Almost Wordless Wednesday - 2 and a Half Cats

Meet the newest kitty at our house :) He's still pretty skiddish, but I can pet him if he's eating. He's slowly coming around. For now, we call him "half a cat". As in, we don't officially have three cats, but we do have two and a half...lol.

Holding On

While I'm enjoying seeing everyone's beautiful fall photos, I'm also holding on to every last bit of the warm weather and colorful scenery while I can. I'm really having hard time this year with the end of summer. We had so much fun this year and I hate to see our days of boating and long weekends come to an end!

 

So I took a stroll around the yard the other day to document the last bits of summer color I could. Our miniature rose is still blooming in full force. It's right by the mailbox, so I see it every day :) Our knock out roses are still blooming as well, but they're fading fast.

I even caught a glimpse of a few dandelions trying to hold on. Nuisance or not, I still think they're pretty. The white ones AND the yellow ones (inside joke here)!

How about you? Are you ready for pumpkins and sweatshirts? Or are you yearning for a few more days of summer?

Wordless Wednesday - These Two (crack me up)

Mid America Center Craft Show

Over the weekend, I attended a new-to-me show. It was located at the Mid America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is a larger show than I normally do and my first 2-day show. But I've come to the conclusion that if I'm going to spend my time at shows, I might as well go big. And it paid off.

While my booth was more expensive, I did get 2 days worth of shoppers. And the payout was well worth the extra booth fee. Luckily I had my mom there to not only help during the show, but take along extra inventory and setup and tear down. After 2 days, were were both beat!

And as always, you can never outguess your customers! My glassware and cutting boards have done really well at shows in the past. While these 2 items didn't sell as well as I had hoped, other items did sell really well. I had lots of new products like leather koozies and coasters, which did well. And recipe boxes continue to do well also. The nice thing is, now I don't have a ton of things to restock before my next show this coming weekend.

Have you had your first fall show yet?

Wordless Wednesday - Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

Trading Products for Photos

Once in a while I get asked to send one of my products in exchange for professional photos. Sometimes it's photographers wanting to build their portfolio and other times it's wedding photographers wanting gifts for the bride and groom. While I don't do this often, I do take these offers from time to time.

Sometimes the item gets returned and other times, it is "payment" for the photos.

Most recently I worked with Lauren Werkheiser Photography and couldn't be happier with the results.

I sent Lauren a pair of my Compass Cuff Links and in return got a handful of beautiful photos. The cuff links were a gift for the groom and I love how the photos turned out!

Have you ever sent a product in exchange for professional photos? Or something else?

New Guest Books

Tandem Bike Guest Book

As I mentioned in my last post, after making guest books, I always have paper left over. I've been trying to come up with ways to use this paper for new designs in my shop.

Peacock Guest Book

One new design I've come up with is a smaller guest book. Sometimes couples just want something small and simple to remember the day. These books measure about 5" x 5.5".

Floral Butterfly Guest Book

Another great thing about these books is that they are ready-to-ship. I don't know how many times I've had to rush a guest book because the couple simply forgot to buy one. After all the planning that goes into a wedding, sometimes things like this get put to the last minute. These can ship the same or next day they are purchased.

Love Birds Guest Book

 And they make a great option for the couple on a budget. At just $20.00, these won't break the bank and the couple still gets a beautiful and unique guest book :)

How do you use left over supplies from other projects?