MORE PROJECTS FROM THE LARGE CARD

 ALL IN ONE GIFT BOX

As you know I like construction work with my paper-crafts, I enjoy working out dimensions, the best way to utilise the card stock, and sizing up and down.

I had a couple of pieces from the large card stock to make projects and came up with a couple of ideas.

The first was an all in one box. I worked out the maximum size I could get from the 13” x 27”, then scored the box. This all in one box can be made without a scoreboard as you don’t have to make a lid slightly bigger than the base. 

Once the score lines had been made and cut, this is box layout

Because there was plenty of card available, i was able to give a double layer to the side panels which re-enforced them. 

Once this was done I turned it over and covered all the panels .

 Before pulling up the sides and glueing them in place and then adding a Velcro fastener to the front.

I have not given any measurement as it depends on the size of the card available. You need to take the width of the card and then work out the size of the box you require and then depth of it. This one started as a piece of card 13” x 27”and ended with a box 7” square and 1.5” deep.

Now for the other half of the card.

With this piece I made a mini journal . Ideal for a birthday book or holiday journal 

The book is just under 5” wide by 7” high

It opens out to reveal 6 pages each side. 

With a pocket in the middle of the book to place some tags. 

I have enjoyed my interlude with paper crafts for a while and now it is time to return to sewing. So check back soon to see new makes from Sew Useful Bags.

Happy Crafting 

Dee

 

Large gift Box

 Using 12 x 12 papers to able a Big gift Box

I am particularly pleased with this lovely gift box. It is such a great size. The finish is 8” high and 5.75” square. 

This is my own design I worked out the maximum size I could get from 2 pieces of 12 x 12 and then it took 3 goes to make the lid to fit, but eventually I had a great box with a professional finish lid. 

If you would like the Instructions for this box click the follow button and make a comment. 

Dee

Gift Bags

 Simple Gift Bags

I have always been a fan of Sam Calcotts gift backs that fold down easily for storage, but not everyone wants to spend the time and effort scoring and sectioning the bag gussets needed to make this type of bag.

The craft club I attend were lucky enough to be given some large sheets of card and asked me to work out a simple design to use them to make gift bags.

First of all I worked out the way to cut the card to use it efficiently and then showed them hurry make a simple gift bag,

The main thing to remember when making any gift bag is that the side panels need to be the same size as the base panel.

This size of card was suitable for a 2.5” gusset. The two sides and the base of the 2 pieces of card were scored at 2.5”. This gives a 2.5” scored corner on either side. Fold and burnish the score lines 

On one sheet cut the score line on each corner up from the base to the score line.

On the second sheet cut the corners off putting a small V notch either side of the score line.

Next glue the 2 base pieces together.

Then lay the pieces flat on the desk and punch the holes in the top of the bag ready for the handles.

Next pull up the side and line up top and bottom then glue into place, repeat on the other side.

Lastly add the cord by feeding through the holes from front to back and tying a couple of knots .

Then decorate front and back to your own taste.

Happy Crafting

Dee

Craft Club Competition

 Spring Bouquet

I seem to be back into my paper crafting at the moment although there are still bags being made in between craft groups.

Before Easter the craft group set members a challenge. To decorate a wooden plaque of a bouquet of flowers. We could use any medium. I was going to add felt flowers to make the flowers on the plaque 3 dimensional. However the flowers looked a little clumpy so I changed to organza ribbon flowers . 

I used a running stitch technique to make the petals and added a small pearl button to the centre, then hot glued them onto the board. 

My finished bouquet:

Other members used paints, there was one where the petals were coloured with different seeds which I thought was particularly clever.

It was a lovely project to celebrate the coming of spring.

I am enjoying the mixture of paper crafts at club and sewing at home.

Next week at Craft club we are making gift bags with some large sheets of card that has been given to us. I have the task of working out the dimensions and scoring needed to utilise the card in the most efficient way.. Back soon with the results.

 

New Cards Made from Old Stock

• Great Recycling of Old Stock

Clearing out another box of craft items, I came across items from an old Create and Craft kit. I had used  the papers and cards from the kit but still had some panels that I could not bear to part with and had packed them away. It must have been at least 3 years ago maybe even 5 years. 

When I tidy a big box I usually take everything out onto the floor and then divide them into lots going to charity and items to keep. When I came across the panels I still wanted to use them so put them one side to think of a design. 

The tabs came in pairs with one for the top of the card and one for the bottom

Some form of embellishment connects the tabs. My new design provided a card and gift in one, as I decided to join the tabs with a book mark. 

I was able to make 10 cards with the 20 tabs I had . Here are the finished cards bagged ready for sale. 

A happy evening spent using up these lovely tabs, some oddments of ribbon and some bookmarks I laminated and mounted with a single clear pad so it can be removed easily for use.

Back soon

Dee

Small and perfectly formed Tote Bags

 New Tote Bags added to stock 

Having decided what bags I am making for the craft fairs this year, I was kindly given a stack of fabrics from a Sample Book. I have seen Christine Home Affairs make this type of samples into bags, makeup bags, and box bags etc. It was lovely going through the pieces in order to match them up and consider projects. Having seen the fabrics, they were larger than I expected and I was able to match 8 sets of 2 to make Tote Bags. I added cotton weave handles and lining fabrics from my stash and then started my production line. 

The first ones off the line 

Whilst these bags are slightly smaller than my standard Tote Bags they were such lovely fabrics I was very happy with the finished items. Each of the bags has a different fabric on the back, in coordinating colours. 

This is my favourite, the back is a lighter teal with embroidered running stitch design in white embroidery thread, but all are lovely. . The dotty coloured spots are raised embroidery which adds a lovely dimension to the design, while the autumn colours on the leaves and hedgehog designs are vibrant. 

 

These fabrics often cost £35 - £50 a metre, so not only do the samples allow an opportunity to use luxury fabrics with an affordable price tag, it saves the sample fabrics ending up in landfill.  The added bonus being the money from the sale of these bags all goes to the local hospital. So a big thank you to my friend Lyn who gave me the fabrics.

I am really enjoying a year of a mixture of paper and fabric crafting, trying to use my stash. It is particularly pleasing when I see some craft stock and come up with a new design to utilise it. 

Back soon with more new ideas.

Dee

 

Easter Cards Done

 Easter Cards Done

Having mastered the placing of the acetate on these “Bridge cards” 

I made another 4 and completed my Easter cards. 

I only need a few to give out as they would be a large letter, so expensive to post.

These are quite dramatic and by using the pretty wooden tags to decorate the front the recipient has a little memory gift that they can enjoy every year.

Happy Crafting 

Dee

BACK TO PAPER CRAFTING

 SAM CALCOTTS LATEST DESIGN

If you have read any of my paper crafting posts, you will know I am an avid fan of Sam Calcott - Mixed up Crafts, on YouTube. So while relaxing the other evening I checked out her latest projects. 

I fell in love with this Panel Bridge Card and thought it was a lovely spring look (see link below)

https://youtu.be/O2cqwTTx9GY?si=maUU01t3RFAJn5qo

Here is my first try:

It is a little trickier than I thought to set the acetate in place so I had to try another to get it right. This time I decided to make it an Easter card, as it was perfect to hold a wooden Easter tag, which would give the recipient a card and a gift of the tag that can be used for your Easter decorations.

It just needs an Easter greeting. I cracked the acetate placement and now the bridge is lined up. 

If you fancy having a go check out Sam’s post. 

I will definitely be using this design again. I have a few ideas for mens cards, so I better hurry up and do one for my brother in laws birthday. 

Happy Crafting

Dee

New Style Tote bags

New Bag for 2026

As I said in a previous post, I want to jazz up the tote bags this year and add some new pieces. I started with 2 Tote bags using contrasting plain fabrics to make the design pop. 

I used some lovely embroidered fabric for the first one and took a little while to work out the make-up sequence, but it came together and gave me the layout for the rest of the seasons makes. It requires going through the stash of fabrics and coordinating the prints with a plain that work together. 

This has been made with a beautiful embroidered fabric and lined in matching red cotton, which has also been used for the top contrast. The handles are cotton weave as the embroidered fabric does not make good handles. This is the perfect size.

Next I made the contrast going the other way and although the colour coordination worked the size was not right. So now combining the two ideas I have the template for future totes for this year.

Not only have I changed the look and size I will also be adding an inside pocket. 

First bag redesigned and pattern made. 

Back soon with my craft bags.

Happy Crafting

Dee
 

 

PERFECT LITTLE GIFT FOR A RETIRED FRIEND

 No Changes yet

So despite my New Year challenge to downsize my craft items I am still making regular orders with Temu for some of my craft basics. One of the packs that arrived after my holiday had 20 recycled cotton plain Tote bags.

They were a good size and price so I thought they might be good to use for a challenge at the craft group I attend. Anyone who wanted to join the challenge would have a bag to decorate. We have previously painted similar bags so I hoped there would be some new ideas come forward. 

In the meantime it was a friends birthday and I had already bought a present but wanted something small to give on the day. As I woudl make the card as well I decided to do a matching set.

So taking an iron -on transfer from my stash (so at least one win) I first copied and shrank the transfer to make a card, and then made the bag.

Here is the card I made to match the bag . Sorry about the shadow in the photographs I was having trouble with my iPad and phone synching, but hopefully have it sorted now.

My friend was delighted with the bag and card and will happily use the bag to pop his bits and pieces in when he goes fishing.

I have made 2 more of the bags and they are on Ebay.

Back soon with more makes .

Dee

Can We Really Change

 Back from Holiday 
And Raring to Craft

Well it has been a long time since my last post.

January was busy, sorting out the cupboards and getting ready for a fabulous holiday to Bali, Singapore Thailand Vietnam and Hong Kong. 

I am back and ready to craft. I also am conscious that I need to clear the cupboards even more, and this was my plan for 2026.

My clothes were sorted last week and 10 tops were put on Ebay (3 of which have sold already) so a good start to the plan.

Next I looked at paper pads and found a 12 x 12 pad I thought could go, I checked out the price on Ebay and a similar style from the company was on for £6, so I decided not to sell it, and instead ending up buying the pad I had checked out as it was such a bargain. Not a good start to the plan, but in my defence I did sit down and blitz the 12 x 12 that I had intended to sell. 

I made several sets of notelets with a matching folder/carton, a couple of gift folders and a great scrapbook  with pull out pages and pockets 

Cards & Notlets

Using up Some basic card and envelope stock, including some craft card. I made some sets by adding pretty papers to the front of the cards including some craft card bases, I added no greetings so the cards can be used for general greetings or a greeting of their choice could be added. 

In a couple of the packs have notelets . These use one sided papers so they can be written in and I just added envelopes . I made them to fit a standard A6 envelope. 

The 2 Gift Envelope/folders. Use a full sheet of 12 x 12 and they were filled with 4 mini cards 3.5 x 3.5” with plan paper inserts for writing on. There were secret cards added to the slot on the side .

 The embellishment added to the top flap were fussy cut from the front of the pad. 

The Journal was made using 4 sheets cut to make the basic book and then pull out flaps added to a couple of pages. Oddments of card from the other projects made pockets and tags. 

All these will go to a friend who sells for Cancer research. 

Every page of the 12 x 12 pad have been used, and the only items not shown here, are 2 journal bases and a few odd pieces, so I am happy with the use of the paper pad. I am unhappy about the new pad that has arrived, which has some very pretty pages that will beckon to me to make something with them, and has done nothing to help me reduce my stash. Considering my plan was to destash: the year has not started well. But I have enjoyed crafting so a little win there. 

Happy Crafting

Denise

Craft Fayres 2025 and the future

 Looking forward to Crafting in 2026

Adding to my last post, here are some thoughts on my crafting for 2025, and looking forward to 2026.

Let me start by saying my sewing and card crafts are first and foremost a hobby. So although I read up on the do’s and don’ts of craft Fayres for layout and pricing, (see Made Urban for great advice if you are crafting to sell) it is often difficult to follow the good advice. I do not need to make a profit, and am not really looking to spend a lot on props for the table. I only do local church and village hall Fayres. This has an effect on the pricing of my items. 

My bags are from £4 to £10, so for example my Tote bags sell for £5 for the smaller Christmas totes and £6 for a larger tote. These are fully lined using a metre of fabric in total, as well as the handles. Compare these to Etsy at an average of £14 - £24 and I  realise my prices need to go up. Flat bags are simple and quick to make and I price these from £2.50 for purse size, £3.50 for std make-up bag, and £4 for larger ones. Again too cheap. 

My craft bags were the most expensive item I sold, until the napkin rings) at £9.50 with 4 pockets and lined these take over a metre in total of fabric to produce. 

Shopper bags are £6 and the Christmas shopper bags have a transfer patch on the front. Both are lined.

Over the past 3 years I have also made expanding bags, cross body bags, bottle bags, box bags, gift bag and drawstring bags. 

At Fayres I receive good comments on my bags although more interest is shown in the sewn gifts. Is this because they are cuter or more unusual?? Also bags are being sold everywhere and you can pick up pretty cheap bags in stores like B&M, as well as recycled plastic shopping bags in large sizes for £1.50 to £3.

So for 2026 I have decided to streamline the production and concentrate on 

Craft Bags - New Design 

Tote Bags - New Design

Flat bags - standardise the sizes and keep these at a great price

Cross Body - New Design

Drawstring gift and storage bags small stock and geared toward storage and craft bags.

So I have lots to think about and plan for next year. 

I would love to get other crafters reasons for making and/or selling their items and comments on my makes. If you would like to comment on my blog, please press the follow button at the top of the page, and let’s make a happy group of crafters on line that share ideas and their successes. 

Now for gifts and Cards

I started out doing craft Fayres selling my paper crafts. Cards, Boxes and gift bags as well as scrapbooks and memory albums. I also tried selling cards and scrapbooks on Ebay and Etsy, with a small amount of success. 

Isolation Journal posted Dec 2020

Folio Album posted Feb 2021

As you can see back in 2020 I was still concentrating on paper-crafts , it was not until my husband was diagnosed Oct 2021 I started sewing again. By 2023 cards and paper-crafts were getting difficult to sell as a lot of people had started crafting during lock-down and were making and selling cards, journals etc. It gave me an opportunity to try selling the bags instead, and it worked out well.

Then last year I started taking a few cards to the Fayres and they sold well, and this year I sold 19 Christmas cards at Fayres as well as 32 birthday cards and 5 commissioned cards (these are sold at a premium of £5 each). 

I will continue to make cards and those taken to the craft Fayres will be restricted to 3 styles so I can display and do point of sale info, as they are more unusual styles .

They will sit alongside the 3 gift items I will make. 

Cards I make for a Craft Fayre will be the more unusual styles so that people buying are getting something unique. I find they sell better and at a more realistic price. I sell my cards from £1.50 to £3.50 each.

Sometimes if I make a new design that is unique to me I will make them a limited edition of 12 and this helps lift the price to £3.50. I realise that if I was selling them in a gallery they would probably sell for £9.50 each but I do not live in an area where this sort of price structure would work. Commissioned cards I only make for friends as the time they take to make is not reflected in the price, they are usually elaborate multi-layered and have a lot of embellishment. They have included pop-up cards, 3 layered pop-open box cards, and open book cards 

These are a work of love not profit, and I enjoy making them as they stretch my imagination to come up with the designs to the recipients likes. 

So there you have it: what I have made in 2025 and what I am going to make in 2026 (always open to change and flexibility of course). 

Happy Crafting

Dee

Don’t forget to press the follow button - to comment , or if you wish to send an email my details are on the right hand side in post settings. 

Christmas Fayres 2025

Christmas Fayres 2025

As promised I will report on how I did this year at the Christmas Fayres.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the biggest one because of family illness. However this was compensated by the amount of sales I achieved at the village hall coffee morning in November, which tripled on last years sales, so I am grateful to all who attended and purchased from me.

Also I had made a conscious decision not to attend 3 Fayres in my local town, as the organisers had decided she would not allow me to sell the jewellery in gift bags, as I did not make the jewellery, only the bags. 

This left 2 Christmas Fayres and the coffee morning, as well as a few sales to friends and family throughout the year. 

So here is the final tally : 

First the items that did not sell.

Cross Body Bags - despite selling a couple at the coffee morning last year I sold non this year and did not take them to the other fairs. But I intend to alter the design and try again, as I have sold 5 from the eight made.

Box Bags - A new item and I was very disappointed that I did not sell them. I think one went to a friend to put christmas gifts in but that was it. So despite having made 8 leatherette and 6 fabric bags these were a bust, and I will not be making more. The stock I have will be given to another charitable cause. 

Alternative Selection box flat bags - I sold a few last year but non this year so these will not be made again.

Expanding Bags, Shoe Bags - Only one sold at the Fayres, I love these bags and find them so useful for my cruises, and use one regularly for line dancing. I have another 9 made and will keep them in stock, but not making any more at the moment.

What did sell 

Shopping Bags - 3 sold. Not many considering the size and they are lined and include Christmas bags that can be re-used year after year. However I will continue them in some format when I have some large bundle of fabric that suits the project and is cost effective.

Square Christmas Gift Bags - 4 sold. These are a good size and I only charge £4 for them. `I have sold quite a few over the 2 years at craft Fayres so I will try to sell the remaining 10 I stock and then rethink them.

Flat bags Including Christmas - 6 sold from makeup to nightdress case size.  These will always be a basic stock item and I look  forward to. Making them to match other bags in the range. There was also one set of matching makeup bags sold.

Tote Bags - 3 Christmas tote bags were sold and I only have 2 Christmas and 2 standard tote bags left in stock. I will be making a new range of tote bags.

Drawstring Bags - 2 Christmas drawstring bags sold. These were only taken to the last Fayre and so was an acceptable number, and among the other bags. 

This is a total of 19 bags 

Gifts 

Christmas Napkins rings in christmas fabric bag - 4 sold . New item. These was the most expensive item on the table and so to sell 3 at the last Fayre and one to a friend, brought in good revenue. I have 5 more in stock which will be taken to next years Christmas Fayres

Scissor/sewing bag - 4 sold New item this year and I may continue then for another year.

Christmas Coffee spoons - 6 sold. These make a great gift for a colleague or to say “Thank You” and I will add more for next year. I think I need a better way of showing them . 

Jewellery & Gift pouch. 32  sold across the 3 venues . Definitely the best seller. They seem to attract people to the table and are sold at £5. People often buy multiples. 

19 Cards were sold plus 2 packs of 8 cards.

So there we have it. I have only managed to do 2 Fayres and the table at the Coffee morning this year. Still I am able to donate £550 to Friends of Bridgwater Hospital, and have enjoyed the challenge of making new gifts and bags. 

I have also learnt that you need to concentrate on a few designs that are unique to you, and with this in mind I have decided to expand my fabric cards next year, and I have an idea to give me a USP for my bags. I will be working on these ideas in the new year. 

Thank you for dropping by my blog. 

Happy Christmas to all the crafters out there 

Dee

New Fabric Christmas Card

 Fabric Greeting Cards

I am old enough to remember padded fabric cards that used to be the posh cards you purchased for special people, they were usually boxed, and cost a great deal more than the other cards in the shop

I had a eureka moment a couple of weeks ago, which resulted in trying a new version  of the fabric cards. My cards updated the idea as the fabric had fun sayings .

These are 8” scalloped edge cards. 

I shall try them out at my last Fayre this year and I hope they sell well as I would really like to expand the idea. 

Pricing is one of the most difficult areas when selling your crafts. If you are a crafter making items to sell as a means of income then your prices have to reflect the materials used and the time you spend to make it, this is a a whole different area to my selling for charity. There is no pressure to make a profit, and yet, you have to consider pricing just as much. Price items too low and customer may underestimate the quality of the item, price too high and customers will walk away. These cards if purchased in a store would probably cost around £4  - £5 but I do not think they will fetch  that at the small fayres I attend. I am pricing them at £3.50, or 2 for £6. 

Once I have finished my last Fayre in December I will post the results for this years sales. I think I already know the best seller. 

Happy Crafting

Dee 

Second Christmas Stall

 First Christmas Fayre

So my first stall, this Christmas was a table at the coffee morning while the table on Saturday was at a Christmas Fayre, run by the church and with bellringers and the choir entertaining shoppers throughout the morning. The Fayre ran from 10.30 until 1.30

My set up was similar to the coffee morning table. Christmas gift bags, tote bags and gifts.

I have sold at this Fayre for a couple of years, and whilst the takings are not great it is a lovely atmosphere, I meet other crafters that I know and its a pleasant way to spend a half day.

The stall costs £15 and you are asked to give an item for the raffle, which I think is a great idea, when the Fayre is run by a community group.

For this table I decided not to display my Box Bags or the Alternative Selection Box Bags as they had not sold at the previous sale, instead I tried some cards and some Napkins ring sets .

I would say the footfall was down a little this year, and although I thought I sold a little less than last year, it was actually £1 more. 

So what sold at this Fayre: 

Best seller was the jewellery gift and purse, which was 70% of the total sales.

Other items sold was Christmas gift bags, purse, and a couple of the reindeer spoons in a holder. 

The reindeer spoons in a holder make a great colleague gift or good for friends who love their tea and coffee, as they will  always have their own spoon. The large fun fabric cards did not sell but I will be taking them to my next Fayre. This is based on the fact that I took some items to sell at my November Women’s Institute meeting ( we have a trading stall for anyone wishing to sell excess grown fruit & veg, or home made items ) and sold 10 cards. I also sold one of my Scissor /sewing kit, I made 6 to try and after the 2 tables have sold 3, not huge but I will probably keep them in and tweak them in some way, as they seem to catch the eye of buyers, and are a pretty addition to the table.

Any craft Fayre takes a lot of preparation, and then there is the setting up and packing away after the show, but if you love your crafting and meeting other crafters, they are fun and and great way of distributing your makes,and getting funds to make next year.

As I pack away from this Fayre and prepare for the next and last Fayre on 9th December I am already starting to plan my makes for next year, I have a couple of different style bags I want to try and I want to look at what has sold over this year and plan my gift makes accordingly.

Happy Crafting 

Dee

Update on Craft Fayres

 Set-Backs & Progress

Hi all you lovely crafters. I am sorry it has been a long time since my last post. Family issues have meant I have been tied up for the last 2 weeks of October and the first week of November, just as Craft Fair season started.

The season should have started with a stand at my local monthly coffee morning, followed by the largest Christmas Craft fair I do last Saturday (8th November).

Unfortunately with trips to hospital and a friend unable to help me on the day, I decided to cancel the large CHristmas Fair, in time for the organisers to give the 2 stalls I had booked, to another crafter. The decision was made on the basis that I could not work 2 stalls on my own and though I have friends I could ask to help, because the Craft Fair is an hours drive away, it meant leaving home at 7.30 and getting home about 5pm. Too long a day for anyone not as keen as me on crafty days, and quite honestly not as important as my dear family member in hospital. 

Having made the decision I sat down and considered what I was going to do with the mass of crafty goodies I had prepared and the future of my crafty makes. It really helped me to realise I needed to streamline my makes and make core products that would then require less items to be stored, less room on the stall and allow a better layout. 

It should be noted at this point, that I am not a business, I am a crafter who makes and sells for charity. 

I looked at my inventory and realised despite reading articles that suggested any crafters doing craft fairs should:

• Have a Core product range
• Limit the number of products sold at a fair 
• Leave space on the table to allow the buyers eye to clearly see the products
• Introduce new products one at a time to see how they fit in to base lines
• Build you table around your Key item/Best seller

I had never really worked this way.

1. I made new things all the time to try them, because they interested me rather than because they added to a product range.
2. I took too many items to a craft fair and tried to fit them all onto the table
3. Whilst I knew which bags I made sold best overall, I had not really discovered why other items were not selling as well as I thought they should or if it was what customers wanted. 

Hard though it was to accept these truths, looking at my stock list and stored bags I realised that by not changing my ways I was just making life harder. If I made a core product range of bags limited to 6 styles, and a core range of gifts limited to 4 products. This would make 

storage more manageable, 

stock movement easier, 

and set up quicker. 

If I managed to book to 2 tables at a fair, I would show my paper crafts on the other table and the same principles would be applied to list of products being shown on that table.

Next I set about reorganising my stock.

The bags I selected were

Shopping Bags - Christmas Shopper bags

Gift Bags - Christmas Gift Bags

Box Bags - NEW

Makeup bags & purses

Expandable bags 

Tote Bags 

Craft Bags - low on stock so not being taken to craft fairs this Christmas despite being my best selling bag

Gifts were:

Jewellery with purse - Best Seller 

Scissor - sewing purse

Christmas spoon in holder

Notebooks with reusable fabric covers

This left me with other items such as Cross Body bags, Drawstring Bags, Alternative selection box Bag, Nightdress Cases. 

So for my first craft table at the coffee morning I took the bags I had listed except the  

Craft Bag and gifts as listed above 

My trial run on the kitchen table easy to build and I was pleased with the look 

My very good friend and I set off with good spirit and set up at the coffee morning. The committee who run the village hall had kindly given me the table for free and placed on their facebook page to remind people that I would be attending as well as a stall for the Poppy collection. 

The coffee morning last about an hour and then a raffle and 1.5hrs later it’s all over. It started with a few of the helpers taking a look and then a few coffee morning attendees over the first hour. It built up quite well, and as the raffle was being done I was pleased to note we had probably doubled our sales from the previous year. The Chairman mentioned the stall during the raffle and then when it finished we had another rush . Despite the fact I couldn’t get my Sum-up machine to work we ended taking 3 times the amount of last year. I had brought a stock list and tried to tick what I was selling. My friend who it should be said is a much better seller than me, was so busy at the end we had to fill it the remembered sales after the event. It was an exceptional sales time, probably helped by the fact that those attending the coffee morning are locals and all the money was going to the local hospital. But I am very grateful to all who purchased from me, and for all the kind comments. 

I cannot imagine my other fairs being as profitable.

I will go through all the sales after the other 2 fairs have taken place. But the best sellers for this stall were the Christmas Gift Bags and way out in front the jewellery in gift pouches. 

I will be back after the next fair on Saturday 15th November when my friend will be helping again. 

Happy Crafting.

Dee

More Preparations and ‘finds in the cupboard”

 Making the Most of Your Stash

As I prepare my stock for the Christmas Craft Fayres, I naturally end up tidying the boxes that have been holding my makes.

Yesterday tidying another box of papers I made some more laminated folders. I did not need them,  but as I looked at the papers I realised they were perfect for the project, and I had a half hour spare so decide to make a half a dozen to use up the papers. Over the years I have finished off many paper pads this way. As a treasurer for my local W.I. I have lots of different pots of money to collect at meetings, so I allocate a folder for each project or event. I also use them to hold receipts, recipes etc in the home and to give money or small gifts.

So another little bundle of laminated folders.

I went to put them into one of my finished article boxes and came across a number of other items made over the last couple of years to use up the papers were perfect pads and fabric scraps.

I use up all the papers and fabric peices I can possibly find use for, and although I very rarely put them on my tables at craft fayres as I have little space,  I have a friend who sells them to neighbours and colleagues for Cancer Research, so nothing is wasted. 

As I have expanded to 2 tables for my fayres this year I decided to package up all these items for a stocking filler section.

These are envelopes that close onto a double front flap and I have added a card and tag

Here we have 2 laminated folders or wallets and the front blue one is a document wallet

This picture shows a set of three budget purses and a set of of 2 gift purses 

3 sets of a folder and matching bookmark made from pretty vellum papers

Lastly I found 8 tissue holders made from my fabric scraps. 

Altogether there were 46 bundles, all now labelled and ready to display . I have decided to charge one price and it will be just £1.50 an item. 

Happy Crafting 

Dee