My First Craft Fair-What I Learned

Well, I did it! I survived my first craft fair. While I did sell items, it was the typical first craft fair fail lol.

THINGS THAT WENT WELL:

1. Lots of people stopped to look at my items. The variety of my inventory did that all on its own.

2. I sold my earrings for one low flat price-my customers appreciated the ease of it and for not having to flip over things and ask about pricing.

3. Both adults and children seemed to be drawn to my space. Score for reaching a mass audience.

4. My DIY jewelry stands turned out really classy and I got lots of compliments on them. Tutorial to come!

5. My DIY earring cards came out great. Those who did not bring cash asked for a card (with my Etsy website on it) so that they could browse my shop later. They cost about $20 to make hundreds of them. Another tutorial to come!

THINGS TO LEARN FROM:

1. The event itself was not well advertised. I googled it in the searches and checked facebook and other local informational avenues, and did not find anything on it. I knew this going into it. I was going more for the experience than the anticipated profit.

2. I wish I had obtained more decorative items to draw people in to my booth. Lots of people stopped by, but only after actually seeing what was on the table (my earrings were all laid flat). I think next time I will add more "landscaping" for "curb appeal".

3. Coffee. I forgot coffee. Terrible mistake.

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All in all, it was a good experience. I am not yet as they say "rolling in the dough" and Martha Stewart has not yet knocked down my door for business tips, but now I can say I have officially done a craft fair and survived!

July Pinterest Giveaway!

I am so excited to present to you my first giveaway from my new Etsy shop, Karis Gypsy!

The process is easy-peasy.

If you have a Pinterest account, you will just need to pin one of my items from my shop. In the comments, leave the link to your board featuring my item and your favorite colors and I will place you in a drawing for a free boho bracelet and hair flower. I will pick three winners from the comments.

I will contact you via email from your blogger profile if you have won.

Below is a link to my shop and above are some examples of similar items to what you'll be winning.

Chance to win will end July 6th.

Good luck!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KarisGypsy

Been A While But I Have BIG News!

Sooo....lots of changes since you last heard from me!

1. I began a second Etsy shop for hair accessories. My concept is to sell multiple pieces in one order-makes the shipping and wait worthwhile ;)

http://www.karisgypsy.etsy.com/

2. I got ENGAGED!!! Yup, that's right, I attached a pic of the bling below.

You can expect to see lots of DIY concept wedding ideas in the near future. I have pretty much vowed to buy from Etsy or make it myself. My head is just spinning with ideas and I need to find a way to get to them all!!! Lubbock, Texas is about to witness its first ever Jewish/Kenyan DIY wedding (and probably the only one ever!).

Welcome To My Blog?

Everything I could think of when I thought about my first blog post came out cheesy. But I like cheese, so I'm okay with that. Cheddar, Mozzerella, Pepper Jack, it's all good with me. I'm pretty sure that if you cook something and it doesn't turn out well, you can put cheese on it and it will still come out great.

A little about me: I live in Texas, I own an Esty shop where I repurpose and sell beautiful items, I like to recycle and find beauty in old things, I like to cook (I've only reverted to the cheese strategy a couple of times), I believe people should be kind to one another, and I take time to find the humor in things that normal people usually don't think about. I'm hoping I can incorporate the every day things of my life into this blog, and who knows, maybe you will find it interesting!

I'm still coming up with things to blog about, some of which includes recipes, thrift store makeovers, giveaways (ie, shameless self-promotion), still thinking about that...

Please follow me! Would love to join the blogging communities out there.