It’s getting to be that time of year when everyone starts gearing up for craft fairs. While Christmas is undoubtedly the most popular time to get those handmade goodies out to market, spring runs a very close second. Something about the perfect temperatures, beautiful blooms, and the availablity of fresh air after a clausterphobic inducing winter offers a prime opportunity to celebrate with festivals that include crafts.

You know that your item would be a great seller, but you’re just not sure where to begin. Finding the perfect craft fair is the place to start, and after that it’s all a breeze!

While you can spend hours searching Google or Yahoo for craft shows in your area, it’s simply easier to have all the information in one place.

Let me introduce you to the Fairs & Festivals Vendor Calendar. Not only does this beautifully laid-out, easy to navigate site offer you detailed information about craft festivals in your area and how to register for them, but they also offer great information on pricing your crafts, an event checklist, and a tutorial on understanding juried and non-juried shows.

Whether you’re an experienced showman or not, I’m sure you will find the Fairs & Festivals Vendor Calendar a useful tool in your craft business!

I stumbled across this great How To today and just had to share it!  This fashionable and ever popular style first appearing on JLo, aka Jennifer Lopez, is so simple to create and makes a great addition to any wardrobe!

Just click here for the super easy instructions!  And enjoy picking out your ribbon at The Ribbon Shoppe to get started!

I came across this great article the other day and thought it would be a great piece to post here.  So many of readers are just beginner bowmakers and this is an article written just for you!  I hope enjoy it!

HAIR BOWS LINGO

About the author:  Jessica Furtney is the president of Bows For Best Friends, a company based in Simpsonville, SC that designs and manufactures high quality hair bows and hair accessories.

Makers of hair bows have to quickly learn that there are different widths of ribbons. The width is the length across the ribbon. The more common widths used are 1.5″, 7/8″, 5/8“,  and 3/8″. Some the lesser used ones are the really wide ribbons in 2.25″, which make a really large and thick hair bow. Sometime ribbon factories make ribbon in 1″ widths. This width is very close to the 7/8″ and is sometimes hard to tell the difference. Ribbon manufacturing companies can come out with their own unique widths, but generally, these are your only options.The 1.5″ width is a good ribbon width to start with because there is more to hold and work with. The 7/8″ or 5/8” widths are good for making center knots for the bows. The 3/8″ is a nice width for very little bows or they make a nice center for a larger hair bow. I would not suggest knotting a 3/8” width ribbon unless it was for a very tiny hair bow, or you are placing it on top of a 7/8″ or 5/8” width ribbon and then knotting it for a fun look.

Some ribbon makers like to use wood burning tools for what they call “heat sealing” their ends. Most grosgrains will melt at very high temperatures, and that is simply all bow makers mean when the say their ends are heat sealed. There are now other tools being made just for sealing off ribbon ends to keep them from fraying, and several ribbon web sites are now offering them to their online customers for making hair bows.

Another popular way to keep your ribbon ends from fraying is by applying Fray Check™ or any other brand to the ends of your ribbon. It is a liquid that, when dry, will harden and not allow the ends to fray. These products can be found in any craft store. Be careful when trying out different brands because some will leave a mark on the ribbon and not dry clear. You do not want to apply so much though that it drips off the hair bows or leaves a runny mark down the ribbon.

Then there are the hair clip or hair fastener options for hair bows. The alligator clip looks like an alligator’s mouth when it opens and closes. It generally has no teeth on this style of clip. They do however come in double pronged and single pronged. Single pronged is nice when you are going for the least heavy and bulky, and double pronged is nice when you need that extra prong to hold it in the hair.

A French clip is the kind that you squeeze two prongs to release if from the closed position, and will spring open like a mouse trap because of the tension it is under by the semi-loose bracket on the inside. That bracket is in the shape of a crescent.

Probably less common, are the plastic clip or barette and a snap, which some makers of hair bows use, and they are pretty simple in nature and are plastic or metal so to give you the lightest possible weight on finished hair bows.

Browsing around the internet the other day, I ran across a really fun site that I managed to get lost in for a couple of hours:  Hubpages.

Hubpages is so full of content shared by a variety of people on a multitude of topics; including the one I want to share with my readers today:  How to Make a Tie Fleece Blanket.

While I found so many crafts I wanted to try, the Tie Fleece Blanket really stood out to me.   How often do we find ourselves invited to a baby shower and need just one more unique item to put in that gift basket?  Or wouldn’t it be nice to have a small blanket to carry along for those summer movies in the park?

Whatever the occasion, this craft project is easy, inexpensive, and has so many options available with fabric choices.   Within minutes I already had several matched fabric pictured in my mind!  And my favorite part?  It’s a NO SEW project!  (Those of you who read regularly know that I have absolutely no sewing skills! lol)

Robin, the creator of this Hub, offers detailed instructions that are clear, concise and very easy to follow.  Images clearly show the steps are also included.

I haven’t yet got started on this project, since I’m still working on making my own appliques and shirt to include a how to here.  So, if anyone gets started before me, or has done this type of blanket before, I would love to hear if it is as simple as it seems to be, along with your likes or dislikes about it.

And I’ll let everyone know how mine turns out!

P.S.  This is also an excellent idea for craft fairs and bazaars.  And for my Cheer Corner folks, try making these in your school colors and selling them as a fundraiser to students and other fans!

It’s competition time again!  The season cheerleaders and cheer coaches wait and work for all year long. 

Having been a cheerleading coach in the past, I know just how time consuming fundraising for these events can be.   And it seems that with each year, the fundraising tasks become more tedious.  Parents, coaches and squad members alike get tired of selling the same items, having the same car washes, soliciting the same businesses for donations; the list can go on and on.

When I was coaching, I was always looking for unique ideas; fundraisers that appealed to parents and members alike.   During my never ending search, I developed several fundraising ideas that I’m sure can help some weary group of parents out there.

Since my competing squad (I was also coaching two little league and a middle school squad) was a group of all stars from various local school squads, these ideas were geared toward the individual costs of getting to competition.  However, these ideas can be easily adjusted to fit a group that fundraises as a whole.

Hotel Accommodations:  I found that our hotel accommodations for one or two days where we were competing was our largest expense.   Often, even with discounted package deals from the event hosts, the cost could easily run $250 to $300 for two days.

In an effort to cut these costs, I encouraged my squad members’ parents to work year long toward “saving” for this particular expense.  I began by providing information to them on how to open a HHonors account.   In addition, I also provided information on how to earn HHonors points by registering with and participating in programs such as MyPoints and eRewards.  These sites are free to register and you can actually earn points to redeem toward Hilton Honors pointswithout spending a dime!  (If you decide to register, please use my email address, kimberly.cantrell@gmail.com, as your referral.  Thank you!)

Parents and squad members alike can participate in these programs and save their points to apply toward their hotel accommodations.  Now, bear in mind, that using this method will require each squad member and their parent to be responsible for making their own reservations.  In addition, it is likely that not everyone will be in adjacent rooms; or even the same hallway.  But, those few minor inconveniences aside, it’s a great way for saving the costs of overnight stays.

Another way to this to establish an account for the squad.  Since HHonorsallows participants to transfer points, fundraising organizers can set a date for all members to transfer their points to the squad account.  Then it is possible for one person to book the hotel accommodations, rather than relying on parents to do this.

Many other Hotel chains such as Best Western and Days Inn offer programs similar to the Hilton Honors points program.  You may wish to check with their programs (be sure to read the fine print to ensure that everyone can qualify).

You may wish to include a list of other ways to earn these points which can be found by reading The Definitive “How To Earn Hilton HHonors Points” threadat Flyertalk forums.

Food:  After the entry fees are paid and the hotel accommodations are booked, the next biggest expense one will find is that associated with food. 

A great way to earn fast food (and even casual dining) gift cards is to participate in RewardTV.  After all, who doesn’t watch television, right?  Simply register then take quizzes on the television shows you watch the previous evening and earn points (hint:  watch the commercials to accumulate more points).  For as little as 150,000 points (most games can earn you at least 1000 points), you can purchase $5.00 gift cards for places such as McDonalds, Burger King, Subway and more.   Five bucks may not sound like much at face value, but add them together and you can easily eat for free the whole weekend!

And here is an interesting side note that’s worth remembering.  If you didn’t have time to watch television the night before, just visit the Rewards & Points Programs section of BigBigForums.com.  Many members share the correct answers to quizzes they’ve already taken! 

An additional way to save money on food expenses, while not a “do it for free” method, is to search for gift cards at places such as Certificate Swap or Gift Card Buy Back.   These places offer gift cards at a fraction of the face value of the card.  For example, a $10.00 McDonald’s Arch card may only cost you $6.00; meaning you basically get $4.00 worth of free food.  

Gas Expense:  If your squad will be traveling by car, you can use the methods listed for acquiring food cards to obtain gas cards as well.   

These ideas may seem a little “off the wall” to use as a means of fundraising, but they can and do work; thus, making them truly unique.    There’s so many ways to earn money online for your squad if you just put it to work for you.  In addition to trying the methods mention here, keep in mind other ways such as using a squad blog as an avenue to advertise and ask for donations (make sure your content is worthy of donations) or using your squad’s website as a means to earn money by way of Affiliate Marketing (visit Self Starters Weekly Tips for AWESOME information on affiliate marketing).

Once you try these methods, you’ll be spoiled!  And back-breaking car washes and bake sales will be a thing of the past!

In the course of operating a ribbon business, I’ve come across so many cheerleading coaches and cheer squad members.   Being a former cheerleading coach, I have really enjoyed meeting coaches and cheerleaders from around the world.

What I have most often found, however, is that the majority of my email communications are with first time cheer coaches.    These wonderful women (sorry to the guys, but I haven’t meet any male cheer coaches yet!) have volunteered to coach their daughters’ or nieces’ cheer squads; or maybe they’re just doing it because the program or school was shorthanded.  Either way, they need help!

I also meet up with a lot of cheerleaders just looking for information, many of the ones I converse with are looking to make a cheerleading squad.

And it is in meeting these wonderful individuals that I decided to dedicate a small corner of my blog just for them!

The Cheer Corner is dedicated to the cheer coaches, cheerleaders, and potential cheerleaders.  My goal is to provide these spirit leaders with unique craft ideas, fundraising ideas, articles, and more geared just toward the sport of cheerleading.

I hope that you find the addition of this category fun and interesting.  Please feel free to email any contributions to me at kimberly.cantrell@gmail.com

Whether you’re looking for great craft fair projects or getting ready for Christmas, I Love To Craft.com offers some great crafting ideas!

Since Halloween is now passed and the department stores are pushing us all to do our holiday shopping now, one can only image that I headed straight for the Christmas crafts. 

While I didn’t find their projects to be as extensive as other craft sites I visited, I did find the quality of the crafts offered to be superior.    One craft in particular that I loved and cannot wait to get started on is their No Sew Country Santa.   I absolutely adore primitive crafts and this will be perfect for adding to my country Christmas collection.   The No Sew Country Santa is a great idea too for the limited skills craft (such as myself) as a craft fair project.  Since primitive is in, it’s sure to be a hot item!

After leaving the Christmas section, I was next drawn to the Homemade Gift Ideasarea.   In there is where I found a really neat gift idea for anyone having to or wishing to provide gifts to a large group (such as Cheerleading Squads, Sunday School Classes, etc.):  Cell Phone Covers.  There are very few people these days who do not have cell phones and these inexpensive handmade gifts are easily customized to each recipients favs.

There’s a great deal at I Love to Craft.com that is fun, simple and neat to make!  Take the time to visit them and browse around until you find your favorite craft project.   And, before you leave, be sure to visit their craft forumfor more ideas and socializing with other crafters!

It has been a busy, busy weekend! 

When I wasn’t running a child to an activity or trying to complete my own errands, I started my latest craft project:  making my own appliques. 

Amazingly, even with my limited crafting skills, making my own appliques were not difficult at all.  With the help of Free Appliques.com, I printed the “School Spirit” letters (also known in many programs as Collegiate lettering) I wanted.  Later, I found some perfect fabric for my idea for $1.00/yard at Wal-Mart!  Then I gathered up some web fusing, felt, and fabric paint and I was set to get started.

As it stands, I’ve completed my appliques to the point that they are ready to apply them to the t-shirt I’ve chosen to use.

If everything goes as planned, I will have this new How To guide listed within the week.  So, if you’re looking for another idea for craft fairs or Christmas gifts, this will be one to look for.   If I screw this up….well, I’ll just post a link to someone who really knows how to do it. 

Moving along….there is some great products coming up this week; including M2M themes Park City Luxe and Snow Blossom, both part of the 2006 line.  These 30 yard and 28 yard, respectively, themes are absolutely adorable! 

This week will also see the addition of Black grosgrain ribbon with White Dippy Dots, Emerald Swiss Dots, and Black Swiss dots.

The Halloween sale was such a huge hit, that I’m working on another sale idea; so stay tuned, you don’t want to miss out!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I’ll see ya next week!  

Wow!  That’s my one word comment on all the wonderful folks I’ve had visit my blog searching for information about craft fairs, whether on finding ideas for projects or selling their crafts.  I shouldn’t be surprised; after all, it’s that time of year again when there’s a craft fair on every corner and plenty of shoppers willing to line a crafters pocket. 

Want in on the fun?  Here’s 50 Craft Fair project ideas that you can get started on right away:

1. Korker bows (or a multitude of hairbow styles)
2. Tutus for toddlers and children
3. Wreaths
4. Baby blankets and throws
5. Christmas Tree Skirt
6. Christmas decorations
7. Candles
8. Soaps, lotions & other bath products
9. Gifts in a Jar (recipe mixes)
10. Wood crafts (primitive signs, etc.)
11. Flower pot bird bath
12. Diaper cakes
13. Magnets
14. Ribbon Angel
15. Glamour Ribbon Garland
16. Beaded birthstone angel
17. Clutch/coin purse (very fashionable!)
18. Tin Can Luminary (votive candle holder)
19. Christmas stockings (follow pattern then embellish!)
20. Wedding items (bridal bouquets, veils, etc.)
21. Girls’ boutique clothing
22. Floral arrangements
23. Blue jean apron (make from toddler jeans & embellish for a HUGE hit!)
24. Baby Nursery Wall Letters
25. Kitchen apron
26. Dishtowel angel
27. Juice Pouch purse (can use with a variety of food containers!) or a Bikini Purse
28. Jewelry
29. Plastic bag holder
30. Life sized Christmas characters
31. Clay Pot Characters
32. Embellished lampshades
33. Mason Jar lamp
34. Stained glass
35. Lava lamps (big hit with teens!)
36. Decorative switch plates (or even outlet covers!)
37. Decoupage plates
38. Decorative pillows
39. Place mats
40. Doll clothes
41. Boutique diaper wipes case
42. Sock Monkeys
43. Diaper bags
44. Bird feeders / bird houses
45. Cloth dolls
46. Metal crafts
47. Decorative mailboxes (see ideas 1 and 2)
48. Stenciled art (lawn furniture, fabrics)
49. Gift baskets
50. Pinatas

I hope you enjoyed browsing this list.  There is so much out there, so many unique ideas.   And the more unique the idea, the more desirable the product; so be sure to put your “your special” touch to everything you create!  

For additional ideas, or for more detailed instructions to some of the ideas above, be sure to visit You Can Make This. com!  Also, for AWESOME deals (and super fast shipping) on craft supplies, be sure to visit Create for Less!

If there is one great thing about having a craft business, is that it is fairly easy to promote without hassle.   After all, who doesn’t like crafts?  While there are exceptions to every rule, the vast majority do enjoy handmade, quality crafts. 

Through craft fairs and bazaars, crafters have the ability to easily promote themselves with booths.  The customer approaches your booth, no need to seek them out.   Online craft malls and websites such as Etsy bring craft lovers to your virtual door.

But, with the exception of craft fairs and bazaars which, as a general rule, are seaonsal means of sales, how does a crafter continue to promote themselves without a great deal of money and headache?

There are simple ideas that are very often overlooked.   This idea costs nothing more a desire to earn through a willingness to give.   If this interest you, then promotion through fundraising is an excellent way to get your craft business name out there.

Promotion Through Fundraising Option 1:

When I was selling candles, I had a lucrative business online.  Selling wax tarts was easy to sell online because they were easy to package and ship; but candles could, at times, be a hassle.  Therefore, I wanted to focus more of my online business on wax tarts and concentrate on selling candles locally, or “real time” if you will.

At the same time I was operating my candle business, I was also volunteering to oversee the local little league football teams’ cheerleading squads.   One of the things that was necessary in order to purchase uniforms and poms that was needed was annual fundraisers.   Since it was my job to find fundraisers, I saw this as an opportunity to get my name out locally offering this program special fundraising deals.

It was the best thing I ever did for my craft business!  In offering participants a large variety of scented candles at $5.00 each, with $2.00 of each candle being given back to the program, everyone was happy.  In just a short time, I had sold over 400 candles locally and the program had earned almost $1,000! 

Even after leaving the league as the program coordinator, I still had customers who continued to contact me via telephone to place their orders.  And I continued to contribute to the program and promote myself by allowing the program to continue with the fundraiser.

Promotion Through Fundraising Option 2:

This option actually compliments the first, however I wanted to list it separately because of the vast amount of information attached to it.   If you craft an item that would make an excellent fundraiser item and you have a willingness and have ability to take on large quantity orders, you may also want to consider advertising your fundraising option online.

There are numerous sites on the internet that will allow you to submit information about your fundraiser for free.   Here is a listing of some of those sites:

• Fundraising Directory
• fundraisingIP
• All Fundraising Companies Directory
• Fundraiser Finder
• Fundraising Bank
• Fundraiser Help

Of course, there are also many paid fundraiser directories on the web too.  However, before paying to submit your site to any of these, I would recommend that you thoroughly investigate the success rate of using these services.

Also, when browsing the links above, you may notice that many of the sites require you to have a website.  If you currently do not have a website, GET ONE!    In the meantime, however, I would recommend using free services such as eCrater or Flying Cart to set up a temporary web shop.   Sites such as these also allow you to have one or two “blank” pages; so be sure to include fundraising information on one of those pages.

Promotion Through Fundraising Option 3:

When my youngest was born a 31 week preemie in 2004, I had to sell my candle business.   Once he really began thriving, I started seeking out my next business endeavor.  And that is how I came into ribbon sales with speciality in korker ribbon.

Unlike candles, korker ribbon is easily saleable anywhere because of the low shipping cost and easy packaging, but I love local sales; so it was time to begin my self-promotion techniques again.Using korker ribbon or korker bows doesn’t really work well as a fundraiser itself because the market is limited to females.  However, korker bows do work as an excellent contribution to fundraiser ideas such as raffles or silent auctions.

When I began the ribbon business, my son was in elementary school.  Each year his school held a Fall Festival in October.  Each classroom was assigned a theme for a gift basket that would be sold at silent auction during the evening of the event.  There was always one classroom that had a “girly girl,” “health & beauty” or “UT Vols” theme; with any one of those being a perfect opportunity to contribute a korker bow to be included.  If my son’s classroom did not fall into one of these themes, I would still take one of my bows, complete with label bearing my business name, phone number, and address, to the teachers with these themes.   Needless to say, the teachers were more than willing to accept my contribution.  At the same time, there was three bows out there just waiting to be purchased by three new potential customers!

Never pass up the opportunity to donate to fundraising programs such as these.   It doesn’t have the same potential as discussed in the first option, but it is still a great opportunity nonetheless.  And organizors will greatly appreciate your willingness to donate without their having to ask.

* There are so many opportunities to promote yourself through fundraising.   The rewards are well worth the effort! *