post-show!

my first really big craft show was a lovely little success! it was a long day, but it really energized me to be around so many crafters and to have such great shopper traffic. i was amazed at the size of this show, and to be honest, can't imagine how anyone was still interested in shopping by the time they got to my space!

there was definitely lots to see, although i was suprised at how few items really were handmade. there seemed to be quite a bit of cookie lee-esque re-selling going on. i was right next to two cute gals selling tupperware, one of which was the spitting image of reese witherspoon. (i'll leave the link there as though there is anyone on this planet who hasn't been inundated by celebrity culture enough to know what any given one looks like!)

these pictures were all taken right after i was done setting up, so i think i was so distracted by trying to get set up quickly that i really didn't take all that many pictures. but of course, you don't realize these things until days afterwards. i also didn't write down the one thing i was going to remember to do next time... and promptly forgot what it was. oh well! i did meet my goal for sales for the day, and had a fantastic time with my mom, and actually got to network a bit with the little crafty community of raleigh! i got to meet the awesome proprietors of these shops:

• white pear- delicious and beautifully packaged handmade soaps


• small beans- gorgeous baby things including the cutest felt booties ever.


• katie carolina- lovely beaded jewelry, and she is helping organize a craft show for triangle area etsians


• faded blues- you must see her adorable knitted tea cozies!


• rippa's custom silver- lots of pretty pink breast cancer awareness jewelry and accessories

i have some other possible shows coming up that i'm hoping i'll be able to do, but unfortunately, at this point it depends completely on my work schedule, which we only get two weeks ahead of time. i've got lots of lovely things left and could have gotten up and done mistletoe market all over again the next day, so i guess that's a good sign. after so much preparation, it's almost like a let-down for it all to be over so quickly. hopefully i'll be able to do another show or two before the season is over!

as of this week, i've been accepted into delightful blogs online directory of great blogs in lots of different catagories... you can go visit the main site to rate and bookmark the ones you like (hint hint!). i could spend hours browsing and clicking and finding fun new things to read. blogs are so interesting to me that way... little windows into peoples' days and lives and styles, all punctuated by pictures of course! i don't really take the time to read any books anymore, but each little blog really is like a book about the writer's life and interests. if you do get a chance to check it out, feel free to leave a little comment! (or leave one here for that matter, if the inspiration strikes!)

for now it's nice to be able to take a little break from the mad rush of creating. well, so to speak. i've actually started crocheting a little afghan (we call them snuggles blankets) for our couch. we have this pile of cheapies right now that i want to replace with several handmade ones. i'm starting with a crocheted one in shades of blue, and then will move on to a patchwork quilted one in neutral tans. crocheting is such a nice somewhat mindless project while you're watching tv and hanging out, even though i feel like i'm about 60 years old anytime i sit around crocheting! i do have a birthday coming up next week (shhhh...) but i'm not that far up there yet!