Craft Fair (Midwest)

I had a nice day at the Craftacular yesterday. The attendance wasn't as intense as the Holiday fair last December. But, I ended up with fairly decent sales. I'm reviewing the photos this morning and I think my booth looked way over crowded. I had to slim down to a 4x4 booth and probably should have eliminated some inventory from the display. I had only one snag during the day and that was the result of a small child sucking a lollipop and fingering my cards. We worked it out. Say no more.

This time I kept a tally sheet, a half hazard record of sales, so I could track inventory. My best selling card was the red flowers on pool. This was satisfying since that's my favorite color combination. Other cards that faired (pun!) well were the donuts, scribble bird, pig "hello" and koi cards. I did not sell many soap sets. I probably over priced them. So, now I have to figure out how to move those. I might post a set on Etsy.

Here are some more photos from the day. Remember the venue was inside a bar, so the scene was dark. There was great music and people were walking around with bloody mary's and beer. Nice.



I want one of these skirts!

Soap (Midwest)

Tomorrow is my final day to scramble to get ready for the Craftacular. I must remember to go to the bank and get lots of ones and fives, and then pack up my inventory, supplies, tables, displays and finally load the card.

Here's a peek at the soap/card/tag gift sets I'm going to have for sale at my table. Thanks Chrissy for helping me out with a sweet deal on some super smelling soaps! I'm liking the sweet orange and honey today, but yesterday I was into the lavender and geranium. I have a whole stash horded for my personal use.

Ok. Quick post. I must get back to packaging up hang tag sets. I'm lucky to have an eight year old at home who enjoys being my helper. She's good at stuffing bags and has the perfect sized finger for tying ribbons.

Long Time No Post (Midwest)

It has been crazy busy here in my neighborhood. Too busy, in fact. Yesterday, I bagged on some extra curricular kid activities that we had signed up for. And, our whole household is now much, much more mellow. Or, maybe just me, but that's good enough.

I have a mother's helper for 3 hours today! Partay! (sorry for the lame 80's reference) I am using my time very efficiently.

Earlier I had an awesome printing fix. I cranked some John Mayer and savored the ink smells and clanking sounds of the press. Such fun to be in my own world. I printed some more "retro boy" cards. I nailed the ink color, amount and press pressure right away, so I was printing clean copies after about 6 sheets of waste paper. It was a good feeling.

After that I ran some blocks on some long strips of waste card stock (photo above). I plan to trim 50 bookmarks from these for goody bag freebies for the Craftacular, which is this Saturday at the High Noon Saloon in Madison.

On Thursday I will wrap up some soaps that Chrissy made for me and make little letterpress & soap gift sets for the fair, as well. I'm using the twig design from these cards and they look nice.

Finally, I am using my time to post and organize my to do lists for the next time I have childcare. Now, I must go make myself a snack and check in with my Mother's helper. She rules. Bye everyone!

Moosday (Midwest)

Above: 10 Free Moo Cards came with my Flickr pro account. They make interesting card houses.


It's Tuesday. I'm adjusting to our new summer schedules and such. I have my brother from California visiting with his kids and my mom and stepdad, too. It's busy, but I'm still checking off action items from my to do list. Today I will order printing plates for my wedding clients. I'm excited to print their invites. I have a huge stack of blank paper just waiting for the job.

I ordered my business cards for handing out at the Craftacular. And, I printed up some letterpress soap labels. More on those and what they are for later. :)

Also, I've been having fun playing around with my new camera. I try to have it handy to snap some practice shots here and there. I'm pretty lousy at shooting people. Rarely do I get a shot where the part that is in focus is what I thought I was focusing on. I have so many pics that should be sharper. I did get a pretty decent shot of Sophie coming off the slip n' slide the other day. So, that was encouraging.

Finally, I'm working on some photos for our application to Renegade Chicago. We will attempt a joint application with Boh Bon Soap Co. So far I have shot a few table top scenarios of the soap. I have to shoot some shots with our cards next.



Tis time to get the kids suited up for swim team. Ta ta for now.

Lucky Bee Hearts Lucky Treats (West Coast)

I am always smitten with pretty patterns and images. While looking at the Lucky website this morning, enjoying a last day of quiet while my kids are still in school, when I came across this. It has to be the prettiest ipod speaker set yet. If only money grew on trees.

I have a half an hour until school is out for the summer. I am looking forward to the time off from our hectic schedule. We are celebrating with a lunch out at the wharf, then a trip to the Boardwalk with some friends. Should be a fun afternoon. Have a good one in Wisconsin Amy!

Packaging Things Up (Midwest)

Today was a satisfying day. I had several Etsy orders from the end of last week to get to, a wholesale order to finish, and a messy desk to clean (you are thinking, why does this woman always have a messy desk?). Between rain downpours, which caused us all to stand at the window gaping, I got things in their proper envelopes and boxes. I even went to the post office on my way to the grocery store. Oh how I love it when business can co-mingle with home life smoothly. Joey put the air "ditioners" in the windows, and I put all our cold weather clothes into the attic. Yay for productivity. And, yay for summer.



Oh, I almost forgot to plug the shop that will be carrying our cards. It's the cutest little shop on State Street here in Madison. It's called Anthology. It's run by two very clever and creative women. You can ready their story here.

Ok Peeps. I have to fish a pizza out of the freezer and attend to the family.

Teacher Gifts (Midwest)

If for no other reason, being a letterpress hobbyist certainly comes in handy. Especially when you need a last minute gift idea. I always have a pile of extra printings that will never be in the Etsy shop or at a craft fair. Not because they aren't "good enough", but because I only printed a few, or I have a limited amount on a certain stock, etc.

This week Sam finished his first year at preschool. We had 2 teachers, a lunch helper and the school director to thank. I tied up some card sets and affixed a hand made paper flower to the twine ribbon. Quick and simple, yet handmade and personal. I found the tutorial per this blog post. I started making paper flowers a few days ago to make a twig/vase/paper flower display to have at my craft fair table. But, after making oh, about 20, I realized they have many uses. These flowers have a simple elegance that really pleases me. They are this week's obsession.

Welcome June (Midwest)

Summer feels nearer and nearer each day. Laurie and I have one more week on our table space over at Poppytalk Handmade. To celebrate our first on-line event, we are having a gift with purchase sale for Poppytalk Handmade customers. If any blog readers are interested you will receive a free set of 3 letterpress tags with any purchase at Lucky Bee Press. You need to enter the word "poppytalk" into the message to seller section at Etsy checkout. Ok. Sales pitch over. Onward...

It was a lovely weekend here. The weather was in the upper 70s. It was sunny and breezy. We were outside all weekend. Soccer games were played. The swingset got a workout. Dandelions were picked. I was able to get away for a couple hours to hook up with the Madison Flickrmeets group. We did a little downtown photo walk. I got in some needed practice time with my new camera. It was surprisingly easy to stroll and shoot with total strangers.

Today I would like to do a quick letterpress session, but outside is still calling me. It's another gorgeous day. There is always tomorrow.

Finally, I'm loving this photo.