard to remember which of the undergarments are "dirty" and which are clean unless it's completely obvious! Gross...
So, I lined the dirty bag with a vinyl liner that looks like lace, and used my stamps and paint to label the bags. As you can see, it's a little faint on the labels. I think I might need to use the stencils, and possibly buy some fabric markers. The vinyl lining material is not easy to work with, so I am buying some vinyl that you can iron on. The vinyl I used is made for table cloths and did not like the iron. So, it would make it tough for a customer to wash and iron the bag. (Always thinking of the customer).
My thoughts on this bag are that I will make the dirty bag only. I am not sure that the clean bag is necessary, as the assumption is that the other clothes are clean. I am hoping that the iron on vinyl will wash well, I should get it in the mail this week or next week. I am going to make a few colors, since it's a fun bag. I am going to try a draw string version and keep the zipper version. Stay posted, I am going to make a bag that guys would buy as well.

Visits and Thoughts

I just got home from KS visiting family and I think we made it in the nick of time. From what I heard, the roads were turning to ice behind us. We left about 8:30 am today and I am glad we did because with 5 people it's not fun to be stuck somewhere. But we had lots of fun, and the kids got some presents. They got a race track they love and puzzles they have put together a million times. And I am sitting here wrapped up in my turquoise crocheted blanket so warm and cozy.

But most of all, I was inspired by my sister in law, Kim. She is so crafty with scrapbooking stuff. She made the cutest letter/sayings for decor in her house, and now I think I am going to do a few for my craft show in March and see how they go over. Just regular sayings like "Believe" or "Princess" so that they are universal, but if I think of something Easter related it would work. I officially signed up for my first craft show, March 14 in Stillwater, OK. My sister is going to do it with me. I have been buying a few display items so that I can make a really interesting booth that people will like. I will put up some idea pictures when I get the stuff in. I also bought a mannequin type body form so that I don't have to rely on my sister to pose for the handbags. And a foam head for the beanie caps I make.

So, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. I am looking forward to sewing and whipping up a few new soap recipes. Then in January, I am going to start working on placing my soaps in stores. So, if you own a shop and want to sell handmade soap, let me know!