Getting Ready for the Christmas Fairs

 Christmas Shopping Bags

After the August Bank Holiday Fair I came home and packed everything away, doing an inventory of stock at the same time and then sat down to plan for the 2 Christmas fairs I have booked.

It may seem a little ahead of time, but both fairs are early November, and I have 3 weeks between then and now when I have have other commitments, so it was essential to plan time to make for the tables. 

During some fine weather a few weeks ago I had set up my outside table and used the good weather to cut out fabrics ready to sew. Last week I cleared the dining table and set up my sewing machine and started work on the bags cut out. I try to use a production method, but as I wanted to check through the cut out bags and see what I had I went ahead and made up one shopping bag to get an idea of layout. It’s a basic tote bag design. 

Consisting of 

Outside fabric piece are 18” x 30” 

Lining fabric pieces 18” x 30”

2 handles 4” x 20’

And a Christmas embellishment ironed onto a 6.5” square piece of fabric

• I had six already cut for me to make and it took about 1.5hours to make up. 
• First I prepared the embellishment and sewed it onto the outside fabric 
• Then I made the handles and placed them onto either end of the outer fabric
• Next I sewed my label onto the lining fabric
• I then sewed the lining to the the outer fabric top and bottom only
• The joined fabric is then pulled out and the top and bottom pieces lined up at thr sides so that the outer fabric is one side and the lining the other side. 
• I sew down the 2 long sides leaving a gap in the middle of the lining on one side only, making sure the gap is not too far down and has left room for the corners to be cut out.
• From the four corners I cut a 2.5inch square, allowing for the side seams 
• These corners are then pulled open and and matching up the centres I sew across then making sure to back sew well either end. 
• Then using the gap I turn the bag out, sew up the gap and push the lining back into the bag.
• Lastly I set the stitch length for topstitching and sew all around the top of the bag to finish it nicely.

The bag came out lovely and I sat back very pleased with myself until I turned it over and found a tiny pin-prick hole in the back of the bag, the fabric must have had a tiny flaw in it before I started sewing and I had not noticed it. So this bag, lovely though it is, cannot be sold. 

However the good news is I have my own Christmas Shopping bag. 

Not too downhearted I kept sewing for the next couple of days until I had made another 5 shopping bags which have now been added to the 10 made earlier. 

These are the 2 prints used a lovely fine tartan print and a red star print. 

The other bags cut out and put together over the next few days were gift bags . Perfect  gift wrap that can be re-used year on year to present your gifts . 

These are a good seller and are made in the same way as my tote bags but smaller. Lined and with a 3 inch base and sides.

These bags are so cute and another eight have been added to the stock. 

I need to pack my sewing machine away for a few days to tidy up a little, but I will be thinking about my next makes very soon.

Happy Crafting

Dee

Updated Trinket Boxes

 Origami Trinket Boxes

Tidying my boxes in the craft room the other day I came across some folded papers I had prepared for the bases of my Origami Trinket Boxes. 

The trinket box is not my idea, I saw it originally on YouTube and made it with 8 x 8 papers. Then I saw another YouTube video where the crafters made a lid to fit the 6 x 6 paper version. I worked out how to size the lids up and could make the trinket box with 6 x 6 papers, 8 x 8 papers and 12 x 12 papers, and add lids.

I made quite a few and sold a couple and gave a few away, keeping 2 of the larger sized boxes to store my beads and jewellery parts that I use to make my journal embellishments. I have had them for a couple of years now and they are wearing well. 

A few months ago I had a eureka moment when I realised I could line the base box, and if I folded one sheet with the pattern on the outside and one with the pattern on the inside the box became lined. I then had to work out how to place the lining inside the box. 

So when I found the 3 folded sets of trinket boxes I decided to make them up to add them to my Christmas Craft Fayre items or o give them away as gifts with some chocolates inside.

They take about an hour to make, the bases come together quite quickly but them the hot glue gun is fired up to add the embellishments before constructing the lids which are formed from a box base with a flat top. For a box made from a 12 x 12 paper the aperature is 7.5cm. I make the box lid with a piece of card 13cm square scored on all four sides at 1cm,2cm& 3cm 

The three boxes were made from K & Co papers.

They have been added  to the other three in my box 

Happy Crafting 

Dee

Bank Holiday Craft Fair

 August Craft Fair

Feedback from my August Craft Fair

Happily the weather was good and the day went well.

I had 90mins to set up and the show started at 10am. It started slowly but soon picked up, as the weather turned fine and hundreds turned out to enjoy the stalls inside and outside as well as the Car Boot and games organised in the grounds. The Craft Fair is part of a large Fun Day held in the Community centre and Cricket Club .

  

                                           

The footfall was very good but you have to remember that a lot of the people attending are nott there necessarily for the Craft Fair, and are therefore not your target customers. I was situated in the main hall and overall had a good spot. A few people showed interest as they wandered by and I made my first sale early after the opening. 

 As this was one of my Gift Centre Items that was a new section for me I was pleased with this first sale. The middle of the table was set out with a selection of jewellery , displayed in individual stands, and alongside a stand of jewellery purses. You could select a piece of jewellery and a jewellery bag so the gift is ready to give. Next I had a customer who was looking at my Journals and went onto purchase 2 of them, a gift bag and tote bag. I continued chatting to her after she had made her purchase and she then went on to purchase one of my Pad bags. 

The rest of the day was steady and sales were up overall on the March Fair. This was not necessarily due to the number of people through the hall as many came to have a look but were not necessarily there to buy, but they helped to add to the atmosphere and the cake stall sold out by 1pm. The crowds meant it was difficult to get a drink as the queues were long all day, but as I was manning the stall on my own I had brought a flask of water. 

This fair was interesting for me, as sales were quite different from previous Fairs. I did not sell one of  my best selling item (the Craft Bag ), and instead sold several items that had not sold before. Journals, Pad Bags and the new Gift Bags, and this has given food for thought for the Christmas Craft Fairs. I am wondering if the sales were down to the layout of the table, my talking to customers, (certainly I think the new gift bag sales were made once I explained the concept of the bags. They have multi-use as they are big enough to hold a variety of items. So if you want to gift make-up, toiletries, chocolates they can all be presented in the gift bag, which can then be used for practical purposes after the gift has been used. Ideal, also for teachers presents, thank you gifts etc as they make a simple gift look thought out and more special, as they cost an average of £4 it would be good to have as a handy stand-by. 

Here is a sneak preview of the Christmas gift bags. 

This style of flat bag can hold all sorts of gifts and would make perfect re-usable selection boxes. You can fill them with the persons favourite chocolates and sweets at a great price, and the bag can have multiple uses. 

I also have a christmas gift bag that is more like a tote bag with handles, and Christmas shopping bags for the festive season. 

Overall the day was lovely, I chatted to some new customers and some customers who had seen me in March, I chatted to other crafters, Craft Fairs are a great place to catch up with new ideas in the craft world a well as new craft fairs coming up. My Sum-up machine proved very useful and I took almost half of my sales on card and half with cash. 

The day did not finish with the craft fair, as you have all the packing up and sorting out when you get home. All the stock has been packed and put back in the bag ready for November, and I am happy to add more to my charity pot. This year’s charity is the local hospital. I sell my paper crafts and “Sew Useful Bags” for charity, it is a lovely hobby that has helped me through the difficult times.  

Happy Crafting

Dee

Summer Sewing

 Preparing for the August Craft Fayre

As i have mentioned before on the blog, I am now sewing bags, it has become a larger  part of my craft life, as I sell my bags at a couple of craft shows a year, as well as to friends and family, and donate any profit to Bridgwater Hospital. My selection of bags that I make has expanded and contracted as I try different ideas to see how they are received. I am narrowing the items I make to an amount that sits nicely on a 6ft table, which is as much as I wish to take on. 

The Craft Fayres I attend are relatively small, sometimes this is reflected in the footfall, and other times the footfall is good as locals turn out for a family day with the craft Fayre being a part of other activities on offer. This can reduce your buyers, as they are not really there for the craft. Sometimes all the stars align and you have a great day. I do the Craft Shows as a an outlet for my bags which has been both a hobby and therapeutic, with the profit going to charity I can relax, enjoy the day, meet other crafters and hopefully learn a little as well. 

I have decided to take you along on my journey with my enterprise “Sew Useful Bags”. So when I am preparing for a show, launching a new project or learn something new I will share it with you. 

My 2nd show this year will be on August Bank holiday Monday. This is one of the Family Fun Days, I was telling you about. The grounds around the hall are used for games, Car Boot and charity stalls, while the hall is a Craft Fayre for the day. Only hand made stalls are aloud and the organiser is careful not to have too many of one type of craft. 

It’s a lovely day and I get to meet other crafters, see what’s new and an ideal opportunity to try new things before the busier Christmas Fayre in November. 

I will set out my dining room table as a trial for my stall and play with the outlet, this way I also get to check the labelling on my stock and do a stock check before packing up the bag ready to take.

This is the start of the process, several different layouts were tried and stands moved around to get the best view of the products. For me it is worth taking the time for this process as I am not great at the merchandising side of selling, in fact selling is not my forte. If I can talk to people visiting my stand I usually make a sale, but that is an art in itself. 

Back soon, to let you know how the Bank Holiday Craft fair went. 

Happy Crafting 

Dee

Envelope Gift Box

 Another tidy up item

This idea comes from Sam Calcott on YouTube. I spotted it a few months ago, and whilst tidying the craft room I remembered this project and decided to try it on some of the 12 x 12 papers that needed using up.

Sam had made this to give her nan a selection of her favourite Cup A Soups, but you could easily use it to give hot chocolate sachets, or different ephemera all ready for your crafty friends. 

As you can see the outer box has a Velcro dot fastener on the top, which opens out to reveal 6 envelope sleeves that will hold the sachets

The Blue box is made from Sara’s Signature 12 Days of Christmas, while the cream is from the Vintage Diary pad The Vintage Diary box has been finished with a cluster of matching coloured beads attached to the handle, while the Christmas papers box has a wooden `Christmas tree embellishment . 

I made my version of this with different size envelope pieces for the sachets so here is the link to Sam’s version. 

https://youtu.be/THRUHcGz_24?si=FRA7QmNrnjB0-GWY

I love this type of construction project and will be doing quite a lot more for Christmas.

Happy Crafting 

Dee

What have I been up to

 

Clearing out the cupboards

So what have I been up to for the last month or so, since my last post. Still crafting avidly, spending time most days tidying my craft desk and then easily distracted and make something else untidying the desk again. As I gather up papers or dies I see projects that can be made to use them up, or I see an idea on Pinterest and just have to try it myself. 

I am also trying to update my craft files so that projects are listed for me to find them easily if I wish to revisit. at the same time I am trying to downsize my craft stash. I have at last got an idea of what papercrafts I wish to continue making and which projects I am happy to spend time on. There are only so many cards I need in a year, only so many folders and files I can use and just one or  two journals or albums.  And yet, over the last twenty years or so I have continued to add more stamps and dies to my collection until the craft cupboard is overflowing. I cannot resist pretty papers and have almost enough to stock a shop of my own. 

Having added a wardrobe full of fabrics and 2 laundry bags full of  sewn bags ready for selling at craft shows., the time has come  to decide what to keep and what to let go. To do this I have looked at my past makes from my craft files and this blog and have started to consolidate my dies, stamps tools and  store them in a way that  makes them easily accessible for use. 

This has been hard and taken a great deal of time as I sort, get distracted, make something else and then return to sorting. The up side is I have donated 3 black bags of craft items to the children’s hospice shop . Even while trying to sort I cannot throw anything out that I know can be used, and so my makes over the last 4 - 6 weeks have used up the parts I cannot bear to just throw out and I have been able to donate 4 boxes of notelets, 2 concertina folders with brag books and notebooks and 2 envelope gift boxes that hold hot chocolate sachets or any other sachets, These have all gone to a friend’s daughter who sells to neighbours and colleagues for Cancer Research, in memory of a friend.

These folders have been made using up papers from Saras Signature, Vintage Diary. I laminated the outer layers and did concertina edges to make the files. Each has been decorated with a coordinated tassel and closing with a Popper.  I have also used up pieces of copy-paper to make notepads. Whenever I sell on Ebay I print the labels for postage and it uses half  a page of A4 paper , the other half I file away and when I have a good pile I make them into pretty notepads, with the left over pieced of pretty papers making the cover.

I will be back with more items made from my tidy up of the craft room.

Happy Crafting

Dee

Another way of using up your scraps .

Beautiful Rosette embellishments

Checking out YouTube I came across this great idea to use up your scrap papers, from Natasha at Treasure Books. Natasha makes beautiful journals and embellishments for them.

In this post she was showing 5 projects to use up your scrap papers and I fell in love with the rosettes.

As they can be made while watching the tv in the evening I was keen to have a go, and set up my production run.

First I selected 7 appropriate pieces of scrap papers, and with my scoreboard in my hand, and my favourite show on the tv, I scored each piece at 1/2” intervals. At the next set of adverts I returned to the desk and cut each piece in half lengthways.

Back to the sofa and folded each half and glued the 2 sections together.working on a craft mat.

When they are dry push it down and into the middle to form the rosette. Put hot glue on the back side of the Rossettte , in the middle and hold together. Then turn back tothe front of the rosette and decorate. I have used vintage buttons. 

Finish a gift box 

Selection of Rosettes made in one evening  

I enjoyed making these and it’s a great way of using up your scrap strips of papers.

Happy Crafting

Dee

A quick revisit to Embossing

Embossed Cards

The craft group I attend each week decided to revisit embossed cards. It’s been a while since I had a go at embossing but as I have a box full of folders I was looking forward to using some of them.

I started with a basic single embossed “Happy Birthday” card.

Next I tried a layered card . I used a tan shimmer card background with a cream card for the cut and emboss flower and butterfly folder. With the cut and emboss the embossed background is floral work and the butterfly cut out from the top right hand side. The cut out piece i layered with napkin tissue paper and then glue the centre part of the butterfly back into the cut out section so that the wings slightly stand up giving a little movement. 

Embossing folder can be used with different mediums and having found a pack of thin metal sheets, I made the next one using the birthday embossing folder and framing the main greeting section.

As you can see I placed the embossed metal panel under a frame and that I centred on a 6 x 6 base card.

I made several other panels that I used as toppers for other cards , including an embossed frame that I added a die cut poppy . 

The final card I-made was a sample for a friend of a card that can be used for a wedding invitation.

A simple white on white. 2 pieces of embossed card with a ribbon centre.

I also embossed some other panels ans explored different finishes, such as chalks, waxes, and water colours. 

Sometimes it’s good to go back to basics and re-using tools you already have in your stash. There are always more ideas and designs to make, New styles of cards that can utilise these embossed panels. So I have made a note to myself to take time every couple of months to get out my 

Stamps

Dies

Embossing Folders 

Papers 

And re-use them on new projects.

Happy Crafting

Dee 

Craft Room Spring Cleaning Time

 Sorting out the Craft Room

So spring is here and I have 2 rooms now filled with my craft items. The original craft/office room which has always housed my paper craft items, and now the other spare bedroom filled with fabrics and on-going projects for my “Sew Useful Bag” makes. 

Spring cleaning certainly has become more complicated and time-consuming. So, as in other years, I am determined to down-size my craft mountain.  I started in March and was making some headway when I was contacted by someone who offered me his late wife’s craft items as he had found me on-line from my days of running workshops. although I no longer do these on a regular basis I talked to him about the outlets I had who could benefit from the craft items and he was happy that they would be going to fellow crafters, which is what his wife had wanted. 

When I went to pick up the craft items I had no idea how much to expect, but it turned out it would not fit into my Nissan Juke and I needed another trip to complete the pick-up. It took me 6hours to sort it and put it into piles for various crafting groups. There was a lot of very useful card, many, many dies a lot of Tattered Lace construction dies and a wonderful assortment of pencils, paints, inks etc

The craft group I attend weekly had a lot of the constructions dies and some card as we could make use of it all. Another bundle of dies and bits went to Wales to my sisters church group who make cards to support community projects, and a lot of card papers and some dies went to a craft group in Burnham that make for and sell for the local hospital. More bits and pieces including childrens craft papers went to a church group in my home town of Bridgwater as they have a childrens group and a family day where they could make good use of it all. Any remaining items went to the Childrens Hospice shop in Glastonbury as they have a craft section in the shop. I am so lucky to have friends and contacts who could make  good use of all the lovely craft items and well over a hundred pound was donated that I have given to Friends of Bridgwater Hospital in the name of lady whose husband past them on to me.  

It was about 4 weeks before I got my sofa back in use, after the distribution of all this, when I was contacted again by a WI friend with craft goods. Again I explained the various outlets I had and it was agreed the persons who had donated the items would be happy with them being distributed in this way, and the second lot was sent out. 

I am now tackling my craft room, with a view to cutting out anything I have not used for a while and selecting my favourite sets of stamps and dies for each occasion and shedding the rest. How will I get rid of my excess.  Well, again some will go to craft groups, some will get sold on Ebay and the money given to charity and the rest will go to the Childrens Hospice shop. So far I have sorted:

3 boxes of ribbons 

4 Boxes of dies plus my Anna Griffin dies, These are now in Storage folders (after an expensive bout of purchases, but that’s another story) 

3 boxes of embellishments 

Multiple Paper pads and packs

2 large boxes of cards envelopes and display sleeves. 

All my card is sorted into plastic boxes according to colour and finish 

My inks, paints, ink pads sprays and embossing powders etc have been downsized 

All that remains to sort are 2 boxes of stamps and more embellishments, beads and cords .

The job of sorting would have been faster if I had not had to stop every so often to try a new form of card making inspired by items that I was suppose to be tidying away. 

But I am happy with my makes which have used up some of the many many bits and bobs sorted from the boxes. Sorting through has also reminded me of lots of papers and embellishments I had forgotten were in the cupboard and these have inspired me to new designs 

So I encourage you to do a regular sort through and recycle, re-use and gift some of your craft products. It will make you feel better about your stash and give you inspiration for the next projects.

Happy Crafting Dee

 

The Easter Bag & Card Workshop

Gift Bag & Easter Card

Hi Crafters

You will have seen from a previous post that I was going to take part in a craft workshop for my WI group.

I had been asked to provide papercrafts and suggested a gift bag and Easter card. As it was a short run up to the actual craft day I put together the bag and card quickly to give anyone attending an idea of what they would be making. `they could choose from knitting, sugar crafts, paper-crafts, beading and sewing.

When it came time to prepare my groups items I decided on a bigger bag and a slightly different finish to the card.

As you can see we used the Tim Holtz leaping bunnies to decorate both the card and the bag. I used the 8 x 8 bag from Sam Calcott and cut and scored all the papers ready for the group of ladies taking part so they could finish both in the time. 

From my vast stash of ribbon I found some lovely cream ribbon 1cm wide with rabbit on. 

Here are the Instructions 

Card is a 6 x 6 Kraft Card 

Coordinating 4” square cut with a 3” circle die

Doily 

Tim Holtz Leaping bunny topper

Insert:- copy paper 11” x 5.5” folded in half

Bag

2 pieces of 12 x 12

Both cut down to 8 x 8 

Used cut-offs to make 3 pieces 8” x 4”

1st 8 x 8 is scored at 1.5” and 7 1/8”

2nd 8 x 8 is scored at 7 1/8th

2  side panels are scored at 1.5” and 2.5” lengthwise

Turn and score at 1/2” and 3.5”

Then score at 2” down to first score line

3 piece is score at 1/2” and 3.5”

Punch 2 holes along the top score line of the front and back

2 - 2.5” from either side

Put together and decorate to match the card

Everyone seemed to enjoy the afternoon and we finished in plenty of time, each person took home a lovely bag and card, with ideas of making more, particularly for Christmas. 

Happy Crafting 

Dee

Covered Journal

 Reusable Covers for your Journals

As a lover of pretty stationary, one of the items I have started to sew for my craft stall, is a fabric Journal Cover. The journal slips into the cover so that when you have filled it up you can slip it out and re-use the cover on the next journal you use. 

 I have then added a decorative closure 

As I enjoy making charm & beaded danglies I have added them to one or two of my Journals.

The two above use the same fabric, one decorated with an elastic fastener with a decorative button.The other one has a printed elastic closure with a large elephant charm.

Both have been made with embroidered fabric.

The third  one also used embroidered fabric with a lovely red flower. On this one I added a beaded dangly I had made from recycled jewellery..

These will be a regular on my stall as I see people using notebooks all the time and I think a lot of people like the action of writing down their daily lives rather than just using their phones and iPads, both of which I have but I find it much easier to look back over my memorable moments when they are written down, so I keep a journal for design and craft ideas, travel-logs and notes from meetings etc.

Back soon with the outcome of my spring fair.

Dee

Another Craft Fair item

 Travel Bag & Makeup Bag

So here are my bag sets for holidays and weekends away. I think they would make great Mothers stay gifts.

The larger bag will hold lingerie , nightwear etc , while the smaller bag is o perfect for makeup 

I have decorated the larger bag with a solid cream tassel .

I have several sets  in a  good choice of fabric patterns.already made and packaged.

Back with another show item tomorrow

Happy Crafting 

Dee

Easter Egg Collecting bags

 More items for the Craft Fair next week

So my machine came out ready to make items for the Craft Fair next week. I had some items to finish and I wanted to make some small bags suitable for Easter egg collecting. 

These bags were made with 2 pieces of fabric 12” x 15”. I used one piece of fabric from my fat quarter stash and I piece from the upholstery fabric end of rolls fabric, as this saved using a stiffener to form the basket. The handles were made from a yarn that is made from recycled cotton called Bobbing. I love it for craft work and purchased it from a shop called  Magpies  in Bideford, when I was visiting North Devon last year. The yarn is strong enough for this type of small bag and is soft enough for little hands.

I added a pocket to the front with a piece of matching “fat Quarter” fabric which was embellished with an Easter Bunny.

These cute baskets will hold enough eggs for anyone to enjoy.

I have made just 5 to try at the Craft Fair. 

Check back soon to hear more about the Craft Fair.

Happy Crafting 

Dee.

Next Workshop

Easter Workshop 

With the new year underway, I am looking forward to trying to work through some of my craft stash. After recycling my Christmas cards, I am moving on to pastures new. 

I have been asked to do a workshop in March and was looking for an Easter based project. Looking at the papers in my stash I decided to offer a gift bag and matching card. The papers were The Paper Tree card pad and to decorate I just love Tim Holtz Leaping Rabbits, for Easter. 

I cut the rabbits from Kraft Card, and used distress inks around the outer edges to give them some colour layers. One of the 3 rabbits in the set was used on the card. I  l cut 2 layers of  the same papers as the bag, with a few strands of string around the top layer, before the rabbit was added to the top 

I

The bag is made using a video from Sam Calcott.

I thought  the bag would be the right size for Easter Egg hunt or for an Easter Gift ..

My problem now is: I have a craft fair coming up at the beginning of March and some sewing to do to make my stock levels up, but now keep seeing paper projects I want to try. So keep watching to see which craft gets my attention 

Happy Crafting 

Dee 

Recycling Christmas Cards

 Recycling My Cards

It’s January and first craft groups of the year are dedicated to recycling the Christmas Cards.

This year I want to sort out my craft materials so having kept my Christmas cards in a ready pile and for speed decided to select a couple of designs and blitz the card making ready to move on. 

This method was helped by the fact that in recent years it has become popular to donate to charity in lieu of giving cards and so I have fewer cards to recycle. 

I started by sorting my cards into those suitable with suitable prints for trees and stars  for the  designs I had decided to make and those that would be re layered into new cards.

My designs were simple:

The first one used A6 cards landscape. I used Pearlie doodles to make a snow landscape in the lower half, then cut tree triangles from the cards using templates made from scrap card. Using 2 sizes of trees I placed one slightly behind the other and then drew a tree trunk at the base. 

Lastly I added the greeting.

Design 2

This was using stars cut from the cards that had appropriate colours or prints.

I cut 2 sizes. On the blank card I stamped a lovely swirl, and added some glitter glue, I use sticklers.  I then added cut out stars to the bottom of the swirl. I mixed it up a little, some had one larger star and some had 2 stars. 

After i used up the stars the remaining cards were used for layering cards and tags 

Everyone knows how to re-use cards by layering them onto fresh blanks so I will just show a couple I have re-used

These have now been put away ready for next Christmas

Here’s to happy crafting in 2024.

Dee