UK Craft Shows and the Hobby Crafter

Hi Crafters

The summer is here and crafting is, for most, on the backburner as holidays, gardening and outdoor activities take over.

So I thought I would talk about Craft Shows and how to make the most of them.

There is a lot of info and ideas on craft shows available on YouTube, with crafters willing to share their ideas and displays, and useful tips on making better sales, and these are always useful to add to your knowledge base. However a lot of the craft fayre posts are about American based Craft Fayres and I thought it might be useful to look at the UK, and also what you want and expect to get from a Craft Fayre. 

First of all let me say this is aimed at hobbiests rather than business crafters, and this makes a big difference. Whilst I still want to look as professional as possible there is little point in spending heaps on display items and costly stands if your stock is primarily small amounts of various craft items you have enjoyed making. What you enjoy making, and what you can sell for a profit are two very different things. 

So as a hobby crafter what are you looking for in  a Craft Show.

• You are looking to get rid of some of your hand-crafted items to make space in the craft room
• Hopefully make some money to purchase new craft items
• Meet new fellow crafters and exchange ideas
• Meet new customers who like what you make and build a customer base
• Find out about what is selling in the craft world and whether you can, or want to,  tap into that market  

As hobby crafter I never take a stall at a Craft Fayre that is outdoors, I just do not have the equipment or cover for outdoors and stock would quickly get damaged without good cover. Why do I not invest in  this equipment?. Good question. The answer comes back to be a hobby crafter and not a business. I do not make a huge amount of any one item, and I mostly like to make what I want to make and not be dictated by market forces.Therefore my turnover is not going to warrant the outlay.Neither is an expensive stall even if the number of visitors is huge. 

Here is a  good way to understand this concept.

If you rent a stall at a local Christmas Fayre that is very successful, it is going to cost approximately £100 a day, for one stall. In order to cover the cost of the stall, the travel to and from the venue, minimum wage for packing up the goods setting up, packing away and covering the stall for the day you will to need to make £220 profit. If you have a mark up of 100% your takings for one day need to be £440, with the average Fayre being open 10-4pm that is approximately £73 an hour, you need to make in sales. Ask yourself, is this likely given the average price of your goods. If your goods are in this much demand you will know, and you will also be a business seller not a hobby craft seller. 

If like me you are content being a  Hobby Craft seller but like the idea of other people enjoying your makes, making some additional craft money and making space in the craft room, or you want to sell your items to raise funds for your church or a local project, there are still tips and ideas that can help maximise your income from your hobby, and over the next couple of days we will look at them as well as different outlets for your goods. 

In my next post I will take a look at ideas and tips on selling your crafts in a way that suits the Hobby Crafter. If  there is any particular questions you have please ask, why not sign up to my blog and leave a comment. I will try to answer any questions and/or cover them in a future post .

We will be getting ready for Christmas Fayres now, so it is an idea time to think about your projects and makes with a view to taking a stall at a Fayre.

Happy Crafting 

Dee

Pretty Pop-up Gift Card Holder

Hi Crafters

Today I want to share with you a Pop-Up Gift Card Holder.
This is my own design taken from a couple of different designs that are on You Tube.

I liked the idea of a pop-up gift card holder so there is a little surprise for the recipient, but it was shown in  a small card sized holder leaving no room for a greeting. So I have added some size to the holder to be able to place a greeting area and used the belly band to close it instead of a straight flap.

This is a very quick card to make as I have used double sided card, but you could use one sided card and add pretty papers, it would not take much longer.

With more and more people preferring to give and recieve gift cards to choose the gift they want or need, this little wallet makes the card a little more personal.

Birthday gift card holder: take off the bellyband and when you open the card wallet the gift card pops up

Christmas ideas are on the way and this is a perfect starter project to get you in the mood and to make your gift giving as pretty as a picture.

We shall be making this at the 'Get Ready for Christmas' Craft Day on 9th October.

Happy Crafting
Dee

Not too Early for Christmas

Hi Crafters

Well here we are in July and all the craft channels are showing or have shown Christmas Crafts, with new launches and "deals" to keep us crafting throughout the summer.

I have tried putting it off but my mind has turned to preparing for Christmas and more importantly a Craft Workshop "getting ready for Christmas".

I have chosen a date, 9th October, and have put my head down to come up with an interesting menu of items to make on the day.

As most crafters love the idea of making all their own Christmas Cards ( although rarely do) I have decided to make half the day about cards that can be made quickly in bulk numbers.
I want to give 3 or 4 pretty, eye-catching card designs for crafters to choose their 2 favourites to make on the day to copy them at home. I will then give encouragement and tips on mass production to make it as painless as possible.
. 

Quick card (No greeting added as yet) an example though not necessarily one of the demos on hte day.

There will be a couple of designs demonstrated for those special cards we all like to make, one will be a Tuxedo card and the other will be a layered card using die cutting .

Another example (we have made this before at a previous workshop) 

Everyone taking part will have a large self closing box, scored ready to assemble and I will take them through the process before they decorate it in their own style, as well as a pop-up gift card

I can take 15 people on my workshops and any profit I make will go to my WI, who encourage and support craft in many forms.

The cards I demonstrate will be part of the 12 cards of Christmas I intend to run as a series of blogs starting in October, followed by 12 gifts for Christmas. 

Happy Crafting
Dee

Simple Flower Card

Hi Crafters

Today I am sharing with you one of my own designs, inspired by a flower die that is simple to use. The die is basically 6 flowers 3 sizes and in each size is a background petal that is embossed and an outline petal, all you need to do is put them together and gently shape.

This card was made using one of Janines background die. 
A greeting was stamped in the centre and then the cream background was mounted onto gold metallic card and onto an 8 x 8 cream scalloped card
The flowers were cut from a printed heavy paper pad in coffee and bronze  colours which, along with some flourishes and leaves were added using a hot glue gun and finally a coffee coloured bow was added.

Hey Presto 

 
There were enough flowers to make 2 cards so I cut a different background with another of the Janine dies. I fell in love with them when I saw them last year and they were very reasonable to buy, as they are a great showpiece background well worth adding to my stash.

You can see the daisy design in the card on the left.

Let me know what you think!

Dee

CRAFT SHOW DISPLAY FIND

Hi Crafters

I had a great find at a car boot the other day. I think it is a modern "shabby chic" style cup stand, but I immediately thought of displaying items from it at a craft fayre. As I bought it for £1 it was a great find.

I have, as you know from my post on the 1st July, a bag topper die, and with my new purchase I am able to put the bag topers to use. 

Here are some of my flower packs and you may be able to see a pack of dragonflies as well 

This will also be useful for my leather and floral brooches, hairbows and paperclipss. I will definately be on the lookout for another one as I wander around this summer. 

Dee

Stamping on Colourwashed card with Kaisercraft stamp

Hi Crafters

As you know from previous posts I love a bargain, upcycling and making the most of everything in my craft room.
I had purchased a bargain kit from Ebay, played with 20 cards and had 20 left along with decoupage sheets and envelopes, which I put on Ebay to sell.
Well today my crafting ideas came around to Christmas designs and in the process of putting together 12 card designs to do as a series of blogs I took  out the pack of cards and used 5 as background cards to my colour wash and stamped card idea. With one card I used the decoupage as the stamped images were too large, and simply layered them with black and white layers.
Here is the end result

 And this is what I started with

As you can see I took the background card and matched the inks to do the colourwash and background stamp. Stamped an image and then layered it a couple of times before adding to the card, and stamping a greeting.The stamps used on these cards were Kaisercraft, as they have words and images.

So I have tried a a design out ready for the Christmas card fest, using items already in my stash. Plus I have 5 cards to ad to my sell sale box.

PS The other 15 cards envelopes and decoupage sheets are going back on sale on EBay, hopefully someone else can have fun with them.

Happy Crafting
Dee

Fleur FLower Shaper

Hi Crafters

Today I recieved my parcel from Create and Craft with the Fleur Flower shaping tray. It seemed like a good idea when I saw it on the tv so I popped it into my basket and here it is. At the same time I bought some card from Fleur that was said to be good for flower making, as it is suppose to give a handmade paper texture when spritzed. You get 48 sheets of A5 card for £9.99

I stamped the pink card with my Heartfelt flower stamps so I could cut them with the dies and used some of the green card to die cut some Tonic Die leaves.

Next I spritzed. It was hot so I had to work fast shaping the flowers.

I spritzed again and then with the ball tool popped the petals into the plastic tray. There were some instructions on the pack with a nod to how to do this, but as the cardboard on hte back of the pack was also the only way into the tray the few instructions with it were in the bin. But I could guess which size to use and played around a little until I thought it looked right.

I added another spritz to keep the card soft while sitting the flowers in the tray and then waited until they had dried before removing and putting the spray of flowers together 

The finished item is well shaped, although a little deep for items that require posting. The card itself shapes well but I would not go so far as to say it has the handmade paper texture. Maybe future use will show better results in that area, but as far as the finsihed flower is concerned I think it looks great and I woudl be happy to add this any of my projects. I will leave it to you to decide if the card is worth the money, or whether you have card stock in your stash that works as well. 

For the shaping tray, it is fairly robust and certainly works well. If using the Fleur foam, although I have not tried foa flowers (yet) I am sure it is even more of an asset. I am happy to add that to my tool kit as it enables several flowers to be made at once, and you can go on doing something else while your flowers dry and shape themselves.  

Happy Crafting
Dee

Wild Spider Sticky Roll

Hi Crafters

What you may be asking, is this blog all about.
Wild Spider Sticky Roll is a permanent & Acid Free Double sided Adhesive.

I saw this on Creat and Craft and could immediately see it's use. With all the lace and flourish dies out there (and we all love to use them) this could potentially be a 'must have' . At £14.99 a roll I had to hope it was a good as promised on tv, but with their money back guarantee it is easy to try new things out, so I sent for a roll.

I decided to try it with a fancy greeting die as it has a lot of scrolls in the letters, that would normally take a lot of patient glue work. 
This roll comes like this 

First you take the card you are going to cut out and stick it to the roll, back of the card goes down on the sticky roll . Be careful to line up first as there are no second chances, the sticky is very effective. 

As you can see I did not get it lined up well.

Next run the piece of card through your cutting machine

The tape does not seem to affect the cutting and the waxy side of the sticky tape acts as a relief in the die making the die cut easy to remove.  Some of the pieces punched out act a little tacky and need removing, so tapping the die on the bin will not remove them, but this is far outweighed by the time saved with the gluework. Also removing the bits sometimes loosens the back of the double sided tape, but not enough to cause a problem.

You can see the sticky tape a little underneath

The Die cut is then ready to stick down 

Here it is stuck to the card with the stickyback in front. 

Is it worth the money. Definately. With 10 metres on a roll it should last a lovely long time and it saves a lot of time a lot of frustrating gluetime.  I am very pleased with it.

The only tip I can offer is not to prestore these die cuts as the backing comes away a little when removing the bits and this will get them in a mess if stored, but you can prepare in advance by putting the sticky back to the card if you are going to a workshop or craft group, and then take the prepared card with the die. Or if you must cut them in advance I would suggest storing them between greeseproof paper.

I can only assume this is one of the best kept secrets in crafting as this is the first time I have seen this roll anywhere, it is not availale on EBay or other on-line stores as far as I can see which surprises me. With Create and Craft as sole distributor you need to grab it when you can. 

Happy Crafting
Dee

5 Cards - 1 Die -

Hi Crafters

Another day too hot to work or even go far for a walk, so I settled into the craft room.
I set myself a task of using one die to  make 5 different style cards and here we are.....

I cheated a little as the front 2 are very similar. A Z-card would have been better for the challenge, but originally I had in mind to decorate one with flowers, and that would have looked great on a 6 x 6 using a larger border die, but overwhelmed this smaller die

The die used was a heartfelt flower die, the cut out is 9.5cm by 3.5cm 

So we have 2 layered cards in hte fron using the die cut from both sides of a piece of card to form a background, one is stamped on and the other has a die cut greeting.

Then we have an easel card and here I have used the waste swirls to follow the line of the die cut and just added a die cut Happy Birthday 

The middle card at the back is a card with the die cut on the diagonal and layered with darker blue at the back. the background card has been layered on 2 sides to allow a pocket on the front. Again the waste has been used to continue to decorate the diagonal.

And last a front folded card. The die has been used to cut the border with ribbon on hte other half of the cardand the inside layered with white card to write on.

Flip Top Box Revisited

Hi Crafters

Another tidy of the desk yesterday. I really am a very messy crafter and items build up on the desk over time so there is very little space to actually craft. Yesterday I cleared the desk completely and then either rehoused many items to the correct storage or dismantled. 

One of the many boxes I had on hte desk for putting little items in was a flip top lid made a few years ago. I got to thinking (I am easily distracted when doing any sort of cleaning or housework) that if I used my A3 card for the frame I could make this box bigger. So with desk cleaned I set to making this item today.

Starting with a strip 10cm x 42cm lond scored at 10,20,30,40cm, turn and score at 5cm cut up each of the scored lines to the halfway score line. leaving the tab on the end, Fold round the cut pieces to form a box middle. 

Cut another piece 12cm x 29.2cm Score at 12cm, 17.2cm 

Add a piece of ribbon to the middle of the bottom flap and stick down the centre of the box to the base. Add a piece of ribbon to the top flap and then line with a piece of card 11cm square. Decorate the box in card to match the lid lining 

This is a decent sized box ideal for home made biscuits or chocolates
Or gifts such as a scarf etc

Happy Crafting
Dee

NEW LACE POCKET DIE

Hi Crafters 

A new die arrived today, so I had to try out a couple of ideas I had when ordering it. These are not my ideas they were inspired by the presentation on Create and Craft tv.

The die is not a branded die so I wondered how well it would cut. I need not have worried, I put the die through my BigShot ran it through twice and it cut really well. All that was required was a brush over with my Sizzix brush and then only a couple of items to be finished with my pokey tool. 

The LAce Pocket is quite versatile, particularly good for invites, if I was doing a wedding this would be the one for me, as the invite and reply tag could be printed and slide straight into the pocket with a flower or bling finish to the top.

 If you placed 2 together and taped them to a folded card you could have the Order of Service on one side and the seating arrangements on the other.

Then if you placed 4 together  with a solar candle and flowers in the centre you have your table decoration.  

For card crafting they make a pretty card when layered with the greeting in the pocket. And great gift boxes. Here is a box with the four pieces put together for the base of a box.

And here it is with the lid on the outside 

Happy Crafting

Dee

Keeping A Portfolio of Your Craft

Hi Crafters

Today I thought I would talk about how you keep tabs on what you have made and the templates used.
I know I am aways talking about YouTube and this is a great source of instructions and templates, and then there is Pinterest, whihc you can not only check out for Inspirations and often free patterns, but also if you open an account you can also store your ideas in your files in your Pinterest account. 
Pinterest is a great way of sharing your ideas and cateloguing them for future use, but be aware that if an item is removed from a Pinterest account or an account closed your item may not be available.

So longterm how do you build a Portfolio of work.

It is unlikely that you will want a copy of everything you ever made, as not all makes are equal. Some you love and enjoyed making, others you love the look of but are not sure if the work was worth it, and some fall short of expectations. But for every project when you get up the next day and feel as pleased with it as when you finished it, that project is worth documenting so you have it for future reference. 

I do this on my computer. I have a file called projects, they are numbered and named in index, and for every new card style, box or fabric item that I have made that I know I will want to make again, I write out the items required and instructions on how to make it and then take a picture of the finished item and add it to the bottom of the page.

For those who do not type quickly or like using a computer, this can also be written by hand and put into a file or scrapbook. The downside is being careful with compiling and storage the upside is you can make drawings as you go through the instructions.

Here is a page from my folder 

Once you have built up a number collection you can always sub-divide them into craft categories, cards, boxes, gifts, etc, or you can regroup the cards into occasions so if you need a wedding card or birthday card you can go straight to your folder and select a favourite. It takes a little time to collate but is well worth it over the years. 

You can also go on to catelogue other areas of your craft such as words and labels for your cards, blogs and YouTube sites you like to visit, and if you do demonstrations for craft clubs or other groups theh why not have a catelogue of suitable makes, and this way you show them to the groups with suggestions of those suitable for the time and audience.

You could of course use an Index box to store these details and thats another project I will share with you soon

Happy Crafting

Dee 

Using the Die Sire FLower Dies

Hi Crafters

Today I was busy tidying my Die box. I have 3 boxes of dies all carefully grouped and stored in original packaging or on Magnetic sheets, and every now and then they need a tidy so I can find them easily when I want them.

During the process of tidying the box there is a natural elimination of dies I do not think I will use again and amongst these was a DIe Sire die that cuts a row of blossoms.

 Now I will be honest with you, I never really got to grips with this, and with all the flower dies I have it has sat in the box. 
However a couple of weeks ago I saw a die'sire die with a triple layer of petals being shown on Hochanda and I liked the look of the finished items, so I bought  a similar die (take that to mean cheaper version) and tried it out. My first tries were not great as the petals all ended up in the same place. Then I remembered in the demonstration the base was folded  concertina style and this helped space the petals. Still this seemed a bit awkward and again the dies were set aside.

 Today going through my box I had an idea of putting a smaller row of petals along the base line and rolling them together. The outcome was so much nicer.

There are always things to learn with crafting. Now I don't know whether I want to sell the die or not?

Happy crafting 

Dee

Cute Little Origami Jewellery Bags/Purses

Hi Crafters

I was talking in a previous post about some sewing projects.
I love to make useful items when sewing and yesterday I sewed some cute origami bags that could be for jewellery, makeup or even a purse 

Its a great way of using up scraps. I checked out the origami bags on YouTube, but actually went back to a previous style I had made as the ones currently showing on YouTube makes a gusset and although this is practical it changes the shape from square to oblong which I did not like as much, plus they have no turn down sections. 

Anyway this is my version, i enjoyed making the smaller versions, like I said it used up some smaller pieces very well, I prefer the larger version made from 18" squares as they have more useful sized pockets. I sell them on Etsy occasionally, (although currently very low on stock) and will continue in future to make this style in large size only. So my next small bags/purses will be little elf bags which instead of having a ring fastening will have drawstring.

This last bag is approx 15cm square, making it large enough for all sorts of make-up, jewellery and sewing storage,  while the previous bags are nearer 8cm 

These few will be available to buy on Ebay along with several other of my craft makes

Seller name: happyhippo03-2007, if you want to take a look.

Happy Crafting

Dee

POSSIBLE CRAFT DAY IN THE MAKING

Hi Crafters

With the lovely weather we are having I have actually had time on my hands to craft, as it is too hot to do anything strenuous. Hence my recent makes. So although today I am about to do some sewing, my mind is wandering toward Autumn and a possible craft day.

I was thinking of all the flowers I make and the techniques involved and this may be a good start to the day. Then from that we could make a Self-closing box and Tuxedo card to use the flowers we have made in the morning.

By the end of the day everyone should be able to take home a lovely card and box set like this

Either of the above could be made for any occasion and the box would be particularly useful at CHristmas for awkward shaped gifts. They are both good basics to have in your template catelogue, and you will of course get instructions and tips on making them as we go through the process. 

If I can organise a venue and date I will be running the craft day for my WI, so watch this space. 

Happy Crafting 
Dee

Bag Topper Die for Displaying your items

Hi Crafters

Another purchase from AliExpress. This bag topper die is perfect for me as I often make and sell flowers in packs, and this gives me an opportunity to hang them so they can be seen more easily.  I also hang my brooches when selling them at craft fayres.

The die comes with 2 parts, It is a great way of using up all my scraps, which I tend to do when I have a free hour. 

I then store the tags (made up) ready for use.

As the die was under £4 I think it was a bargain. I have not seen them made by any of the ranges seen in the UK, which surprises me as they sell display bags. I love it so much I recently bought another as a spare, just in case. 

If anyone knows of a Uk company selling dies like this I would be interested to hear.

Happy Crafting 
Dee

Amazing Die from Alina

Hi Crafters

As promised I am back with some more information on a couple of dies from AliExpress.

The first one is a die purchased from Alina stores on AliExpress. It is very detailed and cuts  out what can only be described as a tag cover.
Alina stores is an excellent seller, the items are dispatched very quickly and are usually the first to arrive from any order I place.
I usually try my dies, especially anything a little different,on the day they arrive.

Today I cut this die out in silver metallic card which had a pattern in it. It cut well but I had to punch all the holes out.
Next I tried using smooth gold metallic card as I had seen this type of die cut from metallic card on tv and it looked stunning. This worked really well, A good tip is to run it through your machine a couple of times and then turn it over and run it again. The gold card simply peeled off the die and all the pieces were out apart from about 4 little bits that I cleaned up with my pokey tool. As you can see all of the flowers cut so you can pull up the petals.

I am going to use this when sending a note or invitation to anyone. I will wrap the gold around a piece of cream card and then have a cream tag with the message on it. 

But you could also add it to the front of a card and place a greeting tag inside. Or cut 4 out and place them together and then place a battery candle inside as a home decoration. 

Dee

Latest AliExpress Haul

Dear crafters

As you will know I am a bit of a flitter when it comes to my crafting. I like to make a few cards, sew a bag or two and then make some paper gifts and perhaps some flowers, trying different techniques when I catch something on tv or YouTube.

Well here is my latest delivery from AliExpress. I first saw a YouTube video on someone elses haul, checked it out on the web and have been hooked ever since.

Every couple of months I have a search through the website www.aliexpress.com, and order 6-8 new dies or goodies, such as charms beads etc.

Then its like Christmas waiting for the postman. I have had excellent service so far, the goods are coming from China, and buying through AliExpress gives you a money back guarantee if the item does not arrive in 45-60 days. I find they often arrive sooner. Todays delivery for instance were items ordered 6th, 20th and 21st June. 

I went a little mad on circular dies as I wanted to cut around a stamp I had purchased with my details on and could not make up my mind which set to have. As they cost less than £3 a set it is too easy to keep adding to the order. Then there is a lovely set of flowers 2 styles with 3 sizes in each, a set of button dies, a lovely steampunk tag and the two on the right which I will talk about in other posts as they are worth mentioning more fully. Others purchased recently include a little leaf flourish that beautifully embosses an acorn style leaf, it is small but perfectly formed, although a little delicate to remove as the flourishes are so narrow, some edge dies and when I was making my index boxes, several tab dies. 

I have not had any that do not cut well and the descriptions are honest. You should check out the sizes as they are always given, and you cannot always tell from the pictures, although often there are several very good pictures including finished items for guidance. 

Not everyone likes to collect lots of dies just in case, or wants to wait 10-20 days to get their item, but I love to add to my stash this way, even if I do not get time to use them all. Obviously you cannot buy named items, so if you love a particular brand such as Tattered Lace or Heartfelt Creation you wont find them on this website. But if you see a design you like and are prepared to trawl the website for something similar you may come up lucky. 

Be back soon with more on specific dies purchased from this site for you to see how they work. 
Happy Crafting
Dee