One Last Push

I spent a good day of Saturday crafting and packing up the goods for the craft fair.  While I probably should have done this Sunday as well, it was a beautiful day and the fam and I chose to walk the Atlantic City outlets.  I got a LOT done on Saturday.  I made:

·         15 Monopoly token key chains

·         18 pairs of Monopoly house and hotel earrings

·         120 Scrabble tile charms (to be made into key chains or earrings to order at the craft fair table.)

I also worked on my packaging:

·         All Monopoly key chains or earrings are adhered to property cards.

·         All guitar picks have been divided up and bagged with printed toppers

·         All gift tags have been divided up and bagged with printed toppers

I started:

·         Cut all paper to make 10 floppy disk notebooks

·         Cut the wood to size for the Monopoly serving trays

·         Bought the records to make record bowls for the display table

That being said there is still a lot to do.  My to do list reads as follows:

o   Finish 10 floppy disk notebooks

o   Make 4 record bowls

o   Make 4 VHS notebooks

o   Finish typing all notecards for stationery sets

o   Package stationery sets

o   Make 5 more sets of Monopoly earrings

o   Finish packaging all Monopoly earrings

o   Prep key chains to be made day of fair

o   Prep earrings to be made day of fair

o   Make 3 pairs of pawn piece earrings

o   Package remaining jewelry

o   Buy bags to put sales in

o   Print email sign-up sheets

o   Buy frames to frame prices

o   Print out price displays

o   Practice setting up display

o   Get cash to have on hand for change

o   Pack snacks/supplies/everything into car and GO!

Okay so listed out it looks a little daunting.  It’s crunch time!  If I get nothing else done I still have about 100 notebooks ready to roll out and scores of other things, but I’m always optimistic about how much I can get done.  My best friend is coming over tonight and we are going to run through some of the items and maybe do some shopping. It’s also the last week and a half of class so I have a project and marketing final, so while I never was a coffee drinker, I’m thinking it’s time I start!

My etsy shop will be closed on May 4, 2013 because everything is one of a kind if you want a particular item better buy it now before the craft fair!   I will reactivate the site most likely Saturday night to adjust whatever items sold at the craft fair.

www.averygraydesigns.etsy.com

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

So I have to admit I’m feeling pretty good about having the etsy site up and running, even if it does only have a dozen items for now. (www.averygraydesigns.etsy.com)  I plan on taking some better pictures this weekend.  I plan on doing A LOT of things this weekend.  Here are just a few:

-  Bayfest.   Apparently there is some community event going on that is a good excuse to get outside with the baby and have some family time. 

- Thrift Shop.  Time to pop some tags.  I need supplies, most specifically records for my display.

- Packaging.  This has been the bane of my existence, but it really does need to get done. 
- Last minute crafting.  I have 4 sets of coasters that just need cork backing, the hard part is already done so hooray!

- Homework.  I am so ready for the summer off from class.  I’m killing it in my marketing class but it’s one more thing on my plate I could do without.

So that’s my weekend.  I may be overly optimistic (and frequently am) about how much I can get done.  There is just a week and a half to go and I’m as nervous as can be.  Monday my friend who will be manning the table with me is coming over to do a practice run of how everything will be set up.  Fingers crossed I should have all display items ready by then.  My biggest obstacle is stopping.  I need to stop starting new projects and finish what I have pending.  I can’t do everything the first time out and if this goes well I can always try again next time.  Here we go!

Happy Earth Day & Grand Opening

Okay so I haven’t blogged in a week, but in my defense, I have been REALLY busy.  Aside from day to day full time job, classes, and baby I have been toiling away at my craft.  The craft fair is approaching at a staggering rate and I want to be prepared.  I also set a personal goal of having the etsy site up and running by today in honor of earth day.  To my surprise, I did it!  Granted it’s not everything, just a handful of items but I will be adding more sporadically throughout the day and you need to start somewhere.  Without further ado:

www.averygraydesigns.etsy.com

A friend of mine was visiting yesterday and flipped over the monopoly notecards, and wanted to buy one for her boss (who happens to work for and in the city of Atlantic City).  I didn’t take her money and chose to look at it is a maybe her boss will generate a little interest and check the site out as well.  Plus it’s bad for your karma to take money from friends.  It helped motivate me to have at least some items up and running in the shop.  How embarrassing would it be to have someone go to the site to order something only to find nothing?

This weekend I decided to tackle a new kind of craft and tried my hand at jewelry making.  I wanted to make earrings out of the Monopoly houses and motels.  They actually turned out super cute, after several failed attempts I got the hang of it.  I also have been making Scrabble tile charms.   I love playing with and trying new things.  I ended up watching a few YouTube videos to learn how to make jewelry loops and once I got the hang of it production went quickly. 

I’m starting to get nervous about the craft fair.  I’ve put a LOT of time into making these things, and while the cost of the supplies is low because I used all recycled materials, it is time consuming.  I just hate to think about the prospect of having wasted all that time and effort.  Nerves aside though I’m feeling accomplished.  I set a goal and I’m doing it.  Good, bad, or ugly at least I can say I tried.

T-Minus One Week

Okay so this won’t be a very productive blog entry, mostly because it wasn’t a very productive weekend.  The plague descended onto our home on Saturday, so all those things I wanted to get done just didn’t happen.  What did happen was a lot of throwing up and a lot of Gatorade drinking.  Instead of focusing on all that hasn’t gotten done and using it as an excuse to push back our Etsy grand opening I think I’m going to stay the course.

April 22^nd is Earth Day.  Could there be a better day to open a shop full of upcycled and eco-friendly items?  No.  So even if it’s a soft open with only 6 or 7 items we are going to keep moving forward.  So full of resolve we press on.  I do have a few items shop ready and the biggest barrier right now is images.  I need to take some stellar pictures to accompany the Etsy listing.  I’m hoping that Saturday will be a gorgeous day and I can capitalize on some natural lighting because the prospect of making a light box intimidates me. 

I make no qualms that many of the things I do have been done before.  I fully admit I’ve found inspiration on Etsy, Pinterest, and other blogs for the things I do.  I would like to do a post in the coming weeks of a project start to finish with pictures and instructions because quite frankly those are the types of blogs I’m interested in reading.  Some people say it’s bad business to give away how you make an item and that may be true.  The way I look at it is simple.  If I see something I want to replicate or recreate 9 times out of 10 I will figure it out, why not help people out.  Even if it hurts sales in the long run it will at least help my crafting karma in the short run.

A Labor of Love.

I have always been fascinated with the prospect of taking things that have been discarded and turning them into new and functional treasures.  My poor wife dreads the summer when I go out to yard sales and collect such “treasures,” always with the highest of hopes and best of intentions    I’ve come home with everything from old skateboards, suitcases, and scores of children’s books.  Some projects I finish, like the skateboard transformed to a wall mounted coat rack (currently residing in my mother in laws attic waiting to be called up to be in a little boy’s room.) Some I have not, including the gutted but unfinished vintage suitcase that I had dreamed of relining. 

As for the children’s books, they have certainly been upcycled.  One day at a yard sale I found 10 of the old Disney children’s books that I myself have loved as a child.  Mickey Finds a Kitten, Goofy’s Big Race, Pooh’s New Clothes, it was like being four-years-old again and pulling a book down from the shelf for Daddy to read.  How could I leave them there?  How could someone part with them for only 10 cents apiece!?  Now this is where my wife and I argue the definition of hoarder.  The pages were yellowed on the edges, and there were signs of love from children past (after all these books are over 20 years old) and in no condition for actually reading to our daughter.  I vowed to honor these childhood favorite and make them relevant again.  And that was the first thing I made with the distinct intention of selling.  The pages have been transformed into gift tags and envelopes, and the covers made into notebooks.  When I was pregnant (and perpetually unable to sleep at night) I found it therapeutic, if not cathartic, to sit and fold envelopes or punch the holes for gift tags.  It made my painstaking long nights seem more bearable and productive. 

This week it’s all come full circle, with my etsy site launching soon and the craft fair in under a month I have finished the project.  I have cut and hand-typed notecards with an assortment of sayings.  Some of the sayings came from beloved characters and some from Walt Disney himself.  It feels good to see the hundreds of envelopes lifted from their box and starting to be packaged as complete sets.  I feel accomplished.  And for today, that is enough.

Keep On Truckin'

So Friday Funday was a success.  I’m definitely glad I took the day off, it really jump started some of the inventory.  I managed to get a fair amount done AND was able to actually get some schoolwork done.  So what exactly did I do you ask? 

12 Light Switch Covers (4 Sheet Music, 2 Comic, 3 Kids Books, and 3 Monopoly Money) 

50+ Paint Chip Notebooks (which will be a free gift with every sale)

8 Misc. Notebooks (which are prepped and need to be bound)

200 Notecards (which still need to be typed)

That’s just the tip of the iceberg!  I also put stickers inside every notebook to direct people to my etsy site.  I started typing some of the notecards with Disney quotes and cute sayings to turn my envelopes into a stationary set.  While I have the typewriter out, I’m going to type all the bag toppers for packaging of the gift tags, guitar picks, and stationary sets.  Things are really starting to take shape and I’m getting pumped.  A little anxious but mostly pumped.  I think I will feel better when the etsy site goes live.  I’m working on that to take place in two weeks.  This week is practically a wash because of midterms and bridesmaid duties to make this bridal shower go off without a hitch on Sunday.  A warning to crafty people: your friends WILL recruit you when it’s time to make place cards, wine labels, and anything else you can imagine.

I decided I will have a sign-up sheet for an e-mail newsletter.  To make it more enticing I will randomly select one person who signs up to win what I’m dubbing to be the Board Game Prize Pack.  The random winner who signed up will receive a Scrabble Notebook, Monopoly Property Deed Notebook, Community Chest notebook, and Life Career Card Notebook.  It’s a $20 value so hopefully it will be enough motivation to put your name on the line.

So that’s where I am right now.  As a side note though, this blogspot thing is crazy.  I never imagined people would actually read my musings, yet alone people in outside countries.  The power of the almighty internet.  That being said, those of you who are reading, feel free to comment.  What would you buy?  What types of recycled crafts have you seen done before?  Any tips for a craft fair rookie? Or just say hello, I’d love to hear from you guys!

The Great Itinerary.

So I bit the bullet and took off of work tomorrow in an earnest effort to get a handle on all this craft fair business.  I have been doing things in drips and drabs but if I’m ever going to be ready I need to schedule some time solely for crafting, and that’s exactly what I did.  Wife will be at work, Baby will be at daycare and I’ll be in a quiet house toiling away.  I’m not going to lie, I feel terribly guilty sending the baby to daycare when I will be home.  So now that the time has been set aside I am making my schedule of what I hope to accomplish during my eight hour day.

HOUR 1: Cut & Prep.  (This includes cutting paper for notebooks, stationary sets, light switch covers, and coasters.)

HOUR 2: Finishing Touches. (This includes sanding those guitar picks, mod podging stationary sets, stringing the remaining gift tags, and finishing off any other partially complete projects.)

HOUR 3: Mod Podge! (mod podge stationary sets, coasters, and light switch covers.)

HOUR 4: BREAK (Because I still need to shower, eat lunch, and do homework.)

HOUR 5: Bind-It-All (Bind all those notebooks I cut paper for during the first hour)

HOUR 6: Packaging (God I hate this part.  I need to create a template for the bag toppers and package some of the items.  I can’t stress enough how much I’d love to skip this part.)

HOUR 7: Clear Coat (Spray painting everything that needs to be spray painted.  Obviously weather permitting.)

HOUR 8: Clean Up (Put everything away and take inventory of what’s been done.  Hopefully I’ll feel completely productive!)

So that’s the story morning glory.  I’m hoping to get to the store tonight to pick up a couple more raw materials but if not I have plenty in my house to keep me busy for hours.  The craft fair is in exactly one month so it’s time to get in gear and start really churning out the product.  Good news is my first batch of stickers came and when I went to put them in my notebooks I underestimated how many are done.  I have over sixty notebooks ready to roll, but I still have a ways to go.  So stay tuned because I will be updating either tomorrow night or over the weekend about how successful tomorrow was.

Slacker...

Okay so I seriously neglected the blog this week.  In my defense, what a busy week!  In addition to just the regular busyness of day to day it was Easter weekend and I had some serious homework.  Who could blog when there are Easter eggs to be dyed, baskets to be filled, and boardwalk rides to be ridden.  I don’t know who enjoyed the carousel more, the little one or me watching her smile light up every time the horse would buck.  And so I digress…

Moral of the story: I’m a slacker.  It’s a nasty habit that I’ve been battling since birth.  I’ll try harder.  I’ll craft more.  I’ll blog more often. 

I’m thinking of taking a random day off work and just locking myself away with my toils.  Wife will be at work, Baby will be at day care and this mommy will be crafting away.  Craft fair is in t-minus 33 days, so I better get busy!