Custom Orders

I have received a lot of these lately which is great for business and make me buy new colors of yarn for future projects. I am cranking through them. I have several to sew up and finish and only 4 to start. It's a good thing I don't make blankets :) ear warmers are much quicker.

Craft show display

With the help of lots of friends and my mother-in-law I was able to collect all the cuteness for my craft show display.
Thanks Ladies

Craft Show Success

So this past weekend I did my first craft show, out in the country in my friend's barn. Patty and Laurent live in a log cabin in the middle of a eucalyptus forest with a beautiful pond and a donkey named "Donkey". We had lots of neighbors and friends stop in to buy Christmas gifts for family members. The barn smelled of caramel and spice- thanks to a great candle at the entrance. We had Christmas carols playing and one young boy pretended he was on a Christmas train going through a winter wonderland. It was magical. I learned so much about hosting a show from Patty. There was hot chocolate, tea and cookies for all the guests. They made me a yummy lunch every day of the show, and even provided a portable heater so I could sit and crochet while customers milled around in the barn. Even with the rain and wind, it was a beautiful relaxing time. I loved sitting and sharing stories with Patty. I sold so much stuff too! Brainstorming and putting together my display was so fun and it turned out better than I could imagine. All in all I made $396 and have several custom orders I need to start right away so they are ready for Christmas.

Craft Show, what! I know right.

So I am doing my first craft show with the illustrious, generous and queen of creativity- Patty Kloss. It will be in her barn November 15-17. I am so excited! I have been brainstorming how to create a super cute booth that everyone will want to stop at. I am using the shabby chic theme from Ligia's wedding to display my items in a creative way. I have $552 worth of merchandise to sell and I am making more items all the time. Holly, my super awesome photographer, just did a photo shoot with a bunch of my new items and I am going to use some of her images in my display. I can't wait. It's going to be so fun.
Plus I get to list a bunch of new stuff on Etsy in the next 2 weeks. Maybe I do like this business thing after all, just a little.

Workspace is important

I want to have clean accessible areas to create and work. Challenging when other chores and tasks are calling my name. My desk in the office/library/prayer room is coming along. And gotta love the yarn boxes for inspiration.

Etsy inspiration

So checking out all the beautiful things people make and sell gets me inspired to try new ideas and especially learn how to sew. I would love to make fabric flowers and appliques for headbands and hats. Or learn how to upcycle old clothes into fun new items. Also using my embroidery and cross stitch skills to embellish items would be fun. I need a pretty bulletin board/chalk/magnet board in my craft room to put inspiring ideas and make notes. I would love to devote more time to being creative... It's all about the balance I guess. Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed with little things I have to do that I don't get to relax or dream or create. Guess that's when I really need to incorporate creativity into my day because it's a way the God renews me and restores my soul. He does that too when he teaches me new things about Him and me.

It's Springtime, time to bust out the cuteness

I put up several new listings and headbands seem the fastest and most painless thing to make. So they happen to all be headbands. I am really proud of my new headwrap in the knitted fashion because it took forever and it looks really classic. Enjoy

http://www.etsy.com/listing/98644588/crochet-celery-green-headwrap-with-large?ref=v1_other_2

Best entertainment while crocheting

Watching movies: challenging
Conversation: sometimes you feel like you are ignoring and preoccupied
Playing board games: distracted
Reading: doesn't work
Podcasts: pretty good
Listening to audio books: Winner! Especially when your husband is the reader and he does all the voices
I recommend The Harry Potter Series read by Jim Dale and Eragon and the subsequent series. You of course want good British readers :)

Embarking on the wedding scene

So along with spring and summer friendly headbands I am going to branch out into the huge etsy wedding scene with crocheted flower clips/combs complete with pearls and a little birdcage veil action. I am excited to try some fascinator headbands as well in the same vein. Stay tuned!

New Listings

Just put up a bunch of new listings on my etsy shop today. Check them out! Lots of valentine gifts. Here is one of my favorites. www.etsy.com/shop/unfadinglouise

So I love making treasuries

I have discovered the joy of making Treasuries on Etsy. It is a way to be creative, figure out a puzzle, build something beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Plus you get to know other sellers, market their pieces, build relationships, get in more circles, find more favorites and just be more involved in general. They are really fun to share. Here are some of my favorites. Hope you like them.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQyMDMwMzl8MTk3MjkxMzAwMw/stop-by-the-orchard?index=1

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQyMDMwMzl8MTkwNTEwMTc5OA/chartreuse-fields?index=7

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQyMDMwMzl8MTcwODM5OTE2Mg/salted-caramel?index=9

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTQyMDMwMzl8MTc5ODY3MTY3Nw/winter-morning?index=15

My Etsy Shop

I am so excited to announce that I just opened an Etsy shop called UnfadingLouise. Check it out! I am selling beautiful hand crocheted items for you and your friends. Now it's off to look at some more patterns on Ravelry to see what more cute stuff I can make.

The etsy-ness begins

So over Christmas my aunt convinced me that I should start selling some of my crocheted items that I usually just give as gifts of love. Since my husband and I want to go share the Good News with cousins around the world we need a little extra income. We are trying to pay off our student loans so that we can be debt free when we move overseas within 2 years. So I am learning all about Etsy and how to make your shop awesome and snazzy. I just want to be honest and real with my customers to let them know what they are supporting by buying the items I make by hand. I definitely don't want this to get out of control so my aunt suggested I just create a bunch of beautiful wearable things out of my stockpile of yarn and then put it all on there and sell it. I don't really want to take orders for things because I have a full time job working with youth and they take up a lot of my time. Plus I don't want this hobby I love to become something I dread or feel like I have to do. I just want to create beauty and make people feel loved and special.