I've started a NEW blog just for big craft shows and festivals

 

My best bud, Kim, and I have created our own business name and a blog to go with it just for big craft shows. We're calling ourselves B2 Crafty Gals (for our last names - Blais and Becker). We use Stampin' Up! product to create handmade items. Our first show was this past week - the 5-day Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Fair. It was the longest show we've ever done, and we learned a lot!

 

 

This show is one of the biggest on the West Coast. There are more than 630 vendors (including one of my American Ink team members - Cheryl!) and 40,000 people in attendance.





Here's a look inside our 10' x 10' booth. We received TONS of compliments. In fact, we were joking that if we had a dollar for everyone who said how beautiful it looked, we'd be rolling in the dough! We offered retired SU! product, along with items made with SU! product - ribbon wreaths, purses, totes, home decor items, tags, a stamp and ink spot tag kit, card kits, quilter kits, scrapbook albums, and more!

 

I think the coolest part of our display was this ladder. Kim made shelves for it and we sold a lot of product off of this! It was a great focal point and it holds a lot. We had quilter kits, holiday paper ornaments, fabric, washer necklaces, home decor, purses, stamps, covered notebooks, and more on this ladder at any one time.

It was great visiting with Cheryl and her grandma, Sonja. Kim and I were sending people to Cheryl and vice-versa. Cheryl not only recruited, but got 57 people signed up for holiday ornaments classes! How cool is that? She offered a lot of really cute items with candy and things like cocoa and apple cider packets, tea bag holders, snowman soup, decorated Tic Tac treats, and more.

This photo shows an old window frame of Kim's covered with chicken wire. It makes a fun display for things like these purses and ornaments. Our booth was all shabby-chic/vintage furniture and suitcases Kim and I own. It really stands out among the regular 8-foot tables many vendors use. Even though we made money, we decided we probably wouldn't be doing this show again without a few changes. It was a lot of work, and time away from our families.

Kim in our Tacoma Holiday Food & Gift Festival booth - Day 1

That said, we may be doing A Victorian Country Christmas at the Puyallup Fairgrounds Nov. 28 - Dec. 2. The days are longer (10-9), but we'd split them up between us and a few of our downline, and we plan to share a large corner booth with a couple of new vendor friends we met this past week. I'll keep you posted. :-)

If you're interested in keeping up with us and our bigger craft shows, please bookmark http://B2CraftyGals.blogspot.com and visit us from time to time! In the meantime, have a wonderful week!

Something Borrowed for Monkey105, and my newly organized stampin' area

This isn't a Stampin' Up! image. It's rare that that happens on my blog. And the reason why is this week's A La Card Monkey Challenge #105: Something Borrowed + Sketch.

I used Paisley Petals dsp on a Whisper White card base. I borrowed the stamps from a friend of mine. I wasn't sure of the color for the mice, but I ended up using an aqua painter and watercolor crayons. The mice are More Mustard and Pumpkin Pie with Pretty in Pink cheeks. I used a stamp-a-ma-jig for the words, punching them out with the 1-3/4" circle punch and added an Itty Bitty flower with a rhinestone. Have a wonderful weekend!



I almost forgot! I pulled the retiring Stampin' Up! stamps from my shelves and took a photo of what's left. It looks pretty organized right now.

This is where I create. It's the landing at the top of the stairs in my house. I'm a very visual person, so I need to see what I have in order to remember it's there and to use it. I love using punches, which is why they're all within arm's reach. I had my hubby pull out some of the shelves on the wall so I could fit the stamps on them with the cases. Previously, I had to store the cases in a cabinet and line up the stamps because the shelves were so close together. This works better for me, and it's freed up room in a cabinet! All of the words are near the middle where they're easy to see. Scissors and ribbons are behind the fan and Ott Light (a must-have since I stamp at night). A caddy with my brads and buttons is out of the photo on the right.

I love having all of the Stampin' Up! ink pads - including two years' worth of In Colors, StazOn and VersaMark pads - at my side. I keep card stock in a filing cabinet just below the countertop, which is only 2 feet deep.

This built-in bookshelf is on my left, and it looks so much neater now. It holds mini catalog sets, more punches, all of my clear blocks (in the tin on the bottom shelf), and the rest of my clear stamp sets. The top shelf holds extra markers for my kids to use, sponge daubers, hobby blades, adhesives, glitter, shimmer paints and empty brad containers I use for punched pieces when I have classes.