Tales of Time Off!

It always seems like the long hot days of summer start to run together and I get that same horrible feeling a hamster on a tread mill must have, going in circles and never really getting anywhere. That is my signal for a change in my crafting routine.


The temps in Houston this last week have been over 100 degrees and the heat index is around 105, so working in the garage on Santa's and Snowmen can be hazardous to your health! I usually try to start early in the morning so that I can be finished by the hot part of the day, but that doesn't always work out. My husband, John, works with me and by the time you have cut out and sanded 6 complete sets of wooden Snowmen you feel like you are made of paper mache'. Between the sweat and the saw dust you have a pretty good mixture of muck covering your face, arms and legs. So until there is a break in this heat we are going to work on new things, items that can be worked on inside, where the air conditioning is working and ceiling fans are running.



We have been working on our Craft Show items for almost 4 months now and a change is long overdue. This heat gives me the opportunity to finish up all the little odds and ends that have been piling up. Things that were waiting to be tagged or needed some small finishing touch in order to be ready for our first show in October. It always amazes me the amount of merchandise we can come up with. All of our items are original and handmade so they can take some time to finish. Here is a peek at my game room where we store all the finished items.

I know that summer will be over before we realize it and the craft show season will be upon us. I had better appreciate this week of time off and use it wisely, to bad I got a jury summons for Thursday! You know what they say, best laid plans! I will report next month on how this Time Off went and show you some of the new Santa's we will have at our shows this fall.

Talk to you next month,

Just Had To Brag

My niece Aubrie Thompson made these wonderful Gluten-free "Corn on the Cob" cupcakes for me. She covered the cupcakes with jelly beans to make the kernels and made the "pads of butter" out of Starburst candies. She even sprinkled chocolate shavings "pepper" over her creations and served them in Corn on the Cob dishes. Not only did they look great they tasted even better!


UPDATE - SHE DID IT AGAIN!




Take a look at these great Spaghetti and Meatball cupcakes she just made for her mother-in-law! The girl is too clever, she must take after me! Keep up the good work Aubrie, I think I will put you in charge of dessert for Christmas.

Tales of Rejection

Well it came today, that dreaded thing no professional crafter likes to see, the REJECTION LETTER! I think I have a pretty thick skin and plenty of confidence about my work, but no one likes to get turned down, it's like being picked last on the playground. To be honest this is the only Craft Show that has ever turned me down and it makes me crazy. Hearts and Hands is a large craft show in Houston, Texas. I have applied as a vendor for the last four years and two of those years I was accepted and the other two I was turned down. The two years that I was accepted I sold out during the three day show and I was told I was one of the top performing vendors at the show both years.

So what changed the next year? Why was I turned away? These are questions you can go crazy trying to answer. I was told they like to mix up the vendors and keep their show fresh, but to be honest I have seen a lot of the same vendors there from year to year and I can not for the life of me figure it out. But to tell you the truth I don't have the time to squander on such things, I'm too busy crafting.

I am the kind of person that thinks everything happens for a reason and this turn of events will eventually work out in my favor. I had just been contacted by another show a few days ahead of the dreaded rejection letter. They had seen my things at Hearts and Hands and were willing to bend over backwards to get me to participate in their show, well nothing is more flattering than people begging, well almost begging! I was not thinking seriously about that show because I thought I would be too busy to have enough product to make another show. Well low and behold now I have plenty of product! I told you things would work out in the long run.

No matter how long you have been a crafter it still stings your pride a little when you get those nasty form letters. I have a little pity party for a day or two and then I gather my self-esteem and move on.

Now don't get me wrong, I didn't think this could never happen to me. All of us have been rejected and I try to look at this as a learning experience. So come October I will be busy at all my craft shows and Hearts and Hands will miss me!

Here are some of the the things they will be missing.