Craft Show Sellers .. Oh My! And Non Sellers . .

Wow! Craft shows every weekend wear me out!  Set up is a nightmare because I help my friend who has itty bitty glass items that have to be handled with lots of TLC .. and then tear down is the reverse nightmare getting everything packaged.

BUT ..... I love to go!  Hustle and Bustle .. and OMG all the hot sellers this year just totally baffle me!

Paracord .. bracelets and necklaces in all kinds of color combinations and patterns .. selling from $5.00 to $7.00 on the bracelets and from $10 to $15 on the necklaces. 

Decomesh -- giant wreaths made from a product called Deco Mesh or Decomesh .. not sure which.  Beautiful colors and some of the designers had incredible mixes of holly, bells, ornaments, etc intertwined with the mesh to make quite a presentation .. prices ranged from $35.00 to $65 and up ..



Scarves .. these were most definitely my very favorite!  Twirly and relaxed looking scarves for any color combination you can think of .. some knitted, some crocheted but both same concept.  The scarves were flying out the door more than other things mentioned here .. I think mainly because women were the shoppers and it was kind of chilly out .. not to mention the beauty of the designs.  There are several on Pinterest ..

http://pinterest.com/pin/159314905538485256/

And the last item I saw so many purchasing were items made of duct tape / duck tape / duck tape brand duct tape!  So I NEVER in a million years thought I'd buy something made from duct tape .. but .. I did!  Took it home and said what did I do here .. lol .. is this a trend .. do I need this?  But yeah, I do!  It's a neat little purse with side ziplock pockets!  It also inspired me to try (my first project) making a 'purse' myself!

Non Sellers .. felt bad for the vendors ;o(

Jewelry wasn't selling unless it was extremely unique .. bottlecaps, charms, pendants .. nope .. not selling ..

Vinyl / paper crafting .. not selling and there were some really nice presentation of items with vinyl sayings!

Picture frames with names / words spelled out in everyday pictures - not sure what that craft is called .. awesome looking but vendors very disappointed in sales

Sweatshirts / shirts ..

Scroll saw / wood items / primitive type things like snowmen, santas, etc

Overall it's kind of weird this year .. every weekend for the past month or more we've been at shows .. and there seem to be less people shopping and much more selective in what they buy.  Still have 3 more to go to .. can't wait to see what other projects I can learn ;o)

Paracord 5/16/12 at OneTrueMedia.com

So much fun!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Paracord * Buckles * New Knots * Butterfly * Bracelets!

Nothing like a lazy weekend!  Storms with the full complement of thunder and lightning - chilly to way too hot for me .. and all that cord sitting there to figure out what to do with .. not to mention tons and tons of videos with knots I've never heard of .. and lots of them that seem impossible to me .. good thing I didn't enlist in the Navy - I would have flunked Knots 101!  BUT .. I did find time to do some creative adventures .. and these have no rhyme or reason .. they just seemed fun and can be so different each time .. I also flunk Lighter Handling 101 .. sigh ......

Uh oh .. garage door is opening .. and I haven't done a smidgen of work .. not even close to trying to pretend I cut the grass .. ummmmmmmmmm .. ok .. grab the phone .. get outside .. look alert (NOT) .. and guess what I found!~!

The lilacs smell so 'springy' and nice - the butterfly just posed prettily for me to capture the picture before flitting off to discover new blossoms! 

And then ................ bummer ............ had to cut the grass before more rain arrived ..........

Now .. bring on the shackles .. can't wait to try them!  IF I can find some ......

Firemen's Bracelet - Paracord Thin Line Cobra Weave - Red/Black

Tricky ... but I really like this weave .. and the color combinations are endless .. this one came out really nice with the mix of colors .. from my new paracord stash ;o)

Of course I didn't stop at just one ..... had to try another color combo -

Challenge is going to be figuring out how to make a keyring .. in the black/red combo .. off to watch more youtubes ...

Square Knot Bracelet .. Try One .. Will it Work?

So when things go wrong .. like sitting in a Michael's parking lot .. with the smart phone being very dumb .. and not working .. I can't access my coupons!  Major dilemma!!  Hmmmm .. so call ATT and they say there is an outage .. and reset my phone for me .. in the meantime I've gone in the store and found a few things I need (right .. need) .. and the gal says she will honor the text I can't get to .. LOL .. yippee!!  Extra 15% off even when the stuff is on sale!!

Back out to the car .. and I have some string with me .. and rerunning youtube's through my head as I'm calling ATT again .. hmmm .. I'll try making a bracelet with the findings I just bought .. and the string I have ... no scissors .. fingernail clippers .. that'll do the trick!

No way to measure .. no way to make the string longer .. so here goes:

I don't think I got it quite right and I know it's not going to fit around a lot of people's wrists but it does fit around mine .. so I'm good with rejects ;o)  Actually quite a quick project and fun to learn!  Think I better try another with with the sailor bracelet string .. and maybe add some bling .. where is the bling department .. (sigh)

NOW - my phone is fixed .. ;o)  All is good ;o)))

There's A New Store in Town ~ O'Fallon IL ~ Goodies Galore

New Store?  Goodies Galore?  How Can I NOT Go?

OK, so it's the online newspapers that are causing me to go ~ they found it and had to put it in a spot where I could find it!  Said there are all kinds of things to see .. nothing consignment .. easy to find .. and actually I'm really glad to see another store in O'Fallon ~ beats the heck out of empty storefronts!  BUT REALLY .. does it have to have Goodies .. and not just goodies .. but Goodies Galore?  LOL .. ok .. it's my fault .. I saw the write up yesterday and went there right after work .. did I bother to read that they are closed on Monday .. NOPE .. did I peek in the windows .. YEP!

Soooooooooo, today after work I headed straight there - and wandered around looking at all the neat 'stuff' .. lots of things really thought they needed to come home with me - but I had to behave .. a strange concept I know ..

Hmmm .. what did I see .. furniture, jewelry, toys, children's things, clothing, tools, knick knacks, shoes, purses, luggage, books, dvd's, vhs movies etc. etc.,  (not doing justice here) and .. I had to laugh .. BEANIES!!!  Attic Treasures!!  Back in the day this store would be flooded with people snatching the beanies!  Gotta admit I didn't really check prices except on things that I thought for sure would follow me home - and everything seemed reasonably priced! 

Best of all was meeting Annette - very nice and fun to chat with.  (Not that I'd babble .. nope, not me)  I hope this store starts blogging so I can see what they get in as things start to go out!  And ............ tada ............. needed to get myself motivated to blog more ... such a slacker .. but the weather is really nice, this was a great adventure .. and really hope the success fairy helps this store along the way ...

Should have gotten more pics .. argh!  Ok .. so now to practice my mystery braiding ... or should I go get ice cream ..