costumes and treats

happy halloween! i have a policeman and a sock monkey who are itching to go get some loot, so this is all for now.

i'll be back tomorrow with a post talking about what i can and cannot do when i comes to my business :)

orchids and pansies

i finished my orchid piece at the last colored pencil class and i am pretty happy with it. i have to figure out a better way to photograph my drawings though, because straight photography/scanning, doesn't show the subtle variations of color. it ends up looking a bit more saturated and rough than it actually is.

i have one class left and will be working on replicating this pansy photograph i took last year. i'm excited to work through the dew droplets on the petals and to use colors i don't normally. stay tuned, hopefully it will be a masterpiece!

country living and goodies

last friday, the girls and i packed up and headed to the first ever atlanta country living fair. we were ecstatic that they made their way south this year and were probably the first to buy our online tickets. while the show was way too expensive for me to set up a booth ($700, yikes!) it does not mean that i would stay away from walking the isles.

the earth angels booth was a collective of artists and by far my favorite. all the artists must be coached on what to wear and how to merchandise their individual space because they all flowed together perfectly. i walked away with the sweetest vintage photo embellished with crepe paper, glitter, mini crowns and pom poms, which went directly into a shadow box for display.

after that booth, we started to walk up the path of main vendors and i swear my heart skipped a beat when i saw this amazing love seat created by shawna robinson of happy chair. i think i could build an entire house around this love seat, i am not kidding!

some other eye catching booths were oilcloth addict, jbs merchantile, twist style, and fondue vintage to name a few.

after a solid shopping day, we headed home with bags full of goodies. i bought custom artwork, a few christmas decorations including a beautiful glitter house and some crazy oilcloth. the count down is now on for next years show!

bats and white

as i said a few weeks ago, i am really trying to amp up my halloween decorating this year. i found the idea for bats in either an old martha stewart or country living magazine. they are made out of thick black felt and i simply double stick taped them to the wall (paint touch up might be required, once removed ;) there are 3 different sizes and they start coming out of the fireplace opening and travel up the mirror. my new yellow mirror frame really works at this time of year! i collect fenton hobnail milk glass and my brother recently sent me a candle holder which gives me a collection of 3. the effect of placing them on the mantel is perfect. and since the photo was taken, i have now centered each candle holder perfectly. i am a bit OCD with symmetry and the fact that these are off kilter in this photo is killlllling me!

postcards and possibilities

lately, i have been feeling in a bit of a rut blog wise. i love, love, love having a blog, don't get me wrong. but what began as me reaching out into the world has transformed into me on my computer, by myself, alone (i can't tell you how much comments help this frame of mind :) so in order to reach out and hopefully meet new people with new points of view, which will breath new inspiration into me, i joined a swap. my first blog swap ever!!! the task is to create a postcard out of fabric representing the theme "home".  i can't tell you how excited i am to start embroidering my version of home for someone across the world to receive. the deadline to throw your name in the ring ends october, 29th. interested? here are all the details.

now, i am off to raise a glass to possibilities and a good friend's birthday!

oranges and pinks

for my colored pencil class, we had to choose a 4x6in photo to replicate. i immediately fell in love with this orangy fuchsia orchid. the image on the left is the photograph and the image on the right is my drawing, in case you couldn't tell ;) i am only half way finished, so no judging! i am so bummed that i mis-drew the petal in the upper left corner, but i am hoping in the end it all turns out right. to finish, i need to fill in the background stems that run along the bottom and them amp up the color throughout the piece. i can't wait to pull off the framing tape and see the crisp straight lines i am left with.

october and pumpkins

between the fair two weeks ago and then pumpkin picking this past weekend, the munchkins are getting mighty spoiled. they were off school on friday, so we headed up to north georgia and spent the day traveling between a pumpkin patch, an apple orchard and a corn maze. the weather was amazing and since it was a friday, we missed most of the crowds, which is a good thing in my book!

i am seriously loving my ttv photos lately. i can't wait to get some printed and cluster hang them on a wall. well, that is if i had an open wall in my house :)

a leaf and a lesson

i have my 3rd colored pencil class tonight and it has been going so well. this class really isn't about producing a lot of work, but learning how to produce. for the past 2 classes, we have worked on adjusting our pencil pressure to create percentage scales. 9 blocks in a row - the left most one being 100% color and the right most one being 0% color. this is a very, very slow process as you have to be "aware" of your hand and pencil at all times. for someone who is always in a rush for everything, this is harder than it sounds! this is all a bit of a refresher for what i already know, but it is really nice to have a specific process broken down again to clear my head.

we then reviewed the basic structure of an oak leaf and practiced laying down a perfectly even coat of color. next, we explored the different effects of adding red to some leaves and blue to others. in an actual drawing, i don't think i would add these colors to the same leaf, but this was a very helpful exercise.

tonight, we are starting on a 4x6 inch drawing which will take us through the remaining 3 classes. patience is my word of the night :)

cotton candy and carnivals

this past friday we packed up the munchkins and headed to the county fair for the night. i lugged around a backpack carrying my camera and ttv contraption which got a bit cumbersome, but it was worth it since i ended up with some really great photos. it was a night filled with cotton candy eating, stuffed animal winning, ride riding, clown watching, and gold fish winning. a good time was definitely had by all! what's your favorite fair attraction???

buttons and more buttons

if i had to chose a favorite craft item, it would be buttons, hands down. i prefer vintage ones, but often have a hard time finding colored ones. my mom recently sent me a large bag containing only colored buttons and they are so beautiful. i think the prettiest one is the small pink 2 holed button slightly right of center. they are each works of art in miniature!

what is your favorite craft item?

halloween and witches

my munchkins always get on me that i don't decorate enough for halloween, so this year i am trying to step up my game a bit. this felt girl is otherwise known as witchy poo and she makes an appearance every year. my mom and i made her when i was small - probably early 80s and she has survived throughout the years. i love the retro fabrics we used which probably weren't so retro at the time - orange polka dot on the legs and a country quilt pattern for her dress.

this year, i must remember to stuff her nose before packing her away. it looks as if it has been broken a few too many times!

tools and boxes

working festivals is not nearly as exhausting as setting up and breaking down your booth. i use many tools and trinkets during setup, so i carry a stocked tool box with everything i need for quick access. some items include:

• chain for hanging things off the tent frame
• wrench & screwdriver to open up chain
• scissors
• zip ties - all sizes
• pens
• S-hooks
• safety pins
• clothespins (many, many, many)
• candles
• pricing tags
• receipt book
• business cards
• double stick tape
• magazine for downtime
• snack bar

when you only have an hour or two to setup before customers start walking by, every minute counts, which means organization definitely counts!

booth setup and traffic

as promised, this post is all about steps i take to make my booth stand out in a crowd. it was super windy while i was taking the photos, so please excuse the turned up tablecloths, dangling apron ties, and flipped over banner letters :)

with every festival, i try really hard to make my booth seem cohesive. i offer many different wares, so sometimes it is hard to make everything flow. but if i have learned anything, it is the importance of clustering like objects.

on the left side of the booth, jenni let me borrow a withered folding chair which matches my aesthetic perfectly. i placed a pillow cover on the chair and have it sitting next to a sweet pink table which showcases a lamp. in one small vignette, i hope the viewer gets a sense of what they will find inside.

working your way around from the left is a huge rack which held my botanical prints on the top 2 shelves and my pillow covers on the bottom shelf. this piece is a pain in the butt to lug around, but it gives me a ton of merchandising space.

i typically bring 3-4 painted chandeliers to each festival and hang them with chain and S hooks from the tent bars. going up is a great way to utilize space in your small 10x10 ft traveling store.

along the back of the tent, i hung my new price boards and they were a big hit. i was worried that customers would be lost as to where to find prices, but they ended up being large and in charge and i had very few confused people.

bookmarks were displayed on a spinning rack right by check out for last minute impulse buys - which there were a lot of!

instead of a plain white table cloth, i use a fabric topper with fancy crocheted trim. in a previous life, these were curtain panels which i rescued from the local good will. in an ideal world, the under sheet would be ironed flat, but when you pack your stuff to the bursting point in your car, that sometimes is not a possibility!

lastly, my most favorite part of the booth. in previous shows, i have spread lamps out on the whole table, but they never got much love. this past weekend, i took a bookcase headboard which i painted blue and attached it to a piece of yellow MDF to showcase the lamps and shades. wind is always a festival concern, so i attached the two pieces with l-brackets and many screws. i love the little vignette this display created in my booth. as a result of the styling, i sold more lamps that i have ever before. the addition of my logo is a large part of the styling as well. it is important to never miss an opportunity for company branding.

i joked with a customer that sometimes i am more concerned about my merchandisING than my actual merchandise. but, it never fails that when your booth looks put together, your sales will come together as well!

festivals and friends

stopping in for a quick note to let you know that i survived my festival weekend! i had such a great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. so many people came out to shop and the whether was terrific.

that's yours truly in the middle. on the left is jenni of mattie's social circle and on the right is joy of joyajewelry. working festivals is great, but working them with friends on either side of you is even better.

check back tomorrow to see booth photos :)

rack and road

i'm headed 50 minutes north to the top end of atlanta for the norcross art fest today. and if you are on the road, i am the one with this huge rack strapped to the top of her car. it does fold down flat, and i have done it once before, but it still scares the crap out of me to drive on the highway with something on my roof. fingers crossed readers, fingers crossed!

i tell my husband that his next car definitely needs to be a truck. he thinks i am crazy and doesn't quite understand why i need so many props for my booth. but, the truth is that your displays can make or break your sales. i was SHOCKED at how bare some booths were at the festival i went to a few weeks back. really, some people didn't even have a table cloth covering their table. and guess what, no matter how great their product was, there booths were completely void of people. while other booths which were filled with props were like grand central station. i am promising myself that i will take great photos of my displays this time so i can do a detailed post.

the show is 10-6 on saturday and 11-5 on sunday. they assign booth spaces when you arrive, so i don't know yet where i will be, but if you follow me on twitter, you will be the first to know!

wish me luck - i hope to come home with a very empty car :)