Our First Craft Show

Today was our first craft show. Nothing big, but something to start us out. It was at Jeff's work, and there were only about 7-10 vendors there. We got up at 5:00 and were there by 6:30. It was kind of dead, but here's why:
Welcome to Denver. Ok, this picture was taken at 3:00 in the afternoon, the view outside my front door. It wasn't too bad this morning, but it's been snowing steadily all day and is not supposed to stop until tomorrow night. Ugh!

We ended up selling 2 receiving blankets and got a special order for a nursing cover, so we paid for our table. The gal in charge also rescheduled it for December 2nd, for no charge, so we'll give it another go.

I think the other problem is that my audience isn't exactly into babies. Corporate, mostly male, Government contractor employees. Oh well...Eliza and I got some time to go over her math.

Botanic Gardens, Here We Come!

In September, we visited the Denver Botanic Gardens with our homeschool group. It's a great place with a lot of fabulous outdoor gardens. On our way out, we stopped at the gift shop to look around, as it is supposed to be one of the best gift shops in Denver. I had David in the stroller with my car-seat cover over him, as he was sleeping. The gift shop manager came up and commented how great the cover is and how it would be perfect for gardening moms to cover up their babies and keep the sun off them while they worked (see how versatile it is!). So, in our conversation, I did mention that I was looking to market them. He gave me his card and took down my number and told me he might be interested in carrying them in the shop.

I tried to call him a couple of times and e-mailed him once over the next few weeks...nothing. I was about to count it as a loss, but figured I might run downtown sometime after these craft shows were over.

Today he called! He said he was very interested still, but would like to wait until spring as business at the Gardens is a little slow right now. That will probably work best for us also. It will give us time to try things out and get a few craft shows under our belt. In March, I give him a call back and we can "pick fabrics and talk business!"

Eliza's Request

Friday is freezer meal day at our house. It's one of those things that keeps me sane, knowing I don't have to cook one day a week! I try to keep a variety of meals in the freezer from when I make "2" of something one night.

I sent Eliza out to pick a meal for tonight. She came in with Lasagna (a favorite at our house, but a meal we don't get too often). My mom makes the world's BEST Lasagna, I've tried to imitate it, but it's just not the same. One of our "Grandma rewards" for having a new baby is that she makes lasagna when she comes. The ones she made after David was born were amazing (as always)...anyway, back to the subject.

When Eliza came in with the frozen Lasagna she says, "Can Grandma make lasagna for Thanksgiving when she comes?" I asked if she would rather have turkey and mashed potatoes like we usually do. Her response was, "no." I'm not sure how that will fly, but I'm sure there will be no objections to lasagna the day BEFORE Thanksgiving. How about it Mom?

Safari

I'm not a decorator. I'll been the first to admit it. Maybe it's because I'd rather be crafting, or maybe it's because I feel like I have to make everything myself. Either way, my kids' beds usually consist of random blankets I've made.

My sweet sister in law offered to give me this cute bed set for Samuel when she moved, I said "yes!"



When we got it on his bed, it made me think of the cute vinyl Decor Elements from Stampin' Up, so I got these:




Kaylene said she got the bedding on Ovestock.com, so I thought I would check it out to see if they had another for when David got bigger and they could match. They did have the twin size set, but I found this, and could not resist.

A Perfect Match!

So with a perfectly matching and (semi) clean room, my boys' room is so fun! Here's some of the "Final results."

I guess I don't have to make everything for it to be cute :) Now for some valances.....

First Craft Show

October 28th will be our first craft show. I'm really excited as it gives us a chance to "get out there" but the show is small (and inexpensive!) enough that I feel like we can get ready for it. It will be at Jeff's work, Northrop Grumman, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you are in the Denver area and would like to drop by, the address is: 17455 E Exposition Drive in Aurora (off Alameda close to the Air Force Base). It will be in the main building (AUC1) classrooms 1004 and 1009. Hope to see you there!

The Fabulous Cover!

The reason I started this blog in the first place was to try to market our products a bit, (and stay in touch with people!). I can't believe I'm so slow posting photos of my carseat covers! Thanks Jenn, for getting me back on track!

So here it is....ta da! My new favorite things for babies! I made mine when David was about 2 months old and there has never been a day in the last two months I haven't LOVED it!

Side view

I love this little thing for SOOOO many reasons, but a few are:

• They keep baby out of rain, sun, snow, and often wind

• Baby-peekers are kept away (and so are their germs)

• Baby stays ASLEEP when you are in the store, or wherever.

• The cover stays over the baby while the handle is free, no blankets slipping off or blowing away!

I make them with heavy-duty home dec fabric, so they are super durable. They tie with ribbon on the underside of the handle and did I say they are fabulous!?

We sell them for $35 and have some already made. I need to post some to my Etsy store (again, link coming soon), but if you are interested, I can send photos or take orders for something specific you have in mind (colors, patterns, etc).

So tell everyone you know who is getting ready to have a baby, thinking about having a baby, is a grandma, or just likes to buy baby things about this great car seat canopy!

The whilrlwind of life.

Ok, so do you ever feel like the world is spinning, that you can't get done what you want to, and (worst of all!) those wants are so many and change almost on a daily basis!

A month ago, I was gung-ho, ready to step out into the world of craft-show selling. Then after the girls and I worked super hard for a week, I realized that the mass of time needed to do craft shows is just not in our schedule!

I even went to a craft store to show off our car-seat covers. The manager said, "yes!" she would love to have us in her store. I was so excited, someone likes my stuff! Then I did the math and after the $25 a month to be there, the 20% cut the store gets, and the 4 hours a month I would have to work there, we would need to sell about 20 a month. But who has time to even make that many? I came to the conclusion that little things like feeding my family, exercising, and enjoying my baby might be a little more important. Besides, I miss scrapbooking!

Oh, we'll still sell things...just online when we can get them done without having to meet a deadline. Watch for an etsy store link soon!

So, I've decided (again) to try to slow down (ha!) and re-focus on life. Besides those Halloween costumes need to be done.

And...the exciting thing for today (and yesterday) is that one of the gals in our homeschool group is an amazing seamstress/artist/crafter, etc. She made up a pattern for the coolest baby carrier you have ever seen and asked me to be one of her testers! You can see it here: http://www.seedpodbooksandart.com/blog/2009/09/01/introducing-the-sweet-pod/ This girl is so inspiring (thanks Jessica!) I am so excited! I swore not to start another project though until those costumes get done!

I've started though! I started Samuel's since it's the hardest and I'm hoping to help the girls sew their own. He is a dinosaur (could you have guessed!). It still needs arms, legs, and a hat, but sometimes getting started is the hardest part!
My favorite part is the tail.