Friday Features - Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! I hope that those of you who will be celebrating or having little ones celebrating will have a great time tonight. And if you're in the Midwest...stay warm!

For today's finds, I searched for items that are Halloween themed, but will also carry well into the rest of fall. Enjoy!

Clockwise from top left:

Blown Glass Pumpkin, Metallic Rustic Gold

 Pumpkin Smocked Bishop Dress ~ Yellow Polka Dot

 Scented Velvet Pumpkin, Harvest Orange

 Fall Pumpkin Wreath - Burlap and Felt Flower Wreath with Leaves and Mini Pumpkins

Tell me about your Halloween plans!

October BBA Challenge - Orange

This month's challenge is brought to us by Linda from AbigailJayneART ( www.etsy.com/shop/AbigailJayneArt ). And here is what Linda has to say about her challenge:

"It's the Orange month! Create something using orange or a pumpkin shape. Do something different, not just a Halloween holiday item, but get creative with the basic color tone of orange or a shade of orange. Or you could use a color combination incorporating orange. Either way let orange inspire you!"

 I have to admit that this challenge really had me thinking. I realized that orange was a color that I don't use very often at all. But to my surprise, I found everything for this project in my home! I had purchased some mini pumpkins a while back (read, 3-4 years ago!) and was finally able to put them to good use.
 

The little pumpkin kit came with some leaves, gourds and berries as well. And the whole box was tied up in orange ribbon. I had a white acrylic ring left from when I made my clock which worked perfectly for a wreath base.

 

While I'll admit, I'm no home decor diva, I was pretty happy with my little piece. And while Halloween is almost here, I like that this can hang all through Fall.

Is orange a color you use often? Been working on any challenges at your house? 

 

Interested in joining the Blogging Business Artisans? Stop by and visit our team page.

Promote Your Upcoming Shows with Etsy

Did you know that Etsy now allows you to advertise your upcoming events! I'll admit, this might not be a new feature, but I just found it the other day and I haven't heard much talk about it, so I thought I'd share my finding with you today.

If you go to Etsy's new Home Page (boy do I miss the old home page), about half way down the page you will see Shop In-Person.

From there, you will see all the events for the area you select. And you will see a blue box that says Create an Event.

From there you just enter your information and click Submit at the bottom.

Etsy creates the event for you and anyone in your area (I'm unsure of the mileage radius) will see your event. Just one more way to spread the word!

Have you used the Shop In-Person link before?

Friday Features - Coffee Time

Mmmmm.....Coffee! I love the smell. I love the taste. And I love the morning pick me up. I'll take mine straight-up black, thank you :)

And in cute coffee mugs like these, what's not to love!

Clockwise from top left:

Bossy Ceramic Mug
 You are my sunshine coffee mugs (set of 2)
 Shhhhh There's Wine In Here 11 oz Ceramic Metallic Pink Mug
 CUSTOM TEXT - Cute Cat Mug - White / Black - Personalize with your custom text -12 oz - Adorable Cat Mug

Are you a coffee drinker? Which mug is your favorite?

Wordless Wednesday - My Favorite View

Craft Show Displays

I did a lot of work this year to prepare for my fall shows. One thing I worked on was new displays. I've always felt my booth was rather cluttered because I sell so many different products. But I'm afraid people don't always see everything I have to offer when it's a jumbled mess.

 I was very happy with how my booth looked this year. Everything was organized and easily seen. Take a look.

 It was sure nice having a 3-sided booth too! I was able to spread out my products so everything had plenty of space.

I've had this necklace display for a while, but made some improvements. I had my dad add a piece of plywood to the back (previously just cardstock). Then he added some pushpins on the back as well. This allowed me to display the necklaces better and add more to the display.

This next display is new. I found it at Hobby Lobby and had my dad add chicken wire for the magnets to stick to. Before I just laid the magnets on my table where there was space. This is where the jumbled mess came in. They were hard to see, always stuck together and were never arranged nicely. This display really helped show everything I had available and brought them up to eye level.

This last display was such a time-saver. Well, not if you ask my mom. She got the job of cutting all the cotton and putting all the earrings in the display...lol. But the day of the show, it was a huge time-saver. We opened the box, propped it up...and DONE! Tear down was just as quick!

The first picture shown above is my old display. While it worked okay, it was SO time-consuming! I had to take all of the earrings out of individual baggies and hang them up. Then at the end of the day, I had to take each pair of earrings off the rack and put them back in their baggies! This new display rocks!

Have you been working on show prep? Any new displays or new items this year?

Craft Show Review

This past weekend I had my first fall show of the year. And I have to say...it went great. In fact, my best show EVER! I think the nice weather had everyone wanting to get out. We had a steady flow of traffic from 8am to 4pm! And boy was it nice having my mom there to help! This year I got a prime spot...on a corner and back to back. So I had a 3-sided booth. I manned one side while mom manned the other. I wish I would have gotten some pictures of mom in action, but it was so busy, it never even crossed my mind. We brought two chairs with us and never got a chance to use them. I call that a good problem :)

And the highlight of the day was getting to meet Judy from JN Originals as well as her husband John. I had recommended this show to her and she came as a vendor as well. And since I personally recommended the show, I was really hoping Judy would have a good day. Turns out...this was her best show ever too!!!

After the show, the 4 of us went out to eat and had a great meal and great conversation. There wasn't a moment of silence during the whole meal. We all really hit it off :)

Then Judy and John got to come by and see my new studio. While it's kind of a crazy mess right now, it was fun to get to show it off. Since Judy and I were both so busy, we totally forgot to get pictures at the show together. I'm glad Judy remembered while they were at my studio and we got a picture before they left. (John also got a video, but I'll let Judy post that...lol!)

Tomorrow I'll have a picture heavy post with my new displays and my whole booth layout!

Friday Features - Craft Show Displays

Tomorrow is my first fall show of 2014. There has been a lot of prep to get ready! I've made a couple new displays for my booth and I'm lucky my mom and dad have been here to help me get everything ready! But I think all of the work will make for an easier show and setup/tear down will be much quicker with these new displays.

If you will be in the Clarinda, Iowa area on Saturday, the 18th, stop by the Cow Palace at the fairgrounds and check out my booth.

Also, stop by Wibholm Hall and see Judy of JN Originals.

Okay, so onto today's features. Since I've spent a lot of time this week working on the perfect displays, I went searching on Etsy for some cute, clever and creative displays as well. Enjoy :)

Clockwise from top left:

Cherry Stained Craft Fair Jewelry Display Case Organizer

Corner Display Set

 Handmade Wooden Necklace Display. Craft Show Display. Jewelry Display.

 Display stand for craft show Craft Show Riser perfect for soap, candles, crystals and bagged items

Do you have any shows coming up? Working on any new displays?

I'll be sure to take photos of my new displays!

Tribal Feather Tshirt from Etsy

About a month ago in my Friday Features post, I mentioned that I had ordered one of my finds from that day. I ordered a Tribal Feather Tshirt from AmericanJunkieSoc. I've worn it several times, but always forget to take photos! But the other day I did a little mini photo shoot so I can finally show you my new shirt!

I have to say...I love this shirt! It is so soft and comfy and I love the design. And I'm happy with the printing as well. Not only is the design crisp and clean, after a few washes already, I'm seeing no signs of fading. The print appears to be very dark and permanent, which will have me buying more tees from this shop.

As the months get colder, I like that I can still wear it even though it has short sleeves. I just threw on a long sleeved tshirt underneath and viola!

If you're looking for a new piece to add to your wardrobe, I would suggest looking at the fun selection of tank tops and tshirts at AmericanJunkieSoc. I already have my next shirt picked out :)

Wordless Wednesday - Last Bits of Color

Craft Show Friends and Finds

This past Saturday my mom and I headed Lincoln, Nebraska to go to a craft show. A blogging friend, LeAnn of Pasque Flower, was vending there and I thought it would be fun to surprise her. Lincoln is only 1 1/2 - 2 hours from my town, so it was a fun little day trip. And boy was LeAnn surprised to see me :)

LeAnn's booth looked great and my mom and I both had to take home some of her work!

I purchase a baby bib for a friend and a key fob for myself. And LeAnn was so sweet to gift me with a cord keeper.

The bib is so soft and perfect for a friend's baby whose room is decorated in cars and trucks.

And you know me and my pink...my key fob had to be pink :)

 

And I've already put my cord keeper to good use.

It was so fun to get to meet a virtual friend in real life! And this weekend I will be vending at a show in Clarinda, Iowa where I will get to meet Judy of Mister PenQuin as well!

Photo Log Plaque

A couple weeks ago I blogged about some wooden medallions I had made for a marathon. When I ordered these log slices, I also ordered larger ones for plaques as well. And before I could even get them listed, I had 2 requests for photo plaques with these larger logs!

Both photos were of outdoors men which I thought was very fitting for these rustic plaques. The first was of a fisherman with a nice catch.

The second was a young boy with his first deer. How exciting!

I just love how rustic and natural these plaques are. As these are real tree slices, each one is unique and truly one-of-a-kind. My favorite kind of work :)

Wordless Wednesday - Oh So Comfy

New Cutting Board Designs

When I buy my cutting boards for engraving, they come as a 2-pack (one large and one small). Lately the larger boards have been selling the best and I also have a real estate company that buys the large boards as thank you gifts for their home buyers. So I tend to have more small boards left after each order. My solution...make some generic designs to take to shows and list in the shop for sale "as shown".

I tried to come up with several designs that suited everyone's kitchen. There are boards for Mom, Dad, Grandma and every foodie in between. I wanted to get these listed before the holiday shopping season as I think these will make excellent gifts.

I'm also offering these designs for custom orders as well. But the "as shown" option will be for the small boards only.

I may have designed this board for Mom's Kitchen, but this would be the perfect design for Edi's Kitchen as well...lol :) Take it or leave it!

I love this Made With Love (also available as Baked With Love) design. I'll also be listing this design on a recipe box soon as well.

 I'd love to hear if you have other design ideas or kitchen quotes for more generic boards. Leave your ideas in the comments!

Friday Features - Mason Jars

Yesterday's post featuring my new Mason Jar Buttons and Magnets got me in the mood to go searching on Etsy for other fun and unique mason jar finds. Etsy never fails to amaze me with all the amazing talent! Enjoy :)

Clockwise from top left:

 Mason Jar Chandelier With Reclaimed Wood and 10 Pendants

 Moroccan Mason Jar Lantern, Teal Blue Glass with Black Henna Style Detailing

 Discount Vintage Blue Mason Jar Table Lamp - Two Bulbs - Works As Nightlight or Lamp

 Individual Hanging Painted Mason Jar, Wall Decor, mounted to wood base with wrought iron hooks

Which is your favorite?

New Button Designs

I've been working on a handful of new button designs. Along with some custom options, I also wanted to create some designs for the fall and winter seasons.

 I know a lot of crafters use my buttons on knit and crocheted items, so these pumpkin and snowflake designs will be perfect. I can see them adorning knitted hats and scarves.

As we all know, handmade items are always Made With Love. These buttons are great for any time of year and on any style of project. A great way to leave your mark :)

 

 

And mason jars continue to remain popular. I had a lot of fun making these buttons and decided to make some magnets while I was at it. I've got a few of these on my fridge already and I love them :)

Look for all these designs in my shop soon!

Wordless Wednesday - Almost Dizzying

Stacks of picture frames for a family reunion :)