Here are a few of sneak peaks for my holiday craft shows:

I found a candle ring at a florist supply store and decided to make a burlap wreath/candle ring for Christmas out of it.  I used the burlap runner that you can get at Michael's as the burlap ribbon and attached it with wire.  It makes a beautiful wreath too, but since it is not a sturdy wreath shape, it needs to be re-shaped each time it is hung.

Getting Ready for the Craft Fairs

I've been checking out some blogs on Pinterest about preparing for Craft Fairs and they really do offer a lot of good information.  One of the first things I wanted to do was to figure out what my wreaths are really costing me to make.  I created a table in Microsoft Word that uses formulas to determine what the materials I am using are costing in creating a wreath.  I also included information about shipping to determine my overall costs.  Here's what my table looks like:

Wreath Creation Cost Sheet

I've included a copy of this table with each wreath I've made along with a picture of the wreath. I am making different documents for each craft show I'm doing that includes all the wreaths I'm offering for sale at that show.  

One of the suggestions I found about craft shows is to create unique price tags.  I found a dove punch for scrapping and I decided to use that and twine for my price tags.  I really like the way they look.  I found a wooden bucket on clearance at Michael's last month and I'm going to cut the tags off as I sell them and keep them in the bucket to help record my sales.  I haven't come up with a good way to number my inventory yet, but I'll include that on the back of each tag.

Now I just need to get working on my inventory.  I have 3 craft fairs coming up. My plans are to start with 10-15 wreaths for the first fair, then to make sure I have at least 20 for the next two.  I am completely new at this, so any additional advice would be greatly appreciated.  Now back to work!

Determine your shipping costs.

I sold a wreath two days ago on Etsy! Yay!! Before I listed my wreaths on Etsy, I went to the FedEx office and brought a wreath with me to determine what I would charge for shipping.  We weighed it and determined what it would cost to ship it to most places in the United States.  

I will say that I have been within about $3 of that cost for every shipment.  My only mistake was when I went to buy my boxes from Uline, I didn't consider the height of the box and an extra two inches added a lot of expense to the shipping (much more than I had estimated).  Luckily the FedEx office offered to break the box down a couple of inches and was able to get the shipping price close to my estimation. The next time I ordered my boxes, I made sure they were two inches shorter, which I can do since my wreaths can be crushed a little.

Remember that your shipping costs are not only the shipment, but the box, ordering and shipping cost of your shipping materials, enclosed statements and your time and gas to ship. 

As I begin to get ready for some craft shows that I've signed up for, my confidence is beginning to sag.  I want to remember that I started doing this because it is something I enjoy, not just something I do to make money.  

I love to make things, and I've been making wreaths and arrangements all my life.  Through Etsy, I was able to put a few of these items out there to see if others liked what I did.  What a thrill it is to get a favorite from someone, or even better, to have someone purchase one!!  Selling them enables me to make even more, which grows my creative ideas.  I love making things, and I've really enjoyed making these wreaths. 

It's taken almost half of my life to get up the courage to try to actually sell something I've made, and I'm so glad I took that leap.  Thank goodness through websites like Etsy and Pinterest, its not hard to show others what you are doing and to get feedback.  I hope that if you are reading this, that you will take a leap of faith in yourself.  Try it!

New Fall Wreaths!