Weekly update. . . I'm sick

Well, it is weekly update time but this one will be incredibly short. I'm sick, I think I have the flu which is annoying since I did get a flu shot weeks ago. 😑  

My last event was a disappointment, I have not made anything since, but that is because I have guests and got sick. 😒

Due to having company for the holidays and currently being sick, along with my printer deciding to be a dysfunctional pos, I am actually planning to skip the whole concept of holiday sales and black Friday specials this year. Normally I would make a bunch of graphics and schedule posts and discounts and do a bunch of stuff, but I just don't feel up to it right now. 😔 I haven't been able to breath thru my nose in 2 days and I think I might lose my voice today. 😕

In other happier news the kitten is adorable and growing, but the only way to get a photo of him is when he is sleeping as that is the only time he actually sits still. 😅

Weekly update. . .exhausted

 So, this weekly update is technically a day late because I was so busy recovering and unpacking yesterday. 😏 Saturday was a long, tiring and somewhat disappointing day if I'm honest about. I like the fairgrounds, it's a nice building but apparently it was a bad day for an event with too many other events and football games going on, so not a lot of traffic or sales. 😞 However, this is my own fault for not doing better research before registering and for being new to the area and underestimating the whole football thing, live and learn. 😉 

I was fairly happy with my display and Christmas-y decor. 😇

I put a Santa hat over the rainbow on the end of my sign. 

I did the Christmas tree of ornaments on its' own table complete with gift wrapped "presents" as decoration and pre-wrapped gift sets of ornaments. 

 I did put quite a lot of effort and thought into this, but then ended up with an XX'large space and had to re-think everything once on site. I used more tables and racks than originally planned so I ended up short on some of the decor stuff. 😏

I did get to take almost all of the art. I usually only take 1 or 2 crates and a dozen to hang up, but I took all 4 crates this time. There were several people who looked thru the art and I got a lot of compliments, but sadly no sales. 

I did pass out some goimagine flyers, so the day wasn't a total loss. 😇

Weekly update. . .welcome to November

Welcome to November, there has been a shift in weather all over the country but down here in Georgia the cold did not last. 😎 You just can't keep those 80's away. I have the big WinterFest event next weekend. I call it big because it will be big for me, and I should have a "big" 10'x15' booth. 

I'm not really ready, I don't feel ready. I had so many plans, but life got in the way and most of it I am just letting go. 😏 Although, the "letting go" is not easy, I have been planning for this event for months.  I am making a few things and I will do something about the pendant display even though I don't know what yet. 😅 It may sound weird but my biggest worry at the moment is "what am I going to wear?!?!" I don't own an ugly sweater, I have a few Christmas sweaters, but they are actually nice. So, I am definitely not winning the ugly sweater contest, and probably not the booth decorating contest either, but I will at least try for that one. 😉

I am working on decorating a wreath with the star ornaments to use as display, it's not done yet. 😉 I am almost decided that I will take my mini-Christmas tree.  I keep going back and forth because it's bulky and awkward to pack but it will make great decor and display. 😐 Stars on the wreath, balls on the tree, looking very Christmas-y, add a Santa hat on the sign and some "snow" blanket on the shelves and it should be a pretty "winter" looking "holiday" display. 😁 In my head it looks great, so we'll just have to wait and see if I can pull it off.  

Weekly update. . .1 down 2 to go

I did the first of my 3 scheduled holiday season events yesterday and I am exhausted. I got up so crazy early, to make sure I had plenty of time for the drive and set-up, that I was literally unloading and setting up in the dark. 😅 

I wasn't super thrilled with the uneven grassy area for set up, it made things difficult, my wire racks need level ground. 😐 Plus I watched several older people pause, look, speak from the pavement but it was like they were afraid to step off the pavement into my booth and I don't blame them. 😞 However, that type of thing is always a risk with outdoor events, especially ones you've never been to before. 

Overall though it was a beautiful day weather-wise and there was a good crowd, so sales did happen. 😉 Bye-bye Fire&Ice painting, see you never again little bird's nest tree 

Now the countdown clock resets for the next event, which I am not as nervous about because I have been to that venue before. 😏 I do have stuff I am worried about, like how to display the Christmas ornaments and re-doing the pendant display, but the earring tray displays seemed to work out yesterday as I saw several people touching them looking thru and picking up earrings. 😁 

Weekly update. . .freaking out

Less than a week left before the first event and my anxiety is going through the roof and I'm starting to panic that I'm not ready. The Boston event is outdoors so weather will be a factor, I find myself freaking out over how much art to take: part of me is like don't take much, art is a hard sell, I don't like exposing it to excessive sun or heaven forbid other even less friendly weather. 😟 BUT it should be a really good crowd and you cannot sell what you don't take so. . .😕 Then there is the display itself, I haven't set up a 10x10 outdoor booth in a couple of years, so while I have a couple of standard layouts, I have no way of knowing which way my booth will face in relation to the sun, which determines side-wall which can affect the rest of the setup. 😐 There are always too many unknowns with a new event.

I bought a couple of new and different things for jewelry displays, like this board with the embedded hooks. I had originally been thinking of using it for the pendants, but the leather cords don't hang neatly. 😞

Also, some of them were just too long and it became obvious that it was not going to work, at least not for these. However, I'm stubborn by nature and since I already bought it I wanted to use it for something, so I decided to try the actual chain necklaces and they look awesome! 😁

 

So, the pendants have been relegated back to their original board for now while I work out another idea for them, but in the meantime, I am pretty happy with the chains.  Although, I think I do need to rearrange them so they are in order of price, currently they are just kind of in the order I grabbed them because I was just testing how they would hang and if they would all fit. 😉 

I have checked my tent canopy, located and packed my sidewall, have my tables and shelves lined up, but most importantly I found my sandbags. 😎 I need to work out the last of the displays, select the art and start packing.

Weekly update. . .tick tock

No, not the social media app the clock in my head that is counting down to upcoming events. 😉 I am officially less than 2 weeks away from the Boston, GA Mini-Marathon event. 

I am both excited and growing nervous. This always happens, my anxiety builds up before an event but in the end I'll go and everything will be fine. 😇 I am just making lists, planning displays and trying to decide what to take. 

I have also continued to try getting photos of the Christmas ornaments and have declared this batch good enough for now, because I just needed to get them listed. 😎 Last night I added multiple listings, for the different star styles and 2 sizes of balls. I am pretty pleased with myself now that the Christmas Ornaments page is full and most of the listings have coordinating photos. 😁

Check out all the new listings. 

Weekly update. . .what a week

If you follow the facebook page or instagram you've probably seen the photos and videos of the tree removal and trimming that went on, well let me tell you the few things I posted do not begin to cover the Days of work they did. They completely removed 4 trees and trimmed 14 others, so giant boom truck, often dueling chainsaws, mini skid loader for hauling the logs to the trailer, stump grinder, what I'm saying is it has been nerve-wracking-ly noisy around here. Add on top of that some sort of stomach bug making me miserable and it's kind of surprising that I managed to finish anything this week. 😐 However, the pile of ornaments continues to grow and I managed to finish a bracelet and another cross. 

While making the 4th cross, I was reminded that sometimes even the micro-difference between anodized colors can effect the tightness of the weave. The previous 3 colors all had some wiggle in the bottom section but the shiny gold was so tight I didn't think I was going to be able to finish it. 😐

Now I only have one more color I want to try before I start round 2, but I probably won't make a second of the shiny gold unless it sells. 😅 Just watch it become the most popular, that happens sometimes, the thing I like least everyone else loves. 😆 

I have 3 weeks until my first fall event, so it is time to start making lists. I need to get my canopy tent out and set it up to make sure it's good to go, find my sidewalls. 😏 I haven't used the canopy in 2 years, but I pull it out last year and check it so it should be ok, provided it's not moldy or buggy from being out in the garage. It is only a 10x10 booth, so I'll have to decide what to take, because I have too much stuff. Selecting which 20-ish paintings out of the 100+ to take is always hard. Looking at the advertising for the event I don't think I'm taking the Christmas ornaments, plus with the small booth I won't have anywhere for the tree display. 😅 

The fact that there are only 2 weeks between the first and second event is making me a bit nervous. I have high hopes for the first event, but if it is good sales, I won't have much time for rebuilding inventory. 😐 Heck I still need to replace the Japanese Lace bracelets that sold back in June.