2010 AVA Shopping Extravaganza

I just participated in the 2010 AVA Shopping Extravaganza on Saturday, December 4th.  Set-up was Friday evening and early Saturday morning, and the event was from 9:00-4:00 on Saturday. It was very well-organized. Indoors. This year there were over 80 vendors, and lots of shoppers. 

I changed up my booth from what I used at the St Christopher art fair in October.  No canopy was needed since it was an indoor event. I had three 5' folding tables configured in a "U". I used a 36" high dog pen (halved) atop two of the tables to hang my purses on.  I also had a little round table, and a rolling cart for supplies and the top for display.  I used two wire closet shelves upended on each side of one of the tables to hang my banner on.  It all looked pretty good. And I'm proud of my innovation in using the dog pen for the display. I used empty thread spools with large paper clips in them to hold my little signs.  Clever!

There are some things I will change for next time, like adding another 5' table and dog pen, to have 4 tables with wire display, and moving the cart and chair to the back to be less visible. I expect to have more inventory next time around and will display it in like categories; i.e. denim, SuitZU, hobos, like I do with the Tote-A-Tees, Tote-A-Treats and Milk Money, and have better signage. 

I had some new items to sell this time. I made little Gift Card Wallets, Gift Bags, Gift Ghoul Guardians and Good ID. I'll post about them soon. 

The best part about this experience, besides the sales, was meeting some really nice people -- my neighbors.  The booth to my left belonged to Laneil & Jesse Vawter of Happy Stitchers, along with their daughter Karla Quigley.  What nice people! They sold sewed and embroidered items. The cutest aprons, baby items, pocket scarves and more.  Website coming soon.

The neighbor to my right was a direct sales rep with ThirtyOne, and turned out to be the daughter of a guy I went to high school with. We were in band. I was drum majorette. The years have been very kind to him.  Men have it so easy in the aging game. 

The neighbor next to Happy Stitchers was Barbara Jean Stathakos of Gems for Generations.  She had some really lovely jewelry pieces; some were made by her granddaughter.  What a team! I really enjoyed visiting with her. Check our her great jewelry at gemsforgenerations.com.

And my neighbor across from me was Karen of CheeseCakes by Karen out of Texas City, and her daughter.  Oh, my gosh. Her pecan candy, pecan tarts and cheesecake were DIVINE.  Soooooooo good. She encouraged tasting. So, I tasted. Smart lady. I got a dozen of the pecan tarts to take to the annual Christmas Tea the ladies of my church host every year.  I plan on ordering a cheesecake for a party I'll be attending on the 18th.  Yum!

All in all, the whole experience was a lot of hard work, but great fun. I've already reserved my space for next year. Yaaaaaaaaaaay!

HOME & GARDEN

FINALLY got the slip covers on the couch and loveseat. Wasn't sure I was going to like them because they have more tan and less blue that I really wanted. But I like them after all.  Take a look.

Also, took some pics of the bougainvilla off the back patio. Can't believe how much it's grown. Thought I had lost it to the freeze last winter, but it rebounded and just went crazy. 

IQF 2010

Yesterday I attended Houston International Quilt Festival.  As expected, it was fabulous.  So many quilts and vendors, so little get-up-and-go.  Oh, I did all right. I arrived about 11:00 a.m. and didn't leave until about 6:00 p.m.  Only sat down once for lunch at about 3:00.  Had a ball.

Didn't photograph as many quilts this year.  I took my FLIP instead, intending to take photos from the FLIP movies. The first time I was using it on some great art quilts, I was asked to delete them. I was in a "no photo" area and didn't realize it. The sign had gotten turned somehow. The docent was very nice and apologetic about it. I, of course, deleted the FLIPs. I'm sure there's some good reason for the creators not wanting them photographed, and I honor that. But it did put a bit of a damper on the experience, so I FLIPped very little. I'll share the few I did FLIP with you soon.

I must confess I spent more time in the vendor area.  I love gadgets and was on the prowl for new gadgets that I could use in creating my bags.  I ended up with some drill bits to use with bleach on jeans/denim and a squiggly ruler to cut leaves and other interesting shapes I'll be attempting for applique and the like.  I also purchased a 28mm Olfa rotary cutter, which was recommended for using the squiggly ruler. I also got a rotating cutting mat. I'd been wanting one of those for a while now.

What I didn't get that I REALLY, REALLY WANT is a new sewing/embroidery/quilting machine.  The Janome 1100 Special Edition.  Oh, my gosh it's wonderful.  And it was such a good deal, but I just couldn't swing it right now. So, I'll have to save, save, save, and maybe this time next year I will have raised enough money to get one.  It's fabulous. 

THE REAL DEAL - ST CHRISTOPHER ARTS/CRAFTS FAIR

Well, it's over.  Things went very well, I think.  Traffic was light, but that was expected.  Sales were to family and friends and a couple of newbies.  I met a lot of neat folks who had the other booths. Some I've blogged about before. I'll be sharing about them in future posts. The weather was perfect. Sunny, warm (but not hot), a bit of a breeze. We were under the oak trees, so it was quite pleasant all day.

The preteens loved Milk Money.  So I have a bit over 10% of the amount I need to buy a cow through the Episcopal Relief and Development foundation.  I can make a donation now that will be considered a share in a cow. Combined with others' donations, someone somewhere is going to get a cow and a chance to change their lives. They'll have milk to drink and can sell the extra milk to others to bring more money into the household.  Is that great or what?  I'll be sharing more about Milk Money with tutorials. I'd love to get more folks involved in this effort.  I'll tell you more very soon. I promise.

MSH helped me set up my booth. Then he helped deliver meals (barbeque) for St Christopher and then was off to watch his alma mater MSU beat UH.  A couple of our dance friends helped me break down and pack up. What a nice surprise. They came to browse the goods, but all the vendors had left or were leaving already, but they stayed to help me.  I am blessed with helpful friends.

All in all, my first outing was successful.  I think I need to find a venue that's a bit more Bohemian maybe. You know, more into the whole "maker" and "upcycle" movement and more artsy.  I think that's what I need for my Vest Totes and Tote-A-Tees.  My "regular" bags went over well for this group.  Here's some pics of  some of the bags that sold.

Dress Rehearsal

MSH is holding sign



Purses will hang on clothes racks from shower curtain rings.







In getting ready for the St Christopher Art/Craft Fair, I had a dress rehearsal. MSH and I put the canopy up in the back yard so I could decide on my set up.  I had borrowed MHSNL's canopy. We found putting it up the first time to be a bit of a challenge. But we made it. It took up the entire yard. It's 10x10. Our yard is about 12x12, not counting the flower (LOL) beds.  I used two stools and a 1x6 for one display, for the Tote-A-Tees. I used a TP stand/holder to show off the Tote-A-Treats. Risers were used to display the Vest Totes, and I used the coolest vase for the Milk Money (coin purses).  The shelf unit to the right is for my friend Robin, who will be selling jams and jellies. Here's a bunch of pics. Sorry for the extra space. Couldn't figure out how to move the pics around with new editor feature. I'm sure it's something really simple, but I'm stumped for now.

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MY FIRST ART/CRAFT FAIR

This weekend is it. My first art/craft fair for YAYAMADE.  I've been sewing like crazy. Am working on my signage now. Will do mock set-up in back yard tomorrow.  Hope everything I have in mind works. (Fingers crossed.) Here's a link about the whole weekend of Bar-B-Q, auctions, blue grass and art fair. Wahoo!  http://www.stchrischurch.org/Groups/1000024843/St_Christopher_Church/Activities/Outreach_Evangelism/Community_Outreach/BBQ/BBQ.aspx

SOOOOOO BUSY

I'm happy to say that I've haven't posted lately because I've been sooooo busy (not because I've been a slug).  Where to begin?

I've been working at the shop (St Christopher Thrift Shop, League City, TX) more lately.  My BFF and co-manager Ruth had a bad fall, so I've been filling in a bit more. That's no biggy though. No 1, because I'd do just about anything for my BFF; and No 2, I enjoy working at the shop anyway.  Donations are starting to slow a bit, but are by no means too low. Sales are picking up :), which really makes me smile :).

I've decided to rent a booth/space at our church's annual Art Fair the Saturday of our Annual BarBQ weekend - Saturday, October 9.  I admit I'm both excited and nervous. This will be my first YAYAMADE outing and my second lifetime booth experience for my wares. The first was back in the early 90s, and it didn't go well at all, which was very discouraging.  But I'm determined to try and hope for the best. At the very least, I'll be supporting the mission fund raising efforts of my church through my booth space rental fee.

So, I've been sewing, sewing, sewing like a crazy woman.  I've made several doggie treat bags and named them "Tote-A-Treat"s.  I must confess that I find making several of the same thing a bit boring -- okay, okay -- very boring, but a girl's gotta do that a girl's gotta do.  I've also been making my specialty Tote-A-Tee purses.  These are sooooooo cute. I hope they go over well.  They're pretty easy to make, and very clever, I must say. I looked on Etsy and Artfire, searching for" tshirt" or "tee shirt" and "purse" and nobody's look like mine.  I have two styles, hobo and messenger.  I've shared a couple of them here before, showing gifts I made for MBGD.

Then last night Mollie and I went to our first basic obedience class.  It was really fun and very helpful.  We of course must practice at home faithfully, but it does make a big difference (over reading and watching DVD) to have the techniques shown in real time.  There were about six or seven teams (owner/handler and dog). The instructors are really good and very kind.  Shea Top Dog in Dickinson. I highly recommend them, and that's after just one class. 

So, as you can see, I've been soooooo busy.  I'll be posting my new creations on YAYAMADE soon. So stay tuned.